Disclaimer: As usual, GW isn't mine, and suing me would get you nothing.
A/N: Sorry again for taking so long - I've been trying to chip through writer's block the size of the moon and my muses deserted me. (Traitors!) Explanations are given in this chapter for some things, and mysteries abound. Well, one at the moment, anyway. *grin*
Warnings: AU, angst, maybe OOC, (I hope not) implied yaoi, not much of a timeline to speak of, two vampires (there will be more next chapter), and mention of blood.
Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5x no one
Archived at: www.fanfiction.net, www.dreamwater.net/mikaaislinn/, www.geocities.com/free_angels_love/ , and www.angelfire.com/gundam/amymerrick
'Blood and Tears: Reunion' by Manic Grasshopper
Chapter Three: The Beginning (3/?)
Everyone met during lunch in Duo and Heero's room. Trowa leaned against one wall, while Quatre sat on the floor next to him. Wufei was seated on Heero's bed, Heero was straddling his desk chair, and Duo and Kiara were sitting on the floor against Duo's bed, facing the others.
"What's so important that we have to miss lunch, Maxwell?" Wufei demanded irritably. Duo tried to grin and failed. This was too serious, even for him.
"Kiara's in trouble, and she needs our help."
Heero eyed the girl for a moment. "What kind of trouble?"
Duo sighed. Heero had just asked the sixty-four million dollar question, and he didn't even know it.
"Well, it's kind of a long story..." He glanced over at Kiara. She shook her head.
"I can't, Duo. You tell them, please."
She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and buried her face in her arms. Duo patted her back and turned to the guys.
"Okay. Time to fill you guys in."
And fill them in he did. When he finished speaking twenty minutes later, everyone was in shock.
"A vampire?" Quatre looked mildly ill.
"Don't be ridiculous, Quatre. Vampires aren't real - they're fictional!" Wufei was angry - what kind of joke did Maxwell think he was playing?
Kiara lifted her head and smiled at him. "Would you like to see my fangs, Wufei?"
Wufei suddenly remembered how he'd felt that morning sitting across from her, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
"...Actually...that won't be necessary."
Kiara smirked, then frowned in concern as she caught sight of a rather pale Quatre, who was slightly massaging his chest.
"I'm sorry, Quatre. I tried to shield you."
Duo, Wufei, Trowa, and Heero looked confused.
"Quatre, are you all right?" Trowa asked, visibly concerned.
Quatre smiled wanly and nodded. "I'm fine. It's just that - well, when Duo was telling us about Cale, the pain Kiara was feeling...She hurts, a lot."
Kiara sighed, depressed. "What you were feeling wasn't even the tip of the iceberg, Quatre. I'm sorry any got through to you at all, but it was so hard to shield all of you at once, and I didn't realize until now that you're empathic...I should have sensed it before."
"It's okay." Quatre smiled, the color beginning to come back into his cheeks. "It's getting better now."
Kiara breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
Duo glanced over at Trowa. "Tro-man, whaddya think? Do you believe us?"
The emerald-eyed pilot regarded them for a long moment before speaking.
"Yes."
"Quatre? Do you?"
The blonde nodded. "I do."
Duo didn't need to ask Wufei; it was obvious from the expression on his face that he did.
"What about you, Heero?" He knew the answer already, but it would make him feel better to have Heero admit it in front of the others.
His lover was silent for only a second. "Yes."
Both Duo and Kiara looked relieved beyond words.
"Tell us about Alice and Terran." Trowa asked. "What are they like?"
Kiara smiled a little. "Terran is...well; at least when I knew him, he was nice. Sweet, even. He used to try and stand up for me against Kevin whenever he could..." She frowned suddenly. "He stopped at one point though, because Kevin threatened to rip his head off. The next time he stood up for me was also the last, when I escaped. I don't know what he'd be like now...if he's even still alive."
The boys were quiet while they took this in. Wufei felt that there was more to Kiara and Terran than she was telling, so he decided to be blunt and ask. Things they didn't know could hurt them, especially in this situation.
"Were you and Terran lovers?"
The expressions on the other pilots' faces would have been comical, if the matter weren't so serious. Kiara blushed.
"Yes - for about ten years."
Wufei nodded. "I thought so. Be sure and tell us everything. If you leave things out just because they seem insignificant to you, they might get us killed."
Kiara winced. "Sorry."
Trowa decided to change the subject. "Tell us about Alice."
Kiara shuddered. "She's a sadistic bitch, plain and simple. Her favorite victims were - and probably still are - children. Little ones, between the ages of three and five. I stopped her from hurting a child once, and she almost ripped my arm off. It was pretty grisly - took me almost a week to heal it, but when that happened I'd only been a vampire for twelve years. I wasn't that strong then - not much seems to have improved."
Quatre rubbed at his chest again, and Trowa slid down the wall to put an arm around him.
"What else?"
"Well, there are things you all need to know, about what vampires can do. Toss out anything you picked up from old movies - what I'm going to tell you now is fact."
She took a deep breath and let it out, then, as Duo reached over and gently squeezed her arm, she continued.
"Number One: Sunlight doesn't bother us in the least. Doesn't burn our skin, doesn't hurt our eyes. If we're wearing sunglasses, it's for fashion. Also, we don't have to sleep during the day. Night works just as well.
Number Two: We have to drink blood to survive, and it's the blood that allows us to regenerate if we've been hurt - but we can eat regular food. It doesn't make us sick. My personal favorite is chocolate cheesecake." Kiara smiled a little.
"Number Three: This is related to number two - we need to feed on a regular basis in order to heal our wounds properly. The younger vampires need to feed more frequently than the older ones...I eat two meals a day every day; someone like Kevin only needs one meal every two days. He might be able to go longer than that now, I don't know."
Quatre raised his hand. "What about shape-shifting? Is that possible?"
Kiara laughed. "I bet Kevin wishes it was, but no. We don't turn into crows, bats, wolves, mist, or anything else. What you see is what you get."
Quatre appeared extremely relieved. Then Heero spoke up. "How are vampires created, anyway? Duo didn't go in-depth with it during the story."
Kiara grimaced. "Through an exchange of blood. Wrist to wrist is the usual method. The vampire's blood has to completely overwhelm the-" She trailed off for a second and glanced at Duo before continuing. " - victim's system before the change will occur. The amount of blood needed depends on several factors - the victim's age, size, whether or not they're ill..." She trailed off again and Duo put his arms around her.
"Ki - I wasn't a victim, remember? I was perfectly willing. And 'sides, you didn't turn me into a vampire, just saved my life."
She nodded and pulled away. "I know...but sometimes..." She shook her head.
"Okay, this is the most important of everything I've told you, so pay attention. This could save your life. We have powers - telepathy, pyrokinesis, extraordinary strength, the ability to create new vampires - that either appear for the first time at a certain age, or get stronger as we get older. If we make eye contact with someone, we can control their minds, make them do whatever we want them to. This is an ability that gets stronger with age. I can do it, but not very well. It also depends on the person we're trying to control, how strong their will is. As an example: If I were to attempt to seize Heero's mind and make him jump off the school's roof, or slit his own throat, it wouldn't work. I'm not strong enough, and Heero's will is strong enough to resist me."
"However," She continued, ignoring Wufei's hand shooting up, "If Kevin caught Heero's mind and told him to slit his own throat, he would, without a second thought."
Shocked gasps and vehement denials filled the room, and Kiara cringed. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Kevin is that powerful. And maybe Alice too, by now. Heero wouldn't be able to resist."
Kiara studied the boys. They all seemed absolutely horrified. I hate putting them through this, but they have to know...
"Our voices work too, for this sort of thing. We can get you to unlock and open a door, then once eye contact is made, we can get you to invite us in. Then you're dead."
Trowa spoke up. "They can come in the school?"
Kiara shifted her blue eyes to him. "They can go anywhere in the school except the dorm rooms. They still need to be invited, because humans sleep there."
"I take it crosses and garlic don't work." Wufei muttered.
"No. They don't. We can die by fire, beheading, and a good old-fashioned wooden stake. That's it." Kiara sighed and leaned against Duo. Heero stood and faced the others.
"Then we have a new mission. Protect Kiara. Everyone keep your eyes open and be on guard at all times." He glanced down at Kiara. "If we wear sunglasses, will that deflect their influence?"
Kiara grinned. "Smart boy Heero. It will, but only for a few seconds - just long enough to avert your eyes. The darker the tint, the better."
"Ryoukai. Kiara, if you don't mind, I think you should have one of us with you at all times. Is that acceptable?'
"Yes."
"Then we're done here." The others began to stand, but Duo remained sitting, confused.
"Kiara, if you've gotta be invited, how'd you get your room?"
She grinned wickedly. "One of the older girls was showing it to me. I simply let her go in first and waited outside. After a moment she said 'Come in'. Natural reaction with humans."
"Does it have to be a verbal invitation?" Quatre asked, still a little pale.
"No," Kiara replied, her eyes darkening. "Gesturing works just as well. Anything that can be interpreted as an invitation is enough. That was how Cale died. I just waved Kevin into the nursery after me."
* * *
Later, after Wufei had walked Kiara to her room, and Trowa and Quatre had gone into town to buy everyone a pair of sunglasses, Heero and Duo were finally alone. Duo lay sprawled on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Heero sat at the desk, a map of the school displayed on the laptop's screen.
"This is some shit, ain't it Heero? This is some serious shit."
Heero didn't answer. He opened a new window and called up everyone's class schedules, then began highlighting rooms on the map. Duo turned his head to watch, the edge of his braid trailing off the bed.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Making sure we know where everyone is at all times...or at least supposed to be. Everyone gets a map."
"But you said Kiara would be with one of us at all times."
Heero nodded and pressed more buttons. "She will. I'm also modifying her schedule so she shares at least one class with each of us. Memorize the map, then destroy it."
Duo closed his eyes. "Gotcha. Ne, Hee-chan? I was thinking."
Heero turned to look at his lover. "About what?"
Duo's amethyst eyes opened and fixed on Heero. "She said I look like Cale - the hair, and the eyes. Hee-chan, you don't think maybe I'm-"
"Cale reincarnated? Don't be ridiculous, Duo."
Duo sighed. "Yeah, I know. Just - it seems so odd, ya know? Cale dyin' like that, and then all those years later she finds me and saves my life - I told you what she said, Heero. It was like God had given her another chance to save her son."
Heero's cobalt eyes studied Duo's face. "I thought you didn't believe in God."
Duo turned his head away and stared at the ceiling again. "I don't. I believe in Shinigami."
Heero was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "You haven't told her, have you? You told me before they got here, but she doesn't know."
Duo shook his head. "I don't know how to."
"Tell her like you told me, Duo."
The braided pilot laughed bitterly. "What, and tack some more guilt onto her life? Sure Heero. Sure."
Heero studied Duo a moment longer before returning to his task.
"It's your story, Duo. But you're going to have to tell her. If you don't, you might as well be lying to her."
Duo closed his eyes again. "I know...and I'll find a way to explain it...somehow."
***
By dinner that evening, all the boys and Kiara had their sunglasses. They were at their usual table, with Wufei on one side of Kiara and Duo on the other. Heero sat across from Duo, with Quatre on his left, and Trowa next to him. No one was wearing their glasses - it was already dark outside, and the lights in the cafeteria weren't bright enough to warrant them. But everyone had them, either in front of them on the table or perched on their heads. Kiara picked at her 'spaghetti', then turned to Wufei and grinned.
"You look kind of cute with your sunglasses on your head, 'Fei. You should let your hair down - then you'd look really good."
Wufei grunted. "I will not take my hair down, I do not look...cute, and my name is Wufei."
Kiara smirked. "You never get any, do you?"
Wufei choked on the rice he'd just taken a bite of and began to turn blue. Kiara gave him a good smack on his back and he coughed, then swallowed. It took him three minutes and two glasses of water (one of which belonged to Trowa) before he was able to speak again.
"That's none of your business!'
"Want me to lighten up your life a little, 'Fei?" Kiara leaned close to him for a second. "Sex with a vampire can be very interesting."
Wufei twitched.
Quatre was trying desperately not to smile, Trowa was beginning to smirk, Heero had the faintest trace of a grin on his face, and Duo was outright laughing.
"It's not funny!" Wufei roared. "It's my private business, not anyone else's-" He stopped in mid- rant as he faced Kiara and noticed the way she was sitting. She was very still and very pale. The only expression on her face was one of fear. Wufei turned around in his chair and scanned the cafeteria behind them - he saw nothing out of the ordinary...except-
"Ki, what's wrong?" Duo asked.
"Glasses!" Wufei hissed. "Now!"
There was no hesitation on anyone's part, not even Kiara's. All six were wearing their sunglasses by the time the voice spoke from behind them moments later.
"Why Kiara, what a surprise. We've been looking for you."
Kiara turned in her seat to face the owner of the voice.
"Alice."
TBC
