Chapter 3: Desperation to Magnanimity

Kanda felt better the next morning. Part of him wanted to convince himself that the only reason he'd felt weak the day before was because he'd skipped breakfast; he'd also had a hallucination about vampires. Vampires? How the hell could they be real?

But no, when Kanda looked into the mirror of his small apartment's bathroom, he could see the remains of the four tiny holes in the side of his neck. Reality came crashing down on him like a stormy wave crashing on the side of a rickety ship—inevitable and unavoidable. Totsuka Airi was undeniably a vampire, and she had definitely taken blood from him the day before.

That wouldn't happen again. Kanda would, to the best of his ability, avoid her all day.

Except how he was going to avoid her during class, he didn't know. She sat beside him, after all.

When he got to school, Kanda walked into the classroom and glanced around; relief washed over him as he noticed that there was no sign of the girl who looked so much like Snow White. Without bothering to say hello to any of his fellow classmates, Kanda headed to his seat and sat down. A few minutes later, a group of girls approached him hesitatingly.

"Um…Kanda-san?" Kiki said anxiously.

"What?" he said brusquely.

"We…we just wanted to say good luck today," Hana said shyly. "At your match…we'll be there to watch."

"…I don't need luck."

"Of course not!" giggled Mayu. "We all know that you're good enough to beat any opponent, but we wanted to wish you the best anyway."

"…Thanks."

"Sure!" Mayu said, delighted at his response.

The bell rang, and the three idiots walked back to their seats. Totsuka Airi still had not shown up. Kanda didn't mind; it was surprising how such a beautiful face could make him want to throw up whenever he thought about it. Airi's beauty had no effect on Kanda; she could've been a freaking goddess and he wouldn't have cared, for his animosity towards her was at a height that could not be shaken. It rivaled his hatred for that moyashi of a kouhai…

All Kanda could do was hope that Airi never showed up. After all, his first kendo match of the semester was this afternoon, and he could hardly afford to lose.

Airi woke up late, feeling weak, shivery, and unbearably thirsty. Her sleep had been fitful and frightening; it always happened when she went to sleep feeling parched, those nightmares and recollections of her family's downfall came washing over her dreams like a broken dam. She was shaking from exhaustion as she dressed. She glanced at the clock. It was already ten. She was terribly late for school, but she hardly cared. The only reason that she needed to go today was so she could get some of Kanda's blood—she would have a hellish day if she did not obtain blood soon.

The phone rang suddenly, its sound breaking the silence of her apartment as effectively as a cannon blast. She picked it off its cradle.

"Totsuka here."

"Why aren't you at school, Airi?" a smooth voice asked. "Being absent on your second day will be bad for your image."

"Why the hell are you calling me?" she snapped, her anger surfacing to indescribable heights. She was so furious, so angry at him…her hands were shaking violently from the effort it took to hold up the phone, she wanted, no, she needed blood so badly…and it was all Tyki's fault. He had taken enough blood from her to last for a month, and now she was in this sort of state before her Donor had gotten accustomed to being drained…

"Airi, I thought I made it clear that I won't accept you speaking to me like that," Tyki said icily. "And get to school already."

"What, so you can just get more blood?" she said, shivering as she was seized by a wave of coldness that came whenever she was drained. "Give me a break."

"I understand that I took a bit too much of your blood last night, and our…activities probably exhausted you as well," said Tyki. "I'm telling you to get to school for your own good, you know. You need blood, right?"

"That's none of your concern—I can hunt without your dictating."

"Airi—"

"Go to hell."

She hung up, breathing harshly as beads of perspiration rolled down her cheeks. Tyki was probably going to punish her later, but at this point, she really didn't care. The feeling of being unable to resist Tyki, of being unable to slap the hell out of him when she wanted to so badly, made her so furious, especially when she recalled the times from before when she had been the royalty, when Tyki had to listen to her.

But there was no use brooding over the past. Airi was alive and that was all that mattered. As long as she was alive, she could do something to remedy her situation, no matter how much torture and humiliation she had to go through.

Airi slipped into her boots and opened the door, surveying the sight of stairs and the bustling streets. It was sunny outside despite the cold weather.

Sun. It would whither away the little strength she had left. It looked like she would have to wait.

"Weird, isn't it?" Kanda heard Mayu say thoughtfully.

"What?" said Kiki.

"Totsuka-san. It's her second day, and she's not here."

"Yeah, I thought so too…hm. Is Mikk-sensei here?"

"Yeah," smiled Hana. "Do you want to go ask him?"

"It'd give us an excuse to talk to him!" laughed Mayu as she headed for the door.

Before they got to it, however, a voice from the hallway could be heard through the thin door. Kanda stiffened immediately. It was Airi.

"I already explained," Airi's voice said. Was that…exasperation in her tone? And weariness, definitely. And…hatred? "I have a perfectly legitimate excuse for being late, Tyki, stop pestering me."

Mikk's reply was inaudible—he must have said or done something, however, for Airi responded.

"Would you stop it, we're at school!" she said hotly.

The door slid open, revealing Airi and Tyki. Airi was pale-faced, her features showing a thin veil of the kind of sweat that showed up when people were sick. Tyki's hand was slipped under blazer as his free hand pulled Airi to him by the waist; his nose was buried at her neck, nuzzling it.

"Oh," he smirked, retracting his hand from under Airi's jacket but not letting her go, "I thought there wasn't anyone still in here. Sorry, girls. Do me a favor and don't tell Komui about this, would you?" His smile widened, causing the three girls to blush.

"O-of course not," said Mayu. "W-we were just about to go look for you, Mikk-sensei."

"Ah? What would cause you three to grace me with your presences?"

"We were just wondering where Totsuka-san was," Hana said brightly, "but it looks like she's here! Are you okay, Totsuka-san? You're looking a bit…pale."

Pale was probably an understatement. Airi's face was drawn and white as a sheet, even paler than she was before. It seemed like her eyes were more red than black, and Kanda instinctively knew that she was hungry. Or thirsty. Whichever term they used.

Which meant that it was probably prudent for him to leave.

"I'm fine," said Airi weakly. "I…just have to sit down for a moment."

She attempted to pull away from Tyki, but Tyki simply guided her to her seat and sat her down, his smirk as prominent as ever.

"Ah, girls, would you mind taking care of Airi? You know, just check up on her once in a while. Airi's a bit sickly, so I'd appreciate it if you just took care of her since I can't be with her constantly…"

"Mikk-sensei, you're just like a prince in shining armor!" Kiki laughed. "Saving a girl from danger, you're so dramatic!"

"Well, I can't help it," grinned Tyki. He patted Airi on the head, who looked disgusted. "I love Airi that much, after all."

"Aw, that's so sweet, sensei."

"You flatter me," the teacher said. "Well, I've got to go back to class before the bell rings…so I'll leave Airi in your care, all right?"

"No problem!" the three of them chimed together.

Tyki waved to the group of girls, all of whom waved back except for Airi. Her crimson colored eyes glinted with malicious hatred as the door shut in front of them. Really, was Kanda the only one who had noticed that Airi's eye color had changed?!

"I don't get you, Totsuka-san," sighed Mayu. "Mikk-sensei is so wonderful to you."

"Really wonderful," she said scathingly. "He's so amazing, I want to kill him."

"You don't mean that, of course!" chortled Hana. "You're so funny, Airi-chan—you don't mind if I call you that, right?"

"Of course not," Airi said evenly, her eyes glued to the door.

The bell rang, and the five inhabitants of room jumped, startled at the sound.

"Oh, it's last class," said Kiki. "The one we don't have together…you know where to go after this, right? 'Cause there's no class in this room next period."

"Yeah, I do, don't worry."

"Sorry, Airi, we would lead you there if we were going in the same direction! Say, after school, are you going to—"

"Of course she is!" grinned Hana.

"Go to what?" asked Airi.

"You don't know? Oh, then we'll just make it a secret! Just wait for us on the front steps after school—we'll take you to see something good!" Mayu shot a wink at Kanda as she said this. "Well, we'll be going now!"

Airi smiled weakly as the three of them left the room; the smile vanished the moment the door slid closed. There was a tense silence as the two of them were left alone.

Kanda stood up suddenly and tried to head for the door, but before he could even move a foot, Airi went slamming into him, pushing him against the corner of the room.

"Trying to run?" she said, her breathing ragged. "Don't you dare try—I'm so fucking thirsty, I could rip you apart right now."

"I thought you were good at controlling yourself," he snarled as she pinned his arms down with one hand, using her dominant hand to pull apart his shirt and tug it down his shoulders.

"Hell yeah, you should be happy I didn't hunt you down in the middle of the night last night," she said harshly, her crimson eyes flashing. "Damn that Ty—"

"Who—?"

Kanda let out a strangled yell as he felt her fangs pierce not the side of his neck but the base of it, deeply and forcefully. Pain shot up not only through his neck but through his entire body, paralyzing him. He could feel his strength being sapped away.

"Stop it—I have a match—"

Airi moved her head up, blood smeared across her chin. Kanda could feel the liquid trickle down his neck as he panted—she did not look like she was finished feeding.

"You're feeling more scared than angry," she said softly, pressing her arms at either side of his head and leaning closer. "That doesn't taste good. How do you think I can make your blood taste better, Kanda-san?"

"Get the fuck away from me—"

Her scarlet-colored orbs were leaning closer and closer, and they were all he could see as he felt her lips glide onto his, smoothly and coldly. Her hands slid down his shoulders, his chest, and Kanda, amidst his weakness, felt his heartbeat abruptly accelerate. She deepened the kiss as she settled her weight down on his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck as her tongue slipped into his mouth. He could taste the remaining metallic flavor of his blood and felt like he was going to throw up.

Kanda retained his presence of mind and made a movement to knee her in the stomach, failing in injuring her as Airi simply applied more pressure to his legs, but succeeding in getting her to break off the kiss.

"Naughty, naughty boy," she breathed, moving her lips back to the punctures and licking up the freely flowing blood. "Don't bother attacking me…"

Kanda's head spun with dizziness as Airi finished drinking her fill. By the time his consciousness returned to him, she was lapping up the rest of the blood and buttoning up his shirt. Her eyes had returned to their normal onyx state.

"Yum," she said, her mood much lighter than before. "Thank you."

"You…bastard…" Kanda managed to say, but the effort to finish the insult took more energy than he had—he leaned his head heavily against the wall, seeing stars.

"I took…a lot," she said semi-apologetically. "I don't normally drink that much, but…hm. You're impressive. You're still awake. People would normally would be out for a good few hours…"

Airi stood up, wiping the blood off her chin.

"Ha," she exhaled, "I feel so much better. Goodness, I thought I'd end up tearing someone apart if I went for another hour without blood…"

Kanda could not even find the energy to stand up; it seemed that all his strength had been taken away from him. His brain could hardly function, but all he knew was that he was so screwed for his match.

"Um…" Airi looked around the room. "It'd probably be a good idea if you don't go to last period. You might as well go home now, you know."

"I…can't—" Kanda breathed harshly.

"Hm? Why?"

"I have…a kendo match."

Airi's eyes widened in alarm.

"There is no way you could possibly participate," she said seriously. "Go home and rest."

"I'm the fucking…captain," he said, struggling to stand. "And because of you…damn it…can't even…think straight—"

His legs gave way and he collapsed—he felt someone catch him by the waist and help him stand.

"You can't go," she insisted. "If a Donor stresses out too much, his blood tastes bad—"

"The world does not fucking revolve around you," he snapped, knocking her hands away. "You egocentric, self-centered freak…stop screwing with me…"

Kanda brought a hand to his head, trying to steady and calm his head. He closed his eyes, breathing regularly in order to regain a sense of sanity. When he opened his azure orbs again, he felt well enough to walk away.

"Get out of my way," he said coldly, standing up straight and brushing past her. "I'm going."

He left Airi in the empty classroom, filled with an unspeakable hatred for the woman, so blinded by the intense animosity that he did not notice Airi's guilty black eyes watching him struggle for the door.

"Shit, Kanda," Lavi said the moment Kanda entered the dojo training room. "You look even worse than yesterday. What the hell happened?"

"Nothing," he said, trying hard not to faint right then and there.

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Buchou," a few team members said worriedly, "if you're not feeling well, you don't have to participate."

"No, I will—the captain of the opposing team is pretty good, and I don't think any of you are ready to oppose him—"

"I can do it," said Lavi sternly.

"No, their vice captain's good too, so you have to take him on…"

"I'd feel better if your matches were at the very end," grumbled Lavi. "It'd give you more time to rest."

"I'm fine."

"You're obviously not."

"Shut up, Bookman."

Kanda sat down on the bench, almost too tired to change into his kendo uniform. A few of his strands were hanging loosely down his face, having fallen from his ponytail.

"You all, go get dressed," ordered Lavi. "Now."

The rest of the team nodded and filed out of the captain's dressing room, leaving Lavi and Kanda alone.

"…Kanda."

"…What?" he said wearily.

"Answer me honestly. Have you been…hanging around Totsuka Airi?"

Kanda's head shot up, his blue eyes widening. It was all the response that Lavi needed.

"I see," the British exchange student said evenly. "Well, go get dressed. We're starting soon."

"Come on, Airi!" called Mayu, beckoning in her direction. "It's going to start soon!"

"Where are we going?" the vampire asked, walking to the three classmates.

"The kendo dojo! It's Kanda's first match today!"

Airi's heart dropped. She had spent the last hour feeling extremely guilty for taking blood for Kanda. But it had been necessary, for heaven's sake, she really couldn't have lasted any longer without blood…

But…she supposed she hadn't really needed so much. Either way, though…Kanda would've been weakened.

There was a large crowd gathering at the dojo. Airi caught sight of Kanda at the head of the team, looking tired and pale but determined. The opposing team was from a local high school. The captain was a large, burly guy, a good head taller than Kanda.

"Hmph," he snorted as the captains shook hands. "Kanda Yuu. You're not what I imagined. More of a pretty boy than a kendo fighter."

Airi saw Kanda's blue eyes narrow slightly through his mask, but he did not bother to return the jibe.

"The captains' matches will be determined best two out of three," announced the judge. "The first match will take place in the very beginning of the contest, while the last two will take place at the very end. First one to score five points will be the winner."

The captains backed away the appropriate distance from each other and readied their shinai.

"Begin!"

The opponent charged immediately, using a straight-forward jabbing attack. It should've been easy to dodge…but Kanda's reflexes were slow, and the shinai connected effortlessly.

"Point!" called the judge.

There was a simultaneous groan from the Black Order crowd.

"That's so weird…Kanda should've been able to dodge that," frowned Mayu. "Maybe just a fluke?"

But it wasn't just a fluke, for the rest of the five points were just as easily scored. Kanda's footsteps were slow and his attempts to attack feeble; Airi felt every blow that connected with Kanda as if they'd contacted with her own skin, and she felt sick.

"Match!" said the judge. "And Uteda Kaoru wins!"

"Ha!" scoffed Uteda. "You're pathetic, Kanda Yuu. How in the world did you win Nationals?! Champion, my ass."

"The remaining two matches will commence in a short time. Vice captains, approach!"

Airi saw Kanda head towards the locker rooms, pausing briefly as Lavi spoke with him. Kanda simply shook his head and continued on his way.

"No way…" said Hana faintly. "That was…too easy…Kanda…was he faking?"

"I don't think so," murmured Kiki. "He doesn't seem the type…"

"I'm going," announced Airi. "This is boring."

"Airi?"

"I'll see you all tomorrow."

Airi left quickly, slipping through the crowd. Instead of heading home, however, she headed to the side door of the dojo that led to the dressing rooms; she walked in, unnoticed. Following the scent, she found Kanda in the room the farthest down the hall.

Kanda had taken off his headgear and was in the process of pouring a bottle of water over his head. His blue eyes snapped open as he sensed her presence, and he snarled as he recognized her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

Airi said nothing and simply walked up to him, bringing a hand to his neck. The puncture wounds that she'd given him earlier were still obvious, wide and messy. She gritted her teeth. They looked like the ones Tyki gave her…and she knew how much they hurt…

She bent down, bringing her mouth down to the side of Kanda's neck. He jerked back, furious.

"You couldn't possibly be wanting more blood," he said, blue eyes flashing. "You've already seen how much you've screwed me up—I've never lost that badly, and I haven't lost since middle school—"

"Please shut up," she said quietly, holding him still and placing her lips at his skin.

"Stop it—"

She extended her fangs, sinking into the sweet skin. The aroma of his blood reached her nose but she resisted in taking any…

A few seconds passed and she finally straightened up, a string of blood stretching in between them. Kanda looked up at her, confused.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"…Yeah," he said, wide-eyed, bringing a hand up to his neck. "…What did you do?"

"We can take blood…and in very, very rare occasions, we will give it. I didn't mean to screw up your match," she said. "I didn't mean to take so much this morning. We…we vampires are on a higher level you humans. We make what you call…arbitrary decisions." Her eyes glittered strangely at her terminology. "I don't mean to tamper with the main plots of your lives."

Her thirst was returning, now that she'd given the majority of her meal away. She'd better leave.

"Go beat the shit out of that guy," she said as she left. "With a vampire's blessing, there's no way you'd lose."

She left the very confused Kanda alone, her crimson lips parted in a faint smile.

Vampire blood must do wonders, for Kanda felt more rejuvenated than he'd felt in a long time. His last two matches were concluded without hardly any effort. His former strength and speed had returned to their heights, perhaps even more so, aided by the added blood. Kanda felt good, felt strong and powerful…his own blow had shattered his opponent's headgear, and Kanda felt like he hadn't used any strength at all. The new power was exhilarating, but in a strange way. While part of him enjoyed the feeling of being stronger than the capabilities of a human, the other part rejected it; a vampire's blood was a cursed thing to have in his system, something unnatural and unneeded.

Kanda walked out of the crowded dojo amidst cheers and applause to the changing room. He hadn't seen Airi in the crowd. For some reason, he felt disappointed that she hadn't seen him win. But exactly why he did, even he couldn't comprehend.

Kanda changed quickly and left through the side doors, not wanting to outstay his visit in glory. He'd already noticed a gathering of girls awaiting him outside the main entrance, and he didn't want to be ambushed. On his way towards the back gates of the school grounds, however, he noticed a peculiar pathway made by the bushes; some brambles had been pushed aside, creating a small road into the forest. Curious, he followed it, only to be led to Airi, who was lying face up on the ground. She didn't even bother looking up as he approached, her onyx eyes watching the sky.

"You win?" she asked.

"Yeah. You might not want to lie there, you know," he remarked. "You don't know how many guys have pissed there."

She bolted upright, a look of revulsion crossing her face. Kanda let out a half-hearted chuckle at her immediate reaction, causing her to survey his face.

"…The blood," he began.

"Made you feel stronger, right?" she said, dusting off her skirt. "It's a property of our blood…but the effects are temporary, so don't think you'll have super strength and speed forever."

"I don't need it," he said, "so don't give it to me again."

Airi smirked. "A good reaction; I was half-expecting you to demand more. I'm glad that you don't want to rely on it."

Her eyes were once again growing crimson, and Kanda grew wary.

"You're…you're hungry again—"

"Thirsty," she corrected. "And yes, I am. I had much blood taken from me yesterday and I gave a good majority of what I'd taken from you back, so I'm pretty much back where I started off this morning. Though it's a bit better, I suppose."

"Why were you lying here? You could've been…hunting."

"Because the scents of natural forestry can cloud my mind and prevent me from leaping up on the nearest human," she explained coolly. "And I'm very picky about my meals—if I drank a random person's blood, I'd be weakened if it were of low quality." She let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "But don't worry, I won't take any from you right now. The wounds from our last encounter must have hurt, so I'll resist."

She began to walk away. As she brushed past his shoulder, he was seized with an insane thought, and the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could think it over.

"You can have some," he blurted out.

He heard her footsteps halt, and the rustling of her clothes as she turned around.

"What?"

"Never mind."

"You said…" He felt her hand on his shoulder, "I could take some of your blood?"

"No, never mind."

"How kind," she smiled. "A human's being considerate of me—that's never happened before. I'll take your invitation."

Kanda exhaled.

"Just this once," he said.

"No, just this once willingly," she said. "I'll take more by myself later. Lower your head, Kanda-san, I can't reach your neck."

He had no idea why he obeyed, but he did, bending down slightly so that his neck was level with her mouth. He caught a glimpse of her pearly white fangs and closed his eyes, feeling them hover over his skin, preparing for the now-familiar pain…

But it didn't come. Kanda opened his eyes, perplexed.

"Why aren't you—"

"Come out, Lavi," Airi said coldly, her black eyes scanning the treetops.

There was a rustling sound above Kanda, and the kendo captain straightened up to see his vice captain jumping out of the high branches.

"Get away from him, Airi," Lavi said.

"If you've been here long enough, you would've seen him offer it to me," she said, her onyx eyes flashing with crimson.

"I don't mind if you're going to Hunt, just don't do it at school," Lavi snarled.

Kanda's head spun, registering only one thing.

"You know," he sputtered.

"Know?" laughed Airi humorlessly. "You mean about vampires, Kanda-san? Dear, Lavi is a vampire."

"It's just that I'm so much better at hiding it than you are," the redhead snapped, showing his fangs. "Seriously, drinking blood at school…in public…"

"It was private until you arrived," Airi said acidly. "What do you want, Lavi?"

"Kanda, move away from her."

"Please don't," she said, hooking her arm around his. "I do need some blood."

"Get it elsewhere."

"But she can't," Kanda said, confused. "She said she needs a Donor, one person—"

"She prefers a Donor, she doesn't need one," Lavi said angrily. "Kanda, move away."

"But aren't I her Donor—"

"Kanda!" said Lavi loudly. "Listen to me!"

"Don't," said Airi calmly. "You're my Donor—it's a good thing."

"No, it's not!" Lavi said furiously. "Kanda, let me tell you this. She's had Donors over the course of the last ten years, and I'm positive about this—"

"Get to the point, Bookman," said Kanda.

Lavi's eyes flashed.

"Airi's had over twenty Donors over the last ten years," he said coolly, "and not one of them is alive today. Kanda, stay with her any longer, and you'll die before this year's over."

Free Talk:

Bad ending, sorryyy.

Yay for all the reviews! You guys are fantastic! (I'm going to use different adjectives to describe you, haha.)

So Airi's slight sadism surfaces in this chapter, but she's rather considerate of Kanda, and was nice enough to help him out. :) Anyone confused? Please tell me so I can explain! And Lavi is a vampire~~ Though that may have seemed obvious.

Sorry, still no Allen or the rest of the crew, but I will be introducing them in the next few chapters, so please bear with me!

And please please please review!!! They make me happy. AND I updated fast, see? :D Positive correlation!

Love, -m.n.-