Fallen Petal

by Kuro Warau

A/N: About the chapter's title, rotten fruit is usually used as an indicator for lost innocence, in this case, the loss of childhood and compassion.

Chapter Four: Rotten Fruit

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Zero tousled in his sleep, panting heavily as he squirmed around on the sheets. He was far gone in his dream, not even waking when Ichiru irritated turned on the light on his side of the bed. Ichiru was a light sleeper by nature, and combined with his frail condition, it meant that he usually took many short breaks during the day where he dozed slightly off before reawakening. It was only at night that he usually slept longer than a couple of hours, so he didn't take lightly to being awoken.

His twin tossed around though, and Ichiru had to reach out and lightly tug at Zero's shirt to wake him up. "Zero…? Are you having a bad dream?" he asked sleepily, his eyes already beginning to close despite the sharp light he'd turned on a moment before. His head hit the pillow as he yawned and leaned downwards.

The mirror of his own eyes opened sluggishly in the face of his brother and Zero's hand went up to brush a stray lock of silvery hair away from his eyes. "Ah…? No… it wasn't a bad dream," he murmured tiredly, his mind too dazed to even remember what it was he'd been awoken from. His mind wasn't working too fast and all he could remember was garnet eyes.

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Kaname's hands took a strong grip on the sheets, his breathing first erratic and then slowing down to normal. Even in his dream state his natural pureblooded instincts kicked in and made sure anyone who looked at him in his sleep would be fooled into thinking he was in complete control. Truth was… he was well trapped in his dream. Enchanted by it.

Yuuki had not yet fallen asleep, and her sensitive vampiric ears easily caught up on the sound of Kaname's fingers digging into the sheets in this otherwise completely quiet room. Turning over, she saw the light sheen of perspiration on her brother's forehead and smiled in amusement.

"Nice dream?" she murmured faintly.

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Kaname kept a close eye at a small group of hunters a few stories below him. His ever watchful eyes followed their movements in silence, keeping up with them just out of a hunter's hearing range for the small sounds he made when he jumped between buildings.

They had of course sensed his presence, but since they hadn't considered looking up yet, he had decided to follow them on their search for him. There was five of them, but neither of them had noticed that Kaname was slowly leading them into a trap, as of yet. Since they followed his scent and his presence, it was easy for Kaname to stay just a few meters in front of them and about ten meters above them. He led them away from the more guarded areas of town and into some sort of no man's land.

These buildings were all but well-kept and Kaname easily maneuvered over old boxes about to collapse from misuse as well as the broken remnants of the windows. When one house ended and another began, he simply jumped from one broken, opened window to another, quickly and quietly like a cat.

Kaname knew these areas of town like the back of his hand, since he usually ran off to a small sanctuary in these lone alleyways. Even though he loved Yuuki, he needed time alone from time to time and in these areas, no hunter ever came, so he was relatively safe and could relax.

This gave him knowledge enough to lay out a carefully sketched plan. Against five hunters in open and fair fighting, he was doomed. But if he could lure them into a blind passage and cut off their escape route while surprising them, he had good chances. Besides, they were the ones following him to start off with, so he better show them that it was easy to get your fingers burned when you played foolish games you didn't understand with the pureblood.

When there were only a few streets back to the blind end he was leading them towards, he slowed down the pace, and just before turning them around the last corner, he sped up to lead the scent all the way, then went back in his own tracks to be behind the group. He couldn't risk that they picked up that he was now behind them and not in front of them.

A faint smile ghosted across his lips the second the group turned the corner. They had an advantage in numbers, but they'd let themselves be easily fooled. Kaname was slightly surprised that they didn't get suspicious when the trail was so fresh and kept being so. Normally, if a vampire was discovered when they were so close, the distance would get much bigger almost immediately as the vampire, no matter in how bad a state, sped up and used his or her last strength to try and escape.

Swinging himself elegantly and soundlessly down the stories separating him from the ground, he ended up cutting off the hunters escape route. And only then they realized his presence behind them. Too late. Much too late.

At his sudden arrival, they all took a step back in absolute shock before pulling themselves together and pointing their guns at him almost simultaneously. Kaname disappeared as fast as he'd materialized and their bullets hit thin air.

For a vampire as young as Kaname, he had excellent senses and reflexes, but then again, he was a pureblood. His very body and mind were designed for this. Designed to maintain complete control. And he had to be in control. Even though he'd cornered the prey, five hunters with hunter weapons were quite a risk to take on for a lone vampire. If he didn't play careful, he'd end up badly hurt. Although his supernaturally fast movements looked effortless, it actually took a lot of energy to move so fast. While vampires generally moved faster than humans, still a vampire was no lightning. Fast enough to be spotted as something unnatural to the human eye, but still not fast enough to take out everything without a risk.

It would have been nice to have a fellow vampire with him, but if he should succeed and not get killed instead, he needed to be clear headed. Over the years, however, he'd trained himself in perfect self-control and emotions rarely got to him anymore, if he didn't wish them to and let down his guard.

The problem this time however, was getting close enough to one of the hunters to kill him without being a too easy target for the other hunters. For Kaname to do that, he had to be fast as a lightning and precise as a well-placed arrow. He had to be gone before the hunters understood what happened and he had to slice the hunter's most vital parts apart in the short time he got.

For a sharper and more focused mindset as well as body, Kaname let his vampiric instincts take over. A deeply animalistic growl escaped his lips as his fangs grew into their full size. He curled forward, his suddenly bright red eyes registering the most points of attack using the hunters' heartbeats. Measured drums in the distance. His talons gripped the other edges of the old window frame as he readied himself to drop down over them.

Kaname knew he had to be careful though. Letting his vampire side control him was beneficial because it strengthened his concentration. His senses went into overdrive naturally and adrenaline pumped around his body, making him stronger and faster than usual.

But it was a double-edged sword. Kaname couldn't control himself when he let that wild blood rush flow over him, as much as he would have been able to otherwise. His vampiric side was his animalistic, feral side and it was much harder to call it back than to summon it. And his vampiric side in his half-starved body craved blood. That was a dangerous wish. If Kaname started drinking, he was doomed. And the truly horrifying part was that he was well aware of it, but that he was unable to tell whether he would give it much care when blood was spilled right in front of him.

It was a risk he took because it gave him a vital advantage and a deadly edge. This side of him wanted to see blood, wanted to drink it for other reasons than just feeding. It was the same side that gradually took over ex-humans and sentenced them to the dark. Kaname just had better control over his side and his current condition was nothing longer lasting. But behind it, the same killer edge was. The same desire to devour and to spill just because it was within his power.

Another growl slipped from him and he descended down behind the closest hunter in one, swift movement. Kaname's talons pierced through the closest, pulling the heart lose, but not out. He couldn't control himself if he had the opportunity, he knew that, so he simply left it like that and disappeared.

The hunter had only slipped a little, surprised sound and it was better like that. When the other hunters finally turned around and understood what had happened, Kaname was long gone, hiding high above them. The hunter died quickly and Kaname made ready to launch another attack. It would be more complicated this time though. They were alert now.

Kaname dropped down again, taking out the nearest hunter. But this time, he screamed before Kaname got his claws in him and the pureblood dug out of the way when horribly quick, but luckily imprecise, bullets whirled after him. The hunter was already dead, but there were three more of them and they were ready to shot him down the second he attempted to get back into the building.

The savage part of him told him to just go out and kill them all off before they had time to touch him. Under normal circumstances, he would have clenched such desires, they were highly dangerous and with three hunters still ready to shoot him, it was too great a risk.

But now, it might be the best option if he wanted to survive. If he tried getting back in the building, he'd be shot down. If he remained where he was, he would be captured. But if he attacked, it would catch them off guard and then, it was only highly likely that he'd be shot.

Throwing himself out from behind the boxes he'd been hiding behind and getting to his feet, he caught the first hunter, stabbing him with his talons. Throwing the body away, he felt a sharp pain run from his shoulder. When he looked down, though, he noticed his luck.

Because of the confusion, the bullet had only touched his skin, coursing blood to pour, but not in an alarming rate. He'd only been superficially hit, so the most damage came from the hunter poison, taking out some of his vampiric advantages.

The hunter who'd shot him stood closest and Kaname decided that he would be the easiest next target. He used his fading vampiric speed to get close before the hunter could fire again. Kaname killed in the blink of an eye, turning his attention towards the last of them… and froze.

Out of breath, his hand shaking slightly, but with both the gun's barrel and his burning eyes pointing directly at Kaname was the young silver-haired boy from before. His heart sank just a little. He knew he had to kill the boy now, it was a matter of "him-or-me", but it still filled him with dread to have to kill the boy who'd spared him just yesterday.

Clenching his teeth, he moved forward swiftly, maneuvering to not get hit by the bullets that were now whirling around him. He reappeared right in front of the silvery eyes, which widened, and the boy took a step back instinctually.

Taking a strong grip in his coat and the underlying shirt, Kaname slammed him into the dirty wall, forcing him to release the gun. He forced himself to be stern and collected, forced his vampire side to block out his human emotions, like he always did. Just this time, even more so. This boy hadn't killed him, and for some reason, that made it even harder for Kaname to take this particular boy's life.

He knew he had to do it, but it was incredibly hard for him, against all logic. "You want to die?" Kaname asked, if only to make it seem like he wasn't hesitating because he found it unbelievably difficult to just bore his talons through the boy's chest as he had done with his fellows. Kaname could feel the hunter's erratic heartbeat against his hand.

From the second he lost the gun, the boy had remained quiet and still. It seemed to be his way of dealing with near-death experiences. Kaname bet it was his way of not provoking a more painful death without losing his dignity. Just that people developed a special way to deal with these experiences had seemed completely absurd were it not for the world they lived in nowadays.

However, now he started struggling. "What the hell?! Of course not!" he shouted angrily, lashing out verbally because the way Kaname pinned him made it impossible for him to lash out physically. "Why would I?!"

"… Why indeed?" Kaname murmured back absently, as if he wasn't really answered the hunter. He sometimes wanted to die. And the reason for that was obvious. Because it hurt too much to live. Because he had to kill to live. Because there was nothing left to fight or live for. Because it simply was the easiest way.

And because, right now, he hated himself deeply for having to kill this boy in particular. Why…?

Because he'd spared Kaname when anyone else would have ended him? Because he was so radically different than anyone else? Kaname did not know and he was unsure what it was about the boy that drew these reactions out of him. Perhaps it was just that he was different from the usual hunter? It was just a fascination with the unknown, then? Honestly… Kaname was intrigued. He wanted to know more about this mysterious hunter.

Kaname leaned back, easing his hand out of the hunter's shirt. No matter what it was, it was unbearable to kill him. And Kaname knew better than to deny his basic instincts.

The intriguing, silver eyes widened before the boy stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall behind him. "… Why…?" he asked with a breathless whisper, scrambling to his feet and casting nervous glances at his gun, which, in the course of the fight, had slipped farther away.

Gathering his courage, Kaname looked up at the hunter, got to his feet and calmed his vampire side as best he was able. His fangs retracted and his talons returned to being fingers, but the red still tinted his eyes. Clenching his teeth tightly, he tried to look past the obvious distaste he felt for all hunters. "I'm Kaname," he mumbled awkwardly, keenly aware of how his voice trembled ever so slightly. How inane. He could slay four hunters without blinking, yet was unable to introduce himself without trembling.

The hunter seemed taken aback as well, suddenly looking as he thought he had heard voices. "What?" he asked instantly, although it was clear from his expression that he'd heard perfectly well. Kaname looked away in embarrassed certainty that the hunter would laugh at him any second and then try and see if he could get to his gun.

However when he'd used a few seconds to pull himself together, he did something that surprised Kaname more than he'd care to admit. "… Zero." His voice startled both of them, although it seemed to startle the hunter himself the most. "I-I mean…" he awkwardly started, as if he could retract his words and pretend he hadn't just told a vampire his name as if they weren't deadly enemies.

Against his will, Kaname's face lit up in a bright smile and then, not wanting to wait for Zero to break the moment by trying to kill him or anything, he hurried off. Zero…

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Kaname inspected his sister's necklace in the pale moonlight falling in through the open window. A simple necklace in silver, dirtied and half-destroyed under their escape. But it was fine craftsmanship, that much was obvious. There was a time where they could afford to think over such things.

When he and his family lived near Kyoto, they had the world at their feet, in Kaname's eyes. But then suddenly, everything had changed. The hunters had broken into their house and killed his father, who was merely trying to protect his family. Luckily, Kaname didn't know how Haruka died, because his mother, when she realized that the hunters were right outside their house, immediately seized both her children and ran out the backdoor and over the fields around half a kilometer to a small house owned by some level C friends.

However, once Juuri had understood how bad the situation was, she knew she was putting her friends in danger by being there, so that evening, she'd ordered Kaname to help her pack. And so Kaname had. Shirts, trousers, dresses, skirts, underwear. Juuri packed a big madras for all three of them, three blankets and some sheets. She also brought along some kitchen tools, a little food and some money.

The next morning, at five o'clock, they had set out. They had walked all day and when they finally stopped, because they reached a forest, they spent the night in an old house together with around fifty other vampires. They were exhausted and their feet hurt, since they weren't used to walking. Juuri had warmed some water and given them a proper massage before dinner.

That evening, Juuri had heard some young nobles talking about the killings and about how they could get away from their last known location as fast as possible. They were nervous and ended up deciding to get up at midnight and continue through the forest. They had meant the journey through could be made in one and a half day. Juuri had listened and when she woke her children up at midnight, she had already packed and they all three joined the nobles.

However, while they had walked through the dense undergrowth, they hadn't known that the village on the other side of the forest had been taken by the hunters. As soon as light began peeking through the dense forest, bullets whirled around them. The young nobles were shot down immediately and Kaname and his family could thank Yuuki's age, and therefore slow tempo, for protecting them. Juuri had pushed both her children into some scrubs and told Kaname to take care of his sister no matter what. To just keep running until he was sure they were alone.

And Kaname had done just that, taking Yuuki's hand and running. However, he had been sure they would be captured, they left a trail of their unique pureblood scent, easily discernible to hunters, behind. When he heard movement around a hundred meters behind them, he therefore pushed him and Yuuki into a pond in desperation. They had swum underwater until they were covered by some roots sticking out of the bank. Kaname had known they were close to their family's friend, Cross Kaien, but had been wise enough not to search after him in the village and had instead decided to try and locate the flow of vampire fugitives.

Hunters had destroyed so much for him. His family, his home, his friends, his childhood and his innocence. His self-respect was gone too, after all the cruel and merciless decisions he'd been forced to make to make sure Yuuki survived. Although he was happy to see her happy, although he was happy to know he'd managed to save her and bring her somewhere relatively safe, he was no longer truly happy.

However, there was no way he'd let Yuuki see that side of him. He fought hard to appear happy and content, so he could encourage her to be happy. If there was one thing he wouldn't forgive himself, it was if he coursed her pain. He wanted to encourage her and make sure to reassure her that everything would be alright. Even though he had long abandoned hope that the world could revolve back to the way things used to be. He knew the truth. The hunters had changed things. Permanently.

It was all the hunters' fault and yet… that particular hunter… there was something definitively different about him. Something that drew Kaname in and held him captivated.

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Kaito leaned back in his seat with a long sigh, breathing deeply in the as-good-as complete silence of the room. Meaning… the room they were in was quiet enough, but the usual sounds made it through the wall. "I am… so tired of this," Kaito declared with another deep sigh and a roll of the eyes.

Ichiru, too, had leaned back towards the back of the chair in half irritation, half embarrassment. "It's always the same… 'Kiss. Moan. Slap. Crash. Groan. Kiss'," he imitated with a wry smirk, making fun of the situation because it embarrassed him. Not that all three of them weren't used to this, but it hadn't gotten easier to listen to over the years.

"I wish Cross would just give it and forget it. Every time I think that know he must have put it behind him, Yagari-sensei gets the same idea, tries his luck and then we're back to the beginning," Kaito explained in irritation, biting his lower lip when another growl cut through the silence. Ichiru half-nodded in his seat, wetting his lips with the last water left in his glass, still thirsty, but determined to not enter the kitchen at the moment.

Zero, who had been looking absently out the window from his seat before, now turned his attention to Kaito. "It's selfish, you know that? To wish for Cross to forget something that hurt him so gravely just so you can get peace."

"So perhaps you like listening to their half-fighting, half-love making?" Kaito asked mockingly, gesturing with his hand to the kitchen door. Zero shook his head, but didn't pull back his comment.

Zero loved his family and he loved living with them. Ichiru, Yagari and Cross, they were all his family after his parents had been killed. Even Kaito was a part of his family, even though he was reluctant to admit it. He loved his family… but sometimes they were less tolerable than usual.

From time to time, it was a real pain having to live with Yagari and Cross having an on/off relationship, if relationship was the right word at all. Yagari had tried for ten years to earn a proper confession out of Cross, who stubbornly refused. Cross wasn't his old self, even Zero could see that, even though he'd been young ten years ago.

After what happened to Kuran Juuri, Cross had changed. He was still irritatingly sunny, but it was as if the smiles never really reached his eyes. However, Zero couldn't figure out why all that anger he held inside against hunters were directed at Yagari more than anyone else. Zero killed vampires too, but Cross loved him still. In a way, Zero knew Cross loved Yagari too, but it was difficult between them.

Their dance went back and forth between periods were they were just friends and nothing more was mentioned or suggested, then Yagari would think that this time, he'd definitely waited long enough, that this time Cross would have forget about the pureblood. Zero's sensei would try his luck and then they had a scene like the current where they kissed, discussed, fought and then kissed again. Zero suspected that Yagari might encourage himself to trying his luck with the help of alcohol, which just worsened the odds.

Suddenly, Zero realized that Kuran Juuri highly likely had been that pureblood's mother. Although he knew nothing of what pureblood was what, it was commonly known that the two Kuran children escaped when their parents were killed, and Ka… the pureblood had mentioned that he had a sister. So, Kuran Juuri must be the pureblood's mother. And, now that his line of thoughts travelled to the pureblood, Zero quickly lost focus on the sounds coming from the kitchen.

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To be continued…