.Silhouette Serenade- A Vampire Knight Fanfiction by Clue-sama.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything legally affiliated with Matsuri Hino's Vampire Knight and am not making money with these fanworks.
Credit: to Yumiii for making the Level Es have poison. ^^ Good idea! :D (This is where I first came across someone giving the Es this attribute, so... sorry if someone else used it, too)
Author's Notes: Ah, the last one was long XD About twice as long as its preceedenting chappies ^^ Hopefully this one will be long, too. It should be- events will take place, I think.
Oh! ^^ You all were so silly- trying to guess why Kaname up and left! From Zero coughing up blood to Kaname trying not to laugh. Well. Both of those are wrong, but that's okay XD (sorry you two) It's fun to guess what's going to happen! :3 'Specially when you're told you're wrong- then you get to think and think and think for another explaination. (sadistic bastard XDDD)
Okay! Let's get started...
Read, enjoy, review~!
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Chapter Four
"Ah, Zero- here's your paycheck," Yagari paused to give a rare, small smile as he held out the envelope. "With Kuran's bonus in there as well."
The waiter nodded listlessly as he took the check, ignoring the ache his head gave at the image that came with the brunette's name. He really thought that he was getting sick this time. If anything, it was because of how much he'd been pondering over Kuran. What did all of this mean...?
After Kuran hurried out last night, Zero had hung around, nibbling at the food absently just to have something to take his mind off of the look on the patron's face. It was kind of humiliating, to have someone who requested your presence practically ditch you after you nearly drown in soda. Eventually, Zero had boxed up the rest of the food and headed home. He had half considered staying and working since his shift hadn't been over (even though he technically had never started it), but he just hadn't been up to it.
Kuran had looked... really disgusted- for lack of a better word.
Zero didn't mind his boss' look of slight concern as the waiter thanked him briefly and went back downstairs. Usually, all of the employees (even a certain stoic one) were very happy to get paid, but...
Since the waitstaff got paid at the end of their shift on pay day, it was time for the silver-haired waiter to go home for the night. Kuran had not come back tonight, and nor did any of his friends but that only made Zero more broody. Was it really because of him that Kuran left last time? The brunette had seemed worried at first, but then he could barely look at Zero once the waiter stopped choking.
One of the other waitresses said goodbye to Zero as he pushed open the door and he grunted in response. He definitely wasn't in the mood for talking- especially since he was so sleepy again. He certainly did not get much sleep yesterday, wondering about Kuran's behavior and the familiar yet strange shivers he got when the brunette touched him. It even looked like Kuran himself recoiled a bit everytime they touched.
And then, while all of this turmoil was swirling about in Zero's head- the whole fact that it was swirling about at all was making him question his relationship with Kuran. Were they merely acquaintances? Using the word "friend" seemed too intimate, but no one thinks about acquaintances the way Zero thought of Kuran. A lot; wondering what the patron thought of him. ...Unless they planned to become more than that. But, naturally, the waiter hasn't really been thinking of pursuing anything with Kuran.
Even so, after all the anxiety of not knowing why Kuran left obviously early and the weird feelings the brunette caused, Zero still wished that the other man had came tonight. And he would still want to see him even after that. Tomorrow was out of the question, though, because Zero was off.
The waiter made just enough money to live, so of course he didn't have a car of any sort, but he lived too far away to walk to work. Zero rode the bus everyday and even though he hated it- being around all of those people as soon as he woke up- he had to. So now, he plopped down on the familiar bench at the stop and sighed tiredly. Who knew thinking so much wore you out? Maybe it was because the waiter never had to think about much other than if he had enough money for dinner... which he usually didn't. He fingered the envelope in his front pocket and smiled faintly- Well. He did now, but he was much too exhausted to shop tonight.
At least I don't have work tomorrow... I'll go then.
His eyelids slipped closed as he leaned back against the rough bench, thinking about all of the recipes he would cook after buying ingredients. He hadn't cooked a good meal in so long. And maybe he could go to the shooting range down the road and practice like he used to with any leftover money. He loved cooking and shooting. Go figure.
He tilted his head back to wait and took a deep breath of the cool air late nights seemed to possess. Being outside really relaxed him and it seemed to clear his mind of all things stressful...
Lost in his pleasant thoughts and letting the gentle breeze tickle his face with his silvery strands, Zero unknowingly fell asleep. He was completely unaware of the hungry, mad eyes that were already having a visual feast.
--
A sudden, intense pain tore through his arm and his eyes flew open as well as his lips to let out a short, but loud, cry. Zero automatically gripped his left bicep and hissed, once again squeezing his eyes shut against the pain. He felt himself bleeding and he knew that the wound, whatever kind it was, was deep and would possibly need stitches. It was burning...
"What the hell..."
He quickly reopened his eyes again to see what happened- if there was an animal or something, but once he did, what he saw made absolutely no sense. A little ways into the street, a tall, lithe figure stood before a pile of what looked like sawdust or something. The person was covered in blood, as was the ground under the pile of dust.
The figure then looked over his shoulder at the now wide-eyed and frozen Zero and the silver-haired teen felt himself begin to shake from fear as well as a shiver that raced over his body even though it was plenty warm out. Not only was the pain in his arm increasing steadily, but a pair of red, glowing eyes intensely gazed back at him from the figure on the street. The teen on the bench held his breath and held his arm tighter, warm blood leaking through the gaps between his fingers.
The crimson eyes of the strange person flared and its hand went to its mouth, looking ill. As the figure turned its head away, slightly long, wavy locks of hair shifted and that was when it came to a now dizzy Zero. He could barely recognize him, though- all bloodied and looking so... feral.
"K... Kuran...?" he whispered. Why do you look like that...?
Zero seriously thought about asking what the crap was going on, but suddenly his wound let loose a whole new wave of searing agony and it shot up and down his arm like liquid fire. He tossed his head back and heard himself scream before he ended up digging his fingers down into the raw flesh again. He stretched his body out, arching his back up and whimpered. What the hell was wrong with his arm...!?
Suddenly, he felt a pair of hands holding his head still and he forced his eyes open, feeling them burn with tears of pain. Kuran's red stare was now inches from his own, but the very nature of them- dangerous and hungry- made him struggle to get away. The hands' grip tightened and forced Zero to look.
"Calm down. Moving so much will only spread it faster. You are... poisoned."
Zero managed to decipher meaning in these words and he huskily moaned, "P...Poison?"
Kuran nodded, his blood-speckled face looking beautifully scary in the light of the approaching dawn. The surroundings were still drowned in a pastel blue since the sun hadn't broken the horizon yet- Zero had slept outside for so long?
Long, graceful fingers were also soaked in blood and Zero shuddered when they left traces of the grotesquely cooled liquid on one side of his face when Kuran took his hands away. Zero wanted to close his eyes and just rest a little bit because he felt really weak all of a sudden, but he heard a low rumble that sounded almost like a growl. He opened his eyes wider to look down at where Kuran was kneeling by his arm, glaring at it. Instead of lingering on the sound, glad that it probably just saved him from going into some kind of coma, Zero murmured, "What's... going on?"
Kuran ignored him in favor of using his left hand- which was oddly clean when the right one was soiled with lifeblood- to tear off the remains of Zero's white dress shirt sleeve. Automatically, the waiter made to protest, but he stopped himself when he heard a sudden female voice from nearby.
"Kaname-sama. The remaining 'E they sent has been taken care of."
When Zero heard Kuran say, "Thank you, Seiren..." softly, he felt a little loopy as his brain mumbled, His name is Kaname?
His hazy lavender eyes blinked hard as they started losing focus and his breath became more shallow, his mouth open a bit to get more air. He suddenly felt cold and shivered again. Zero groaned quietly as his hand and shoulder started burning like his arm, and the soft woman's voice came in again.
"Kaname-sama..."
"I know..." Kaname murmured, sounding conflicted. "But I haven't had anything like this in a while..."
Zero's hearing started to fade and echo, like he was falling down into a deep pit. He tried to speak and he heard himself slurring as he allowed his heavy eyelids to fall again. He was too worn out to even yell like he wanted to at the pain and that seemed to make it hurt worse.
"I'... hurts. 'S cold... Make i' stop..."
The silver-haired teen's head lolled to the other side, where Kuran was kneeling and he forced his eyes open a crack. Kuran's face was tense as was his jaw, his eyes hued a bright crimson as he stared intently at the wound which looked like it was already turning a malevolent purple at the jagged edges. Blood was still oozing sluggishly from it, following the trail that plenty of ounces of the same fluid had gone previously. As Zero managed to form a coherent thought of, I'm going to die... he saw Kuran dip his head to the wound.
A soft hiss slipped between Zero's clenched teeth and he tensed, squeezing his eyes shut again, when a warm tongue ran up the length of his laceration. His free hand rose from his side to grab Kuran's head away, but suddenly he found his wrist pinned to his own heaving chest firmy but gently. He almost wanted to cry out again, but suddenly, the pain from the cut faded when the brunette's lips and tongue worked against it softly. It was odd because from the way it felt, Zero knew that that was what Kuran was doing- kissing his arm, but right now he could only sigh in relief as the intense fire petered away quickly.
His breathing was still a little shallow, but his eyelids relaxed more in their closed state. The mouthing turned into a more forceful drawing sensation and he could feel more blood leaving his body. Kuran must be removing the poison he talked about... Zero faintly registered as he felt his consciousness slipping swiftly. As the waiter lost more and more of his senses, he could gather at lease one stimuli from those remaining before the senses blinked out for his body's shut-down.
He smelled the scent of ash and blood. But there was also a pleasant, light fragrance that only a male like Kuran could have floating up from the brunette beside him. It was almost a musk, but not quite so strong.
He could almost taste the thick air of tension and anxiety around him, and somehow, it wasn't affecting him.
He could hear, with his last bit of hearing ability before he blacked out, Kuran's harsh breathing against his arm while he sucked the venom out, and he could hear the dull smack of it being spat on the ground. Venom. Perhaps a snake bit him then? Where else would poison come from... Of course, snakes didn't slash slices in people's arms like this either...
Finally, against his tender, torn skin and where the brunette held his wrist, he could feel a slight tremble from both Kuran's lips and hand. He could also feel the hardness of teeth against his wound every once and a while, but it would pass hastily as the drawing continued.
Gradually, Zero could tell that he himself had stopped moving about, not even trying to pull his wrist free. The bloodloss definitely was serious at this point and all he could do was very slightly move his lips wordlessly. He wasn't quite sure what he was attempting to say, but he knew he wanted to sleep. For a while.
The waiter couldn't see it, too weak to open his eyes or stay conscious anyway, but Kuran pulled away, wiping the blood from his mouth quickly as he stood.
"You didn't swallow any," Seiren quietly said.
A statement.
Kaname nodded, his eyes still burning greedily. No, he made himself control his hunger. It was much more difficult than he thought, but he did it... The brunette and the short-haired woman looked at the mess around them and then to each other. Seiren bowed her head briefly before efficiently and quickly beginning to clean up the blood and dust. The last thing they needed was human authorities searching around so early...
The brunette didn't want to waste anymore time calming himself. He'd put Zero in danger and now the boy was liable to die. Gathering the limp, palatable human in his arms, Kaname utilized his abilities to take the waiter to the Academy for care. Everything was progressing a little too fast in the game, but if there was one thing Kaname Kuran could do- it was control. After all, he was a pureblood.
--
Author's Notes: XD When I typed "everytime they touched", Everytime We Touch by Cascada popped in my head. And it was funny. Anyway- whoa~ This chappie was crazy! :D I hope you liked it. I know it wasn't as long as I suggested it'd be, but uh... I think the substance of it and the last two paragraphs made up for it... right? XD Please review! ^^
