I don't own vampire knight. End of story.
May contain spoilers, may not. Your call.
"Our fate seemed sickly ironic when put in that light."
Ichiru Kiryu
Chapter nine: The lazy day
For anyone who reads this,
Zero here again. Once again my story is being interrupted, this time by my traitor brother Ichiru Kiryu. He ran away with the pureblood that slaughtered my family, then a number of years later came back in order to assist that vampire in murdering me, which didn't work so he disappeared again and came back in order to join the day class as a human student. Imagine my surprise (and annoyance.) His story will explain his relationship with the small frail pureblood Maria Kurenia and maybe reveal some of his demented motives that caused him to betray me in the first place.
I must go now in order to deal with important matters; I shall see you in the next chapter.
Zero Kiryu
Kaname Kuran was dead and my contract with Rido Kuran was rendered null in void which meant that I had no real reason to remain at Cross academy with my brother who hates me and a bunch of people who idolize my but inevitably have no idea who I really am, or what I am capable of and so I have made the decision to leave this place.
I hated it here anyway, and longed for Shizuka, who used to be my traveling companion. Shizuka was a vampire who promised to one day heal me by turning me into a vampire (I have a weak body.) You see, when I was younger and I lived with my dear brother Zero the hunter society informed me that I would not be able to follow in my parent's footsteps and become a hunter as they had. I was sickly, frail and for the most part relied on my brother and I was quite aware of my weakness. Zero however remained naive to my feelings and the contempt that seemed to be blackening my heart, so when Shizuka Hio came to our house looking to avenge her murdered fiancée' I seized the opportunity to become stronger and left with her.
Shizuka turned my brother on the spot, and for a long time I couldn't comprehend why. Of course now I am overly aware of the fact that Shizuka, much like Yagari (the man who trained me as a hunter) favored Zero and was only using me as a pawn.
Of course this realization injured my pride, but Shizuka had made me somewhat stronger even if she was never able to turn me into a vampire as she promised. I knew little of what she was planning for my brother and now that she is dead I am able to freely wonder whether what I did was worth it in the end.
To my brothers credit I do not believe that he meant to scorn me. He was nothing but wonderful to me for the entirety of our lives (up to the point where his was ended by my mistresses.) Though our relationship can never return to what it was after my ultimate betrayal, and I had no real reason to return to him. Though I had to admit that if my time spent at Cross academy had thought me anything, it was that I honestly missed my brother and at times I even found myself thinking about reconciling with him.
It was a silly thing to have wanted. After all these years it seemed almost cruel for me to want some sort of closure, but that is in fact what I wanted, even if the feeling itself was futile. This only further proves that I truly am as weak as the hunter society believes I am.
I tucked these thoughts away because they are dangerous. Should I cross my brother again I am sure that he would have no qualms against killing me on the spot, especially now that he had someone else whom needed his protection. Her name was Yuki Cross and she was a friendly, clumsy human girl who seemed to be overly attached to my brother.
She made me almost want to be friends with her had she not already claimed her loyalty to my brother Zero. For the brief time that I remained at Cross academy, Yuki was the only one who seemed to treat me kindly, all the while being one of the only ones who knew exactly how dark and corrupted I was beneath my pretty face.
Though outside of Cross academy I am not completely alone. In Shizuka's wake she left me an unlikely friend, a frail pureblood girl named Maria Kurenia, whom Shizuka had used in order to gain a body and hunt my brother down, because she needed his blood. Maria and I were united by the common betrayal by Shizuka Hio, and now I can't seem to separate myself from her for long.
I suppose that even though Shizuka, whom I had originally fallen in love with lived inside of Maria, it was Maria herself whom I had been talking to all that time, leaving a strange sense of duty and loyalty. I wasn't sure if Marie felt this odd connection between us or not, but now that I had no reason to remain at Cross academy, Maria was the first person I wanted to see.
I left in the middle of the night, not bothering to inform the goofy headmaster of my departure. Instead I escaped in the dead of night and moved silently through the sleepy town on quick feet, making my way to the house of Kurenia which rested on a hill in a nearby town. It took me nearly three days to reach her home, and despite the long journey I had difficulties convincing the guards to allow me to see her.
It was frustrating, because if I were to mention Shizuka Hio who had essentially stolen Maria from her home I would be unmercifully attacked, and considering I, much to my own displeasure, remain a human for the moment, did not necessarily wish to be ripped apart by vampire guards. I would have to think of a different approach if I were to see Maria again.
So I waited, crouched down in bushes far enough away from the house that I could still survey the area and remain out of the vampire's sensory range. It took nearly three days of steady surveillance on my part before I was able to even catch site of Maria (who was for some reason climbing over the back fence of the large mansion and escaping into the nearby forest.
I took off after her, dashing through the forest at full speed and catching up with her in a matter of minutes. "Maria!" I said once I had ambushed her. I didn't mean to scare her, but she jumped when she heard me and tripped over a nearby tree branch which sent her crashing to the ground. I reached out in order to catch her, but ended up falling myself.
"I-Ichiru?" She asked as I pulled myself off of her and pulled her up off the cold ground. She brushed the dirt off her outfit and I apologized. "It's alright, you just startled me. I thought you were one of the guards." She said, giggling.
"What are you doing out in the forest?" I asked, slightly alarmed by her reckless behavior. The short years that I had served as Shizuka's guard and Maria's companion had caused me to possess and undeniable need to protect her, whether it be due to my allegiance to Shizuka or something else entirely I wasn't sure.
"Don't worry about me! I have been escaping from the castle all my life" She assured, grabbing my hand "Common, I want to show you something." She said, pulling me along.
She dragged me down a slightly unrecognizable path deep within the forest. It concerned me to think that she traveled this route on numerous occasions, considering how open it seemed to attack. Considering purebloods were highly sought after, she needed to be more careful. "This is dangerous" I commented, my voice hiding the concern that I was feeling for her safety
"Probably" She agreed "Most of the time I am afraid, but whit you hear it doesn't seem so bad." She said, continuing to pull me along. I frowned at her, but allowed me to continue.
It took nearly ten minutes of steady walking before we were able to reach our destination. It was a small clearing in the forest which was littered in yellow flowers which all seemed to sparkle in the sun. "Isn't it just lovely?" She asked, beaming at me.
I was never really interested in nature, so I didn't see the appeal, but her smile was slightly contagious and I smiled at her despite myself. "How did you find this place?" I asked.
"I escaped the mansion one day and ended up out here after an hour or two of wandering, of course now I know the short cut so it isn't so bad. I come here a lot to think, and since my vampire abilities are so weak, the sun doesn't usually bother me." She said, moving to the middle of the clearing and lying down among the plentiful flowers.
I sat down beside her despite my annoyance and allowed the sun to beat down upon me. It felt warm and inviting, and I almost felt calm sitting in the clearing with her. "It must be hard for you" I commented on her frailty. I too had been born with a number of illnesses and weaknesses, which is what made me turn to Shizuka in the first place. Or was it cowardice? Fear that my brother would soon leave me alone in order to fulfill his duties as a hunter just as Yagari used to do?
No time like the present to dwell on the past, I suppose. I wondered if my brother would have truly left me all alone in order to go out hunting, even though he knew that I needed him much more than the hunter society ever would. I sometimes had my doubts. My brother loved me much more than my parents did, that much was clear. Considering that, according to the legend that said twin children of the hunters supposedly come out stillborn neither of us should be alive in the first place.
That would have made it easier, I suppose, if I had never been forced into this wretched cruel world in the first place. Or would it have? My brother was alive for a purpose. Yuki Cross needed my brother, even if she hadn't quite come to terms with the need herself but what reason had I to live? Shizuka didn't need me for any more reason than to piss my brother off and my brother most certainly didn't need me, especially now that he was granted the powers of a vampire. So what reason did I have to live?
I glanced tentatively at Maria, who was sprawled out in the grass chatting animatedly. She seemed completely unaware of the fact that I was not listening to her. I tried to ignore her comments and focus on my own buzzing thoughts, but something broke through and I ended up listening to her despite my efforts to ignore her. "So what were you doing in the forest Ichiru?" She asked, looking up at me and studying my face in a curious manner.
I had never taken time to look at Maria; she was fairly attractive for a vampire, with soft gray eyes and straight silver hair. She was short and had a dainty form with nice enough curves, though I had never been interested in girls since I had up to this point been blinded by my love for Shizuka. I didn't know how to answer her question. "I am not sure what you mean." I said, dodging her question.
She frowned at me "How can you not know why you were in the forest?" She asked. Now she probably thought I was deranged, not that it really bothered me.
"Why I was in the forest?" I repeated, trying to think of a plausible excuse as to why I was miles away from where I was supposed to be. I couldn't think of one, so I told the truth. "I came to check on you" I admitted.
She blushed at my statement and a smile pulled up her lips. "I told Yuki that I wanted to talk with you, did she relay the message?" She asked. Yuki had told me this, but I thought it might have been a trap so I ignored her statement.
"Yes, she told me but that isn't why I wanted to come here." I said. "I wanted to know if I could become your companion again." I asked, bluntly.
Her face turned crimson "My companion?" She repeated, misinterpreting my words.
"Yes, like I used to be. I could go back to being your guard." I offered, close to pleading. Without Maria I had nothing but a ridiculous looking mask and a broken sword, and a brother long scorned by betrayal. I had nothing worth having, that is.
"But Shizuka is dead" She said. I had long since given up my affections and loyalties to Shizuka.
"I don't care about that anymore. I no longer hold any kind of allegiance to Shizuka Hio." I assured her. I decided that I would more properly convey my message if I asked in a more formal fashion, so I kneeled before her and bowed my head.
"Purebred Maria Kurenia, if you will allow me such an honor that I hereby dedicate myself to serving and protecting you for as long as I am privileged to live." I stated, flatly. Emotion was not one of my strong points.
Maria giggled at my effort "I am not an average pureblood; you don't have to be so formal. I view you as my friend, Ichiru, not my knight." She said. That word lingered, and it bothered me. What did she mean I wasn't her knight? Knights were duty bound to protect the people that they had sworn to serve, which was exactly what I was doing. Of course on the other hand knight was a noble word, and nobility was a characteristic that I seemed to lack. It was probably something that my brother possessed, that would be just my luck.
"I wish to be your knight as well as your friend, if you will be kind enough to allow me to do so." I stated, bowing further.
She raised an eyebrow at me "If you are serious about this, but you are only human. By pledging to be my knight you are putting yourself into all kinds of danger" She warned.
"I am willing to make that sacrifice." I promised, sealing my fate with a pledge to never leave her side until I was cut down by someone more powerful than I. It seemed a foolish thing to promise her, considering to the purebloods she wasn't considered any kind of threat or target, so my job may very well end up being nothing more than to keep her company, but it would be worth it, if at least to have someone to make idol conversation with.
"Alright then" She said. She seemed confused but at the same time excited by the prospect. I wondered if my brother had ever pledged his life to Yuki Cross. It didn't seem like something he would do, but I had seen the way they looked at each other, with eyes unclouded by judgment. Yuki cared very little about the fact that my brother was a monster, and I cared very little about the fact that Maria was a vampire. "Usually a guard would express his loyalty by allowing me to bite them" Maria said, catching my attention once more.
It wasn't an open invitation, merely a comment. "You may do as you wish to me" I told her, continuing to kneel before her.
"That is sweet but I have no interest in blood bonds, or in spoiling your humanity with my venom." She said. I bit the inside of my lip. I knew Maria held such reservations regarding the fragility of human life, but I wanted nothing more than to become a vampire.
"I respect your wishes, in that case." I said as she stood up and brushed herself off once more.
"I need to get back to the mansion" She said, holding her hand out to me. I wearily took her hand and allowed her to once more drag me through the forest as the sun faded into the distance sheltering us in darkness. She tightened her grip on my hand.
"You're not afraid of the dark are you?" I asked her, stepping up next to her.
"Of course not! I am a vampire!" She said, sounding incredulous. Her voice wavered slightly which proved my point. "Ok, maybe a little bit." She admitted. "Promise not to tell anyone!" She begged, turning around and almost tripping.
"It's alright as long as I am here you have no reason to be afraid." I promised, catching her in my arms. We soon breached the forest and stood in front of the mansion gates. Maria huffed out a breath and stopped, placing her hands on her knees.
"You are still weak; you should have stayed at the mansion." I fretted over her poor health.
"You worry too much, Ichiru." She said, wrapping her hands around the metal bars and attempting to climb up (and failing miserably.) She fell back to the earth and I caught her before she hit the rough unforgiving ground.
"Allow me" I said, jumping up and over the tall iron fence and landing agile on the other end with her in my arms.
"That was amazing Ichiru!" She praised, giggling.
"If you say so" I said, continuing to carry her across the lawn.
"Put me down Ichiru!" She yelped.
"Forgive me" I said, continuing to carry her "But you're shaking from fatigue." She was trembling in my arms and her breath was coming out ragged.
"This happens all the time; it is nothing to worry about." She said, blushing as I carried her through the open back door and followed her directions through her house.
I pulled out the mask that I was carrying in my oversized trench coat pocket and placed it against my nose without dropping Maria "If I was caught in this house and recognized I would be murdered without question." I explained when she gave me a quizzical look.
"That makes sense I guess, but they won't harm you if you have me" She assured me as I stomped up the stairs "It's the second door on the left" She said, pointing at the door. It was large, oak and looked fairly expensive. I pulled the door open, surveyed the room and waltzed in.
It looked mostly like a common rich girl's room. It had smooth creamy colors and soft furniture "Lavish" I commented, taking in the room. It looked fit for a sickly princess, perfect for Maria. She walked over and sat down on the squishy bed, bouncing slightly and patting the spot beside her. "How long before they find me?" I asked, speaking of her guards.
"I don't know, they usually focus more on my brother than they do on me, so it could be a while." She said, shrugging. She didn't seem to think it was too important and brushed it off.
"If you say so" I commented as she laid back against the bed.
"It is nice not to be forced to worry about Shizuka's will, to just be comfortable in my own body dictated by my own thoughts" She said as her breathing returned back to normal.
"Comfortable?" I repeated, not quite understanding her statement.
"Don't you remember a time when you were happy, and your life was calm. When you didn't have any worries or fears? No enemies to worry about, or a time when you weren't driven by revenge?" She asked, speaking of Shizuka's thoughts. Shizuka was a very disturbed individual.
I though back to a time when Zero and I were younger, and we frolicked and played happily with no regards to hunters or vampires. We were merely two happy brothers who loved and cared for each other. I was happy for a very short time back then, before I began living in my brothers shadows. Our story reminds me of the story of Romulus and Ramous the brothers whom, in roman times, ended up killing each other.
I didn't want to be pitted against my brother in that type of situation no matter how inferior he makes me feel. Even now after all these years he is better than me, he is happy at Cross academy with Yuki and his other friends. He is a powerful vampire who doesn't have to worry about getting ill or being murdered by both the vampire and the hunter council.
How little I knew about him…
"What are you thinking about?" Maria asked, pulling the mask off my face so that she could better read my expressions.
"I can't remember a time like that" I lied.
"Well what about right now?" She asked. "You don't have to be on your guard, no one is going to attack us here at the mansion." She assured me. "I thought that now that Shizuka was out of the way, you would be able to be happy?" She said. It was more of a question as to why I wasn't happen, than it was a statement.
"Now I think I am bitterer than I was when Shizuka was alive." I stated, flatly. She frowned at me.
"Is it because you miss your brother?" She guessed. I almost growled at her, but stopped myself. I didn't like to talk about my brother to anyone by myself (which now that I think about it is probably not normal.) My brother was a tense subject but she spoke of him so nonchalantly, as if it didn't even matter.
And come to think of it why should it matter? I have been obsessing about my brother for years now but if I had never betrayed him to begin with we would still be together and I might still be happy…maybe.
"No, of course not" I denied it. I didn't miss him I just…thought about him on occasion. I mean we are twins after all, and sometimes I wonder if twin telepathy fades away with distance or if some of my more bipolar emotional reactions are due more to what my brother is feeling that what I am feeling. Could that kind of bond ever truly disappear or will I always be able to feel him (even on a subconscious level?)
"I won't tell anyone" She promised quietly. I almost smiled at her, but I hadn't smiled in so long I had forgotten how.
"I don't miss him, I just wonder what it would be like if I had never met Shizuka Hio." I said. It wasn't a total lie, but I believe that she saw through it regardless. Maria seemed to know more about me than was probably best, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
"Really? I wonder what it is like to have a twin…" She said, trailing off in thought.
"It isn't as glamorous as you would think. I always have to deal with his emotions creeping into my brain and on rare occasions I can feel it if he becomes injured. It almost makes me wonder if is as aware of me as I am of him, or if he has learned to block me out after all these years." I said. I shouldn't have been revealing my more private thoughts to her, but I trusted Maria to not be a backstabber like Shizuka had been.
"My brother hates me too, so I think I understand."
I glanced at her "Why does he hate you?" I asked, curiously.
"I am not entirely sure, to be honest. I think he is jealous because my parents tend to dote on me when I get sick, although on most days they ignore me and teach him how to continue on the family business so I can't possibly imagine why he would ever be jealous of me." She said, twirling my mask around her fingers. "This thing is kind of creepy" She said, placing it on her face and peering at me with her soft caring eyes.
My cold soul melted under her gaze and I felt my cheeks heat up "It doesn't look scary on you." I assured her and she smiled at me. "Maybe your brother isn't jealous of you? It seems to me like he might just want to spend time with you, instead of always being under his parent's watchful eyes. He might be envious that you get to do as you wish, whereas he must act while always taking his impact on your parents company into account." I offered. It seemed a reasonable solution to both of our sibling troubles. Well, it would have been a solution to mine had I not gone and messed it up further.
"I guess that makes sense." She said "If that is the case though, he has an odd way of showing it." She said, yawning.
"Guys will do strange things around the people that they care about" I answered "We cannot easily express our feelings, and because of this we sometimes get misinterpreted." I said.
Maybe the feud between my brother and I is only one huge misunderstanding that can be resolved with time and quite a bit of apologies? Could I stand in front of my brother and apologize by telling him that my motives were not justified? It seems unlikely, but not impossible.
"Maybe you should apologize to your brother, and I should apologize to mine?" She said sitting up and turning to face me.
"Don't get me wrong, I want to reconcile with my brother but I don't think that he will ever be able to forgive me for what I have done." I said.
"A bond between brothers, much less twins don't just go away" Maria said. "Your brother probably misses you as much as you miss him, don't you think?" She asked, reaching up and placing one of her small cold hands on my left cheeks.
"If I ever have the opportunity, I will try and reconcile with him then." I promised her. She smiled, looking satisfied with me.
"You may find that your brother is more understanding than you think" She said. I saw through her words.
"Your brother doesn't hate you at all, does he?" I asked.
She giggled "You are sharp, for a human." She said "You knew the answer to your own problem; you just needed a shove in the right direction."
I rolled my eyes at her. She had tricked me into revealing my true feelings, but I didn't think less of her because of it. She was attempting to help me which was rare.
"Thank you Maria" I said. "Humans are sharper than you think, I may not be an official hunter who is recognized by the hunter society, but I was still raised to see through a vampires act."
She just continued to smile at me "You are still just a silly boy, whether you are a human or a vampire, all boys are the same. So prideful and unable to admit when they need someone else's help." She said. "You are more like your brother than you realize, I think" She added.
"How so?" I asked.
"Just think about it for a second, your brother is a vampire who has formed an alliance with a human female, and you are a human who has formed an alliance with a vampire female." She said.
Our fate seemed sickly ironic when put in that light.
A/n – Ichiru's chapter was slow, but it proves that Ichiru and Zero's fates are connected somehow, which will become clearer in later chapters. Honestly I didn't want to end it right there, but it seemed so bittersweet. It would also seem that Ichiru and Maria don't necessarily have a romantic relationship, rather a common desire to spend time together which has the potential to turn into more. Well that's it for me; Read and Review people and remember, NO FLAMES!
