NEEDS moar VK ;w;
Chapter 9: Glass Facade
"Oh, come on. Why isn't Zero helping? He always slacks off!" Yuki complained as I helped her lug the extremely heavy and full bag up the stairs.
"He did," I said, carrying my side with ease while the brunette struggled with her half. "Once."
As we neared the top of the steps, out the only window - was Zero, lying under the shade of a large tree. At first glance, he looked like he was asleep, but I saw him gripping something. Before I could say anything, however, Yuki had already grabbed my wrist and was dragging me out the door, bags dumped carelessly on the top of the tower-structure.
"Zero! What are you doing, sleeping while we're working our butts off?" The chestnut-eyed girl protested loudly and childishly. He quickly stood and hastily shoved whatever he was holding back into his pocket. I caught a glimpse of it and noticed it was a black box. It wasn't my box from the day before, however.
"I've finished," he replied quietly. "Seeing as you're here, you should get to work on the Night Class inspections. They should be up by now. "
"Fine," Yuki huffed. "but you're coming with us, Zero!"
Since when did I become part of this 'us'?
We were allowed entry through the heavy metal gates only because we were prefects, let in by a rather wizened man hiding under a dark hood. While we walked, Yuki was chattering away to Zero, a one-sided conversation I only heard bits and snippets of.
"...my first time entering the Moon Dorms..."
So that's why she was intimidated by the gatekeeper.
As we ascended the few steps, Yuki suddenly whirled around. "Oh! That's right! Zero, empty out your pockets! If we get away with things, what will everyone else think? It wouldn't be fair!" She smiled, as if satisfied with her explanation. She opened her mouth to say something else, but suddenly tripped, the only thing making its way past her lips being a 'Auugh!'. Yuki fell forward, landing on a conveniently sized cushion that broke her fall - Zero.
Regret flickered across his eyes for a moment, and the two stayed like that for a few heartbeats. But then Zero pushed Yuki off of him, and she grinned, her fingers curled around a black case. Like my gift, something rattled inside, and there was a red rose crest - similar to the one we wore as prefects - carved onto the top. "Ha! I got it!" She shot both of us a wink and grinned.
Realization dawned on me just as Zero's eyes widened in horror.
"What's inside? Medicine?" Yuki asked, as Zero snatched it away from her. As I expected, he looked extremely angry.
Well, I'd be too...
"Don't ask about it. It's none of your business." Saying that, he turned, leaving the Moon Dorms.
"Zero! Where do you think you're going? What did I do?" She sprinted after him, and I waited for a few moments, eventually deciding to follow the group.
I ended up in a town - we all ended up in different segments, I think - around the time the sun started to set.
Why do I always make stupid decisions?
And then I heard a shrill scream. Yuki's. As if on instinct, I drew my sword, sighing as I did so. Kaname won't let me hear the end of this if she gets hurt…
So where was she? I paused for a moment. It was most likely a vampire… I pinpointed two 'Level E's to the north, and tracked them down.
...and found Zero.
He was standing in front of a female Level E, finger on the trigger but, for some reason, not shooting. The deranged vampire was smiling crazily, saliva dripping onto the ground, her clothes, and everything else. It was a grotesque sight, but Zero still stood there, as if he was paralyzed.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The woman lunged forward, and I emerged out of the shadows, striking it down before it could land a blow. The two halves of the former human turned to dust before they even reached the ground, scattering into the barely-existent wind. For some reason, Zero was still staring wide-eyed at the spot where the vampire once was. Puzzled, I followed his line of sight and saw what he was gazing at. Still shocked, he whispered something I did not expect to hear.
"Ichiru."
There stood a turned child, supposedly the mother's son. It was able to dodge quite a few of the bullets from the Bloody Rose because it was a vampire child, and its agility was much better than the ones who were turned as adults. It ran, shrieking, off into the building, and a few seconds later I heard the loud scream of Yuki once again, as well as the loud clanging of a bell. Breathing heavily, I lightly shoved Zero in the direction of the sound. "What are you standing there for? Let's go!"
I reached the top of the tower before Zero, and there the other prefect was, frozen with fear, rod fallen to the floor. She lay curled up, eyes closed tightly. A dark shadow loomed over the child and it, too stopped in its tracks. Kaname emerged, embracing Yuki from behind, and as if shielding her from his powers, covered her eyes.
It was when I saw his irises begin to glow red when I intervened, Dusk Orchid cutting through the 'Level E' as easily as butter. Once all the dust had cleared, the pureblood turned to glower at me.
"Why did you decide to interrupt?"
I returned his glare. "Such a 'pure' blood shouldn't have to sully their hands just to complete such a mundane task," I replied dryly.
His lips curved into a content smirk. "Don't tell me you're finally learning your position."
"And I will one day sully my hand-as well as this blade-to kill a high-ranked vampire like you, Kuran," I continued quietly.
His response was solemn.
"I know."
Back at the school, I was patrolling my section of the campus when I smelled the heavy and rich metallic aroma of blood.
Blood… The liquid I haven't drank fresh for so long… Where is it?
I stopped in my tracks as I recalled Zero's hungry eyes those few days ago.
Zero…. No! But why? Didn't I-
Out of my peripheral vision, I spotted a tall, white-clad figure exiting the Headmaster's office.
The vampires would usually leave any blood to us.. which means… Yuki…
As I sprinted up the steps, Kaname appeared behind me.
"That way of travel is rather slow, isn't it?" he smiled slyly, 'sneer' written across all of his features.
"There's not much you can do when you're sealed to almost a human's abilities, Kuran," I gritted out. "Unless you're trying to speak to someone else?"
He stiffened ever so slightly, but I didn't question why. By then, we had already reached the source of the scent. I watched warily as Zero pulled his fangs out of Yuki's neck, blood smeared all over her neck and his chin. I ran up to him, shoving Yuki away from him. She nearly collapsed on the spot due to anemia, but Kaname managed catch her, immediately tending to her wounds. I grabbed Zero by the shoulders, shaking him roughly. "Why? Why didn't you take them?"
"What do you mean?" He was staring at the floor, clearly too ashamed to glance up.
"The pills," I hissed. "Clearly..."
"They don't work." There was no emotion in his voice whatsoever, and he continued to watch the floor, still not meeting my gaze.
How can they not work? They have to… They have to...
"Did you even try to take them? The ones I gave you?"
"They're the same, aren't they?"
"They may look the same, but they're guaranteed to work."
"How do you know?" He finally looked up, his eyes filled with regret.
"It's a different formula," I lied. "I replaced the-" I stopped abruptly when my acute hearing caught Kaname's voice whisper 'I'm sorry' to an unconscious Yuki, gently laid near the stairs.
"So you're still here," he muttered, eyes glowing. "Bad choice, Kiryu. You think you can stand up to a pureblood after drinking her blood? Don't forget who you're up against, you-" His voice lowered a notch. "Level E."
He raised his right hand, orbs glowing even brighter than before. Zero lowered his head, as though he believed being hit would In a split second, I was able to unsheathe Dusk Orchid, and it met his palm, drawing blood. "Don't tell me you've forgotten what I've said already. I don't think you'd benefit from being in two pieces. Or maybe three pieces? It's vampires like you, that created this, Kaname." My expression was serious as I glared at his slowly-healing wound.
Kaname calmly lowered his hand, a scarlet bead rolling off his index finger. "If you couldn't even protect her, then this has nothing to do with you." He gently picked up Yuki's limp body and headed out.
As he retreated, I called out to the shadows. "Your facade is fragile, Kuran. What are you so afraid of?"
The silence was deafening.
Author ramble corner: There is an 60% chance that I am going insane. -shot- BUT I WILL STILL BINGE WRITE! YEAH!
Thank chu SO much for all the support! Please continue to review, favorite, and follow! ^_^
~Illumin