Note: I made a typo in the previous chapter. Kaname and Juha are over ten thousand years old, not a thousand. I apologize if this stirs up any confusion.

Chapter 10: The Dawn of War

Kaien Cross found himself in front of an old mansion, his trench coat flowed behind him in the breeze. He looked up at a lit window on the second floor and could make out the silhouette of a woman getting dressed. He blushed at the sight and stepped closer to get a better view.

The woman stepped out onto the balcony; her long, dark hair hung in pieces over her dark eyes and flowed in waves to her waist. Kaien was mesmerized by her beauty. She was like a goddess, so serene, so perfect. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her. This was Juuri Kuran, a pure-blood vampire who inspired Kaien to establish his school and retire from the vampire hunter profession.

"Hello, Kaien," The woman greeted with a smile; her voice dark and smooth, just like the breeze that blew between them.

"Juuri," Kaien returned the greeting. "It's great to see you."

Juuri stepped over the railing of her balcony and leapt down, landing perfectly on her feet. Kaien compared her to an angel when she flew through the air. He stepped toward her and gently touched her cheek as though she would break.

"It's great to see you too, Kaien," Juuri replied. "I want to thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"Anything for you," Kaien said with a smile. "It was the least I could do after what I tried to do to you and your family."

She smiled seductively. "Let me really show my gratitude to you."

Kaien was thoughtful for a moment. What could she possibly mean? Then he realized what she was implying and blushed. Oh… "Wh-what about Haruka?"

Juuri pushed him down to the ground and lay on top of him. "He's dead but you're whom I really want, Kaien Cross." She giggled seductively as she pressed her lips against his.

Kaien wrapped his arms around Juuri and returned the kiss, smiling triumphantly. Sorry, Haruka, don't mean to steal your wife, but…boo yeah! He thought to himself.

Yagari walked into Kaien's office when he saw the headmaster asleep at his desk. His chair was tilted backwards against the back wall and his feet were on the desk. He was mumbling something in his sleep that went along the lines of, "oh yeah, Juuri. I love it when you call me Big Poppa, you sexy thing."

Yagari's eyebrow twitched. Fucking idiot, he thought to himself. He walked towards Kaien and punched him out his seat. "Hey jackass, wake up! Damn it!" He shouted.

Startled, Kaien woke up and looked around."Who hit me? Who's there? Zero, was that you again? How many times have I told you to not bother me when I'm in a meeting?" He looked up and saw Yagari standing over him. "Yagari, long time, no see," he said, "When did you get here?"

Yagari's eyebrow twitched once again. "Long enough to walk in on your dream, and for the record, you saw me several hours ago."

"And what a great dream you walked in on." Kaien smiled as he pictured Juuri's face in his mind.

"She's been dead for over 10 years," Yagari reminded him. "Move on. Besides, you never got your chance with her because she was a vampire who would never go for someone like you. Also, she was already married."

Kaien stood up, brushed himself off, and picked up his chair before he sat back down. "Yeah, yeah," he waved off his friend's comment. "So what'cha in for?"

"We need to talk," Yagari answered.

"Go on," Kaien said. Yagari told him what he had seen near the crypt, and Kaien's expression turned serious as he listened. He furrowed his eyebrows when Yagari finished his report. "I see," he said, "Well, if Rido were to be awakened, then it looks like we've got some trouble on our hands. And then there's Aizen and Juha. Does the Association know about this?"

Yagari nodded. "I've reported this to Byakuya Kuchiki, who I'm sure has alerted Renji about this as well."

"I'll be looking forward to hearing from them then," Kaien said. "If they were to come here, I wonder what it would do to Rukia-chan."

"Another thing," Yagari added, "Rukia has been kidnapped."

Kaien widened his eyes with shock. "What?!"

"I saw Ichiru Kiryuu and Takuma Ichijou carry her to the exit," Yagari explained.

"Takuma?!" Kaien repeated. "Our Takuma?!" He buried his face in his hands. "Oh my god…this is dreadful news!" He picked up the phone at his desk and pressed a button. "Come on…pick up…come on…pick up… damn it!" He slammed the phone back onto its base.

"What?" Yagari asked.

"Kaname's not there!" Kaien exclaimed. "This is bad. What could that boy be up to?"

"Who knows?" Yagari asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm pretty sure he found out already."

"And Ichiru too," Kaien said. "I thought he told me that he was done working for vampires. That silver-tongued liar…and to think I invited him for dinner."

"Well, people don't change," Yagari replied, "besides, if that were me, I wouldn't attend either…mainly because of that ridiculous cat apron you always wear."

"Hey! That apron is adorable!" Kaien argued.

Suddenly, the phone rang and Kaien immediately picked it up. "Cross Academy."

"Headmaster Kaien Cross," Byakuya greeted.

Kaien's face grew cheerful when he heard Byakuya's voice on the other end of the line. "Byakuya! Long time no talk!"

"I've got no time for your foolish enthusiasm," Byakuya said. "Renji and I will be there momentarily so that we can discuss what's been happening at that school of yours. And nothing bad better not have happened to my sister or you'll live to regret it." He hung up the phone.

Kaien slowly hung up his phone with a dazed look on his face. "This is starting to become a very stressful night," he trailed off. "They're coming by the way."

"Knew it," Yagari replied. "And what did I tell you when you first established this school?"

"I haven't cracked yet," Kaien said confidently. "My time as a hunter was far more stressful than this." Yagari said nothing in response to this.

Meanwhile, Rima was fighting for her life against Rido-Senri, who lashed at her repeatedly. She dodged and fired lightning bolts from her fingertips, which Rido-Senri dodged. He countered with more lashes, and Rima dodged those. When he lashed again, the blood whip grazed her cheek, but that healed within seconds.

This continued for a while, and Rima understood that she was getting nowhere in this battle. Her opponent was too strong for her to handle, but she knew that Senri was there somewhere. She did not want to hurt his body, and that fact made it really difficult for her to carry on with this fight. However, the spirit inhabiting her boyfriend's body was pure evil, and she wanted to do whatever she can to exorcise it immediately.

She fired more lightning at her opponent, but he dodged and countered with several more lashes. "You know that you can't win, so how about you give up and die if you truly love Senri," Rido-Senri suggested with a shrill laugh as he continued to lash at her.

"NO!" She screamed as she fired more lightning bolts at him. "How about YOU get out of him?! Senri! I know you're in there! SENRI!"

Rido-Senri froze and his left eye turned to his normal red. "Rima…" He said, pain lacing his voice as he spoke.

"Senri?" Rima asked.

"Kill me," Senri begged. "Please, kill me before he…AHHHHHHHHHH!" His left eye turned blue again when Rido once again took over. "Stay down, Senri. Your body is mine for now. And as for you," He turned to Rima and lashed several more times.

Rima dodged all of those times and countered with more lightning blast. I'm right, she thought to herself, he is there somewhere. I have to do whatever I can to exorcise that spirit so that I can get Senri back! "Senri," She spoke as she dodged more lashes.

Rido-Senri continued to lash at her, laughing maniacally with every attack. The whip grazed her once again, but the cuts and lacerations healed within seconds.

"Sen…ri," she repeated, "You idiot! Letting someone else control you so easily…YOU SHOULD LOVE YOURSELF MORE, SENRI, JUST LIKE I LOVE YOU!"

Rido-Senri smiled with insanity as he straightened his blood whip into a spike, which he used to stab Rima through the chest. She screamed as she fell back.

When he ripped out his blood spike, he fell to his knees; the blue eye once again changed back to his normal red. "RIMA!" Senri screamed. "GET OUT, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! GET OUT OF ME RIGHT NOW!" He gripped his head and clenched his teeth. "GET OUT OF ME!" Tears streamed down his cheeks because of what Rido had made him do, but he continued to fight for control of his body. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF ME!"

With Senri's renewed strength, he managed to force Rido's spirit out of him. However, when he saw Rima lying unconscious in front of him, his heart continued to be filled with emotion. "Rima…" He whispered with exhaustion as he crawled toward her. "I'm so sorry." He was close enough to gently grasp her hand. "Rima…please…be alright." His eyes closed and he too fell into unconsciousness.

Kaname entered the crypt, and the cloaked figures looked up when they saw him. One of them—a blonde man—was about to draw his sword, when the other stopped him. Then he turned to Kaname. "Kaname Kuran," he said.

Kaname averted his eyes to the blonde man and walked toward him. The blonde man stepped back and before he could grab the hilt of his sword, Kaname pulled it out of its sheath in a fast motion. "Too slow," Kaname said. He turned back to the coffin, and using the sword, he severed the chains.

The cloaked men watched as Kaname opened the coffin, revealing Rido's body inside. They were not sure what he was going to do when he raised the sword above him. He stabbed the sword through Rido's heart…and his other hand. "You want my blood? Take it!" he growled. "Take my blood and awaken, Rido!" His blood dripped from the wound on his hand and spilled into the wound on Rido's chest.

The men were shocked by these words. How could this man be so foolish as to awaken an enemy? "K-Kaname-sama," the blonde man stammered, "H-how…wh-why?"

Kaname removed the sword from Rido's chest and tossed it at the blonde man's feet. "I am the progenitor of the Kuran clan," he answered, "Rido awoke me from my coffin; therefore, he's my master. It should take him a while to absorb my blood, and when he does, I will be ready." He disappeared up the stairs toward the exit, and the hooded figures stared after him, still unsure of the reason behind his actions.

"That was strange, Ulquiorra," the blonde man remarked as he picked up his sword and sheathed it.

"I know it was, Haschwald," Ulquiorra replied. "Now we will see if what he did was foolish or not. In the meantime, however, I will go back to Aizen-sama for our report. You stay here and keep guard."

Haschwald nodded and Ulquiorra exited the crypt.

Takuma paced back and forth in front of the room where Rukia was held captive in. He had been struggling a lot with the predicament he was in, especially after that night when he injured Aido. He was under so much pressure, and the stress was beginning to be too much. This is getting worse, he thought to himself. If I stay, I hurt my friends even more, especially Rukia. If I go back, Kaname will kill me. God damn it!

He stopped pacing and stared at the locked door. No one has the right to be apart from someone they're getting acquainted with. This is wrong!

"I can't take it anymore," he whispered to himself. He knew dawn was breaking, and this was the perfect rummaged his pockets for a key, stuck it into the lock, and opened the door.

"Rukia," he whispered. Rukia was still unconscious on her bed, and when Takuma laid his eyes on her, his heart was overcome with guilt. However, he had to stay strong if he wanted to make this work. He stepped toward her and shook her. "Rukia, wake up."

At that moment, Rukia groaned and stirred. Her eyes slowly opened, and she saw Takuma above her. "Takuma?" She asked wearily. "What…what's going on?"

"I made a huge mistake," Takuma said, "We're going."

"Where?"

"We're getting out of here," Takuma clarified, "I can't take the pressure of being forced to do Aizen-sama's dirty work for him, and even though I know the risks this might carry, I don't want you to live in bondage either."

"What's going on?" Rukia repeated.

"No time to explain. We have to go now and quickly."

Takuma helped Rukia off the bed, and they stepped out of the room. After making sure no one was in the hallway, Takuma wrapped an arm protectively around Rukia's shoulders and led her away from the room.

"Why are you helping me?" Rukia whispered but Takuma hushed her as he continued to attempt to lead her to safety. Even though she was confused by his actions, she decided to allow him to rescue her, hoping for a chance of success.

Before they turned a corner, Takuma looked around for anyone but could not find anyway. Then he led Rukia down the next hallway.

They were getting closer to the exit, and Takuma could feel it. Soon he and Rukia would be free from this hellhole they were both in, and soon he would do whatever he can to make up for his betrayal to his friends.

He smiled when the exit was in sight, and he realized that now he and Rukia are going to make it out of there perfectly safe. However, he failed to notice Tsukishima and Ginjou standing near it and quickly ducked out of sight, his hand on Rukia's mouth. He prayed that he was completely out of sight.

When he heard footsteps coming toward him, his breathing became ragged and his heart raced. He tried to be as quiet as possible so that he would not get noticed, but they continued to get closer. Rukia trembled in his arms for she was also afraid of being noticed.

"Takuma," Tsukishima spoke. "Don't think for a moment that we didn't see you."

Takuma's blood ran cold. They were seen?!

"Come out, Takuma," Ginjou added. "We know you're around this corner. If you come quietly, we might let you off easy…you know, to make your punishment more bearable."

Realizing that he had no other choice, he stood up and walked into sight, Rukia trailing behind him.

"You thought you could get away, huh?" Tsukishima said. "I never thought I'd see you as a coward, Takuma."

"What you're doing is wrong," Takuma bluntly stated. "Let Rukia and I go right now."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Ginjou said. "You see, it can't be helped. That girl," he pointed to Rukia, "belongs to Aizen-sama, just like the rest of his servants. You'll be punished severely for what you tried to do, if Aizen-sama finds out that is…and trust us, he will."

"Better punished by Kaname than any of you," Takuma growled. "Because of you, I hurt my friends and that is something that I will never forgive."

"Your friends?" Tsukishima repeated. "Don't forget who you invited into your home. Don't forget that we were friends since childhood. Those 'friends' of yours are inferior to you. They're the enemy, Takuma."

Takuma growled. "Stay out of my head!"

"You know that you and I are destined to work together," Tsukishima continued. "Besides, if you haven't known me, you wouldn't have gotten the chance to meet them. After all, I did suggest that the Night Class would be established, didn't I?"

"Shut up!" Takuma shouted as he grasped his head. "Get out of my head!"

Ginjou chuckled as he watched Takuma about to have a breakdown. "It's so much fun watching him suffer, don't you think, Tsukishima?"

"If I were him, I would prefer this than having to face Aizen-sama for my violations," Tsukishima said. "Wouldn't you agree, Takuma?"

Takuma keeled over, panting from the stress. "Get the fuck out of my head!"

"Please stop!" Rukia begged. "I don't know what you're doing but it's causing him a great deal of stress! Please! He's sorry for what he did, and I'll stay here if you promise me that you stop stressing him like this."

"Rukia," Takuma whispered, looking up at her. "No."

Rukia smiled and knelt next to him. "I understand now. I understand that this wasn't your choice, and it's not your fault. Don't worry about me, alright?" She wrapped her arms around him. "You're a good friend, Takuma."

"Well, ain't that sweet?" Ginjou asked. "Now that you're awake, Rukia, I think that it's fair that you meet Aizen-sama once again." He turned to face Takuma. "And as for you, coward, you're coming with us." He forced Takuma onto his feet and pushed him forward.

When they were almost at the throne room, Rukia pulsed and her eyes began to glow. She quickly gripped the wall and panted. "No…not now!" She panicked.

"Rukia!" Takuma exclaimed. "Crap, she's lusting. Rukia, keep it together!"

With her hands shaking, she rummaged through her pockets, searching for the blood tablets but could not find any. "No! No! They're not here! Takuma!"

Tsukishima chuckled. "You don't need them, Rukia. Let's go. Aizen-sama will help you."

"Rukia…" Takuma trailed off. He did not like seeing Rukia in a panic like this.

Ginjou violently shoved him forward. "Focus on the situation you're in."

They entered the throne room; Aizen was standing in the middle of the room. He grinned maliciously when he saw Rukia in front of him. "Ah, Rukia," he greeted, "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Rukia said nothing; she fell to her knees and continued to pant. The pain was unbearable and she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but most of all, her throat was so parched. Tears streamed from her cheeks as she tried to fight her inner-vampire instincts.

"It's painful, isn't it?" Aizen asked as he walked toward her. "I can help you."

"Rukia!" Takuma yelled, but he was held back by Ginjou. He thrashed in Ginjou's grip, but his captor would not let go.

"Why?" Rukia questioned. "Why are you doing this to me? You killed my parents…you killed my best friend…you made my life a living hell…AHHHH!"

Aizen lowered himself to Rukia's level and raised her chin up to face him. "You want to know why? Your family is made up of hunters, and you know what they did? Let me tell you one thing. 500 years ago, my hold was almost upon this world. If it weren't for your ancestors, my goal would have been complete. However, they used their weapons to drive me back and defeat me. I managed to escape their treacherous acts, but I ended up in hiding for a very long time. I thought of killing every one of your family members, but when I noticed you on that night, I figured that I could use you for a while before eventually devouring you. You're mine, Kuchiki Rukia, and I have always made sure of that. Why do you think I kept close tabs on you since you were a child?"

Rukia pulled away from him, but she gritted her teeth as the pain of her bloodlust came back once again.

Aizen smoothed a hand through her hair. "My poor girl," he soothed. "The pain must be so hard to handle. I can help you control your lust, but you must do something for me."

"Anything! Please! Anything to get rid of the pain!" Rukia hissed as she keeled over tighter.

Aizen lifted her head up and embraced her, making sure that her head rested on his shoulders. "Drink my blood," he instructed. "The blood of a pure-blood vampire will give you the strength to control your lust and will make you stronger. It can cure just about anything."

Takuma shook his head, knowing that drinking the blood of a pure-blood vampire is strictly forbidden by the Vampire Society. He knew how much corruption it could cause someone else, and this would be no different. "Don't do it," he whispered.

Ginjou struck Takuma's back, causing him to shriek and bend over from the pain. Then he grabbed a hold of his blonde hair and jerked his head back. "Shut up and watch!"

Even through her unfocused vision, Rukia could see Takuma being forced to watch something like this. He told her how forbidden it was to do something like this, but her pain was becoming too much and there was no other way of easing her pain.

She opened her mouth, baring her fangs. Forgive me, Takuma, she thought to herself as she bit into Aizen's neck. As she drank Aizen's blood, she felt herself becoming stronger and more in control of her instincts.

She stopped biting Aizen, and he stood up, the wound on his neck closing. He turned to face Ginjou, Tsukishima, and Takuma and walked towards them. "Well, well, well," he said as he glared Takuma, who thrashed in Ginjou's grip, "What am I going to do with you?"

At that moment, Ichiru, Bambietta and Juha walked in the room. "Ichiru, Bambietta," Aizen greeted them. "Remind me of the message you conveyed to Takuma at that soiree."

"Yes sir," Bambietta said, "We told him that from then on, he will belong to you and that he shouldn't think of escaping."

"And what did he do, Tsukishima?" Aizen asked.

"He took Rukia and tried to escape," Tsukishima answered.

"You fucking idiot," Ichiru growled. "We warned you, didn't we?"

"It…it won't happen again," Takuma said quickly, shivering from the fear that Aizen was putting him through.

Aizen backhanded Takuma across the face. "You fool! How will I know that?!" The aristocrat said nothing. "Not going to talk, huh? Very well," He snarled as he prepared to impale his servant through the chest.

"A-Aizen-sama, wait," Rukia stammered. She could not believe that she had called him that, but she felt the need to call him that somehow. Aizen stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "He could still be of use to you," she tried to convince him. "I suggest letting him off as a warning for now."

"Rukia," Takuma whispered in disbelief. He could not believe that Rukia would say something like that, even if it was to save his life.

Aizen turned back to Takuma. "I see your point," he said. "After all, we're going to be invading Cross Academy very soon. I wonder when those other 2 henchmen of mine will show up."

At that moment, Ulquiorra ran into the room. "Aizen-sama!"

Everyone turned to face him, and Aizen smiled when his servant showed himself. "Ulquiorra, got anything to report?"

After catching his breath, Ulquiorra lowered his hood and looked into his master's eyes. "Kaname-sama has completed the ritual to awaken Rido-sama. He will be fully awake momentarily."

Juha's lips curled upwards into a grin. "Well, well, it seems that Kaname has finally decided to be smart for a change. This is perfect."

"Kaname…" Takuma whispered as he shook his head. "Why?" He killed your family, he possessed Senri, and he's after Yuuki. You really want to do something like this and endanger her? What are you thinking?

"We will attack Cross Academy tonight," Aizen said. He turned to Ichiru. "I want you to swap places with Haschwald, whom I'm assuming that he's still there." He averted his eyes to Ulquiorra.

"He is, my lord," Ulquiorra replied with a nod.

"Haschwald will be joining us in this battle," Aizen continued, "Ichiru, since you're only human, I feel that greeting Rido when he's full awake is the best job for you."

Ichiru nodded once. "Yes, sir."

"Why Cross Academy, Aizen?" Juha inquired. He might have already known the answer to that, but he wanted to hear Aizen's reasons for himself.

"Several of the most talented vampires are students at that school, especially your dear friend Kaname and that boy you could have killed," Aizen answered. "What was his name again? Oh yes, Ichigo Kurosaki." He turned to Rukia. "Ichiru was telling me that you're very close to him now. Wouldn't it be interesting if I used you as a weapon against him?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes and said nothing. She did not like to hear what Aizen had in store for Ichigo, but she also did not want to suffer any kind of punishment by his hands either. "I…"

"Yes, I believe it would be," Aizen cut her off. "After all, Ichiru, you shot him, didn't you?"

"I did, sir," Ichiru replied. "It will take a while for him to be fully healed."

"Then this should be easy for you, Rukia," Aizen continued, "and it will be your first task." He looked at everyone else who was in the room. "I will discuss my plans of action with you later. You're all dismissed."

Before Ginjou and Tsukishima left, Ginjou shoved Takuma once more time. He landed on the floor. Rukia walked over to him and helped him up. "You didn't have to do that," he said emotionlessly.

"I had to do what was necessary," Rukia replied. "The last thing I need is for you to be killed at my expense."

"It wasn't just for you," Takuma said.

Rukia nodded. "I know that. Let's go, alright?" Takuma nodded and followed her out of the room.

And that's that, people! I hope you enjoyed the chapter so far, and once again, I'd like to thank shiningmoonslayer for his help. Let me know what you think of the chapter, and I'll see you on the next chapter. Take care!