The Curtain of The Past

Hikari goes to Association by herself. She enters the building and in a second she smells something strange in the air, in the atmosphere as well. This smell is disgusting and makes her sick and it became stronger few days lately.

"The smell is getting stronger..." she murmured. Although hates it, she still focus on her purpose of coming here, so she continue her way along to one room in the centre of the building.

She enters the room of Mr. President; wants to report the result of her mission today. When she comes into that room, Kaien is sitting behind his desk and there is another hunter in front of him. It's Kaito.

"This place...has turned into pureblood's lair..." she murmured.

"Why you not tell your purpose here, Hikari instead of complaining around?" Kaito shouted.

Hikari sighed, "Kaien, I did as you ordered to me and I found the cause of the multiple attacks of vampires," she said.

Kaien looks interested, "Show me,"

Hikari reaches something of her pocket and put it out. She brings those things out of her pocket and shows it before Kaien's eyes. As expected, Kaien is very surprised. Then she put the tablets on his table.

"These new blood tablets are the causal of wild behaviour of the vampires recently," she explained.

"This tablet…" Kaien doesn't look believed her.

Hikari decided to explain further, "This new blood tablets was made by necessary blood, not ordinary blood. This tablet was made by pureblood's blood,"

"Pureblood's blood…Are you sure about that?" Kaien asked. "Where did you know it from?"

"I was never wrong," she shouted him. "I can smell the scent of pureblood in these tablets. If you don't believe me, then proof it yourself,"

"How we could easily believe a vampire-hater like you? You used to kill six nobles and made us deal with those damn councils," Kaito interfered. "Are you sure it's not just your opinion or your suspicion?"

"I'm professional," Hikari shouted him back. "I won't do something only with my feelings or my opinion,"

"That's sounds natural for a lady like you," Kaito admitted.

Hikari decided to not continue her talks with Kaito before it turns into debate. So, she focuses her attention on Kaien and waiting for his decision.

"What's your decision?" she asked.

Kaien reaches the blood tablets, "We will investigate it in lab. For now, you can rest, Hikari. You did your job well,"

"Rest…?" Suddenly Hikari turns her gaze at Kaito. "Do you really want to hold an exam tomorrow?"

"Of course," Kaito answered.

'Then I don't have even a second for rest,' She concluded.

"Don't worry about that exam, Hikari. You can join the exam at the following day. You have to rest now; you must be tired of three-days-non-stop-work," Kaien tried to persuade him not to join the exam.

"I'm fine. I will school tomorrow," she said, then she left the room.

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The Following Day

After did the exam, Hikari leave the class; she feels so tired today. She has absent for four days, included one days of her skipping and she hasn't slept for three nights. She feels so tired…and…her head is dizzy…

'How pathetic…A non-human creature like me would feel…' she grumbles inside her heart.

Meanwhile, Zero is walking in the corridor and meets Hikari in the same corridor. How surprising…Finally that girl is coming again, after four days absent both from her school and her duty as guardian.

"I've showed something embarrassing, Gomen ne,"

'That 'sorry' word…did it really out of her coolly mouth?' he thought with unbelievable.

That sad face, that tears when she was crying alone, her words…

"Hikari wasn't like that. She used to be different when she was little. She was very kind, cheerful, just like the mean of her name itself…"

Everything about her past…the things she carrying all by herself…Will her coldness melt and wants to show some parts of her past to him? That girl is really needs some help, Zero concluded.

Surprisingly, Hikari suddenly fall in the middle of the corridor. Zero runs quickly towards her. He turns over her body so he can see her face.

"Oi, Hikari! Oi!" he called her, but he got no respond from the girl he called about.

Hikari's eyes are closed. Zero touches her face; her body's temperature is normal. Then he put two fingers on her wrist, her pulse is normal. And then he put two fingers in front of her nose's cavity; she is breathing and sensed normal. Her heartbeat sounds normal too, it means…

She is asleep.

This girl was made him surprised for a moment. He thought something happened to her or she fainted because of exhaustion. Unexpectedly, she just fell asleep. Maybe…she is too tired because of her mission.

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When Hikari opens her eyes, the first thing she saw was…white roof. Then she turns over her head to look everything surrounds her; white wall, white roof, the smell of medicine that means one thing…

She is in school clinic.

"Finally you awake," A guy with silver haired and lilac eyes are sitting and staring her from the right side of her bed. He looks serious as usual.

"How long I've been asleep?" she asked him.

"You've been asleep for whole day. Now is our time to do our duty as guardian," he explained.

Usually Hikari would shout back those words, but now she is unable to do that. She never feels this weak before. Her head is dizzying and her entire body feel so painful. Could it be because she hadn't sleep for five days?

Yeah, perhaps so…

"You hadn't sleep more than a day, had you?" he asked.

"It's none of your business," she rejected.

"As expected," he said. "You pushed yourself too far,"

Hikari suddenly become quiet after Zero said those words. And then she tries to wake up from her bed-rest even her head is dizzy and she still exhausted. Once again, she forces herself to do something beyond her ability now.

Hikari stops when she sits on her bed. She stares her own hands with a gaze that cannot easily be understood. Her stares are looks so…deep as if there are many words she wants to say.

"How pathetic…You must be had seen how weak I could be," she grumbled herself. "Even if I have the ability of pureblood, this body is still human body. If I use too much power or go berserk and the vampire's power out of my body, I will be like this. I'm so pathetic, aren't I?"

"Yes, you're so pathetic," he admitted.

"Yeah, that's true—

"Because you're carrying all on your own," he continued.

Hikari is very surprised, "What do you mean, Kiryuu?"

Zero gazes him with stoic face as if he is demanding something from her and until now she hadn't fulfil it yet.

"You act like you could make everything's clear. You carry all on your own, hide those sadness and safe it for yourself, crying alone while embrace your own kneel, and never tell anybody about your past, your problems," he explained. "You're not a god. Even if you're a pureblood, a pureblood still needs someone besides her, you know. This behave of you is make me sick," Zero showed disgusted face in the end of his sentences.

"Kiryuu…"

"I'm sick with your annoying attitude," he continued. "That's why I want to erase those disgusting face from you,"

"What do you mean?" Hikari asked confusedly.

"I mean tell me everything," he asked.

Hikari is squinting her eyes, "What?"

"I want you to tell me everything…about your past," he claimed. "Tell me everything about you; your background, your family, your siblings, your life, and everything else,"

"Why do you want to know such disgusting things?" Hikari sounds unbelievable. It looks like she thought that Zero is toying with her now. "Even I don't want to look back into those moments anymore,"

"At least…doesn't it make you feel a little bit lighter?" he asked her back.

Hikari surprised once more and then they're trapped in some strange silence.

"You also…run away from Yuuki and your feelings as well as I are. The way you speak was just like…you can solve all my problems," she said. "Moreover, shouldn't you hate me to my core? I'm the same thing that had killed your family and warped your life,"

Zero sighed, "I don't know. In my sight you're not like a pureblood at all side, and you're not sensed like pureblood,"

Hikari is confused now. Actually she is very confused. It is the first time there is somebody who cares about her even just a little. What she supposed to do? Should she grant her wish…or…just ignore it and stay keep all of her burden on her own again?

"I can't tell you," she answered.

"Is that so?"

"But I can show you," she cut him before he could continue. "I'll bring you to my past, so you'd be sure that there aren't any lies that come from my mouth,"

Zero keeps quiet.

"Now, come closer," she commanded him. "Let me touch your shoulders at least,"

Zero obeys Hikari's ommand without any protest out of his mouth. He comes closer to her until that girl could reach him with his hand.

Hikari raises her hands and then she can reaches Zero and put her hands on his shoulders.

The last thing Zero feels is his body was dragged in.

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In Ichijou's Mansion.

Ichijou Takuma decided to visit his own Mansion. There is nothing left to see in that mansion. That mansion had ruined already but he doesn't know why his feet were walking to this mansion. It feels like…there is something from those ruins which still can be seen. There is something left in those ruins and he believed that.

Takuma walks among the ruins carefully. He walks to the area that supposed to be living room, guest room, ballroom, hall, stairs to the basement, and then…the door that lead to a secret place in the centre of this mansion.

Takuma is standing on the floor that there used to be a door standing here. This is…the entrance to Hikari's secret place…where her sister was imprisoned and caged like a bird.

Now, there is nothing left but memories…

"Ichijou…"

Takuma turns around and shocked. There is someone else besides him here. It's impossible, as far as he remember, he came here alone. But now there is another guy with dark-haired and reddish eyes staring at him with calm face.

"Kaname…" he called his name with shocked. "Why you're here?"

Kaname steps forward, "I don't want to do anything bad. I just want to have some talks with you here,"

"What do you want to talk me with?" Takuma asked.

"It's about Hikari," he answered. "I want you to tell me everything that had happened. The things that had changed Hikari into someone absolutely different from the girl she used to be,"

"Gomen…Kaname" Takuma said. "It's my entire fault. I want to tell you everything but Sara-san would—

"I've blocked her powers so she cannot hear any of our conversation here," Kaname explained. "I know you weren't lying that time. But what exactly had happened, Ichijou?"

Ichijou Takuma fell face into his hands with frustrated. He is out of breath so sudden, the scenes of those days are dancing within his mind, giving him inerasable guilty.

Minutes later, he can control himself better. Takuma is calmer now, but still he feels he can't share those sins with Kaname, his best friend.

"I hope I could resist Ojii sama's words back then…" he wandered. "That day…when my hand was tainted by her blood…and guilty for the first time…"

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Fuala, that is end of this chapter.

I hope you like it.

Sorry for the cliff hanger, because the next chapter would tell about Hikari's past.

But also, I'm reconsidering to put a side story after this chapter.

Hm…what do you think?

Well, see you next chapter and leave your reviews here…!