Chapter Eleven: Reunions
It was another moon-lit night. Without a single cloud in the sky, the stars sparkled like diamonds resting on a black velvet cloth. Back down on earth, there was a gentle breeze in the air, rustling across the tree tops and sweeping through the empty streets of the quiet town. The streets were deserted, but not because of fear. Most people were comfortable and warm inside their homes. Here in a town occupied mostly by vampire hunters and those who worked for the association, there was little to be afraid of. Everything was calm.
Or at least, that was how it should have been.
Instead –
"Hey, somebody let me in!" A pair of fists was pounding furiously against the front gates of the Vampire Hunters Association headquarter.
Behind the closed doors, three individuals were listening in the ruckus outside. There was a pause – a momentary break in the insistent knocking. The silence was a welcoming relief to their sore ears.
"Do you think he..." One of them mused out loud as he stared at the doors.
"Oi!" An annoyed voice rang out from the other side. "It's been ten minutes. Come on!"
"No," Zero answered the doorkeeper's unfinished question. "He doesn't give up."
"I know you guys are in there!"
"So, uh..." the other guard on duty that night asked tentatively. "Should we open the door?"
"Why?" Stone-faced, Zero turned look at him. "Even if we do, he can't cross the threshold. This place is safe-guarded against their race."
They both stayed silent, unsure how to interpret his answer. On the other side of the door, the intruder continued to demand entry. Eventually, Zero sighed, lifted the latch and pulled the doors open, revealing a visibly annoyed vampire.
"Kiryu," the irate caller gritted out through clenched teeth. The crisp white Night Class uniform he had adorned stood no chance against the winter chill. Despite his best efforts, the visitor was visibly trembling from the cold.
"Aidou-senpai," Zero acknowledged the blonde with a curt nod. He didn't say anymore, seemingly content to just stand and stare at the shivering vampire standing on the other side of the threshold.
Finally, Hanabusa Aidou seemed to have had enough. "Look, are you going to let me in or not?"
"I opened the door, didn't I?"
Hanabusa's right eye twitched with irritation. "Yes, but I can't walk in."
"Then, why are you here?"
"You've got Ruka."
"And you've got blue eyes."
Those aforementioned blue eyes blinked with confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh," Zero shrugged as he slid his hands into his jacket. "I thought we were stating the obvious. Speaking of stating the obvious, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"
"Yuuki-sama gave me permission to come here," Hanabusa replied. His tone might have been defiant but there was a shadow of trepidation in his eyes. The memory of what occurred the last time he spoke to Zero about Yuuki was obviously still fresh in his mind. One did not easily forget being threatened with a chainsaw and then thrown into a jail cell.
"News travels fast these days," Zero commented. "Must be Kaien's handiwork."
"Look," Hanabusa thrust a hand through his hair in frustration. "I just want to check up on her."
"Well, I guess it can't be helped." Zero reached over and grabbed Hanabusa, easily lifting him off his feet. Turning around, he walked into the headquarter carrying Hanabusa like one would with a sac of potatoes. The doorkeeper and guard could only look on with bemusement.
"Hey, what are you doing? Put me down!" Hanabusa's protests echoed down the lofty hallway.
"Third one this week," the hooded doorkeeper muttered as he pushed the doors close. "And I'm only counting the ones who willingly came here. Any more, and we might as well remove the 'Hunters' from our name. What kind of headquarter is this?"
Ruka had expected a lot of things when she was captured by Zero, most of which came to fruition. The handcuffs. Check. The uncomfortable sensation of being inside the headquarter. Check. The hour long interrogation in which the hunters realized she knew nothing about Kaname's plans. Check. The small jail cell furnished with only a functional though lumpy single bed and an end table. Check. Being guarded around the clock by unsmiling hunters. Check. But there was one thing she did not expect.
Boredom.
This was worse than being alone in the hotel suite. Back there, all she had to do was think of ways to entertain herself and keep her mind off uncomfortable thoughts that she didn't want to dwell on. But now, in this jail cell, with no one but incommunicable guards outside for company, Ruka had no choice but face her own inner turmoil.
Think about it...
Zero's words suddenly came to the forefront of her mind. Ruka's eyes flew open with shock as she remembered the way his violet eyes stared at her, almost taunting her into accepting the unthinkable.
That Kaname-sama had committed the ultimate sin and killed a pureblood.
Was it possible? She just didn't know. As much as her mind recoiled from the taboo, Ruka was forced to admit that when push came to shove, Kaname-sama was more than capable of killing Shizuka-sama. It was all about having the right motivation. And for him, all that mattered was Yuuki-sama.
Even Ruka knew that much.
And judging by the current state of affairs, that was really all she knew. A small rueful, self-deprecating smile crept onto Ruka's face as she continued to stare up at the ceiling. Looking back at the past with greater clarity, she realized now that, despite all her talk about being close to Kaname-sama, she never really was. The one who was always by his side was Takuma. Hanabusa and Akatsuki were considered his right-hand men, and they were constantly carrying out errands in the background. Even the expressionless, mysterious Seiren probably played a greater role in the whole scheme of things.
Clouded by her own feelings, Ruka was just dancing around by herself.
And just what were those feelings? Thinking about that only led to more questions rather than answers. Did she ever truly love him? But then again, when it came down to it, what was love? Being part of the Aidou faction, she was, by birth, loyal to the purebloods. But it was more than that. Ever since she was a child, she had admired him as an individual, respected his position, trusted his judgments, and believed in him.
Loyalty. Admiration. Respect. Trust. Did all of that add up to love? Shouldn't love be something more?
Again, Ruka didn't have any answers.
In a way, it was funny. She had never been the analytical sort of person yet here she was, dissecting her past feelings with the skilful hands of a brain surgeon. But none of it mattered that much. There was a more important question that was unanswered.
Where should she go from here?
Ding!
Somewhere inside the headquarter, a grandfather clock struck twelve, marking the beginning of a new day. Outside her cell, the guards came out of their torpor in anticipation of finally being released from their boring and thankless task.
"Twelve oh one," Ruka said out loud as the sound of footsteps reached her ears. "Change of guards." With nothing else to do over the last few days, she had already memorized their schedule. What's more, the vampire hunters seemed to be sticklers for punctuality. They were rarely more than half a minute behind their schedule.
A key could be heard inserting into the door. "Ah," she murmured, with no trace of enthusiasm in her voice. "Twelve oh five, dinner for the prisoners. Spaghetti with some sort of sauce, coupled with a glass of water and a blood tablet."
However, when the door opened, it did not reveal a guard bearing a tray of food. As Ruka was still lying on her bed, she sensed rather than saw a small object flying through the air towards her. Reaching up with one hand, she caught it.
Bearing the emblem of the Cross Academy, it was a small box of blood tablets.
Frowning, she lifted her head up from the pillows and spotted Kaito leaning against the open door.
"Sorry to disappoint you," Kaito said, though his tone bore no emotions whatsoever. "Those pills will have to do."
"Let me guess, cook's not here and the apprentice is wreaking havoc in the kitchen?" Ruka asked as she sat up.
Kaito inclined his head, confirming her suspicions. "Our cook is out sick and from what I heard, his apprentice is struggling – something about spilt eggs on the floor. Wait," his eyes narrowed. "How did you know?"
Ruka glowered at him. What? Just because she was a female doesn't mean she was completely brainless. "One," she held up a hand, ticking off her fingers as she went along. "Your menu is the same every single day, which means you guys must either love spaghetti to death or you only have one cook. Making one guy cook for an entire organization, of course he's going to mass produce something easy and quick. Two, the meal is the same quality every single day: great pasta, terrible sauce. So I'm guessing your cook only ever lets his apprentice handle the sauce – for good reason, by the way. Three, you have been limiting my blood tablet to one a day. To give me a whole box of pills indicates dinner is cancelled, not just delayed. Four, why else would you be here? Five," now with a fully spread hand, Ruka waited for the right moment. She smirked as the stomach of one of the new guards rumbled in hunger. "Even the guards are running on empty fumes. How am I doing so far?"
His smile was faint. "Pretty well."
Ruka hmphed as she popped open the box and chugged down a blood tablet. She grimaced at the taste. "Just tell the poor kid to pour the flour on to the pastry board, make a well in the centre and crack the eggs in. That way, the eggs won't leak out and spill everywhere. Use his fingers to gently mix in the eggs." She demonstrated with her hand. "Knead for a good twenty minutes or so and once it's ready, put it through the pasta machine. Even an idiot like him can handle it."
"You can cook?" Kaito stared at her.
She raised an eyebrow. "Of course."
Kaito shook his head. "Didn't see that coming. Come on," he gestured for her to get up and follow him. "You're going to the kitchen."
Ruka briefly contemplated refusing, just to spite him. But tantrums never solved anything. Plus, anything was better than sitting around in a jail cell. She really wanted to just stop thinking and do something. Ruka sniffed as she stood up from the bed, straightened her skirt and followed him out.
Two flights of stairs later, they arrived at the kitchen and stepped into absolute chaos. There were piles of dirty dishes in the sink, waiting to be washed. Every available surface was covered with flour and spilt eggs. Various utensils and equipment were strewn across the kitchen counter. And amongst all the mess stood one very confused-looking man in kitchen whites.
"Oh for goodness sakes," Ruka muttered as she neatly side-stepped a puddle of eggs on the floor. Paying Kaito no mind, she grabbed a kitchen apron off the stand by the door and slipped it on. With a few deft movements, she twisted her hair up into a French twist. "You," she snapped her fingers at the apprentice as she rolled up her sleeves and washed her hand in the sink. "Get this mess cleaned up now."
After casting a nervous glance at the expressionless Kaito, the apprentice quickly leapt into action.
It took her a couple of minutes to get acquainted with the layout of the kitchen and find out where everything was. She then opened up the pantry to take a stock of the inventories. Ignoring the two males in the kitchen, she began to plan the menu in her mind. "Glad to see there are still some unbroken eggs. Maybe there'll be enough to make some sort of desert if I have time. Ooh, goat's cheese. There's also a nice selection of herbs. Hm..."
Pulling open the fridge, her eyes practically lit up with delight. "Why would your cook be making spaghetti every day when there're so many good ingredients here?" Humming to herself, she began pulling things out of the fridge.
"Kaien likes to cook," Kaito spoke up. "So he always keeps a nice supply of stuff around. Wait, I brought you up here to cook, not play around in the kitchen."
"What does it look like I'm doing," Ruka muttered as she took out a fillet knife and started to work on the salmon. "I'm so sick of pasta. Besides, you'll thank me. Oh," she added. "And you should tell Kaien to restock after I'm done here."
Back in her comfort zone, Ruka's mood gradually improved. There was something soothing about being in a kitchen and cooking food. When she was in the kitchen, she could just block everything out of her mind and concentrate on the ingredients in front of her.
"The guards told me I would find you here," somebody spoke up from behind her. Turning around, she saw Zero standing by the doorway next to Kaito. "Why is she out of her cell?"
"Cook's away," Kaito explained. "And she apparently can handle it."
"Are you kidding?" Someone else snorted. "She's brilliant. Just wait till you try her food."
With a cry, Ruka put down her knife and rushed up to throw her arms around him. But as she expected, Hanabusa huffed with annoyance before pushing her away. Yet despite that, Ruka couldn't stop smiling.
"What are you so happy about?" Hanabusa demanded to know.
"Nothing," She forced her smile down. If Hanabusa treated her like this, then he was okay. And Ruka was content with that.
"Anyway," Hanabusa stepped around her and started riffling through the kitchen. "What are you cooking?"
Ruka returned back to filleting her salmon. "I was thinking crispy-skinned salmon to start with, maybe some eggplant and goat's cheese bruschetta. I still haven't decided on dessert though."
"That's boring," Hanabusa complained as he poked his head into the pantry. "I want some beef."
Ruka's hand twitched around the filleting knife. It was just like him to barge in and start changing her plans. "Fine," she agreed. "I'll make some after I do the salmon." Setting down the knife, she started sprinkling salt onto the skin side of the salmon fillets.
"Oh, and make some chicken soup."
Ruka grounded the salt into the salmon. "Okay."
"And some sort of stir-fry, surprise me."
"Damn it, Hanabusa," Ruka snapped as she slammed a frying pan onto the stovetop. "I'm not a catering company. I'll cook and you'll eat. That's that. Quit whining or I won't cook anything."
They glared at each other from opposite ends of the kitchen counter. If looks could kill, both of them would have been struck down by lightning. So great was their visible hatred towards each other that the apprentice started edging towards the door. There were a lot of sharp things in the kitchen.
"Hey, hey," Kaito decided to step in. "Quit yapping."
Breaking eye contact from one another, the pair of vampires turned to glare at the hunter guarding them.
"Excuse me?" Ruka said icily.
"Don't tell Ruka to quit yapping." Hanabusa added. "Only I get to do that. Now, Ruka," he turned to his cousin. "Start cooking."
"Shut up, dumb Busa," Ruka retorted but did what he said.
Blood was thicker than water after all.
"So that blonde idiot is back, huh?" Jinmu asked as he strode up to the doorkeeper.
"Yeah," the doorkeeper nodded slowly from his seat by the door. Looking up from the book spread out on the table in front of him, he stared at the plate Jinmu was holding in his hands. "I thought dinner was cancelled tonight."
"Turned out that vampiress could cook," Jinmu set the plate down in front of the doorkeeper. "Salmon, some crispy bread thing, and slow roasted beef. Rumour has it that there's going to be dessert as well. Enjoy."
The doorkeeper couldn't help but stare down at it with suspicion. "You sure it's safe."
"Relax," Jinmu chuckled as he settled himself down on the chair next to the doorkeeper. "That blonde idiot's been gulping down practically half of everything she's cooked so far and he's still alive. Over half the guards on duty have also eaten. Plus, I had a plate myself. It was divine."
The doorkeeper carved into the salmon and took a hesitant bite. The salmon practically melted in his mouth but the crispy skin had a wonderful crunch to it. He tucked into the food with renewed enthusiasm. "Lately, I feel like this place has been overrun with those blood suckers." He commented around a mouthful of the beef.
"Well," Jinmu commented as he took out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. "You might want to open the doors because there's another one coming our way."
"What?" The doorkeeper pushed the plate aside and got up from his seat. Moving to one of the windows, he peered outside into the dark. He didn't expect to see anything in the pitch black night but a flash of red caught his eyes. Untamed and sharp around the edges, it almost looked like a floating beacon of fire in the darkness. Just underneath it was a pair of red eyes, which meant only one thing.
Vampire.
"That's the one the president's looking out for?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. Sighing, he lifted the latch and pulled open the door again.
Dressed neatly in a suit with a long black trench coat thrown over the top, the visitor smiled as he offered his wrists for the handcuffs. His eyes shining like two bright rubies. "I believe you've been expecting me. I'm Akatsuki Kain."
With almost everybody fed, Ruka began poking through the pantry again, trying to decide what to do for dessert. Hanabusa was no help. He just kept throwing ideas at her. Finally, fed up with his constant interruptions, Ruka sent him out into the cafeteria.
"You two are an odd pair," Kaito commented after Hanabusa left the kitchen.
She didn't bother turning around. "What do you mean?"
"You cook when you are stressed," Kaito pointed out. "Yet you barely touched the food. Whereas Hanabusa will eat everything in his sight when he's stressed, but judging by the fact you won't let him anywhere near the stove, I assume he's a lousy cook."
"He would probably set the kitchen on fire," Ruka admitted, ignoring his eerily accurate comments about her behaviour. "Now, what do you think about apple crumble?"
But before Kaito could answer, Hanabusa dashed back into the kitchen. He was breathing heavily from exertion. His face was ashen and his eyes were wide with shock. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Ruka looked up at him and frowned. "What happened?"
He pointed at the door. "Akatsuki's here. Saw him in the corridor."
All of a sudden, Ruka's heart started beating rapidly. He was here? How was he? Did he look the same? So many questions. Yet she settled for a "Really?"
Hanabusa nodded his head jerkily.
"Then why did you run back in here?" Ruka wanted to know. That was quite unusual, to say the least.
"I don't know," Hanabusa said, with confusion written all over his face. "I saw him and I felt profoundly scared – it's almost as if I did something wrong and I knew he was going to punish me for it."
"Don't be ridiculous," Ruka retorted. "It's Akatsuki we're talking about here. Even if you did do something wrong, he would probably end up taking your blame, rather than punishing you."
"True," Hanabusa thought about it. "But I don't know, I just felt scared." He turned to Ruka. "Did you do something to him?"
"What?" Remembering back to their kiss, or rather kisses, Ruka's face flushed red with embarrassment. "What are you talking about?"
"You did, didn't you?" Hanabusa nodded his head knowingly. "And somehow, he's turned it in his mind to be my fault. He always thinks whatever you did wrong was my fault."
"Wait, what?"
Ignoring her, Hanabusa began riffling through the pantry. He came out with a couple blocks of premium chocolate. "Make him some chocolates. That'll calm him down."
Ruka grabbed them from him and dumped them on the kitchen counter. "You want me to melt some premade chocolate, temper them and set them again to calm Akatsuki down? That's the stupidest idea you've ever come up with."
"It's not stupid," Hanabusa protested. "I would ask you to make them from scratch but that would take too long. Besides, he loves chocolate, no matter what form they come in."
Ruka stared at him. "Akatsuki hates chocolate. You know that."
"What are you talking about? He loves them."
"Since when did he start liking them?"
"Since when did he start hating them?"
Ruka sighed. They were going nowhere. Somehow, most of their arguments always ended up going around in circles. "Every Valentine's Day, he's never accepted a single box of chocolates from the Day Class girls. Never."
"That's different," Hanabusa waved it off.
"How?" Ruka demanded.
"It just is," Hanabusa evaded the issue. "Now, make those chocolates."
Much to her vexation, Ruka found herself doing what he said.
For the second time that night.
Zero looked at the vampire standing in the witness stand at the centre of the room. Out of all the vampires in the night class, Zero felt Akatsuki was the one he was most tolerant of. Despite the neat attire, the vampire still looked the same with his red untamed hair and tall figure. For some strange reason, as he stared into Akatsuki's red eyes, Zero felt he was going to finally get some straight answers about Kaname's whereabouts.
"You've been with Kaname since Aidou-dono's death."
Akatsuki's right hand twitched against the metal railing. "Yes."
"You and Miss Souen kept a low profile while waiting for Kaname's further instructions."
"Yes."
"Kaname made contact with you, which was why you left with him."
"Yes."
"Where did you go?"
"We left the mainland."
"Why?"
"To check on the status of the rest of the Hanadagi clan."
"And?"
"They were destroyed." He answered in a flat tone.
Kaien hesitated before speaking up. "Did Kaname kill them?"
"No. They were already destroyed when we arrived at the castle."
"Why should we believe you?" Zero wanted to know.
"Why should you doubt me?" He countered.
Zero didn't reply. He merely continued to stare at him.
"Regardless of the rumours that have been flying out there," Akatsuki continued. "I can assure you that Kaname-sama had nothing to do with the recent deaths of the Hanadagi and Touma clan."
"I believe you," Kaien nodded slowly. "But we are anxious to know exactly what his exact plans are."
Akatsuki hesitated before answering. "Anything he does is to ensure the peace between our races and honour the treaty he signed two months ago with the Association. In fact, he's requested Ruka and I to re-enter the night class and help maintain order there."
"Can you manage it, Zero?" Kaien asked.
Zero shrugged. "What's another two compared to the mess we already have?"
"Of course," Akatsuki continued smoothly. "For that to happen, Ruka would have to be released from your custody."
Kaien's smile was quite faint. "Of course."
"So what exactly is your relationship with Kain?"
Ruka was in the process of tipping the finished chocolate products out of their moulds when Kaito asked that question. Startled, she struggled to come up with a decent answer before she realized the question was directed at Hanabusa.
"He's my first cousin."
"And you're his second cousin?" Kaito pointed at Ruka.
Hanabusa rolled his eyes. "Didn't you ever learn kinship terminology? First cousins share a common grandparent. Second cousins share a common great-grandparent. A cousin's cousin doesn't automatically make her Akatuski's second cousin."
"Oh great," Ruka muttered as she pushed the chocolates to one side and went to the oven. While they were waiting for the chocolate to set, she had gone ahead and made some apple crumble and vanilla ice-cream as well. "You've set him off on one of his lectures."
Kaito looked as if he regretted ever asking the question.
"Sure, since both the Souen and Kain family are part of the Aidou faction, the two families must share a common ancestor. But it must be quite far up the family tree so technically, while they are cousins, they are only very distantly related to each –"
"Shut up and eat," Ruka interrupted him by shoving a spoonful of apple crumble in his mouth.
Just then, Zero popped his head into the kitchen. "Ruka, come with me. Kain's waiting for you by the front gates."
"What?"
"Just come with me. Kain'll explain everything to you later." With that, Zero walked out again.
Ruka glanced over at Hanabusa. "What do you think that was about?"
"I don't know," Hanabusa shrugged. "But here," he put together a small bag of chocolates. "Take these to Akatsuki, alright."
"Seriously? At a time like this, that's all you care about? Chocolate?"
"I'm scared he's mad at one of us," Hanabusa defended himself. "And it's probably me."
Ruka shook her head in disbelief. Grabbing the bag, she slipped it into her pocket.
"Ruka."
Glancing over her shoulders, she saw Hanabusa with a serious expression on his face.
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
"You too," Ruka smiled at him.
That was all that was needed to be said between them. With those final words, Ruka left the kitchen and hurriedly followed Zero.
"Can I get these bracelets off now?" Ruka wanted to know as they stepped over the threshold of the building.
"Like I said. Akatsuki will tell you everything later. Ah, there he is," he nodded at the front gates.
Even from a distance, she could see Akatsuki's figure leaning against a taxi. How long has it been? Three weeks? Maybe four? Either way, it's been too long. Bracelets temporarily forgotten, she hurried down the stairs to the gates. Zero didn't follow.
"Ruka." Akatsuki said as she finally reached him.
She stared up into his eyes and almost took a step back. His amber eyes were completely red with bloodlust.
"When was the last time you've fed?" Ruka demanded. She pulled out the box of blood tablets that Kaito had given her earlier and shoved it in his hands.
Akatsuki hesitated. "I'll take them later."
She stared at him for a long telling moment. No wonder...
"Fine," Ruka said finally as she put the box back in her pocket. "Let's go."
Without another word to one another, they slipped into the cab and drove away from the Association's headquarter. The ride was silent and terse. Finally, he sighed.
"You're mad at me."
"Yes." Ruka stared out the window.
"That's to be expected," he commented. "You realize what happened?"
"Didn't they?" She glanced over at him.
"No," his shoulder jerked involuntarily. "In any case, we're here now."
Exiting the cab, she saw that they had arrived at the front door of a hotel.
"The street's deserted," Ruka commented.
"Yes." Akatsuki rubbed a hand along his throat, revealing a silver bracelet around his wrist. It was only then that Ruka remembered she still had one around her wrist as well. With the bracelet, they were still separated from their powers.
He seemed to know what she was thinking. "Don't worry about it, once we get back to the academy, they'll unlock it."
"Academy?"
He looked around, seemingly on the lookout for something. Or someone. "Let's go in first."
He led her up to their hotel suite. Ruka stepped into the room ahead of him. Looking around, she noticed there was a door by the far side of the living room, which she presumed led to the bedroom. She sensed a presence in there.
"Seiren's in the other room." It was a statement, not a question.
But he answered anyway. "Yes."
"And the hunters haven't followed us here."
"No."
"Good," Ruka nodded as she twirled around and face him. "Now get out."
Author's Note: Perhaps not the reunion you were expecting.
This was a chapter that had to be written. Although some bits may seem unnecessary, trust me, everything was written for a reason. And if this is confusing/messy/unrealistic, please bear with me. I promise it will all make sense in the next two chapters.
Witless Fool
P.S. Sorry if Ruka seems childish in this chapter. Whenever I put her in the same scene as Hanabusa, despite my best intentions, they just seem to bring out the worst in each other.