This is going to be a short chapter in terms of plot, yet long in terms of detail. I find it necessary.
Thanks guys? Someone asked if Sara and Rido would be in the story? Sara, unfortunately, will not.
Eleventh Night: Of Musings and Blood
The memory probed at his mind, invading his thoughts until all he could think of was the very thing he wished he could have forgotten.
"Are you sure this is alright, Kaname?"
Ichigou's voice sounded so real... Kaname relented and let the flashback consume him.
"Yes," he replied simply, emotionless as he threw in another case.
"But Yuuki-chan will be broken, once she realizes you really aren't coming back..." Takuma tried again.
Kaname took a deep breath, his lids covering his burgundy irises. "Better her be emotionally broken than physically drained."
The blond dropped his eyes. "You can learn to control your hunger here."
"No," Kaname began. "I cannot. She is always here. I can smell her sweet scent everywhere. I must leave."
"But – but why not just another city? That way, when you feel you are better at your control, she can come and see you..."
"Takuma..." Kaname gazed at the other warningly.
"I just – I just don't understand! Why a boarding school in Europe? Why that long? You leave Yuuki-chan, Seiren, and me no choice." he begged, fist balled up, either in despair or anger at his own confusion.
"Seiren will always follow me, no matter where I go. That is, and will always be, her choice. And you know why I need you here. Yuuki... it is for the best to leave Yuuki, until I can control the thirst. Then... then I will visit her again." There was longing behind his voice; he already missed his dear girl.
"But, you can't just leave the way you are now! Yuuki-chan doesn't understand at all!" Takuma proclaimed, jade eyes wide and innocently hopeful.
"Better for her to be ignorant. Her hatred for me will ensure I don't run back due to homesickness."
The younger boy looked taken aback. "She could never hate you..."
"Nonetheless, it is for the best that I leave Japan as soon as possible."
Just when Takuma thought the conversation was over, Kaname added, "Don't worry, Ichigou. I'll take take of Seiren. You take care of Yuuki."
"Okay," he sighed in defeat.
It was not the last time they saw each other though, for Ichigou was called about three years later, so he could partake in the Guardian ceremony.
When he stayed over for the week there was no talk of Yuuki, or hunger. There were just three young vampires, two who would sooner or later find love in each other, and one who desperately longed for the love he had let go of.
But, enough of the past.
"Kaname?" His mother turned to him, her eyes curious. "How is Yuuki-chan?"
Haruka's ears perked up at the mention of his daughter's name. For the past twenty minutes there was no talk at all, the three grown vampires preferring the peaceful silence of each other's company rather than to speak with one another. Something had triggered Juuri to talk and, as it was her nature, neither male was taken aback by the suddenness of it all.
Kaname turned thoughtful, placing his cup of tea back on the glass coffee table in front of him. The strong aroma of Earl Grey engulfed the area surrounding them. "She is... coping, but her hunger has taken a new turn."
Neither parent commented on Kaname's answer. Instead, the eldest Kuran switched to a different topic, inquiring about Senri Shiki.
Kaname merely replied, "Our cousin is well."
His father nodded his head, hand underneath his chin in a pondering manner.
Juuri's inveigling eyes light up, and she couldn't help but spill another question. "What of the hunter?"
Haruka sent his wife a look of caution, but she was far too interested in what her dearest son had to say.
The reaction was not what either of them had in mind.
Kaname smirked deviously, legs crossed, and appeared all too comfortable in his cushioned seat as he pulled his tea cup from the table and nearer to his lips. He took a sip of the now warm liquid, then placed the Belgian cup down gently.
Dangerous amusement danced in his irises. "He's not a challenge, if that's what you wish to know."
Evidently, Juuri mused with excitement, her son did not view the boy as competition.
Then all would be good.
The woman was called up several hours later to his private chambers, and the second he bothered to eye her, he knew she was different from the usual feeders he drank from.
For one, she did not stutter, or 'accidentally' trip, or even blush in his presence, which most of the female feeders (and a few male ones) tended to do.
For two, she greeted him with precise politeness and respect, nothing more and nothing less, nothing hidden behind her simple words.
As he sunk his fangs into her flesh, he finally grasped the difference between her and them. Her loyalty towards Purebloods – especially the Kurans, he noted – did not go any farther than respect and awe. She did not have delusional fantasies that one would come to love her, call her out, make her special or noticed. Instead, she decided that if any of her masters could marry for love and no other reason, she would be happy for them. As always: nothing more, nothing less.
Also, he detected – as he couldn't help but probe deeper – she was in love.
He let his fangs retract, and thanked her for fulfilling her duty. She curtsied in an amiable way, before leaving him to himself.
Normal vampires could be so interesting.
But they could never be her.
The roads were dark and empty, save for the dim streetlamps that showed up every now and then. The man did not care for them, as he could see clearly even in the most tenebrous, moonless night.
And then he jumped into the clearing, snickering as if he had won some sort of prize.
Kaname didn't even blink as his arm, fully extended and locked, cut through the Level E's chest. He threw the man to the nearest wall, and the lesser vampire burst into dust at the impact.
Before he knew what he was truly about to do, he raised his blood-stained fingers to his mouth – the liquid was still warm, he observed halfheartedly – and licked away the impure, tainted blood.
The taste was odd (as compared with normal blood) – an interesting, slightly repulsive mixture of sourness and blandness.
And, unlike with humans and vampires, he could not detect even traces of feelings within the blood.
There was only one thing.
Hunger.
Kaname's pupils dilated as his irises rippled into a neon red.
Yuuki.
He continued to move on impulse, arm dropping to his side.
Reaching the never ending field of roses, Kaname collapsed to his knees.
A gust of wind blew, condensed as a pool of power in the form of nothingness. Some weak petals ripped away from their sworn flowers, grabbing hold of the wind and swaying in the silence with their insubstantial partner.
Kaname closed his eyed and breathed deep.
Her scent was permanent in this garden, even after all these years...
"Why did you have to mention Shiki?" she hissed at him, her tone partially laced with disbelief at his actions.
"Rido -" he tried, but was automatically cut off.
"Rido is no longer of our concern, Haruka." she spat her brother's name in distaste.
Haruka gave his wife a solemn glace. "You forget, my love, that Rido is not dead."
She bit her lip in frustration, red, hot liquid seeping through. Haruka blinked his hunger back. "He hasn't even seen his child in these past nineteen years!"
"Never too late, though, is it?"
His dark, haunted expression set her insides in turmoil.
NOTE: Because of school, AP/Honors classes, 19 hours of extracurricular activities and such, I can't worry about updating every three days. Especially when I'm practically not home until eight. So the next update will be next Saturday, but from then on, updates will probably be biweekly (On Saturdays). Sorry for the inconvenience guys. :)
Next Update: 9-15-12
Reviews guys? Like, enough reviews to make the world go round?
