Author's Note:
Hola guys! Just a little foreword to this chapter. For those of you who enjoy my little tidbits, I'm here to boast of my cleverness and flaunt some literary references. Are any of you Sherlock fans? (And by 'Sherlock' I mean you've not only watched the TV series, you've read the books, watched the movies, etc.) Ah, who am I kidding? If you're not, you should be.
Because if you've not read the book 'The Last Bow', you've surely seen the BBC episode 'The Last Vow', and you'll know at the end of it Sherlock has this quote about an 'East Wind'.
Now, you can go do your own research on the 'East Wind' if you'd like, but if you want the footnotes version: it's a symbol of change, or equivalent to saying a '(shit)storm is coming'. Here, I'll let Mr Holmes tell you himself:
"There's an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it's God's own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared."
It's often interpreted as a destructive force of nature. There. That's all folks. I won't bore you further.
Is this too much of a spoiler? Well fuck, I've gotta flaunt some stuff or I'll regret it later! This wonderful little burst of inspiration hit me when I read the title of the previous chapter - 'Thy Vows Are All Broken' - and, well, I couldn't resist! It's so fun to twist the meaning of things - taking each sentence of Lord Byron's famous poem to influence the chapter, and taking the whole poem to lead the plot - and throwing all the references I can into this literary mosh-pit to honour all the things I've read.
Adieu, wonderful people! Thanks for your patience,
~puui x
When he wakes up, it is to the sound of voices. It's warm for the morning, and Ichiru cannot understand why it seems like the world is ending, but it does. It might be because his head feels like the opposite of the Grinch's heart - two sizes too big - also he tastes something like lighter fluid and his own regurgitated vomit. Basically, he blames Kaito completely for reasons he cannot quite grasp other than because he's Kaito, which is often reason enough.
The voices get louder as he swims to consciousness, half-dragged along by the current of general discomfort. Something tickles his face, and he bats at it a couple times till it relents with an amused huff. Ichiru strains to lift his head and glare at whoever is tormenting him - he expects it to be Kaito, but is shocked to see Seiren. Behind her is Kaito, slumped in the most unconventional sitting position Ichiru's ever seen. He doesn't even know how his legs are bending like that, and thinking about how he's contorting his limbs makes him want to hurl. Sensing this, Seiren quickly whips out a bucket - just in time too.
"Oh Jesus, not the noises…"
Kaito groans and makes grabby hands for the bucket too, but seeing as it's the only one at hand, he chokes down his nausea and glowers till he finishes. Ichiru sneers.
"What'chu looking at, you absolute freaking lightweight."
"Oi, oi," Kaito grumbles, raising a finger in protest. The finger swings around for a bit, but then ends up tucked in his hair. "… no, y' right, 's my fault."
Hearing that confession - he snorts loudly.
"Too fucking right," he throws Kaito a derisive glare, "Got yourself drunk on one fucking drink - "
"Don' even look at me, Kiryuu - I'm 'a be sick just seein' your face - "
"You're both pathetic," Seiren spits, shoving the bucket onto Kaito's lap with her perfect timing once more. Slowly, it dawns on Ichiru that she's here - their resident spy. Why on earth…? She meets his eyes the moment he strings together the question and plucks it straight out of his head, "I was sent to get you," she answers, somehow managing to scoot back on her chair smoothly, her new vantage point allows her to terrorise both Hunters with a spine-chilling glare. "You ingrates decided to elope, did you?"
Ichiru shakes his head as fast as it allows - he opens his mouth, but she slaps a hand over it immediately.
"Wouldn't be a good idea to talk right now," she says quietly, dropping her voice when the sound of footsteps approaches, "You'll tell me your excuses later. Right now we've got company."
And just like that, Seiren slaps a frighteningly charming smile on her sweet face when she turns to greet Bartender-san and… Driver-san.
Fuck.
It all comes rushing back to Ichiru - too fast for his poor sluggish mind to process. His stomach experiences similar shock and he shuffles over to Kaito to steal the bucket.
They're fucking sharing a sick-bucket.
This is disgusting on a whole new level.
The two men stride into the room, Bartender-san leading the way with an amused smirk stretching his lips. In the daylight he appears even larger than he did at night - his broad frame filling the whole doorway, sending Ichiru reeling into the memories of last night; he experiences flashbacks in short bursts across his aching eyes. The acidic roiling of moonshine in his gut, the trippy daze of night-time spun into fantastical colours and blurry lines - but then, with absolute clarity, he recalls the markings on the wall. The lashings of blood. They streaked all over the church walls and ceiling - and Ichiru remembers what prompted him to investigate the town - it was all because of these two men in front of him, but particularly Driver-san. The ramblings of Bartender-san about equipment and tubes -
"Looks like tha' brew hit you harder than you'd expected," Bartender-san grins obnoxiously, looking inordinately proud about that. Ichiru tries for a smile, but his face ends up with more of a grimace. He barks out a laugh.
Seiren covers her mouth and releases the most adorable giggle - both Hunters' heads whip around in alarm, having never heard the spy do such a thing. Ichiru quickly realises that she's putting on an act. What that act may be, he has no idea - he startles when she grabs his thigh through the blanket - really hard. Her hand looks deceptively light on the surface, but her vice-like grip is anything but.
"Oh, honey!" she titters, shaking her head delightedly, "I thought you could handle yourself better!"
"Wha-?"
Ichiru vaguely understands that he's messing this up for her, but her warning grip tightens to the point where he thinks he can feel tendons snapping, and he's understandably distracted by that - luckily the hangover validates the pained look that crosses his face. Kaito snorts loudly, blessedly relieving him of Seiren's punishing grip as she turns her attention on him. She shoots him a terrifying look that has Kaito flinching violently.
"And you," she says, taking on a steelier tone. Ichiru feels marginally safer. "I hear that you didn't manage to make his night special."
"What?" Kaito squawks. Ichiru is completely lost on what their cover story is and merely shrugs at his brother, totally oblivious to what Kaito is panicking over until - oh. He gets it, and his head snaps around to Seiren with matching horror.
"You passed out first," she explains, twisting in her seat to gesture to the two other men, "This gentleman here had to drag you both to bed on his own good manners - thank you so much, sir."
"Not a problem," Bartender-san says, and it isn't hard to see that he's completely won by Seiren's delightful manners. "Everyone underestimates our local drink and pays the price sooner or later. 's why I own the B&B too, love," he winks.
She titters again, sending chills down both their spines - "They're awful! I'm so sorry that you had to deal with them - I suppose you can see why I had to collect them."
"Definitely - you're one lucky guy," he tells Ichiru, his voice gruff and sincere, "Got yer fiancée here pickin' you up after yer stag-do an' all. Mighty fine lady you got."
"F-F-Fiancée?"
The huge man frowns, making Ichiru wince as he stomps closer to them, towering over him as he bends down closer to his face.
"Now don't ye be upsettin' yer lady like tha'," Bartender-san growls, "Soundin' so shocked bout yer weddin'-plans. I'll be," he grunts, shaking his head apologetically towards Seiren, "If he be blamin' the brew for clearin' his brain out, then I'll eat my hat. It dun work like tha'."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry," she laughs, clapping Ichiru on the shoulder hard. He gasps as the movement jostles his head, "He always gets a bit forgetful after a night out. Oh honey!" she exclaims, taking in his pale, almost greyish complexion and wide eyes, "Oh, you don't look good! Would you by any chance have some painkillers or - or - "
"Yep, I'll go get some," he leans over to pat Ichiru on the head like a dog, "You sit righ' here. I'll be a minute."
He leaves Ichiru fidgeting under Seiren's fussing - at the same time, Kaito manages to peel his eyelids open and lo and behold he somehow manages to recognise Driver-san despite everything. That is not a good thing because what he remembers is muddled in his head and Ichiru instinctively recognises from his expression that he's about to cock things up for them both and with Seiren's kung-fu-grip so close to his family jewels he can't afford to let Kaito do that.
"Hey, you - " is all Kaito manages to growl before Ichiru leaps up off the bed and promptly pukes all over Seiren.
She clenches her teeth in a fierce yet 'loving' smile, and then helps clean him up, with Driver-san hovering in the corner and Kaito sniggering in his seat.
"Honey," she coos again, "You're really not doing well, are you?"
He shakes his head, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, darling, I was just a little shocked. Fancy seeing you here," he directs to Driver-san, tilting his head curiously.
Again, the daylight ruins the serial-killer-vibe he had last night and transforms him into a rather unassuming man… younger and smaller than he remembers, more of a boy than a man. But something about his body language ticks Ichiru off. From the guy who'd almost wet himself for having run into Kaito to Mr Calm, Cool and Collected - it doesn't add up. He approaches them with a polite smile plastered on his face, one which doesn't quite meet his eyes and lacks the warmth that would have made it appear genuine. He dips his head to Seiren courteously and arranges his face into something a little more contrite.
"I am truly sorry for leaving you two like that," he lays on more remorse for Seiren's benefit, "Last night, I almost turned your friends into road-kill."
"Oh god," she slaps her hand to her mouth, eyes round. That's genuine concern, Ichiru thinks. Seiren takes both Hunters' hands, "Are you both alright?"
"Got hip-checked by this psycho," Kaito blurts immediately, narrowing his eyes up at Driver-san, "What did you say your name was?"
"Why did you come back?" Ichiru interrupts. They already have his name - that photo he took with his phone - what's more suspicious to him is that Driver-san returned to them. The coincidence is uncanny - that he would arrive to see them wake, and he's suddenly very glad to have Seiren there too, if only as a witness Her presence provides some security - three to two has them at the advantage, even if two of their three are quite drunk and useless. Ichiru slips his hand under the covers and reaches for his gun strapped to his back as discreetly as he can - ah, it's still there. Good. Tucked under his jumper in the dip of his spine, it's small enough to go unnoticed - he wonders if Bartender-san saw it on him though, and only returned it to him on the pretence that he doesn't know. If that's the case, might he have taken out his ammo?
"I had to come back," Driver-san says plainly enough, in that tone that makes you feel stupid for even asking. "I shouldn't have ditched you like that in the first place. I think I was in shock. But I couldn't sleep last night. I couldn't get you out of my head. I was too worried."
Funny. It certainly looks like he got a good night's sleep, a little voice in Ichiru's head pipes up (sounding very much like Zero). It's true though - his eyes are bright and sharp, and there's an undercurrent to his - his very being that is almost like a coiled spring, brimming with elastic energy, like there are hundreds of questions he's dying to ask. Ichiru feels very much the same, but instead of being so gung-ho about it, the jitters have him biting his tongue. It occurs to him that while they were sleeping, anything could have happened. These men could have searched them, discovered their weapons in that time - oh, and if they took off his hat… they could have seen his hair. The Kiryuu's are infamous for their white hair and pale complexion - they would realise he must have some connection to the King - to Zero. Fuck.
- I couldn't get you out of my head. I was too worried.
What was he worried about? When he left them, it was clear that they were going to survive - for all Kaito's moaning, at most he had a little concussion, and Ichiru was fine too so it couldn't be that… why was he so interested in them?
"Awfully kind of you to come back," Seiren comments.
He shrugs, "I couldn't just go on like nothing had happened. I had to see for myself that you were alright, and I'm so glad to find out you are okay."
"If you can call this 'alright'," Kaito grumbles, "That asshole must've poisoned us…"
The man smiles tightly at him before returning to Seiren, "Pardon me asking, but by any chance, are you a…" he gesticulates around for a bit, totally losing Ichiru with the hand-movements, but Seiren smiles graciously.
"A Vampire?" she proffers, nodding, "Indeed I am. Is that a - "
"Oh, it's not a problem. Not at all - I was just - I was so concerned for your fiancée and friend that I didn't take the time to notice how beautiful you are, if you don't mind me saying," he bends closer and shields his mouth from Ichiru to faux-whisper, "It's a Vampire trait to be exceptionally beautiful, is it not? I'm sure it is, since you definitely outshine any Human I've ever seen."
Somehow - somehow, don't ask Ichiru - Seiren manages to force out a blush. It makes Ichiru stop to wonder if Vampires perhaps can control their blood? - but he digresses, she may just have exceptional acting skills. Ichiru is confused though. The man's words seem to be flirtatious, but his expression - his voice and delivery are remarkably lacklustre. If it's not his intention to woo Seiren, then why is he bothering to point out her Vampirism and beauty? Kaito nudges him and mouths 'smooth' with a little eyebrow wiggle that makes him roll his eyes, but he looks up and finds the man staring at him and Kaito with that same unreadable expression. When it starts getting creepy, Kaito scoots forwards with a glare -
"What you looking at, eh? You saying we ain't beautiful too?"
Ichiru's mouth opens - he spots Kaito's mistake -
Something flashes in Driver-san's eyes. Something tells them that he picked up on Kaito's accidental admission too.
"Sorry, it's just a little unusual… no offence, but this is the first time I've come across a Vampire engaged to a Human. It's quite unique."
Ah, he assumes they're Human. He knows they aren't Vampires, so they must be either Human or Hunter - Ichiru sighs internally, thankful that the assumption is to be Human rather than Hunter. It's the more common assumption to make, as they assume the same of him - that he's Human. Even though Driver-san claims he's not against Vampires, he might have another opinion on them marrying Humans.
"You got something to say about it, pal?" Kaito scoots forwards again, the bucket sloshing. Wisely, the man chooses to back away.
"No - not at all! It's just uncommon, I have nothing against it personally. Not at all. Congratulations," he bows hastily at them, "Honestly - I think it's wonderful that love can overcome such boundaries - "
"We don't see it as a 'boundary' at all," Seiren cuts in - for once in this whole act, sounding rather vexed. The statement strikes Ichiru as very poignant and he recognises that she isn't really defending them but two important people who matter a lot to them. It always comes down to this, doesn't it? - he ponders - that never-ending interest people have in Vampires and Humans falling in love. It has to be taboo. It has to be something you have an opinion on, even if it doesn't concern you - that's the world view. Something as controversial as star-crossed lovers ought to be discussed unremittingly till it becomes a stigma. That's how it goes, doesn't it?
He sees the flattery from before in a different perspective as it is obvious now that it was purely objective - he was only pointing out Seiren's good looks as an indication of her race and nothing more. Feeling quite upset for her sake, Ichiru shuffles closer to his 'fiancée' and wraps an arm around her as a show of solidarity.
"Forgive me," Driver-san babbles again, bowing again twice, and backing off with a wary side-glance at Kaito's heated glare. "I honestly meant no offence - "
"Sure don't look like it to me," Kaito snaps, "You have some nerve." And it shocks and impresses Ichiru, this proof that even Kaito feels affronted by Driver-san's slight on their Kings. He may be many things, but above all he is loyal. Ichiru smiles, and receives a confused frown in return. Idiot. Typical of him to not recognise his best attributes.
"Whoa - what happened here?" Bartender-san exclaims dramatically from the doorway, stepping back into the room with a tray of drinks and a box of pills.
Not surprisingly, Ichiru doesn't want to take anything from this man.
"You guys arguin' about summat?" he sets the tray down next to Ichiru. Steam rolls off the mugs - he's both equally reassured and surprised to discover it's coffee, not more moonshine. Doesn't mean it isn't poisoned, he reasons, trying to catch Seiren's eye for guidance. The spy calmly takes a mug and inhales the steam, closing her eyes in mock-delight. She's more likely analysing the chemical make-up of it than appreciating the smell. Finally, she takes a sip.
"There be no fightin' under my roof," Bartender-san commands, planting his massive hands on his hips. He narrows his eyes at Driver-san surprisingly enough. Ichiru would have thought he'd pin the blame on them. "You botherin' my customers?" Ah, it's about business then.
Driver-san shakes his head, "Didn't mean to be a bother."
"Well it seems like y'are anyway, so git," the larger man sneers, jerking his thumb to the door, "An' take yer stinkin' parcels away, would ye? They're in the usual place. Git those tubes outta my foyer before people be trippin' on them, boy."
"Yes, of course - " Driver-san ducks his head sharply and hurries out of the room.
Huh.
Curious and curiouser… Ichiru watches the way Bartender-san looks after Driver-san, kind of wistful, yet with a steely undertone… and he turns to Seiren, and sees the same suspicion in her eyes as he has flying around his head. It would be a bit of a leap to assume this, but the way Bartender-san spoke was almost too familiar - like family - and he called him 'boy'. Last night, he'd named Driver-san as one of the 'odd people' who passed through the town regularly, but what if his association with the town and Bartender-san was something more? The way he spoke of him was so distant - deliberately detached. If they have any former connection between them, they're clearly estranged, but their familial or pseudo-familial bond still forces Bartender-san to give Driver-san a place to stay here.
Odd things been happening since he came around. He's quiet. Keeps to himself, which is why he fits in so well. But since he came things been going strange in the town. See, even if he fits in, he ain't one of us - an' that's clear.
All those things Bartender-san said at first sounded like nothing more than him describing someone who didn't matter much to him, but now that Ichiru goes over it again, he can hear the bitterness in his voice. He says Driver-san brought about trouble in the town, yet claims that he fits in well suggests that the trouble is really between them rather than the town. He 'keeps to himself', and yet - he's clearly not one of them -
Ah. Maybe it's his career? Ichiru doesn't want to be someone who stereotypes small communities as being backwards or anything, but from the way Bartender-san spoke about the science equipment, it's clear he doesn't have a clue. Maybe what drove a wedge between Driver-san and him was him having an obviously higher education which didn't fit the place he grew up in too. Fuck. He didn't mean to psycho-analyse them - he didn't even think he could in his current state - but it made so much sense in his head, and for some reason, he thinks this is important. If Bartender-san is related to Driver-san, maybe he's providing him with a base to work in despite their problems.
Maybe it's his olive branch.
"He's your son, isn't he?"
He doesn't mean to say it and regrets doing so immediately after, because Bartender-san flares his nostrils, and the guy is really enormous. Thankfully he only squares his shoulders, and leaves in a strop.
"Nice. Piss off The Incredible Hulk over there. If we make it out alive, we'll feed you to him first."
The jibe rolls off Ichiru like water off a duck, they listen to Bartender-san's footsteps go down the stairs, and as soon as he's far enough away, he turns to them.
"I need to show you guys something."
Seiren shakes her head, "We need to get out of here."
"But I saw something last night," he insists, throwing Kaito a dark glare, "Last night, I went out for some air after you boozed yourself out, and I found some really, really weird creepy stuff."
"This whole place is weird and creepy, Ichiru-san," Seiren points out calmly, "And it doesn't matter anyway. I have orders to bring you back."
"Fuck that. I wanna see the weird creepy stuff."
"I'm being serious, Kaito - everything that happened last night, there's no way we went through so many horror movie clichés without there being a good reason for it."
"Perhaps not a 'good' reason," Seiren says slowly, sending chills up Ichiru's spine. What does she know? "Did you say 'last night'?"
"…yeah?"
"Are you saying you got drunk every night you stayed here?"
"What are you talking about? We've only been here one night."
Seiren stares.
Fuck.
"…h-how long have we been here for?"
She twists her skirt hem, "Three days, by my reckoning - "
"Three days?" Ichiru blanches - even Kaito recoils, taken aback - three days? How could they have been unconscious for that long? It makes no sense!
"Well, I was sent out three days ago, but even when I started the search… I don't know. It's like your scents were shrouded. Diluted. I could barely catch your trail, which is why it took so long to find you."
"We did get picked up by a car - by that guy's son - part way into the journey," Ichiru offers.
She grunts. "It wasn't that. I know you got picked up - that's easy to smell - but your scents were fluctuating, and you kept doubling back on yourselves a lot."
Fluctuating? Ichiru wracks his brain for an explanation -
"The tracker," Kaito says, quickly rattling off to Seiren about Yagari's tracker-mark. Ichiru nods - it's a logical answer.
"You imbeciles," Seiren hisses, slapping them both, "Honestly - you could have told somebody you were going to meet your sensei! No one would've stopped you."
"It's Hunter business," Kaito snipes, practically sticking his tongue out at her, "Are you a Hunter? I don't think so, pretty lady."
"It doesn't matter if you're Hunter or not - you have a responsibility to keep us informed of your whereabouts! You're in so much trouble when we get back."
"Kuran doesn't scare me."
"Does Zero-san?"
"…fuck," he mutters, but straightens up anyway, "As for us doubling back, we kept our noses pointed straight - the tracker's been acting up, but we weren't strictly following it anyway, and we didn't repeat any path we took."
"Unless…" Ichiru chews his lip, "Unless the doubling-back part wasn't us."
Kaito swears. "That creepy fucker."
Ichiru nods again, "He could have taken us on a detour without us realising. It was dark. We couldn't see."
"This whole thing is fucked up," Kaito grumbles, his expression taking on that shrewd twist that means he's thinking - really thinking for once. "Seriously - getting hit on the road, getting taken on a road-trip by the creeper - it's almost like he was expecting us to be there. And taking us on the detour - it's like he wanted to buy himself some time or weasel something outta us. And then he takes us here, to freaking Boo Radley's hunting grounds and he dopes us up on enough moonshine to knock us out for three days?"
Did they do something to us while we were sleeping? - is what Ichiru would like to know. From the looks on the other two's faces, he can see they're probably wondering the same thing. One night is long enough to sleep in a stranger's place and hope you still have your wallet on you, but three days is long enough for them to have found out every little secret on their person - everything, down to Ichiru's hair colour and Kaito's tracker mark. Ichiru doesn't trust these men enough to give them the benefit of the doubt. Letting them sleep through three days is freaky enough by itself - it would be naïve of him to expect they'd left them alone in all that time.
"Do you get it now?" he asks quietly, nudging Seiren in particular, "I need to show you something."
They leave the B&B as quietly as they an, finding it unnervingly bare and quiet and empty all the way through - and Bartender-san is at the bottom in the front lobby, chewing on a thick cigar and polishing the counter. He narrows his eyes at them and just as they reach the door, he speaks.
"So why'd you choose a place like this for your stag-do?"
Ichiru tilts his head, "Wasn't by choice, sir, though your hospitality has been much appreciated. I'd have thought your son might have told you the reason he brought us here."
His nostrils flare. Kaito pinches Ichiru's elbow in warning, but he shrugs him off.
"Tha' be right," Bartender-san says slowly, "T'was an accident, he says. Awful sorry for ye," he sneers, giving Ichiru no doubt that he feels little remorse for them, "So yer lodging's free as a sorry, 's that enough for ye?"
"Much appreciated, thanks."
"Yeah," he barks at their retreating backs, "All ye did was sleep anyhow."
Ichiru pauses. It's these things he says which make him think… which make him think Bartender-san might really be clueless to much of what happened. He might be not to blame for this - that night, he told Ichiru he suspected Driver-san of stealing moonshine and switching it. He knew little about science or what Driver-san was using his lab equipment for…
"Is that right?" he asks quietly.
"As far as I know," Bartender-san shifts a little, a little nervous, perhaps? "The most I saw of ye were glimpses whenever he went to feed and water you."
"I don't remember that," Kaito mutters.
"You wouldn't - it was all through tubes. IV feed or summat. He kept ye hydrated an' all."
"Tell him thank you from us," Ichiru says, dragging Kaito away by his scruff. He certainly isn't happy to hear they were 'treated' while unconscious -
"Shouldn't be thanking him," he hears Bartender-san call, and then mutter, as if to himself - "…'s far as I know, m' son's an excellent driver…"
An 'excellent driver' huh?
So much for an accident then - Ichiru drags them away, out of earshot before Kaito starts muttering about 'creepy-ass motherfuckers' in front of their host. He hurries them to the church, finding it a lot further away than he remembers and a lot smaller too. Upon reaching it, Kaito declares the town is clearly 'fucked in the head'. Freed from the colour-trippy haze he'd been in at the time, he's shocked to find the wooden boards he'd pried off the church are nailed back on exactly how he'd found them. They kick them through and duck into the darkened nave, crunching on broken glass and splinting wood. Ichiru cranes his neck back and squints, willing his night time vision to come, but after a few minutes… he just stares.
"Where are they?"
He peers above - around - runs back to the way they came and starts pulling wooden planks off to let more light in -
"What are you doing?"
Seiren's voice echoes around the space, multiplying her irritation tenfold till Ichiru is cringing at his weak, pitiful attempts to pry off the rusty nails. Thankfully she comes to his aid, and within a few minutes the room is dimly lit - enough so that it's unmistakeable - it cannot be poor eyesight or insufficient lighting… the markings are gone.
"What exactly are we looking for here?"
"There was blood!" he exclaims, unable to hush his voice - this is too much, "On the walls - on the ceiling - !"
"Are you fucking with me?" Kaito snarls, turning on him, "Do you think this is a joke?"
"I'm not lying! There was blood all over the walls - " he runs down to the altar and immediately starts trying to push it aside - it was bolted to the floor slab, "There's a trapdoor under this thing - "
"Ichiru - "
"No, I'm not lying - it's really here - !" he scrabbles at the floor desperately - how is all the blood gone? How is it that it looks like I was never here? "Let go of me - "
"I can smell it."
He halts - struck by dizzying relief. Seiren can smell it - that's the validation he needed -
"They painted over it," she whispers into his ear, "It's still fresh," her hands whip out so fast and grab them so hard that their heads almost knock together, "Someone's coming now. Footsteps."
Three days. Three days to dry the paint - to cover the blood, to hide the evidence - evidence of what? Ichiru finds himself panting, puffing on dusty air as he tries to calm himself. At least they know he wasn't completely high when he saw this - it was real. There was blood.
"Do you believe me now?" he demands -
- but before they can answer, the door clangs open noisily and - and Driver-san marches in, a look of abject disbelief on his face.
"What are you doing in here?" he demands, "This is private property. This is a construction site."
"Construction site?" Ichiru scoffs. Seiren tightens her hold on him warningly - don't aggravate him, it says, we need to get out of here without provoking anybody -
"The church - it's being renovated," he declares, crossing his arms, "And you're not supposed to be here."
"What are you doing here?" Kaito pipes up, prompting Seiren to stomp on his foot.
"I'm helping my Pa out - you know, the old guy whose place you've been staying at. He owns this place."
"What, the church too?"
"The church, the B&B, the post office, the bar - it's a small town. Anyway, I'll say again - you're not supposed to be here," he grinds out, motioning at the door. They take his cue, filing out quickly. Outside is too bright now, and surprisingly enough, Kaito goes to shade Seiren from the worst of the late morning Sun, dragging Ichiru to join him. Driver-san stands off to the side, a rather sour look on his face still, but he sweetens up after a bit. "Sorry," he grumbles, "It's just, the renovation's a sore topic between me and my Pa, and a bit of a controversy in town."
"Yeah, I guess it would be quite controversial in a small town like this, turning their old church into a lab," Ichiru says, searching for some confirmation in his face.
His lips tighten, but then he smiles slowly, "Ah, Pa's told you about it then?"
"Told us about your tubes, your equipment," Ichiru verifies.
"Well that's for work. This old place is not gonna be anything more than a small lab-come-brewery," he grins, "Someone's gotta keep making our specialty brew."
More moonshine, huh? Ichiru isn't sure how he feels about them manufacturing more lethal knock-out. Sounds dangerous.
"Charming," he forces out.
"Were you three waiting for transportation?" he asks, eyeing them warily, "There aren't many transport links around here. You'll need a taxi to the nearest train station, or I could give you a lift - "
"We're fine walking, but thank you for the offer," Seiren says, making Kaito sputter at the word 'walking'. Then, faster than he can protest, she's bending down and flipping him over her shoulder - folding his massive frame over her slender shoulders. Ichiru backs away but, of course, is too slow to dodge her - she curls her other arm around his waist, tighter than a straitjacket. Driver-san's eyebrows have almost flown off his face. He flinches at the sight - but Ichiru doesn't blame him. They must look pretty ridiculous.
"I see."
"Thanks again for looking after my boys," she nods curtly, and without further ado, turns them around to the road.
She walks them to the edge of town, and they carry on in silence for a while after, till they're absolutely certain they are alone. The moment this is confirmed, Kaito makes his displeasure known to them, despite the fact that he dangles limply - a contradiction to his outrage. She loops her arm more tightly around Kaito, bends forwards again, and - fuck - gives the same treatment to Ichiru. Both Hunters glare at each other behind her head, squirming for space on her limited shoulder span.
"I don't know what mess you two have landed yourselves in here," Seiren mutters low, but loud enough for them both to hear, "But you're right. This place is messed up. They're hiding something here, something that Kaname undoubtedly needs to know about."
"You think it's that serious?" Ichiru breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank fuck. So do I." It's good to know he's not alone thinking this.
"From the little I've seen and from what you have told me, it seems that there's definitely something serious going on. You said the scientist works for Takuma's company?"
"Inoue Noburu," Ichiru says, naming him for the first time aloud. The ID card flashes in his mind - he kept from calling him by his name for the time being because he thought he wouldn't be someone he'd have to remember, but now that Seiren agrees that things are worth investigating - it's time to name their elusive driver.
"Fuck." Kaito squirms violently, shoving so hard he almost slips off her shoulders, "Put me down - I'm serious, put me down." She does, and he drops to the ground, rolling his trouser leg up - the tracker mark is glowing steadily, more brightly than before. Ichiru peers down at it. "It's working," Kaito tells them, poking at it tentatively, "Ouch. Fuck, yep. It's definitely working."
"How does it work?"
Kaito shudders, "Burns hotter the closer I get to sensei. Eventually it'll burn right off my skin. I've got a mark - he's got a mark. They draw us towards each other. He's that-a-way," he points off the road. Seiren stares in the direction, a muscle tensing in her back that startles Ichiru.
"Climb back on then," she drops on one knee.
He screws up his face, "Why?"
"You're too slow," she says bluntly, "I'm faster, and since it seems that we're heading in the same direction, I might as well take you there."
"Where were you planning on taking us?" Ichiru asks from his side.
"To the Second Nest - the others and my masters are meeting with us there." As always, it surprises Ichiru to remember Seiren's (self-designated) status - her persistence to remain subservient to Kaname and Zero is more out of habit now than anything. It's too archaic in their context - in their family - and though she is well aware that they don't see her like that anymore... whatever makes her comfortable.
"Well, we might be heading the same direction, but we are going to meet our sensei, so you drop us off when we get there, okay?" Kaito demands, "I don't give a fuck about meeting up with the others. Sensei has something he wants to tell me."
"If you want to be dropped off when I'm running at fifty, be my guest - but you'll have to jump yourself, because I'm not stopping - "
"Screw that. Sensei should come find us."
"Very well," she says. Wrapping up their discussion with a rather disconcerting slap to both their thighs, she chuckles, "I hope you emptied yourselves of all you had earlier. No more puking on my shoes."
"Got it," Kaito nods, "And Seiren?"
"What?"
Ichiru huffs, knowing some shit is about to come out of Kaito's mouth right now -
"Nice ass."
She bolts.
It shouldn't be this easy to slip back into routine like this.
To be so comfortable wrapping himself around Kaname like a knapsack; to be so close to him he can feel his pulse in his neck and his chest expand and compress with each breath. This doesn't make sense. He knows that after all he's seen, after all that's happened between them in the last few days, the last thing he should feel is compassion or affectionate. They've barely spoken since the crypt.
Something changed - but like the many things that have changed between them, it's too subtle to be gauged yet incredibly significant. Zero's sick of trying to figure out what's it means and has decided to just roll with it. If Kaname wants to stay quiet, let him brood. Meanwhile he'll satisfy his own needs, and if that means squeezing Kaname to death, then so be it. Part of the reason for his death-grip is Kaname's running-speed, of course, but there's some niggling feeling deep inside him, something else that is achingly similar to a plea for comfort.
Amazingly enough, this compassionate side of him extends to forgiving Kaname for his neglect - he knows it's a product of deep thought and trying to cope with his difficult past. Kaname doesn't mean to shut him out, but it's the only way he can cope. Zero understands, and even with Kaname trying with all his might to keep him far away from his pain, some of it leaks through their Bond, and Zero takes it and soothes it as much as he can. The only stops they've taken have been for rest and food. Zero doesn't have much of an appetite, but Kaname insists - presses whatever food he finds from fuck knows where into his hands and watches him till he eats. The satisfaction he sees in Kaname when he does pleases him too, and Zero knows somewhere at the back of his head that they are going savage in their isolation.
He hasn't asked where the Nest is.
There's no point - Kaname mumbled to him at one point that he was being guided by one of his ravens - one that had found Aidou and Kain and would direct them there. Another raven had been sent to Ruka and the others to guide them, and one was out looking for Seiren, hopefully with the other two Hunters. They are slowing down, slowing to a stop - and Zero slides off Kaname's back when they do, forcing himself to pull away from him. It gets more difficult each time. He rubs his arms to loosen the ache in his muscles.
The claws are still out. Sometimes the teeth grow in length too till they peek out of his lips. Zero has no idea what is making Kaname look like this, and neither does he - but he dreads them facing the others like this, and like each time they've stopped, he takes Kaname's hands in his and tries to ease the claws back in. He takes Kaname's face in between his hands and gently rubs his cheeks, pressing his thumbs in till he can feel his teeth and gums.
Nothing works. Kaname waits patiently, but then shrugs him off and goes to collect food or mope.
And Zero either rests or thinks.
He thinks a lot.
There's so much to think about - but the thing he can't stop thinking about is that memory - Katsuo's memory. It's not so much the memory itself, but the fact that he was so affected by it that stuns Zero into a mix of deep contemplation and utter numbness. How can he sympathise with one of their biggest enemies? He pities Katsuo, he hurts for him. He shouldn't. He feels guilty for feeling this way, and confused for why he does at all. Maybe it's because he knows what loss feels like (when he sees Kaname, that feeling grows. It stings, though, like a wound that had scarred over, but still smarts when you moved the wrong way.).
When you start empathising with the enemy, what does that mean? What does that make you? Things are muddled. It's not so black and white anymore - it hasn't been for a long time, but now - now especially. The screams get to Zero - he remembers the echoes and roiling anger and - and that anger was for the Humans. For his Makers - the Ancestors. Zero cannot understand why they would go to such lengths to survive. How could they live with themselves after having tortured their own creations into monsters? That depth of cruelty, that heartlessness was so wrong.
Zero fidgets under Kaname's stare.
This time he hasn't gone away, and it's taken longer than it should have for him to notice it.
Kaname's crouched beside him, his bottom lip tucked under his large teeth. He sucks at it, and it makes Zero smile at how young it makes him look. His hesitancy tells him that Kaname wants to talk. He even takes Zero's hand - for comfort, perhaps - and that gets Zero's attention.
"You… do you think what I did was wrong?" he asks softly, and it takes Zero a moment to realise what he's referring to.
"No," he admits, tucking Kaname's hand in between his knees, ignoring the danger of his claws there, "You spared him his life. That was generous of you."
Kaname nods, though he clearly has doubts, "I almost lost it," he says even more quietly, like a confession. Zero squeezes his hand. He already knows this - he doesn't need to be told. He saw how hard Kaname had to fight his instincts to kill that man, how difficult it had been for him to rein it in and only slightly maim him. Kaname denied it at the time but he had been about to kill him - and that terrifies him now. The evidence is plain to see - even though he was, in the end, merciful, his whole demeanour is heavy with shame.
It's not fair. None of this is - Zero fights his own needs, his urge to cling onto Kaname - because that's not what he needs right now. Just looking at him, Zero can see he's like an elastic band stretched to its fullest. If he touches him - pushes him any further - he might just snap.
He lowers his voice to a soothing timbre, "You didn't though," he says, catching Kaname's eye, "You held on in the end." They've avoided broaching this subject for this very reason - for the look on Kaname's face right then. That rawness - it hurts Zero to think he's forcing Kaname to face his demons like this, praising him for not giving into his own dark nature.
"Barely," Kaname chokes out, shutting his eyes.
Zero doesn't know what to say to this.
He lets a silence form for a while to gather his thoughts before speaking again.
"But that's what matters, doesn't it?" he insists, trying to coax Kaname out with his voice, "You listened to me. You listened to yourself instead of your fear. You could have killed him, but you didn't."
Kaname shakes his head desolately, deaf to his assurances, "What am I doing wrong, Zero? I've got a plan. I've got it all planned out - everything… but it's not going as I expected - I can barely keep it together anymore - "
"We're barely past the first hurdle," Zero says, delivering the harsh facts with a calm voice and soothing caress. Kaname trembles under his fingers, but in a jittery way - like a live wire, a shiver of anxiety zips through him. "So take a deep breath and stop worrying. I'm guessing you've done like me and been drowning in your thoughts all this time, am I right?" Kaname nods miserably. "Well we're doing this wrong then, you and me - as usual. It's no good keeping everything to ourselves, we have to start talking about the problems," he says, feeling very much like he's unintentionally slipped into a therapist's role here, and that he's very ill-equipped for the task.
"What am I doing wrong?" Kaname repeats, almost begging Zero for an answer.
Besides keeping secrets from me? Massive, potentially life-threatening secrets from me? he projects, earning a wince from Kaname that is very much deserved.
"You're getting way ahead of yourself most of the time," Zero says. "I know you like to be prepared, but some of this is above and beyond. It's almost like you're burning bridges way before we're anywhere near crossing them. I think you need to stop planning - stop getting things so fixed in your mind that you can't see another way around the problem."
"I get what you're saying, Zero, but the path we're on is very narrow," Kaname replies, circling his feet at the ankles, which tells Zero he'd rather be pacing right now - but he's tired. They've been running for ages. "It's exactly like a bridge. A very old, rickety bridge with no sides to it. We are essentially tightrope-walking our way through this, Zero."
"That's not very comforting to think about."
"And on that note, we should rest," Kaname hunkers down, close enough to wordlessly invite Zero into his embrace. "We're close now. Tomorrow we'll be there."
Zero nods into his chest, crawling up Kaname's body to curl around his side. This need for closeness is something Zero is not used to. He's not sure how he feels about it, since he's never acted this way before - not even during the 'honeymoon' phase of their relationship. It's something he doesn't like to dwell on - a restless thing inside him that calls to Kaname, unwilling to die down till it's satisfied. It takes a while for Zero to get over it, having draped himself mostly on top of Kaname, and gotten Kaname to envelope him in all his limbs, but then he settles and finally sleeps.
Little known to Zero, but that flutter of nervous energy inside him is equally felt in Kaname, who finds it even harder to ignore, to the point that he cannot sleep.
It's not the same feeling he got when he first encountered the baby's special magic. That was almost like finding yourself in a snow blizzard in the middle of the summer - he had no idea where it began, and it was so alien and frighteningly unexpected. He got a taste of that magic though, and knows could recognise it anywhere now - like here, like now. The pull of the baby's magic calls to him, but softly, and for the first time, Kaname doesn't feel so threatened by it. At some point he joins Zero in sleep, but it's like only seconds have passed when he wakes again, Zero's nasal breathing gusting over his throat. He snuffles and rubs his cheek against Kaname's shoulder - but that's not what woke him.
It blitzes through him - another snowstorm - the cold, impossible realisation that he can sense it - nothing recognisable as thoughts or consciousness or anything except existing… just the idea of life itself, a tiny pinprick of brightness growing ever stronger.
It's there, and it shouldn't be, but it is - and it fills him with such awe and terror, because in all the futures he imagined for himself, he's never imagined anything like this.
And when he turns to look at Zero, he thinks that he should be feeling this too. It occurs to him that only he can feel it - through his mind, through his heart - his connection to the child is intangible, yet strong - how can he explain how he knows that its life has just begun? Its entry into the world is something only he is a witness to - he, the only person in the world to see this - and suddenly Kaname is gripped by an urge to wake Zero, because this is overwhelming. This is too much.
…but he's sleeping. He's so warm and sweet and somehow Kaname understands that it would be wrong to wake him. Even the baby's quiet presence says to him that it's meant to be just him and his child in this moment - this is just for him - and he's always going to remember it.
And yet, even when he's decided to let Zero sleep, he can't not want to share some of this with him. He tiptoes into Zero's mind, pleased to find that he's practically welcomed by Zero's subconscious, and so he dives straight in, and finds that spark - like a tiny ember - a candle in the safe dark warmth of the womb. He stops in this imaginary place - with Zero's dreams hovering like clouds above him, and his child… their child, here, in front of him… and finds that he cannot move - paralysed as he is, awed and humbled as he is.
It's just him and the baby, but then he reaches into the darkness and brushes against the spark -
And suddenly the space is filled with light.
Kaname pulls out of Zero's mind then, recalling that in the moment of his departure, the light surged through the clouds of Zero's dreams like a miniature Sun.
In the outside world, Zero mutters something under his breath and snuffles again, turning on his side - pulling a little away from Kaname - but not in a way that alarms Kaname. He understands now - that Zero's attachment to him before must have been in reaction to the child's Awakening - he clung onto Kaname to keep them together, knowing somewhere inside him that they'd have to move apart soon to make a space for their child -
And now that they're here, it does feel like there's something between them now. Something filling the spaces - something that will continue to grow - someone who no longer frightens Kaname, someone he thinks he might even learn to love.
Little known to Kaname, he is not so alone in his experience.
What he thought to be a small change - something private he was the only witness to - was in fact felt the world over. It's true - he is at the epicentre, he got the first shakes of the world shifting, but then - the rest of the world gets the next wave, and it's like breathing a new kind of air.
Somewhere in the mountain ranges, Aidou and Kain halt in their steps - their raven guide flickers, bright white light flashing across it - and they cling to the rock as something shifts. Not gravity, not the physical ground - but even Yagari gasps below them, cursing as they struggle to place their feet.
Though the train they're scattered over doesn't actually stop, but Ruka and Benomi's eyes meet through the crowd - both wide and flickering red. Rima wakes suddenly, her forehead knocking against the glass as she is rudely awakened by something she cannot remember. In the next carriage to hers, Takuma lifts his nose to the breeze, trying to catch whatever it was that interrupted his daydream.
There's something rising. A new order - and Seiren is most sensitive to it, knowing her place. Her graceful strides falter. She stutters to a stop. For her, it's nothing more than a new master for her to love. For Ichiru and Kaito - they are literally winded by Seiren's sharp shoulders as she draws to an abrupt halt - and they seek each other through blurry eyes.
Everyone feels it. All the Vampires in the world, the Humans and Hunters - they are all unknowing witnesses to the arrival of this new power, and with this, the world suddenly feels like it's being stretched -
"Did you feel that boys?" Seiren whispers, daring to break the stark silence. She sucks in a deep breath, and closes her eyes, "The winds have changed direction."
Kaito hums, "Do you mean that literally or figuratively?"
Ichiru repeats Seiren's words to himself, "…the winds of change," he mutters, unable to speak the words louder than that. Though they've stopped running, he still feels winded. Breathless.
"You're both barking mad," Kaito scoffs, "Ain't no fucking winds," he scrunches up his face, "Are you quoting Legolas or something? Ooh - 'The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the East,'" he coos.
"'A sleepless malice,'" Ichiru continues automatically, though his eyes widen comically at the next part, to epic proportions when he meets Kaito's incredulous stare: "'The eye of the enemy is moving - '"
Seiren lifts her head - her slow, solemn manner entirely deferential to something, or someone rather - "The baby."
"'He is here*.'"
Ichiru's jaw drops, knocking into her shoulder blade - of course - he gets it, and so does Kaito, if his sudden silence is anything to go by. The movie references are ridiculously poignant in this context -
That thing he felt was real - like something sank to the bottom of his gut - but at the same time, something was set free -
"We have to get to them," Kaito blurts, thumping Seiren on her spine, "I mean it," he says, deadly serious, "Go."
Camp gets knocked together pretty fast - none of them fancy sleeping on the cold hard ground, and exhaustion beats down any tensions building, uniting them for silence and efficiency. Yagari gets what they mean now - it's nothing more than a campsite, with all the electricity and plumbing put in, but as for shelter - they have to build that. Lucky for them, he's too tired to complain. They put up three large tents and connect the power and then they start heating up beans on a portable stove.
"Quaint," he grunts, poking at the tin.
It's no surprise that he receives looks so dry they could turn the rainforest into a new Sahara. He scoffs down his meal and then tuckers down in the corner with a blanket. He only plans on staying here long enough for the others to arrive, then he'll deliver his piece and get back to HQ. No time for idle chit-chat.
Aidou wets a cloth and carefully cleans away the dirt on Kain's face, mindful of his cuts and bruises. He hasn't spoken a word since Kaname's spectre healed him - but the quality of the silence has changed since that… that thing. Aidou knows there are things Kain wants to say, but he isn't willing to voice them. This problem with his hearing… he worries that it will lock Kain into this bubble of silence permanently. With this thought, he ducks to kiss Kain's lips, making sure to exchange a smile with him before returning to his work. Him not being able to hear won't change things - Aidou won't let it.
They rest for a while. Not speaking. Not moving. It's only when Aidou's head whips up that Yagari looks up - he's not even on his feet by the time Aidou disappears into the trees. Kain comes up behind him, as stumped as he is - but then he groans in understanding and drops a massive hand on Yagari's shoulder. Stay, he says with this. Yagari nods sharply.
They wait at the tent mouth, shoulder-to-shoulder. The instinct is to guard the space - the 'safe-house' or 'Nest' - whatever the bloody thing is called. It's just a stupid tent, but Yagari recognises that in this situation, it's their pseudo-fort. Aidou must have sensed intruders. It wasn't a good idea to go out there alone, but now that he has… it stands to reason that they should man the fort. Kain's eyes are owl-wide and his nostrils are flared too. Yagari observes him with mild interest - he can't imagine how difficult it must be to lose your hearing, especially since he's so young, too.
Ease up old man, he clears his throat, even though no one is there to judge him for his concern for the young Vampire. The annoying thing is - despite preferring silence to chatter, Yagari had been hoping that one of Kaname's lackeys might be willing to tell him what the fuck that little blip from before was. Clinging to a frigging mountain - he'd almost lost his fallen - shocked by the mini-wave of numbing cold. He knows they felt it too - both of them froze at exactly the same time he did. It was colder than cold - sharp, and vicious, and felt like he'd been nudged by a passing comet.
Kain grunts - startling Yagari from his thoughts, and he thinks it might be Aidou at first, but then he sees that they are still alone. The kid meets his eyes, something ticking behind those rust-coloured eyes - similar thoughts, maybe. Yagari gets that he's along the same lines as him from his posturing. Well, it's good Yagari's well-versed in his non-verbal communication - he tilts his head, twists his mouth.
Kain's eyes widen a fraction and he nods. That was weird. You know - before.
Fucking understatement - he raises his eyebrows. Kain snorts.
Fortunately there's no time for anything else - Aidou bursts through the trees again, a huge smile on his face. Behind him Ruka, Benomi, Takuma and Rima traipse through - all of them looking rather groggy, lugging suitcases… up a fucking mountain? No wonder they look so tired.
"Hey," Benomi smiles and waves a little.
Yagari scowls deeply, causing him to pale. It's not them, but he's reacting to instinct here - he doesn't like being surrounded by so many Vampires, even though he knows none of these kids would dare try anything with him. Kain however, rushes forwards to take their suitcases and help settle them in. The morning passes and the Sun reaches its peak. The Vampires scuttle away into the tents, but Yagari stays unmoving at the entrance, scouring the landscape for his boys. Sometime during - the tracker became live again without him realising, and he obsessively checks the little dots and arrows as they make their way towards each other.
Hours pass, and finally - Aidou leaps out of the tent and zooms through the trees once again. Gone to greet them, Yagari assumes, rising to his feet too. God, he's excited to see his boys again. Even though they may be all grown up - they will always be his boys. This time Ichiru emerges first, stumbling clumsily - Yagari's breath catches - is he hurt? He trips over his own feet, but then stomps them angrily and clutches his middle. Nah - if he's able to be in a strop, he ain't hurt too badly. A second later, Kaito falls in behind him, even more unsteady on his feet. Who the fuck drugged his boys? Yagari storms over to meet them, and just in time too - he catches Ichiru first, and barely manages to grab Kaito -
Seiren appears out of nowhere and catches him just in time.
"The fuck happened to them?" Yagari growls, scooping the rest of Ichiru into his arms. His youngest grins so widely at him that he'd think he was high if it weren't for the fact that his eyes are sharp and lucid. Yagari fights down the smile threatening to stretch across his face - no way is he gonna embarrass himself looking all sweet and loving - even if his heart does thump happily in his chest at the sight of the two of them. He checks Kaito too, finding him with a matching goofy grin on his face - fucking heart, stop swelling, "Are they drunk?" he snaps.
"In some form, yes," Seiren answers calmly, "I found them this way - they drank some lethal moonshine."
"Idiots," he grumbles fondly, and goes to settle them in himself.
"Sensei," Kaito mutters, sticking out his leg. Yagari brushes his hand against his knee and they both hiss as the tracker burns off their skins, a visible smoke peeling out and curling into the air. "Why'd you call me?"
"I have a message I needed you to take to Kuran, but seeing as I'm here, I might as well wait for them to arrive," he mutters darkly, "You'll all be wanting to hear this."
"But what are you doing here? With them," Kaito jerks his head at the others. No one bats an eyelash at this anymore - they all know his 'lack of love' for the Vampires in their group is mostly just out of habit now. "You were meant to meet with me alone," he stresses slowly, frowning when Yagari rolls his eyes, "That was the plan. There's a very good reason for that plan, you know, since you're the President of the Association. You're not meant to be hanging around us anymore, remember?"
"Yeah, well unfortunately I ran into this lot," he gestures to Aidou and Kain huddled together, "And they were all beaten-up and pathetic-looking, so I had to keep watch over them and decided to follow them here, 'cause the tracker wasn't even working if you'd noticed - and now it's just lead to a merry gathering. Can't help it if everyone decides to turn up - might as well stick around to speak to the Kings myself."
"We have something to tell Kaname too," Seiren says from the corner, nodding at Ichiru and Kaito, "Some strange things we found at the borderlands."
"In fact, there's something we need to tell you too," Ruka announces, her eyes going between Yagari and her cousins (who she was currently smothering) - and the other occupants in the room stiffen in perfect synchrony. It's disturbing actually, "Or maybe we should wait for Kaname and Zero to join us first? It's their news to tell." Sounds like a cop-out to him.
"Typical of the groom and groom to be late to their own party," he drawls in lieu of pressing the girl further. He sees no entryway with her lips sealed under a smear of lip gloss, tight enough that it could be super-glue for all he knows. Sat right in between her cousins, she looks even less likely to budge. Yagari sighs, already feeling fidgety. "Don't mind me. I'm fine with waiting."
"You can't wait to see Zero, can you?" Kaito jeers.
Ichiru, on the other hand, pales in dread, "You've not seen him," he realises, turning to Kaito meaningfully, "He hasn't seen him."
"Yeah, I know tha- oh," Kaito blinks, suddenly remembering how shocked he'd been to see Zero all skeletal and heartbroken. How angry he'd been when he realised the cause of it. "Shit."
"What? What's wrong with him?" Yagari demands, hackles already up, "Tell me."
"You'll have to see it to believe it," Ichiru says meekly, whilst Kaito goes all in:
"There is both less and more of him now," he says smugly, no doubt proud of his little riddle.
Yagari sneers, "You a fucking fortune cookie or something?" leaning over to slap him up the head, "This is your brother, boy. You don't joke around about his wellbeing, especially not with me."
Kaito opens his mouth but doesn't get time to speak, because just then there's the sound of wind rushing through the trees, a raven's cry -
And then there are footsteps - one set - and the tent flaps open to reveal their Kings, one folded over the other's back.
"Perfect timing," Kaito chimes. He swivels on his knees, opening his arms mock-graciously, "Welcome to our humble…" he glances around the tent, "… our very humble abode - "
Yagari steps over him, almost kneeing him in the face - but he hardly notices - his attention stolen by Zero… by Zero. God, what happened to his boy - his son? Yagari takes another step closer, his hand outstretched to see - to see if this is really him. Can it be - can this be Zero - is this all of him? His fingers reach completely around his arm - his bicep - and he's so, so pale… Ichiru was right - he wouldn't believe them if they told him his Zero - his Zero was a bag of bones. His heart falters - another sign that age is having a harder time dealing with this shock - and horrified, Yagari finds his eyes filling up with angry tears. This is Zero. This ghostly thing - this shadow of his former self. It is him, and that makes Yagari so mad he can barely see. He heard about the things Kaname made Zero do - separating him from his family, making him give up the gun - but this is the result of something else. Something more sinister and a lot crueller than simply making Zero leave behind his former life for a new life with him.
And for the life of him, Yagari cannot guess what that thing could be. It occurs to him that everyone else in this tent knows something he doesn't - though, perhaps the two chums he was travelling with don't - they have similar confused expressions on their faces. Yagari forces himself to face Zero again. Zero's mouth opens and closes. It's clear he's scared by the way he's acting.
"Sensei?" he breathes - at least his voice is the same, thank God, "Sensei, what are you doing here?" He grasps Yagari's hands when they hover around his face in that way people do when they are struggling to touch but not break, "Sensei? Sensei!"
Unbeknownst to him, his heartbeat is stuttering audibly to all the Vampires in the vicinity -
"Toga-san, I think you should sit down - "
"Don't you talk to me - filthy Vampire scum!" he barks at Kaname as he comes up behind Zero, "Don't touch him - don't you dare touch him - "
"Sensei - " Zero calls out, batting Yagari's mother-henning aside as best he can, "Sensei calm down. It's alright - what are you - why are you - I thought you got over your thing with Kaname - ?"
"He did this to you," he poking at Zero's protruding ribcage -
And that triggers something in Kaname.
Faster than he can blink - he's thrown up and spun ass-over-tea-kettle in the air and lands on top of Ruka and Kain. They barely catch him in time, and as they fuss over him - his eyes bug out as he stares up at his attacker,and when finally turn to Kaname -
He's different. His eyes glow in a different way and his hands - his hands -
"Fuck, Kaname - what are you doing?" Aidou blurts out, his eyes massive - they're all staring between the hooked claws and huge teeth and it's all quite nightmarish at the moment - a lot to take in.
This transformation only reinforces in Yagari's mind that Kaname did this-Kaname must have done this to his son-must have broken him like this - and he doesn't care that Kaname looks a thousand times more frightening than he ever has before, this is proof of so many things - all the times he ever doubted Kuran. This proves what he's always thought all along -
"Everyone stop," Zero holds up his hands after shaking Yagari off and backs up against Kaname - much to their collective horror, "Stop. It's alright. He's not going to hurt anyone."
"Zero," Ichiru whispers, petrified in fear, "Look at him. He's… he's - "
"I know - trust me, I know. We're working on it," Zero says, forcing calm into his voice as he grapples to get a handle on the situation. There are so many ways he can fuck up - one wrong move and Kaname might lose it. The same goes for Yagari, and anyone else. He's not in a position to make mistakes. Just like Kaname said before, they're walking a tightrope here. He can hear and feel Kaname's growl behind him, though it quietens down to a rumble when he presses back further against him. It was Yagari encroaching on 'his territory' that set him off - him going for his stomach area - the baby - "Kaname," Zero calls, not moving his head to face him - he has his eyes on everyone else, on all their scared faces and Yagari's contorted expression, and half his ear is still listening to his sensei's irregular heartbeat too -
But the priority is Kaname here. They can all feel his aura licking around them menacingly. "Kaname, you need to calm down. Nothing happened - nothing was gonna happen. I'm okay, okay?"
He almost jumps when Kaname works his fingers interlocking with his, but breathes a little easier knowing Kaname has the mind to be gentle and mindful of his claws.
"Sorry," Kaname says, sounding a lot more normal than he expected. His teeth must be mostly back to their natural size then. Good. Zero squeezes his hand.
"Zero," Ichiru says again, the only one out of all of them willing to speak. "What's going on? What happened to him?"
Zero closes his eyes, "There is a lot I have to fill you in on. First of all, we're all gonna sit our butts down and calm down, because we are all friends here. Sensei," he pauses on him, slowly realising how out-of-the-loop Yagari is with everything. "I'll start from the beginning for you, okay?" It suddenly dawns on Zero why Yagari freaked out so much - poking at his ribs - his physical changes are pretty drastic, so really it's a no-brainer. He holds Yagari's gaze and tries to project some reassuring thoughts to him. "I'm fine. Honestly. This isn't Kaname's fault at all - "
"What did he mean there's 'more of you'?" Yagari twists to pin Kaito under his penetrating glower, "What did you mean by that? I can fucking see there's less of him, but what do you mean by more?"
"Okay, that's definitely Kaname's' fault," Kaito smirks, full-out grinning at Zero's outraged roar.
"You little shit - "
"It's true!"
"Zero, enough of the bullshit. The hell are you asking us to sit down and kum-ba-yah till we're all Zen when there's every reason to be shouting and raging about - about all of this. About him," he yells, pointing at Kaname, "And about you. I will not calm down - not when I've seen proof of the very thing I came to tell you about."
"And what is that?" Zero asks wearily, rubbing his face - he hates being a point of contention for Yagari, always being the one to drive him into an angered rampage… "Why are you here?"
Yagari digs into his pack, pulls out a handful of papers and slaps them into Zero's hands with the same smug look Kaito wears at every given opportunity. The more Zero reads the document, the wider his eyes get, and the papers rustle as his hands shake.
"Yeah," Yagari grunts, "I came to warn you, breaking all my own rules in doing so, that Kuran," he directs to Kaname, "Has been officially Named on every Hunter's list as the top-priority Hunt of the century. You've been charged as Rogue by the Vampire Council which means there are orders to take you down through whatever means necessary. You're now the biggest target of everyone on the whole goddamn planet."
Utter silence. They knew this already - Zero tries to remind himself that they already knew this, but that doesn't mean he was prepared for the way he felt reading the damning words on paper with his own two eyes -
"I didn't believe it at first," Yagari admits, "Believe me, I didn't want to. Despite the many things I hate you for, Kuran, even I have to admit you're the last Pureblood I'd ever expect to lose it - what with you being such a stick-up-your-ass control-freak and all. I thought it must be some mistake. Then the Council called me in and told me about how odd you've been acting, but even then I didn't believe them. Never have. I thought I ought to give you a heads up, 'cause it don't matter what I think. In the end I just approve the jobs - and something as serious as a Rogue-Hunt ain't something to take lightly. I can't reject these things off the fly, not without causing political problems and such. Boy, was I wrong though, now that I've seen how you are - "
"No, it's not what you think - "
"Then tell me why the fuck he looks like that!" Yagari bellows - and they can only watch as he snaps out his gun, too paralysed by everything to have time to stop him, "Tell me right now why I shouldn't put a bullet through his goddamn skull!"
"Listen to me - "
"He is Rogue, boy. That's a death sentence, no excuses."
More silence. Suffocating quiet. Zero's throat is clogged up - his heart lodged there, squeezed so tight it can't pump - he feels sick from hearing that, hearing those dreaded words. Somewhere beyond his pounding head and aching throat he knows Yagari will think differently when he's filled in on everything - when he's able to see that Kaname is himself, despite how he looks on the outside, but that won't change the way he spoke those words with such venom. Later on, he might apologise and Zero might forgive him, but that won't take away the pain he's caused them - caused Zero - by reviling his husband in all their eyes. This is the pain of having someone he loves, respects more than most turn on him. Because turning on Kaname… it's really no different to turning on Zero now. They're far too entwined for either one's death to end with only one person dying - and Yagari knows this.
The longer Zero looks at his sensei, the more he could see the beginnings of regret in the lines on his face. Already - who'd have thought he'd soften so fast? Zero shakes his head, he reaches back with his other hand and meets Kaname halfway, fingers entangling and the thump of Kaname's heart beating strongly against his spine -
"You came to warn us."
Yagari nods slowly - unsurely - lowering his gun when the others finally break out of their funk - all of them flying into motion, leaping to their feet or scrambling -
There's no point pretending - he was never going to shoot anyway.
If he did, he'd have to shoot through Zero - and that would never happen.
"That means… you wanted to help us."
"I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt," Yagari jerks his head at Kaname, his gaze flitting to him over Zero's shoulder repeatedly. His hand tightens on the gun once - twice, "How - how can you stand there, Zero? With him looking like that - "
"If you'd let me explain - "
"I have never seen a Rogue before - ever - but even without having seen one I trust my eyes, my instincts - he smells different, Zero. All of you - you can smell it, can't you? You can feel that power rolling off him, jumping and pulsing - and if you're still trying to convince yourself he's not Rogue then just look at him! You gotta be blind to not see it plain as day - he's a monster - "
"Shut up - shut up!"
With that - a burst - miniature explosion - a bright white magnesium-flame -
It flashes twice, a hot-cold blast of air-energy-feeling blows through them -
The darkness that follows is thought at first to be unconsciousness, but soon enough they realise it's only momentary blindness - like they were knocked on the heads, each one of them. The heat of that blast was scalding punishment - the burning cold, a bitter threat for more - and it leaves them all winded. All of them share looks - wordless, breathless awe and terror and the same thoughts running through each of their heads: it's like that thing/that feeling before/that cold, cold wind -
Zero lies heaving on the ground, half-lying on Kaname. He's panting and wide-eyed and flushed in the face - and part of it, part of the way he's positioned (or maybe something else - like the way he's lit from behind) makes him look like he's glowing. Like a frazzle of white light outlines him against Kaname's dark colours, like he's made of starlight or snow reflecting the Sun. And suddenly it doesn't matter that he's still unhealthily thin - this light, this glow fills him out - it fills up a space he didn't know needed filling. At first it's uncomfortable, being so full of something intangible - something Other, but then it dawns on Zero what this is - who this is - and he twists to share with Kaname his epiphany.
From the expression on Kaname's face, it seems he already knows.
"That was - that was - " Benomi stammers, jabbing his finger at Zero as he struggles to form any words.
He places his hand over Kaname's which is resting on his stomach, as if to soothe the power concealed beneath his fragile flesh, like a cold salve on a burn, it sizzles down. Zero shudders and gasps as he seems to swell, that bright light gleaming behind his eyes, and then it recedes and yet… it is there. And he knows exactly what it is - he can feel something brush against his mind - no, not against it… within it. Something less than a whisper - not formed in any words or even any proper thoughts at all - just the reassurance of his safety.
"Fuck was that?" Yagari asks, rubbing his stinging eyes.
The notion that his child is promising him this comes as quite a surprise, and so incredibly Kaname of it that Zero can't help but laugh.
So he does - too loudly, very abruptly, and quite hysterically - he cannot hold it back. It's no wonder, with him swollen - full to bursting with emotions, both joyful and scared stiff by the knowledge that this is it. This is the point of no return - the child is alive now, and able to protect not only itself, but him too. And already it's doing a fabulous job of the latter. Already it's showing signs of inheriting Kaname's overprotective streak - even before it can think. Even before it has fingers and toes - and it's so ridiculous that he has to laugh.
"Zero," Yagari asks again, or pleads more like.
"It's the baby," he whispers to Kaname, and then says it again, "The baby."
"Baby? What baby?" the look on his face is so hilarious, it sets off another peal of laughter - he shakes his head when Kaname murmurs something in his ear. The ones who know about it - everyone but Yagari, Aidou and Kain - don't take the news very well at all -
And suddenly, neither does Zero.
"Fuck," he mutters, the smile sliding off his face so fast he has to - he has to hold onto Kaname's fingers just to get his bearings -
Yagari is equally as flummoxed, "What baby? Whose baby?" he demands, though it's fairly obvious - what with Zero being the source of that power blast, the centre of their collective staring, the one who's literally glowing and looking quite nauseous, the only two symptoms Yagari can recognise for… for… oh, it's all adding up now.
There is both less and more of him now… okay, that's definitely Kaname's' fault -
Kaito, the fucker, he knew. While Yagari is struggling to absorb all of this - all the clues and facts - he gets that no matter how hard it is to believe, it's true. "Your baby," he declares, gaping comically at Zero who is prying Kaname's hand off his stomach now, and gingerly avoiding all contact with that area, "No - it can't be - "
Right now, Zero can't really bring himself to comfort Yagari, he's in his own state of panic. It hit him so hard - the notion that he was now definitely properly pregnant, and - and that horrible analogy of carrying a bomb inside him returned with a vengeance, with the addition of him having seen a little of what the baby was capable of doing to 'protect him'. It literally blast out white light - what else could it do? Suddenly he can't bear to have anything touching him - including Kaname. Thankfully, Kaname lets him out of his arms, but then he can't move. It's that same debilitating fear from before - of moving - of making a wrong move -
He's so lost in thought that he almost doesn't see Yagari approaching - he doesn't hear him yelling, but with his glare directed through Zero to the only other person behind him - it doesn't take much to guess what he's shouting.
No - not again - "Don't," Zero gasps, rising to his knees to shield Kaname from Yagari, "Don't - please. If you do… I think it'll happen again. You can't hurt him…" Truthfully, Zero doesn't feel any power rising up again, but he can't assume it won't - it happened so quickly before. Out of the blue, it becomes clear to him that what triggers Kaname's 'Rogue' state is seeing him in danger, and the same goes for the baby - fear for its parents' safety draws out that immense power. "Sensei," he implores him, "Let me tell you what happened. Let me tell you everything. And then you can… then you can do whatever you want."
He's giving him a choice - though it's not much of one anyhow. Not with the threat of incurring the baby's protective wrath again if Yagari chooses otherwise. Yagari is smart enough to recognise this. He sighs.
"Go on then," he growls, slapping his gun on the ground and kicking it out of reach. Zero closes his eyes, thanks whatever god helped Yagari not be ruled by his anger. He knows there are at least a dozen other weapons tucked in Yagari's clothing and under it, but it's the thought that counts. Yagari waves his hands at the others, and through some strange group-psychology shit, manages to shush everyone. There's a reason they still call him 'sensei' after all. "Lay it on me."
Zero takes a deep breath, and then he talks.
Author's Note:
* Gratuitous flaunting of Legolas in TROTK/2nd LOTR references. I had to. I don't apologise at all for throwing in as many LOTR references as I can into this fic. You're just gonna have to deal with it. Another reference to the 'East wind' too - see, see? Ahhh, she's not just a pretty face - she's linking things together with her brain and words and typing... skills...
** Something I've belatedly realised is that in the canon, Yagari isn't actually that much older than Zero/Ichiru… he's actually the same age as Kaito… I know. I always pegged him as someone older 'cause he acts so mature and stuff (andhe'sreallytall... eventhoughthatdoesn'tdictateage... feck), and I always think of the Kaito-Zero-Ichiru young'uns as his 'sons'. So, to clear things up - in 'my universe' where this story is set, his age is closer to Kaien's than the young'uns. I see him as a father figure to them. I hope you don't mind this mistake and forgive me for it!