A/N: The term 'dampeal' is something I got from 'Vampire Hunter D', which is bloody brilliant by the way.

Chapter XXI: Dampeal

At half past eight we reach the school's auditorium. As things stand, I still can't believe what sort of luck I ran into to deserve this. I look at Neliel, who is more or less three inches taller than me on high heels, only to find myself in a total lack of words to glorify her. I stare at her up to such a point where realization enters my head: I should step away from these three. What probably is being shown here is plain and manifest. I stand a long shot far from being their equal in looks, man—

"Oi, Ichigo!" Renji is hollering at me. He's wearing a tuxedo, and with his slender legs and impressionable built, he's looking quite nice, superb even.

As the night advances, I begin to conclude that everyone is looking nice, except for a few who are simply stunning. On the other hand, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow find themselves a secluded table which upon their immediate occupancy is crowded in by a number of females.

"Shall we dance?" Neliel asks me. This is exactly what I have been dreading for the last ten minutes. I glance at her nervously. The message is quite enough: I can't do this. I'm about to shake my head when she grabs me by the elbow. And half dragging me onto the dance floor, she manages to fix me among the rowdy crowd. Once there, I'm more than reluctant to hold her, considering that my confidence has evaporated minutes ago and is too far gone to recover. I look around me, searching for comfort perhaps, and what I find instead is a nonchalant sea of people. Everyone is minding his own business. Inoue, for one, who is looking like a million bucks in a periwinkle dress, is too busy sharing unintelligible sentences with Kira to give a serious glance at anything or anyone besides. Renji and Rukia are having too much laughs with Chad and Hanatarou, who are being equally blissful to take a hint from me. Ishida is currently too absorbed in a conversation with that sophomore chick to look sideways or anywhere. Toushiro seems lost, and attesting to that is the number of times he has missed stuffing bits of food in his mouth as Matsumoto watches him in fascination. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra can't be glimpsed from where I'm standing, owing to the fact that half a dozen female sophomores are circled around them.

So I, determined to profit from this lack of attention, place my hands around her waist.

"I don't know how to do this. Sorry." I tell her.

"It's okay. Anything will do." She assures me, her manner of speech rather mechanical and emotionally distancing.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing much. But, Kurosaki, I'm a senior now, which means this is going to be my last year in here."

It strikes me as peculiar that she should bestow this much attachment to being a student. Being the immortal that she is, I would have expected farewells are things that she so often gives to the world around her, which is no less temporal than the lives of mortals like us.

"You like it here?"

"Yes, so much."

"Why don't you hang around, then? Get a job here and grow—I mean—pretend to grow old here?"

She smiles bitterly, as if burdened by an unseen weight. In consequence a grave feeling latches on me, persisting to be addressed.

"They have found me."

There's something suspicious about the way she's said it. It didn't feel like she was relating it to me; it felt more like a declaration of defeat, from which she can't escape. I try to look as casual as I can afford.

"They? Who are they?"

As I understand from what her current behavior is evincing, staying here, for her, isn't gonna be that simple because some dudes don't want her to.

"Oh, there's nothing to be done. I'll just enjoy this evening."

Like a flash of insight something is riding towards my remembrance. I remember Ulquiorra speaking of her as though she were a reformed being who had risen out from the depths of a disreputable background. Looking at her now, there seems to remain no vestiges of that past in her. Has it not been for her extraordinary beauty, she would have passed for a human who has not the least irregularity in her.

"If something terrible is going to happen to you, at least tell me even if there's not a thing a human like me can do about it."

This doesn't seem to console her at whatever degree. Nevertheless, she answers,

"Kurosaki-kun, do you know that I want to be a mortal more than anything else?"

Something in me is refusing to believe this forwardness, or otherwise I'm convincing myself that I'm not hearing this from her.

"But you do remember how to live a mortal life, don't you? You do remember how being vulnerable hindered you from achieving many things. I can't imagine why someone would want to trade immortality for a limited lifespan."

"I do remember, though vaguely. What I remember so vividly are the lives I had taken from these vulnerable mortals."

"That may be so, but you're renewed now anyway."

"Renewed, not redeemed."

"That, I agree, is open for arguments. And maybe whatever good you've put up so far hardly even cuts down a bit of your past sins. Maybe I'm not one to talk. But maybe you also deserve to stay here as much as you desire. Don't leave."

"The here and now don't alter or disturb the truth of my past. They don't spare me the guilt and the sorrow. Above all, the dark days are beckoning me. Nothing changes the fact that I'm a sinner, that's why they are hunting me."

"The dark days? Why not leave them behind or lock them away?"

She smiles patiently. "But they are after me. The regulators, governors of our kind."

The slow music stops. Neliel bows to me to announce the end of our engagement. Carefully, with unnatural caution, she drifts away from me and traces her steps back to her brothers. I watch her as long as I think necessary for her safety—not that a vampire can't look after herself. Nevertheless, she seems helpless now and vulnerable. The ladies around Ulquiorra and Grimmjow disperse to give way to their sister. I nod at them as a signal of acknowledgement, and slowly I head straight to Renji and the others.

"Dude, you didn't tell me you were one of them lucky bastards who managed to snatch one of the best-looking girls in school." Renji exclaims, to which I give a nod of appreciation.

After the endless exchanges of cordiality, I squeeze my way towards the three's table. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are looking so far from enjoying this night, and there is precious little mystery about that. This occasion, I'm sure, is neither of any profit nor pleasure to them both.

"I'm guessing you now regret having come here." I tell the two. Grimmjow scowls. Ulquiorra merely nods.

"You're not enjoying yourself either." Grimmjow retorts.

"No questions about that. I wonder whose fault it was that I'm here. In any case, where are Szayel and Stark?"

Ulquiorra, sallow and grim, raises his head and answers, "Szayel can't tolerate too many people gathered in so small a space, such as where we are now. Stark is asleep."

"Oh. We can leave now if you feel like it." I suggest. No, actually it's more than a suggestion; it's an entreaty.

No one answers. A few seconds later I realize they didn't hear me. They're gazing at a distance, stiff and unrelenting, as if nothing in the world can tear their attention away. I assume they're looking at some scene not customary for immortal eyes to behold. But their gazes now are telling a different story. Indeed it seems impossible to continue looking at them without suspecting something.

"Yes. We should leave." Neliel finally announces, rousing from listlessness.

The other two nod, Ttheir expressions starting to resemble disconcertion more and more. Instinctively, I trace the path of their gazes. Some five or more tables away, Kuchiki Byakuya is conversing with three dudes I've never seen in school before. I'm more inclined to presume these three blokes are the source of the Aizens' recent unbecoming behavior.

"Is there a problem?" I inquire.

"I'll go fetch the car. I'll see you at the drop-off." Ulquiorra volunteers before wending himself out, ignoring us dead-on.

"Seems like it. We're off here." Grimmjow answers me. I follow him and Neliel to the exit without bidding anyone farewell.

Ulquiorra, fast as he is, is already parked at the driveway outside the lobby. Neliel takes the passenger seat while Grimmjow opens the backdoor, gesturing at me to get my ass inside. I'm not bothering to ask what's behind the haste nor would I expect an immediate response if I did ask. I prop my elbow against the window and cup my chin, my face constituting a day's worth of disinterest, as I wait for any of them to phrase a damn word—all to little avail. There's pretty much no need to mention that I can't handle being around these three for so long in quietude, at least not with grace.

"Care to tell me where we're going?"

"Home." Grimmjow answers.

"This isn't the way to my house."

"We're going to our house; it's nearer." Neliel answers.

Their house. Under the same roof. My expression alone can pretty much explain how much I want to roll out the car at this moment. I flick a glance at Grimmjow, who looks away, promptly avoiding my eyes. I am tempted to voice out a protest which will speak out my desire to get the vehicle pulled over, in which case I can stalk off right now one way or another. But before my conviction solidifies entirely, Ulquiorra begins,

"Kurosaki, we are sorry for the inconvenience. It's just that something altogether unprecedented has taken place there."

"Yeah, I could've determined that while half-asleep. Who were those dudes, anyway?"

"You saw them too?" Neliel asks.

"Yeah. You three were looking straight into them, mystified but wary. I only had to follow your gazes to locate the origin of your disturbance. I had never seen them around at school before. And they didn't look much of students either. Were they vampires?"

In every inch all three of them stiffen, their appearance commanding respect at all angles. I almost cower away, mentally rummaging for a pair of words that might pass for an apology, without having to know what it is that I should be apologizing for.

"Those three and Kuchiki Byakuya, your English professor, are Dampeals." Ulquiorra's voice pierces through the ugly silence.

"What?"

"Dampeals. They are half vampires." Ulquiorra explains, examining my reaction through the rearview mirror, with eyes so imposing and so forward with what they wish to communicate.

"And what do these guys want from you? If they are indeed after you?"

"We have not enough proof to render that affirmative. For all we know, they're probably pursuing someone or something else. Whichever the case is, we need to report this to Father immediately." Ulquiorra remarks.

"But there is NO reason for them to hunt your family down, is there?"

"Me." Neliel pipes up. She breaks into silence for a while, grave and pensive once more, as the road ahead meanders to pointless curves. In time she adds "These people, creatures, whatever they are, know everything about us. They are like the police of the underworld. They act as monitors that stalk us like omniscient eyes, because we can be villains."

"You're not! You don't even drink from humans anymore!"

"But we used to. They have looked for me for decades. Now they have found me. And Father has been protecting me from them all these years." Neliel mutters.

"Sheesh, cut it, Neliel, and try to use your head, will ya? We're not even sure what business these bastards are here for. Besides, if they were indeed combing the globe for you, why didn't that Byakuya bloke rat on you during the first time he met us? He could've alerted his half vampire henchmen right from the start. And to think we have been running around under his nose for what, three years now?" Grimmjow snaps, irritation teeming in his voice.

"You must be forgetting, Jack, that Byakuya-san serves no one. He is not of the Order." Ulquiorra intervenes, the firmness in his manner conspicuous.

"Oh yeah? So how do you explain why he moved in here in the same year we moved into town? Isn't that because he is the one assigned to monitor us?"

"Coincidence."

"Really now, genius, I don't think so. Don't you think it's a little too convenient of a coincidence for them Dampeals? A family of vampire moves into town. Two of them are ancients. One is formerly a voracious eater who used to go on a rampage upon the sight of a fat human neck. One of them is so unnaturally strong he can snap a hundred human spines as if they're but one. One is a bastard. One is a handsome, dashing prick. And the last one is a youngling who needs supervision 24/7. And then all of a sudden, Mr. Mighty Dampeal Byakuya lands into town. Byakuya is with them, but they're not after us."

"Indeed, your reasoning is sound in some aspects. On the whole, however, it's thoroughly lacking its due justification. What the plain facts suggest is, Byakuya-san hasn't been making contact with the Order all along. What that brings to mind is that he never had interest in our kind or in the family. That is because he has no role in whatever decree the Order is sending forth among its numbers. But looking at the entirety of what we have just witnessed tonight, three Dampeals have caught us unawares by gate-crashing into the School Dance. Did you seriously think they were just there to rekindle old friendships with a lone Dampeal such as Byakuya Kuchiki? I think not. I think, with good reason, they're keeping their eyes on us and along the way they ran into one of their kind, Byakuya-san."

"And why, pray tell, did they choose the Dance night to observe us, and overtly at that?"

"Because everything would be in disarray, they thought, what with the unpleasant music, loose security, the wild revelry. Really, Jack, I had expected more from you. Turned out I was expecting way above too much."

"Whoever asked your opinion, prick? And if you so strongly think they're here to arrest us, why are your knees prattling like shit? Scared of Halflings? And what's worse is that you seriously believe that running away is the best solution to this mess. To tally, if you had been paying much attention to what's being rubbed in your face, you'd realize that it's like this: three vampires are scampering away from three dampeals. Wow, Scheiffer, that's pure genius—"

"—knock it off, Jesus. Is there really a damn need to resort to high notes?" I snip through. My sudden comment serves as a reprieve, which later on turns into an unadulterated silence. In turn, this is not the effect I would've desired. At any rate, I pursue, "These Dampeals—judging from your demeanor, there appears to be some sort of notoriety encroached in their very name. Having said that, there's still a handful here I can't quite understand. How does someone become a half vampire and not a full-blown one?"

Ulquiorra and Neliel exchange glances of marked caution, so alike in their execution that I'm sure they only differ in degree. Grimmjow, on the other hand, is watching the scenery stream past us, almost too rapt in it to give me heed, or otherwise he's pretending not to hear. Ulquiorra is watching me through the mirror, obviously taking so seriously what he probably considers as a question he's obligated to answer. He speaks,

"Vampires are not capable of producing offspring, which goes to say we become entirely sterile within hours of infection—that is, receiving the Accursed Gift. It is death, after all. However, if a female human bearing a child receives the Accursed Gift, there's a good chance that her child will turn out a Halfling, a Dampeal, should it survive."

TBC