Happy New Year!
"Wha-What?" I asked slowly, not believing my ears. "He…he said, that if you don't come to meet him, then your brother will get hurt." Aido said, looking at me sadly. "No…he cant do this to me! Why cant he leave him out of this! Haku's never been part of it!" I said, tears streaming down my cheeks. The covers wrung between my hands in anger and frustration. He reached over and grabbed my hand, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb and wiping my tears away as they streamed down my face. When I calmed down enough, I spoke again. "When do I have to meet him?" I asked, more calm than I was a moment ago.
"Tonight. We have to leave soon." he said, standing up and picking up my bag. "Yeah." I agreed, opening the suitcase and pulling out a pair of jeans and a low-cut blouse. Probably not the best decision, but I didn't have time to think about sensible things to do. I went into the bathroom to change quickly, and came out a few minutes later, shoving the skirt into the suitcase and zipping it up. Aido packed his suitcase after changing his own clothes, and when we were finished, I followed Aido down to the front door.
"Hanabusa, where are you going?" a voice behind us said, that sounded like his father. We turned and saw him coming down the stairs, already dressed for the day, er, night. "Hikari has a family emergency, and I have my own job to do." Aido said, opening the door and ushering me outside. "Job?" I asked confused. Aido looked at me hesitantly, as if debating what to say. "Hikari, I have to tell you something important. But it has to wait until we leave." he said.
He turned back to his father and said, "Please tell Kaname-sama that I'm taking care of the assignment now, and tell mother I'm sorry that I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her this week, and didn't introduce Hikari properly." he said. "Quite alright. She already met Hikari. And I'll make sure to tell Kaname-sama." his father said, quietly closing the door behind us.
"What did he mean by my mother already meeting you?" he asked while we packed the suitcases into the trunk of the car. "I met her when your sisters gave me that make-over." I said, closing the back door, and getting into the passenger seat, Aido sliding in next to me in the driver's seat.
"What job did you have?" I asked, a few hours later after we had driven to the train station, boarded the underground train, and had gotten the rental car from the academy. "There are actually two reasons I came with you to your parents house. Originally, I did plan to spend the holidays with you and your family. But, Kaname-sama heard where I was going, and the day of the break, he told me about a job I had to do." he said, not taking his ayes off the road.
My face fell with the realization that he had also come because he had to. But what was the job? "What was the job?" I asked, staring out the wind shield at the darkening sky. He hesitated a moment before he answered. "I had to kill a Level-E that was in the area of your home town." he said, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. "And you didn't get your job done because of me." I said quietly. "No! I didn't know who it was until the last day we were there. I was going to take care of it when we came back to your parents house." he said, quickly explaining.
"How did you find out last minute?" I asked. He hesitated, and then said, "Your brother told me, or rather, he told me the symptoms he had seen." he said. I was frozen. How could my baby brother know the symptoms of a Level-E? "Who was it?" I asked. He didn't give a response. "Aido, who is the Level-E?" I asked again, more firmly. He still didn't answer, instead biting his lip so hard, a thin trail of blood ran down his chin.
I reached over and wiped away the blood, smearing it on my thumb. "Hanabusa, please tell me who it is." I asked again more softly. "It-it's your…your ex-boyfriend, Yori." he said slowly. I froze. "No…that…that's not possible." I whispered. He didn't say anything, he just looked out the window, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. I thought back on all the time I spent with Yori, and I realized a few things. "It's true, oh God it's true." I said, resting my head in my hands.
How he would always go for my neck and bite hard enough to draw blood. His eyes that would seem like they were red, but I always mistook it for a change in the light. His insane strength that always seemed to come out of nowhere like an adrenaline rush. His haggard appearance he almost always had. "I'm an idiot. I'm such an idiot." I said, clenching my hands into fists and pressing them against my face. I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up. "Your not an idiot. There's no way you could have known what he was." he said taking his eyes off the road to look at me.
"I know, I just…" I said, exasperated. "I just cant believe that this happened." I said, staring down at my hands, clenched together. "What did he say he wants me to do?" I asked after a few minutes. "He said that once we get back to your house, you have to go into the woods in back alone." Aido said, looking forward again. "Alright." I sighed. "Alright? How can you say that?" Aido said, looking at me again. "Aido, it's fine, I'll just go in, get Haku, and get out." I said. "But what if he wants to talk with you? Keep you there longer or something?" he asked, clearly getting agitated.
"If that happened, then I'll tell Haku to go without me and find you." I said. "What if he hurts you before I get there in time?" he said quietly. "I'll try to keep him calm until you get there." I said as we neared the town. "What if-" he said, but I cut him off with a quick kiss. "No more 'what if's'. What ever happens, happens." I said. He looked at me worriedly, but didn't say more on the subject.
We arrived in front of my house, but something was wrong. The lights weren't on, and the car was gone, replaced instead by Chiri's car. I looked towards the house and saw some movement behind the curtain, then I saw Chiri run out of the front door towards the car. "Hikari! Hikari! Thank God you came back!" she said running over to the my side and throwing open the door. "Hikari, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you! I didn't know he would do this! Please forgive me!" she said, kneeling on the ground and crying. "Chiri, what happened?" I said, getting out and kneeling down to her level.
"He used me. He knew your parents were going out tonight, and he knew they would ask me to baby sit. He came over, and just started ranting about revenge and blood, and then he threw me against a wall, and took Haku out to the woods!" she said, clutching my shirt desperately. "When? How long ago?" I asked. "About a half hour." she said, standing up with me. "Okay, Chiri, stay here with Aido and don't move. When Haku come out, and I'm not with him, take him into the house and don't look back, okay?" I said, looking at Aido as he came and stood next to Chiri. Then I started for the back of the house.
"Hikari, I didn't mean to hurt you. You know that right?" she asked quietly. When I turned around to look at her, I saw her wringing her hands and staring at the ground. "It's okay, I forgive you Chiri. After all, if it weren't for you and Yori, I would have never met Hanabusa." I said, looking at him sweetly. I turned back around and started walking towards the wood again. Before I cleared the tree line, I felt strong arms encircle me from behind. "Be careful." Aido said, whispering in my ear before he let go and walked back to where Chiri stood.
I hesitated before I walked a few more feet into the trees. After a few minutes, I had lost myself in the thick brush and trees, but I could see the path that led back to the house. As a child, I had run in these woods so much, I had worn a permanent path into the ground that led the way back. I hoped Haku could follow it back by himself in the dark. I started calling Haku's name after a few minutes, when I saw no trace of them. After a minute or two of calling his name, I heard him yelling my name a short distance in front of me. I picked up my pace and found a small clearing. At the end of the small clearing, I found Haku crudely tied to a tree, still in his pajamas. Other than the few rips and tears in his clothing, he looked fine, beside some possible emotional distress from being kidnapped.
I saw no one else there, but I was still on my guard as I walked quickly over to Haku and untied him with ease. I hugged him close, as did he, and picked him up off the ground, and looked around as I started heading back. Before I made it to the edge, I heard faint rustling behind me and I turned around. "Well, well, well. She finally shows." he said, stepping out of the brush with a disgusting smirk on his face. Despite it being only a few months since I last saw him, he had taken a turn for the worst. His black hair was disheveled, his eyes were wild, and his clothes were torn and dirty, like he had been living in the woods for a few weeks. "We were beginning to wonder where you went Hikari-chan." he said, looking at Haku, curling up in my arms, and burying his head in his neck in an effort to hide from him.
"You didn't have to steal my brother, I would've come with the threat alone." I said, my voice quiet and measured. "Insurance that you would come and greet me." he said steeping closer. I toke a step back and put Haku on the ground. "We can go now, right?" I asked, looking up at him with a cold glare, as I disentangled Haku from my neck. "Of course, but why don't you stay here for a bit longer Hikari-chan. I want to talk to you some more." he said, smiling a deranged smile. I looked back at Haku and whispered quickly, "Run straight back to the house. Tell Aido to come back here, and stay with Chiri until we get back. Do as she says, alright?" I asked, looking him in the eye. His eyes flickered once to Yori in fear and then he nodded. As soon as I let go, he tore off in the direction I had come.
When I was sure he was a safe distance away, I stood up, only to get slammed against a tree by my neck, gasping for air. He let go and walked back to the middle of the clearing. "You know, I'm hurt Hikari. You left without saying goodbye." he said. I rubbed my throat and coughed a little. "I wasn't sure if you were going to kill me or not when I did." I said, standing back up. "What makes you think that?" he asked, walking back over to me. "You pushed me down a flight of stairs you jackass." I said. He looked at me angrily, and slapped me hard across the face. My left cheek stung where it had been hit, and then I felt my hair being pulled painfully back, tilting my head backward.
"You think I like hurting you Hikari? Because I don't, it's just that every time I hear you insult me, or not do what I tell you to do, I feel like you deserve to be punished." he said, talking close to my ear. "And, recently, I've gained a few new powers to help me do that." he said, suddenly disappearing. I stumbled and looked around, then I felt breathing on my neck. I turned and he pushed me against another tree, across from where I had come, and Haku had disappeared. He held my hands above my head and looked down at my shirt.
"Although, I feel you deserve a reward for wearing that." he said, ducking his head and licking my collarbone. I shivered in disgust and revulsion. and I mentally kicked myself for wearing a shirt that would show off my chest. However, when he started to lick the cleavage that showed, I turned red with anger and tried to knee him in the groin, only to have him catch it in mid-air, and look at me with lust and greed. "Do you want more?" he asked, his voice sounding a little distorted. "Piss off." I said, spitting in his face. He wiped it away with mild irritation, and readjusted his hold on my leg, holding the middle of my calf. "It seems more punishment is necessary." he said, frowning with bitter annoyance.
I felt pressure on my leg and then it got unbearable. "Yori! Please! Stop it!" I cried out, trying to pry his fingers off my leg. He kept staring at me with cold, harsh eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks as he held both my hands above my head. I heard the bone snap before I felt it. When I felt it, I let out one long, shrill, pain filled scream. He realized me, and I fell to the ground, crying, I clutched my leg to myself weakly, trying not to move it too much. "It huts…it hurts." I said through my clenched teeth. "I don't know who you're with now, but there's no way he can save you, and there's no way he can take me on." he said, kneeling down to meet my eyes.
Through my tears, I saw his fangs elongate, and he moved his head closer to my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to witness what was about to happen. I felt heat of his breath on my neck. "You're nothing. Only thing you're good for is blood and a good time." he said. Before he bit down, I heard a feral growl, and the heat from his breath disappear. I opened my eyes, and saw Yori crouching on the ground on the opposite side of the clearing. "Don't. Touch. Her!" said a voice in a demanding tone. The air turned cold and frigid, and Aido stepped out of the trees lining the clearing, panting slightly, probably from running here. "Hanabusa." I said, my voice small and weak. His eyes flickered to me and saw my hands clutching my right leg. "What did he do?" he asked, his voice measured, like he was trying to keep calm.
"Who the hell are you." asked Yori, straitening from his crouch. "What did he do Hikari." Aido asked again, only more demanding this time, like he needed a reason to kick Yori's ass. I moved to stand, but I forgot that my leg was once again broken, and realizing it a moment two late, I winced and gave a short cry of pain, as I fell again to the ground and wrapped my arms around my leg. Aido saw this, and looked sharply at Yori. "You broke her leg." he said, in a slow, measured voice. "Yeah, what's it to you?" Yori said, circling away from Aido. "You made her cry." Aido said, walking towards me, as Yori moved further away, suddenly grasping the fact that Aido had a killer aura around him now.
"D-do you know what I am?" Yori said desperately. "You're a Level-E. A creature that doesn't even make the ranks of a vampire." Aido said coldly, crouching down and straightening out my leg gently. Yori moved faster than I could blink, and Aido crashed into a tree a few feet away. "Your on an entirely different level than me, don't even think you can fight me." Yori said venomously, stalking towards him. Aido stood back up off the ground, and wiped away blood from a cut on his cheek. Yori stiffened, and his eyes widened in wild hunger. "Your right. I am on a different level." Aido said, licking away the blood from his hand, his eyes glowing a bright red, and his fangs sharpening to a point, "But, this fight will be over before it even begins." he said, moving lightening quick, and punching him square in the jaw.
Yori flew back several yards before crashing into a tree. While he was down, Aido walked to where I was and kneeled down beside me. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anyway else?" he asked concerned. "Besides my leg, a few bruises, and a feeling of violation, I'm okay. Let's just get out of here quick, okay?" I said, grasping his hand and looking up at him. He nodded, and brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. "Okay." he said, wrapping and arm around my shoulders. "You still want her? Even though she's nothing but a broken toy?" Yori asked, standing up and crouching down. "My treasures are all broken, but she's the only one who's priceless." Aido said, picking my up gently.
Yori was in a state of disarray. He looked more feral now than ten minutes ago. His eyes were more wild than before, and looked as if he had lost all reason and intelligence. "What happened to him?" I asked quietly as he snarled, and jerked every which way. "He's fallen so low, he all he cares about anymore is blood." Aido answered, stepping back. "I'm going to finish this in one blow." he said, holding me more tightly against him. "Don't look." he said, turning my head away from Yori, who was now more beast than man.
I turned my head into the crook of his neck, and closed my eyes tightly, despite not being able to see anything. I could still hear though, and what I heard and felt was this: Yori, giving a snarl and the rustling of dead leaves as he ran forward blindly. The air turning cold. The shriek as ice overcame Yori's body in one fell swoop. And what sounded like the braking of glass as the ice shattered into millions of pieces, taking Yori with it.
I didn't take my head out of Aido's neck, because I was still afraid of what had happened. "Hikari, he's gone now. We wont see him ever again." Aido said gently, kneeling and setting me on the ground. He sat down next to me, and wrapped and arm around me, pulling me close. I felt a few tears escape and when I went to wipe them away, Aido beat me to it. "Why are you crying?" he asked softly, resting a hand on the side of my cheek where it still stung. "To…to put up with all of this, how can you do it? How can you do all of this for me?" I asked quietly, wiping away the rest of the tears. "When you're with someone you love, you end up doing crazy things for that person." he said, smiling softly.
"How can I ever do the same for you? I'm weak, I cant even handle meeting an ex-boyfriend." I said, letting my head fall in my hands. He was quiet for a minute, before he placed a hand on my head, causing me to look up at him. "You can stay out of trouble as often as you can. You would cause me less worrying if you do." he said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him, and leaned my head on his shoulder. We were quiet for a while, before he stood up, lifted me up, and carried me back to the house.
When we got back, my parents weren't back yet, but Chiri had already called my parents, and told them most of what happened. Just telling them that Yori had used Haku as bait to get to me, and that I had been hurt. After she hung up on them, she called an ambulance for me. It was hard explaining to the paramedics what had happened, but Aido had summed it up saying that my 'sadistic ex-boyfriend' had gone insane, and held me down, and used a rock to make the break. It was a clean break, so it didn't need to be reset. But, they said it would take ten to twenty-four weeks for the bones to heal. And then I would need a few more weeks for rehabilitation when the cast came off so I could walk normally. Aido was agitated, and I felt that he thought it was his fault that this happened. When the doctors left us after everything was set and done for the night. Aido looked depressed, so I tried to cheer him up. "Good thing I already know how to walk with a crutch, huh?" I said. A lame attempt at a joke failing completely when he didn't respond.
"But they said that I had to stay in a wheel chair for a couple weeks before I could walk with them." I said. Still no response. "Aido, everyth-" I started to say before he cut me off. "No it's not!" he said, clenching the sheets on the bed. "You're leg is broken for the second time and this time its because of my negligence. I should've gone with you, then none of this would have happened!" he said fiercely through clenched teeth. "Aido, if you were there, then Haku could have gotten hurt instead of me, and I didn't want that." I said, placing my hand over his. "It was for the best." I said, more quietly this time. He was silent, then he said, "When you said 'besides your leg, a few bruises and a feeling of violation' what did you mean?" he asked, quietly, looking me dead in the eye.
I knew what he was talking about, but I didn't want to talk about it. "Uh…um…" I said stalling. "What did you mean?" he asked again, taking both of my hands in his. "You…you know the shirt I was wearing before? The blouse?" I asked a little nervously. Past tense because the hospital had put me in a hospital gown. He nodded his head, and I continued. "Well, he…he took advantage of how…low-cut and open it was." I said. I had anticipated anger and resentment from Aido, but he just showed revulsion and sorrow. "Where?" he asked, sitting on the bed and looking at me. "Where what?" I asked, confused as to what he was getting at. "Where did he touch you, I want to erase what he did." he said, kissing my neck gently, and trialing butterfly kisses along my collarbone. My breathing hitched and I extended my neck to give him further access. He placed his hand on mine and leaned me back on the bed until he was laying in top of me, sucking my neck.
He took his lips off my neck and asked me again, "Where?" I looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "T-top of my…um…chest." I said, blushing furiously and looking away from his eyes. He leaned down and kissed my cheek sweetly. "Only if you want me too." he said huskily. I wrapped my arms around his neck and nodded my head a little shakily, but surely. He kissed me gently on the lips, and proceeded down my neck to the edge of the gown, pulling it down slightly and blushing a deep red. I blushed as he kissed the top of my chest softly a few times, leaving me blissful. He went back up to my lips and kissed me again, this time a little more roughly. "A little at a time." he said, kissing my forehead and sitting in the chair beside the bed, smiling at my red face. "R-right." I said, getting more comfortable on the thin bed and falling asleep.
Shizuo love story is up!
