o o o
Lord Kisaragi's gaze strummed over the streaming vampires transporting the recovering humans who were housed in new huts. Nobunaga Oda's fallen soldiers and allies were buried systematically outside of the gates. The Shirabukis and Kains crowded inside the hall, waiting in silence as Aidous entered and seated. Haruka and Kaien remained on their feet at the door.
"No sign of her," Kaien scanned the streets, "Could she have left with the crowned prince?"
"I seem to recall," Lord Kisaragi cleared his throat from outside, tapping his chin, "Seeing Ou-sama dragging her somewhere. He did not appear pleased."
Haruka caught his eye pensively and averted.
"Who knew the power of such a puny dagger?" Kaien remarked. "Most of us believed the dagger did not exist. How did Yuki wind up with it?"
"How else?" Takuma jogged toward the threshold with his father close at his heels. They had just arrived to join the council. His green eyes fervid and cheeks flushed. "She stole it from Kaname. No one managed to use it for centuries. It can only mean one thing if Ou-sama took Yuki."
Haruka pushed off the threshold and whisked his sword. "I'm going to look for her."
Kaien stopped Haruka by grabbing his arm, "And say, 'My daughter concurrently saved the village and won us a battle, it's worth dismissing her identity.' I doubt Ou-sama will assent your new-age thinking."
Takuma searched inside the hall and returned to their side. "Kaname must be with her. He won't let anything happen to her, Haruka-sama."
"If we think it over, Ou-sama will target you and Juuri." Kaien gestured to Haruka. "You had best hide."
"No one can hide from the Kuran king." Haruka objected, "I'm worried about Yuki. The beam of light was seen over the nation and the dragon was of insurmountable power. Yuki must've had difficulty controlling it and keeping herself together. You know how tiny she is—"
"I know." Kaien placatingly shook his arm, nodding, "If the crowned prince is with her like Takuma says, she will turn out fine. It's not the first time she evaded her stigma as an aristocrat. Juuri is tough as nails, but Ou-sama won't dare kill her. That leaves him to do away with you, my friend."
"I won't buckle like a coward," Haruka swore.
Kaien dismally sighed, "Juuri abandoned you because she did not want you to get killed. Are you letting her years of loneliness go to waste? If Yuki survives and returns home, will you make her mourn her father? The blame for watching her parents suffer because she was born is too much for a child to bear. Juuri will commit suicide if you are gone. Do you understand?"
Haruka clenched the sword in his right hand. "I know what you're saying," He worded quietly, "I'd rather suffer the consequences than the two of them."
"It's too soon to tell what happened to Yuki, we should wait for news."
"He is right." Lord Ichijo murmured. "Let's not make any haste moves. Lord Toma hasn't been caught. He was shot by hunter bullets. He needs to recuperate in caves since his original vampire essence is a bat."
"I sent Zero to look for him. He could've murdered the chickens and cattle if I hadn't given him something to do. He is very restless when Yuki is threatened." Kaien supplied.
o o o
Wind flowed, pleating her hair and clothes, scratching coldly against her back and bare neck. She wound her arms and legs about, twisting to change out of her body. Fatigue blinded her center in the forehead. She panted foggily but tried once more. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears squirted in the wind, drying instantly. Her powers had temporarily retired.
I can't fight this.
Yuki clenched her eyelids, reclining in the fall of shrieking wind, mist, and billowing clouds.
…ki
…uki
It screamed in her mind's eye.
"YUKI"
She sharply opened her eyes at the shadow above. A black wolf aligned directly within arms reach.
"Yuki."
How does it know my name?
The wolf howled, revealing its razor canines. Its red eyes piercing and furious at her less than stellar reaction. She closed her eyes in submission of her imminent death. She couldn't turn into butterflies. She had no energy to fight or effort in her bones to attempt to try. It was the end of her as it should be for a Kuran aristocrat vampire. The weight of concealing a daughter would be lifted from her mother's chest.
"Open your eyes."
Whose voice do I hear?
Tears peppered her vision. The wolf was screeching, flaring its paws at her.
"Yuki, please give me your hand. Please, let me protect you one more time. You'll die if you don't."
Yuki asserted a hand toward the falling wolf.
I want to live. I want to keep going.
The wolf howled, its form swirled to black smoke, changing from the glistening four-legged animal into a pair of shoulders, followed by astoundingly long legs and arms. Finally, his flinging hair radiated around a familiar face, flickering across red eyes. Kaname gripped her wrist and twisted them around in ceaseless motion. He pulled her tightly against the cradle of his body.
"Moments like these, just remember, Yuki, your Ouji won't leave you to face alone," Kaname whispered across her ear.
Yuki buried her tearful face in the warmth of his chest. Even though they were in mid-air, traipsing to doom, she did not feel alone or abandoned by the world. In his gentle arms, Yuki had never felt safer.
o o o
Blood laced her hands, smeared the sleeves, and dripped down her lap, staining her white dress. Her long hair stuck to her shoulders and cheek, coated in red, carrying the eternal scent of the love in her arms. She gripped the dark hair tighter, her fingers seeking fading warmth, shakily.
"Give him mine." She quivered devastatingly.
"Little Dark," The Imperial Lord despaired over the dying creature in her arms, "It's not a good idea. There will be serious repercussions, you mustn't disharmonize your fate."
"This is my fault." She sobbed in the wolf's neck, "He wouldn't have jumped. Use mine to save him."
The Imperial Lord grimly studied the unconscious wolf. His life was terminating by the second. "You accept the consequences? Little Light will not know until it's too late."
"I accept it. Please, save him!" She screamed.
o o o
Yuki winced from pricking pain nudging inside of her right eye. Wearily and languidly she roused up, swaying daintily but sagged flat on the hard rocks again. Her lungs throbbed and her legs felt like mush. She rasped strenuously, squeezing air into her nose and throat, feeling it balloon inside her chest. When she was conscious of the strength in her arms and legs, she attempted to sit up. At the bottom of the cliff lay a canyon of rocks and bushes. She remembered seeking comfort in Kaname's arms. He held her magnificently and securely as if he'd never let go or let her get harmed. Blood dribbled down her temples and cheeks. Her crimson vision scouted the mountain walls and rigid rocks beneath her legs. She blinked still, recalling the bizarre dream that was irritating like shards over her eyelids.
Little Dark?
Yuki patted the stones, her fingers lingered over warm moisture. She inhaled the thick aroma of fresh blood. Wiping her eyes against her sleeve, Yuki blinked several times to study her surrounding. The ridges of rocks would never sustain a human's fall or a common vampire. She was cushioned graciously by the pureblood that lay listless on her right.
His arms and legs were broken, his neck twisted. Blood drenched his form, pooling and draining below the rocks for miles.
Yuki screamed at the sea of pure blood draining out of his body. His head had smashed, his scalp, broken open. She crawled over him, gripping his drenched coat.
"Ouji," Yuki cradled his cracked shoulders, wincing at the gushing blood, "Ouji!" She cried fearfully.
His head rolled back, utterly lifeless. If she tried shaking him awake, it would have been unsuccessful. It was deducible he had broken every inch of his body to support and prevent her from crashing at the bottom of the canyon. Yuki felt for his heart, counting the slow but faint whistle of life. She gathered him in her arms and pulled him into a narrow trench, hidden from view. His blood trickled, weaving through rocks, bushes, and on her clothes. Yuki laid Kaname in the cave-like opening, urging him awake. He did not respond.
She gripped his collar, wheezing with tribulation and self-criticism. "Please, wake up. You can't go like this." Tears filled her eyes, dripping heatedly down her cheeks. "You're a pureblood. Lord Toma will kill you if he catches you."
Kaname was turning frigid.
Yuki pulled his limp form in her arms, feebly sobbing in his bloody hair. "I'm sorry."
The sun was rising but Yuki hadn't stopped crying despite she believed his pure blood would rile him awake and renewed in no time. However, Kaname continued to turn colder by the hour. She held him closer, her cheek pressed on his shoulder. "Moments like these, I won't leave you to face alone either." Blood tears glided down her face.
o o o
Kain nimbly inched toward the lava, retracting the motion cautiously and sturdily turned back around.
His mother waited with her arms folded. "Bathe in the volcano or I'm taking you with me to slumber after Shizuku Toma dies." She warned.
"Slumbering sounds like a delicacy vampires love to flaunt," Ayame inputted. "Want to tell me what it's like, Akatsuki? You won't need to drink my blood."
"Ayame," His mother raised a brow at the long-haired vampire, "Teach Akatsuki how to hone his blood fire well. He needs to defend himself now that he has a girl."
Ruka flushed at the sudden turn of topic. "We aren't—"
"I speak for all women," His mother nudged Kain toward the lava with a claw, "No lady wants a man who can't stand up for her. You can't protect her. No wonder you want to keep her here."
"I trusted Lord Toma wouldn't barge in our fief," Kain retorted. He dipped a foot in the lava, disliking the heat immediately.
"This is taking too long." His mother huffed and shoved him.
Kain fumbled in the pool, disappearing under wicked red fire and melting ash. Ruka blinked worriedly and knelt from the wall that was five feet away from the pool. "Is he okay?"
"He needs to dive to the bottom," The mother Kain murmured, "At first, it's hard, but his blood fire will activate, and he will be able to swim faster."
Ruka was growing to understand the customs of the Kain clan. Though their mother was scathing, she was protective of her sons. The more she was around Ruka, she noticed the vampire did not hold back to caress her tenderly and gently, as if she was intricately concerned over Ruka's wellbeing, like a generous caretaker.
"Does he listen to you well? Is he giving you enough blood?" The mother Kain inquired. "The men of Kain clan love like the lava. They burn for you their entire life."
Ten minutes passed before Kain surfaced. He swam to the edge and climbed up.
Ayame rolled his sleeve, slicing open a wound to fill a glass with blood. "Now is your chance, delicious girl, do you want a taste and remember me for life?"
"Pass," Ruka replied.
"Let me know if Akastuki's blood doesn't do it for you," Ayame smirked, handing the glass to his younger brother. "After your blood fire awakens, you'll have urges. I suggest you sleep in separate rooms and conserve your energy."
"We don't share a bed." Ruka clarified.
"Sad." Ayame frowned.
"Ayame is right," Their mother chimed, "Your libido will spike. Focus and tame your blood fire, it will increase your range, making your abilities effective." She grinned at Ruka. "It will be temporary, sweetheart. He's all yours after he can harness his abilities."
Ruka defeatedly bowed her head, "We are not—"
"Don't be coy. When I was young, I was blatant about my affairs." She declared. "There's no reason to be shy about lovemaking. Life is created from a beautiful act between man and woman. How sensuous and empowering it is to lose yourself in each other's arms." She sighed dreamily.
"Do not bother Ruka with nonsense." Kain swigged the blood in a gulp. "We're just hiding until the roads clear up."
"I cannot wait for your father to return home," The mother Kain whispered shyly.
o o o
Half the day passed but Kaname did not revive. She clutched him desperately because she did not understand what else to do. She couldn't leave him to get aid. He could dissolve and she did not want to return to his ashes. He was linked to the progenitor and could not die easily. However, her heart sank at the sight of Kaname's blanched skin and broken bones. She couldn't move him excessively. Instead, Yuki cradled him, her hot blood tears dripped incessantly over him.
"It was because of me," She croaked, "You tried to help me. Help me one last time and wake up." She cringed on his shoulder, sobbing agonizingly, "I don't want to see you like this. There's a lot to do. We need to stop Lord Toma. I'll even listen to you, and treat you better. Ouji, please!" Yuki yanked his collar until her nails penetrated the soaked fabric.
Her face concealed in the crook of his neck, she trembled against his cold body.
His head jerked.
The effect astounded Yuki, who pinned straight up to ascertain his regaining consciousness.
Crimson eyes blankly searched the area from the narrow slit of his eyes. "Yuki…" His voice wheezed in a suffocated struggle.
"Ouji!" She sobbed, touching his pallid and frozen cheek tentatively.
His eyes rolled back, but he strained to focus on the rocky ledge over their head. "You were crying a lot. I decided to come back to you."
Yuki did not laugh at his poetic nonsense. She unabashedly wailed on his shoulder with relief. How can she live in a world without hearing his dreadful poetry?
He closed his eyes, she had not paused to sniffle or wipe the blood tears. His chest trembled as he fought to vocalize a concern, "Why is a crook crying so much?" Kaname grumbled, "Vampires don't shed blood tears. Are you in pain?" He caressed her stained cheek.
She lifted her head up. "We can't get help. Lord Toma can be anywhere. You're vulnerable than ever. If he finds us, he will end you."
Kaname closed his eyes, twisting in pain from an unconscious attempt to budge his limbs. He registered his broken ligaments and bones, resigning limp in her arms. "I still have you though." He touched her bloody chin dotingly.
Yuki gripped his fragile and shaking fingers. "Can't you use your abilities to heal?"
"It will take a while." Cold air fogged his breath as his skin began to turn crystal-ice.
Worriedly, she cupped his freezing cheeks. "Why do you keep growing cold?" She mumbled.
Kaname sought her tearful gaze, fatigue gnawing his focus. "We are born cold." His eyes relented shut.
Yuki disheveled her jacket and shirt to shroud him with heat. "You've always been warm from what I remember." She enveloped him with her arms.
Kaname smiled against her neck, feeling her hot pulse on his temple. "You're so good to me," He sighed wistfully, "I didn't want you to feel cold. I raised my temperature when I held you in my arms. I do so much for you."
"Then you shouldn't have jumped." Yuki muffled tears in his hair.
"2,000 years fade in the blink of an eye for a pureblood. I had to go overboard so we can have an extra 500 years together."
She clenched him tighter in her arms, unable to restrain the blood tears falling heavily from her eyes. "You can have my eternity—just don't die!"
Kaname sleepily smiled, drifting to unconsciousness, "Don't forget our promise, Yuki."
He slept for a whole day. And for a whole day, Yuki did not leave his side. She wrapped him in her tiny arms to keep him from freezing. He trembled constantly and lost blood on intervals, but unlike earlier, his wounds began to diminish slightly. She didn't doubt the healing properties in pure blood, although, she wished he recovered sooner. Yuki stroked his greasy, ruined hair. The pureblood managed to remain physically neat-looking and hygienic that it felt bizarre to find him tussled. Nonetheless, she slipped her arms around his ribs, drawing him an inch closer if possible, surrounding him with the warmth of her body from the cold night.
o o o
Morning encroached on his rest. Kaname's red eyes flared bright and fresh at the sensation of the warm sun. The breeze churned the bushes and leaves fleeted over the rocks. He found her hair over him. Looking over, Kaname noted the arms snaked around him. Her forehead pressed in acknowledgment and care on his. Instantly, his eyes softened, and his tensed body relaxed in her comforting embrace. He turned sideways into her, sneaking an arm around her back and pulled her in. Yuki could not sleep well without his sleep spell, but Kaname knew better, Yuki would be plagued with nightmares if he wasn't around to fight them away. She slept deeply. Her hands locked, and eyes heavily shut. Kaname peacefully smiled in her arms.
Around noon, Yuki wrestled awake, contorting under his arm. She dazedly peeked at his sleeping profile, preparing to inch away to stretch.
Kaname gripped her waist instinctively, hugging her back. "I'm haven't recovered," He groaned against her ear, "Stay."
Guilt fanned her bloodstreams but estranged rupture thawed her heart. She bit her bottom lip indecisively, considering the cloudless sky and wished her heart to be as sterile clear. Yuki swallowed the wish against her burning throat, glancing at the sleeping pureblood out of the corner of her eye. "I remember a village on the mountain. I should send word and let them know where we are. They ca—"
"I only want you." Kaname mouthed against her carotid pulse. She shivered from the heat of his breath. Her legs and arms sagging unkindly against her will. "My bones remain broken. We can't let the others know."
"But they can help."
"I only trust you." A fang nipped the shell of her ear. Her heart thumped masterfully under the bulky restraint of his arm. Kaname's red eyes narrowed on her flushed profile, Yuki averted and nervously licked her lips. "You want to abandon me, don't you love your Ouji?"
"You're muddleheaded from the injuries," Yuki guessed, unable to hold her breath longer than two-seconds for some strange reason. She gasped shakily but Kaname nuzzled her cheek. His lips a few inches from hers. Her eyes fluttered close without pause, receiving the gentle caress in the gesture.
"Are you sure you don't love me, Yuki?" Kaname whispered.
She could feel his lashes against her own. Her heart briskly hammered in her chest. The sound of her rushing blood tickled her senses.
Kaname raised his head to spy on her closed-eyed and red-cheeked.
"Can't you transform into bats or a wolf again?" Yuki wondered, "I can carry you someplace safer."
He relaxed his forehead against hers, sighing tiredly. "It'll consume strength that I need to regenerate my ligaments and bones."
"But we can't stay here forever," Yuki muttered distastefully, "You've lost dangerous amounts of blood, you'll need sustenance, new clothes, and bandages."
"I'm too busy memorizing your rapid heartbeat to worry about bandages and silly things." Kaname brushed his mouth down her neck, licking her warm, determined pulse.
Yuki relished in the liquid grasp of his tongue and the fiery graze of the whispering fang. He rolled Yuki on her side, flattening on the ground.
"Don't leave." Kaname hid his face in the crook of her neck, clenching her waist.
She didn't run or afforded a shivering twitch in his arms. He wasn't frostbitten cold but remained weak. She felt him relax momentarily as sleep swallowed him. It could be days until he saw proper recovery. Yuki would not mind. She understood he needed the rest. On second thought, she realized the fewer people knew about his condition, the safer he was. The purpose of escorting Kaname to the Southeast was to manage events similar to the present situation—Granted, she was liable for the debacle and couldn't complain or pressure Kaname to revitalize at the snap of her fingers. She drew the jacket over the pureblood. It was hard to recover alone. She couldn't imagine deserting Kaname, let alone watch him turn to ashes. Yuki loathed the concept of Kaname dying. Her hands settled in his hair and lowered to scoop the fingers tucked around her waist. The hollow drip under his cheekbones and a frail but tangibly soft lips. How long his thick eyelashes curled and the echo of deep breaths moved rhythmically against her ribcage. She watched him sleep for a long time. Their fingers linked and foreheads flush against each other. Sleep weaved into her eyes finally, whisking her in its soft cocoon.
o o o
Yuki didn't know what roused her awake. It wasn't the unfortunate but wrathful cold wind or the sensation of rocks digging into her back. Her hand sought the cold, empty space on her right. Red-brown eyes plucked open in desperate shock. She searched the darkness of the mountain and back at the canyon. The wind howled into the corner, whirling in gasping speed. Raptly, Yuki buttoned her shirt and cloak. Obvious that he was not in the vicinity, Yuki recounted the initial place they'd plummeted. His blood smeared the area and it wouldn't be long for vultures and critters to swoop in and sample its potency. Yuki called out to him several times. At first, she hoped he'd gone to handle private business, which though difficult, she understood. Then she wandered a little ways toward the trench of trees two miles down the canyon but had yet to encounter Kaname. She began tracking fresh footsteps, the smell of his blood, or articles of faltered clothes. He wasn't in good shape to move, run, or fly. What could possibly trigger him to disappear?
They were alone in the canyon, but if intruders came, she would've known. Yuki gulped fresh air to suppress an unfamiliar force of panic in her normally calm and practical state of mind. She wasn't dealing with a common vampire, runaway slave, ex-hunter, or human. Kaname was a wounded pureblood who lost more than half of his blood. Yuki draped a cold, clammy hand on her perspiring forehead as she scanned the terribly silent and stately trees in the dark. What would she give to see him march down the hill. It'd be too good to be true. Yuki shook her head sluggishly, fog-brained, and fatigued. As much as she loved to return to sleep, she despised Kaname stumbling spooky red-eyed and ferociously fanged in the woods. She began hiking through the trees, hoping for the sound of human-like or familiar activities. Did she wake up too late? Did he collapse somewhere and the vultures already tore out his gullet?
A chill skittered the back of her neck, the indistinguishable illumination instant and raw. Fog depleted and rationality wormed into focus. Yuki breathed calmly and deeply. Kaname was a starving pureblood. He must've gone to feed. Her wide brown-red eyes soared over the trees and bushes. She darted up and down the dry, crusty terrain. The mountain Shigeu brought her to had a village. Her knees buckled uncharacteristically at the mere thought of Kaname breaking necks and drinking from innocent humans. Yuki scooped a handful of hair and scratched the back of her head, anxiously. She knew his scent, his blood, which should more than likely support her mission, but she continued to feel lethargic and dizzy. Yuki knelt on the ground, resting her head on an arm and closed her eyes. She couldn't run idly for hours or she'd lose strength and slump unconsciously. He could be far in a village. A starving pureblood was a hundred times worse than a Level E.
I have to lure him.
She removed her boot to locate the hunter bracelet over the sock. The metal clinked between her fingers and glowed eerily in the light between the clouds. The lack of weaponry urged her to cast a formidable boundary. She had to be quick and linked the bracelet to straw leaves and loosely created a circumference. Yuki tore her wrist with a nail, dripping blood on the bracelet. His blood was hers, it was worth a try. The boundary was formed with the similar concept of restraining vampires upon entering the Hunters Association, he or she required a hunter to escort them inside or carry them to avoid the electrocuting metal. Yuki did not have time to perfect the boundary, but the blood drop should link Kaname and prevent him from attacking humans by trapping him inside. Yuki cut her wrist deeper and let blood ripple unremittingly down her fingers into the waiting soil. She was taking a leap of faith if she concluded the situation wisely. Kaname had to be hunting for food. The pureblood would not stop until he drank his fill. Yuki smeared her blood on stumps, trunks, and leaves. She left droplets on rocks and bushes. Moonlight chiseled the darkness in the waning fray. She climbed higher and listened to the humming wind. Nostalgia ate at her, how free the wind was, how clear the night glimmered through formless clouds. Yuki crouched on the ground and pressed her ear to detect movement.
At first, she heard the normal nightly wrangle between animals and owls. She could feel their fear, suspense laced the breeze. Most retreated into homes and peeked secretly. A predator loomed too close. She sat up instinctively, refusing to twitch against the slither of unconscious understanding. Her nails dug in the soil but she waited for the crunching leaves, the swishing tree branch as the thickening scent of her blood looped the corner. She closed her eyes and listened. Rocks skipped, even the soil stirred. The crawling insects crept under the carpet of dead, dry leaves under her knees. The soil beneath Yuki puddled with her blood, she held out for several more seconds, tuning to the frequency of flapping wings of a hooting owl. The dusty rummage of snakes winking and hissing animatedly on a branch as a shadow crossed the field. Her eyes peeled open, she swallowed her dry throat. It wasn't nervousness entirely, hunger, dire fear nicked her from head to toe. She shivered in the seamless breeze, sensing the preamble of the predator's encroach from the far right. Yuki could not detect how he moved, he was the shadow of a shadow. He was the night. Never betrayed by the moon or wind, and it was no wonder the animals had difficulty digesting its identity.
Her blood floated down the soil. She clenched her jaw, surprised by the tremble in her bones. The paling courage, and the extreme riddle-filled abhorrence at being the prey of a pureblood. She drank from him. She could not refuse his order. She be…longed to him.
" 'Hard to believe it. Mother Huntress was his blood-sworn lover. How did she overcome her loyalty to him?' "
Kaien's mouth tightened in a grim line, his brows furrowing. " 'By putting duty first.' "
Jitters gnawed down her arms and legs. Yuki Hanako felt the hot vapor of breath from her nostrils, the trance of fear glowed in teary eyes. She turned deliberately toward the crouching demon-eyed pureblood. His hair stuck to his cheeks and forehead, sharply outlining luminous dewy pale skin and zealous red eyes glistening of thirst in the dark. The moonlight paled in comparison to its crimson brilliance. She hadn't noticed his fangs until a moment later. Larger than she'd ever seen, bloody and sharper than scythes, hooking at the corner of blood lips. His claws unlatched the head it clasped, dropping it flat on the ground. She did not want to notice the rolling head. If she made a hesitating move, he would come for her. The blood trickling down his throat and ripped clothing reeked of animal, not human, fortunately. She didn't care to celebrate. His eyes zoned on her, hypnotic and all-consuming, demanding, and reprimanding at the same time. Yuki felt her blood, bones, breath, and mind being dragged energetically into his lustrous gaze. No ending to glowing red, precious and deep, hotter than the sun. Her breathing staggered but she tore away from the alluring daze. Her movement was slow for a second as if her arms and legs were rust iron coming back to life after sitting at a junkyard.
Yuki stepped forward, eyes narrowing on Kaname.
One.
He growled, his own blackened sinisterly. He operated on the instinct to feed. He lost a significant amount of blood. She wondered how Kaname managed to stand on broken arms and legs. Was his hunger ultimate and incorrigible that it forced him to his feet and hunt for blood? Whatever leniency he felt toward her from the moment of waking up traversed into the opposite emotion. All Yuki saw glisten in the red eyes was unclouded carnage and anger. Remorse did not whimper or recede, there was simply no trace of it in his hypnotically immaculate expression. No grim, shame, regret, or repulsion just savoring and winning completeness. He had been waiting to taste blood from a person, not an animal. The requisite was long-waited, hard-earned, and well-deserved for his righteous needs. She had no time to go back or recoil, but go forward and see through it. Yuki squeezed the unbridled blood from her wrist and fingers, allowing the snicker of drops tap on the ground. The perfect and rollicking tease of the century—his eyes enlarged perceptively from the noise. The scent of warm blood wheezed the rest of his conscience to basic brutality. Kaname's fangs flashed in the growl. His feet flew as well as his claws.
Two.
Yuki spun around, in a fluid motion, she skittered down the slope. His claws snapped between her hair strands. She swiped around the trunks marked by her blood, leading to the boundary. His larger arm whisked around her collarbone, gouging into her shoulder. She did not scream or gasp. Her perfectly bellowing heart raged against his claws. His hot, wet mouth slammed on the screeching pulse on her throat, fangs fringed sweat-slicked smooth skin, breaking muscle in a swift puncture and sucked greedily on the fluid, freeing warmth and thrill of life. Sweet and rich blood swooped freshly in his mouth. The red luster of Kaname's eyes polished into unrivaled satin satisfaction. Yuki wrestled to flee, but his supreme strength overpowered her twisting arms and kicking legs. Kaname pivoted and wrung her off the ground altogether. She shoved him mercilessly by the shoulder, the pride of the prey could only be subdued by time and strength. Kaname pushed her on the ground. She kicked her legs, her moves precise and painful for the average creature, but Kaname did not detect the threat. He yanked her hair and flattened the punching arm, basking in the simpering but gushing onset of delicate blood he never deduced existed as deliciously sweet before. His fangs remained transfixed in the thick river of blood, swallowing hungrily. Yuki could not see the sky or the trees. Her spotty vision wafted in and out for moments at a time. She could only feel the fangs, steadily digging into her flesh and the fastening tug of life that streamed down Kaname's throat.
She had to get him to the boundary. Bracing her elbow against his ribcage, she kicked him on the kneecaps meanwhile elbowing him in angrily in the ribs. He pivoted and lost his bearing. Kaname's eyes widened speechlessly down her. She gritted her fangs, her blood stringing in saliva between them. Yuki notched his collar determinedly and rolled down the hill. His arms cradled her unassumingly around the waist and shoulders, but she doubled them over toward the makeshift boundary. Kaname glared at her from the slit of his eyelids, hissing vindictively.
A conscience shock flickered across his dazed hungry gaze at the fragile and weak woman.
No...
Kaname growled ravenously, "I left to avoid endangering you." His voice similarly ruinous to a knife digging the skin.
Yuki knew her life span had to be short. The king tried to kill her. Now the son would tear her apart with his fangs. She didn't break her silence, but slung herself over Kaname, rolling him down. Electrocution throttled the two of them, piercing bloodstreams and biting into bones and ligaments. She grimaced but he thrust her with a swinging arm until she lay sprawled on her side, weak and breathless. Kaname shivered from another storm of electrocution. Pulling his knees up, he swayed and hunched on the ground for solidity instead. Yuki covered the wound on her neck, blood oozed on the grass.
"I don't want you to attack the village," She panted, "I have to trap you inside the boundary."
Gruesome hunger toiled the neutrality of his face. His red eyes were black again, and his fangs peaked abrasively as he spat angrily, "I can't control myself. I will kill you if you don't run." His voice was wrecked in coarse fury.
"My powers drained from using the dragon blade," Yuki acknowledged, nodding as fatigue spoiled her vision with black dots, "I can't heal or transform into butterflies, and I don't have weapons either, but the hunter bracelet can create a field around us. I used our blood to trap us. You mustn't leave."
Dry brown fingers, creamed from the entrails of animals and Yuki's blood, knotted against his furrowing glabella. Kaname did not dare look at her, wavering and unable to catch her breath. His fangs clicked unconsciously from the smell of blood on his clothes and grass. She was less than a foot away. Her heart, a breathtaking and invaluable chorus for his needs, for him solely. He was afraid to make a move. For it may result in Yuki's throat being ripped and feasting on the delicious rickety magnet inside her chest. She was extremely, soul-quenching. Sweet, hot, and delicate, her aroma was sunny but mixed with her blood, it was imminent addiction, a need he would hanker and dissolve if he did not taste again. Already, he wanted nothing more than to pin her down and suck the life out of her neck. Would she mind if he gutted out of her heart and tried it too? She was abnormally and hauntingly delicious. She may be the most magnificent and terrifying thing he tasted, ironically.
How could he dare think of her like meat, a thrill for his predatory fangs? A filler for an empty moment. He shook with a need he never knew.
"You made a mistake," Kaname growled eerily. His voice dipped an octave lower, internally he recoiled and loosened under a foreign tempest of hunger. "I promised not to discard you, but now I've tasted you. I might not stop eating you." Need wrung through his fingers. His claws unsheathed and his fangs protracted another inch out of his mouth. His salivary gland was on overdrive.
Kaname fused his eyes shut and focused on the endless sounds of the night, averting from the captivating flutter of Yuki's heart. She was an intoxicating treat scant inches in front of him. He could simply snatch her—it didn't need to be the throat, her hands or arms, her syrupy fingers. She was already bloody, wrecked, and weak like a human, easily overwhelmed, he noted earlier. The baser half wanted what it wanted, her blood and heart. The higher half also wanted what it wanted, Yuki. Her laugh and hidden gentleness, by his side. He wouldn't torment her with his fangs, and he didn't want to see a day if she was gone. Kaname resolutely pulled in his powers and forced himself into a light slumber.
Yuki distinguished the contorting emotions behind Kaname's fist. He tried hard not to do the unthinkable and regrettable. She sighed and stood up. It would best for them if he healed quickly but she also understood the guilt in desiring another's blood. Vampires lived in utter shame due to hunger, but because he was stronger, he could mindlessly drain her to death. Yuki approached the discontented pureblood. She noticed his skin shimmer with ice, as he dialed down his abilities.
"You're putting yourself to sleep," She realized, taken back by his decision. She sank in front of Kaname who had sealed his eyes and drowned farther in the graver and darker recesses of his consciousness. "To keep yourself from attacking me, is that it?"
Kaname's brows jutted but his concentration remained intact and resolute.
Yuki wrapped her arms around his head. "There's no need to do that." She whispered in his hair warmly. "You're always suppressing yourself in order for me to feel comfortable. You're not in the palace anymore. It's not taboo to be held or touched, to have what you want here. Lady Juuri held you when it was possible. I won't chastise or ignore your hunger, I understand. You can let down your guard and be yourself, I will look after you."
His eyes creaked open hesitantly. Kaname's arms coiled around her waist tightly. Wallowing in thirst, he buried his face in her abdomen. "I will kill you."
Yuki smiled, "You won't kill me."
Kaname slipped his arms up to her torso, caressing her collarbone, and flipped her hair over the shoulder. "I'll make it memorable and enjoyable for you."
She blinked at the undying promise clouding his crimson eyes black. Kaname clenched the arm around her waist and smoothly dipped her flat on the ground, he rolled over Yuki. She saw her reflection in the lustrous red irises pierced by the black pupils through streams of dark hair. Kaname caressed her bright warm cheeks. Fangs appeared as his lips parted. Hunger penetrated his facade, ravaging the soothing serenity of his eyes. His mouth twilled into a deep, sad frown. Yuki touched his cheek. He flinched awake from a depressing dream he had been seeing. Kaname's fangs danced across his open lips.
He's going to bite me.
Yuki gaped at the glinting large fangs, her own mouth falling open in awe. Kaname leaned into her throat, relishing in the scent of blood beneath the skin and the beckon of her heartbeat. She had mentally prepared herself.
He licked her throat deftly. She stiffened from the delightful thrill of a warm tongue. Wiping down the residue of old blood, massaging the location of the initial bite mark. The wound was deep and the stream of blood trickled beneath her collar. Kaname unlatched the buttons. He tilted her red face back to examine the embarrassment and anxiousness dwelling in her coy gaze. Kaname rubbed his lips across hers, noting her widening eyes and dilating pupils. His fangs contacted hers briefly before the kiss deepened. Yuki paused, his fingers webbed around the back of her head, nudging her toward his active tongue. Her eyes doubled from the heat of his lips along with the sensation of his tongue moving on hers. Her hands trembled against his jacket. Heat bubbled in her blood, foaming until her mind blanked. His arm clenched unconsciously as his lips caressed along the pretty edges of her mouth. Instant hot energy swept down her throat, stroking her windpipe and lungs. Yuki felt the power amble into her arms and legs. The power sowed from his breath into hers, burrowing the pit of her stomach. As children vampires could absorb energy, Kaname was sharing his.
His tongue moved meticulously. She shivered at the testy flick against her fangs. He seemed to enjoy the sensation, it incited him to deepen the kiss. She swooned from his skillful tongue, shaking from want, an unconscious need. Kaname pulled slightly back to gauge the untamed look of pleasure lance her face. Her eyes teared, the red-brown irises shimmered ardently in meaningful expectation. Kaname licked down her throat. Her reaction was more enjoyable than anticipated. She twitched, hiking her knees startingly. Yuki was exquisitely sensitive. Her tremors multiplied the longer his tongue weaved across her damaged collarbone. His hand brushed down her waist, his lips sat at a delicate distance from the pulse in her throat. She waited breathlessly as his hand slipped under her shirt. He smiled devilishly and bit down in the smooth flesh. Her blood primed and glimmered with desire. Her sweetness sugared his mouth. Kaname sucked another gulp of fresh, hot blood. She twisted gingerly in his arms, nonetheless, she did not struggle or wiggle away. Yuki clenched his collar, tugging him anxiously closer. Another strip of blood flowed into his mouth, his tongue lapped and massaged the area.
He embraced Yuki extremely carefully and neatly. She felt safe in the persistent cradle of the hand at the back of her head. The other hand wandered on her ribcage, below the breast. She quivered uncontrollably at the insinuating torque of the tongue leaving the open wound, toward her collarbone. He nipped and sucked on the flesh. She hissed at the teasing fang. Her neck promptly fell back in his hand as his mouth glided to the other side. Warm fangs planted firmly and crunched into flesh. Her eyes had closed, not in pain or doubt, but perpetual pleasure. She had no idea purebloods fed so sensually. Yuki clenched the back of his head and Kaname did not deny the signal. He drank to his fill, loving the eager and shuddering noise echoing from the back of her throat. He decorated kisses around her throat, healing the bites. Yuki turned her head, she looked starry-eyed but deliciously red.
"I knew you wouldn't kill me." She heaved.
"Yes," Kaname rested his forehead on hers, nuzzling her nose. "Looks like you need more of my energy." He tipped her chin up and kissed her parted lips.
She was not surprised compared to the first time. Yuki welcomed his tongue through her lips and relaxed in the hand at the back of her neck. The heat of his body, his powers propelled faster into her own, pooling around her abdomen, crawling across her shoulders and knees. She pulsed ceaselessly between her legs, loving his warmth and soft hand brushing around her ribs to her back. Her tongue roved his hungrily, feeling the sneaky texture of his fangs. Yuki shivered and froze at the mere power of the fangs. Her body stiffened instinctively with an incomparable demand to feel it again. Kaname urged her back by stroking her tongue. She wheezed against his lips, falling short of breath. Her heart banged loudly against his chest. She was significantly energized. His energetic powers flooded into her heart, her muscles, and hair, as well as the cells of her body. Yuki irrepressibly tugged Kaname closer, loving his heat and his energetic influence propelling her very life-force. He clenched her hair, her begging tongue tasting his healing saliva. Her desire was unearthing and rising by the minute. Her shoulders hitched three inches higher, and her hips brazenly rocked into him. Kaname smirked, peeling back to inspect the half-pureblood perceptively.
Yuki was surprisingly innocent, pliable, and coy. She didn't impugn or brush Kaname off. Just alone on her reactivity, he could sufficiently deduce from her kiss regardless of what form of barbarian or rogue she roughhoused with—she hadn't slept with a man. Her memories churned inside of him. Her hardships, fear, and terror. The unrivaled, pure love, and compassion for her family and friends bathed his consciousness. Rose and sun, sun and rose—her smell and taste chased his breath, colored his crimson eyes. She breathed loudly, her swollen lips gaping open, but her eyes were polished in silvery desire. The rest of her remained immobile at his mercy on the ground. Kaname caressed her red cheek. Her eyes closed in relinquished silence. Their blood bond was complete. She had tasted his blood, and he had hers. Nowhere in her blood was a reserve of secret hatred, not even resentment toward Kaname. In fact, Yuki didn't blame him for occupying Juuri's love as a child. From witnessing his memories, Yuki learned Kaname didn't know what it meant to hold another individual, let alone caress them without assuming rules and regulations first. It would be natural to avoid physical contact with others, and it was undeniable why purebloods did not like to be touched. Fortunately, Kaname was adopted by Juuri regardless of his parent's approval. She hugged him often, patted his head, and taught him to love unconditionally, especially those that hated and feared him. Her influence made him warmer than others, but there was unspeakable darkness in his blood, much like Yuki's wrath, it was volatile and malefic.
The satin love in Yuki's blood was deep and rapacious. She loved her father, Ms. Laison, Kaien Kurosu, as well as Zero and his brother intensely. Incidentally, Yuki took Kaname's word to heart, her world depended on it. When he was not around, she ailed and missed him. She became frail like a dying candle. Her blood tears were evident after finding him broken and unconscious in the canyon. She had cried for people she loved before, but none was blood tears. Vampires only knew to shed blood tears if they were tragic or irreversible pain. If he disappeared, she wouldn't recover. If she lost Kaname, she wouldn't forgive herself. If he was somehow hurt because of her, she'd despise herself instead. Yuki was unearthly devoted to Kaname. She couldn't comprehend for the life of her because she didn't understand why she wanted and needed him desperately for no reason.
" 'It won't be selfish.' " Takuma implied. " 'Not if she wants to be with you.' "
" 'What does Yuki's blood say? You haven't completed the blood bond. How can you be sure?' "
"So, it's true," Kaname caressed her swollen lips.
Her feverish eyes opened sleepily and closed. "Ouji?" Yuki whispered.
Kaname smiled secretly. "We're stuck in the ring you made. We missed the sunset, but we can spend another night under the stars together."
Her brows furrowed in sudden objection. "If you try to escape or move an inch, I will shock you with the bracelet."
Today, your lies reflect how desperate you feel about me.
"Better yet," Yuki bounded up and shoved Kaname on the ground with a ruling hand move. He flattened abruptly under the arm, patiently and favorably ready for further instructions. "I will watch over you tonight."
The pureblood submitted. "I've drunk your blood. Since you love me vehemently, you'll need to prepare yourself."
"Love you?" Yuki shouted at the outrageous remark but quelled the irritation with a firm shake of the head. She straightened her posture and folded her arms, fixing a glare on the trees on the far left.
"You already know about our hedonistic hunger. I'm an insatiable pureblood. Can you cope with my maddening appetite?" He demanded.
"You were generous of me." She said without looking at Kaname, "I shall return the favor."
Kaname spied her through the lashes. "Give me your lap then."
Yuki whipped around in puzzlement at the order.
"I have internal bleeding and trauma from rescuing you, won't you give your Ouji your lap?" Kaname reasoned.
She frowned at the deceptive pureblood but hesitantly crawled toward him and arranged his head properly on her lap. His hair streamed like a dark puddle, tracing the ground. Kaname wore an unnaturally satisfied smile and closed his eyes blissfully. "You ran and flew faster than I did. Are you sure you haven't healed?" Yuki suspiciously inquired.
"Why would I lie to you?" Kaname opened his eyes and tapped Yuki on the nose playfully.
She ruffled his hair in adamant revolt. Kaname did not react or seem to notice his hair flinging around. Instinctively her fingers paused on the scarred wounds on the scalp. The wound remained open, blood swirled up her nose. Kaname had split his head on the rocks. She was certain he'd broken every bone in his body. The fact he walked, ran, and flew was a miracle. She decided not to doubt his arcane abilities and stroked his hair consolingly. She did not like he had gotten hurt. Under her mollifying caress, the lines on Kaname's forehead vanished. She combed the strands of hair from his temples and forehead to scope his symmetrical features intently. Her sleuth-like nails sailed the luscious, stark eyebrows. Over the bridge of his elegant nose, it roamed, tickling the highest peak and dipped down toward gorgeous soft lips. He must've been incredibly worn-out from starvation and running that he did not hint a telltale sign of waking up. Yuki outlined his lips and padded her fingers around his cheeks in a light facial massage. His temperature dropped significantly, cold air morphed from his nostrils and mouth. She flinched from contacting his forehead, surprised by the receding warmth.
"Why are you cold?" She drew him in her arms concernedly.
He lost the ability to open his eyes. Grimacing, Kaname panted as he replied from her tightening arms. "It's nothing." He grunted.
Yuki removed her cloak and covered him. She insistently rubbed his shoulders and arms, blowing on his ice-like fingers. "I'm supposed to escort you to the Southeast. Don't die, Ouji."
Kaname smiled lightly despite the strenuous pain from the injuries he sustained. "Death won't touch me if you embrace me, Yuki."
He won't give up poetry even under these circumstances.
Always solution-minded, Yuki snuggled on the ground in Kaname's arms, sharing her heat under the cloak. He shuddered roughly, a layer of ice began to form on his forehead. Yuki pressed her forehead on his, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm with you, Ouji. You're not alone."
o o o
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