Chapter 3:
Chapter 3, A Little History
Haruhi looked at everyone in confusion. "What do you mean, Kyoya-senpai?"
Kyoya pushed his glasses up before taking them off. "You should sit down Haruhi. This will take a while."
She nodded hesitantly before following the others out to the sitting area and went to sit on one of the couches. Hunny sat in a chair near her with Mori standing somewhat unsteadily behind him, Hikaru and Kaoru sat across from her on the other couch while Kyoya sat opposite to Hunny and Tamaki tried to sit next to her but paused when Nekozawa stepped closer causing him to scream.
"W-wha-what a-are y-you d-d-doing here?" Tamaki stuttered.
"I was invited," was all Tamaki got as he sat on the left side of Haruhi.
"Who?" Tamaki asked shakily, sitting to Haruhi's right but closer to the arm of the couch rather than to her.
"I did," Kyoya replied. "He and I have something to tell Haruhi once we are done with our...proper...introductions."
"Should we go first Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked. "Since it is kind of our fault?"
"If you wish."
Hunny nodded, glanced back at Mori and took a breath. He closed his honey-brown eyes, took another breath before opening them again. They were still their original color but there was a faint red glow to them and there where slight fangs protruding from his mouth. Mori did the same but his eyes turned completely red instead of having the faint glow.
"You need to eat a bit more Takashi," Hunny said before glancing back at the group. "His eyes are supposed to be like mine, only holding a glow of red to them. Our eyes only turn completely red when we are hungry or very angry."
Mori nodded and went back into the kitchen. Once he was gone, Hunny continued after taking a deep breath.
"My family has always been like this. We don't know when the first change was because it wasn't really written but I do know that we are among the oldest. Takashi's family has a good record dating back just as far as mine but it is mostly the record of their servitude. When my family first became like this, his took on a new duty, to make sure we were "fed". Unlike what you read in stories, we don't always kill the person we "feed" from and we don't leave any marks unless it is under specific conditions. Killing the person that "feeds" us, or the "Donor" as is the modern term, is a no-no. It's punishable by death, unless given certain permissions.
"Anyway, several generations ago, a couple of Takashi's family were given a reward for protecting their Masters beyond what was called of for them; the ability to join them as a Vampire. Changing is a bit painful but the pain fades rather quickly and is soon replaced with hunger. You have to be fully willing to change, to want and accept it with all your heart and it must be for the right reasons. If you want to be changed but have ill intent when it is done, the change won't take place because the venom used to make the change would kill the recipient if the one that was to change them didn't. If they want the change but are hesitant to fully accept it, only parts of it will take place and it's different in every case of that happening, but the need to "eat" isn't one of the things they endure. Those that fully embrace the change will need to "eat" right away so that they don't lose control of themselves. After all, you are essentially drained completely of your own blood when you are changed."
"Once the change was completed," Mori said coming back into the room, his eyes now only carrying a light glow. "Those that were changed took it upon themselves to add additional protection to Mitsukuni's family. Those that were still human were taught how to make it seem like they had the reflexes and combat capabilities of their Masters and newly formed kin. After a few generations of consistent training, it became second nature to have such training done at a young age as it was easier to teach the new methods to the younger generations than the older. That is also when the first children of those that were changed were born."
"Unlike stories and legends," Hunny continued. "A child born from a Vampire and a non-vampire are not half, but one or the other. There are some traits of both parents in the child due to how genetics work but nothing completely major. In some cases, a Vampire child may or may not have the crimson glow to their eyes or the other race carried to the child might have the red eyes and/or some heightened senses. Such things don't really come up until the child is around three or four depending on what the other parent is.
"There is also the added ability to a child of a mixed Union born in that if they are in a dire situation, or near death, their Vampiric blood will show itself to some degree and give them the strength to get out and survive the situation. Their blood can also be woken by another Vampire if they want to be one, though once the change takes place, they can't undo it. It also highly depends on what the other half is, as I said. Such changes are more common in Unions that have one of the parents as a human rather than one of the other races."
"You mentioned..."feeding"," Haruhi stated hesitantly. "How does that work?"
"That is really the only part of the stories and legends that is partially true, we bite an area close to a vein and drink. To be honest Haru-chan, we don't really feed from people other than a regulated Donors," Hunny explained. "With all of the sicknesses and other medical problems humans can get, it is actually safer for us to drink Pseudo-blood or blood from a Blood bank. Even then, it is strictly monitored. If we feed from a Donor, they have to have a clean bill of health, no hereditary medical problems and no records of illegal activity.
"There are times when we are allowed to go against our rule of "No Killing" but that is only for people that either have ill intent when they are changed or it is cleared by the government."
"In those cases," Kyoya interjected. "The people that are sent to the Vampire Clans are those that are on Death Row because there is quite a wait for their execution or there is no means of doing so without recourse. Such cases are common but kept quiet for obvious reasons."
Haruhi looked at Hunny and Mori. "Have either of you..."
Mori nodded as Hunny spoke. "We have. To be honest, it is used as a test of our self-control that is done every few months. To see if we still can keep our hunger in check."
"Is Satoshi human?" Haruhi asked Mori, recalling the time she met the younger Morinozuka son.
"No," Mori replied. "When our families merged two generations ago, the union was between two Vampires. Our mother was changed five years before I was born. It saved her from death in a car crash she and father were in. They had been engaged for a little over two years at the time."
Haruhi nodded and looked down in awe. Two of my senpais are Vampires... she thought in awed wonder. What about the others?
"I should explain myself next I suppose," Nekozawa stated. "I am human like you are Haruhi but I am what is known as a Neutral Dark Mage."
"Huh?"
Nekozawa laughed slightly. "I possess Arcana." His hand rose and the curtains on the far side of the room shut and the lights went out causing Tamaki to let out a shrill scream.
Haruhi watched in awe as the demonstration continued.
"አበራ ( ābera ),"* she heard him mutter.
After a few moments, small floating lights appeared around the room, bathing everyone in a dim blue light. She looked around in awe.
"Wow..." she uttered stunned.
Nekozawa smiled softly and removed his hood and wig since the lighting in the room was more to his liking. "Thank you. Such things are easy for me but only due to my years of practice. For clarification, the items in which the Black Magic Club makes and sells actually do work but only for those who have an actually aptitude for Dark Magic or explicitly ask for them to."
"So the twins could really have used the Curse Doll they got from you on each other?" she asked shocked.
"Oh yes, they could have, but I wouldn't allow such. The doll in which I had given them was inert and therefore, useless."
Everyone but Kyoya and Mori looked at him in surprise.
"I have the ability to Read and Scry," he stated calmly. "I knew what you two were doing and decided to play along but not assist in your childish game."
"You can Read?" Haruhi asked quietly, confused about the enunciation of the word. She honestly hoped he could since he was two years older than her.
"I can. I have already Read you Fujioka-san. I will explain further to you after the others finish."
She nodded and Kyoya spoke next. "I am only half human due to my Father. I am a Dark Mage and Demon of the Void."
"Demon of the Void?" was the unanimous question.
Kyoya twitched and his dark aura started to seep out causing the twins and Tamaki to lead away in fear uttering "The Demon Lord has been unleashed..."
Haruhi tried but failed to stifle a laugh. "So that is part of the reason you have that nickname."
Kyoya glanced at her with solid black eyes which caused her to stop laughing. "Yes, that is part of the reason. My story isn't nearly as awe-inspiring as Hunny-senpai or Mori-senpai but just as enlightening. Through my mother, I am a Demon of the Void, a Shadow Wraith to be accurate. Unlike with Vampires, demons do have the ability to create hybrids with any race, even their own. Dark and Shadow magic are inherent to me and most of it was taught to me by my mother thus allowing me to have a better understanding of her than my siblings and father combined. They, too, are half human but have no aptitude for Magic beyond their existence and therefore didn't learn anything from our mother. And as that name implies, I am a Lord in the Realms of Darkness while Nekozawa-senpai is of Royalty."
"You're actually a Dark Prince?" the twins asked, remembering the odd moniker they gave him.
"Only in the Realms of Darkness," Nekozawa replied blandly. "I was given such from my father."
"What can a Dark Mage do?" Haruhi asked curiously.
"A great number of things, Fujioka-san. Many Dark Mages can call upon the Shadows themselves to aid them in any endeavor or use them as a weapon to torment their enemies and spy for their allies."
"They can also use curses, hexes and all other forms of spells depending on the strength of the caster they are bound to," Kyoya continued. "Now I do believe it is your turn Tamaki."
"But of course," Tamaki stated with flourish. "I am of Elven Nobility and Fae Royalty through my beloved mother and mostly human from my father."
"Mostly human?" Haruhi questioned.
"Several generations in the past," Kyoya interjected. "One of Tamaki's grandmother's family was a Kitsune, a Fox Demon."
"That explains his penchant of getting into trouble," Haruhi stated causing the twins to snicker and a small smile to cross Kyoya's face. That explains a lot actually... she thought glancing at Tamaki who was trying to get Hikaru and Kaoru to stop laughing at him.
"Suoh," Nekozawa called as some of the floating lights dimmed. "I believe you should continue."
Tamaki yelped and sat back next to Haruhi, but closer to the couch arm than he had before, trying to get as far away from Nekozawa as he could before continuing. "In the Elven Kingdom, I would be a Duke and in the Kingdom of the Fae, I am a Prince."
"Can you do magic too, Tamaki-senpai?" Haruhi asked.
"Not overtly," he mumbled slightly. "Elves, despite having an abundance of it, don't really use magic as often as other races and Fae tend to do illusions more so that they can get away, trick others or find a partner. Both sides of my mother's family prefer to avoid conflict if at all possible. But despite the fact our magic is slightly limited to one particular field, that doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves. It's just that our means of offensive magics aren't nearly as painful as everyone else's . We prefer word over weapon as it tends to be more impactful."
"So you are more diplomatic than anything else," she surmised.
Tamaki nodded. "Pretty much."
"Now it's our turn," the twins stated with mischievous smiles.
Haruhi watched as Hikaru and Kaoru seemed to get more and more appealing thus making it so she had to shake her head and rub her temples the stop the oncoming pressure that was building behind her eyes.
"Oops...sorry Haruhi," she heard Kaoru state.
"You can look now," Hikaru mentioned. "The pressure will be gone."
Haruhi looked at the twins again and saw that their amber eyes held a soft shine to them and in their smiles where slight fangs. Sensing her question Kaoru explained. "We aren't Vampires like Hunny-senpai or Mori-senpai. We are demons."
"Incubi to be honest," Hikaru added.
"Incubi?" she questioned.
"Plural for Incubus, a demon that feeds on Sexual, Sensual or Passion-based energy," Kyoya detailed. "Hikaru and Kaoru are among the few to be born completely demon as well as a pair of their kind. Their mother is a full blood Succubus, the female counter part of the race, and their father is only half. Usually such unions yield only hybrid children or one full blood. The fact that they are twins and full blooded makes them a rarity, even among other demons."
"We get our energy like our father does," Hikaru stated.
"He just has to be near his intended target," Kaoru continued. "Our mother actually has to touch the person, though it doesn't need to be in anyway sexual. It doesn't matter the gender of the target but usually taking energy from the opposite sex is more filling."
"Are there any other...non-human...here at Ouran?" Haruhi asked, trying to be polite.
"If you are excluding any others who have the ability to use magic in that question, the answer is no," Kyoya stated. "Those in our social class learn of their gifts at a young age, usually just before they are about to go to preschool or kindergarten. Once it is known, they are can either be sent to a private academy to learn their Magics and heritage there or have private tutors come to them from one of the academies so they can attend more human based schools."
"If you have such opportunities then how come you guys are here instead of at a school specialized in teaching you all what you are and can do?"
"We chose to be," Nekozawa replied. "Most who go to the Academy are so wrapped up in their lessons and their self-imposed superiority of others that they forget that everyone around them is a person and may in fact be better than they are. In my case, my parents insisted upon me coming to a school that held mostly non-caster students so that I wouldn't be as nearly warped as some of the others in my family and allow me to make genuine friends."
"In my case," Kyoya answered. "It was to make it seem that I was no different than my brothers and sister. If my father had learned of my mother's complete history, I would have never seen the light of day. She wanted to make sure that I not only knew what I was from her, but what I could be to my father as well. To this day, my father doesn't know what I am or what I can do."
"I really didn't have a choice in the matter," Tamaki stated. "I had to do whatever my grandmother wanted of me to prove that I could be the heir to the Suoh Family and worthy of being part of the family. She didn't really know the full back ground of my mother until recently. She tried to pull me out of school when she learned but father won the argument and let me choose. I chose to continue to go to school here."
"Our mother wanted us to open our horizons," Hikaru stated. "She and father were rarely home but wanted us to be happy. So she sent us to a school where we could not only get the energy needed to keep going, but to also try and make friends. That didn't really happen until Tono invited us here."
"Takashi and I were given the choice of going to a private school specifically made for Vampires, be tutored at home or be around other people," Honey stated. "I wanted to be with other people and considered it to be a challenge of my control and Takashi went with me under the pretext of trying to keep an eye on me. But I think he came along with me so that he could have a challenge too, as well as meet others that wouldn't really judge him based on what his family was."
Haruhi looked at her lap as all of the information given to her swirled in her mind. Her friends weren't really human but when given opportunity to study with those similar to them, the chose not to.
"Nekozawa-senpai," Haruhi asked quietly. "You mentioned earlier that you could Read me. What did you mean?"
"I know your aptitude and skill level with Arcana," he replied. "A "Reader" has the ability to gauge what type and level of magic a person possesses with the field of magic called Clairvoyance. With proper training, you could easily become a Level 4 Balance Sorceress."
The twins and Tamaki were about to correct him but Kyoya interrupted them. "Nekozawa-senpai can Scry and in so doing, can see possible futures as well as the facts of the past. I am assuming that shortly after Haruhi's first meeting with you is when you got the clarification of her gender."
"Correct," Nekozawa replied. "To understand what is seen in the future, one must understand the past. My glimpse into Fujioka-san's past showed me her correct gender but in many ways I was not surprised. Your kind nature is quite intrinsic to females."
Haruhi blushed at the statement despite being slight confused. "Thanks...I think..."
"It was a compliment," Nekozawa explained. "Now then. Ootori-kun was able to briefly explain what happened the other day to me and asked for my clarification. You are indeed gifted with the aptitude for Arcana but you never gained an instructor due to the sudden loss of your mother. Balance Arcana is one of the most difficult things to learn but the rewards for knowing it far outweigh the issues in learning it."
"I don't have anyone to teach me," Haruhi stated sadly. "But my dad was able to find my mother's old Tomes."
"Do you have any with you?"
Haruhi nodded and went to grab her bag. She returned shortly with her bag on her shoulder and sat back down between Nekozawa and Tamaki. She opened her bag and pulled out the five large Tomes she had packed that morning and placed them on the table.
"The rest are back home but there are some of the Level 1 books."
Nekozawa picked up one of the books and opened it gently. After briefly looking over a few random pages, he smiled. "These are in excellent condition. If I may ask, what was your mothers name?"
"Kotoko Katayama was the name she had before she married," Kyoya replied pulling out his black book. "Earned Level 4 Balance Sorceress in her Senior year of college."
Pulling out a slip of paper from the pocket of his hoodie, Nekozawa handed it to Haruhi while asking. "Did she have any of these books?"
Haruhi looked over the paper and nodded looking over the paper. "She left most of these." Pulling out a pencil, she circled the ones that wasn't in her mothers box. "These ones aren't though."
Nekozawa looked over and smiled. "My mother has spares of those. I am quite sure she will let you borrow them, if not keep them."
Tilting her head to the side, Haruhi looked at him confused.
"I guess I should elaborate," he conceded. "When Ootori-kun told me of what happened and after I had sought my clarification, I asked my mother if she would be willing to take you on as a student as she is a Level 4 Balance Sorceress, the only one that I know of here in Japan. She agreed to the proposal under a few stipulations."
"And those are?" Haruhi asked hesitantly.
"That you come on time, be willing to learn, keep an open mind to what you learn, and be nice. You will be learning alongside Kirimi as she is of age to learn where her aptitude is."
"How would I get there? I don't even know where you live."
"I will be taking you to and from the lessons, if that would be acceptable," Nekozawa replied.
"I don't want to impose..."
"You wouldn't be. I offer this to you as a friend. That and I am sure that Kirimi would love to see you again."
Haruhi looked at everyone in turn and upon seeing encouraging smiles, she nodded. "Okay."
"Excellent," Nekozawa smiled. "My mother had stated that if you agreed to her being your teacher that your first lessons would begin the next day, therefore tomorrow. I recommend that you leave your Tomes at home so you may study them as my mother has her own volumes."
Haruhi nodded. "Okay. Um...is there anything I should bring with me or study before tomorrow?"
Nekozawa shook his head. "No, just yourself and an open mind."
"Hey Haruhi," Hikaru called bringing everyone's attention to him. "What was that thing you did in the hall before we got here? One minute you were in between us while we were talking and the next you here half way down the hall. All we did was blink and you were gone."
Everyone with the exception of Kyoya looked at the blushing girl. "It was something that I read about this morning from one of the mother's books. It's a teleportation spell."
"Is that what you used this morning as well?" Kyoya asked.
Haruhi nodded. "Yeah. By the way, what did you say as you were walking away? I know you said something but I didn't catch it."
Kyoya gave his host smile as he replied. "Oh just a little something about annoyances too early in the morning."
Haruhi gave a worried, albeit disbelieving nod but let it go. "This may be a little personal but it's been on my mind since you guys began your explanations. Do you have...other forms...than what you currently have?"
"Some do," Nekozawa stated. "I do not as I am human."
"Takashi and I aren't really all that different in form," Hunny stated. "The only differences we have are our fangs and eyes."
"I have a slight alteration of my own," Tamaki stated as he removed a small chain from around his neck. "This is a little concealment trinket that my mother gave me before I had to leave France."
Once it was off, Haruhi say that Tamaki's ears now had a slight point to them and his already fair looks became a little more defined. His once violet eyes were now a brilliant blue. Haruhi then turned to see Kyoya remove his blazer and roll up the sleeves of his shirt revealing a set of black tribal flames coursing up his arms.
"These continue up to my shoulders and around my chest and back," he explained. "I also possess them on my legs up to my waist."
"They look like tattoos..." Haruhi stated in awe.
"If they were, I am certain such detail and the locations would be exceedingly painful."
Haruhi then glanced at Hikaru and Kauro and stared at them in shock. Their eyes were a soft glowing blue with a set of small fangs showing in their smiles. What caused her to stare in shock was the fact they were now shirtless and had similar marks on their chests to the ones on Kyoya's arms. The only difference was that Hikaru's looked like they were flames rising up one side while Kaoru's looking the water falling in waves down the opposite side of his chest. They also had a small jewel in the middle of their foreheads, Hikaru's a light blue and Kaoru's a bright orange. She also swore she saw the swishing of a tail.
"Since the Hitachiin twins are full demon," Nekozawa spoke, causing Haruhi to look at him. "Their change is a little more drastic than Ootori-kun's. That and Cubi, the generic term for both Incubus and Succubus as a race, are meant to entice their prey to them by showing them what they long to see most. Usually, they are in a mist like state and tap into their prey's mind to show them the face that they wish to see. The Cubi itself doesn't know what the face is, just that their prey reacts to it strongly."
"But everyone sees Hikaru and Kaoru as they are..."
"That's because this is the form given to us by our father," Kaoru stated. "If our father was a full Incubus, we would have an ambiguous form until someone saw us. As it stands we have a subtle mix of him in us but we mostly look like our mother. To our own kind, this is what we look like. We also don't use our influence on the guests in any way."
"It was agreed by all of us that we would only use our human appearance and none of what we really are on them to be fair to the guests and each other," Hikaru explained.
"Wait, so you never used or showed any of what you guys really are?" Haruhi asked the others shocked.
"That's correct," Kyoya replied, rolling his sleeves back into place. "As I told you when you first walked through those doors, we use each man's own unique characteristics to please our guests."
Haruhi looked around at her friends in awe. They held back what they were but still let their personalities bring in guests. "You guys...were yourselves...yet held back what you were? That had to take a lot out of you..."
"Not really," Hikaru stated as he and Kaoru put their shirts and blazers back on.
"For us," Kaoru stated. "It was easy because it is second nature to a Cubi to keep what we are almost completely hidden from our prey so that they don't suspect anything at all. For Tono, he could pass off as human any day of the week despite the fact he is a bit out there at times. For Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai, they have it a bit harder because of their basic need to "eat" but they have the mental and physical control to keep it in check thanks to their training. As for Kyoya-senpai though..."
"I can pass off as human as long as my anger and patience remain in balance," Kyoya finished. "Or make sure to not get overly stressed. True every now and then it slips but most just think of it as extreme anger and back off...usually."
Haruhi bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud as Kyoya leveled a glare at Tamaki which sent him straight to his corner of woe at the far edge of the room under one of the windows, thus causing the twins to laugh and start to tease him. Haruhi glanced at Nekozawa as a question popped in her mind.
"Nekozawa-senpai?" she called.
He turned his head and smiled. "Yes?"
"What is your mother's name?"
"Her name is Alyona."
"That's a pretty name."
Nekozawa smiled. "She is also a beautiful woman. At first glance, my mother could be mistaken for being my twin sister. Most of my and Kirimi's appearances came from her."
"Does that mean neither you or Kirimi got any type of genetic traits from your father?"
Nekozawa shook his head. "We have a few traits from him in more psychological aspects, though Kirimi has his eye color. I gained my aptitude as a mage from him and Kirimi has just come of age to learn hers though she has shown a small fascination for what we do. However it may be more due to the fact she uses it as a way to spend time with me even though she doesn't understand what is going on."
After a bit, Kyoya cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Now that we have the explanations out of the way, Haruhi, we still need to know what your outfit will be for the Halloween Gala. We will be dressed to go with what we are as it is one of the few times that we give a glimpse of our truth to the guests without questions being raised."
"We have a basic idea of what the old Sorcery and Mage clothes looked like," the twins said. "We could easily come up with something based on your preference."
Haruhi looked over at them as they placed a book of designs in front of her. "Choose what you want and we will make it. You can even mix and match to make your own unique item. We already have your measurements from the times our mother made outfits for you to try."
"I'm not going to get out of this am I?" she more stated than asked.
"Nope!" was the immediate reply.
Haruhi let out a sigh and began looking through the design books in front of her. Might as well get this over with, she thought. The sooner I get this done with, the sooner I can go home, do my homework and read a bit more of my mother's books.
A/N: Spell translation.
አበራ = Illuminate ( ābera )