Patience had never been one of Kaname's virtues.
Sure, he could wait endlessly for the perfect moment if he had to – but he'd never particularly enjoyed all of the hanging about. He was, fundamentally, a doer. When the sciences were new, Kaname had been an avid practitioner. He liked to learn new things; it was part of the joie de vivre that kept an immortal life worth living. It didn't matter if it was science or blood magic or a combination of them both or something else altogether as long as his mind was busy.
Being an infant was so very boring that Kaname was starting to wonder if he'd deliberately blanked his own memories of these early years out of self-preservation the last time around, it was certainly one explanation for the disturbing gap.
The early activation of his powers sparked the kind of academic fervour that only the desperation of a bored-to-tears mind could appreciate. Mental powers required no physical movement whatsoever so Kaname was for the first time since his reawakening unlimited by the constraints of his current form, and it was a boon he deeply appreciated. Now he could experiment again.
The first power to activate was the very basics of his telekinesis. 'Pushing' that guard out of the window was one of the most elementary powers, and naturally, Kaname concluded that if 'push' had activated, then 'pull' should be within his reach too.
Nancy was very put out to discover all of Kaname's toys to be lying on the floor about his cradle in various states of disarray. His mental 'grip' had taken some adjusting and his toys had paid the price, not that Kaname had been particularly upset to see Red Ball the Second perish.
A necessary sacrifice; of course he had to test the 'range' and 'strength' of his 'reach', which was about ten feet so far, at his peak Kaname could have 'pulled' anything within his line of sight so he knew that his 'range' would grow with his ability and age, but in the mean time it was reassuring to know he had some way of defending himself if he had to. The smoother the object, the easier it was to 'pull' or 'push' and smaller objects arrived faster than larger ones. That was gravity and air-resistance for you. Kaname could encourage the objects to move faster, naturally, but too much air-resistance meant heat, and that had led to the unfortunate death of several toys as the plastic overheated.
Such a pity.
The rest of his abilities were slow to return to him. Kaname's power resided in his mind and in his blood. His mind was halfway between entirely developed and still developing so it was not a surprise, although bitterly disappointing, that the rest of his skills would have to wait on his physical development and mental cohesion a little longer.
The only other skill he had available was the Command.
Kaname had never been so grateful for his genetics before. As a member of the ruling race he had biological control over lesser vampires. A power that was so much a part of who and what he was that it took barely any effort to use.
The Command was everything the lesser vampires feared about purebloods- the ability to give an order that could not be refused. It was their worst nightmare, but one that had to be lived with every night and was the overarching reason that vampire culture had evolved the way it did with so much emphasis placed on reverence towards purebloods.
Nancy did not appreciate that she'd become Kaname's main test subject, but the practice, the slow refinement of his abilities were the only thing keeping Kaname from throwing a real temper tantrum. It helped that Juuri insisted that it was a natural part of Kaname's development so Nancy wouldn't have to worry about being played like a puppet once he'd grown out of his current phase.
Little discoveries kept Kaname occupied. He'd always had swathes of power at his command and had never had so little to work with before but it did force him to learn how to get the maximum benefit from his tiny reserves of power. It was no earth-shattering new invention, but it was something.
"Nanny story," Kaname ordered his beleaguered governess when he grew weary of failing to make the shadows dance. His voice was annoyingly high – too much like a clear bell and nothing like his smooth, cultured and downright sexy (if he did say so himself) baritone of his future years – but at least he'd managed the simpler words.
Anything that was longer than two syllables Kaname still refused to say. He was six months old and well ahead of the curve for his age, but his pride remained as stubborn as ever. Lisping and pureblood just didn't go together. Nancy had enough blackmail material on him as it was.
"Very well, Kaname-sama," Nancy said agreeably, no doubt pleased with the chance to rest. "Which story would you like this evening?"
Kaname didn't care. He only endured so much story-time as a good excuse for his early development if he ever needed it.
"Goblin," Kaname said. It was a fairy-tale about children who were stolen away by goblins that lived in the mountains, but like all fairy-tales there was a kernel of truth, and Kaname found it morbidly amusing that one of the earliest wars he'd ever fought was now reduced to a mere story. What would old Artorius think of it, he wondered vaguely. Artorius had hated goblins with a passion and had lost three arms, six ears and half a foot of intestine to them by the end of that particular war. Now it was just a fairy-tale, and his name hadn't survived the passing of time.
Fearlessly, Nancy scooped him up and settled in the rocking chair, which Kaname's baby-body and baby-instincts still like far too much, and settled Kaname on her lap, wrapping him up with a soft blanket. She propped the book up so that Kaname could see it too and read with her finger following the words to help him 'learn' the symbols.
"A long time ago there was a city called Eridu in the land of Akkadia, where the Vampire Lord Enki ruled. Lord Enki was wise and powerful, but his land was overrun with goblins so in his great wisdom, and hearing the cries of his people, Lord Enki…"
Kaname let his mind drift to memories of the past; times had been so very different. It wasn't in his nature to miss them as such, because the Night knew how bloody those centuries had been, but it was certainly a very different age. Politics such as they were, were conducted via purebloods and normally at the end of a sword.
When he had enough of his vocabulary back, and after Yuki had safely been conceived, he and his 'parents' were going to have a very long chat about how they'd let things slide so much.
Politics now-a-nights revolved around inter-pureblood relations and alliances as well as the Council of Elders. This was a 'nice' and 'peaceful' age where purebloods were not supposed to use their ability to Command lesser vampires, it was gauche, and where said low-bloods were supposed to have more independence and power.
Kaname scoffed.
"Are you bored, Kaname-sama? Would you like a different story?"
"No," Kaname sighed, settling back into Nancy's comfortable lap. Those thoughts had to be shelved until he was in a position to act. He couldn't wait to get started but it did his patience no good to think about everything he couldn't do yet.
"Ah, Kaname, there you are," Haruka said, sweeping into the nursery followed by an aristocrat that Kaname didn't recognise.
Kaname raised an eyebrow. Where had Haruka expected him to be? He'd barely left the safety of the nursery since he'd awoken. He'd only been outside twice. Why had he brought a 'B here? Kaname was too young to be introduced to society safely.
"Anyway," Haruka said, a slight frown on his face, "Mina wanted to speak to you." He waved a hand, and Mina stepped forward. She was carrying a… baby?
Kaname glanced to Haruka in confusion. This looked to be some sort of offering, but he didn't even have fangs yet. What was Haruka up to?
"Young Master," Mina spoke softly, reverently. She knelt on both knees, bowing her head as she placed the baby – a girl, Kaname noted automatically – onto Kaname's blanket where he'd been trying once more to get his shadow to respond to him.
"This is Seiren," Mina introduced quietly, "If she pleases you, we will begin training her to be your Shadow."
Kaname blinked, staring down at the wisps of silver hair on the wrinkly baby's head. This was Seiren? She was… tiny. Really, really, tiny. She didn't look more than a few hours old. Kaname glanced up at Mina – and yes, there were the signs of strain, pain and exhaustion that suggested she probably had been in labour earlier in the night.
But once again, Kaname hadn't recognised her, and he should have. Kaname forced his thoughts away from that unproductive line. Getting angry would solve nothing.
A Shadow was, well, a Shadow. Seiren had been Kaname's bodyguard, his Master of Shadows or Spymaster, his personal assistant and his assassin. That was what Shadows were, they were intensely loyal – and Kaname should have been just as familiar with Mina and her partner who would be Juuri's Shadow as he was with his 'parents.'
The fact that he wasn't – that he couldn't even remember her face or her aura was yet another disturbing note of the last timeline. He couldn't remember who Juuri's Shadow was either. He hadn't even sensed someone else in the household. Once more he forced his thoughts back on track. The more he realised he had forgotten the more it bothered him that something sinister was going on, or would be going on very shortly.
Mina was watching him carefully, and Haruka's aura was quickly becoming impatient. Kaname needed to pay attention.
"Yes," Kaname said, reaching out a hand to stroke Seiren's wisp of silver hair, her eyes opened and Kaname smiled to see familiar pale violet eyes. "Yes, she is good."
It wasn't as eloquent as it ought to be, but Kaname was still working on speaking. Accepting her as his Shadow was a big moment, one that would be repeated when she was older and there had been a chance to see how well her training had progressed and if Kaname still found her suitable.
Which he would, Kaname knew. In a few years, Seiren would swear to serve him unto death, and Kaname had the memories to prove her true to her word. It eased the ball of repressed hurt and grief inside him a little to see this one piece of that abysmal future undone before his very eyes. Seiren was alive once more and the world seemed a little brighter for it.
"Very well, Kaname-sama," Mina replied, smiling with relief. Timing the birth of a new Shadow was always difficult, particularly when purebloods were so contrary in the womb, developing at their own pace and unpredictably. Mina had succeeded this time though, Seiren's master was only a few months older than her, and he'd accepted her which saved Mina the effort of having to have another child and spending that much longer away from her duties.
"Are we done here?" Haruka asked impatiently as Mina gathered Seiren up once more. "I'm supposed to be in town within the hour."
"Yes, Haruka-sama. I am ready to continue my duties now." Mina bowed her head in apology for the inconvenience of the past few months.
Kaname frowned as he watched the three of them depart. Haruka had been acting weird ever since Kaname remembered, and he had no idea why. In the last timeline his childhood had been fairly happy. There were always security concerns of course, but Haruka, Juuri and he had been content.
This time – something was wrong, and Kaname couldn't pin point the cause. Had something changed? Had he changed something without meaning to? Was Yuki still fated to be born or had he ruined that too? Haruka was always… rough, almost. He never smiled to see Kaname and it was setting off all of Kaname's instincts in a bad way.
He didn't know what it was, yet, but something was very, very wrong in this place.
"That's it Kaname!" Juuri cheered. "That's it! Come to Mummy!"
Kaname gritted his too-blunt teeth, forcing his body to waddle one more step, hanging on to his crib for support. Who knew walking was so much effort? He could roll and he could crawl, but walking was still too complicated for his stupid, stupid, baby-brain to comprehend and it was slowly driving him insane.
Reaching the end of the crib, he paused for a moment to catch his breath and rally all of his mental fortitude. There was a five-foot gap between the crib and where Juuri knelt, her face all smiles as she watched him take his first steps independently.
Five feet.
For the love of blood, Kaname could leap twenty foot into the air with two broken legs before. Waddling five feet should not fill him with dread. It was pathetic.
"Come on Kaname!" Juuri called once more, radiating good cheer and bonhomie. She was terribly excited, Kaname knew, but fortunately her camera was nowhere in sight. Unless he wanted to wait long enough for her to run off and get it – and she would, the conniving vampire – Kaname just had to do it.
He waddled forward.
One step was fine. The second step had his balance trembling a bit, the brain was still shaky on interpreting the signals, and the third step and Kaname thought he was getting the hang of this. If he just threw his arms back and forth he could work up enough momentum to keep himself in a straight line!
He fell into Juuri's arms on the fifth waddle. She lifted him up – spinning him around in the air and cheering victoriously, dancing from foot to foot.
"Oh I knew you could do it! Well done!"
Feeling queasy, Kaname sighed as she brought him back down to be cradled in her arms. Progress was exhausting.
"Kaname-sama?" Nancy called. "Kaname-sama, where are you?"
Kaname smirked, remaining absolutely motionless as Nancy walked under him. He was crouching in one of the many nooks in the library. Technically, he was practicing his more mundane skills. Supressing one's aura was a vital skill for a pureblood. With effort, Kaname could pass himself off as a noble, a commoner, an ex-human or even a human depending on how much of his aura he was willing to supress.
It was uncomfortable to restrain himself so, a pureblood dominated – they didn't hide and every inch of him preferred it that way - but there were times when the payoff would be worth it so Kaname forced himself to practice no matter how much discomfort it caused.
If Kaname wanted to stick a label on it… he could also be playing hide and seek – not that Nancy knew she was playing. But he wasn't a child, so it was not hide and seek. It was serious business. Vital skill development. Training.
"Kaname-sama, please, come out. I am literally begging you. It will be my neck under the fang when your parents find out that I've lost you!"
Snickering, Kaname waited for the right moment. Nancy was walking, peering into each dim aisle with a look of exasperation on her face. The library was immense and many other rooms had been demolished over the years to make more space for the books and artefacts stored here.
With thousands of years of history, and a family trait of being packrats, there were a lot of books. The library had started off as a large room with east facing windows on the second floor. It had expanded in every direction and now included two subterranean levels, three towers, dozens of side rooms and half-levels and the odd nook and cranny. It was the perfect place to play hide and seek – not that Kaname was playing such a childish game.
Nancy walked right under the eave Kaname was perched on and he flung himself off of it with a war cry.
"Got you!" He declared loudly as he clung to her back like a monkey, pressing his lips to her neck. He didn't have fangs yet – still – but if he had had fangs, then she'd have been prey already. Victory was sweet.
"Kaname-sama!" Nancy panted, her hand to her heart as she twisted her head around to glare at him – the glare softening instantly as she peered into his unrepentant eyes and cheeky grin. "Scare me to death why don't you! I lost a decade you gave me such a fright."
Kaname pouted. No, he manfully expressed his disappointment. "Only a decade?" he asked mournfully, peering up at her under thick lashes and blinking them rapidly.
"A decade is quite enough for me thank you. And don't you go giving me that innocent look! We both know you're the devil incarnate. I'm not falling for it! There will be absolutely no chocolate for dessert tonight, let me tell you. Not after that display of recklessness!"
Kaname froze, a look of horror overcoming his face before he controlled it. He dug his feet into Nancy's kidney's from where he was still clinging to her back, scampering over her shoulder using her spine as a ladder until he was cradled in her arms where his innocent look could be so much more effective.
"No chocolate?" he asked piteously, a fake tremble in his voice.
"None," Nancy resolved, her grip becoming a vice now that she'd finally located her wayward charge, marching him from the library and back into the nursery.
"None at all?" He continued, his hands on either cheek so that she had to stare down into those woeful, doe-like, watery eyes. Why are you being so cruel to me? He seemed to ask silently. What did I do? Don't you love me anymore?
"Did I stutter?" She parried with a will of iron, closing her eyes and continuing her march. She wouldn't dislodge his hands from her face – that was too much like preventing him from doing as he wished – but she could refuse to be manipulated.
"But I like chocolate," her young charge said, apparently utterly befuddled by her insistence.
Nancy sighed, keeping her eyes closed. Those deviously soft hands were still on her face, and she knew that if she looked, she'd fold and give Kaname-sama what he wanted. Honestly, raising a pureblooded child was such a pain in the rear.
She was a 'C! How was she supposed to tell him 'Eat your vegetables?' if he didn't want to? Let alone 'Go to sleep!' or 'Shut up! For the love of the Night, shut up!'
Mercifully, Kaname-sama had been an extremely quiet baby, but it didn't make her position any easier. She was a nanny, a future governess, but one who couldn't discipline her charge. The thought of telling Kaname-sama what to do sent a shiver up her spine. It was just so wrong. It went against the natural order of things.
Well, she could, but it was up to Kaname-sama if he obeyed or not. It wasn't like there would be any consequences from her if he wanted to stay up all day. The last thing Nancy wanted was for Kaname-sama to grow up with a grudge against her for the discipline she did manage to install in him. The ire of a pureblood was not conductive to dying of old age.
She wished, dearly, that his parents were around more but both Juuri-sama and Haruka-sama were so busy that Nancy was constantly surprised that Juuri managed to find the time she did to spend with her son.
It was unfair to Kaname-sama, really, Nancy thought. If they were not purebloods then… but that was a silly thought and bordering on disrespectful. They were and that was that.
"Nanny, why won't you look at me? Are you angry that I hid? It was just hide-and-seek."
His voice could lure angels to their doom, Nancy acknowledged grimly, but she would not look. Withholding things like chocolate and toys were the only power she actually had over her charge and once she'd brought that threat out she couldn't give in or she'd weaken her position forevermore. Not even calling her Nanny so affectionately would bring her to look.
"Nanny, I'm sorry."
Her eyes flew open. A pureblood apologising to a 'C? It was beneath him! What had she done?
"Kaname-sama! You don't ever need to apologise to me, I-
Her voice faltered. Her dear Young Master was wearing a grin that could only be described at shit eating, and Nancy realised with utter, utter, despair, that she had opened her eyes and looked at him.
As soon as she'd seen it, the grin vanished. His eyes widened to the size of saucers, staring at her pleadingly, the beautiful garnet eyes seeming to shiver with emotion. His face was a picture of woe, his lashes were blinking rapidly as if he were about to cry and pearl of liquid appeared in the corner of his eyes. His lips parted slightly, pushed out halfway between a pout and an expression of such utter desolation that Nancy could feel her defences shattering as her heart twisted in sympathy and empathy for the little bugger.
"I will speak to the chef," Nancy said through gritted teeth. Defeat tasted sour. "He was talking about three-chocolate mousse last afternoon."
The Expression of Woe vanished, and the pureblooded manipulative little shit in her arms became so smugly cheerful that his aura echoed the emotion, expanding around his tiny form so that she felt his victory in all it's smug glory.
She would not throttle him. No matter how easy it would be… just a quick snap and it'd all be over…no one would ever know…
Yes they would. They really, really, would and besides Kaname-sama could kill her with a word the moment she expressed any genuine intent to harm him.
And, you know, his manipulation was kind of cute. So much effort for a bit of chocolate.
Nancy sighed, knowing that she was doomed. She shuddered to think of how much worse he would be when he grew up.
