Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter or Vampire Knight is mine. I don't claim the characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling and Matsuri Hino respectively. I also don't make a profit from writing this. Thank you.
"Vampires." Speaking
'Vampires.' Thinking
Chapter 12
It was the next morning that Willow came across a familiar figure as she was coming back from the boys dorm looking for Zero. She knew who it was immediately from the way the figured walked to the weapon on his back.
It was amazing seeing her old sensei again after so long and in one piece but one question she couldn't hold back…
"Where's my cub?" She demanded before he can so much as open his mouth to say something.
"Hello to you to Brat." He growled.
"Yea yea, hello to you too. Now, where is my cub?" She demanded more impatiently. She hasn't seen her pup in so long it's ridiculous. If she didn't know better she would say that he loved her sensei more than he does her.
"One would think that after so long you would learn better manners." He growled with a roll of his eyes. "As for where he is, I left him with your otou - san."
"Ah. Is that so?" She asked amused with an eyebrow raised..
They both knew that Sano-chan hated her father for how loud the man can be, not to mention how overbearing he can be as well.
"By the way, how long have you been here? Have you seen Zero yet?"
"Last night and yes, I ran into him already."
"Good. Do you know where he is? He wasn't waiting in our usual spot." She asked calmly, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"He's locked up for almost losing control and biting that other girl that Kaien is taking care of. What's her name?" He asked not remembering if anyone actually said the girls name in front of him or not before inwardly shrugging, not caring either way.
"What?" Willow hissed softly making him slightly tense. "What do you mean he's locked up?"
"It's what I said. If I hadn't stumbled upon them in the pool when I did, he would have drain the life out of that girl." He growled.
"Damn it! It's that girls fault. If she wasn't so hell bent on going into the Night Dorms to get answers we already told her about, then Zero wouldn't have been forced to be around all that blood!" She hissed out between her teeth. "Damn it! I should have known something was wrong or at least notice that he was struggling."
'Shit! What kind of friend am I that I didn't even notice anything wrong.' She thought, aggravated with herself.
She was so busy thinking about the love triangle between Senri, Rima and Ichijo that she didn't even realized anything was wrong. Which she should have.
Even if he would have gotten out of there the first chance he got even without the blood bothering him, he still would have stayed with her to make sure nothing happened. Not because she couldn't take care of herself, but so he can have her back against the horde that lived in their backyard if they decided to attack her for whatever reason.
So, she should have known something was up when he didn't wait to leave with her. Now she just found out that he almost bit Yuki and there was nothing she could do to change that. Which just pisses her off.
'The one time I am not paying attention, this happens. Tch. I guess I need to be more vigilant than ever before.' She thought, upset.
"Where is he? He wasn't in his room. I just came from there." She demanded.
"I can't tell you."
"Why the hell not?" She snapped, getting frustrated at not already knowing where he was at.
"It's part of his punishment. Not seeing you."
"How can you be so cruel?"
"He's lucky it was me that came across him and not another Hunter who would have shot him dead!" He snapped at her darkly, hiding the instinctive fear at the anger in her eyes.
He knew who and what she was. She told him a long time ago so he knew she wouldn't harm him even if she was out of her mind pissed - he was hers and as such didn't need to fear her- however, knowing in his head is one thing when his instincts is shouting out at him to either: run, attack or submit.
He was neither a coward - so won't run; submissive - so won't bow even if it were to save his life - after all he did have his pride. He won't attack her because he knows he will lose. So...he does nothing but wait it out.
"You don't think I know that? Because I do. I know it very well." She said more calmly. "However, he can't be alone for long. You and I both know that the longer he is alone the easier his mind gets to him. When that happens, he gets these stupid ideas that he has to die. It's very difficult to prevent him from getting thoughts of suicide while I am with him let alone away from him."
He couldn't stop the flinch even if he tried. He knew she was telling the truth about Zero's suicidal tendencies when things goes south. He lost the count of how many times he had to talk him out of killing himself after his family was murdered with him being turned into a vampire on top of it.
'I thought he got over that as he got older and bonded even more with Willow. She is his reason for living even if you didn't include his love for her, she's his best friend and anchor. Not to mention she was there when everything went down so he's able to talk about it with her whenever he wanted without worrying about being judged.' He thought.
When he mentioned the part about him being over his suicidal thoughts out loud, he got a snort of derision in return.
"Oh he's gotten better at hiding it, but when the thirst is too strong and his body rejects the pills, it hits him hard. You could even tell that he's thinking about dying every time he provokes Kuran every chance he gets."
"Has he…" He started to question before stopping in fear of the answer.
He didn't want think on the fact that the boy he helped raised since young, wanted to die so bad. Even though he shot at him last night, he wasn't aiming to kill him. If he really wanted Zero dead, then he would be. He just wanted him to remember what would happen if he lost control. He knew, however, that it's bound to happen the closer he got to turning into a Level E.
"Don't get me wrong, he hasn't tried to commit suicide out right. He doesn't cut himself, throw himself in front of moving cars or anything. It's more subtle now. Truth be told, a lot of the time, I don't even think he even realizes what he's trying to do." She told him tightly with arms crossed over her chest and a dark scowl on her face.
"How did it get so bad?" He wondered out loud, looking towards the bright blue sky as if it had the answers.
"What did you think was going to happen? That he would adjust so easily in being turned into the same type of being that killed his family?" She asked with dark curiosity. "After all the rants you and his parents go on about how vampires - especially Level Es - are disgusting creatures that deserve to die; you actually expected him to just accept becoming a vampire without any issues? That's not even going into the Level E that took your eye!"
"Wha…" He tried to say before being cut off.
"Don't you get it? He was raised to hate vampires with everything he had. While he can be accepting of those different from him when he was younger, that pretty much flew out the window after the incident. It doesn't help that he's not only surrounded by vampires that don't have to worry about falling into Level E, but he has Hunter's watching his every step, just waiting for the moment to strike him down. Not to mention, the orders to hunt down Level E's to remind him what he has to look forward to." She explained with a tired sigh. "His status of being on the verge of losing everything that makes him; him is always being thrown in his face. It doesn't help. I can only do so much to combat back all the negativity that surrounds him constantly."
"Tch. What do you suggest we do? Stop hunting vampires to make him feel better about himself?" He snapped aggravated. He never thought that Zero was under so much pressure.
'How hasn't he snapped already?' He couldn't help but wonder before refocusing back onto the pacing girl in front of him.
"Of course not you idjit. You and I both know there's a way that would prevent Zero from falling into Level E out there. Once he no longer has to fear losing himself, it would be a load off his shoulders. Not only that, Zero would be right pissed if you did stop Hunting." She snapped back, throwing her hands up in exasperated.
She hated the fact that the only way to save Zero from losing his mind was to drink that bitch's blood. While her blood helps slows down the corrosion on his mind, it doesn't stop it completely. Only the one that "made" him, can save him fully.
'Which is bull! My blood not only has phoenix tears and basilisk venom in it, but my magic as well. The moment my blood touched his tongue, it should have prevented him from slowly losing his mind. Damn the rules of this world! If I wasn't so bound by it, I could have done something already.' She thought in frustration. A moment later she almost hit her head at her forgetfulness. 'I am so stupid. I forgot that I no longer have phoenix tears and basilisk venom in my veins when my soul merged with the new body.'
She had asked Death if her blood would be able to save him after the incident but because she hasn't fully accepted her place as the Mistress of Death, she didn't really have the power to break the rules of this world. Even if she found the other two Hallow's and accepted them, it wouldn't do anything because she accepted the rules - even if unknowingly - when she used the ritual to get here.
Now if she came by the door that Death used, she could have done whatever she wanted. She could have broken any rule she want. Even break the bond between Maker and Childe and forged one with Zero instead.
"I have been looking for her. Nobody has seen a whiff of her since then. She's gone underground and nobody is talking." Toga grunted snapping her out of her thoughts.
She was about to say something when the school bell went off signaling that start of first period was about to begin for Day Class.
"Don't you have to get to class now?" He asked starting to walk off towards the Headmaster's office.
"Yes, but it's not going to hurt me to skip a class or two. I am already far ahead of the others in my year anyways. Not only that, but you never told me where Zero is." She answered with a careless shrug, following after him.
"What makes you think I will tell you? All I gotta do is have Sano-san watch over him to prevent anything from happening." He said smugly.
"Sano-chan is mine! He will obey me over you. So if I were to tell him to take me to Zero, then he will." She snipped back even more smugly.
As a wolf, Sano had an excellent sense of smell. Add in her magic as he grew, his senses are twice as powerful compared to a normal wolf. So he would be able to find Zero with no problem.
"..."
He really couldn't say anything to that because it was true. Though he would trust the wolf on a hunt and not worry about being betrayed, he knew that the wolf wasn't his. The only reason the wolf went on hunts with him was only because Willow didn't mind. In fact, she preferred it since she knew he was safer that way.
It definitely cinched it when another Hunter tried to kill him for the title of number one Hunter, when the wolf saved him. He didn't even know the other Hunter had his gun on him if it wasn't for Sano's growl that made him turn and see what was going on. That split second before that gun went off before the Hunter was jumped on by the wolf allowed him to dodge the full impact. His shoulder was all that was grazed.
He was very lucky that night. Not only because he survived, but because they already took care of the vampires in the area so he didn't have to worry about being ambushed from the freshly spilled blood that would have drawn them in.
"He might listen to you over me, but he likes me better." He couldn't help but snip pettily.
She snorted in amusement knowing that he didn't really mean anything by it. One thing the two liked to do was fight over who Sano liked best. It always broke the tension between them weirdly enough.
"Hummingbird! You came to see you otou-chan." Kaien exclaimed excitedly with his arms wide open when the two walked through the door into his office.
"Where is Sano-chan?" She demanded, ignoring his waiting arms.
"..."
"Otou-chan?" She purred out softly, eyes narrowing on the fidgeting figure of her father. She didn't like how dropped his arms while avoiding eye contact. "Where is Sano-chan?"
"Oh...um...he's around. Somewhere." He mumbled under his breath before beaming and clapping his hands, hoping to change the subject. "Guess who's a new Night Class teacher!"
"What? What does that have to do…" She started before being interrupted.
"I never agreed to do it." Toga growled. He didn't want to be surrounded by the leeches and being unable to put them out of their misery. It would be like torture to him.
'Even if it would be funny to make them uncomfortable with having a Hunter so close to them and unable to do anything as well.' Toga couldn't help but think, tinkled.
"Aww. You're the only one that I can turn to. The teacher for the Ethics class will be back soon, so it's not like it will be permanently." He whined, turning his puppy dog eyes towards him in hopes he'll cave.
"Enough of you two flirting already." Willow snapped fed up. "You and I both know he will do it more for the fact he could make the vampires uncomfortable from just his presence alone then anything else. Now where is Susanowa?"
The other two started to blush at the insinuation that they were flirting before paling when the room dropped a couple of degrees while it grew dim as she glared death at her father.
"Fine." Kaien pouted. "I took him to be with Zero. He wouldn't stop growling at me nor would he stop staring at me while licking his chops."
"Heh."
"Did you just laugh!" Kaien shrieked at Toga. "It's not funny. He really looked like he was going to eat me!"
"As amusing as that thought could be…" Willow interrupted, fighting to keep the smile off her face as she pictured the scene that happened more times then not when the two were in the same room together. "...but where exactly are you keeping Zero?"
"...sigh. He's in the guest room down the hall." Kaien caved, knowing she would find out sooner or later anyways.
"Thank you. I am going to go to him now, so you two can go back to flirting with each other before sensei has to go get ready for his new class."
With that said, she walked out of the office, leaving behind two sputtering males behind her. She couldn't understand why neither of them wouldn't just break down and tell the other how they feel. It's beyond obvious that they dig each other.
'Oh well. I'm pretty sure this so call "stalemate" will end soon. They just need a little push to get them there.' She thought.
When she got to the door, instead of knocking, she barged right on in, wanting to make sure Zero wasn't trying anything even with Sano there with him.
BAM
THUMP
GROAN
WOOF
As she slammed open the door, she was jumped on by Sano immediately which made her lose her balance since she wasn't expecting it. So now she had an over 100 pounds of wolf - whose tail was wagging a hundred mile per hour - on her torso and a sore tailbone where she landed on it first.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Oh ha ha. Laugh it up buddy." She grunted, gently pushing her wolf off of her. "Sic him." She whispered into the wolf's ear.
GASP
BAM
GRUNT
GROAN
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"You're being childish." Zero groan out, pushing the wolf off of him.
"I don't know what you mean. He just wanted to show you the love as well." She told him with a smirk, getting up.
As Zero started to get up, she observed him and noticed his tired expression.
'It doesn't seem as he slept at all last night.' She thought with a concern frown on her face.
"What happened last night when you left the Night Dorm?" She asked softly, sitting on the bed.
Susanowa came and sat near her feet so she could scratch his ear with his tongue hanging out of his mouth from the side.
"There's nothing to tell." He grumbled, sitting at the desk, facing her.
"There's a lot to tell. Like, why didn't you go straight to your dorm instead of the pool? Or why you didn't take me with you? You know I wouldn't have minded being dragged around by you if you needed me."
"I didn't go to my dorm because I knew Yuki was following me and I didn't want her to find me. But she did anyways. As for why I didn't grab you...you were so busy looking at that vampire Shiki, I didn't think you would want to leave." He spat out. "And another thing, I wasn't going to bite Yuki. I was trying to scare her so she can get it through her thick head that it's dangerous being around hungry vampires."
"One: I was looking at Senri since I was wondering if he and Rima will make a move on Ichijo-san anytime soon. So stop being jealous. Two: even if I was looking at another guy romantically, I would still prefer you taking me with you. Three: you should have known by now that Yuki is like a bloodhound. If she has a scent, she's not going to lose it." She told him bluntly, stunning him.
"..."
He didn't know what to say. Truth be told, his run out of the Night Dorms was a blur. All he can remember was leaning against the pool fence with blood pills spilled out in front of him with Yuki calling his name.
He might have snapped and taken his anger at everything out on her. He was just sick and tired of the girl always putting herself in danger and having to save her - add in the jealousy and disappointment that it wasn't Willow to find him - made him want to teach her a lesson. A lesson that he fears didn't take from being interrupted by his master.
'I know she's told me before she doesn't have romantic feelings for Shiki, but it's still nice to have her reconfirm it when she's so close to him.' He thought. 'Though we still have the problem of trying to stop Yuki from jumping into danger without regard for those around her. Because she doesn't think, we have to put on lives on the line to make sure she doesn't end up dead or worse… like me.'
"Anyways, you are being punished for your actions. As such, they tried to stop me from seeing you." She told him, letting go of what happened last night.
To her, it wasn't a big deal. If he bit Yuki, then he bit her. End of story. As long as he wasn't beating himself up over what happened, then there's no reason to keep hashing about it.
'Besides, it's the least she can do after all those times he saved her life. What's a little blood as payment for being rescued all the time?'
"They're splitting us up?" He yelped when what she said sunken in.
"They tried. But as you can see, that didn't really work out very well. Now, did it?" She said with a self-satisfied look on her face making him sag in relief.
He didn't know what he would do if he couldn't see her. One of the reasons he even gets up in the morning is so he can see her. She's his anchor. Without her, he would have given up a long time ago. He doubted very much if he would even be alive now if it wasn't for her always pushing him forward.
"So what's going to happen now?" He asked in hope of getting onto a lighter topic.
"Now, you stay here for the next two or so days - you are grounded by the way - while I and ugh…Yuki patrol at night. That's not even including what I have to do for Kuran so that he can take her off our hands for mine and otou-san's spa trip coming up next week." She said flopping down on the bed the rest of the way.
Sano jumped up to lay down next to her with his big head on her stomach.
"What do you mean; "what you have to do for Kuran"?" Zero demanded.
"Calm down. I'm just going to be his gopher for the week so that he can catch up on his paperwork so that he can watch over Yuki without business interfering." She told him tiredly, on the verge of falling asleep.
"Why can't the other blood suckers to it for him?"
"He said something about them not wanting to be out in the sun and that he didn't want to hear any of their whining. Really, it's not a big deal. This way, we both get what we want. He gets to spend time with Yuki while I get to spend time with otou-san without her."
"What about me?" Zero couldn't help but ask, feeling left out.
"You get to put up with the grouchy butt." She murmured sleepily.
"Toga!? You want me to hang out with him? He'll train me into the ground!" He groaned, slumping over the desk in despair. "Why do you guys get to relax while I get worked to death?"
"Don't be a baby." She giggled slightly at his dramatics. "Besides, you and I know that you wouldn't handle relaxing very well. You'll go stir crazy a couple of hours in. The only time you can truly relax is when you are with Lady Lily."
"And you. But I get what you are saying. Anyways, when do you have to go to Kuran's to start on your part of the deal?"
"Heh. Don't look as if the world is coming to an end, love. It's just taking paperwork back and forth from the Moon Dorms to the Headmaster's office and back again. It's not like I will be in his company for very long." She told him when she saw the look of murder on his face. "But I guess I should start on my way over there now. I still have to be there for the switch over, so it's best to get it out of the way before then."
She got up with huff, stretching out her stiff muscles. She didn't realized just how tense she was until she saw that Zero was ok. She really didn't like the thought that he was locked up without her knowing…or at all really.
Bonus was seeing that Sano was ok as well. She really missed him.
"Oh, by the way. I am pretty sure the excuse that was used for the reason why you're not in class today - maybe even tomorrow, is because you're sick. So when you go back make sure you play up being overly tired."
"What about you? You didn't go today."
"Well, I couldn't very well leave my precious ZeZe-chan all alone in his time of need. Now, could I?" She joked…kind of. "Oh, Sano-chan…" She called getting the wolf's attention. "…keep an eye on Zero for me will you?"
She got a woof of affirmative - ignoring the sputtering from Zero - then left to go do what needed to be done to spend time with her father.
XXX~AUTHOR'S NOTE~XXX
Hi! I know it's been awhile since the last time I have updated any of my stories, but I would like to say that I am planning on updating them either every week or every other week from now on. I didn't mean to leave it like this for so long. It's just that I would re-read them and wanted to fix them before I updated them. But that is unfair to the people whose been waiting to know what happens next. So I am going to do my best to fix while I update from now on.
As for this chapter, sorry for the shortness and haste of it, I just wanted to put something out there so people can know I am still here. The next chapter is going to be a time skip with slight mentions on what happened between that time.
Regardless, I hope you liked it and thank you for you're patience. Please enjoy.
