Chapter Seven: Would You, Could You?

*"Can we help you boys?" Quatre asked, hoping they wouldn't have to get into a fight with Serena around.

"Yeah, you can. First off, you can tell us why that boy is wearing Count Darien's suit." Said one of the thugs, pointing to Hiiro. Serena inaudibly gasped.

"Who is Count Darien?" Trowa asked.

"Just tell us where you got the outfit." Said another one of the thugs.

"It was given to me for a costume for the night." Hiiro answered darkly.

"Who gave it to you?"

"None of your business." Hiiro responded. These guys were up to no good, and if they wanted to play with a Gundam Pilot, they would get to. He wouldn't say he hadn't given them a warning though.

"If that little girl gave it to you, you only have to do one simple thing, and then we'll leave you alone." Said yet another thug.

"What would that be?" Trowa asked calmly.

"Give her to us. And then we'll leave you alone." The thugs laughed.

"We're not giving her to you or anyone else, so back off before you learn how weak you truly are." Wufei said. It was unjust of them to threaten them, but even worse to threaten the life of a weak onna.

"Weak? Us? Fine. You may not want to give Serenity to us, but we'll be getting her one way or another." Said the first thug. All four of them began advancing upon the group.

"Serena, go hide in one of the allies. We'll take care of these jerks." Trowa said.

"No." She said it with so much hatred that it made all five of the boys do a double take and stare at her.

"What do you mean 'No'? Woman, get moving! You are too weak to stay here." Wufei told her bluntly.

"No. This is my fight. It is you five who should go and hide. I'll deal with these goons." She said, stepping in front of them to face the oncoming creeps.

"So, you're Serenity. I can see why Darien wants you so bad. You're beautiful. You'll make him a wonderful mistress. I can just see you in those chains in his room right now." Said the first thug.

"Get lost creeps. I'm warning you."

"We've heard about your reputation, Serenity. You've killed more of us than any other, ever, but that won't save you now." The pilots gasped as they heard the conversation.

"Want to bet?" She growled. With that, the thugs charged at her. Serena took them on two at a time. Noticing how annoying her dress was, she willed it away and was left standing in the clothes she had been wearing before she had changed for the party.

Her sheer long sleeved black shirt and her long black sweat pants were the perfect outfit to fight in, and she was glad she had been wearing them. She did a few flips and landed in front of one of the vampire thugs. Grappling with him, she finally kicked him hard in the shin, then downed him by hitting the back of his head with her elbow.

"Guys! Find me a sharp piece of wood! Fast!" She called out to her friends, hoping they would hear her and do as she asked. In the corner, Trowa saw an old chair that had been thrown out. He broke a leg of the chair and threw it to Serena without questioning what she would need it for.

"Here Sere!" He and the others watched as she whipped the wooden stake around and harshly impaled the boy upon it. Then she pulled it from his heart and just as the next vamp rushed at her, she shoved it straight up through his heart. As she pulled it out, he fell towards her, falling on top of the stake again, only this time slitting his throat open with it.

Serena watched as the stake went clear through the vampire's throat, shuddered, then pulled it out and spun around to face the last two. One took his time in circling her, while the other hung back to watch the fight. Serena tried to wipe the cold sweat from her brow and blood from her cheek. She only succeeded in smearing the blood around more.

Then vampire attacked. He drew a pair of nunchakus and began a complicated kata with them. Soon they were spinning so fast Serena couldn't keep them in sight. She felt one of them smack her heavily in the shoulder, then another on her right leg. As she dropped to her knees, she did a spin kick and tripped the vampire onto the ground with her. She took the opportunity to stab him in the arm.

Then, while he was still squirming in pain, she stabbed him through the chest, making sure to hit at least one major artery. As she looked up from the bloody body that lie beneath her, she scanned the street for the last of the vampire goons Darien had sent for her. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Serena?" Quatre asked her from behind. She slowly turned around to face her friends. What would they say when she told them the truth? If she told them the truth? Did they think less of her for killing those vampires? Were they disgusted with her? This was not good.

"Serena?" This time it was Duo who said her name.

"Yes?" She asked them, fear evident in her voice.

"What was that all about? And where did you learn to fight like that?"

"It's a long story. Look, I have to get out of here. Hiiro, burn that suit, and fast. That's how they found me. That damned man. Thinking he can outsmart me. I'll show him. Burn it here, don't wear it home. And then stay inside for a day or two, don't go anywhere."

"Serena. What is going on?" Hiiro asked her.

"Look, when I was younger, I knew this guy. He had some problems, and I left him because he was too psychotic to be around. He's been mad at me ever since. He sends his thugs out to find me. Until now, they've had a hard time finding me, but now one of them got away to tell him where I am, so it's only a matter of time before he shows up too. I have to go."

"Serena, stop!" Duo yelled out to her. "You can barely walk. We saw the hits you took, not to mention the fact that you're dead tired. Let us help you back home."

"No. It's too dangerous. Just stay away from me. I knew I never should have gotten too close to you all. You're so nice, I don't want any of you hurt. Just steer clear of me from now on." With that, she began to limp off, gaining speed as she went.

The five guys just stood there, dumbstruck. Each was thinking along the same train of thought. What just happened? Serena can fight? She can kill? How did she change her clothes so fast? And what kind of trouble was she in?

"Anyone want to start?" Duo asked, trying to lighten the mood between the five boys.

"What the hell was that? She went from being a weak woman to killing those three thugs. And in a very brutal manner as well. She killed them."

"She killed them like they were vampires or something. Sheesh." Duo said.

"Do you think she was alright? Those bruises looked pretty bad."

"Yeah. How did she manage to keep fighting after she got those?" Trowa asked.

"I know I couldn't." Duo added in.

"Duo, what did you say?" Hiiro asked him.

"I know I couldn't."

"Before that. About vampires." Hiiro was forming a hypothesis in his mind that he knew ought to be crazy, but fit the situation too perfectly to be true.

"Oh. I said she killed them like vampires. You know, with the wooden stake through the heart and all." After hearing Duo repeat himself, Hiiro walked over to the messy corpses and studied them. The others followed him and their eyes widened at what they saw.

"This is going to sound kind of crazy, but does anyone else see fangs in that man's mouth?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah. Your not crazy Winner, there are fangs in his mouth. The others are the same. Yui, are you suggesting Serena is a vampire slayer and these are real vampires? Come on. Be logical. That's impossible." Wufei said blatantly.

"If it is, then why is it here in front of us?" Duo asked him.

"Hiiro? Where did he go?" Quatre asked.

"To see Serena of course. Where else?" Trowa answered.

"Of course. Why didn't I know that?"

*

She was running about her apartment frantically when she heard a knock at the door. Checking to see who it was, she sighed. Did she have enough guts to face him? It didn't matter, he was coming in whether she wanted him to or not, that much was obvious when she heard the sound of the door's lock being cracked. As the heavy oak door swung open, she just stood in front of it and stared.

Hiiro knew she was standing there from the minute he knocked on the door. When she didn't open it, he decided to try his luck with picking the lock. Easier done than said. Within seconds he had it open and was staring face to face with her.

"Who are you?" Was all he asked. He figured the other questions could come later. Right now, this was the most important.

"I am Serena Tsukino. Who else would I be?"

"The thugs wanted Serenity. Close enough to your name, don't you think?"

"They did want Serenity. I am Serenity. Or I was."

"Were?"

"Hiiro." She sighed. "I want to tell you. I do. But what will you say? What will you think? You'll hate me!" She was just as frantic now as she had been before he had knocked on her door.

"Just tell me. I'll decide later what I think of you." He suggested.

"It doesn't work that way."

"Are you a vampire slayer?" He saw her eyebrows raise in shock and surprise.

"Why would you think that?" She asked him.

"I saw their fangs. I know what they were. Now what are you?"

"In a way, I am a vampire slayer. But I'm much more. Please don't make me explain any farther!" He shut the heavy door hard and moved in closer to her. He could feel the chilled air that constantly surrounded her and tried to ignore it. He moved in closer still and backed her into a corner. Grabbing onto her icy arms, he held them with a firm grip until she was forced to look into his eyes. When she did, he was sorry. All he saw was fear, loneliness, and guilt.

"Serena," he started, much softer this time, "Serena, please tell me what you are." She gulped and stared directly into his eyes. They were so piercing, so incredibly deep that she couldn't break the gaze.

"I can't. you'll hate me." She whispered.

"I won't hate you. If anything, I'll want to help you more than ever." He raised one hand to her ice-cold face and drew his fingers down the side of her cheek. Then he ran them over her lips and down her chin. "I swear to you Serena, I won't hate you."

"Would you love a dead person? Could you love a dead person?" She asked him, fear still completely overrunning all of her senses.

"How could I love a dead person if they are dead?" He asked, now confused.

"What if I were dead. What would you do?" she asked him.

"You're not dead though. You're standing right next to me, alive as can be."

"No, I'm not. I'm standing next to you, Hiiro, yes. But just because I'm standing next to you doesn't mean I'm alive. Were those vampires alive while they were walking around the streets?"

"No. They were the undead."

"Then what do you think I am?" She asked, her voice near a whisper.

"You're one of them? A, a vampire?" He asked, almost in complete disbelief. She, this lively, wonderful girl whom he had fallen for these last few months, was a vampire? Fallen for? What was he thinking! Was she one of the undead? How was that even possible? She was so normal. She slept at night, was out in the sun during the day, she laughed and joked and didn't drink blood… how was it possible?

"What if I said yes? What if I told you I was?" She asked him.

"I would ask you to prove it."

" Come with me." She whispered into his ear, so softly that he could barely hear it. Curiosity won over, and he followed her to a door she had made he and the other boys promise never to enter, her bedroom. She opened the door and led him slowly inside.

As his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, he looked around. He saw hundreds of candles all around the room, only a few of which were lit. He saw a table covered in wooden stakes like the one she had used earlier that night, and a long broad sword mounted on the wall above the table. He saw a giant wooden cross upon the wall, and directly below it was a dark mahogany box in the shape of a coffin. When he strode up to it, he saw a name engraved in sliver upon the top. 'Serenity Crescent' was what it read.

"So? You could have gotten a box like that anywhere." He knew he was in denial that the one person he finally felt so close to was dead, but he wanted her to humor him anyway.

"Really? And can you get teeth like these anywhere?" She asked him, finally revealing her fangs to him. He moved closer to get a better look at them in the dim light. When he saw them, he had the sudden urge to run his finger over them, to feel how sharp they were, to test them to see if they were real.

He didn't fight the urge. As he ran his finger over them, he sliced it on their sharp edge. Before he knew what was happening, he felt her pull his hand from her mouth, then bring it back towards it. Hiiro felt her soft lips gently press against the small cut and suddenly, the little pain he had felt was gone. So was the blood. She had healed him, tasted him.

Serena looked into his deep eyes, hoping he could except what she was, hoping that for once in her long dead life, she would not have to be alone. When she saw his eyes peer back into hers, they appeared to be searching for something that they thought they could find within her lost soul.

Soon, she felt him move closer to her and embrace her in his strong warm arms. Soon she felt his hot lips press against her cool neck in a kiss. Then he lightly trailed gentle butterfly kisses down to her shoulder, hugging her tighter to him as he did. She melted into his arms and, from the exhaustion of the day, the party and fight, not to mention the emotional stress, she collapsed into his arms and allowed him to fully support her weight.

"Serena?" He asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine. Just low on blood and tired form the day's events. I need to go find something to eat." She answered, her mind hazy from the sensations he had aroused within her.

"You mean someone?" He smirked at her slip in words.

"Yes. No. Hiiro, what do you think a vampire eats?" She pulled away from him slightly.

"They drink the blood of their victims until their victims are dead."

"Most vampires do. I do not. I only take a little from a bunch of people. That way I get fed, but I don't kill my victims either."

"You don't have enough strength to find a 'victim' tonight." She watched as he picked her up, opened the coffin lid, placed her inside, and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Drink my blood instead."

"Hiiro! I could never do that! You're my friend, I lo…well, I just could never feed off of you like that. No. I'll go hunting."

"Like I said, you're too weak to go hunting tonight Serena. Serenity. Drink my blood until you have enough strength to go out." He said in a very forceful yet still monotone voice.

"But…"

"No. Drink." He commanded her as he knelt beside her coffin and exposed his vulnerable neck to her hungry eyes. Doing as she was told, she caressed his neck softly. Blood lust raced through her body and she licked her lips. As gently as she could, she pulled him in closer to her. Biting down quickly, she began to satisfy her hunger at a slow pace.

Hiiro couldn't believe it. At first it had hurt, but now the sensations he was feeling were incredible. They were taking over his mind and leaving him with nothing but thoughts and memories of Serena. He felt her heightened sensations through their link. He felt her hunger slowly subside as she drank form his neck. He felt her pure joy that he trusted he this much.

Then, before he knew it, she had pulled away from him and was catching her breath. He felt dizzy and lightheaded, but soon the feeling passed and he felt only slightly more tired than before she had bitten him. *

~~~I think part of the reason I love this fic so much is the way they become romantically involved. It was my first real romance, and it seems so sweet to think about it! Maybe I'm just crazy and weird though. PLEASE REVIEW! Much love, Vixen~~~