Chapter 3

I was walking back to my apartment after the sun had set. Yagari drove me back into the city, but I decided to walk the rest of the way. The assignment took a lot longer than usual, even with the two of us, because of there being more than what was expected. I stretched my arms over my head and sighed in content when my back and shoulders popped in response. Yawning a little bit, I walked into my building, far too tired to notice the familiar voices coming from my floor.

I yawned again when I got to my floor and rubbed my tired eyes for a second time. Suddenly, I heard a small, light voice call my name before an equally small body crashed into my waist. Regaining my balance, I stared wide eyed at the silver haired little girl hugging my waist. "Anna?" I asked in confusion. "W-what are you doing here?"

"You didn't really thing that we would come and check on you, did you Kana?" the familiar voice of Izumo answered my question from further up the hallway.

Looking up to the rest of the hallway, I found the rest of HOMRA standing there with Sousuke and Azalea. All of them were looking at me with concern, even Mikoto. I closed my eyes and sighed, rubbing my temple with my right hand, trying to keep the headache at bay.

"Kana, what happened to your hand?" Rikio asked with worry noticing the bandage on my right hand.

I looked at the white bandage for a moment, seeing the slight pink on my palm, but before I could answer, Azalea cut in with a glare. "Don't lie Kana."

I narrowed my eyes slightly and clicked my tongue at her. "I lost control and my weapon reacted. One of the Level E's caught the back of my hand when I let my guard down." I saw both Sousuke and Azalea tense up, and I rubbed the back of my neck with a sigh. "I've had a few tablets, so calm down. My palm is just taking longer to heal."

Azalea let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hands. All the guys but Sousuke and Tatara looked over at her in confusion. Azalea's dark orange eyes filled with tears before she ran back to her apartment. Sousuke just looked at me with slightly watery eyes. I shook my head at him and nodded towards the door his mate went through.

"Go," I told him. "She needs you. I've got it."

Sousuke let his bangs cover his eyes as he nodded. Before he went through the door, he whispered an apology, then closed the door. I walked up to my door on the other side of the hallway and opened the door. I looked back at the boys in the hallway who all turned back to me. "Well, come on," I prompted before walking in as Anna and Tatara immediately followed me.

The others walked into the spacious apartment behind us. The building that Sousuke owned was three floors and each floor had two apartments; each apartment taking up half the floor and mine was on the third floor. I walked over to a small table near the door as everyone looked around or sat down. I started to take my weapons out of my jacket, putting them in the correct spots.

"You carry weapons?" Yata asked, watching as I put my anti-vampire Sais and Artemis away.

I smirked at him over my shoulder as I took out my guns from where they were strapped to my lower back. "I always carry my weapons. It's rule number one of the Hunter's Association: you never go anywhere unarmed."

"So, you hunt your own kind?" Saruhiko accused. His eyes were harsh as I looked at him, and I sighed to myself. We were back to him being hostile again.

"I'm only half vampire Saruhiko," I countered. "Those I hunt risk the safety of humans and vampires alike."

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle after hanging up my jacket. Coming back into the living room, I sat down in one of the armchairs. The others were sitting on the couch or the other chairs, or just standing. The all watched curiously as I put a few blood tablets into the bottle. The water started to turn red as I replaced the cap and then shook the bottle to spread it faster.

"What are those things?" Yata asked with a disgusted look. "They look nasty."

I giggled a little bit at him. "They're called blood tablets. They were developed to make any liquid into blood, so vampires won't have a reason to attack humans. But, in all honesty, they are kinda nasty."

Most of them pulled a face at my description while I took a large drink from the bottle. "Since you can clearly see that I'm all right, I assume that this visit is more about curiosity. So, what do you want to know?"

"How can you work with that Yagari guy when he insults you?" Yata started angrily. I blinked a few times then started laughing at his question, which earned me confused looks from the others. But it made Yata even angrier. "Why are you laughing?! I'm serious!"

I took a moment to breathe deeply to calm down, but my shoulders still shook slightly with my chuckling. "Sorry, sorry, I promise that I'm not laughing at you. It's just I was not expecting that to be your first question. That's not the usual response that people have."

When I had finally stopped shaking from laughter, I took another drink from my bottle and gave a genuine smile. "Yagari told me what he said, and it wasn't an insult," I explained, holding my hand to stop Yata from arguing. "What he said was an observation and more of a crude compliment towards you. He did admit to only saying what he did in order to see what it would take to anger you though."

At their confusion, I shook my head with a smile. "Due to my vampire heritage, most of the hunters despise me. However, due to my abilities, they saw me as a weapon and not as a person. I would also be bullied by most of the other Hunter kids as well. As a result of the horrible experiences, I have a bad outlook on humans and don't typically hang out with them willingly."

"You hang out with us, and Tatara is your brother though," Rikio pointed out. "Also, those other two are your friends. What about them?"

I smiled at his observation. "Sousuke is actually another supernatural creature called a Phoenix, but Azalea is human. It took almost a year before I even got slightly comfortable with her. And Tatara, on the other hand, had been there at one of my lowest points when I needed someone. Yagari's point was that it takes a long time for me to be okay around humans. Yet, I have been hanging around all of you after knowing you for only a month. And most of the time, it's been without Tatara around."

The all looked surprised at that.

"Anything else?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What did you mean earlier when you lost control?" Saruhiko asked in suspicion, but I could see his eyes were concerned.

I took a deep breath at his question, but I knew that it would be asked eventually. I looked towards Tatara. "Did you explain what a Level E is?"

He nodded in response.

"Nobody is entirely sure why it's happening, but I'm descending into a Level E," I explained. "Anti-vampire weapons shock and burn Level E's when they touch them. The guns have a lower tolerance, but they still react. When I lose control, it's of my vampire side and my guns react to a Level E."

"How long?" Tatara demanded. His brown eyes were harsh and stared directly into my blue ones. Growing up with me, he understood where all of this was going. Everyone looked to Tatara in shock, having never heard him talk like that before.

We stared at each other for a moment before I closed my eyes with a sigh. Before I could answer however, someone else asked a question. "What's that supposed to mean?" Dewa asked. "How long until what?"

Tatara was the one to answer, still looking at me. "When someone falls to a level E it can be in an instant. However, with how many advances the Hunter Association has, they would be able to tell how long it would take for her to become a Level E."

While Tatara explained, I slowly started to unwrap my right hand. I stared at the bun marks as they slowly faded as they healed. "Kana," Tatara said to get my attention. I looked up from my hand in my lap to his serious brown eyes. "Please answer me. How long?"

I had to look away from his eyes and let my bangs cover my eyes. "Eight weeks, girl or take," I answered. My voice was small and quiet, but I knew they all heard me.

It was quiet and still before Tatara suddenly stood and walked away towards the window. He ran a hand through his hair while his other hand had flames coming from his fingers. I could feel the anger coming off of him in waves and took another few drinks from my bottle.

"Is that why you came back?" Tatara asked in a low tone. "Just to say goodbye?"

"Uh, Totsuka," Chitose said worriedly. "Maybe you should step outside?"

"No!" Tatara shouted back, spinning around with both his hands on fire. His eyes were red with the Red Clan's power and his anger was getting away from him. Tatara had only ever lost control of his anger twice when we were kids. Normally, I was able to calm him down, but, with his power, I wouldn't be able to get that close. "I want to know why you didn't tell me about this before!"

I heaved a heavy sigh and finished the bottle of blood. Standing up, I faced Tatara and stared at him. My power built and my eyes glowed a bright vampire red. Releasing a wave of my raw power, the force put out his flames and knocked Tatara to the floor. I could feel the red electricity crackle around my body as I took a few steps towards him; ignoring the looks of awe from the others in the room.

"If you want to be pissed at me, that's fine, but don't let your anger get the best of you," I told him in a dangerous tone. "Don't forget who you are talking to Tatara. I didn't tell you because you would try to find a way to save me. I've been looking for years and haven't found anything."

I let my power calm down; my eyes returning to their deep blue. Tatara's eyes softened and turned down to the floor. "Is it so wrong for me two want to save my sister?" he asked quietly, his voice breaking a little.

"No, it's not wrong," I assured him. "But you already saved me back when we were kids." His head snapped up to look at me in shock. "I would have been gone a long time ago if we hadn't met. I came back to make sure that you would be taken care of when I do go. I just…" I trailed off slightly. "I didn't expect—"

"To get attached," Mikoto finished. I looked back at him and nodded.

"Which is another reason for Yagari to be here," I told them. "I submitted a request for the Hunters Association to put HOMRA under their protection and Yagari came out to see you for himself. He has approved of the request today."

"We don't need protection from them!" Yata objected. "Especially from that bastard. We can handle ourselves just fine."

I chuckled at him as I turned to him. "Of that, I have no doubt. But it's mainly for the Vampire Senate that the protection exists. They have a strict policy against humans knowing that they exist, and some of them don't like me."

"So, if they found out we know about them, they could come after us," Izumo concluded.

"Only if you're not protected," I added.

Everyone looked worried at this information. I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the stiff muscles. "Look," I said, and they all looked over to me. "I know this is a lot to take in, so how about we take tomorrow to think it over."

"Will you come back?" Anna asked in a small voice. The looks on everyone's face said that they wanted to know the same thing.

I smiled a little at that. "It might be a few days until I can come around again. The report that we got was that there was only six or seven Level E's, but there were at least fifteen of them when we got there."

"Fifteen?!" Rikio repeated in disbelief.

"Someone would have known if there was that many," Saruhiko pointed out, with a click of his tongue.

"They kept a low profile," I informed him. "Which suggests that someone else was involved. Yagari wants me to investigate while I still can. I've already called a few vampires to help me, so I suggest staying in pairs for the time being."

I walked over to the coffee table to pick up my bottle and tossed it into the trash. "Why call in the vampires if you're searching for one?" Mikoto asked.

"The ones that are coming are friends that I trust from school," I replied with a shrug. "And because I have respect from most of the high ranking families, I act as a bridge between them and the Hunters."

"So, you're an ambassador," Saruhiko deduced.

A chuckled passed my lips at the statement. "In simple terms, I suppose so."

Saruhiko gave me a small smile and I knew that he was becoming better with what I was. Izumo smiled at me and stood up. "We had better get out of you way so you can rest," he declared. "Come by when you're able too."

I smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you."

Everyone mad a move towards the door; everyone but Mikoto and Tatar. Mikoto sat still on the couch, and Tatara had put his knees up, resting his arms on the top. I waved Izumo and the others out as Anna came over to give me a hug. I patted her head with a smile and nudged her towards the door. Walking over to Tatara, I knelt in front of him.

"T, you knew this was going to happen eventually," I told him. I reached out to put my hand on his, but the moment I touched him, he slapped my hand away.

"But I don't want to see you die," he growled at me. "You can't expect me to be okay with this!" With that, he jumped up and ran out of the apartment.

I was shocked at what he did, and just stared at my hand. 'His hand burned me,' I thought, looking at the small burn in my palm. A lone tear fell down my cheek as the guilt threatened to overwhelm me.

"You should run water over that," Mikoto's voice told me, startling me.

I stood up and turned around to find Mikoto standing right behind me. He was standing so close to me. I looked up into his amber eyes and I sort of got lost for a moment before I started to tear up. "Promise me you'll look after him," I begged. "Please, I hate doing this to him."

Mikoto reached over and tucked my bangs behind my ear. He then cupped my cheek, whipping the tear away with his thumb. "He's not the only one who wants to save you," he whispered. I stared at him with wide eyes and got caught by his smell of a bonfire. "I'll look out for him, but I'm not gonna let you die either."

Mikoto bent down and pressed a kiss to my opposite cheek. I was stunned as he pulled away and walked out the door. I stood there for a moment in a trance, before shaking my head and locking the door. I numbly went through my bedtime routine. As I laid down, for the first time since my parent's death, I cried myself to sleep.