Zero ran. His blood, boiling in his veins and pounded in his head, while his throat closed as the thirst clawed at him. Hastily, his hands fumbled with his blazer, tie, and shirt, pulling at them in a futile attempt to ease his discomfort. Yuki burst from the dark entrance to The Moon Dorms in pursuit of her companion, but he was far ahead, his silver hair shining in Moonlight her only guide. Her legs pumped faster to catch him.
That place gave me the creeps, Yuki shuddered. Zero felt it too… My arm? She'd been running this whole time but… Feeling around her once injured arm, she felt no pain. Does Kaname really have that kind of power? As amazed as she was, Yuki main concern was still for her friend and quickly resumed her fast pace.
The Moon Dorms was far behind when she came upon the school buildings, and her foot knocked something, sending it skidding away down the path. The white plastic box and the many white pills scattered around, which had spilt out, stood out against the grey of the stone trail. A glint of recognition compelled her to bend down, plucking the pillbox from the ground. Zero.
With renewed determination, Yuki moved onwards. She soon found herself near one of the outdoor pools on the school grounds, situated near the main school building. Is that where he'd gone? Coming around the wall, Yuki found the pool her companion, but her worry intensified at the state she'd found him in. He lay haphazardly on the tile at the pool's edge with his arm outstretched towards the railing of the steps leading into the pool. She hastened to his side as his arms shook with the effort to right himself.
Zero looked up, tablets dropping from his hand as his eyes locked with Yuki's searching stare and her warm hands rested on his shoulders.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Yuki cried, holding him steady as he began to violently hack up pink liquid.
"Yuki?" His dazed and pained voice croaked as he reached out to her, wishing to accept the comfort she offered with her shaking, uncertain hands.
"Zero?" she uttered, her eyes pinching and at the tortured look he sent her.
"Of course, ex-Humans have many obstacles to overcome. The blood tablets, one of many," Shiki voiced conversationally before taking a sip from his glass. Aido's head whipped around. "I do hope Nakamura hasn't had any issues so far."
"She's fine!" Aido spat dismissively, draining his glass, and walking away from the Birthday Boy and his roommate. Leaving them staring after him with puzzled expressions.
Akane had sunk onto her bed after watching the silver-haired boy make a hasty retreat from the party. Time was just a sound from the clock, she had no sense of it as she took deep, calming breaths, trying to prevent her mind from whirling to dark and dangerous places. Rage! She didn't want to scream. She didn't want to throw a fit. No, but what she did want, scared her. Her body itched to move, her muscles coiling and her lips pulling back in a snarl. She wanted to hunt.
Her body was forced to stay put, but her imagination was free to let her fan the flames of her anger. She watched herself stand, calm, and silent then walk across her room like a spectre, illuminated by the Moonlight through her window and the candlelight flickering from her chandelier, without a sound to accompany her steps. Her room and The Moon Dorms were left in a blur, replaced with the darkness of the forest covering the distance between The Sun and Moon Dorms.
Her steps were sure and precise, walking with purpose, following the hurried footfalls and breathless huffs of her prey. Akane envisioned him stopping at the fountain in the middle of the forested garden, the light in the clearing coming only from the Moon and stars. He gasped, bent double with his eyes darting this way on that, peering into the shadows around him.
She waited, hidden within the treeline for his shoulders to sag and relief to slip from his lips. She shifted from her position, disturbing the foliage purposefully, causing the boy's head to snap around at the sound, searching for the cause. But she had already vanished. Another sound. He spun back around, and again, found himself alone.
Panic rose in his chest again as his forehead and top lip dampened. Pretty, lavender eyes shook in their sockets with the intensity of their stare into the inky blackness of the trees, squinting through the shadows they cast around him. Yet, Akane waited, she waited until she could taste the terror in the very air around them until he was scared to even move but too frightened to stand still.
Within the darkness, two deep, red eyes flashed into existence, aimed directly at the boy's back. He shook, he panted, hopped from foot to foot but did not acknowledge her as she appeared from the bushes, did not turn as she stalked towards him. He did not sense her presence, hear her footsteps, or see her hand raise, more reminiscent of a claw than a hand.
Akane's mouth watered, her eyes blazed, and yet, her stomach protested, and her heart clenched the closer her imaginary-self got to her prey. What was she doing again? Why had she chased him? Her hand continued to reach out until she grasped his shoulder and squeezed. In reality, her fingers clutched at the blankets on her bed, fisting the fabric harshly, but in her mind, his bones bent and bowed at the strength of her grip. Stop! I must stop!
She jerked him around to face his pursuer, to force him to stare into the eyes of death. A piercing shriek pulled from his lungs at the sight of pointed fangs, clawed hands, and lethal, crimson eyes. Akane's throat closed at the sound she'd imagined he'd make at the sight of her, while her hands dug viciously into his shoulders.
Abruptly, the scene changed and Akane was no longer the hunter, but the hunted. She stood in the boy's place, face to face with the monster that had pursued him. A look of crazed hunger and fury distorting the face grotesquely. It snarled, pulling lips back over long fangs, and lifting a bloodied claw, and then, it lunged.
Akane vaulted from her bed, bolting from the room and down the corridor, not so much as scenting Aido as she rushed by him stood at her door, poised to knock. He hurried after her, inquiring after her look of pale shock and wild eyes, but a door in his face was his answer. He stood outside the girls' communal bathroom while Akane emptied the contents of her stomach, all the while, Shiki's words playing on his head. "Of course, ex-Humans have many obstacles to overcome. The blood tablets, one of many."