A/N: Two chapters in a day. ^3^ I'm so proud.
I'm getting the basic chapters out of the way -cough- the boring ones -cough- =^^=
So enjoy Chapter Three, The Ricocheting Bullet!
"I wanted to know why you were taking my job," Setsuna added.
"You're... job?" Yuuki asked, all confused.
"You... really don't know?" Setsuna was taken aback. She was expecting Yuuki to have already known about Hunters and why she was in town. "Oh... wow. You really are clueless, Cross-san."
"Either way... there's no way we could let that dangerous Vampire roam around town, but you three went to the trouble of hunting it down and killing it. Why that Vampire?" Yuuki asked, her expression stern. Setsuna sighed, her fingers pressed up to her temple.
"That Vampire used to be human. Filthy things," Aido said, his face contorted into a disgusted expression.
"Yuuki, Vampires are ruled by a few Purebloods and a handful of Nobles. Every student in the Night Class is a Noble or higher," Ichijo began to explain.
"Purebloods are few in numbers but at the top of the Vampire pyramid. Nobles are just below them. Common Vampires are the average Vampire found hidden around town, but Former humans are lower than Common Vampires. They're treated badly," Setsuna added.
"The one Setsuna-chan and I killed was a Level E, a vampire that had fallen outside of the pyramid," Ichijou finished.
"Level E?" Yuuki asked.
"'Level: End', to be exact. Kiyruu and Hamasaki are members of Hunter families, so they should know all this," Kain said.
Setsuna could see the confusion in Yuuki's face, which made her realize she seriously knew nothing of the Vampire and Hunter world.
"Former humans eventually fall to the Level E category, Yuuki. They gradually lose their sanity reaching the 'end'; their destruction." So Zero wasn't an idiot after all. There was a wisp of respect Setsuna felt for him because he came from the Kiyruu family, but nothing more.
"Yes, in their endless thirst for blood, they start attacking people indiscriminately," Ichijo said, his face blank. "That's why former humans are managed by Nobles and above."
"Excuse me, but that's a Hunters' job," Setsuna scoffed.
"Hunters manage them as well," Ichijou added quickly to keep Setsuna pleased.
"M-managed...?" Yuuki asked.
"But incidents do occur. A mad vampire may flee from a Noble and wander into human society," Ichijou said before Setsuna noticed Kuran had made his entrance.
"There was a report a Level E would appear in town today," Kuran said as he revealed himself. "Ichijou and Shiki hunted it down under my orders." As he pulled aside the curtain, he revealed Seiren was also there.
Many whispers arose from the other Vampires at the sight of Kaname.
"Kaname!" Yuuki exclaimed. "You ordered... that Vampire to be..." She began.
"Yuuki. Why didn't you inform the Headmaster?" Kaname asked. His expression was neutral. "You're a member of the Disciplinary Committee, yet when Ichijou invited you, you came to a dangerous place like this, and brought Hamasaki Setsuna-san with you as well."
"But!" Yuuki tried to interject. "I didn't think it was something I should report... and I wanted to know the truth firsthand..."
"Yuuki, Kiyruu, Hamasaki-san, come over here," Kaname ordered.
"I'm just fine down here, thank you very much Kuran-senpai," Setsuna said, putting a little emphasis on the honorific.
While that earned her a few glares, she ignored them and watched as Yuuki and Zero ascended the staircase.
"Yuuki, sit beside me," Kaname said.
"Huh? ...no thanks," Yuuki stuttered, her cheeks flushing red. Many students glared at her. Yuuki took a peek at Zero before adding on, "I'm fine."
"Yuuki," Kaname repeated, and there wasn't room for objection this time. It was a direct order from someone who knew he was calling the shots.
Yuuki sat down beside him shyly before Kaname put a firm hand on her shoulder, pulling her close towards him.
"Did you injure your arm because of that Vampire? It must hurt," Kaname said to Yuuki as he grasped her arm. He had been telling her that he never knew she would be there, and it was also her fault for wandering around.
"No, it was because I was careless..." Yuuki mumbled, her cheeks flushed.
"Humans should never be turned into Vampires... but in the old days, when the war between Vampires and Vampire Hunters was at its peak, Vampires turned humans into Vampires to use in battle."
Setsuna tuned out for a while and began to talk with Aido, but noticed Kaname began to un-bandage Yuuki's arm. Their chatter was nonsense, about the weather, what they got Ichijou, and Aido had even complimented Setsuna to the point she was cherry red.
And it was then when Kaname began to kiss Yuuki's wound, earning him a slight protest from Yuuki.
"Alright, when it gets all lovey-dovey, mushy gushy, dramatic and shit, I'm done. Thank you for having me, Ichijou-san," Setsuna bowed towards him.
"Not a problem, I hope you enjoyed yourself Setsuna-chan!" He beamed as he waved her off.
"Bye," she mumbled to Aido as she left, bumping shoulders with him. She flashed him a slight grin before leaving and wriggled her fingers to signal goodbye. Aido smiled and waved back discreetly.
Though Setsuna was a fair distance away, she could still hear the conversations.
"Perhaps, Kiyruu... you sympathized with him?" Kaname asked. Setsuna turned around to see that the statement had ended with Zero's Bloody Rose being held up to his forehead and Seiren's hands at Zero's neck. Every Night Classer glared at Zero, and a few had their hands in their pockets, which were most likely holding weapons. She could still see Aido as she whipped herself around so she was walking backwards. Her vision of Aido grew blurred by trees as she reached the gates of the Moon Dorms.
A figure bumped past Setsuna as she strolled slowly back to her Dorms. The figure was headed for the small pool of water. He had his hand in his hair and his other hand pulling at his shirt.
"Kiryuu?" Setsuna mumbled, before shrugging it off and continuing to walk.
As she got closer to the Dorms, a gun's safety clicked. She quickly strode back towards where she had come from, trying to make as little noise as possible. Then, as she got closer, a gunshot sounded. She could hear the sound of the bullet ricocheting off the bottom of the pool of water. Through trees, Setsuna strained her sight to see that a familiar figure stood over Yuuki and Zero in the water.
"Yagari..." Setsuna muttered, her cheeks tinted pink.
It had been a whole day since Ichijou's party, and Setsuna had been tired, though she didn't know why. Her knees were hugged up against her chest, her arms held around them to keep herself upright. She was lost deep in thought. Setsuna had skipped all her classes, staying in her room and sleeping most of the day away.
Why was Yagari at the Academy? It had been three years since the last time she had seen and talked to him. She had been chaperoning a function held by the Nobles, and Yagari was her partner for the assignment. At that time, Setsuna was 14 and had heard so much about Toga Yagari being the #1 Vampire Hunter that she had developed what most would call a crush on him, but had gotten over it in the years she hadn't seen him.
"Why did you have to come back now..." she mumbled to herself. She buried her head into her arms as she sat quietly. She could feel her cheeks redden with embarrassment. She took a sniff and realized she hadn't showered yet, which helped her push herself up onto her feet and walk around. As she walked into the washroom, she looked into the mirror and turned around in a circle. Just for fun.
"Ugh, I'm filthy," Setsuna grumbled and basically ripped off the night gown and throwing it into the hamper before shedding her underwear and bra and stepping into the warm shower. Underneath the sprays of the water, she did her thinking. What would she do if she crossed paths with Yagari?
"What about my issue with Aido..." She grumbled, pissed off as she lathered her hair. "Stupid bastard has to be so... damned... just so damned attractive... Vampire genes..." Setsuna rinsed out what was left of the shampoo and conditioned. Setsuna stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying herself off. Setsuna stared into the foggy mirror, waiting for it to clear out and reveal to her a plain girl, okay facial proportions, a great body, piercing green eyes that showed no emotion, and plain black hair. How she longed to do something else with herself, to become pretty for once, despite the fact she was a Vampire Hunter. Zero's mother had been a hunter, but she had been gorgeous. Setsuna had seen picutes of her recorded in the Hunters' Association records. Looking into the mirror, she seemed paler than normal. And then she noticed that she was thinner than normal.
"So ugly..." she mumbled as she tugged a brush through her hair. Her phone rang off in the annoying song her roommate hated.
"Yeah?" Setsuna grumbled.
"You missed a job, lazy ass." The voice on the line was annoyed.
"I was showering, dumb ass," Setsuna retorted.
"Either way, turn your phone on louder then. We don't want anyone dying on your watch, now do we?"
"No, sir. Bye," she mumbled before hanging up and flopping down. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to sooth the pounding in her head.
As you can see, I've edited the whole end of The Ricocheting Bullet. :)