A/N: My longest chapter yet. ^^ My next chapter will be an important author's note and side story. So you have a rough idea of when in the story this is taking place, it is after Shizuka is killed, but before the council appears and Yuuki is awakened. More on that in the next chapter.
Part of A/N for STS Ch.6 - (Important)
For those of you who've been wondering, this story takes place around.... chapter.... 26/27. Enough time for it to be revealed that Kaien was a vampire hunter, enough time for Yuuki to start seriously trying to remember her past, but before everyone goes on winter break. I was skimming chapters and realize that I had my time line sort of screwed up, since they head off in chapter 26 and Yuuki doesn't really get her first hallucination from trying until 27. Some things have changed for my convenience, so hold off on the flames for incorrect info please. DX
More on that during the intermission in Ch.6
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Yori sat on an elegant throne carved of ivory. She could feel the cries from the souls who had lost their fangs in order to build the chair. No doubt he was the one who ordered it to be built. The reason for which surprised, almost as much as it convenienced her.
"Does it please you, my love?" a deep masculine voice came from behind her.
"More than you know." she giggled.
"You will become mine." the man's hand stroked her hair gently from root to tip, palm sliding along the length of her arm at the same time. He brought the strands to his nose to inhale its scent.
"No, you will become mine." Yori's smile turned into a dangerous grin as the scene went white, the only detail coming through was the flavor and heat of sweet bliss that eased the burning of her core.
"You can feel me, can't you?" she asked herself. "You won't be able to hold out."
"Yori, wake up! You're having a nightmare." Ichiru's voice cut through the dream, waking the poor flailing girl.
She sat up, shivering as she focused on the dark violet eyes that saw right through her. Feeling sick, she rushed to the restroom and turned on the faucet full blast. Fingers fumbling, she pressed against the lavender soap dispenser like an addict searching for a fix. She worked up an elaborate lather that stung the cuts in her hand. There was blood everywhere, she had to get rid of it. No matter how much she scrubbed, the feeling, the texture would not leave the senses in her fingers. The slick and sticky liquid would cling to her hands,and much to her dismay, they didn't make water hot enough to make her clean.
Ichiru rushed into the girls' bathroom, determined to keep Yori from removing her skin.
"Relax!" he yelled, pulling her soap-free hands from under the near boiling stream.
"No! I can't! They're still soiled!" she screamed back at him, weakly trying to shove him off.
"Why you?!" Ichiru growled. "Why does it have to be you?!" he cradled her red palms against his face.
Life was much too cruel to him. He knew he would soon get his wish if he could succeed with his current assignment, but impatience was getting the better of him.
"I don't want to be this way." Yori sobbed quietly.
She was being selfish, it made Ichiru want to shake some sense into her, but he refrained. He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her cut hand between his cheek and shoulder as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.
"Trust me. If I could I would gladly take it away from you and keep it to myself. It would never bother you again." he sighed wistfully.
Yori wondered what was so great about his desire, but felt for him anyways, as she knew how it was to see someone else be granted what you want most.
"I believe you." she placed her free hand on his shoulder. They stood in the same position for a while, letting the heat from the faucet water fog up the mirrors until it ran cold.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Zero didn't know what to make of the situation. On one hand, Ruka and Rima were vampires of a noble class, level B's, and should have been able to handle the problem. On the other, he supposed they were girls, and suddenly seeing a gigantic rat with wings pop up out of nowhere would be a surprise that would merit some amount of panic. He couldn't believe how typically human they were acting, irritation thoroughly setting in.
"Leave it! Out of the room." Kaien instructed to them.
"A bat, seriously?" Zero asked in a flat tone, cocking his mouth to the side. Ruka glared at him from across the hall.
"You wouldn't be saying that if you didn't know how the heck it got in. We didn't open windows or anything."
The hunter rolled his eyes as Kaname captured the flying creature, crushing it in his palm. His eyes lit up as it burst, turning into blood that dripped all over his hand and onto the carpet. He frowned at the mess before turning to exit the room.
"How uncool." Rima muttered in her nightdress, taking a stick of pocky from Shiki's box. They both wore the same bored expression again, it creeped Zero out.
"My apologies for the mess in your room ladies," Kaname looked to both of the girls in turn. "You're more than welcome to accommodate yourselves in my room until it's clean."
It was easy to understand why the pureblood would make that offer. A strange scent emanated from the blood, a faint whiff of the amber and sandalwood, but it was tinged with an unpleasant rotting reminiscent to a decaying forest. It smelled stale. Zero forced himself to concentrate on something else to keep from dropping to his knees again.
As if just now realizing what he said, Ruka's eyes widened in surprise.
"Thank you Kaname-sama." she said breathlessly, cheeks reddening.
"Of course, there's only one bed, but it's large enough for two if you don't mind sharing." he managed with a small smile.
Her face turned scarlet then. The rest of the night class kept uncomfortably still, save for Kaname, who disappeared into his room. He dipped his hand into the bowl of water, wiping away all of the blood on his right hand with the damp cloth he had been using on Zero earlier, turning it and the water a cloudy scarlet. Collecting it and the perspiring glass goblet of water in one hand, he carried them out into the hall, where everyone continued to gape at him but Kaien, who was casually trying to get information out of Rima, and Zero, who looked at him questioningly with a raised eyebrow. The faint flush on the pureblood's cheeks only added to the misconception, but only the hunter seemed to know that it was from drinking, not embarrassment.
"Yes?" Kaname asked, mirroring his expression. "Get your things, we'll be moving down into the sitting room." he flicked Zero's nose with a finger as he walked past, heading for the kitchen.
Everyone sobered instantly, save for Zero, who still was drunk. He rubbed at his nose, the scent of the pureblood's skin lingering, dulling the smell of stale blood. The thought made him relax considerably.
Ruka's scarlet turned puce as she moved to gather a few of her articles from her room and escaped into Kaname's. Aidou watched the pureblood's retreating back, eying the sweaty glass in his hands before glancing over to the hunter, who followed after Ruka to get his clothes. His complexion was normal and the small scrape on his cheek had healed without a trace. The blond narrowed his eyes in thought as he skimmed an icy thumb along his own cheek, where his earlier punishment was still healing. Kain snapped his fingers next to the blond, fire appearing on the end of his own thumb.
"Oi, don't do that so close to me." Aidou warned, giving the flame a reproachful look.
"Sorry." the pyro muttered as he extinguished it. "When's dinner?" he yawned, running his fingers through his hair.
"Good question, Chairman?"
"The maids should be midway through cooking right now." he capped his pen, folded the piece of paper that he had been taking notes on and slipped them into his pocket.
Zero reappeared in that second, dressed but leaving the front of his uniform undone. He passed through the throng of vampires to go downstairs.
"Ah, Zero-kun. I've been meaning to ask, do you have my notepad? I've been running out of post its."
"Un," he paused, digging through his pockets, rattling the tin of blood tablets before fishing out the small square of papers to toss to Kaien.
"Say, Kiryuu,"
The hunter turned to regard Aidou with surprise, waiting.
"Would you like to join us for dinner?" he asked hesitantly.
Conversations stopped and heads turned to stare at him, most expressions in disbelief.
"Oh! That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Ichijou lit up, always friendly.
Zero's gaze turned suspicious, flitting over Takuma for a fraction of a second before lingering on Aidou's uncomfortable stance. His eyes narrowed, less trusting of the icy aristocrat than the nonchalant one.
"Not hungry, thanks." he muttered before descending the staircase.
"What are you up to?" Kain asked, his interest peaking.
"That wasn't an excuse." Aidou trailed off under his breath.
"Why does that matter? We should probably be practicing for *Uzumaki Drop."
"You guys have already practiced enough! This time Tsukiko-chan and I are going to win the pair tournament." Ichijou wagered.
Zero had to get out of there as soon as he could. The last thing he wanted to do was become used to living with vampires. Once the killer was found, he would go out into town to try to find a loft to live in when he finally let himself go through the grieving process. He honestly couldn't picture going back to school, since the incident would make him weary of the academy for the rest of his life, but living as a hunter didn't require as much schooling as it did common sense, guts, and physical aptitude, all of which he had, not to mention intelligence. He would be just fine if he didn't attend his last two years of school.
Continuing on as a hunter... Zero wondered if he would ever cross paths with Kaname after he went to live on his own. What would he do once this was all over? He was concerned about the pureblood's sanity, remembering the cuts on his wrists. That and taking care of him, he guessed that's what it was, would probably wear him down soon. Kaname was a man, not a machine. Maybe Zero would return the favor and look after him for a while. Just to repay him for... caring. The thought sent an awkward, yet pleasant flutter through his chest.
Upon reaching the bottom of the landing, Zero spotted Kaname stretched out on one of the couches. He lay on his back, right wrist across his eyes, left dangling straight off of the furniture. His lips were parted, jaw slack. Sleeping perhaps? The pale flesh of his neck was a exposed, and unprotected. The hunter wet his lips as his eyes glided over the pureblood's form. The front of his uniform was undone like Zero's, hanging open to show off a little skin, a soft pink nipple peeking out from behind the low lapel. He studied how Kaname's abdomen dipped with each soft breath, built, but not as much as his own, no happy trailing below his navel. His pants were low past his hips, showing off the sharp angle of his hip bones and the cuts in his pelvis. The pureblood's long legs were bent at against the armrest, one practically falling off. He looked like a model in an alluring pose...
Zero felt smug for some reason.
"Idiot apprentice,"
"Hai!" he jumped in spite of himself when Touga clapped a hand on his shoulder. The older man gave him a searching look before steering them into a large game room where Kaien was waiting, looking out into the lightening distance through lattice windows. With a sigh Touga returned to a chair off to the side where his rifle sat disassembled. Several cloths, some cleaning solution and a Walther P twenty-two littered the low coffee table. He never had allowed himself to be put in a uncompromisable situation since he lost his eye...
"You wanted to see me, Chairman?"
"Yes," he turned, reaching for a piece of parchment with a wax seal in his coat pocket. "You have orders."
Zero's eyes thinned.
"Why can't sensei do it? I'm in the middle of a crisis and-"
"Enough." Yagari growled, although it didn't have much bite to it. "I'm actually stationed here, you just happen to attend the academy. They're going to send you on a mission regardless what's happening in your life unless you're dead or physically unable."
He didn't put up a fight, knowing that sensei was right. Grudgingly he palmed the parchment and peeled the paper back from the seal. A photo of a young girl with blond hair stared up at him expectantly, showing off her new lip piercing, a single ring in the bottom right-hand corner of her mouth, left from Zero's perspective. He didn't note her eye color, as they would be glowing red by the time he got there. Next to the picture was a short column of information, her name, location, and any other information that might have led to her extermination.
"Simple enough."
"When you two get back, we'll visit the infirmary."
"'You two?'" he quirked a brow.
"Yes, us two." Kaname said from the doorway, arms raised so his elbows could rest against the frame as he leaned in. His front was still undone, teasing the hunter's senses.
He looked tired, and since Zero had been preoccupying his bed for the over two thirds of the last thirty-six hours, he probably hadn't gotten any sleep. That coupled with the stress from Yuuki's death, the thirst for justice, and Ruka and Rima staying temporarily in his bedchamber, would mean that he wasn't going rest for a while. He tried to contemplate that as his stare fixated on the curve of Kaname's narrow hips.
"He won't mind." the pureblood smirked, catching him in the middle of ogling.
Zero stalked towards him with a frown.
"Move."
"It's because I am thinking about how you feel." Kaien chided gently. "If you were to have an attack or another fainting episode from stress-"
"MOVE." Zero snarled through clenched teeth. "Kuran will stress more than help, thanks."
Kaname held his ground, not trying to hide the way his hungry eyes skimmed the hunter's abs and chest, resting on his mouth, which Zero licked self-consciously.
"You missed a spot."
The whisper was so low he had to strain to catch what the pureblood said.
"But I could help you," he continued in a normal tone before moving aside to let Zero pass.
The hunter's eyes went wide as his brows furrowed, staring at Kaname like he had lost his mind. He fought the urge to turn and see if the other adults took notice of what was transpiring, afraid that doing so would call attention to it if it hadn't. Kaname, in return, gauged his reaction to the teasing, trying to keep from laughing hysterically at the priceless look on Kiryuu's face.
"You were eager to go with him earlier. Make up your mind, pain in the ass."
Leaving the room, Zero could hear the clicking of metal into place as Yagari reassembled his shotgun, also the silence that represented the Chairman's agreement with the statement. Maybe not the last part, not from him, but the hunter was tired of being a burden, on Yagari sensei, on the Hunter's Association, on the Chairman himself, on... Yuuki when she was alive, and now on Kaname.
The pureblood and his perfect facades, not quite letting others know what he was feeling, Zero wished he could control his emotions and thoughts like that. Would sensei not have lost his eye if he could control his impulse to defend someone he thought was innocent, but knew was bad? Would Ichiru have sided with Shizuka if he could better hide his thrill from progress as an apprentice hunter? Maybe, if he had, then Ichiru wouldn't have thought of himself as a weakling and resorted to taking comfort in that bitch.
Zero exited onto the lawn, not wanting to commit to any more formalities, and jumped the fence. He heard the soft crunch of grass behind him as Kaname followed. He made no attempt to acknowledge his presence as he continued with his thoughts.
Maybe, if he could control his desire to feed, Yuuki wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself again and again to him, whittling down her health until she couldn't even run away from an attacker.
But if none of that ever happened, he might not have as close of a relationship with Yagari sensei as he now had. Ichiru might have died if he hadn't felt so inferior to do something about it, becoming that pureblood's pet as she healed him. He might not have ever met Yuuki. He wouldn't have had any of those relationships if he had kept a mask over his emotions...
No, no! What the hell was he thinking? People were so annoyed by him, pitied him so that they lost something precious! His parent's lives, Yuuki's, sensei's depth perception? He'd even hurt Kaien, his foster father with Yuuki's death. Did he have any other way of forming bonds with people other than causing tragedies to befall them both? Was he such a pitiful wretch that he had to take from others in order to hold them close? He was better off sealing his emotions away forever beneath a glass mask, letting them hurt him so he could allow those he treasured to live in peace.
There, in the center of his drowning despair, was a tender feeling upon the edges of his sadness. The feeling was very similar to one he refused to put a name to, as he had no idea how to recognize it. It's soft warmth caressed his heart as a heavy hand placed its comfortable weight on his shoulder. This was perhaps the one time in which, when he wanted to purposefully reveal his emotions in a rebuff to the pureblood, the glass mask he so sought had slipped into place. He would blame it on that, and the haywire feelings that told him that there was no desire to pull away from the comfort.
How could a single hand and a simple gesture hold so much significance?
Zero didn't even realize that he had jumped the last gate that separated the academy grounds and the outside world. It reminded him that when he would approach town within the hour, it would be much more alive and unaffected by the passing of one small girl, who's existence was all but. The way the other vampires at the dorms acted would be nothing compared to that. The world stopped for no one, he realized with chagrin, and it would continue to go on with or without her. He hadn't contemplated that far until just then.
It was like that final string of hope, that last shred of reason had been obliterated.
He wasn't the only one to feel that way.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
The trip to town was laden with a thick silence between hunter and vampire. Though Zero was well rested, he still felt a shadow of sleeplessness in the back of his mind. Kaname kept on with a far away shadow in his eyes, like he was concentrating on something that wasn't there. He most likely was, the hunter deduced, probably searching for the target so they could return to the academy.
"I'm going to go for a coffee." Kaname muttered as they entered town. Zero shrugged, only to let the pureblood know that he heard him, not in much of a talking mood.
Kaname disappeared into a familiar little cafe that Yuuki had once dragged him to long ago. Zero silently resolved to avoid that place like the plague as he rushed past, tendrils of sadness coiling around his heart. He had a mission to focus on rather than the threatening anxiety attack.
The streets were crowded for an early weekend morning. There was an underlying note of tension in the melodious cacophony of shoppers and families, though no one seemed to notice. They were blissfully unaware of the danger lurking in the shadows, and instead of envying their oblivious lack of knowledge, Zero pitied them.
As he wandered deeper into the town, it began to open up, widening into separate districts. The hunter wondered briefly if he should check the housing district or the abandoned properties first. He distinctly remembered that the Aidou clan owned one of the abandoned buildings. The memory of the last soiree he had to monitor sent a shiver up his spine. He had to watch Kaname make nice to the girls to please their parents, from Aidou's sister to that pureblood female with her self-satisfied ways...
A drop of jealousy tainted the already dark memory.
"See you tomorrow!" a girl called as she ran out of a nearby store, the ringing bell from the shop masked her hurrying footsteps.
"Waah!"
Something solid collided with the hunter, sending him and the thing crashing to the ground. Zero rubbed his ear, deafened by the shout. He was disoriented for a moment, dizzily trying to sit up, gripping whatever he could to support himself.
"IIYA! Hentai!"
"Will you stop screaming!!!" he yelled at the girl, letting go of her butt, which he accidentally grabbed.
The people that dotted the streets had all stopped to stare and exchange whispers. Zero moved her off of him and stood, twisting left then right to crack his back before extending a hand downward to help her up. She scrambled to pick up her pods of makeup that had rolled all over the cobblestones, ignoring the offer. Why were women so damn difficult? She ran into him, but was the one huffing with irritation like the situation had been the opposite. With a heavy sigh he bent down to help her collect her things.
"Are you alright?" he asked, staring into the back of her blond head.
"I guess, but you're gonna have to-" she stopped in mid sentence when she turned to look at him. Her mouth fell open as she examined the hunter, surprise becoming a smirk. "Walk me home." she finished, tonguing her lip piercing.
Something was off about the girl. Zero was sure that she was the one that the Hunter's Association had assigned him to hunt, but she didn't give off any sort of aura. He plastered on a small smile that he hoped didn't look fake, and decided to take a shot in the dark.
"Do you have a twin?"
Being a twin himself, it wasn't as crazy of a thing to ask.
The girl's smirk widened as she checked him out again, eyes lingering on his tattoo.
"Oooh, so you're like that huh?" she lifted her brows suggestively. "Sorry sweetie, I don't, but I'm all you need, I assure you."
She tugged on his wrist, pulling him along with her to the abandoned district. That answered his question as to where he would check first. Though now that he was with the girl he was supposed to hunt, and saw that she was seemingly unaffected, he was hesitant about fulfilling his duty. Then again, making sure she was human would be an easy task. Bloody Rose didn't harm humans. If he put the barrel to her head and pulled the trigger, either nothing would happen, or he would complete his mission.
With his free hand, Zero silently reached into his jacket for the gun, ignoring the girl's annoying tittering questions about whether he came around often or not. He brought it up and pulled the trigger, the noise of the shot echoing loudly in the empty district. The blond flinched and froze, slowly turning to look at him, fear evident in her wide green eyes.
So she was human, eh?
"I thought someone was following us." he muttered in apology. The girl said nothing, smirk returning as she eyed his weapon.
"Oh no, you're perfect." she amended, turning to drag him deeper into the solitude.
Zero held his ground, not moving an inch when she tried to tug on his wrist. He pulled away, uncomfortable with her icy touch.
"Look, it's dangerous around here, I'll take you home where you belong."
"This is where I belong." she muttered. "Are you trying to say you aren't interested in me?!"
The question caught him off guard for a moment as he took a second to look at her. Big breasts, wide hips, a thin waist, curvy in all the right places and so not his type. The thought of Yuuki brought relief to his mind, though he wanted more height.
"I'm not interested in anyone." he replied, not trying to hurt her feelings. An unbidden image of Kaname sprawled along the sofa came to mind, tinging his cheeks pink.
"I see..." her voice shook, making Zero feel downright awkward.
A silver glint caught his attention. He instinctively backed away as the girl pulled a knife from inside of her shopping bag, throwing the latter aside. She didn't rush to him, however, remaining in her spot in the center of the desolate street. With a quick slash her wrist opened, blood spurting every which way.
This girl was fucking psycho!
"Interested in me now, vampire?!?!"
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
"Coffee, black please."
"Is that all for you?"
"Un."
"Right away." The laconic response didn't deter the brunette waitress. She giggled and walked off, leaving Kaname at his table by himself.
Perhaps the bitter taste would help to sober him up. He tried to tune out her out as she told her friend about him, but was unsuccessful.
"And he just gives off this air of importance, he is beautiful!"
"You don't say..."
He could feel the barista's eyes on him for a fraction of a moment. The two said nothing more for a few minutes until the drink was delivered to Kaname, who handed her a bill that paid for his drink five times over.
"Keep the change." he mustered a polite smile before waving her off. He drained the wide cup, the scalding liquid burning some sense back into him.
Kaname stared out of the window, wondering if he should look for Kiryuu. Last night he couldn't even smell blood without having an anxiety attack. He wasn't sure if the hunter could carry out his duties, as resilience wasn't his most prominent trait at the moment.
With a sigh he brought his fingers up to rub a temple, trying to fend off the migraine growing behind it. Worrying would do no good, if Zero needed help, he would know. Then he could say that the burden was for the better. He wanted to end the constant guilt gnawing away at his insides.
When the time came, would Kaname be able to tell the hunter the truth? Would he reveal the reality of the situation, or cloak him in the continuity of sweet lies? He didn't want to destroy the mind of someone so fragile...
The Chairman said that he found something interesting in the infirmary, which hadn't been touched since the other night. It was something he would worry about later. There couldn't have been anything interesting in that room to escape his notice. After carrying Zero to his room, he had come back once more with Kaien to find that Yuuki's body wasn't there, which wasn't that big of a deal, since vampires burst into shards upon death. Even if she hadn't been Awakened, no body, nobody could be blamed from lack of adequate proof in that room, which would be the main focus for clues in the investigation. He had to admit that it was perfect...
A bolt of shock shot through his heart in that instant.
Something had caught Zero off guard.
Kaname left the cafe without hesitation.
"Strange. Cute, but strange." the waitress said dreamily to the barista as she stared after the pureblood's retreating form.
"Indeed." she agreed with a grin.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Zero's head snapped up, he was surrounded on all sides from above. Left and right along the rooftops, figures appeared at their edges. They were in shadow, mere silhouettes against the azure sky.
"Looks like he was wrong about Kaname-sama. We all came for nothing..." one woman hissed.
Vampires.
This time, they were real. He could sense that none of them were ex-humans, so they weren't on the extermination list.
"I told you that the girl would be useless, we should have just gone with plan A." she continued.
A hesitant murmur of agreements and differing opinions erupted. They were too far away from the main shopping district to he heard. The sound of Zero's shot didn't even send anyone running. He couldn't legally shoot them without starting a war, they both knew that. If he weren't a part of the Hunter's Association that wouldn't matter, but the fact that he was made him bound by the laws between them. He was trapped.
On a single archway between buildings, a lone shadow stood, partially eclipsing the morning sun. All conversation ceased as his booming voice echoed throughout the district in a condescending manner.
"Kiryuu, Zero, you have neglected to make an appearance before the Council of Elders, therefore, your trial shall be held here."
Shit, shitshitshitshitshit! He was not in a good situation. If he tried to escape he would be torn down by their powers, or worse, their fangs. His grip on Bloody Rose tightened, fingers practically melding into the steel. The only way he could get out of this alive would be if he were to kill all of them, leaving no witnesses, no evidence. Not one of them could escape or else the entire vampire race would be after him. His gun couldn't hold enough bullets to down many.
"You have been accused of committing the most heinous crime in vampire society - murdering a pure blooded vampire. The pureblood in question is Hio, Shuzuka-sama."
Zero's thoughts were racing. An Aidou property was nearby, and if he could escape their sight for a fraction of a second, he could split them up into more manageable numbers. But then he had to worry about the girl. She was a human, but taking her with him would only slow him down, not to mention that it was most likely she was working with them. Let her find her own way out. Then again, he could use her. If one of the vampires attacked her, he would have his reason to shoot.
"The punishment for the crime, is death. However, a pureblood came to your defense, Kuran, Kaname-sama."
The vampires on the sidelines stilled in disapproval. The hunter's brows shot up in surprise at the last bit of information. Kuran had opposed the entire council for his sake? A giddy little flutter brushed against his insides, but doing nothing for the knot of anticipation in his chest.
"Kuran Kaname-sama requested that your life be placed under his jurisdiction, to which the Council of Elders have made a unanimous decision. Today, we have assembled to deliver that decision of your fate:"
Their eyes lit up in neon crimson.
"EXECUTION!"
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
A/N:
(Fun Note)
*Uzumaki Drop - A game played by noble vampires that is very similar to chess, only a bit more ambiguous when it comes to taking different pieces. It's played on a 64 sq. ft. marble chess board (1 sq. ft. for every square) in the Moon Dorms. Instead of traditional chess pieces, the aristocrats use their special powers to create their own pieces that actually look like members of the night class, even Yuuki (upon Kaname's request) and Zero, which they do because they can't stand him.
When the pieces move, they actually walk across the board to their places or to confront one another and fight to occupy the space. (Drop) The outcome is decided from the elemental face off and whoever the pieces might represent.
Kaname isn't allowed to play because he pwned everyone so badly at one point nobody wanted to go against him again, but he likes to spectate. He sits off to the side of the board as a judge.
Some people like Ichijou (wind [in this fic]) and Rima (electricity) can't create pieces on their own, so they rely on team battles to mix their powers with an alley's (swirl them together, Uzumaki) who can form physical figures with their powers, i.e. Tsukiko (water [in this fic]) Shiki (blood control) to be able to participate and create stronger, more accurate looking figures and more fluid movements.
People like Tsukiko, Shiki and Kain can play single rounds since they can manifest physical game pieces.
Aidou, since he has a stiff ice element, can play singles. He can't do it well, so he prefers to team up with Kain who can make his pieces move smoothly and shape them.
People like Ruka and Sieren can't play, since their powers involve mind control and physical strength. They watch.
If anyone is interested, I might write a fic on Uzumaki Drop. ^^
About the opening scene -
Um, yeah, Ichiru (and Yori) gets a little on the melodramatic side. XD You would too if you understood the situation. I was rolling my eyes as I wrote half the scene. It's cliche, but there's different reasoning. I hope you didn't think it was too corny. XDD
Reviews: I would love you forever.