~Before I Wake~

Author:
Danaeyl Panthernopaeus.

Author's Note:
Slight crossover. It was about the only way I could make it happen and it was only thing that came to me.

Day Five – Wednesday.

I didn't get any more sleep the previous night. At the moment, I was scared to sleep and my worry for Takuma's health wasn't helping. I sat beside his bed and listening to his laboured breathing. Senri hovered behind me, anxiously awaiting the blond's awakening. The others were in their rooms but from the amount of movement, it would appear none of them were sleeping, either. I had no doubt that the others were just as scared as I was. Who was next?

Takuma hadn't done anything that would constitute having his tongue ripped out as punishment. I had asked Zero to stay with Yuuki and for neither of them to be alone, even if it was a trip to the bathroom. I wasn't going to take anymore chances. I had given the same orders to my inner circle and the other vampires. No-one had any idea what Shikyo or Koori was capable of. I still didn't know which of them were responsible for Takuma's suffering.

We hadn't been able to find his tongue and I had searched my room and office. It was nice to know that the horror of what had happened was the reason none of others went into a bloodlust. I was thankful for that small miracle. Shikyo appeared to still be in my room as I hadn't heard a scream yet. Koori wasn't around, either so I was going to assume that removing Takuma's tongue by force was enough for them for one night.

I glanced at Senri. The guy looked as though he had been dragged through a hedge backwards and was hit by a truck. He really looked worse than Takuma. I got to my feet. "I'm going to check on the others. Can you watch over Takuma until I return?"

Senri nodded and I left the room. I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was wrong. Someone was doing something. As long as it wasn't Aidou or Ruka. Those two were probably crazy enough to try and conjure Shikyo and banish her. Now why didn't I think of that before? Probably because I don't know what's possessing Shikyo or why Koori was still around. Damn it! Where did I know her from? That was driving me more batty than thinking that a doll was attacking everyone I held dear.

Aidou and Ruka weren't doing anything suspicious, which was a good thing. The others were talking quietly to their roommates, trying to comfort the other. Maybe this crisis would bring us all closer together. I checked my room and saw Shikyo standing beside my chess board. I narrowed my eyes and stepped closer, seeing that another of my pawns had been removed from the game. No-one had been hurt though. How could I have lost another player?

"This old man…"

Oh god no.

"…he played two…"

What could she possible do this time? I spun around, my eyes scanning my room. Koori wasn't anywhere to be seen but she could be heard as though she was standing right next to me. Who was she after this time? No-one had done anything to her or Shikyo. Sure, Takuma might have called Shikyo freaky looking and very creepy but that was to be expected.

"Kaname-sama?" Ruka asked as she knocked on the door.

What the hell did I tell them? I told them not to leaving their roommate alone! "Ruka, return to your room. I told you not to be alone or leave your roommate on their own."

"…he played knick-knack…"

"I need to speak to you, Kaname-sama and Rima is with Shiki."

What in the world could we possibly have to talk about? I couldn't let Ruka into my room; not while Koori was about to hurt someone. I flinched slightly. What was going on? That was the sound of glass cracking when it was under a lot of strain. The high-pitch of the noise was almost deafening. "Ruka, get Rima and return to your room. Whatever you need to speak to me about can wait until later."

"Kaname-sama! Your doll was in my bed!"

I looked down at the chess board and saw that Shikyo was missing. Did that mean that Ruka was the next victim? Well, it was time to put my pawn back into play. "Ruka, leave Shikyo by my door and return to your room with Rima, please."

I could sense Ruka's hesitation but for her sake, I hoped that she would listen and do as she was told. "As you wish, Kaname-sama."

I heard her retreating footsteps and looked around my room. "You didn't win this time, Koori or Shikyo or whoever you are." I sighed and sat down on the sofa.

"…and ran her through."

There was a piercing, shattering sound, a scream and I got to my feet and ran out of the room. I went to the room that Ruka shared with Rima. Noble blood scented the dorm heavily again. Rima was fine but Ruka had several, large shards of glass impaling her body, in major veins and arteries. Shikyo sat on the bedside chest, smiling motionlessly at everyone that was in the room. And everyone in the room, unfortunately, consisted of Rima, Ruka, Aidou and Kain.

I stepped over to Ruka and looked at the glass. Her head had almost been decapitated, with the two shards on either side of her throat, cutting through the internal and external jugular. The right and left innominate, the axillaries, superior and inferior vena cava, the basilic, the brachial, the femoral, posterior and anterior tibial were also punctured. Needless to say, Ruka, sadly, looked like a voo-doo doll. If we removed the glass, she would bleed out in seconds and it would probably take her weeks to heal, if not months.

Her eyelids fluttered and her mouth opened and closed. There was the possibility of taking her to the hospital but that would call unwanted attention to the school and I don't think the Headmaster would appreciate that, somehow. I looked up at the other three. "We're going to be needing bed sheets and a lot of them." The others nodded and ran from the room. They returned seconds later and waited for the next command. "When I remove the glass, we're going to have to apply a lot of pressure to the wounds in the hopes they won't bleed as much."

They nodded robotically. Rima and Kain knelt opposite of me and Aidou was beside me. I looked at Rima, who was taking shaky breaths to calm herself. I lowered my eyes to the shards and with as much care as possible in this sort of situation, I removed the two that were in Ruka's neck. Blood spurted up from the wounds and some gurgled up her throat as she tried to get the energy to scream. Rima wrapped the sheet around Ruka's neck and applied pressure. I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain that Ruka was going through. It made me question myself – am I really doing the right thing?

Making sure the others couldn't sense my nervousness, I leaned over Ruka's body and began removing the on her left side as quickly as possible. Her body twitched and the crimson liquid flowed freely until Kain covered them. God only knew what kind of damage the glass would've done to her nerves. With her left side taken care of, I looked at the two shards that were in the centre. The lower one, the one in the inferior vena cava would've stopped the blood to her lower body. I removed the shard that was lodged in her chest and Aidou was prepared.

I took a deep breath and gripped the shard that was in the inferior vena cava. I snatched my hand away suddenly as Ruka let out a scream. The blood that had been gathering in her throat exploded onto her face. I knew that it was going to agonizing to remove that piece; the tip of it was scratching along one of her vertebrae. My hand was shaking during to the adrenaline and because of that, every time I touched the glass, it would cause vibrations through the shard and onto her spine. I looked at her bloodied face and saw the tears that were falling from her eyes. The more I touched the shard, the more I etched on the bone. The feel of it was churning my stomach and making bile rise.

Without hesitation, Kain gripped the shard and removed it. Ruka's hand nearly crushed mine as she reached for something to hold onto. I looked at Kain, who couldn't meet my eyes. He probably thought that I was annoyed at him for acting so brazen. I wasn't. It was the total opposite. If he hadn't been able to do it, we could've easily been there all night. Ruka's grasp relaxed and with ease, I removed the remaining glass from her body. We picked her up and placed her on the bed.

Kain offered to look after her and Rima, while Aidou actually offered to clean up the mess that was made from the breaking of the window. I nodded at them and picked up Shikyo. Ruka's congealed blood on my hands made the material of doll's dress stick to it and stain. I didn't care at that moment. I was more worried about which one of my friends was going to be next. Why were they going after my friends? I couldn't remember doing something to someone to make them want to hurt me this way. It wasn't often that I was wrong but I was really hoping I was just a random pick.

Day Five – Thursday.

I laid on the sofa, my arm over my eyes as I got a few minutes of rest. I had asked the Chairman to stop classes for the Night Class and he agreed to it, upon explanation of what had happened to two of the Nobles. He also offered to help me find out why I was sent a doll or how the delivery company got it to me without alerting anyone to their presence. I hadn't even thought of that. I knew it was weird for someone to deliver something that late at night but I didn't stop to think about them getting to the school without one of the prefects seeing them.

I was eagerly awaiting Seiren's return with any information of what was happening, how it was happening and why it was happening. I'm a damn pureblood and I was letting some creepy girl and her toy get to me like this? I don't think so. The less I tried to think about it the more it came to my mind. I couldn't remove the image of Ruka, either. Laying there, all those shards in her body. The blood. There was so much blood. It scared me to think of how much she lost as I was trying to save her. She was slightly more stable but it was taking a while for her veins and arteries to reattach to each other. She was in a coma.

I removed my arm and stared up at the ceiling. Who was going to be next? I was petrified to know what was going to the next victim. There were so many to choose from, still. Koori was one twisted little girl. Some of the methods she came up with sounded like something the Spanish Inquisition would be proud of and I couldn't believe I just gave her credit for attacking the people I was slowly beginning to call my 'friends'. I sat up and stared at the chess board.

I checked the other pieces and saw that my queen had been moved. She wasn't put in any sort of danger and in fact, she was being protected from all angles. I think it was safe to say that Koori and Shikyo weren't planning on doing anything to her. It stung to lose two of my pawns, though. I would have to make up for those mistakes. I stood abruptly and stared out the window as a murder of black birds flew past the window. That was a little eerie.

I stepped closer to the window and frowned as I looked out. Was that Kain and Aidou? What were they doing? I ordered them not to leave the dorm. I knew it would feel as though they were suffocating but that was the price one had to pay for protection. I looked back at the sofa and saw that Shikyo was missing. My attention was drawn to the path that Kain and Aidou were walking. Koori stood there, grinning up at me, Shikyo in her hand. She flickered in and out for a few seconds before she disappeared.

My heart thumped in my chest as I ran out of the dorm. For once, why couldn't they listen to my orders? I expected nothing less from Aidou but on the other hand, Kain was his cousin. Did they really think I wouldn't notice they were missing? What was so damned important they had to break the rules and go wandering around the forest in the middle of the night? Once outside, an owl hooted noisily before it also took flight. Small critters scampered around, trying to find some shelter from the evil and I could sense it something shocking.

The other times Koori had appeared, there was no aura around, except that of an anguished soul. It seemed that whatever was possessing her to do these things and keeping her from going to the light was becoming more and more powerful. I ran towards Aidou and Kain, ignoring the splintering shriek that was coming from somewhere very close by. I called out to the Nobles and they paused, looking over their shoulders. Something else caught Kain's eye and he turned, walking up to one of the trees and picking up Shikyo. He brushed off her dress.

"This old man…"

Oh, no. It was starting and I wasn't going to lose someone else. "Get back to the dorm, now," I ordered, rather calmly too. I impressed myself.

"…he played three…"

Aidou and Kain nodded. They apparently couldn't hear the ghostly singing. As they walked past me, Kain handed Shikyo to me and the splintering got louder. Seeing as Kain saw her, did that mean that he was going to be next? I followed them, my eyes darting around to make sure that Koori didn't try to do something.

"…he played knick-knack…"

She was going to try something. I picked up my pace so I was beside Kain and Aidou was on his other side. I wasn't going to take anymore chances. I looked up as there were screeches from the black birds that had drawn my attention to Aidou and Kain before. In a swarm they descended on us. I released my aura and they scattered like cockroaches when a light was turned on. The only thing that was left of them was the few feathers that were floating to the earth.

"…and took out his knees…"

"Akatsuki!" Aidou called out as he was pushed to the side. How had we gotten separated?

I dropped Shikyo and removed Kain from the path of the falling tree. It crashed down behind us and I held back a flinch. That would've no doubt woken the entire Day Class. My eyes flashed and the tree turned into dust. That was too easy. Even Kain could've gotten out of the way of that tree. What else was Koori planning on doing?

"Thank you, Kaname-sama." I inclined my head at the fire-starter to let him know I heard.

"Are you both okay?" Aidou asked, looking us over. We nodded and continued on our way to the dorm.

Before entering, I looked over my shoulder. Koori was standing there, Shikyo in her hand as she scowled at me. If she had grown up, she would've been a beautiful girl. Her scowl turned into a smile and she disappeared. My head snapped up and I ran into the dorm, looking around for Kain. I didn't know what she was going to do but whatever it was, it had something to do with the most used joint in the human body and I couldn't let Kain lose his knees.

I ran up the stairs and into the room the cousins shared. I made it in time to see Kain's bed shatter and for two pieces of large oak to go through the fire starter's knees. My eyes widened and my mouth went slack. I never would've thought to do it that way. It was strange and the way it was done made it look like a freak accident. It wasn't completely improbable for it to have happened but it seemed impossible. I went over to Kain and looked at the wood.

Why me? What the hell did I ever do to Koori to make her want to hurt my friends? I gripped one of the stakes and pulled it out. Noble blood filled the air again and it was a scent I was getting too accustomed to. Almost to the point where I wasn't certain if I could go another day without smelling the sweet scent of blood throughout the dorm. I looked down at Kain's face. He was in shock, staring at the ceiling and his mouth forming words but there wasn't any sound.

I looked up and stepped back. What the hell is Shizuka doing here? And why is she holding Shikyo? I glanced back at Kain and his eyes were closed. His breathing was shallow and I quickly removed the other stake that was in his knee. It was going to take months for his body to repair the practically missing bones. I shook my head. I had to find a way of stopping this before someone I really cared about was on the receiving end of Koori's wrath.

After Aidou and I had done the best we could to stop the bleeding I went to my room and threw myself on the bed, closing my eyes. Shikyo was on the bedside chest but I didn't care. I fell into a deep slumber and I could care less if a bomb went off and killed everyone. I was too exhausted. I dreamt about Zero and Yuuki. The two people I was trying my hardest to protect. Yuuki was talking to Koori and I was yelling at her to stop it but my voice left me. Zero was standing to the side, in front of a broken window with Shizuka behind him, embracing him.

In the middle of the destroyed room my inner circle hung from the ceiling. Their blood trickled to the floor and I tilted my head. What the hell was going on? On the floor was Shikyo. She stood there. Her stained dress shimmered in the full moon's light. She smiled at me and I stepped closer to her. I crouched down and stared into her cold, dead eyes. I frowned and spun around.

I was in a street. At least a decade ago because that street no longer existed. There was me, standing in front of a store that sold porcelain dolls. All of them stared back at me with their unblinking eyes. Hikari's Dolls. I remembered that place. It was, once upon a time, the best place to get whatever doll you wanted. If they didn't have in, they would make it. Their artwork was astounding. Everything they made was amazing. Their attention to detail was unrivalled. And in the shop was Shikyo before she was changed. Her auburn hair gleamed in the afternoon sun and her gray eyes sparkled happily.

I stepped closer to the window and studied her. How had her hair become black and her eyes blue? I watched as a younger version of me went into the store and spoke with the owner. No, it wasn't the owner. It was the owner's 'angel'. Apparently the owner was a little insane and I didn't know that at the time. His gold eyes were as dead as Shikyo's, which seemed a little upsetting. He was the first guy I ever thought of as enchantingly beautiful. And when I think about it now, he's still only the first guy. Zero's handsome and the other vampires are very good looking. But for some reason, that guy's description was just enchantingly beautiful.

Little me pointed out Shikyo and he stepped around the counter and picked up the doll, handing it to me. His eyes flashed with mischief and for some reason that unnerved me. "Take good care of her and treat her like a queen. Don't you know that dolls have a life of their own?"

"I intend to give her as a gift," I said as I gently took her from his hands. "She looks identical to the girl I'll be handing her over to."

A smile crossed the 'angel's' lips. "Shikyo is different from other dolls, Kaname-kun."

My head snapped up. How did he know my name? "How do you know my name?"

The man looked me over and then looked at where I was standing, a smirk curving up the corners of his mouth. "Monsters have a habit of finding each other. Right, vampire?"

I looked over my shoulder but the small version of me and myself were the only customers. Did he do that when we met for the first time? "How is Shikyo different from other dolls, sir?"

"Call me 'sir' again and I'll snap your neck." He said it as casual as one asking for the time. I was impressed that he could make threats so easily and to a child. He was beautiful but a monster. "Shikyo might look like the little girl you're going to give her to now and to you but everyone views death differently." He put Shikyo in her black, glass coffin and wrapped it with brown paper and tired it with string of the same colour. "The little girl will see her differently. It's strange, though. That you view a little girl as death." He handed the package over. "You'll be her first owner."

"I'm not buying her for me, though."

"You're not buying her – you're taking her. As soon as you hold something it becomes your possession, even if you do pass it on. You own her. And believe me; these dolls have a bad habit of going back to their first owners. You might even view her differently when she appears to you again." He took hold of my chin and tilted my head up. "Your life just got more fucked up. Now piss off. I'm bored with you."

I stepped back and stared at him. "What's your name?"

He snorted as he turned his back to me and rearranged something behind the counter. "Which one? I've many names. Demonic angel. Homicidal angel. Angel from hell. Spawn of Satan. Somehow I got the nickname 'Fluffy'. I'm still trying to figure that one out. My enemy calls me Krad, though."

"Krad…I'll have to remember that so I can punish you for the disrespect you've shown me." I gripped the package tighter and left the store. I looked through the window and Krad stared back with eyes daring me to return when I was older. The nicknames he had didn't scare me but…It didn't matter. That memory explained more about Shikyo and that was what I needed.

I woke up. I was on my back and Shikyo was on my chest. She had changed again and was now as she was when I first got her. Krad wasn't lying – she did find her way back to me and that was a little scary. I sat up and put the doll on the bed, running my hands through my hair. Why name her Shikyo? I looked up when someone walked into my room without knocking. I stared at Zero as he came over to the bed and sat on the edge of it.

"Is something wrong, Zero?"

Zero nodded. "I woke up from my usual nightly nap and saw that little girl again, holding your death dolly. I just wanted to let you know that by accepting that gift, you've managed to brutally hurt three of your inner circle and while I don't give a flying fuck about that, I'm scared that it'll hurt Yuuki or worse, me."

I frowned. Zero was scared of something happening to him? More like he was scared of something happening to him and it not killing him. "I promise nothing will happen to you or Yuuki, Zero. If it was going to it would've happened by now. Koori and Shikyo are just toying with me and I gotta try and hunt down a demonic angel."

"What?" Zero leaned over and pressed his hand to my forehead. "You don't feel warm. What the fuck are you talking about, then? There's no such thing as a demonic angel, Kaname. That's an oxymoron."

"You really think I don't know that?" I sighed and shook my head. "I had a dream –"

"Back up a second, Freud."

I growled. "It was more like a memory, though," I grinded out. "The store owner described himself as a demonic angel when he gave me Shikyo."

"Hikari Dolls, right? Cross tracked them down. Turns out that the owner's son – a fourteen year old boy – killed himself that year and that caused the shop to go out of business. It turns out that the Hikari line is filled with suicides of fourteen year old boys. Makes you wonder what they were going through."

"A demonic angel by the name of Krad." I got to my feet and went to the en suite; Zero following.

"How can you be so certain of that, Kaname?" Zero sat on the chair in the room, watching as I undressed and got the shower going.

"I met him, Krad. He called himself a monster and I get the feeling he's that way because of the Hikari line. If they're anything like…So he's the curse they talk about. Anyway, I need to find him so he can do something about Shikyo. She seems to think I'm her owner, even though I gave up ownership when I handed her to Koori." I stepped into the shower and Zero got to his feet, standing beside the open door.

"So you remember who Koori is now? Seriously, I leave for a day and you've got this mystery wrapped up, huh?"

I could feel Zero's eyes on my body and I got the feeling that once I returned Shikyo to her creator he would want some alone time. "I haven't wrapped it up. I don't know why Koori has attached herself to the doll or how it got back to me. I bought that thing over a decade ago. I also want to know why Koori is going after my friends." I rinsed my hair and body and turned the water off. "What did I do to Koori to make her this vengeful?"

Zero shrugged and stepped to the side. "Maybe you killed a vampire that was her friend or something. The only way you'll find out is if she tells you. And honestly, I don't think she's in a talking mood at the moment."

I finished drying my body and glanced at the hunter. "I know. She's going to have to tell me eventually what I did, though."

Zero nodded and left the bathroom. He stepped back in, his eyes still in the room. "I think now will your time to interrogate her," he said and I sighed.

I wrapped the towel around my waist and left the bathroom, staring at the little girl that was sitting on my bed. She looked up at me and smiled. "Hi, Kuran-sama!" she greeted happily.

"Good evening, Koori-kun." My eyes lowered to her lap, where Shikyo sat. "What brings you here?"

Koori lost her smile and glared at me. "You know exactly why I'm here. You killed my aunt and because of your hideous gift to me, my friends and family were brutally injured."

"Koori-kun, I didn't know that Shi –"

"Yes you did! How does it feel, Kuran? To be helpless when your friends are being injured. To know what's doing the damage but not being able to say anything because you know everyone will think you're insane? It's a horrible and lonely feeling, isn't it? My parents locked me away out of fear. That didn't stop Shikyo, though. The only person that believed me was my aunt. I found out that when she heard of my suicide, she went insane."

My eyes widened. "Hio Shizuka is your aunt?"

"Was my aunt. Until you killed her! She was only misunderstood and her family locks her away, like mine did with me. Shikyo let me out, though. Several times. So I could see what she'd done to my family. She killed Shiro!" Koori got to her feet, shaking Shikyo in front of her. "Because of you, Kuran! Why couldn't you have gotten me a pot plant or something? Why did you have to get me a cursed doll? And what was with your weird note? 'Don't you know that dolls have a life of their own?'."

I frowned slightly. "No, that's what you wrote in your letter to me. It's on my desk. How did you know I was here?"

Koori blinked and took in her surroundings. "Isn't this one of the Kuran mansions?"

"This is a school, Koori-kun."

"How was I meant to know that? I killed myself when I was eight and that was over a decade ago! Shikyo must've gotten lost in transit or something. Either way, you're the reason that my aunt isn't around anymore."

"And your aunt is the reason this boy's family isn't around," I said as I pulled Zero closer. "She even turned him into the thing he hates the most. Wasn't that sweet of her? She then tried to use my sister against me and him. We also then found out –"

"Sister?" Zero interjected.

"Not the time or place, Zero. We also then found out that his brother had been the one that sent your bat-shit crazy aunt over to his house to wipe out the family. He thought that your psycho-freak aunt killed his twin, only to find out that he was alive. So forgive me if I didn't feel too much remorse when I took her life."

Koori stared at me then at Zero. "She really killed your family? Why would she do something like that? She always said that family was what mattered the most. No." She shook her head. "You're lying! Both of you!"

"Just what we need," Zero muttered. "A hysterical ghost that can send a psychotic doll after us. Do something, Kaname."

I thought quickly and the only thing I could think of was something I didn't want to do. "We have to find the demonic angel. He created – or someone he knew seven years ago – the doll. He knew back then what she represented. So by logic he should know how to settle her down."

"Okay." Zero nodded. "That takes care of the freaky ass doll. What about the hysterical, psycho freak of a little girl?"

"You guys do know I can hear you, right?" Koori asked.

"Hush, little girl. The grown ups are talking," I told her. She pouted and sat on my bed, picking up Shikyo and brushing her hair from her face. "Obviously Koori wants to kill me for what I did to her aunt, even though it was the best for the world that she died. So, we hunt down the angel tomorrow and get him to take care of Shikyo, and then we worry about Koori."

"Sounds great. Why tomorrow?"

"It's twelve-thirty at night, Zero and I'm dead tired." I turned to Koori, who gazed at me with her big eyes. "Koori, I'm going to go to sleep now. If you want to hang around, you can. I just ask that you don't hurt any more of my chess pieces as I need them in the future."

Koori tilted her head as she thought. "Okay. Tonight only, though. Later today I go back to harming them so you can continue to feel the pain I've gone through."

"Thank you." I looked at Zero. "I'll collect you when I'm ready to leave. You won't believe this guy. He's scary." Zero nodded and bid each other a goodnight. I went under the covers of my bed, not bothering to change or anything. I was too tired to worry about something like that. Especially with the huge day I had ahead of me.

End Chapter III.

Much thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added to their favourites and alert lists! I hope this chapter was worth the wait and if not, I apologise. I ran into a few bumps, mainly with trying to figure out a way that would be logical for Akatsuki to lose his knees.

Anyway, I hope everyone who has read this far will leave me some love in the beautiful form of a review.

Also, I don't know how you'll all deal with this being a slight crossover but I promise that it won't take from the story anymore than it already has. Oh and yes, the next chapter will be the last.
Oh and please try to ignore all mistakes. I don't have a beta and my eyes deceive me a lot of the time!

Thank you everyone!