Warnings: none
Preview Line: "Because I just don't like the way you treat him. He deserves better," Zero said, his self-confident, egotistical nature shining through.
The Stained Marble
Chapter Eight
Consumed
"What the hell did you do to him?"
Aido stirred. Distant voices roused him from his blissful slumber. The voices seemed urgent and irritated. What was so important?
"Shut up, Zero. This is all your doing." The voice sounded calm but with a dark edge, a familiar edge that sent an instant shudder down Aido's spine, forcing him to wake.
Aido opened his eyes to a world of pure darkness, and a wave of vertigo rushed through him. Disoriented and slightly terrified, Aido moved his head and realized the front side of his face had been buried in the dark sleekness of Kaname's black satin pillows.
Aido turned his head to the side, letting in the light of the room, and tried to get his bearings. He instantly recognized Kaname's bedroom and realized he'd never left Kaname's room, or his bed for that matter.
Out of the corner of Aido's eye, he noticed two shadowy figures near the red and black velvet curtains of Kaname's window. Their outlines were clearly defined from the lamp's light, which was near Aido's head, and as Aido squinted, he also gathered that they were talking rather close to one another. Aido could just barely make out Kaname's expression, and for some reason, Kaname seemed agitated, or maybe, he was worried. Aido wasn't entirely sure.
Zero wore blue jeans and a light gray, long-sleeved shirt with a navy blue, jacket overtop, which Aido guessed concealed his Bloody Rose underneath his armpit. Kaname, on the other hand, remained in his silky black pajamas, and somehow managed to look just as threatening, if not moreso than Zero, even without shoes.
Zero gave a sarcastic grunt. "Wait, how is this my fault?"
Aido was shocked. Both vampires were strong. Kaname was a pureblood and Zero was a vampire hunter for crying out loud, but neither of them had noticed that Aido was now fully awake.
The room wasn't that large, but both vampires were across the room near Kaname's alcove window. Aido supposed they were trying to be quiet and not wake Aido, but they had obviously failed. It seemed they were arguing about Aido, but that didn't make any sense.
Still, Aido couldn't tear himself away from eavesdropping on the conversation just like last time, and again, he thought it might turn out really badly if he didn't just come clean with Kaname right now and tell Kaname he was awake.
But Aido remembered fainting, and if their discussion had anything to do with the reason why he had fainted, then he had a right to listen. So any guilt quickly vanished, even though he was fearful he wouldn't like what he was about to hear, but he knew he had to hear it.
Aido needed to know what was wrong with him. So, he stayed on Kaname's bed and willed his body to be as motionless as if he were in a dead sleep, yet he listened intently with all his might.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Kaname said and turned vehemently on Zero, shocking Aido. "You bit Hanabusa! You do know with my blood inside of you that makes you an extremely powerful vampire hunter, right?"
"Well, I did realize I'd gained new powers from you, but I still don't see how Hanabusa fainting is my fault?" Zero questioned, again his tone was mocking and somewhat annoyed.
Aido tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Zero had drank Kaname's blood, but he wasn't given a chance as Kaname immediately responded to Zero's snide remark.
"You are a hunter with a powerful bloodline, but also, thanks to the blood I've given you, you've become a powerful vampire. You really are an abomination, someone who hunts its own race, but someone who is doomed to be alone forever," Kaname said, purposefully biting out the words and throwing them like daggers at Zero.
"You've become too powerful with my blood, and so, you are like poison to your own kind, even to the nobles like Hanabusa. When you bit him, you weakened his immune system, and he could not heal his wound properly. Then he came to see me and…"
Aido couldn't believe his ears. What? What was Kaname saying? He'd known all along about Zero, and he'd actually given Zero his blood! But why? Why had Kaname given him blood? Kaname knew giving Zero his blood would make Zero stronger, so why? But Aido remembered overhearing that Zero was in danger of falling to a Level-E, so perhaps, Kaname had done it to save Zero? But since when had Kaname started caring whether or not Zero lived or died?
Aido couldn't figure out Kaname's motives, but beyond that, was Zero really an abomination like Kaname claimed? Had Zero been struggling with this the whole time? Aido knew Zero hunted Level-E's, but that was different, right? Zero had always been a vampire hunter, but if Kaname had given him his blood, had something inside of Zero changed and caused him to become a complete outcast from his own kind? Did Zero believe that as well?
Why did that make Aido feel sorry for him? Zero was the stupid bastard who had bit him in the first place, but again, Aido didn't have time to process his thoughts or feelings as the conversation rushed on.
"Yes," Zero continued, and Aido watched those violet eyes sparkle in the dim light as they eyed Kaname suspiciously. "When I left Hanabusa, he was perfectly fine. However, he fainted when he was with you, Kaname. So shouldn't I be asking the question, 'What happened?'"
Kaname visibly clenched his fists next to his silky pajamas. "I drank his blood, probably too much, and because he couldn't recover from the blood loss, he fainted. I—I," Kaname faltered, and Aido watched, stunned as Kaname's body shook, struggling to get the words out.
Zero's purple eyes narrowed as he turned on Kaname, and through gritted teeth, he asked, "What did you do, Kaname?"
For some strange reason, Kaname had the decency to look ashamed. "I fed him some of my blood," Kaname said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Aido's eyes widened and he hastily tried to gain control of his pulse. If he knew one thing for sure, Kaname could easily detect a loud, thumping increase of heartbeat, and Aido didn't want to give away that he was wide awake just yet. He needed to hear out this conversation, especially now that he'd just learned Kaname had fed him his blood. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant. Maybe it only meant Kaname didn't want to lose his sex toy, or maybe, just maybe, Kaname really truly cared for him, but either way, Aido had to keep listening.
"What! You gave him your blood? Why? Why didn't you just feed him a blood tablet?" Zero exclaimed and pulled at his silver hair exasperatedly.
Kaname reeled on him impatiently. "There wasn't time! I mean I knew Hanabusa was a noble, so he wouldn't die from the blood loss alone, but his wounds wouldn't heal and he looked comatose! I thought his mind would suffer damage if I didn't do something fast.
"Besides," Kaname persisted, regaining his business-like composure, "like I stated from the beginning, this is all your fault, Zero. You are a plague to our race. I only called you here to warn you to stay away from Hanabusa from now on."
"Screw you, Kaname!" Zero spat. "I'm not your dog. Too bad for you, your blood didn't have any affect on me, and you can't order me around like a puppet on strings."
Aido scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. Had it been Kaname's initial desire to have Zero under Kaname's control? Was that why Kaname fed him his blood? And if so, what did that mean now that Aido had Kaname's blood coursing through his body?
But the mere thought of having Kaname's blood coursing within him sent Aido's senses into overload. He felt warm and fuzzy all over from the knowledge that Kaname had deemed him worthy of his blood. Aido knew he wasn't thinking everything out logically, yet, he could only focus on the fact that Kaname had saved him with his blood and was now willing to threaten Zero for his sake.
He wanted to jump on Kaname, hug him, and ravish him, thinking Kaname's words were as close to a confession he might ever get. Still, he held himself back, sure that Kaname would not take kindly to him jumping up in the middle of their argument and realizing Aido had been listening.
"The only reason you are doing this is to get back at me for Yuuki, isn't it? That's really a stupid reason to involve Hanabusa and hurt him like this, don't you think?" Kaname asked, tilting his head patronizingly at Zero.
It was one shock after another, and Aido wasn't sure his heart could handle it. This time, however, Aido's heart plummeted for some unknown reason, sinking, but beating dreadfully fast, and even though, Aido tried to slow it down, he couldn't. He was sure Kaname could hear his loud, irregular heartbeat, and without a doubt, Kaname knew he was awake and listening to their conversation. Perhaps, Kaname had known for a while and had intentionally asked Zero that question.
Aido waited in dreaded terror for Kaname to acknowledge that he was awake and listening, but instead, Zero responded and Kaname only continued to lock eyes with Zero, ignoring Aido's fearful gaze from the dark bedside.
Zero snorted. "You are so full of yourself, Kaname. You think I'd do this just to get back at you? And even if that were true, which it's not, you haven't even come close to winning when it comes to Yuuki."
"So you still love her?" Kaname asked.
"Of course I do," Zero said without pause.
Aido's heart skipped a beat, but then squeezed painfully and released to beat erratically again. What the hell had he been expecting? Zero had just been playing with him. He knew that.
"Then why are you even bothering with Hanabusa?" Kaname asked, asking the question that Aido was probably too cowardly to ask for himself.
"Because I just don't like the way you treat him. He deserves better," Zero said, his self-confident, egotistical nature shining through.
"And you think you can give him that, even though your heart belongs to Yuuki?" Kaname drilled Zero, and ironically asked Zero the one question that Aido longed to ask Kaname.
"Yes," Zero said, again no hesitation.
Aido's jaw dropped, causing a bit of sound against the sheets, and his heart not only stirred but raced. What was happening? How the hell could Zero sound so confident? Did Zero really care for him, or was he just playing with him because he felt sorry for him? Zero was as much of a mystery as Kaname. So far out of all the information Aido had gathered, he probably, most definitely, just needed to stay away from both Zero and Kaname, if that was even possible.
Kaname threw his head back and laughed. His fangs purposefully extended, showing his dominance and threatening nature.
"You can try," Kaname said and his icy tone returned as his darkened eyes narrowed dangerously on Zero. "I won't give him up. He's mine."
Aido sensed it then, the eminent threat, and the impending danger. But Aido was a second too late and only saw a blur of movement as Zero drew his Bloody Rose against Kaname.
Zero's speed was uncanny and actually paralleled a pureblood's speed. Zero ended up pointing the gun at Kaname's shoulder, while Kaname wrapped his hand around Zero's throat, but if Zero really had wanted to, he probably could've pointed the gun at Kaname's heart.
The fear soaked into Aido's very skin as he realized this was all his fault. They'd been arguing about him. Aido couldn't bare it if either of them got hurt because of him.
Aido jumped out of the bed and tried to rush over to them to stop them from killing one another. However, the second Aido jumped to his feet and onto the cold, wooden floor, a wave of lightheadedness washed over him and the room started to swim. The hard floor suddenly came up to meet Aido, and his stupid vampire reflexes failed him completely.
But Aido never hit the ground, and instead, two firm arms wrapped around him. He turned his face upwards into two concerned chocolate eyes.
"Hanabusa, you're awake," Kaname said softly, but Aido knew Kaname had already sensed his alertness earlier.
Aido managed to nod, but even that small movement made the room tilt again and he ended up clutching Kaname's chest for balance. Kaname noticed his unfocused eyes, and slowly and gently, helped Aido back up to his feet and onto the edge of the bed. Kaname placed Aido carefully back down on the bed, and when Kaname felt he was stable enough to sit on his own, Kaname gradually released him but sat down next to him with his hand still warmly placed on Aido's thigh.
"How are you feeling?" Kaname asked.
Aido turned to look into Kaname's warm brown eyes, and the world melted away. Everything else was forgotten, the argument between Zero and Kaname, the weird bite from Zero, Kaname's secrets between Zero and Yuuki, and most of all, the fact that Aido now had Kaname's blood in him. It was all forgotten in a flash. The only thing that mattered was Kaname.
Aido was speechless. He couldn't respond to Kaname's question as a wave of heat overwhelmed his body, electric and hot. It stung, sharp and burning. A heat so intense that he thought he might burst into flames, but as Aido panted through the sheer intensity of it, his eyes focused on Kaname. He wasn't seeing Kaname through normal eyes anymore but through his red bloodlust eyes. And those eyes saw Kaname's delicious pureblood's blood pulsating through the veins in his neck. Aido's vampire senses could smell Kaname's blood: metallic, salty, and ancient. Aido's body had tasted that blood before, and it wanted—needed—it again.
"Zero," Kaname spoke, but Aido could barely register the slight sadness within his voice. "Perhaps, it is time for you to leave."
But Zero did not leave. Aido could still feel his presence and it was annoying. He wanted blood, but Kaname was his master. He could not have that delicious blood without permission. It was vexing. Like an itch he couldn't reach.
Zero was next to the bed now, towering over the two of them, but Aido ignored him. Aido only wanted Kaname. Kaname had what he needed, not Zero.
"Your fate is worse than death. After a lower vampire such as yourself tastes the blood of a pureblood, you'll live for that blood and that blood alone. That desire will slowly consume you until there is nothing left," Zero said and paused, his voice sounding remorseful as if he knew this pain personally.
"The way you look at him, Hanabusa, made me realize that I was wrong. Kaname was right. He has won. And what a horrible, twisted way to win you, Hanabusa," Zero said, disgust filling his tone, but nonetheless, he turned to leave.
Something inside of Aido shattered. Zero's words broke through, pulling at his very soul and cutting at his insides. Tears streamed down Aido's face. He didn't want to become a monster, a being who lived solely for Kaname's blood.
Aido knew Zero spoke the truth, and perhaps, that was what had snapped him out of his bloodlust. It was taboo to drink the blood of a pureblood for a very specific reason: the power was too much. The blood and power tended to make most insane, and their thirst for it drove them to do unthinkable things, in which cases the purebloods were forced to annihilate them.
Aido didn't want to be drunk on pureblood's blood. Kaname meant more to him than that. He didn't care if he never drank Kaname's blood again. He didn't even really remember its taste, so how could it drive him mad? And yet, he had already almost succumbed to its pull.
But that wasn't the real cause of Aido's tears, as he watched Zero calmly open and shut Kaname's door, leaving Kaname alone with Aido. Hadn't Zero just said he didn't like the way Kaname treated him and that he'd make Aido his? Wasn't Zero going to fight for him? So why was Zero just turning tail and running? And most of all, why was Aido crying because of it!