Chapter 8: Forgotten Past

The phone in Airi's apartment rang suddenly. She glanced over at it, thinking, and Lavi made a movement to pick it up.

"Are you an idiot?" she said dryly. "It's probably Tyki. What would he think if you were the one picking up?"

"…That we were having sex?" guessed Lavi.

"It was a rhetorical question, idiot, but yes, that's what he would think," she said, picking the phone off its cradle. "Totsuka Airi."

"Hello," said Tyki's smooth voice. "Nice to hear your dulcet tones right after a long flight."

"I'm guessing you didn't crash," she said coldly. "That just means I have to go to plan B."

"What an awful thing to say," said Tyki. "A plane crash wouldn't kill me though."

"Something will, in the long run," she muttered.

"Now, now, you're feeling very bold now that I'm so far away, aren't you? I wouldn't get cocky, dear. Who knows what I could do to you once I got back."

"Are you heading over to the family mansion right now?" she asked, ignoring his subtle threat.

"Yes, Cyril has so kindly come over via limo to pick me up. Pointless, really. I could've just run there."

"Well, if that's all you're calling me for, then I'll just leave."

"Watch your tongue, Airi. But yes, that's all I called you for—to tell you that your darling fiancé has arrived in London safe and sound."

"Great," she said acidly.

"Oh, and tell Bookman, who is sitting so nicely next to you, that if he lays a hand on you, I'll tear his head off, all right?" said Tyki conversationally. "I don't like sharing my belongings."

"He knows you're here," Airi said to Lavi.

Lavi stiffened.

"Am I…er…" he said hesitantly.

"No," said Tyki's voice, "he's not in trouble. As long as he don't end up sleeping with you, I won't kill him. And tell him to keep you in line—I don't want you doing something stupid. I'll call you later, Airi."

He hung up with a clack.

Airi turned to Lavi, hanging up the phone, her dark eyes flickering to Lavi. She gave him a rueful smile.

"Did you hear that?" she asked. "He said that you were supposed to keep me in line. Prevent me from doing something…stupid." She gave a small chuckle.

"…That's already happened," Lavi groaned. "What else did he say?"

"Is it just me, or is Tyki getting paranoid about who I sleep with?" she questioned. "He told me not to sleep with you. He told me not to sleep with Kanda too. Next thing you know, I'm going to be restricted to just sleeping with him."

"Well…you don't sleep with anyone other than him, do you?" said Lavi anxiously.

Airi shrugged.

"Tyki's under the impression that I do only sleep with him, but…I don't mind trying around," she said bluntly.

"I…see. You know, one would think that—"

"He'd have me under his control by now?" smirked Airi, curling a strand of her long black hair around a finger. "Lavi, dear, this is what's fun about this game. Tyki thinks that by forcing me to have sex with him, I'll cave in eventually and become his plaything. I'm not stupid. The moment I do cave in means not only losing the game but losing my life—Tyki will get bored and will have no reservations about finishing me off. Putting up a bit of a struggle will make it more fun for him, and it'll bide me some more time."

"But don't you think that by constantly defying his wishes, you'll just be put through even more torture?" said Lavi dryly.

"Which is why I'm not going to shove my rule-breaking habits right under his nose," she said, standing up and going to her cabinets for a martini glass. "Want one?"

"Yeah. Airi, I'm still thinking that you basing your hopes on Kanda falling in love with you is stupid and foolhardy—trust me, I know human nature, and your hopes are absolutely groundless."

"Relax," she said, plopping some ice cubes in the glasses and washing them over with champagne. "I know that. It's not like I'm expecting it to happen suddenly—perhaps a gradual thing…and you don't know how…sentimental I can be, Lavi." She turned around and handed him his glass, and he nodded wordlessly in thanks. "He's different, surely, but in the end, he's just a human. A special, peculiar human, but just a human."

"And a potential vampire hunter," added Lavi.

"True. Well, we'll see then, mm? Games aren't fun if you always win, after all." Airi sipped her drink, relishing the taste. "Oh, and tell your pathetic little kendo club that Kanda's not going to be at practice tomorrow, all right?"

"Why?" said Lavi, bewildered.

Airi smiled sweetly.

"He's sleeping."

Something was clouding Kanda's eyes. He couldn't see anything but the misty color of white, swirling as he…floated.

He couldn't hear anything.

Or was it that there wasn't anything to hear?

And he couldn't breathe.

But didn't need to, for some reason.

He looked down at his hand. It was there, but it was almost two-dimensional. Where the hell was he? Oh, right, that damn vampire had said something about showing him her past. Well, after their little…he cringed as he thought about it…make-out session, he didn't want anything to do with her.

What the hell had he been thinking?! Kissing a vampire? On his on volition? Was he insane? No, he wasn't insane—that woman was insane, taking off her blazer as if she could care less about what other people thought…but then again, she really didn't. And then kissing him, luring him in with that crazy seductive nature…he wouldn't fall for that again. Definitely not.

Kanda closed his eyes and reopened them, trying to shake the floating sensation out of his body. A few minutes passed, and he finally felt himself land somewhere substantial. Blue eyes opened and widened slightly at the sight.

Well, he definitely wasn't in Japan anymore. The room he was in looked like a bedroom, designed in an old-fashioned yet Western manner. He turned around upon hearing some scuffling, eyes bulging out of his face when he noticed more than illicit activities between a male and female occurring on a bed in front of him.

He didn't need to look twice to know that it was Airi, still as beautiful as ever, with her somewhat shorter black hair coming undone in a messy bun down her shoulders as she lied on top of an unknown man. He was European, judging from his tanner features and sandy hair; Kanda was not blind and could easily tell that the male was also a supernatural being, judging from looks alone.

Kanda ducked into the bathroom, his heart pounding traitorously. What the hell?! Why did Airi think that it'd been a good idea to show him her sexual conquests?! This was ridiculous! He didn't want to see this!

He shut his eyes, disturbed as the less than innocent sounds seeped into the bathroom. He could hear Airi hiss something under her breath, and then a now-familiar strangled cry, signifying the point where fangs pierced skin…Kanda focused on the interiors of the bathroom. Candles flickered ominously while oil-wick lanterns burned on the walls…this was an old-fashioned design…he could place the time period to be around a century or so ago.

A few minutes passed, and the door beside him opened. Kanda jerked back, eyes widening as Airi, clad in nothing but scanty and messy lingerie, stalked in.

Kanda instinctively knew that she could not see him—this was a memory, a figment of the past. He who had not been there would never exist in the eyes of those who lived in the memory.

Airi glanced at her reflection in the mirror, and Kanda noticed that her eyes were scarlet. But hadn't she just fed? Was she still thirsty?

There was a knocking sound from the main bedroom. Airi poked her head out of the bathroom door and nodded curtly to someone. Kanda leaned out to see who she was nodding to—the man whom she had just been with in bed was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was only a rather nervous-looking, waxy man standing in the doorway. He had a rather pointed chin and narrow eyes, but looked in no way intimidating.

"Airi-hime," the man said, "have you fed to your heart's content?"

"Very much so," she replied. "I left some room for a dessert though…perhaps in an hour or so, I'll be up for another meal."

"Shall we arrange that?"

"Yes…and don't get someone British. I'm a bit tired of that taste."

"You can have your pick of the lot tonight, as the mistress would like to remind you that the dance tonight is occurring in—"

"I know," she said, and her voice was as smooth and cold as ever.

"Ah…" the man, seemingly Airi's butler, seemed all the more nervous at her blunt response. "Well, like before, the mistress would like to remind you that the purpose of these meetings is for you to find a suitable husband—"

"I know, Krory, you don't need to tell me every single time," said Airi icily, beginning to take off her clothes indecorously as she opened the door to the closet located inside her bathroom. Kanda looked away determinedly. "The result is most likely going to be the same as all the times before—I'll find someone to play around with for a few months, leech off of him for a while, then dispose of him. What color should I go with tonight? Black or red?"

"Your mother suggests that you wear a more demure color with less scandalous designs," replied Krory mechanically. "Preferred colors being sea blue or deep green."

"Forget my mother, Krory—what do you think I should go in?" said Airi's voice, echoing slightly.

"Airi-hime, you know that I hold your best interests at heart—"

"Stop being so scared of my mother—"

"Red," blurted out Krory.

"Thank you," said Airi, pulling out a dress from the closet.

Kanda could see why Krory had said that Airi's outfits were scandalous, especially considering the time period. Her outfit of choice was a deep blood-red dress, low-cut and showing a good deal of her back. Long though it was, it wasn't puffy and wide like most dresses of the time, instead actually a bit swishy past the hips and focusing on the torso. Kanda then remembered that he was not supposed to be gawking in Airi's barely-clad figure and looked the other way, unaware of the slight tingeing in his cheeks.

"Send in some maids," said Airi, and there was the sound of a zipper being pulled, "to get me ready. Are there any highlights of tonight's ball?"

There was some rustling in the bedroom, like a sheet of paper being flipped over.

"Yes…" said Krory's thoughtful voice. "Your mother mentioned one in particular—oh, from Portugal. Tyki Mikk of the Noah family."

"I know of them," said Airi. Her footsteps echoed in the room—Kanda snuck a peek in her direction and after asserting that she was decently dressed, focused his attention back on her. "The Golden Eyes?"

"Yes," said Krory.

"This is why I like wearing red," she said, pausing in front of an ornate mirror and turning around to see her reflection. Kanda could not help but admit that she looked stunningly sexy. "It plays up my eyes. Golden Eyes?" She scoffed a bit. "We are the Crimson Eyes. They can't best us."

"It's not the matter of them besting you or not—"

"I'm guessing Mother likes this Tyki Mikk?" said Airi, striding over to the bathroom door and throwing it open. She propped her weight on the wall as she looked at Krory, her scarlet lips parted in a smirk. "I suppose I should play around with him as well?"

"Airi-hime, that dress is too scandalous!" said Krory, looking highly affronted. "Ridiculous! Your mother will never hear of this—"

"Indeed," murmured a sedate voice from the doorway of the bedroom.

Kanda approached Airi from behind and looked over her shoulder, blue eyes landing on a woman who hardly looked above twenty-five. And while Airi was pretty, beautiful even, this woman outshined her to no end.

Her long, wavy ebony hair rippled down her back like a cascading waterfall. Her skin was pale, flawless, like porcelain, and it seemed that her luscious lips were deep red without any lipstick smeared over them. She had a perfectly angled face, not too wide, nor too narrow; she was tall, willowy, and perfectly proportioned. Like Airi, her eyes were a brilliant shade of scarlet.

Kanda abruptly remembered that Airi had said that her mother was part-succubus—whatever the hell that meant.

"Leiko-heika!" said Krory hastily, bowing.

"Daughter, that dress is an obscenity," said Leiko as she nodded to Krory and waved her elegant hand in dismissal. "You can not possibly go out in that."

"But I look good in it," said Airi candidly, twirling a bit in front of her mother. "As would you, Okaa-san. I have another one of similar design, just black. Shall we match?"

The corners of Leiko's lips tugged upward, but she remained impassive.

"Airi, you can't possibly expect me to allow you to wear that, much less wear it myself."

"Okaa-san, you seem to forget that vampires live forever, and yet fashion doesn't. In fifty years, this will be considered less-than-revealing, and I'd like to stay ahead of the humans in that regard. Believe me."

"But it's so…" Leiko scrunched up her nose.

"Leiko," said Airi exasperatedly, "do you remember when we had to wear those awful hoopskirts and body-binding corsets and whatnot? Women who didn't wear those were considered the whores of the century. And yet where are we now? No one wears them! It doesn't matter! So do forgive me, dearest mother, if I choose not to wear something that is stifling and cumbersome."

Leiko frowned. "But we're in England, Airi. We should at least follow their customs."

"To what end?" said Airi with a scoff. "I'm the princess here. They won't care."

"Airi, if you keep up that attitude, no one will want to marry you."

Airi gave a seductive smile. "I'm sure I can rope someone into marrying me in the end. But I believe that I can work much better on that if you wouldn't keep forcing me to these dinner gatherings, Okaa-san."

"I'm sure you could," said Leiko archly. "We do have to keep in touch with our subjects though. So please make yourself presentable."

"The dress stays."

"Fine," said Leiko with a mischievous smile. "Then hand over the black one."

"You really are my mother," said Airi with satisfaction, reaching over into her closet and handing her mother the dress. "So I hear you're particularly interested in this…Golden Eyed one. Tyki, was it?"

"I've heard that he's amazingly handsome."

"So?" said Airi, pulling out her hair-tie and letting her black hair fall messily. "Beauty counts for nothing. Lack of beauty is detrimental, but having it doesn't help any. Vampires, on majority, are beautiful anyway."

"As are you, darling," said Leiko, taking off her clothes to put on the dress. Kanda looked away again, though there seemed to be a magnetic pull that Leiko emitted that kept his eyes in her direction.

Airi snorted. "Okaa-san, I'm nothing compared to you."

"True," said Leiko arrogantly. "But you're more than average, which is enough."

Leiko's ruby-colored eyes flickered to the wall, where a clock hung. She let out a sigh.

"Let's call the maids, Airi. The ball starts in two hours. We'll have to be ready by then."

Airi gave a nod, and the scene began to fade.

* * * * * *

"What is he doing?" said Allen in disgust, looking down on Kanda's absolutely still figure.

"Sleeping," said Lenalee obviously, looking around Kanda's room. "Hm…do you feel something strange, Allen?"

"Other than the murderous urge I'm getting to bash in his face, no," said Allen innocently. "What's up?"

"I don't know…" said Lenalee, her eyes combing every aspect of the bedroom and lingering on the floorboards. "Maybe it's just me. I just felt a surge of power…hm. Well, let's wake him up."

"No, he's just going to throw a fit," said Allen darkly. "Let's just wake him up and then knock him unconscious to take to Shishou."

"That's not nice."

"So?"

"I don't know why you hate him so much, Allen," said Lenalee with a sigh.

"Well, he's not exactly the most pleasant person in the world, Lenalee."

"Neither are you," she said slyly. At his hurt expression, she laughed and said, "Just kidding. Let's wake him up then."

She leaned down and shook Kanda by the shoulders gently.

"Kanda-san?" called Lenalee. "Kanda-san? Could you wake up, please?"

"Lenalee, you're not aggressive enough," said Allen, gently pushing her out of the way. He took Kanda's shoulders and shook him violently. "OI! BA-KANDA! YOU IN THERE?!"

"Allen!" said Lenalee, stunned.

"What?" said Allen. "It should work…weird. He's still not awake. I didn't really think he was the type to sleep through a storm…"

"I don't think he's asleep," said Lenalee musingly. "Hm…" She leaned over Kanda's chest and listened to his heart. "His heartbeat's really slow…but he doesn't seem to be in any medical danger." She then peered at Kanda's face, sliding a finger on his eyelid and pushing it up. "I…I think he's in a deep dream…or memory of some kind."

"Huh?" said Allen, confused.

"Someone put him in a dream or illusion of some sort," she clarified, straightening up and frowning. "We should probably take him to Shishou."

"How could you tell?" asked Allen, bewildered.

"His eyes are still staring straight forward, which isn't normal, and his pupils are dilated. I think it's a vampire trick…probably that Totsuka-san from before," she said seriously. "Let's bring him back to Shishou."

"You sure?" said Allen uncertainly.

Lenalee nodded. "I'll carry him—it'll be easier for me with my Dark Boots. Allen, you cover me."

Allen nodded in response, bringing out his weapon. Lenalee draped Kanda's sleeping profile over her shoulder. She looked at Allen and blinked once. A signal.

Within a flash, the room was empty.

* * * * * *

The scene had faded to the evening ball. Kanda was standing close to Airi, who was on an elevated stage of some sort as she stood by her mother and father. It looked like the women's chosen dresses caused a disturbance among the gossiping female population; many were eying their dresses with distaste. Airi seemed to notice this, for her smirk simply broadened to the point of complete seduction; her mother, likewise, held her head high as she smiled down on the other inhabitants of the room.

"Announcing Josef Iruti of Hungary of Green Eyes," said Krory's voice as a tall, bulky man came up to the steps and kneeled before the three members of the vampire royalty.

"I am honored to be here, Hitachi-heika," he said in gruff English. The Japanese honorific was strangely out of place.

"We are pleased to have you," said Hitachi smoothly, his red eyes soft.

It was easy to tell that Totsuka Hitachi was much less dominating or sadistic than the female members of his family. He had soft eyes and a gentle smile, though retained a regal aura that commanded respect. He, however, was definitely less intimidating than Airi or Leiko.

"Leiko-heika," said Josef, bowing deeply to the queen. His black eyes flickered up to Airi's face, then returned to their stony gaze on the steps. "Airi-hime. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well," said Leiko, while Airi smiled at him silently.

Josef was dismissed and one by one, the other vampire bachelors were introduced. With each one, an eye color was named, something that Kanda found peculiar, for each and everyone of them had onyx-colored eyes.

"Tyki Mikk of Portugal, the Noah Family, else known as Golden Eyes," said Krory.

Kanda noticed Airi's attention turn to Tyki's approaching profile raptly, studying the man whom her mother had personally recommended. Kanda followed her gaze, noticing that like the others, Tyki's eyes were a deep black. This particular factor did not diminish his appearance any—he looked the same as he did in present day, with infinite swagger and confidence radiating from his tall figure. With his hair pulled back in a short ponytail and dressed in a fine suit, Tyki was easily the best looking of the bachelor lot. Kanda rolled his eyes. He was tempted to lie to himself and say that the entire gathering was incredibly boring.

"Hitachi-heika," said Tyki smoothly, bowing deeply in front of the royal family. "Leiko-heika. Airi-hime. It's an honor to be here."

"Tyki-san," said Hitachi, studying him closely. "We are honored to have you tonight."

"You're just what the rumors say," murmured Leiko, her crimson eyes shifting to meet Airi's slyly before looking back at Tyki. "Startlingly beautiful."

Tyki gave a low chuckle. "You jest, Highness, but thank you for the compliment."

Tyki looked up, his gaze meeting Airi's penetrating one.

"Likewise," he continued, "this family is one of the most beautiful I've seen. Forgive me for the specificity, but the princess looks exceptionally lovely tonight."

Leiko opened her mouth to reply, but Airi intervened.

"High-handed flattery will get you nowhere, my dear good sir," hummed Airi.

Tyki chuckled again.

"You are as eccentric as they say," he said. "That's nice to see. My flattery was not meant to be high-handed, Airi-hime, but sincere."

People were beginning to buzz down on the ballroom floor, seeing that Tyki was taking so long addressing the royal family. Airi seemed to pay it no mind, for she looked like she had every intention of continuing the conversation.

"I find that hard to believe," she murmured. "Aren't you here just so you can be married into the family?"

"Quite the contrary—I'm here to see if the princess is as arrogant as I've heard."

Leiko looked a bit disturbed at this statement, but Airi waved it off.

"And?" said Airi. "Am I?"

A smirk played at Tyki's lips.

"I can't say," he answered. "I haven't spoken to you long enough to craft my image for you yet."

"Oh, quite the cunning one, mm?" said Airi. "I'll play your game." She waved to Krory. "I don't need to meet any of the others. I'll dance with him."

The buzzing intensified, but again, Airi paid it no heed. Tyki straightened up before her, offering his hand. She paused for a second before taking it and allowing him to lead her down the steps. Kanda deliberated for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to follow them, before the sounds of their voices suddenly entered his head.

He had to admit that Airi's memory-giving skills were impressive—she had known exactly which conversation to isolate and give to Kanda. This was handy.

"I wasn't lying when I said that you look lovely tonight," said Tyki's voice. "The color of your dress…really brings out your eye color."

"Which was my intention, of course," said Airi. "But I'm guessing that perhaps this dress is a bit too revealing—I don't particularly enjoy you eying my chest while we're speaking."

"Oh. Forgive me. It was an…"

"Unconscious reaction, I understand. So…tell me a bit about yourself, Tyki Mikk."

"Tyki's fine, hime."

"I'd prefer not to become so familiar with you. There's an aura about you that makes me…wary of you."

"There's no need to be on guard, hime," said Tyki. "I'm naturally a bit…mysterious."

"If I weren't constantly on guard, Tyki Mikk, I would most likely be dead. Or worse, a commoner. Do stop avoiding my question, sir."

"I—"

The voices began to fade out of Kanda's mind. He looked up, confused. Had Airi made a mistake? Was the memory malfunctioning?

But then the scene in front of him also began to phase out, blurring and warping as it began to disappear. Kanda felt his two-dimensional sensation fade away as well, and then there was black.

* * * * * *

"You awake?" said Cross.

The Japanese youth blinked at the sudden light that flooded the room. He sat up groggily, looking around at his surroundings. He was in an office of some sort. Cross, Lenalee, and Allen were staring at him.

"Where the hell am I?" said Kanda.

"One of the rooms in my mansion," responded Cross. "We kidnapped you from your bedroom for a little chat. Why were you in an induced dream?"

"Totsuka put me in some sort of memory," answered Kanda. "Something about her past…"

"Oh goodness," sighed Cross. "She's trying to guilt-trip you. Don't fall for it."

"What?"

"She's probably showing you her past to make you feel sorry for her and then swear your undying loyalty to her," said the Hunter simply. "It's the sort of thing she would do—I remember when she told me about her past, we…actually, never mind. I just saved you from a hell lot of trouble, kid. You should be thanking me on bended knee."

Kanda could not help but feel a bit disappointed that he had not uncovered all of Airi's past, and thus had wasted the three questions he could've asked her. Making up his mind to demand some sort of explanation the next time he saw her, he did not say anything to Cross.

"Do you even like her in the slightest?" said Cross.

Kanda vaguely remembered their make-out session.

"No."

"So you don't really support her," said Cross with a supremely satisfied look on his face.

"No."

"Great," he said, grinning. "Join us."

"…What?"

"Join us," repeated Cross.

"In what?"

"In vampire Hunting," said Cross impatiently. "Become one of us. I want you to be our double agent."

"What the hell for?" said Kanda, completely thrown.

"Do you, or don't you want to kick Totsuka's ass?" said Cross sternly.

"What?"

"Are you deaf?!" roared Cross. "I'm telling you to join us!"

"What the hell for?!" shouted Kanda in return.
Cross took a deep breath and let it out.

"You join us. We teach you everything—how to fight, how to kill, everything. And in return…" Cross lit a cigarette and drew in a breath. "You kill Totsuka Airi in the end."

Free Talk:

So I definitely don't think this chapter was all that great. I'm starting to fall back in Writer's Block with all my stories--I just don't feel like writing anything lately. So I apologize for the lack of substance/interesting-ness in this chapter. :(

On the other hand, thank you for your reviews last chapter! I really appreciated it. :)

School has started and I felt like I hadn't updated this in a while. Hopefully it's at least readable to some extent, and I hope a few people enjoyed it. :)

I'm a bit tired...ugh. Well, please leave a review to cheer me up!

xoxo,

m.n