Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight
Chapter Two
Kaname deposited the sleeping Zero in a free room while Kaien and Yagari recovered from their shock. At Yagari's insistence, Kaname removed the sleeping-compulsion. He was careful to only remove the compulsion and not forcefully awaken the boy. Despite the hour, it was a little past midnight approaching on one o'clock, Zero remained fast asleep. Most vampires would be wide awake at this time of night. Kaname recalled that he had woken Zero earlier. A curious fact that he had forgotten in his haste to demand answers and then avoid being shot.
The pureblood took the opportunity to show off the gun he had taken from the sleeping Zero. Yagari confirmed that it was the missing Bloody Rose. The gun had been stolen from the Vampire Hunters' Association nearly five years before. The president had launched an investigation, anti-vampire weapons, even ones that required a vampire to wield them, were rare and much desired, but the thief had never been discovered. Yagari was astonished that his student had been the one to take the gun. Kaname slid the weapon back into his pocket using the excuse that it would do their cause no good for the VHA to find the missing gun in Yagari or Kaien's possession.
Yagari had settled himself at Zero's bedside. He had regretted fiercely what happened to the Kiryu Clan. He was going to lookout for his former student's welfare. Kaname had taken a position next to the door. He was still wary of the hunter-turned-vampire, especially since he was convinced the boy should be a level E. If Zero launched himself at Yagari's throat upon awakening, Kaname would not hesitate to end him permanently. Cross had joined them to satisfy his own curiosity.
Close to two o'clock, Zero began to stir. The world seemed to take a collective gasp of anticipation as the boy blinked himself awake. His aura, which had been tightly controlled when he attacked and next to nothing while he slept, radiated puzzlement as he stared at the ceiling. Zero turned and caught sight of Yagari's face. For a brief moment, his aura was full of joy. Then curiosity crept in, followed closely by concern, and then nervousness.
Kaname could track the boy's mood by his aura alone, but the light in his eyes also gave him away. As Zero's emotions ratcheted up toward full-fledged panic, his eyes started to shift from lavender to red. His gaze trailed across the room. Catching sight of Cross, Zero quickly pushed himself up and back, hunching his shoulders like a cornered animal and growling softly. The minute he locked eyes with Kaname, the pureblood knew they were doomed.
Zero half-leaned half-jumped against the wall behind him. With a smooth kick, he sent the mattress flying into Yagari. The hunter went down with a breathless curse. The bed-frame followed forcing Kaien to duck. Kaname was far enough away not to be bothered by either obstacle but refused to move from his position. He wanted to see what the boy would do next.
Zero stared yearningly at Kaname's pocket where Bloody Rose was hidden. He glance from the pureblood to the door and back. He was weighing his options, an act most level Es were incapable of. To Kaname's surprise, the boy ignored both him and the door, apparently giving up the gun for lost, and kicked out the window. He leapt into the night before the pureblood had time to recover from his shock and disappeared into the darkness.
"That was unusual," mused Kaname.
Kaien crawled out from beneath the badly dented bed frame and started dusting off his clothes. Yagari let out a weak moan and shoved away the heavy mattress.
"What just happened?" groaned the hunter.
"Zero escaped," said Kaname helpfully.
Yagari glared at him. Kaname stared evenly back with a falsely innocent gaze. The hunter looked away first, and Kaname allowed the barest trace of a smile to grace his lips. Kaien offered Yagari a hand up, which he refused, then moved to stare anxiously out the window.
"Do you think Zero will cause trouble?" asked Kaien.
"I think he'll hide for the rest of the night," said Kaname. "Dawn is in a few hours. A level E won't move around in the daylight. I don't know about tomorrow."
"Is he a level E, then?" asked Yagari.
The question obviously pained the hunter. To have a Kiryu serve a vampire was a terrible blow to the VHA. But for another to become an ex-human level E, Yagari had to be taking that loss personally. Kaname was hesitant to answer. He did not want to encourage the hunter, but he was still confused by Zero's actions.
"If he has not fallen, he is sure to do so soon," said Kaname eventually. "The prefects have returned from their rounds by now, isn't that right?"
"Yes, they should all be safely inside," said Kaien. "You can check on Yuuki if you'd like."
On any other night, Kaname would have leapt at the offer. However, the emergency meeting earlier and his unscheduled encounter with Zero had left him hours behind on his paperwork. Not to mention, the Night Class would be restless without an explanation of his absence. Instead he excused himself and took the most direct path back to the Moon Dorm.
Less than twenty yards away from the building, unfortunately close enough for the Night Class to sense his presence, Kaname was forced to stop. He turned to face the woods circling the Moon Dorm.
"I know you're there," he said firmly. "Come here."
Zero Kiryu appeared at the edge of the trees like a ghost. He moved toward Kaname but left a large distance between them. He was utterly silent as he walked, and his entire focus was on the pureblood. Zero was prepared to react to the slightest twitch. Kaname had rare experience as prey. He wondered if it was the vampire hunter or the vampire that was stalking him.
"You continue to surprise me, Zero. I did not think you would show yourself again tonight," said Kaname.
"Give me my gun back," ordered Zero.
"Your gun?" teased Kaname. "I thought it belong to the Hunters' Association."
"And you're a member? I think not, Mr. President of the Night Class," retorted Zero.
Kaname, who did not treat defiance from lesser vampires lightly, was oddly pleased by this reply. Ex-humans still had the capability of speech, even if they didn't utilize it, but sarcasm showed signs of wit. Base desires eroded intellect during the initial fall of a level E.
"Why don't you tell me what you're doing here first?" asked Kaname.
"I'm here for my gun," said Zero bluntly.
Kaname did not know if the boy was trying to be smart, but his attitude annoyed him. Even if Zero could control himself, Kaname did not want an armed unknown running around his school. He glared icily at the boy. Zero started twitching beneath the ferocity of the pureblood's stare, he shifted uneasily from foot to foot, and his gaze darted across the clearing looking for an out. Kaname lessened his glare. He did not want the boy running off again.
"Tell me why you are here," Kaname repeated adding the steel of an order to his voice.
Zero glared at him enraged. He clearly sensed the power of a pureblood's will and resented it. A low growl issued from his throat. Kaname found himself wishing that most vampires were half as defiant as this one. Life would be so much more interesting if that were the case.
A spear of ice thudded down next to Zero feet. It would have been in his chest had the ex-human not dodged in time. The ice was followed by a whip line of fire, which Zero also managed to avoid. Kaname glanced briefly at the Moon Dorms, preparing to order his followers to stop, when to his astonishment they both hit the ground following a flash of light. He looked quickly back to Zero, but he had already disappeared back into the trees.
Kaname decided not to pursue him now that he knew the boy would come back for his gun. Instead he walked quickly to the Moon Dorms to check on Kain and Aido. They were still alive but unconscious. They also looked more than a little scorched and their clothes were warm to the touch. Zero could seemingly still use hunter-magic though Kaname had never seen this particular spell used before. The rest of the Night Class poured out of the building. Seiren appeared at Kaname's side silently radiating concern.
"I am fine," he said quietly reassuring both her and the rest of the vampires. "Someone needs to take these two inside."
Ruka and Takuma volunteered and soon everyone was back inside the dorms. Kaname took a seat in the common room, wearily resigning himself to catching up on paperwork the next evening, and waited for the questions to begin. His "court" took seats around him barring the two that were unconscious. The rest of the Night Class hovered nervously around the room. None of the vampires were sure exactly what had happened and all of them were upset by the attack.
Kaname provided them with a very basic description of what had happened. They all knew of the vampire killer's movements and that he had been spotted close to the campus. He let them know that a probable suspect was on campus and that he had confronted Kaname. When attacked by Kain and Aido, he had retaliated with force.
"I do not want any of you looking for this person. You must continue to act as normally as possible so as not to alarm the other students. The prefects and instructor Yagari are overseeing the situation," said Kaname firmly.
"Kuran-sama, what will the humans be able to do against a person who took out Akatsuki-san and Hanabusa-san in one blow?" asked one of the younger Night Class members.
"The prefects have the advantage of being human. They will not be affected by anti-vampire magic, which is what knocked Kain and Aido unconscious," said Kaname gently.
He reinforced his words with a calming wave of power. The effect rippled through the gathered vampires. Slowly they withdrew, confident in that the pureblood would insure their safety. Eventually only Kaname and his court of friends were left.
"Are Kain and Aido going to be okay, Kaname-sama?" asked Ruka fretfully.
Kaname offered his assurances on the matter. He doubted either boy would be dealing with more than an headache upon awakening. Of course, Aido would complain about his frizzy hair. But the spell Zero used appeared to be nothing more than a concentrated burst of sunlight, stronger than the average hunter could produce and decidedly unpleasant but nothing lethal.
"Takuma, I would like to have the senate's assembled reports on the Kiryu Clan as soon as possible," said Kaname.
"Kiryu!" screeched Ruka. "Is that little brat of Kurenai's the one who attacked you, Kaname-sama?"
"Calm yourself, Ruka-chan. I strongly believe Ichiru Kiryu is dead," said Kaname. In fact, he knew Kiryu was dead. Maria Kurenai had written him the news personally.
That silenced her quickly enough. The rest of his friends looked shocked. Despite the fact that Cross Academy was supposed to be a meeting ground for humans and vampires, very little direct interaction took place. For the one human that had treated them like equals—not monsters or gods—to be dead was an unpleasant reminder of the mortality of human life.
"I am interested in the abilities of the Kiryu Clan in general," explained Kaname.
"But if Kiryu is dead," said Takuma hesitantly, "wasn't he the last of that clan?"
Kaname enjoyed playing with his friends, even if it meant playing with their minds a little along the way. They were so much less jaded than their predecessors. He smiled sweetly, so they knew he was having fun.
"Ah, you see, Ichiru had a twin brother, one the Vampire Hunters' Association believed was dead, but now we have clear evidence to the contrary. This is the Kiryu that concerns me now."
Kaname dismissed his friends shortly after that and went upstairs to check on Kain and Aido. They were still unconscious but their condition had not worsened. Kaname thought it unlikely that it would. If Zero had been meaning to kill the two vampires, he probably could have done so using a stronger spell. Kaname was not pleased by the realization that he could have lost two of his most reliable friends so easily. He had assumed that he would be able to protect them from Zero, but if the boy took him by surprise again, then the outcome was less than favorable.
Later he would order Seiren to begin accumulating data on the ex-human's movements over the past few years. Previously both the Vampire Senate and the Hunters' Association had assumed the vampire killer was a rogue hunter, but a newly turned human would leave an entirely different set of signs. He would also have to order Seiren to stand down if the boy reappeared while she was around. If Zero had a scaled response to aggression, his loyal bodyguard would get herself killed.
Kaname ignored the paper forms lying on his desk in favor of bed. It had been an eventful night. If Zero were to appear again, he would need his strength for the morrow. He slept shelving the problem of the Kiryu for a time when he had more information. Sleep carried him away to the past. He dreamed of ancient battles and silver-haired, purple-eyed warriors that poured forth as a tidal wave. Each one bore the face of Zero Kiryu.
End.
A/N: Thank you my wonderful reviewers. I was greatly encouraged by your replies and comments on how this story might progress. Please keep the feed-back coming, especially concerning out of character behavior and how you expect them to act. This is an AU (and will become more obviously so in later chapters), but the characters should be relatively normal.
Thanks for reading.