Branded Ownership

Chapter Three

The large blue-haired male could do nothing but stare into those light blue eyes that did not seem to belong in the world.

"Tetsu," he said slowly, feeling those smaller hands grip and ruffle his navy blue jacket. "I'm sorry but... I'm not the person you're supposed to be asking."

Those pleading eyes turned to confusion. Aomine just shook his head, prying those hands away and turning his head towards the red-haired male.

"I am here to be bring Touo's informant, as requested by the Seirin's leader," Aomine said stiffly, trying to ignore the light blue-haired boy as the smaller boy hang his head low. "I sensed that a first-degree vampire was nearby so I finished the business of disposing it." Aomine gestured towards the dead bodies around them. "Too late though. It already claimed many victims before I killed it."

"Touo?" Kagami asked. The name seemed familiar to him but his thoughts elude him.

Aomine just raised an eyebrow at him, perhaps at Kagami's ignorance. He explained anyway, "Touo's the vampire hunter organization from the western town."

"So you're saying this organization called Touo is housing a vampire in their midst?" Kagami said, his eyebrows brought down by the thought of what he was implying. He even stressed the name of the organization in his disbelief.

To his surprise, he only saw Aomine chuckle.

"Calling the kettle black?" Aomine said. As Kagami still looked bewildered, he continued, "Isn't Seirin just the same?"

Kagami looked at the other tall male questioningly, but Aomine just pocketed his hands.

"Can we continue this discussion in your HQ or something? It's rather chilly here."

"Dai—" The pink-haired girl sat up from her chair when she saw the bright color that followed her childhood friend. She immediately ran toward the male, who was only several centimeters taller than her, and wrapped her arms around the neck of the said boy while exclaiming, "Tetsu-kun!"

Kuroko was snapped out of his thoughts. "Momoi-san. Long time no see."

"Hey, no hugs for me?" Aomine asked, crossing his arms as he turned to look at the smaller female with a teasing smirk.

"Dai-chan can just shut up," Momoi said as she puffed her cheeks at the dark-skinned boy. But she smiled brightly as she turned towards Kuroko again. "So how are you, Tetsu-kun? Are you keeping well?"

Someone behind them made the sound of clearing throat. Kagami, who had entered after Kuroko, gulped and immediately straightened his back. Kuroko also turned to the one who made the sound, yet was unable to go to his polite stance as Momoi refused to let go of him. Aomine just looked at the leader who stood behind the large desk in the room and made no other move.

"Momoi-san," Aida finally decided to call as she realized that the pink-haired girl had ignored her and completely forgot all about their meeting the moment pink eyes landed on the light blue and pale figure. "Momoi-san!"

But the pink-haired girl ignored her again.

"Momoi-san," Kuroko said. This time, he firmly pushed her away. "My boss is calling for you."

"Oh. Oh yeah..." Momoi said, with a surprised expression as it finally dawned to her that she was still having a meeting with the Seirin boss. She let go of Kuroko, turning towards a scowling Aida. "Sorry, Aida-san. It's been a long time since I've seen Tetsu-kun, so..."

A nerve twitched on Aida's forehead. She sighed. "It's alright," she said. And then she turned towards Aomine, smiling gently. "I'd like to give my thanks to Touo's hunter Aomine Daiki-kun. I heard from Kuroko-kun that you've manage to dispose of the first-degree vampire."

"Oh, it's nothing." Aomine shrugged, pocketing his hands. "It'll be bad if such thing's on the lose."

"Still, our town is indebted to you."

Kagami suddenly stepped forward. "But boss," Kagami started saying, as much polite words as he could. "This guy's a vampire! Should we really be allowing him here inside the town?"

Aida and Hyuuga turned to him, raising their eyebrows.

"Yes. He's a vampire, Kagami Taiga-kun," Momoi said, giving him a look that screamed 'duh'.

Kagami looked at the little female in surprise. His dark eyes assessed the small woman in front of him. She was clad in a zipped-up light greenblue jacket while a short yellow skirt covered the upper part of her thighs. She looked like a simple high-school girl, nothing like a vampire hunter that she could be. So how did she know his name? Did Kuroko tell her? But Kuroko didn't have the time to tell her.

He saw a pin to her chest. It was familiar. Kagami's eyes turned to Aomine and found an identical pin to hers.

Kagami looked at Momoi again as she walked towards him, smiling.

"You're a returnee, so maybe that's why you don't know about us?" Momoi said thoughtfully. "Anyway, Dai-chan — Aomine Daiki — and I, Momoi Satsuki, are third-degree vampires!"

"Third-degree vampires?" Kagami repeated again.

Kuroko took pity on him. "Third-degree vampires are those who come from original lineage of vampires. They are the strongest of the vampire kind."

"So it's true then?" Aida suddenly cut in.

"Hm?" Momoi sounded with her mouth closed. "Ah! The information you're asking from me?"

Aida nodded, a signal for Momoi to continue.

"Yes," Momoi affirmed. Her smile, which was so joyous earlier, turned cold. Her aura turned cold as well. "Teiko is an organization of vampires."

Kuroko turned to his lady boss, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"Aida-san," he said. "You could have asked me that. I came from Teiko too."

Kagami gasped. "You mean...?"

Kuroko turned to his current partner.

"Yes, Kagami-kun," the small pale male said. "I'm a vampire — a second-degree vampire." He saw the bewildered look on Kagami's face, and he continued helpfully. "You know, vampires that were once humans."

That was when Kagami realized why the pins on Aomine's and Momoi's chests looked familiar. He had seen it everyday — that simple gold-and-black logo composed of two Japanese characters. Even Kuroko's bike had it, just beside the Seirin logo. The small pin also rested on Kuroko's chest, like some kind of brand.

A brand that told people that they were vampires.

Those characters on the logo read 'Teiko', the legendary organization that fell fifteen years ago during the vampire invasion in Japan.

The room was lit by the silvery light. The dark walls of the room made the white windows, the furniture and the light curtains that bellowed with the slight wind seem to glow, creating a scenic view that was almost like underwater.

A white leather sofa sat in the middle with a white wooden tea table that was situated in front of it. The ceiling was nothing but clear glass, showing a litter of stars on the black canvas of the night sky.

A few white bookshelves sat on the side, filled with books that were covered with white jackets and the titles written with dark blue ink on the spines.

There was the sound of a metal door opening, followed by a gasp.

A small female looked at the male that was following her, who looked like he belong right in the room.

"This is beautiful," she said, turning her eyes back to the room. She looked up to see the stars, brighter to her eyes since they could see better in the dark than those of humans. She smiled, turning towards the male that followed her. "Is there something you need from me, Tetsu-kun?"

"Please sit down, Momoi-san," the light blue-haired boy replied, gesturing towards the sofa.

Momoi smiled, skipping slightly to her seat. The male followed her silently and calmly, but on the inside, he felt jittery. Of course, the female did not sense this as she looked around the room distractedly.

She looked at him when Kuroko sat down beside her, still smiling.

"I... want to ask you something," Kuroko said.

Momoi's smile was almost wiped from her face as she finally sensed the seriousness in Kuroko's voice. She could feel that the smile on her face was just some stretched muscle, and she slipped her long pink hair behind her ear as she tried to smile again.

"What is it?"

Seriously, the tenseness was killing her. Momoi thought her voice quivered but she wasn't sure as Kuroko finally looked into her eyes. Her eyes slipped down as she saw those lips move.

"Where is Akashi-kun?"

So it wasn't a confession, after all — was the thought passed through Momoi's mind. But with it also came an afterthought: it was a more dangerous question than what she was expecting.

Kuroko frowned. He didn't like the sadness that suddenly crept into Momoi's eyes after he asked his question. He almost panicked when he thought she was going to cry.

She smiled. Her voice was shaking.

"I'm sorry, Tetsu-kun," she said. "But this information you're asking of me is confidential."

Kuroko didn't flinch. "How much? How much do I have to pay for this information, Momoi-san? I'll pay it, no matter how much—"

Momoi looked away, but she looked away a bit late as Kuroko saw tears slide down from her eyes.

"There's no price, Tetsu-kun," she said. "There's nothing..."

She swallowed.

"I'm not the person you're supposed to be asking. I'm so sorry."

And then Momoi walked away, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

Chapter Notes:

Third-degree vampires - vampires that come from the original lineage of vampires; include pure bloods and half bloods

Second-degree vampires - humans who successfully turned into vampires; the vampires who turned them are their masters

First-degree vampires - humans who failed in turning to vampires; also include humans that are in the process of turning into a vampire

A/N: Review?