Title: Visitors from the Future
Genre: General/Romance/Friendship
Rating:T
Pairings: Zero/Kaname
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Vampire Knights. It belongs to Hino Matsuri - I only borrow the characters from the series and use it in my own fic. However, I do own the three original characters featured in this story.
Author's Notes: Okay, so now's the time for Part 2. This and the next coming Chapter are bound to be a killer for me, cause the sheer idea of writing them give me a very big headache. Nonetheless, I'll do my best ^^;;
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Chapter 18 - Shizuka Hiou, Part 2
"Woah ... This must be a miracle. To think that Kiryuu would turn up at this type of event dressed in something else aside from the typical school uniform. Did the sun rise from the west, today? " Someone commented among the crowd, upon their sighting of the male guardian's attire.
This caused a new round of gossip to start traveling around the event hall, Zero Kiryuu, on the other hand still kept his usual poker face as he stood by the side of the event hall. Keeping a watchful eye on the movements of most, if not all of the night-class members. Upon locking eyes with a certain dark-haired pureblood standing near the balcony area of the event hall, Zero wanted very much to die from embarrassment. That particular pureblood was looking at him smugly and he wanted very much to wipe that look off the former's features.
Meanwhile, Kaname was keeping watch of the twins whom refused to stay in the dormitory claiming to say that they would be bored with everyone out for the dance event. Having no other available options on hand, Kaname had no choice but to agree and relented on the idea of having the twins to tag along for the event. The responsibility and duty of watching out for the twins would be shouldered and shared between Seiren, Akane and himself.
It would be a disaster if the twins were to wander about the event hall by themselves, therefore, it was generally agreed between Akane and himself that one of them should remain behind on the balcony with them. Lest the twins decided to wander off by themselves, which they have a tendency to attempt on regular basis. Seeing as Kaname, himself does not really enjoy socializing, he had offered to be the one keeping watch on the twins while Akane head out to join the crowd in having fun.
"Father? Can we go and find Daddy? " Akira asked, looking up at him with one of those pleading 'puppy dog' eyes that would usually work on the adults.
Unfortunately, Kaname was not among those kind of people whom would gave in to Akira's request that easily. Instead, he told the boy patiently.
"No, Akira. You can't go and bother your Daddy yet. He's 'working' now, but I'm sure he would come over and visit the two of you later."
With a dejected look on his face, Akira nodded unwillingly to his father's words. Still, it did not stop Akira from staring longingly at his favorite parent that was all the way across on the other end of the event hall.
Akane, whom had her eyes trained upon Akira for most if not all of the time sighed inwardly with resignation as she headed towards the immobile figure of the silver-haired guardian.
"Zero, care to show your face over at the balcony for a minute? The twins are asking for your presence ... " Akane added the last bit, when she noticed the look of annoyance on Zero's features upon the mention of the balcony.
"... " Upon Akane's mention of the twins wanting to see him, Zero sighed inwardly as he approached the area of the balcony grudgingly. He was aware of the many eyes upon him, as he approached where the pureblood had stood and it was starting to annoy him. Nonetheless, he continued on his way over while trying his hardest to ignore the curious eyes that were focused on him since he started moving into the crowd.
The twins brightened up almost immediately upon catching sight of the approaching figure of Zero, Akira literally bounced over and tackled the silver-haired teen as he stepped onto the ground of the balcony area.
"Daddy!" Akira greeted enthusiastically, but luckily the music track for the dance would be able to hide the boy's excited greeting from the majority of the dance participants. It would not, however, escaped from the keen hearing of the vampires out there. Still, there would not be any harm done since Zero was almost certain that everyone among the night-class had already knew of his role in the twins' life. After all, they did see him on more than one occasions around the vicinity of the Moon Dormitory with either one of the twins attached to his side.
"Akira, calm down. Don't get too excited ... " Zero reminded, as he set the boy down on the ground again.
"Daddy." Subaru's quiet voice greeted him, just as he set Akira down on the ground.
"Subaru. How are you today?" Zero greeted back, his tone even as he looked down at the boy fondly.
Subaru allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he responded. "I'm fine, Daddy. I missed seeing you though ... You haven't been coming around to visit us, these days. "
Upon the boy's words, Zero sighed as he responded. "I apologized, Subaru. However, I was pre-occupied with other matters on hand. I promised though, I'll try to come around for a visit as often as possible. Is that alright with you? "
Subaru nodded obediently, before Akira protested. "Hey, what about me?! Daddy?! Aren't you going to visit me too? "
"... Akira, of course I'll be visiting you as well. Don't you know that by now? " Zero chided the boy, good-naturedly.
Akira said nothing but grinned cheekily in response, while Subaru just shakes his head at his twin's antics. Somehow, Akira just enjoyed the idea of being the center of attraction.
---
"A-no ... Kain-senpai, did you know where's Kaname-senpai?" Yuuki Cross asked, she had been looking around the whole event hall for signs of the resident pureblood for quite some time now. The idea of checking outdoors or even the balcony area had not crossed her mind once, as she had no idea of the pureblood's dislike for events that involved socializing with the crowd.
"I think he's over at the balcony ... " Akatsuki Kain responded, matter-of-factly.
"Thank you, Kain-Senpai. " Yuuki said, as she started towards the direction of the balcony area.
Meanwhile, Akatsuki caught sight of the mild glare which Ruka had directed his way and asked with skepticism. "Why? Is there a problem with me telling her where Kaname-sama's at? "
Ruka 'hmph-ed' and turned away from her childhood friend, before she froze upon the sight of a day-class male student approaching her.
"A-no ... Ruka-san, may I have the honor of inviting you to a dance? " The new-comer was none other than the class representative of Yuuki's class.
Akatsuki took in the look of distaste on his childhood friend's features before addressing the former, "Why are you ignoring him? He's kind of pitiful to be left hanging there, you know? "
Ruka threw him a glare and said, "You know as much as I do that I'll never dance with strangers!"
"Well, if you insist. " Akatsuki shrugged, before inviting Ruka out to the dance-floor with him which Ruka accepted readily.
In the meantime, Yuuki arrived at the balcony to find Zero talking with the twins while Kaname looked out at the scenery outside peacefully.
"Kaname-senpai? " Yuuki's voice jarred the pureblood out from his thoughts, as he turned to regard the girl with a smile.
"Yuuki." Kaname greeted, fondly causing a certain silver-haired hunter to throw him a look of annoyance.
"Zero, am I interrupting anything? " Yuuki asked, flickering her eyes hesitantly between Kaname and Zero.
"No, we're fine. Just busy ignoring one another ... " Zero responded, shortly.
To which, Kaname throw the silver-haired guardian a look of annoyance before shifting his attention back to the girl standing in front of him.
"Ah ... anyway, I'm here to thank Kaname-senpai for the dress. " Yuuki said, as she bowed to the pureblood with gratitude.
Upon Yuuki's statement, Zero's eyes widen for a minute as he regarded the pureblood with an unreadable gaze before looking away from the former. Inwardly, he was feeling somewhat unhappy about the pureblood's decision to give both Yuuki and him a gown, and suit respectively that belongs to the work of the same designer, same color schemes and the same outlet for the same event.
As though sensing his unhappiness, Subaru glanced up at him questioningly. "Daddy?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. Just remembered some unhappy memories ... " Zero responded, careful to keep his annoyance towards the pureblood hidden from the twins' detection.
"Yuuki, can I have this dance with you? " Kaname started, holding his hand out for Yuuki as he invited the girl for a dance.
Meanwhile, Yuuki froze as her eyes flickered immediately to where her silver-haired friend stood. Somehow, she was hesitant in accepting the invitation for the dance with her silver-haired patrolling partner around. Zero, on the other hand, frowned when he noticed both Kaname and Yuuki's eyes upon him and he found himself snapping at them in response.
"Why the hell are the two of you looking at me?! Surely, neither of you would required my permission to dance with one another, right? "
"True, we don't really need your permission to dance with each other. " Kaname said, smoothly as he shifted his eyes away from the silver-haired hunter and back onto Yuuki.
Yuuki's eyes widen as she suddenly felt Kaname pulling her into a dance of their own, that totally ignored the tempo of the music being played by the orchestra back inside the event hall. Meanwhile, Zero tried his best to ignore the dancing duo by averting his eyes elsewhere.
It was then that he felt it again, the faint pulsing around the area where Shizuka had bitten him before. Almost immediately, his hand reached up to cover that particular area of his neck. It was a faint movement, but still it failed to escape from the keen sight of Kaname Kuran and ironically, Yuuki had caught sight of it as well. That was why she had stepped back and pulled away from the pureblood abruptly, as she suddenly recalled Maria Kurenai's words to her earlier in the day.
Shooting another glance towards Zero's direction, Yuuki turned on her heels and fled from the event hall. Her sudden desire to flee from the balcony startled Zero out from his reverie, as he hurriedly flickered his eyes towards the pureblood. The frown and dark expression which Kaname was displaying caught Zero off-guard for a minute, as Zero wondered about the possibility of him doing anything that displeased the pureblood greatly.
"Why are you still standing here? Aren't you supposed to run after her? Isn't it your responsibility to protect her from dangers? " Kaname prompted, sounding very much irritated at the silver-haired hunter's lack of reactions.
"... " Zero stared at the pureblood wordlessly, before turning away from Kaname looking peeved as he went after the direction where Yuuki was last seen heading for.
Kaname, on the other hand, was a mess. Rather, his moods were so messed up that he had no idea how to react around the silver-haired guardian and Yuuki anymore. Granted, he admit he had made the mistake of giving both Zero and Yuuki clothes as a gift from the same designer's store, and picking something that fell into the same color ranges too. It would probably make Zero feel as though, he had only bought the suit for the former out of convenience while shopping for Yuuki.
The gift was supposed to serve as an apology of sorts for not warning the silver-haired hunter of the possibility that Shizuka Hiou had taken up residence in the body of Maria Kurenai, before. Yet, he had screwed it up and increased the annoyance level of the hunter instead of toning it down. Then, he made the mistake of inviting Yuuki to a dance in front of Zero and the twins.
He knew that he could jolly well dance with anyone as he deemed fit, without the need to even seek permission from the silver-haired hunter. Still, for some odd reason he felt it inclined to receive some form of assurance from the hunter that his intentions were understood and that was why he had glanced over at the silver-haired hunter, in the first place. However, he was not expecting Yuuki to be looking at Zero too and somehow the idea of someone else looking towards the silver-haired hunter's direction annoyed him, greatly.
Even if the person whom glanced at the silver-haired hunter just happened to be his beloved sister, it still did not change the fact that it bothered him. That was perhaps why he had tried to put as much distance between Yuuki and Zero, when he started the dance with the girl.
Zero though, was another matter entirely. The pureblood's attitude over the past few days confused him, one moment the former was showing him care and concern; the next minute the pureblood might be throwing him glares and dark look. So just what is it exactly that Kaname Kuran wanted from him?
Taking today's event as an example, the pureblood had seemed smug when he showed up at the event wearing the suit which the former had given him earlier that evening. Then it gave way to annoyance when he busied himself with the twins instead of paying the elder pureblood any attention. When Yuuki showed up in front of them, Kuran decided to forget all about his existence and just invited Yuuki to a dance. Somehow, the sight of Kaname Kuran inviting Yuuki for a dance irritates him more than the issue of the former giving both Yuuki and himself, clothes for the night's event.
After which, the pureblood seemed to have suddenly remembered his existence and turned inquiring eyes upon him as though the former was trying to gain permission from him to dance with Yuuki. That unnerved him, and added on to Yuuki's own eyes upon him. He snapped. Then Kuran was suddenly annoyed and promptly drag Yuuki off into a dance. Half-way through the dance, as Yuuki started to pull away from him. Kuran's level of annoyance increased, and the former was lecturing him on his supposed 'responsibilities' to look after Yuuki's welfare.
That aggravate his growing irritation towards the pureblood, and for a moment he considered reminding the former of the fact that Yuuki's not only his responsibility but Kuran's as well. After all, Yuuki was supposed to be the sister and fiancee of the pureblood, isn't that so? Then why is it his responsibility to look after and ensure the safety of Yuuki then? Nonetheless, despite his aggravating thoughts on the situation; he did not snapped. Instead, he remained solemn as he went after the fleeing girl dutifully.
---
During which period of time whereby Kaname was busy sorting out his thoughts, he did not noticed the elder twin - Subaru sneaking off after the departing Zero by himself. Akane, on the other hand, did noticed and promptly excused herself from the company of her random dance partner as she made a move to follow the boy from behind. Kaname though, was only notified of Subaru's absence when Akira tapped him from behind with a look of irritation and said that Subaru had went after their departing 'Daddy' without an escort.
That managed to snap Kaname out from his thoughts and sprang into immediate actions, it was one thing to send Zero out after Yuuki and totally another, when Subaru had it in mind to follow. He had an idea of wherever Yuuki had it in mind to go, it would have something to do with Maria Kurenai or Shizuka Hiou, for that matter. He had seen how Zero had unconsciously reached up to the part of the neck where Shizuka had bitten the former before, and he knew Yuuki had witnessed it too. That was why he had reacted on instincts, by expressing his displeasure towards the silver-haired hunter because he knew Yuuki had totally disregard his efforts at keeping her safe and decided to get herself involved into the dangerous situation between Shizuka and Zero.
"Seiren, look after Akira. Do not let him out of your sight!" Kaname called out to his personal bodyguard, before he made a move to leave the event hall.
Takuma whom caught on to the situation fast enough, decided to create a distraction thus allowing his pureblood friend to leave the area in peace. Akatsuki Kain, on the other hand, was ascorted by his cousin Aidou Hanabusa while on his way to the washroom.
"Hanabusa? What the hell do you want by dragging me over to the abandon dormitory at this hour of time? " Akatsuki frowned, at his cousin's odd display of behavior.
"I had a suspicion in mind that I wish to justify. " That was all Aidou was willing to say, as he led his cousin down another flights of stairs towards the basement of the abandoned dormitory building.
The closer they approached the basement of the building, the colder the air around them was. By the time they reached the end of the stairs, it was practically bone chilling. Luckily, it was nothing that the two vampires could not withstand. After all, Aidou was quite used to the temperature seeing as the use of his power would render the surrounding air about him this cold as well.
"I knew it ... the 'Mad Blooming Princess' was indeed in the school. " Aidou muttered aloud under his breath, while Akatsuki just frowned in bewilderment.
"But if the body is here, then where is her soul?" Akatsuki could not helped but asked.
"Where else, but in the body of Maria Kurenai ... I knew something was fishy with that girl ... "
The vampire duo stared at the frozen body of Shizuka Hiou for a while in silent contemplation before they were distracted by the arrival of Ichiru Kiryuu.
"So what do we do now? Is it really wise to let him leave with that? " Akatsuki questioned, looking down to his cousin for an answer.
"I'll say we notify Kaname-sama. We can't do anything to her, since she's a pureblood and we didn't know what Kaname-sama would had in mind to deal with the situation as well. " Aidou responded, matter-of-factly.
"Well, I guess notifying Kaname-sama of the situation is the only thing that we could do now. " Akatsuki said as he let out a sigh of weariness.
"Yeah, I'll leave that to you then. Akatsuki " Aidou commented, nearly causing the taller vampire to stumble and fell at his words.
"Hanabusa? " Akatsuki questioned, a little baffled by his cousin's behavior.
"Nothing, I just had something else to do now. So would you please go and inform Kaname-sama of what we've found? " Aidou responded, his tone neutral.
"If you insist ... " Akatsuki responded, before turning on his heels and exiting the area.
Aidou Hanabusa waited until he was certain that his cousin was out of hearing range, did he finally spoke aloud and addressing a certain hidden figure in the dark.
"You can come out now, Wakaba Sayori-san. "
"... " Wakaba Sayori was silent as she stepped into the light, staring up at the blue-eyed blond vampire calmly.
"You're lucky that Akatsuki's too distracted to sense you around, and that lackey of Shizuka-sama could not sense you. Else, you would be dead by now. " Aidou Hanabusa muttered aloud, as he looked at the silent female in annoyance.
"... Are you worrying for my safety? If so, don't bother. I know what I'm doing ... " Sayori responded with a frown, before adding placidly. "And while we are on the subject, I honestly doubt that either of them would be able to sense my presence. So far, nobody but you had ever noticed my presence around places where I should not be exploring. "
If you really know what you are doing, then you shouldn't be attempting such dangerous acts! Do you even know what 'we' could be capable of doing to you ? " Aidou questioned, somewhat agitatedly.
"I'm going to assume that you are talking about the 'vampires' in general when you emphasized on the 'we' in your earlier statement? Oh, and to answer your question ... As a matter of fact, I do know what the vampires are capable of doing to a mere human girl like myself. Still, my duty and responsibility comes before anything else and that includes my personal safety." Sayori responded, sounding absolutely weary of the whole conversation. She had no idea why she was even bothering to provide any form of response to the blond vampire, she could have just turned on her heels and walked away in silence.
Perhaps, it was due to the underlying hint of concern that lurks underneath the agitated tone which the blond had used while conversing with her that prompted her to respond to the former's words. Otherwise, with her personality she would simply just turned and walked away from the site as she had never really felt any desires to interact with any members of the night-class.
"Did your presence here today had anything to do with your daily observation of Kiryuu? You mentioned the term 'duty' and 'responsibility' earlier on in your words, what does those duty and responsibility of yours' got to do with Kiryuu? The others might take your constant observation of Kiryuu as a form of personal interest, but I don't think so. " Aidou commented, as he stare at the human girl with intent waiting around to see if he would receive a honest response from the girl, this time around. "That's for me to know, and you to find out. Speaking of which, I would very much appreciate it if you could just stop stalking me on a daily basis. " Sayori added, before departing from the area.
Aidou followed soon after, as he responded to the girl's statement. "Correction, I'm not stalking you. I am only watching you under the specific order of Kaname-sama. "
To which, Sayori merely rolled her eyes at the blond's words before continuing on her way back to the event hall, with every intention to ignore the blond whom was walking behind her. She knew her efforts to talk the blond into dropping the idea of 'watching' her would be in vain, as this had been going on since the pureblood prince of the Kuran Clan had discovered her missing from the dormitory building that night when Zero had been injured by Maria Kurenai.
---
Meanwhile, Maria Kurenai was waiting patiently for Yuuki's arrival and Ichiru's return with the physical body of Shizuka Hiou.
"So I see that you've decided to come ... " Maria smirked as she caught sight of the female guardian of the academy.
"Maria, you mentioned that there's a way to stop Zero from falling to the 'Level E'. What is it exactly?! " Yuuki started, trying her hardest to fight against a quiver in her voice.
Yuuki was scared, that much she knew but she refused to give in to her fright. She wanted to help Zero, and she knew that the girl in front of her have the answers to her doubt.
"Oh ... my, you sure are anxious. Aren't you? " Maria commented, smirking sadistically as her keen eyes caught sight of the returning Ichiru.
"I see that they've not been causing any trouble for you, Ichiru ... " Maria commented, upon the return of Ichiru.
"Yes, Shizuka-sama." Ichiru responded, respectfully.
"Well ... I supposed, they are smart enough to know that it wouldn't be wise to go up against a pureblood. After all, they were just nobles ... " Maria smirked, as she turned back to the dumbfounded girl whom was staring at the physical body of Shizuka Hiou in stunned silence.
"That's my real body, and the solution to Zero's problem is actually very simple. " Maria said, as she approached the unconscious figure in Ichiru's arms. Yuuki watched wide-eyed with shock, as the unconscious figure slowly wake before Maria fell unconscious and fell back onto the sofa couch where she was seated upon.
"All Zero need to do was to drink my blood and he would be saved ... " Shizuka Hiou told Yuuki, sadistically before turning to Ichiru and ordered him to bring the unconscious Maria back to the room for rest.
"Your blood? " Yuuki repeated, sounding absolutely bewildered.
"Yes, my blood would be what Zero need to complete his change ... " Shizuka left her sentence hanging there, for she had no intention to let on something which she had kept hidden from everyone's knowledge for years.
"Ichiru, what are you still standing around for? Bring Maria back to the room, now. " Shizuka commanded aloud, when she realized that Ichiru had yet to move from his position behind her.
"Yes, Shizuka-sama. " Ichiru responded, as he stepped forward to pick up the unconscious body of Maria Kurenai before turning on his heels and leave the room.
Yuuki, meanwhile, was caught off-guard when she noticed how similar the side-view of Ichiru had seemed as compared to Zero. However, she did not have much time to figure things out as Shizuka had started to speak again.
"There ... I've told you of the solution to Zero's little problem, so you should give me your blood as a form of repayment. I am, after all, being pursued by many and therefore would required more blood and energy to escape from their pursuit. You give me your blood, and I'll give mine to Zero. Blood for blood. Fair enough for you ? But ... certainly you know what would be the outcome when you allowed a pureblood to bite and mark you? "
Yuuki sighed inwardly as she nodded to the words of Shizuka Hiou, bracing herself for the inevitable that was to come but never did. For Zero had appeared at the very last possible minute, looking breathless from his search for the missing girl. Finally, he had just allowed his instincts to lead him where he deemed it possible to find Yuuki.
His eyes widen upon the sight of Shizuka's fangs hovering near the neck of Yuuki and he reacted immediately by drawing out his gun and directing it towards Shizuka.
"No, Zero ... Don't! " Yuuki yelled aloud as she placed herself in between Zero and Shizuka, apparently her desire to save Zero had stepped into the path of her logic rendering her to do the ridiculous.
"Yuuki, why are you doing this? "
"Because only she can save you from the brink of insanity. " Yuuki shouted out to Zero in distress.
Zero froze for a second, before he repeated Yuuki's words with incredulity. "That woman can save me?!"
"Yes, Zero. Listen to me! The only way for you to stop the fall into 'Level E' was for you to drink her blood! " Yuuki responded, hoping that she had not misunderstood Shizuka's earlier words.
Shizuka Hiou, meanwhile, kept her face expressionless though she nearly felt the urge to bang her head onto the ground. Since when did she said anything about stopping Zero's fall into 'Level E'? Granted, if it had been any normal and usual situation drinking the blood of the master would stop an ex-human from descending into 'Level E' but Zero's situation was hardly considered to be normal, isn't it?
Zero and Ichiru were hardly considered to be 'normal', they had the blood of a 'Fujiwara' flowing through them. In addition, she knew something about them which she doubt they had any idea of, and that was their family's relations to her own family. That makes Zero and Ichiru's situation far from normal, and the reason why her blood would help change Ichiru's body constitution for the better.
When she had first chanced upon Zero and Ichiru, the younger twin had been sickly and frail. Later when she attacked the Kiryuu, she had not wanted to hurt the twins, her sole intention was only to get revenge on the adults. However, Zero had been too stubborn and his words drove her to the brink of insanity. Rage consumed her and she had bitten Zero without her knowing, until it was too late to salvage the situation. Her first intention then was to give her own blood back in return, thus to complete the change but Ichiru's body had chosen that very minute to collapse. After all, the younger twin did seemed to be having a fever prior to her attack.
Added in the fact that the attack on the Kiryuu had finally triggered the association into checking out the situation, knowing that Zero would be able to survive her bite and she could always track him down some time later. She had promptly made a grab for Ichiru and left the area, going into hiding for the next few years that follows. After which she gave Ichiru her own blood so as to improve the boy's health condition, slowly but progressively. However, she kept her distance from the younger twin as well knowing that it would not do her any good to get herself 'attached' to the boy on an emotional level.
Either way, her musing on the past were bring abruptly to a stop as Zero started to speak and glared at her with venom.
"Even if her blood would be my only solution thus far ... I could always drink from her, after I've killed her. Isn't that right, Shizuka?! "
Upon Zero's statement, Yuuki dropped her artemis rod weakly. She had thought she was helping her friend out, it was not until now did she realized that what she was about to do was entirely stupid and that Zero would not have wanted her to do that, by offering herself up to the demented pureblood female.
"Enough, Yuuki. Just stand back, I'll handle it from here ... " Zero told Yuuki patiently, while keeping his eyes warily upon Shizuka Hiou.
---
"Why? Have you allowed yourself to be tame by someone else aside from me? " Shizuka's sudden words jarred Zero out from his conversation with Yuuki.
Zero froze upon Shizuka's words, and sighed inwardly as he felt the distinctive tug around the area where Shizuka had previously bitten him again. Before he knew it, he was restraining Yuuki's movement holding the girl still.
"For your information, I doubt that I've ever been tamed by you. " Zero gritted out in frustration, as Shizuka took another step towards him.
"Oh really? Then why are you acting on my unspoken thoughts? " Shizuka questioned back in return, only to have Zero staring straight back at her.
Zero said nothing, only stared at the approaching pureblood figure in silence. There was no way he could have talked back to the former, especially when Shizuka had her eyes locked into his very own in a staring match. He had no idea why but it seems like every time when Shizuka spoke to him while locking eyes with him, he found himself having trouble expressing himself, be it his thoughts or speech.
Initially, he had thought that it was the power of 'restrain' in which a master would have upon its' servant in the vampire society. However, hours of research on the subject had told him enough that what he experience while in the presence of Shziuka was unlike a typical master-servant bond. Absolute obedience was not guaranteed in his situation, and his mind did not exactly blanked out on him when his actions did exactly what Shizuka had wished for him to do.
Restraining Yuuki with his grasp was an action taken by his own will, despite what Shizuka might thought it out to be. For he feared that if he were to allow Yuuki the ability to act freely, she might ended up pissing Shizuka off. He had no idea why but somehow he knew, Shizuka do not appreciate the idea of being interrupted by others while in the midst of a 'game' with him. The 'game' of 'cat and mouse', he had always referred it as.
When Shizuka had first bitten him, she had told him to 'nurse' his hatred for her so as to come in search of her for revenge at another point of time. True, he did nurse his hatred for her as she had wished it out to be, but he had never once attempted to really comb each and every area of the world just for the sake of finding her. Somehow, deep inside he knew the former would be coming back for him to settle some 'unfinished' issues between them. For four years, he had waited patiently.
The sudden feeling of fangs piercing through the skin area around his neck caused a shudder to run through him, involuntarily. He must have been spacing out, and Shizuka must have taken the time whereby he was taking a trip down his memory to strike by biting and marking him again. If the first time when Shizuka bite him, he had only felt the 'pain'. This time around, it was painful as usual but there was an underlying sense of pleasure as well for he started to wonder if this had been how Akane felt when he fed from her.
"Stop it! That's enough already, why are you doing this to Zero? Why?! " Yuuki's cries of distress startled Zero back into reality, and back into his senses. However, it was the explosion of a window pane within the room that resulted in Shizuka's removal of her fangs from him.
His hold on Yuuki slacken when his senses registered the presence of Akane and Subaru, standing just outside the door. Aura of pure anger was rolling off Subaru in waves, the pupils of Subaru's eyes were bleeding red with fury. The raw energy of nature crackled around the boy's surrounding area, sending various furniture across the room destroying them in the process.
'Shit!' Zero's mind screamed, knowing very much that this indicated the possibility of Subaru's powers going out of control. He wanted to move, but somehow being trapped in the midst of two pissed pureblood, he found himself losing the ability to move from his standing position. With a growl of frustration, he fired a shot from his 'Bloody Rose' to himself so as to let the pain from the gun wound overtake his vampire senses thus enabling him to move towards the boy.
"Subaru! Calm down!" Zero shouted to the boy, as he captured the silver-haired vampire child into a hug as he started to whisper soothing words to the angered pureblood child.
Zero knew it probably would not be wise for him to turn his back on Shizuka, but at this point of time nothing matters more to him, as compared to his distressed son.
Throughout which process, Shizuka was eying the sight with barely concealed interests. "How interesting ... looks like we have with us, a young pureblood ... and he certainly looked delicious enough to eat. "
Upon Shizuka's words, Zero sighed inwardly as he felt Subaru tensing in his embrace again. However, seeing as he had no idea what to say in order to calm the boy down this time around, he just settled for holding the boy in his embrace while throwing looks of venom towards the 'Mad Blooming Princess'.
"Don't you dare to touch him! " Zero glared as he directed his words towards the female pureblood, at the same time he called out for Akane's attention.
"Akane, come in and take Subaru. I don't care where you took him, just get him as far away from here as possible. "
"Hm..m... Interesting, very interesting indeed. I would've thought after what I've done to you, you would be looking at all vampires with unbidden hatred and especially the pureblood. Yet, here you are ... showing care and concern for another pureblood vampire. Granted, a child but still a pureblood, nonetheless. " Shizuka Hiou commented, and smirking with satisfaction when she felt the body stance of Zero stiffening.
"Akane, hurry and go! Shizuka, for the last time I am warning you ... Do not touch him! " Zero responded, as he pointed his gun towards the unmoving figure of Shizuka Hiou.
Wanting to distract Shizuka thus creating a chance for Akane to escape with Subaru, Zero fired several shots towards Shizuka at once. Shizuka dodged successfully for a while, before two shots hit her squarely around the area of the chest. However, before a third shot could hit her, Ichiru had re-appeared in the doorway throwing a sword in between Shizuka and Zero thus causing the shot to miss its' initial target.
"Ichiru, haven't I told you not to poke your nose into my business? " Shizuka questioned, throwing the new-comer a look of annoyance.
"Yes, you did. Shizuka-sama, but I certainly could not allowed myself to merely sit back and watched while my elder twin tried to kill you. " Ichiru responded, matter-of-factly acting as though he did not noticed the look of annoyance which Shizuka had been directing towards him since his interference.
"... I thought you're dead, Ichiru ... " Zero muttered aloud, he knew Ichiru had been taken by Shizuka but he certainly was not expecting his twin to be alive or rather, he was not expecting Shizuka to be keeping his twin alive and healthy.
Removing the mask that was keeping his features hidden, Ichiru smirked and greeted. "So you haven't forgotten about me, Zero Oniisan. "
Yuuki, on the other hand, was practically stunned speechless. Ichiru was calling Zero his 'Oniisan', and they were twin siblings. Then why on earth is he not siding with Zero, and instead was helping Shizuka Hiou? Confusion flooded through her mind, rendering her immobile as she tried desperately to digest the whole situation, trying to make sense in them.
"Shizuka-sama, I know you 'love' the idea of 'toying' and 'playing' with my elder brother but honestly, are you trying to get yourself killed by not retaliating? " Ichiru commented, sounding obviously unhappy about Shizuka's lack of response towards Zero's shots.
"Hmph! That's none of your concern, and besides I had no intention of dying here. After all, there are still things waiting to be done. " Shizuka Hiou responded, as she started to retreat allowing for the two newly re-united siblings to fight it out among themselves.
"Good, because I would be in trouble if you were to die on me now ... " Ichiru added, before Shizuka was completely out of hearing range.
"No, Oniisan ... I would be very upset with you, if you were to simply disregard my presence and went after Shizuka-sama, just like that. After all, I do have lots of things to say to you after four years of separation from one another." Ichiru stated, putting his hand out to stop his twin from chasing after the departing pureblood.
---
Shizuka Hiou was on her way back to the room which she had chosen for her own usage after convincing the school Chairman to let Maria stay alone and away from the rest of the night-class members, when she came across the figure of Kaname Kuran lounging by the side of 'her' room.
"That's a rather hideous injury you'd suffered back there ... " Kaname Kuran was saying, as Shizuka passes him by. "How careless of you to get yourself injured by those anti-vampire weapons. Those weapons are a nuisance for us, isn't that so? For even the healing ability of a pureblood would be restricted once subjected to such injury ... "
"May I know just what exactly brought you over? The young lord of the Kuran clan. "
"This ... used to be my room, before the Moon Dormitory had completed its' construction work. "
"I see, good taste you had then. The room's quiet and tranquil, I like it very much. "
"That, I'm glad to know. After all, I shared the same sentiments as you on this subject. "
Shizuka ignored his words, and instead turned her back on him. However, if Shizuka had in mind of just what exactly Kaname had been contemplating on doing to her, she might not have done what she had now.
"Answer my earlier question, just what is the reason for you being here in this academy? "
"For a couple of reasons actually ... One of which had to do with collecting pawns for my own 'game'. " Kaname said, as he approached the female pureblood from behind. Slowly, and silently he thrust his hand into the body of Shizuka Hiou easily, through her still healing and closing wound from the anti-vampire weapons.
Shizuka's eyes widen in shock as she felt the hand of Kaname Kuran piercing through her body, then her eyes gave way to realization as she heard Kaname's whispered words by her ears.
"I do not like it when people touched someone or something which I treasured, and I absolutely loathed it when they tried to place harm upon them. "
Initially, Shizuka was bewildered then the bewilderment gave way to recognition and realization. Then she smirked and said, "I must say, I'm not surprised about your attempt to kill me. Though, I must say someone is not going to be pleased about you taking down his 'prey'. "
"I'll say my reason for killing you is actually justifiable. After all, you did tried to harm one of the most important people in my life. Currently I'm now holding your heart in my grasp, what do you think will happen if I were to crush it now? After being weakened significantly by Zero's anti-vampire weapons, I think even a pureblood like yourself would just dispersed into nothing but sand once I crushed your heart - isn't that so? "
Shizuka smirked, as she questioned. "Are you sure, its' only one person that's important to you among those whom I had tried to harm over the past week? "
Kaname glared and if looks could kill, Shizuka would be dead by now. "I do not know what you are talking about! " Kaname gritted out as he tightened his hold on Shizuka's heart.
Shizuka grimaced, as she continued to speak and provoke the younger pureblood with her words. "Suit yourself then, and if you do intend to kill me. Then would you just get on with it already? If not, I might just kill the Cross girl the next time around, I see her. If not, I might just make Zero one of my 'dummy' then. Ah, not to forget that little pureblood boy whom wandered in while I was taunting and playing around with Zero ... I bet his blood would be delicious too. "
That caused Kaname's last restrain on himself to break completely, as he responded. "Since you wanted me to kill you this much, then I shall gladly obliged and comply to your request. "
With that, Kaname withdrew his hand from the body of Shizuka while he let the former fell onto the ground with blood gushing out from the hole which he had caused while pushing his hand through the barely healed wound of the said female. Then Shizuka did something unexpected, she reached into the obi of her kimono and pulled out a small bottle of blood. Handing it over to Kaname, Shizuka said.
"Give this to Zero, will you? Certainly, you do not need me to explain what's it for ... or do I have to? "
Kaname accepted the bottle without a word, keeping it away in the chest pocket of his blood-stained uniform of the night-class. "Any last words?"
"I think there's no need for me to vocalise them to you, after all I'm certain that you know what you are getting yourself into by killing me. "
Outside the room, Aidou Hanabusa felt his eyes widening upon the sight of his beloved pureblood leader killing Shizuka Hiou. Although, he had no idea what the duo had been conversing about before he was very much aware of how Kaname had thrust his hand into the body of Shizuka Hiou, and took a few gulps of the former's blood in the process.
Back inside the room, Kaname licked his fingers clean of Shizuka's blood before turning away from the sight and left the room without a backward glance. On his way past the stunned figure of Aidou Hanabusa, he shot the said blond a warning glare as he beckoned for the former to follow him in his wake.
Meanwhile, Ichiru and Zero's fight were brought abruptly to an end as Zero commented that the blood that lingered in the air had thickened. Somehow, that triggered the warning bells to start ringing in the mind of Ichiru as the younger Kiryuu twin abandoned his fight with his twin sibling and headed towards the direction of Shizuka's room as fast as his legs could carry him.
~to be continued~
Date started: 30/05/09
Date completed: 01/06/09
Date edited: 01/06/09