Disclaimer: No, I do not own the characters of Gravitation. They are property of Maki Murakami, TokyoPop, Rightstuff and whoever else has their hands in the cookie jar here. Either way, I'm just a loser who makes no money off of this fanfiction.
"I get that." Yuki said at last.
Raising an eyebrow, Kaname
questioned:
"Do you now?" When Yuki didn't respond, he leaned in closer and continued "Tell me, Eiri. Do you, have something… that you want to protect?"
"Something… to protect?"
Silence filled the room, as Kaname allowed his words to sink in. After a beat, he brought his eyes up to his son's.
"Yes." He replied "Something that you'd give your life for. Something that you cherish so much… value to intensely, something so precious to you that you'd sell your soul for it?"
Yuki remained silent, staring at his father, unanswering.
"Of course you do…" Kaname murmured, standing "I did once…" He moved away from the throne a few paces, walking in long strides back and forth "Once… I valued something more than life itself. More than… anything." He paused. "And I lost it… lost her." After a beat, he continued "Killed her."
He turned to his son.
"Granted, many, many years later, I was gifted with something… just as wonderful." He reached out, brushing back Yuki's hair. "Something just as beautiful, as powerful, as pure…" He withdrew his hand "Something that I tried to corrupt. Tried to smash into little pieces… An angel that I ripped the wings off of…"
"Father…"
"Just like I did to his mother," Kaname continued "Long ago…"
Yuki fell silent, his eyes widening.
"You see, Son." Kaname began "As much as we love things… cherish them… sometimes, it's our destinies to destroy them. To rip them to shreds with our own hands… our own power…" He turned around "As much as we claim to be the masters of our destinies… 'captain of our ships…' it's really a load of crap. We're all puppets to the great design. Your mother knew that… she always knew that…" He chuckled "Of course she did. She was one of the one's who pulled our strings. Didn't want to though, but she understood. Understood what had to be done. What had to happen.
"I
loved her, more than anything… and she loved me, I know that. But
she understood what would come of our union… of our brief time
together… and let go far more clearly than myself…" He laughed
"Than others."
"Others?"
Kaname nodded, beginning to pace again.
"Demons, are not above humans. Neither are angels, or gods. In truth, immortals suffer from the same vices as mortals." Taking in Yuki's confused face, he offered. "We get greedy."
Yuki sat down on the stairs leading up towards the throne, preparing for a lengthy story.
"You
see, once you were born… you instantly became desirable." He
chuckled. "Everyone wanted you--."
"--as always." Yuki
interrupted.
Kaname smirked, but continued.
"You had a rare combination of power. Not even 'rare', 'one of a kind' is more like it." He exhailed. "Unions of demon and human, of angel and human are… almost common." He began "Leading to a great mix of creatures other than demons or pure angels with light and dark powers. The only side effect, or downer really, is that humans… well they have no real power."
Yuki raised his eye brow.
"Um,
I go to a school full of them." He began "I'm stalked by a girl
who can create portals to other dimensions and create rifts in
reality. One of my best friends can create fire from his
body…"
"Spells, Eiri." Kaname interrupted "That's only
spells. Human blood… in the grand scheme of things, means nothing.
Witches, warlocks… all they do is tap into demonic and angelic
energy. Sure, they can become masters of summoning and harnessing
that energy, but in the end, it's not theirs."
"Well
then… what about creatures like elves and…"
"Again,
they're pure light. They aren't human, more like… a dilution of
angel blood in corporeal form."
"So
then… what does that make me?"
A grin spread across Kaname's
face.
"You? You're… how should I say… special."
Yuki cocked his head in confusion. Kaname came and sat next to him.
"You're
different…" Kaname began, leaning back "You see, there has
never been a… successful
merger of light and dark. Sure, demons and angels have been known to
have their trysts, even produce an offspring on occasion, but the
child almost never lives. And if it does, it's usually not
particulary strong."
"And why's that?"
"Because the
demon and the angel never are." He chucked "Not to brag on
myself, Eiri. But my blood is pure. It is powerful. The Yuki line…
possesses great strength. Great darkness. Not to mention, the fact
that I'm a Chaos Wielder…"
"Okay I got it. You're a BAMF. What about Mother?"
"Your
mother… is a Goddess. In all literal terms and meanings of the
word." Kaname paused, thinking. "She has power that you couldn't
even dream of. Couldn't even imagine. Her light… extends to the
beginning of time… her powers…" He turned to face Yuki. "It
was a match made in heaven… or more technically… in a grass field
on Earth, over the span of several hours."
"God, Dad…"
"This had never happened before… Demons and Gods of our stature had never… hooked up. Let alone made a child… and to have that child survive."
Kaname paused.
"Because of your mother and I being from different… playing fields… from the moment your conception was known, it was constantly debated which side you would fight for. The side of the angels? Demons? So began the age old battle of "Good V Evil."
"I'll tell you how it ends… we always win."
"Oh,
that's all relative," Kaname spoke "But that conversation is
for another time." He stood once more, resting his hands on his
hips "Everyone desired your power."
"I don't get it."
Yuki began "Why me? I'm not even that strong… compared to you
or mom anyways…"
"Of course not. But that's just because,
you're young. Inexperienced, as the case may be…"
"I know
a few hundred women who'd beg to differ…"
"As the case may
be," Kaname continued "However. Because of your blood, you're
also immortal."
Yuki's eyes widened. His head whipped up towards Kaname.
"Wait… what?"
Not understanding the question, Kaname paused, waiting for Yuki to elaborate.
"I'm… immortal? I'm never going to die?"
Kaname chuckled.
"Oh… oh. Yeah… I suppose I should rephrase that."
"Yeah, you do that."
"You're
ageless."
"That's
the same
thing!"
"No.
Not at all in fact. Not even remotely similar."
"What do you
mean?"
"I mean… you won't get old." Kaname began. "I
never said you wouldn't die."
Yuki narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"Take me, for example." Kaname chuckled. "Even Mizu. We're both, several thousands of years old… in fact, I lost count a few millennia ago…"
"But… you don't look a day over 28."
"Exactly."
Kaname smiled softly "Higher ranked demons, those with pure demon
blood… don't age."
"But then… how do they die?"
Kaname chuckled.
"You've been on Earth, far too long." He began "Your concept of death is someone living for 80 odd years and their heart just giving out… in hell… not only are there few demons of my stature, but there is… how do you say it… a higher crime rate."
Yuki cocked his head.
"We kill each other." Kaname laughed. "For sport. When one lives forever… eventually there becomes little to live for." He paused. "Or, in the case of a family like ours… there's a curse."
"You
never told me what the Yuki family curse is…"
"But back to
the main point." Kaname continued "You're only weak because
you're young. You haven't been around as long as I have. But the
point is, that you have potential."
"Potential?"
"Potential."
"The
sides of Good and Evil want me… because I have potential?"
Kaname
nodded.
"It's what you have the potential for, that's the kicker." He chuckled "You see, son. Your body is a perfect fusion of light and dark magics. That's never happened before. In fact, it shouldn't be possible. Light and dark magic nullify each other. More accurately, they repel. It's impossible for one person to harness both. To be a being of both good and dark. Or so we thought… until you survived."
He returned once again to pacing.
"It doesn't make any sense." He murmured. "Something must be… regulating your energy, somehow… something, immensely powerful."
"So--?" Yuki asked. "What does this have to do with you and Mom?"
Kaname
smiled sadly.
"See, that's where things get tricky."
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A.N. So, I know I left on a cliffy again, but I figured that this chapter was getting too long as it is (pushing 1,500 words) and was already a lot to process, so I decided to end it. I finally got to (at least start) explain what Yuki is, and have him be really cheeky throughout the process. The next chapter will however, explain many things, and finally start to reveal the circumstances of Sara's death. See you next chapter and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
