Captured Hearts

Chapter Thirty-seven: The Recovering

Broken Down Science Center For Supernatural Beings- China- Worn Down Morph Enclosure- 4:00 PM

Mukuro sighed as he walked into the old, abandoned enclosure, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Mm... what to do~," he hummed. "To think this place used to be so magnificent. I wonder if I can find trace of my grandfather somewhere..." He walked deeper into the enclosure, and smiled as he saw the griffin nests in the walls, and the merperson ponds around the place. Broken glass decorated the ground, hinting at a rebellion. "I did hear that the tamers decided to shoot all of their morphs... I wonder why... mm..." Suddenly, a small shuffling noise caught Mukuro's attention, and he turned to see a young person with red hair and eyes, hooves for feet, and feathers in his hair. "Oya oya? It seems as though one survived... what's your name, young morph?"

The other blinked slowly, and whispered, "Enma."

Meanwhile, in the SCSB Japan Branch, Merpeople Enclosure...

Squalo headed through the tunnel to the deepest, darkest part of the Science Center, ready to head back now that he had re-adjusted to the water temperature, and helped out Fran. As he slid on to the rocks, however, he found Xanxus, free of his enclosure, a dangerous look in his eyes. "You've been a long time," the vampire hissed. "Were you playing about with Dino? Huh? Be honest or I'll kill you!" Squalo stepped back, uncertain, then gasped as Xanxus rushed at him and pinned him to the wall. "I'll give you three seconds before I bite," he hissed.

"Xanxus, I never did anything!" Squalo shouted. "I was getting used to the merpeople tank again! I never did anything with the tamer!" Xanxus hissed, and sank his fangs into Squalo's shoulder, making the merman squirm about with the pain. Squalo closed his eyes, shuddering as Xanxus bit him, although he himself wasn't sure if it was the pain or the pleasure that made him do so.

"Xanxus...," he breathed. "I would never betray you... you know that..." The bite became a little less harsh as Squalo said so, but Xanxus didn't stop. He was pissed off. He hadn't seen Squalo in almost a week, and he remembered too vividly the antics of Dino as he took the merman away. Xanxus would have no more. He backed off only after drinking himself full, and then, he kissed his mate with passion. The vampire would never admit it, but Squalo was his one and only true love, and the thought of him cheating was one with which Xanxus could not cope. Squalo belonged to him- and him alone.

Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Japan Branch- Observation Area- 6:00 PM

"Dino," began one of the girls, leaning against the rock wall. "You mentioned something about vampire fangs being used as a form of mating. Could you explain that?"

"Of course~," Dino hummed. "See, when vampires exchange blood, they're transferring their DNA into each other. When the blood enters the stomach, it's absorbed immediately by the bloodstream. The vampires all strive to pass their blood into every other vampire- it's more or less their dream."

"Tamer," Hibari greeted, walking up to the fence. "I want to-"

"Does he have a mate?" asked the girl. Dino sighed.

"Yes, uh- everyone, this is Hibarin, one of the vampires. Hibarin, would you mind helping me demonstrate something again?"

"Depends," Hibari said simply. "What would said demonstration be?"

"Call Basil over, would you?" Dino requested. The vampire sighed, and turned around.

"Hey, Basil!" he called. The younger vampire took one look at the other, and shook his head. Hibari considered his options. "Fon?" he called. "Help?" The older ravenette walked over, and bowed.

"Yes?" he asked. Hibari looked back to Dino.

"Is this all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Dino sighed. "Demonstrate a blood exchange?" Hibari's eyes narrowed.

"Humans make me sick," he grunted. He looked at Fon. "This okay with you?"

Fon nodded, and took his cousin's hand. "Do you want to bite?"

"No, you go ahead," Hibari replied, moving his head to the side. Fon came in and bit down on the other's shoulder, and Hibari gave a slow blink, moving his hand up and combing it through the other's hair. He looked at Dino with hazy, lustful eyes, and the tamer blushed, his eyes moving to the pulse of Fon's throat. The red smear above Hibari's eyes seemed invisible when faced with the crimson droplets that leaked past Fon's lips, and the elite's fangs were exposed as he gave a light pant, gleaming dangerously, but in a sensual way. Fon backed off after a fairly short amount of time, however, leaving the observers flushed- Dino included.

"Well, there you have it!" Dino said, clasping his hands together. "Who's ready to go see the merpeople?"

"Dino," Hibari said, his eyes glinting. "I had a request."

"Oh, all right," Dino said, uncertain. "Did you want to help with the centaurs?"

"Actually, I intended to see the merpeople," Hibari replied. "There's a new one, yes?"

"Yeah," the tamer agreed. "All right, then." He lifted the gate, and clipped a leash to the hunter-metal collar around the vampire's neck, before leading him out. "This is perfectly safe, everyone. This vampire is tamed." Hibari stretched as the gate closed behind him, noting to himself the fact that he hadn't been out of the enclosure in a long time. Hibari was glad to be back out- it felt good to walk on free land- even though he wasn't entirely free. As he, Dino, and the observers ascended the stone stairs, he smiled, reaching up, and brushing his fingers on the two puncture wounds on his throat. Hibari looked out into the merpeople tank, however, noticing that it seemed rather... empty.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Squalo is visiting with Xanxus, and Fran is probably with Bel," Dino replied, before calling, "Fuuta!" A young merman with tan hair and a dolphin tail the same color surfaced, and the blue-haired mermaid Bluebell also surfaced. Hibari, however, was only intrested in Fuuta, and Dino handed him a bucket of fish, sitting down on the ledge to also feed Bluebell. The vampire looked at Fuuta, and held out a fish, his gray eyes glinting cautiously.

"Do you eat it whole like this, young one?" he asked. Fuuta took the fish in his hands, nodding, and downed it in one gulp, making Hibari shudder in repulsion. However, being one to not judge the customs of other creatures, Hibari soon gave the young one another.

"Well, everyone, this is how they're able to swallow so easily," Dino began as he tossed a fish into the air. Bluebell leapt out of the air, and the observers clapped as she caught the fish in the air, before landing gracefully back in the water. As Hibari groaned from the splash he received, he noticed a certain look on Fuuta's face, and he smirked. He leaned in, and quietly told the merman that he had his eyes on a beautiful mermaid, to which Fuuta nodded shyly. "Their throats are almost elastic," Dino said. "They can swallow a whole fish up to a foot long and two inches around. This quality helps them to eat and be easily satisfied, because usually, merpeople don't have enough to eat in the wild."

"What about the bones? And diseases?" someone asked.

"Merpeople have very strong stomachs," Dino replied. "They can usually break down very strong materials. However, merpeople hunters often take advantage of-"

"Ahem~!" Dino turned to see that Lussuria had stepped up, and he gave a slight bow, before taking a step back. Lussuria reached down, and took a hold of Bluebell's hand, then pulled her up until only the end of her tail was in the water. He placed his hand on Bluebell's stomach, then indicated to a white scar over it. "Now, everyone, I'm the merpeople and centaur hunter. This scar on Bluebell's stomach was indeed made by me, but don't get the wrong impression." He eased her back into the water, and explained, "Dear Bluebell had swallowed a fishing hook. Usually, this isn't a problem. In most cases, their stomach is capable of destroying it. However, this fishing hook was made out of a very strong metal- and one that's also toxic to merpeople. I was the one to help get it out of her, and I'm proud to tell the tale today. Unfortunately, due to that accident, Bluebell often has stomach pain, and she has to rest more often than the rest of the merpeople. And for a long time, she was also unable to speak."

"Fufu~ I've been getting better, though!" Bluebell laughed, doing a flip under the water. "How about you tell them about Fran? Fuu~ It would definitely be intresting."

"Oh, I don't know, hun...," Lussuria sighed. "Fran's a more shameful story."

"Come on, Luss, let's hear it," Dino said with a sly grin. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

Lussuria sighed, and stepped back, before leaning against the wall. "Well, Fran was one of those troublemaking merpeople who capsizes boats and drowns people. So I was ordered to get a harpoon and take care of him." The majority of people in the area gasped. "But when he surfaced, intending to capsize the boat, I couldn't bring myself to kill him. So I netted him, and took him back here... but I must admit that I am not at all proud of my rough behavior towards him."

As everyone looked about themselves, nodding with agreement, Hibari sighed, giving Fuuta one last fish. "You have a thing for Bluebell?" he asked. Fuuta blushed, and swallowed the last fish, disappearing under the surface in favor of answering. Hibari smiled as he did so, then stood, looking back at Dino. "Where are we going next?"

Dino chuckled, "Centaur enclosure. Could you go get Hayato? He should be hunting with the werewolves right now."

The vampire grinned. "All right, how do I work the computers?"

"Easy as can be, just pull the lever for the gate up, and the gate will be lifted. ... I can trust you, right?" Dino said. The elite nodded, and walked back to the observation area, letting the leash slip out of Dino's grasp. He stalked over to the observation area, and called for Hayato, saying that he could join him for the centaurs. The silverette bounded up to the gate, his emerald eyes shining, and Hibari laughed, before glancing back to the computers.

"All right," he sighed. "This must be it." He pulled the lever, and Hayato slipped out from beneath the gate. As Hibari closed the gate once more, he noticed a leather collar around the silverette's neck. "I imagine I'm meant to leash you."

"Che! Forget that, vampire. Let's just go," Hayato replied. Hibari reluctantly nodded, and he moved up to the centaur enclosure with Hayato, playing with his own leash in irritation. As he and Hayato at last stopped at the entrance of the enclosure, Dino leaned over and unclipped the binding material from Hibari's own collar, before opening the gate. Lussuria had followed to the centaur enclosure, and Ryohei cantered up to him, rearing up as he slid to a stop. Hibari and Hayato watched, suprised, as Lussuria swept in, taking a hold on the other's forehoofs, and leaning in, kissing one, before letting him down and embracing the centaur.

"I missed you, hun~," he cooed.

"I also missed you- extremely!" Ryohei announced. The tamer laughed, and stroked his hand down the other's long spine, before leading him to the back of the enclosure. Meanwhile, Hibari took notice of an... odd character in the area. It was the head of the science center, Reborn, hanging out with the hybrid bull-centaur, Lambo. However, Hibari brushed it off, taking notice of a certain distraught pegataur. He approached the white halfbreed, and knelt down beside him, sighing as Byakuran glared at him.

You all right?" he asked. "You look... well... pissed off about something."

"Indeed," the other replied. "Romance trouble. You wouldn't understand." Hibari arched a brow.

"Talk," he ordered. "I'm full of romance trouble."

Byakuran sighed, and held up his wing, coaxing the vampire into a tender, feathery embrace, and Hibari obediently slid in beside him, ready for a story. "Well, I've got a crush on Kikyo," he sighed. "And I guess he's not as wild as I am."

"Hardly anyone is," Hibari answered, leaning back against the hybrid's side. "What happened?"

"Mm... we kissed," Byakuran said. "He thought I didn't actually like him, though, and when he tried to walk away, I grabbed his tail, and gave him a little friendly slap to say that we're all right."

"'A little friendly slap'?" Hibari chuckled. "You need help." Byakuran glared at the vampire, but Hibari only smirked, his silvery eyes glinting with mischief. "Tell you what, Byakuran. I'll work with you to get Kikyo on your side. What do you say?" Byakuran sighed, sweeping his wing over Hibari, and letting it heal the bite wounds that decorated the vampire's body. Hibari closed his eyes. "Good choice."

(Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Japan Branch- Entrance to Centaur enclosure- 7:00 PM)

"Centaurs are beautiful creatures," Dino said, leaning back on the fence. "As you can tell, they're also rather friendly, and easily become acquainted with other species. Centaurs being halfbreeds themselves, they very often crossbreed, which is why Byakuran was born with wings, and Lambo born a bull-centaur cross."

"But how can they do that? How's it possible?" one asked.

"Centaurs are... well, pretty tolerant when it comes to their mates, shortly put," Dino said, grinning with slight embarassment. "Although, Byakuran, being part pegasus, has the purity trait, and is likely not to crossbreed. He may become Kikyo's mate." The observers continued to watch as the centaurs were tended to both by tamers and other creatures, and everyone had their eyes on Takeshi and Hayato as the two started to get particularly close.

The reason for this closeness was that they were sharing personal information. Takeshi was telling the werewolf about his childhood, and about his father, one of the few centaurs to learn how to use a sword, and even rarer- a centaur that worked in a sushi restaurant. It sounded as though the ebony-pelted centaur had enjoyed a very comical upbringing, and Hayato wished he could say the same.

"So what were your parents like?" Takeshi questioned at last. Hayato could've bawled his eyes out like a pup then and there hadn't it been for his pride. With a heavy heart, the werewolf reluctantly began his story.

Howling Woods- Italy- Four-hundred Ninety Years Ago...

Hayato was just a werewolf pup, only thirty years old, the human equivalent of a two year old. His mother, Lavina, was a beautiful werewolf, appreciated by many, until she and Hayato's father became mates. The big deal was that Hayato's father had already taken a mate before Lavina, and had a pup with her, however, when she died, the werewolf decided to take Lavina in a heartbeat. Such a move was one that no werewolf would approve of- it was a forbidden thing to take a new mate before at the least spending a month to mourn the deceased mate's death. It was considered lowly, underhanded, and sly to switch mates.

With his birth, Hayato Gokudera was dubbed 'the mistake pup,' and he didn't appreciate it. His older sister, Bianchi, the werewolf who specialized in skilled hunting, had been attacked by a naga, and venom from the snake hybrid had caused her prey to become poisonous. Thankfully, the venom was absorbed and tolerated by her body- otherwise, she may have died from the attack.

Hayato's father was a werewolf who loved Lavina very much- even though those who never saw the relationship weren't convinced. The two werewolves specialized in musical performance; Lavina had learned to play the piano at a young age, and would often sneak into human villages with a hat to hide her ears and a long coat to hide her tail. There, she would perform, her fingers dancing across the keys, creating the most beautiful of melodies, and making the instrument sing with her amazing talent. On days that she performed, unknown to her, her mate, too, would sneak into town, in less of a disguise, and listen to her playing just outside the building. Because of this, villagers started taking notice of him, and eventually, they sent out demand to have him caught and brought to the recently founded SCSB- dead or alive. The older werewolf wasn't aware of this development, however, and as he began to take his pups along with him, he was captured.

Lavina was devistated when she found out what had happened, and that night, she hugged her two pups close, and told them that she would never endanger them again. And, just as she'd promised, they never returned to the village to play the piano. Unfortunately, hunters soon crossed into Howling Woods, and began to capture werewolves left and right. Bianchi and Lavina were caught as well. Hayato avoided capture by shifting his tail into his trousers and keeping it perfectly still, while keeping his ears flat, and using his hair to cover them. While his appearance seemed comical, he had grown into a very serious young werewolf. In the time that it took for his family to be captured, he had grown to the human equivalent of eight years, and he began to search for survival assistance. After all, no werewolf would dare take him due to his reputation, and he had already grown so deeply rooted in his thirst for vengence against the humans that he only wanted to stay with one of them. To learn their secrets and weaknesses... to wedge himself in among them, then, like any werewolf, strike! He would be crowned as royalty- see if they laugh at him then!

Young Hayato stayed back at that place with the piano, teaching himself to play as beautifully as his mother. And on the first night that he performed, a boy about his age walked up to him, and asked if he had a place to stay. That boy was Tsunayoshi Sawada, visiting his grandfather Giotto's grave.

As Hayato closed the most of his story that he was comfortable with talking about, he began to tear up, remembering the day that he had been shipped into captivity at the SCSB, briefly reuniting with his family before Tsunayoshi couldn't stay any longer. At that point, he was taken to the Science Center for Supernatural Beings in Japan, and there he would stay... trapped. Never getting his vengence.

The werewolf looked up at Takeshi, his ears flat as the first tear began to roll down his cheek, the centaur reached out, and embraced him, murmuring, "It's all right, Hayato... I'm here..." Hayato moved his hand to the beginning of the ebony fur, and brushed his hand over the shoulder of the other's left forehoof, his tail limp as he tried to recover from the pain of recalling his childhood. "Can you still play the piano?" Takeshi asked. Hayato shrugged.

"I dunno... I'd probably be rusty, but I bet I could...," he mumbled.

"Get on my back," Takeshi ordered, pushing the werewolf towards the horse half of his body. Hayato hesitantly moved on to the strong backside, and Takeshi shuffled around as the werewolf made imself comfortable. The moment those pale arms wrapped around Takeshi's waist, the centaur trotted around the enclosure, his dark tail swishing over his back in a graceful arc. "I wish I could take you my dad's sushi place," the centaur murmured. "There was a piano there..."

Hayato sighed, resting his head against the centaur's shoulder. "There's only one way to be freed from this place," he pointed out. Takeshi smiled, reaching behind him to run his hand over one of the werewolf's legs.

"I'm cool with that," he rasped. The werewolf blushed in reply, and closed his eyes.

"Idiot," he murmured.

-End Chapter

This uber-long chapter is brought to you by- those who still review. Last week had maybe 3 reviews on a double-upload week... and if you want more chapters like this, reviews are essential. I'll just go back to the usual chapter length if I don't get many reviews! :)

Review if you want another one of these!