Captured Hearts

Chapter Thirty-eight: The Equal

Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Japan Branch- Werewolf Enclosure- 6:00 PM

"Shouldn't you go out and hunt?" Rasiel sighed, sitting beside the werewolf who was curled up in his nest in an indigo and black lump. "You haven't eaten since yesterday morning..."

"I'm not hungry," Mammon replied, flicking his tail so that it made the blonde werewolf back up a little. "Go 'way."

Rasiel sighed, and stood up. "All right. Mourn the loss of your mate for a while longer. I'll bring you some fish, all right?" After receiving no reply, Jill headed on his way to the hunting area, leaving Mammon alone. Just a few moments after he left, however, Colonello walked in, leading Fon into the werewolf enclosure. It was forbidden for any werewolf to ever bring a vampire into their enclosure- plus, considering the rivalry across the two species, it was just plain dumb. But Fon had made an effort to fit in, using some scraps of black cloth from his cousin's cape to create makeshift ears and a tail, which he managed to stick to his body with sap from the growing tree in his enclosure. Seeing all the effort Fon had put into his disguise, Colonello led him into the werewolf enclosure, and the two of them rested in the small, makeshift bed that the army werewolf had made.

"Hey, Fon," Colonello murmured, smiling as the vampire's lips closed around his neck. "As much as I want to let you drink until you blow up, I have a question, dammit."

"Hm? What would that be?" Fon breathed, looking up at the werewolf with his soulful, black gaze.

"How did it happen that they captured you?" Colonello asked.

"Well... I wasn't exactly captured," Fon replied. "I gave myself to them, as well as I-Pin."

"Gave? Why?" Colonello asked, his blue stare widened.

"They asked for two vampires. There were papers all over the forest warning us that if two didn't come to them, they'd take us themselves. I offered myself to them, feeling that my single fang made me unworthy to live among my own kind when another has been stolen away. I told I-Pin to run, but she didn't listen to me. We were captured by a young girl with blue hair and soft eyes- beautiful, beautiful eyes. That's the most I remember of her, but I do remember that she was very kind. I think she was distantly related to the infamous vampire hunter Daemon Spade..."

"How do you figure?"

"Her name was Daemon Muroki," Fon said. Colonello gasped.

"That's practically a scramble of Mukuro, dammit! Bet she was his mother, dammit!"

"Hm, perhaps so...," Fon sighed. "I never did meet her husband."

"Probably split," the werewolf answered. "Humans never remain loyal to each other."

Fon nodded, before looking back at the werewolf's throat. His dark eyes were filled with hunger that he could only feel for Colonello, and as the werewolf lifted his head, granting permission, Fon snapped down on the throat, and filled his mouth with the sweet blood. His one true fang was dyed red with blood, his false doing it's job flawlessly, and as Fon and Colonello enjoyed the pleasure each other brought, the two bodies became one.

And together, they fell asleep, their mouths glued together as if they never wished to part.

Later, in the Lab...

"Spanner," Chrome called, walking forward. "I've at last finished the Heartsickness supplement to treat werewolves. It should also work on vampires."

"All right, let me see," Spanner said, taking the tablet from the girl. He placed a piece of it beneath his microscope, already knowing precisely what the medicine would have to look like, for he had already run several tests. After a thorough inspection, he handed it back to her. "Make more," he said. "Then give these to the werewolves too, and vampires, too. Make a stronger one for centaurs, dissolve it in water so that we can give it to the merpeople."

"Then... it's...?"

Spanner grinned around his strawberry lollipop. "You did it."

"Do my ears decieve me?" Tsuna sighed, walking into the room. "Or is it another failure?"

"Your ears decieve you!" Shoichi announced, standing upright. "Chrome's done it!"

"She has?" Tsuna gasped, looking to her. Chrome gave a shy grin in return, and Tsuna smiled for the first time in a while, before swooping in and hugging her. He passed the embrace to Spanner, and Irie Shoichi as well, announcing, "We're going to be rich! And we'll finally be able to build a bigger tank for the merpeople, and a bigger pasture for the centaurs!"

"Better than that, Tsuna!" Shoichi announced. "We're going to be able to expand into Crimson Forest! All of the creatures are going to have space to interact! We'll even be able to let the vampires and werewolves hunt at the same time, now! And as for observers, we could let them watch from overhead passages! I can see it now!"

"Not just that," Dino said, stepping into the lab. "We'll be able to cure everyone of Heartsickness." The tamer explained to everyone that the disease had taken the route that he knew it would, and that Fuuta was showing signs of it, as well. "Luckily, Hayato has not caught it, and he isn't likely to. That means that the centaurs are safe."

"I will develop more pills right away!" Chrome announced, before returning to her work. Tsuna smiled, and looked back at Dino.

"Well, since you've told us a secret, I think I ought to share one with you," he said. "Rather, I can't hold it any longer."

"What would that be, Tsuna?" Dino asked.

"The Rokudo Clan's blood is tainted," Tsuna said. "Mukuro's grandfather, Daemon Spade, allowed his second mate, a vampire named Alaude, to drink the blood of his children. Daemon Muroki and Suno both had vampire blood infused within their own, which gave them the instinct to kill- which they directed towards the kind that contaminated their blood- the vampires."

"So then, what does this have to do with you?" Dino asked. Tsuna blushed lightly, and wrung his hands together.

"For a short amount of time, I was best friends with Suno. He was slowly developing vampiric fangs when I met him. His sister, Muroki, met her husband some time while I was hanging out with Suno, but the second that his sister's husband found out that she was pregnant, there was an uproar. I'm not sure why, though. Muroki's husband left, and the moment he found out, Suno went berserk." The brown-haired boy pulled back the collar of his shirt, to reveal fading fang marks in his neck. "For some reason, Suno's body turned into that of a vampire. His canines grew into fangs. Then, he bit me. And even though he was my best friend, it was then that I took the liberty to shoot him with my grandfather's vampire hunting gun, because I knew it's what Suno- my friend, Suno- would have wanted. ... Everyone, I'm not two hundred years old."

"How old are you, then?" Spanner asked. Tsuna swallowed.

"In two years, I will be six hundred."

Everyone stared at Tsuna, stunned, but they understood that the vampire DNA mixed into his body had caused him to live much longer than normal. It was rare for a human to surpass three hundred and fifty years! To be nearly six hundred years of age was, put simply, a phenomenon. "But Tsuna," Shoichi began, uncertain. "How do you feel about that?"

"What do you mean?" Tsuna asked.

"A vampire more or less gave you your current life," Shoichi said. "You're going to live longer than any of us- probably just over a thousand years. And now, you're helping in the movement to capture vampires and..." He trailed off, looking pained.

"What movement?" Tsuna asked. "I just heard that we were going to learn about them... right?"

"The winds have changed," said Spanner. "If we can manage to immunize vampires to Heartsickness... er... eventually, they're going to be sold into slavery." Tsuna's eyes grew wide.

"Since when was this a plan?" he asked.

"Since they've begun to willingly help out the human race," Spanner sighed. "Look, I don't like it, Shoichi doesn't like it, hardly anyone here does. But human labor- even machine labor- is unbelievably expensive these days, and vampires are... well, they're plentiful." Tsuna shook his head, then looked to Dino.

"Dino? What do you think?"

"I think this is a damn stupid idea!" Dino shouted, stepping forward. "There is nothing- mind you, nothing subspecies about vampires! They're beautiful creatures with human-like forms who just happen to be unable to control their instincts! What's next, are we going to start riding through the streets on centaurs? Or turning merpeople into lifeguards at the beach? Hell, next, the werewolves are going to be in dog shows! I thought it had already been decided that we couldn't do this to them!"

"It's not our plan," Spanner said, leaning back in his chair. "You've gotten it, too, right? Observers wanting to purchase the creatures here?"

"And I tell them that the lives of these beautiful creatures are most certainly not for sale!" Dino cried. "If this happens, guys, I'm going to quit. I don't care what happens to my life or yours. I just care that these creatures get the respect they deserve." With that, he stormed back to the door, but Tsuna lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Dino tore his arm away.

"Look, Tsuna, I love you like a brother. But I feel the same way for the vampires. I'm going to tell them."

"You'll just hurt them," Shoichi murmured. Dino glared at him.

"I would be even more hurt to find out I'd been betrayed," he hissed, before leaving the lab and striding back through the center. All his life, Dino had thought of vampires as being equals. As creatures that were right up to par with the human race. They had memory, they could speak and read, they even occasionally romanced each other in the same ways as humans! Dino walked over to the small cage that had been the original enclosure, then unlocked it, and stepped inside. He locked the door behind him, knowing he was the only one who could open and close it without Mukuro there, and he moved into the vampire enclosure. There, he saw a sight that he had only seen a couple times before- a group blood-share. Hibari, Basil, Fon and Skull were huddled together in the center of the enclosure, drinking each other's blood in an almost mindless manner. Dino had not remembered this sight as vivid as it now appeared- the blood seeping down their chins, and the lust in their eyes as they devoured each other. They were already slaves to their own instincts, he realized. Nevertheless, Dino was a brave one, and he slowly, carefully approached Hibari, then placed a hand on his back. "Hibarin-," he began, but he had made a mistake. Immediately, he was yanked into the center, and he saw the overwhelming bloodlust in each of the vampires as they looked over him. The tamer gulped, shutting his eyes tightly as a few droplets of blood seeped out of Skull's mouth, landing on his cheek. And as the deadly fangs of four vampires came close to him, the only thing he could manage was a scream of terror.

(A/N: This is where I would close the chapter usually, but I decided to reward you guys for some excellent reviews! No cliffy this week:D)

Reborn heard the scream as he passed by the vampire enclosure, but he only stopped for a moment. As he began to walk again, a slow smirk crossed his face. It was about time that tamer learned his lesson, he thought, and he also believed that Dino needed to wake up. A vampire and a human were drastically different. Humans had free will, while vampires always submitted to their instincts. Vampires were lesser beings. But then, he himself had grown attatched to a centaur, and as Reborn recalled that fact, he grew irritated. That was different, in his opinion. They would not develop a romantic relationship.

The following morning...

Dino's eyelids felt heavy and weak as he lifted them. His clothes had been torn in several places, but luckily, certain intimate areas were still untouched. In places where the skin was exposed, bite marks could be found; little puncture wounds here and there to remind Dino that he had survived quite the incident. The tamer was already in a sitting up position, and he noticed with suprise that he was not alone. Hibari and Basil were snuggled up close to his left side, Fon and Skull on his right. As he moved his hand over one of their shoulders, he determined that he was not angry for what had taken place. He remembered how the fangs had pierced his skin in several places, and also did he remember that those fangs didn't hurt at all- not for a second. Dino knew that a vampire tried to bite only where it wouldn't hurt, but he didn't think that that law also applied to humans. With this information, he concluded that vampires believed humans to be their equals.

That note brought the other memories of last night flooding forth. How the scientists had told him about selling their vampires into slavery. Dino's eyes began to water as he looked from Basil's innocent sleeping face, to Skull's hardened, stern expression, and he whispered, "I'll protect you, don't worry..." Hibari's eyes opened as the tamer spoke, and the vampire heaved a tremendous yawn that displayed the fangs that had been polished white even after such a bloody night.

"Dino...," he rasped, looking at the tamer. Realization washed over the vampire, and he apologized, bowing his head several times. In reply, Dino silently rubbed the vampire's back, shaking his head and giving a weak smile.

"It's all right," he breathed. "You, Basil, Fon, and Skull... I've always wanted to help you. But I'm sad to say that this isn't going to be much help for you."

"What are you talking about, Dino?" asked Fon, before breaking into a yawn just as his cousin had. "You have some delicious blood, if I might say so myself."

"Wake up, everyone," Dino sighed, sitting upright and nudging Basil and Skull awake. The two drowsily opened their eyes, and Dino reluctantly began, although he was a bit uncomfortable with the four creatures brushing against him and breathing down his neck. "I was speaking to the scientists yesterday, and something horrid has been discovered."

"The hunter art at last kilst?" Basil asked.

"Uh, no, no news of Mukuro," Dino sighed. "It's worse. You guys could be sold into slavery to work for the humans." The vampires stared at Dino, momentarily stunned, and Hibari stood up, then stalked over to the entrance. He looked back at Dino.

"You could free us," he said.

"Uh- no, no, no, you see, that's not possible," Dino said, putting his hands up in a defensive position. "If I were to release you all, you'd spread the Heartsickness and..." Suddenly, Dino remembered that they had developed a cure. "Well... um... actually..." He looked around. These creatures... he loved each and every one of them. Not just them, either, the werewolves, the merpeople, the centaurs... All of them were his precious friends.

One hundred and fifty years ago... Whistle Mountain (Cave)- Italy- 5:00 P.M.

Young Dino was twenty years old, (imagine a five year old- sorry, I know it's confusing...) and he lived in a mountain cave with his family of six. His adopted mother was a blonde werewolf whose pups had already left to become hunters. One of said pups were Colonello, who had enlisted in an army so that he could enjoy an action packed life. His adopted father was a vampire named Don Enzio Cavallone the First, whose alias was used as inspiration for that of Dino's pet turtle, Enzio. (A/N: I just picked up the name 'Don' somewhere... I think it's just another name for Dino, but it works, right?)

His adopted sister, Mari, was a cow-centaur, and his adopted brother, Aki, was a merman. Growing up in this mixture of species naturally made Dino comfortable around him. After all, his mother was a warm body to sleep beside at night, and his father refused to drink the blood of any in his family. His brother and sister were fun to play with- sometimes, Mari would have enough energy to let him ride her, and Aki would occassionally swim with him during the summer. The creatures were always there beside him to support and help him... but one day, that all changed.

A man showed up. Tall, lean, a man whose eyes were hid by a fedora. In his hand was a pistol- the weapon that stole Dino's beloved family. The shots came faster than he could see- his father, his mother, his siblings all fell, and in the pool of blood, Dino looked at the man, both hurt and confused. "Why?" he asked.

"Because it's my job."

The answer was painfully simple. Young Dino couldn't understand that a man's job was to be a murderer- a cold-blooded killer. But then, two figures emerged from the cave sides. A woman with soft eyes and blue hair, seemingly pregnant, and a man with a short, red ponytail and a laptop in his arms. These became known as Mr. Irie, and Miss Muroki to young Dino. The two of them became like his new parents... and eventually, Dino forgot about his old family, only remembering who they were in his dreams.

-End Chapter

I apologize for alla OCs. I hate OCs... but I'm not gonna romance them with any of the main characters for this series, so I do hope it's all right... :I

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