Captured Heart

Chapter Forty: The Plentiful

The Science Center for Supernatural Beings (Japan Branch) grew rich in days, selling their Heartsickness cure to other branches of the SCSB, and to owners of merpeople lakes or centaur pastures, and soon decided that it was time to expand... right into the one place where vampires thrived. All of the Heartsick creatures were cured, and guests started pouring into the SCSB, enhancing their profits further.

A week later, in Crimson Forest- Japan- 9:00 AM

It was an uproar. Vampires scattered the area, angered by the intrusion of hunters and tamers on their home land. Trees were cut down, the land upturned, and a large, glass wall was put up- trapping a couple vampires inside it. These two were Kusakabe Tetsuya, and his brother, Kusakabe Tetsu.

Suddenly, doors were opened, and creatures of the merperson, centaur, werewolf and vampire species flooded into it, hissing, roaring, howling, chuffing, screeching, and hunting and grazing with their feral anger. All but one- Hibari Natsu Kyoya the Second. He sombered into the enclosure, and immediately saw the two Kusakabes, and moved up to them, before giving each of them a short hug. Tetsuya was his beloved servant who had served the Hibari Clan for years, and his little brother had been beside him for just as long. The three of them were close friends since childhood.

"Tetsuya, Tetsu, it's so nice to see you again," Hibari sighed as the two bowed to him. "Have you been well?"

"All until those scientists tore down our home!" Tetsuya cried. "Master Kyou, our mates... our children!" Hibari's eyes grew wide.

"Then this is... Crimson Forest?" he murmured, looking around. He ran to the glass wall, and put his hand against it, his eyes watering as he saw the glint of the menacing stares of vampires in the shrubs. And then, to his suprise, one vampire emerged, and came up to the glass. Hibari hadn't seen this vampire before, but seeing the sorrow in his eyes, Hibari knew that this vampire recognized him as one of the aristocratic Hibari clan. The vampire called out to him, but Hibari could not hear what he was saying, and the elite sighed, turning to Kusakabe. "The society is still alive," he whispered. "How? ... Why?"

"As soon as the Hibaris were killed- or so we thought, we went into a frenzy," Tetsuya whispered. "Vampires were mating left and right, trying to replenish that gaping hole in our lives. Without you, Kyou, we had no one to look up to." The vampire on the other side of the glass pressed his face into the wall and slammed his fist into the side of it. Tears began to brim in his eyes. "Now there's so many of us, all seeking out an aristocrat, someone to give our blood to... and to worship. Kyou, everyone wants to give you their blood."

The elite blushed, and he placed his hand on the glass. The other vampire did the same thing, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. The other vampire opened his mouth, pointing to his fangs, and Hibari opened his own in response, proudly displaying his long knives. The wild vampire then gave a small, wishful smile, then held up his hands, forming a heart with them. Hibari grinned, and nodded. He understood. The vampires who were left were so desperate to share their blood with an elite, and he could appreciate that, but at the same time, Hibari could feel Basil's envious gaze on him. He turned, about to call Basil over, when a loud bang rattled the glass, and the moment he turned back, he saw the wild vampire on the ground, his clothes bleeding red. A blood splatter against the glass was made, and even as the feral vampire closed his eyes, likely never to open them again, the small smile was still on his face. Hibari saw the one who had fired the lethal shot as his own kind fell. It was no other than Reborn- the head of the science center.

Later, on another side of the large enclosure, the centaurs had all fallen asleep but Kikyo. He was wide awake, staring at a pure white being that was just on the other side of the glass. His eyes were dark, hollow, and his long, silvery hair seemed like fog rather than a physical essence. He was a beautiful centaur- no, pegataur- with wide, white wings and a beautiful, sleek pelt. The entire being was painted white, and his body was like ice, but smoothe, and beautiful. Then, without warning, the being stepped through the glass easily, and approached Kikyo, then said, his voice like the hiss of cold water, "What is your name, young one?"

"Kikyo," the appaloosa breathed, blushing lightly. "You?"

"You may call me Ghost," the other said, reaching out. His hand trailed over Kikyo's bare shoulder, then moved down, and the pegataur stepped back, sliding his hand down the horse back. "You, Kikyo, are gorgeous."

"Th-thank you," Kikyo stuttered, before gasping as the icy cold hand slid down his thighs.

"Beautiful, indeed," Ghost husked, coming back. His cool wing draped over Kikyo's body, and he came in, then bit down on the other's shoulder. Kikyo gave a quiet moan as the ghost pegataur gave him a fierce love bite, then flushed red, immediately feeling aroused.

"You're also beautiful, Ghost...," he panted. The pegataur smirked, then turned him, and met their lips together, resulting in a pleasant feeling that spread through his entire being. Kikyo wrapped his arms around the barely solid body, and he could feel Ghost take a step closer, his forehooves moving past Kikyo's own. Then, to Kikyo's shock, the ghost pegataur slid his tongue out and into his mouth, making the appaloosa tremble with anticipation. "Ghost," he gasped as they parted. "Ghost, please..."

"Just stay calm," the other groaned, trotting back to Kikyo's horse end. "Let Ghost take care of you."

Science Center for Superntatural Beings- Japan Branch- Lab- 6:00 A.M.

Dino gave a wide yawn as he stepped into his workplace once more. He'd had some unsettling dreams last night, and when he walked back into the lab to see Reborn holding a pair of vampire fangs in his hand, everything grew even worse. "Whose are those?" he asked his boss. Reborn snorted.

"Turns out, Crimson Forest still holds vampires- that is, more than we thought. So I went out this morning to find one trying to break through the glass. We simply cannot have that."

"So you shot him and harvested his fangs," Dino concluded, folding his arms. "I think we shouldn't have built an all-inclusive enclosure if it cut that far into Crimson Forest! That's practically sacred land for the vampires!"

"Dino," Reborn began, his tone strict. "These creatures are not our equals. They'll have to move. Besides, what's more important to you, bloodsucking monsters, or your own kind?"

Dino frowned, his mind screaming for him to answer vampires, but instead, he hung his head. "My own kind," he sighed. Reborn nodded in approval, then placed a hand on Dino's shoulder. He took the tamer out of the lab, and showed him around the mostly empty enclosures.

"We're ready to accept more creatures from Italy," Reborn said, "because now we have the space. See, they wanted to send us more werewolves, and centaurs, but I turned them down for our own lack of space. Once Mukuro returns to our center, I'll ask them to send the creatures over."

"Sir, that's wonderful news, but we couldn't possibly!" Dino announced. "The werewolf enclosure's cramped as it is- the centaurs, too! We don't have any room." Reborn sighed, and walked over to the werewolf enclosure. He ordered Dino to unlock it, to which the tamer hesitantly complied. The two walked inside, to find Mammon and Fran talking together. Empathetic, Dino knew that the two had had a rough time, but hoped that they were getting back on track as friends. With that idea, he smiled, but Reborn was less in the mood.

"You two! Why are you still here?" he asked. "Move on to the new enclosure. This place is likely to be torn down so that it can become an educational room."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Fran protested. "The werewolf enclosure is brand new! Besides, no way I'm going into that namby-pamby room." Mammon laughed quietly, but Reborn was not amused. He immediately took out his pistol, and aimed it at the two, causing Dino to panic.

"Sir!" he said. "Please, calm down!" Reborn glared at him, and Dino sighed, before taking his whip and lashing the gun from his hand. The unfortunate result was a wounded and very angry boss. Reborn massaged his stinging wrist for a few moments, giving the bronco a very angry stare.

"Where do your loyalties lie, Dino Bronco?" he snarled.

"It's not Dino Bronco!" Dino shouted. "It's Dino Cavallone!" Reborn stood up a little straighter, remaining silent as to listen to Dino's plea. "These creatures are amazing, and they're not inhuman! Vampires were derived from a human mutation in the teeth and minds, and they evolved into a spectacular species! Centaurs were the offspring of an odd human-horse hybrid- one that miraculously happened to be fertile! Werewolves... they were wolves that evolved into a species so close to us that you can't possibly call them subspecies! And merpeople- the sweet, sweet merpeople! They've been beside us, guiding us for so long! Those first few dolphins who lost their snouts, who grew fingers...!" Reborn sighed.

"Dino, they're copying us."

"No!" Dino cried. "They want to be part of our society! They want to be our equals! Right?" He turned to the werewolf and merman at the shore, and they both gave small, shy nods. Reborn paused, staring Dino down for a solid amount of time, before turning out of the enclosure. Dino stood there for a few moments, hurt, then sank to his knees. "Damn... what's so different about it?"

Fran and Mammon quietly decided to move on to the new enclosure, and Fran pulled Mammon into the water canal, before leading him to through the water, on to the all-inclusive enclosure.

Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Japan Branch- Main Enclosure- 9:00 A.M.

"Kikyo," Byakuran began, stepping over to the appaloosa. "Last night... I heard some... noises. It sounded like your voice."

Kikyo flushed red as he looked at his crush, and he slowly walked up to Byakuran. "I don't know it was a dream, or-"

"No," Byakuran said, his amethyst gaze firm. "There was another voice. A breathy, gentle, husky-"

"Seductive," Kikyo added, his knees weak as he said so. "Lord Byakuran... someone visited me last night. Someone I can only describe as an angel. He was so beautiful, and kind... and-"

"Sexy?" Byakuran asked, before stomping a forehoof on the ground. "Kikyo, I'm not a fool. I see that bruise on your neck. I smell the scent of another on you. Who was it?" The question was irrelevant. Last night, Byakuran had opened his eyes to see that magnificent, white, pegataur stallion. That creature, however, was no solid being. It was a phantom. That 'Ghost' was Byakuran's twin brother, and Byakuran did not appreciate the fact that Ghost had shown his face before Kikyo.

The story went that after three decades of living together, young Ghost had grown bored of his brother, and life itself. He'd also had the question his entire life of what it would be like to die, and to be dead. He didn't fear death like most centaurs, or pegasi for that matter. And one day, he decided that life was just too simple for him. And so, one day, when a large fire raked the dry summer's mountains, Ghost refused to fly away with his brother. He stood on the ground, awaiting the flames that licked up to his feet and seared the hair off of his tail. He even sat down, and laid his wings on the ground, and even as he shrieked with the burn of the fire, he never took his eyes off of Byakuran, who was watching with horror in his eyes until Ghost drew his last breath. Not even the pegasus purity trait could save the stallion. White fur and feathers became black ash, and those bright, golden eyes paled until they had vanished beneath the amber flames. Just when Byakuran was about to take his leave, a pure white form dashed up from the ashes, and leapt about him, announcing that he was light on his hooves and could feel everything so much more vividly. This was the last straw for Byakuran- the living halfbreed fled immediately.

And now, Ghost had come back, apparently regretting his departure now. He did everything he could to solidify his form- even jumping into a steadily freezing lake to lower his body temperature to a thick, liquid state. And now, he was trying to take Kikyo away. Judging by that scent on Kikyo, he'd even been successful at doing so.

But Byakuran knew that if he hurt Kikyo over it, it would only make more problems. And so, turning away, the pegataur left, giving up- at least for now.

Hibari, meanwhile, was enjoying a pleasant blood exchange with Basil, when Kusakabe Tetsuya approached the two of them. "Lord Kyou," he greeted, "I am sorry to disturb such a vital ritual to the bonding of vampires, but I-" The elite took his fangs out from Basil's neck, and, swallowing another gulp of the blood, hissed at his servant.

"If you understand how important it is, why do you disturb it?" he snarled.
"Uh, well, you see-"
"Spit it out, Kusakabe Tetsuya," Hibari muttered.

"Sir, I'm afraid I have to ask why we are in the same enclosure as those disgusting werewolves," Kusakabe admitted, indicating to Belphegor, who was having a field day with the real rocks in his new space. Hibari shrugged.

"Get used to them. They aren't bothering no one," he mumbled. "Besides, who knows? You might grow to love one, someday." Kusakabe had to put effort into not baring his fangs at the idea.

"I respectfully disagree," he said. Hibari chuckled, and came back down to Basil's level, and lazily licked at his mate's neck, knowing that he no longer had to hold back. The both of them had been cured of Heartsickness, and all that was left was to wait for Mukuro Rokudo's return.

-End Chapter

Video Update: Currently looking for anyone intrested in voice acting for Hibari, Basil, or Mukuro. Pm me if you're intrested in doing so. There isn't commitment to doing all of their lines (as in the whole story), just for chapter 1. :D We're getting there!

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