Captured Hearts
Chapter Forty-four: The Chaotic
Crimson Forest- Japan- 10:00 PM That Day
Hibari and Basil at last came up to the glass, and squeezed each other's hands as they looked in there. "Look, my Lord," Basil murmured, pointing. "The hunter is..." The ravenette's breath hitched, and his eyes fluttered as he saw the hunter, asleep with an old cape clutched in his arms. The young vampire beside him sighed, and murmured, "Go ahead. But don't stay too long. Thou saw what hast happened to the last vampire that hung around here." Hibari nodded, and his mate headed back to the forest. The older vampire walked over to the closest point he could get to the hunter, and he knelt down, then scratched on the glass. The other turned about a bit, then sat up, and his mismatched eyes grew wide when he saw the vampire.
Hibari could see the pale lips hug the word 'Hibarin?' as it left the hunter's mouth, and he smiled, holding out his arms. Mukuro scrambled to his feet and ran over, then actually ran right into the glass. Hibari chuckled as the hunter groaned, covering his nose, and the vampire put a hand against the glass. Mukuro's eyes watered, and he fell to his knees, shaking his head. He looked up, and mouthed, 'I miss you so much.' Hibari nodded, and leaned in, and the hunter did so on the other side of the glass. Their lips met with the mere separation of the glass, and Hibari could almost feel the hunter's anguish as they shared the intangible kiss.
The vampire parted too soon, leaving Mukuro staring after him with those heartbreaking, somber eyes. "I'm sorry," Hibari murmured, "I'm so sorry." He moved his hand against the glass, as if caressing the other's cheek, and Mukuro held up the cape he'd been holding close, and pressing it against the glass. Hibari nodded, expressing the fact that he understood how much the other loved him. The hunter then pointed to the vampire, then to his wrist, outlined a bottle with his finger, and acted out downing the entire thing. Hibari didn't understand. "Did you... drink my blood?" he questioned. Mukuro didn't hear him. The two shrugged at each other. "Mukuro, I think I love you," Hibari sighed, forming a heart with his fingers. Suddenly, the hunter on the other side grew angry. Hibari gasped as the hunter pulled out a gun and aimed it at him.
'I'll kill you,' he mouthed. The vampire slowly left, leaving Mukuro alone.
On the other side, Mukuro breathed heavily as he put the gun away. "I'm sorry, Hibarin," he breathed. "It's for your own good, I promise." A hand was placed on his shoulder, and Mukuro turned to see Fon.
"You care about him so much," Fon breathed. "I understand why you don't want him to remain attatched to you, but he seems to love you again."
"I can't," Mukuro said, wiping at his eyes. "He's done so much to try and make me happy, but... I... I can't handle any more of this drama."
"I know you aren't used to it," Colonello said, walking forth, "as a hunter, dammit. But emotions ain't that bad, dammit. If you really love that guy, then don't push him back. If he wants you and you want him, then that's okay!" Mukuro shook his head.
"It's too late. He's already made his choice. And that choice... it's not me."
Fon sighed, and placed the old cape of Hibari's over the hunter's shoulders, before tying it on him. "If that blood you drank causes any problems, just come see me." Mukuro blinked the tears out of his eyes, and he nodded, then stood. He walked out of the enclosure, the cape on his shoulders, and he stopped as he saw Dino.
"What's wrong with you?" he snapped. Dino blushed.
"Well, good evening to you, Mukuro," he mumbled. "I've just been a little thrown off. Hayato jabbed a mental nerve earlier."
"You can be so sensitive," the hunter muttered.
"Anyway, what about you? Isn't it a little weird that you're wearing Hibarin's old cape?" Dino snarled. Mukuro stiffened, then he grew enraged.
"Fine. I'll burn it," he said. The blonde gasped as Mukuro tore it off and walked over to a torch, but the tamer lunged forward, pulling the hunter back. "Make up your mind, bastard!" Mukuro hissed. "I'm burning it!"
"No, Mukuro, that's not the answer! I didn't mean it like that!" Dino cried. Mukuro shoved him back, then whirled around, simultaneously throwing a punch to the tamer's face. The older man stumbled back, sorely rubbing the side of his jaw, and he whispered, "Mukuro?"
"I'm sick and tired of it all!" Mukuro shouted. "I'm tired of the pain! I'm tired of the loneliness! I'm tired of the love! Dino, you make one more remark about me, and I'll punch you so hard that you pass out and never wake up!" Dino stared at him, shocked, and Mukuro quivered, weak from all of the stress, before throwing the cape on the ground and storming away to his room. The tamer reached out, and took the cape off the ground. The material was damp, hinting that Mukuro had been crying on it for a long time.
"Poor guy," he sighed.
3:00 AM The Next Morning, In Crimson Forest...
"Did thou enjoy a pleasant interaction with thy former mate?" Basil questioned, placing a body beside Hibari. The elite winced to see that his mate had hunted a young merman.
"Two requests, Basil," he said. "Call him Mukuro, not 'my former mate.' Second, don't hunt merpeople or werewolves and the like. Not after what we've been through." The young vampire sighed.
"Wilt thou still partake in tonight's dinner?"
"No, I'm sorry," Hibari muttered. "I'd feel sick if I ate that." The tan-haired vampire left, and traded his catch with Lancia's, returning to Hibari with a pair of pidgeons.
"It's not merpeople, but it'll do," he grunted. Hibari sighed, and reached out, petting the tan hair.
"Come on, Basil, what's wrong?" he murmured. The other looked away, and Hibari bit his lip. "Basilicum Arpeggio the Fifth," he said in a warning tone. Basil glanced at him. "Talk to me."
The young vampire turned back towards Hibari. "Well, I supposest I art just the tiniest bit jealous," he admitted. "Lord Hibarin, I think I may have made a mistake..."
"In drinking Mukuro's blood?" Hibari asked, causing his mate's blue eyes to widen considerably. "Yeah. I could taste it, so it wasn't hard to figure out. Basil, never think that you've made a mistake with me. Regret is a weakling's emotion. Besides... It tastes splendid." The younger vampire's eyes became narrow and fierce, and he swept in, then bit down on Hibari's neck. The aristocrat immediately realized his mistake in complimenting the taste of the hunter, and he winced as his mate used blood trade as punishment for his actions.
"My Lord, please, do not tell me you still...," Basil trailed off, then gazed into Hibari's eyes. "Share blood with all of the others before you go anywhere."
Hibari gave a small nod. "Don't worry, Basil... I'm not going to leave you."
Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Italy Branch- Werewolf Enclosure- 6:00 PM Two Days Later...
"Ah-!" choked the female as Shamal yanked her out from her cage. "You little bastards! What do you want?" she growled, her bushy, blue tail lashing back and forth as she looked up at the tamers.
"I'm sorry, pretty little lady," Shamal said, a silly grin on his face. "Reborn just noted that he was ready for you."
"What?"
"Ooh, Lal, I'm so jealous," said Bianchi. "Getting to go to Japan... Say hi to Hayato for me!"
The blue-haired werewolf yowled in distress as she was hauled off and into a box, and she squirmed about inside it, hissing as she threw her fist into the box. Even though her left arm was plated with steel, the punch still hurt, and she hissed, pulling down her heat sensing goggles so that she could at least see where she was going.
Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Japan Branch- Centaur Enclosure- 9:00 the Same Night...
Reborn sat beneath the large tree of the centaur enclosure, his head in his hands. Everything about the perfect Science Center he created was no longer perfect, and the whole of it was crashing down. He never intended to turn his tamers against him with the news of vampire slavery, nor had he meant wrong when he tried to put down vicious creatures. He didn't know how to tame these creatures, or how to treat them when he didn't know how they would respond to him. And so, in fear of being stricken, Reborn always struck first.
"Reborn...?"
The boss looked up, to see the young bull centaur who had put him at ease every so often. "Lambo...," he sighed. He stood up, and gave the halfbreed a brief hug, muttering, "What do I do about this mess? I'm not sure what the others want from me anymore."
"Well, I suppose it all comes down to kindness," Lambo replied, reaching up, and timidly brushing his hand over Reborn's cheek. "As far as I've heard, you come off as being kind of mean."
Reborn groaned, and as Lambo took the fedora off of his head, he replied, "I don't know any other way to be! Gah, all I want is for this SCSB to be at its best! If we don't have enough money, we can't feed ourselves, let alone the creatures here! And now we're getting a female werewolf from Italy! I don't even know what we'll do with her- we already have so many creatures!" Lambo put Reborn's fedora on his own head, and stepped back.
"My mama used to tell me to put myself in the other one's place. You be the blonde tamer, all right?"
The boss sighed, "Okay. Eh... oh, Reborn, these creatures are our friends."
Lambo held out his hand as if holding a gun, and he stomped a forehoof on the ground. "These are wild beasts, Dino! They are not our equals, and they never will be! They don't have feelings! They just act on impulse! They're monsters, and they deserve to die!"
Reborn gaped. "Do I really sound like that?" he groaned. Lambo nodded. "Damn," Reborn cursed. "You've got a point, Lambo. Thanks for helping me." The bull-centaur grinned, and came close. The boss met him in a kiss, and the two embraced once more, Reborn making a point of teasing at Lambo's horns as he leaned against the halfbreed.
He knew that something would have to change soon, and he was willing to be the one to initiate the change, because things couldn't go on like this for any longer. He had to change the path fate had chosen for him. He refused to be 'the bad guy' any longer. And he was grateful to Lambo for being the innocent, pure heart he needed to see in order to change his ways. But then, the boss remembered Yuni's words. She had alerted him to the fact that vampire hunters- not the ones who shot, but the 'collecters'- offered a lot of money to purchase a live slave. Reborn winced. He'd never exactly been one for slavery, but vampires were generally vicious, and they were, as mentioned before, plentiful. A pair of fangs would sell for millions, what would a live vampire sell for?
The two beings parted, and Reborn sighed, before muttering, "It's all right, Lambo. I knew something was wrong, and I knew I needed to stop it. I just didn't realize that the problem was..."
"... You?" Lambo completed. The boss gave a short nod, and leaned against the large tree behind him.
"Lambo, give me as much time as you can," he said. "Let me change myself for you." The bull-centaur flushed red, and gave a small nod, before trotting away, his bovine tail wagging almost like a dog's as he did so. Reborn stared after the hybrid, weaving his fingers together, and he whispered to himself, "Change needs to happen in order for anything to move forward."
Snap!
The boss turned to see Mukuro, who must've taken a few steps forward and broken a twig. "Mukuro?" the boss began.
"Boss, I need to request that you let me go out," the hunter said.
"To do what?" Reborn asked. The other trembled slightly, breaking into a grin creepier than the usual.
"I want to shoot some monsters."
-End Chapter
Ehehehe... Cliff'd ya...
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