Captured Hearts

Chapter Forty-eight: The Blinded

Crimson Forest- Japan- Vampire Community- Two Days Later, 12:00 AM

Mukuro and Lussuria lied beneath a bush, undetected, watching the group of vampires as they interacted with each other. "So beautiful," Lussuria cooed. "Aren't they all just so elegant?"

The hunter nodded, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared into the cavern. He was positive that his former mate was in there, but he couldn't figure out why. But just before he had the chance to worry, the elite stalked out of the cavern. His skin was flushed to a pink color, perspiration glistening over his forehead, and his fangs could be seen as he panted. Mukuro prayed it wasn't arousal.

"Oh? Up already?"

The hunter trembled to recognize the vampire that had attacked Dino. Undead Daisy - that vampire was by no means safe, and he almost wanted to rush in to protect Hibari. "Yeah, I'm up," the ravenette muttered. "Shouldn't matter to you. Where's Basil?"

"Out getting moss to help cool you down," the other sighed. "In the mean time... let's talk about Basil, and his... hm... arrangements."

Hibari sat down on the opposite side of the undead male, his eyes glinting with anger. Like a cat, his body posture indicated quite clearly that he meant business. "Daisy, you know my condition all too well," Hibari growled, "but if you intend to take Basil away from me, be aware that I'm willing to fight for him."

"Ha! In your condition?" Daisy chuckled. "Look at yourself, Hibarin. You won't last much longer." As if clarifying that he knew Daisy's point, Hibari turned his head away, and defiantly spat a mouthful of his own blood into the grass.

"I realize that I'm in no condition to fight, especially against a mutt like you," he growled. "My blood has begun to pierce through every defense in its attempt to return to my first love. Unfortunately, I don't have weakness, let alone display it. I'm stronger than you think. And if your not careful, I'll take one of the bones from your recent meals and I'll stab it through your heart. A classic monster death for a classic monster."

"I would be a fool to think that a vampire of your blood doesn't choose his battles wisely," Daisy hissed, his pale lips fixed in a scowl. "Unfortunately for you, one who fights himself can't even come close to fighting another."

"You have yourself a challenge," Hibari growled, before breaking into a wide yawn, revealing the bloodstains on his tongue and fangs. "Ugh... but I'll take you on later. In the meantime... I must rest..." The elite returned to his cavern without another word, leaving Mukuro and Lussuria speechless.

"Wow, he looks pretty bad," murmured a new voice.

"Ken, be quiet."

Mukuro and Lussuria whirled around, to see two other creatures who seemed to have been spying from the bush. With both pairs shocked, the hunter covered the tamer's mouth, while the vampire did the same to his halfbreed friend. "How long have you two been here?" Chikusa muttered.

"Since the start of this incident. You two?" Mukuro whispered.

"Same," Chikusa sighed. "Look, we won't tell Daisy or Lord Hibarin, okay? Just get out of here as fast as you can. Basil will be back any second, and as far as tattle tales go, he's one of the worst."

"Deal," Mukuro answered. He and Lussuria began to head out, and as they left, the two awkward mates looked back at each other.

"Ken," Chikusa began. "When Daisy and Lord Hibarin have their match, we will inevitably have to choose a side. Which side should that be?"

Ken's werewolf ears drooped at the difficult question. "Uh...," he started, wringing his hands. "Well, we've been with Daisy for a real long time... but Hibarin is our leader... And frankly, I don't want to see Daisy try to steal away Hibarin's mate."

"I feel the same way," the glasses vampire answered, his voice saturated in relief. "I think we should take our master's side, what do you say?"

Ken laughed, somewhat nervously, before saying in a tiny voice, "I really want to taste his blood for myself first."

Chikusa nodded. "All right. It's not like he's in any condition to resist."

Meanwhile, Basil was gathering moss with Lancia by the pond, his sky-blue eyes full of concern. "I don't understand... Lord Lancia, why would Lord Hibarin's blood boil? Art he not satisfied with me, even now? I cannot stand it..."

"Basil, Hibarin is a very kind and pure vampire," Lancia answered. "Unfortunately, that means he has to make a lot of decisions that might hurt people he loves. He's trying very hard to keep you from being upset, Basil. See, if he didn't care about you, he'd already be gone."

Basil sighed, and nodded. "I know... I knowest how hard Lord Hibarin art trying... but...I can't help but wonder if he dost love me, or..." The young vampire didn't have time to finish. In the instant where he may have decided to give up on Hibari, another creature made a bigger, faster decision. In that fleeting moment, Phantom Knight, the merman, decided he would stand no more cowardice. He saw the vampires outside, and he believed they were there to hunt. He came up close to where the young vampire stood, then grasped his ankle, before yanking him back.

"Basil!" Lancia cried as the younger fell into the water. Phantom Knight thrashed his tail as he pulled the vampire down, and Basil thrashed about in the harsh grasp, his eyes wide with terror as the air was squeezed from his body by the increasing water pressure.

This was it.

Basil knew from the day of his first hunt that he wasn't meant to survive in the world. He always knew he was weak. All of the other creatures seemed to despise him. Basil had been shredded by a werewolf, and trampled by a centaur. This wasn't the first time, either, that a merman had tried to drown him. The world didn't want him. Nobody wanted him.

Not even Hibari Natsu Kyoya II.

Basil closed his eyes, now thrashing only in a feeble struggle to survive that he knew he couldn't win. It was so painfully clear. He had long overdone his time on the earth, and now, he was paying the price the only way he could. His lungs collapsed, his heart began to slow, and he closed his eyes, at last giving up.

Suddenly, two firm hands took him by the arms, and brought him close. Basil opened his bright, blue eyes in slivers, to see before him another vampire, with long, pine green hair whom he originally believed to be an angel. He embraced the other, and at last, death wasn't quite so painful. But as he thought that, he found himself tossed back onto solid ground, and he felt the chilling hands of his savior pushing at his chest, forcing him to cough out the water that had intruded on his system. The pain returned in a flash, and Basil forced himself to cough out the rest of the water, then, suddenly, he gasped, and air once more filled his lungs. The world was a cruel thing, after all.

It had given him another chance.

Basil found tears rushing to his eyes, and he let them come, because he hated how he was so often being thrown around by the universe, in and out of death at least once between every full moon! How much more suffering would he have to endure? "Basil." The voice was soft and relieved, almost as if it was happy that the young vampire was all right. But as he looked, it was not Hibari who had spoken his alias in such a gentle tone. No, it was Daisy. Daisy who had saved his life. Daisy who had brought him back. Daisy who cared. Not Hibari Natsu Kyoya II. The young vampire reached out, and hugged the older vampire tightly, coming in and piercing the skin on Daisy's neck. To most vampires, the blood from such a hybrid as Daisy would be so rotten that it made them cough and expel it from their body. But to Basil, it was just as good, if not better, than his Lord's pure blood. "Oh, Basil," Daisy husked as he felt the small pinch of Basil's fangs. "I feel the same way."

Lancia watched the two, startled. It wasn't good. Basil- innocent little Basil- committing the ultimate sin? And who would choose Undead Daisy after being presented the glorious, perfect body of an aristocrat? Who did that? The older vampire took the moss that he and Basil had been collecting, quickly soaked it in water, and ran. He ran as fast and hard as he could to return to the camp, because, as a vampire supporting of the aristocracy, it was his duty to report Basil's betrayal to his master. As he made his way into camp, he could hear Ken and Chikusa talking to M.M. not far away, but he also heard the heavy breathing that came from inside the cavern. He rushed into it, and quickly put the damp moss over his lord's forehead, placing a hand on the other's chest to indicate that he was there.

"Basil?" Hibari rasped, opening his eyes. He trembled, and sat upright, holding the moss to his forehead, muttering, "Lancia..."

"Yes, my Lord," Lancia murmured. "... Um... my Lord... I need to... tell you something..." Hibari looked up, and nodded for the other to speak. "Sir Basil has... found another mate."

Hibari took in the comment for a while, but soon lied back down, and closed his eyes. Then, as his face began to lose just a hint of its red color, he smiled.

Science Center for Supernatural Beings- Japan Branch- In the Hall- 12:20 AM

"Are you two insane?" Reborn snarled as the two before him hung their heads. "You could have been killed! Sneaking out to spy on those monsters- you're absolutely mad!" Suddenly, the boss realized that he was yelling at Mukuro and Lussuria, and he could almost see Lambo's pouting face if it had been him. He calmed himself, and sighed, reaching up and rubbing his forehead. "Well... uh... I understand your motives, and I'm sorry for yelling, but please, try to be more careful next time, all right?"

The two smiled, and thanked him, before walking back to tend to the animals. Reborn sighed, and walked up to the tamer's bedroom, but held his knock. He arched an eyebrow, and listened, hearing on the other end the voice of... a woman? He chuckled to himself. Nonsense! Dino had told him he would never marry. The boss walked in, and gaped to see Dino and a mature female werewolf talking to each other. She was covered in wounds, a bandage per each limb. Reborn felt himself fuming.

"Dino...," he hissed through his teeth. The tamer looked at him, and Reborn was suprised even further when the caramel-eyed man began to tear up.

"Please don't fire me, boss. When I saw her hurt, I just knew that I couldn't take her to the infirmary... So I brought her here and I treated her instead. Please, please don't be mad at me..."

"Woah, woah, calm down, I'm not mad," Reborn lied, a hand on the back of his neck. "Uh... All right, as long as you aren't... well, doing anything innappropriate to her..." Lal Mirch gave the boss a fierce glare.

"Do you think I'm some helpless little girl?" she snarled. Reborn sighed, and stepped out of the room, before closing the door.

"There's only so much of this that I can take," he mumbled, heading back to the lab.

-End Chapter

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