~A Vampire Knight Side Story Part IV~

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or any of its characters ^.^

~No one's pov~

Vampire hunters did many things. One of these things was going undercover, and Yaiba loved it. Not being who you were did a world of good on the soul. It let you escape from work or emotions or even annoying students. Because on this particular night she wasn't Yaiba Surudoi, the second best vampire hunter in the region, but Claire, the prostitute on her way to an exclusive vampire party. Yes, they had them, and yes, they were very much illegal as much in the vampire world as well as the vampire hunter one. Vampire hunters steered clear of the lower-class vampire games that were played here.

There were three kinds of people at this kind of party: The vampires excluded from the Council, their food, and their toys. Claire was just one of these toys for the night amongst many. From the too-high-heels to the too-short-skirt to the too-tight-top, she was wondering if she could say that three times fast. The make-up was on the verge of overdone and her usually straight hair was falling around her in curls that made her dizzy.

The aristocrats of the vampire world turned a blind eye for this band of outcasts and Claire wouldn't have it any other way. If you didn't keep an eye on what they were doing, you most definitely wouldn't know what was happening, and you wouldn't know who was attending. What they were doing here wasn't mere gambling or sex. What they were doing here was their idea of fun. What they were doing here was cruel. This was what happened when they turned sick and perverse. This was Ground Zero.

Claire took a glass of…whatever the golden liquid was and set it on one of the tables that were placed in a circle around the arena. There were iron bar railings and the arena itself was far below the actual platform on which she stood. The lighting was dim, red eyes glowing slightly. People were shuffling away from something and she knew the show was starting. The women that were toys' eyes widened at the sight and the food was far too gone to even know what was going on. Claire couldn't look away though. Couldn't look away from this horrid scene that was unfolding. She had to watch until the right moment.

What they dropped into the arena was a Level E, and newly turned by the looks of it. However, the second body that was thrown in was human. A girl of maybe eighteen.
"Brother, don't do this. What have you done to him?" The voice tried to be strong, but it was trembling out of fear and desperation. The vampires laughed. Claire looked on, feeling nauseous. The Level E hadn't been fed. The girl's older brother was starving. He advanced on her without a second thought.

Yaiba acted quickly, the blade gun miraculously hidden underneath the piece of cloth they called a skirt. She jumped into the arena, shooting on the way down. Two landed, but didn't kill him…it. The Level E turned its attention from the girl and started toward Yaiba. She pulled the other trigger, the blade coming out of the hilt. This would be easy since it was new. It didn't know how to avoid something like this, so as it bared its fangs and snapped at her she quickly swung around and dug the blade into its neck. It turned to dust. She expected the vampires to be angry, but all she heard was their laughter echoing down to her, as if they were happy they got some sort of entertainment anyway.

She snagged the girl and got the hell out of there. Leaving her at one of the Hunters Association's safe houses to be taken care of, she was back on her motorcycle and on her way to Cross Academy once again. She'd only left a note to Kaien, telling him she had business and would be away for a few days, but she didn't tell him where. Ground Zero was one of the most dangerous places in the vampire world, and Kai would have strictly told her no. Her freelancing could have gotten her killed, but at least she saved someone. The Hunters Association would never send a vampire hunter into Ground Zero, seeing as how they weren't Level E's. Even if they knew that the vampires were making them out of amusement. She was beginning to see that the Association was turning corrupt. To let things like this go by unnoticed was unforgivable.

~Yaiba Surudoi's pov~

It wasn't until three in the morning when I finally pulled into my usual spot, donning the leather jacket in my pack and making my way up the building to my room. The one thing I didn't expect was the half-naked woman stumbling out of Toga's room across from mine giggling like an idiot. Well, half-naked if wearing one of his shirts and a pair of short shorts counted. I thought over that and realized how stupid that sounded, mentally erasing it from my head. Why the hell was this woman in the hall at this ungodly hour? Well, sure, a pretty woman coming from Toga's room only meant one thing, but still. Couldn't the woman have stayed the night or something? I couldn't tell if Toga had a great sense of timing or if this was just coincidence.

"So I'll see you tomorrow night?" The giggle at the end instantly gave me a headache.
"Sure," Toga appeared in the doorway, shirtless and obviously forgetting to button his pants. Grey boxers. Could the guy get any more monochromatic? 'Sure' was his way of saying 'If I feel like it'. The woman finally noticed me and giggled at being caught, then ran down the hall to another room. Did giggling make women feel younger or something? It just made me feel annoyed. Either way, I walked to my door, ignoring the whole scene.

"How was the job?" Of course the guy just had to start a conversation when I was one key turn away from sleep.
"The usual. Killed a Level E, saved a girl. The whole shebang. Sadly, my night wasn't as nice as yours," I turned around, crossed my arms, and leaned against the door.
"Very nice," he replied with a chuckle, arm propped on the doorway and a cigarette in his mouth that seemingly appeared from nowhere. "Was it the blade or the bullet that finished it?"
"Blade to the neck," I replied wearily, really needing the sleep.

"Wait, you only use that tactic on newborn Level E's right? I thought this job was assigned to you?" Damn, he caught on. I contemplated telling him, then decided against it.
"It just wasn't very smart. Good night," I said quickly and turned to go in my room. I was stopped by the slam of his hand on the door, inches away from my head.
"You're hiding something. Where did you go?" His breath was on the back of my neck. I ignored it and turned around to meet his gaze, defiance in mine.

"We should talk about this in the morning. I'm tired, in need of a really hot shower, and for the love of everything good I need to be away from you for a while,"
"I thought that was why you took the assignment. What, not enough distance for you?" Now he was just being an asshole about it.
"No, it wasn't. This weird attitude of yours is getting on my nerves. Usually you can't wait to hit on me or crack the next joke, and yet now you're being a complete ass and I can't stand it,"
"Whose fault do you think that is? Do you think I like being used?" he growled. This man was incorrigible.
"No, I think you love one night stands, which is what I offered you. A one night stand, Toga. Damn it, just let me get some sleep and we can talk about everything in the morning. Good night," I said frustratingly, finally retreating back into the room for some peace and quiet.

xxxx

Obviously, that wasn't the end of it. I found myself standing in Kai's office with the man himself and a perturbed vampire hunter. How could he be in a foul mood after his night with that teacher? I found out that the teacher was a stand-in for my position as their English teacher while I was away. At least I wouldn't have to deal with awkwardly bumping into her in the hallway or having to hear that annoying giggle again. But of course, his foul mood was directed toward me. I let part of my hair escape past my right ear so it could block his infuriated gaze. Damn, the guy didn't even know why I was gone yet. Some higher power should be prayed to for when he finally did, but I didn't really know which. Kai was in serious mode. His hair was down but his glasses were still on. For some unknown reason, I couldn't help but to find that sexy. His gaze was so intense. Not necessarily mad, but a look that said 'I'm going to find out what happened no matter what it takes'. Well, if he was that dead-set on finding out, why not just go ahead and spill?

"I went to Ground Zero as a prostitute. Mind you, I didn't actually do any of what the job entailed, but I did leave with quite a bang," I leaned back, indifferent to the shocked looks that were exchanged.
"Ground Zero is strictly prohibited. What were you doing there?" Kai demanded. I knew he wasn't speaking with his Headmaster authority, but that of a top vampire hunter kind. He could have easily been the Head of the Hunters Association with that kind of easily calm authority. Again, I had no idea why that was so attractive. It felt like I was a school girl getting reprimanded by the teacher I had a major crush on, and if I was lucky, he'd spank me. Believe me, it wasn't a fetish, just an appealing thought. Quickly taking my head out of the very wrong gutter, I collected my thoughts once again.

"Kai, you have no idea what they were doing in that place," I argued lightly.
"Enlighten me," When his breath whispered across my face softly, I found that I was leaning over the desk toward him. How or when that happened, I had no idea, but I heard Toga clear his throat loudly. Why the hell should he care? If he was uncomfortable he could get the hell out. He was right though. Now was not the time to be making obvious come-ons toward Kai, however unconsciously made they may have been. I distanced myself from the desk again.
"They made a Level E, then kidnapped its sister for it to eat," His eyebrows furrowed out of disgust and deep thought. I heard Toga's feet shuffle as he stopped leaning on the wall and came to attention.

"Are you sure?" Toga asked gruffly. So something like this could shock him after all.
"No, I decided to screw with you guys because I'm bored and have nothing better to do," My voice was dripping with sarcasm and he glared at me. "Yes, Toga, the bad men are still doing bad things to good people. It shocks me too." Sarcasm again. I don't know why I was in such a mood to tease him, but it was probably because of the fact he was still in asshole mode.
"Yaiba," Kai warned, out of his desk and already near where we were standing. It shut me up. I still wasn't used to him calling me that. From the flash of pain I almost missed in his eyes, I could tell he wasn't having an easy time calling me that either. He probably felt as much pain from the memories as I did.

A blade glinted out of the corner of my eyes as gunshot was heard in the distance. There was ringing in my ears that almost drowned out those sounds of fighting. Unbearable stabbing pain came from the middle of my chest. I could smell the burning of wood as part of the forest lit up to my left. Heat emanated off the nearest tree, scalding the left side of my body. Thankfully, I was free from most of the smoke as I lay on the ground.

"Surudoi-san!" I turned my head back to the right to see that Cross had finished with the group of Level E's and was running toward me. Cross had always been serious. I had never seen him smile or cry, and the man coming toward me was doing neither. I'd always seen his lack of emotion as a bad thing. He wasn't crying, but you could see the sadness written on his face. He stayed calm though as he approached me, swiftly taking out the things he'd be needing to patch me up until a medic could make it. It was obvious that I couldn't stay here with the fire coming so quickly, but he mended me with calm precision.

"Cross, go," were about the only words I could really choke out. If he stayed with me, he'd burn with me. The vampire hunter's most elite couldn't take a chance like this. At that moment, he looked straight in my eyes with such pain, determination, and defiance that I'd be speechless if I wasn't already.

"I'm not leaving you behind," I closed my eyes to let a tear go at such sweet words, but I think he thought I was giving up. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Stay with me Yaiba." The actions and words were purely for a partner and friend he felt he was about to lose, but meant so much more for me. I knew I'd stay with him even if I had to kill Death itself.

I still had the scar, though you had to look closely to see the slight discoloration of skin. Kai shared a look with me that held deep meaning. We were both thinking of the same memory, both remembering how we thought we were going to lose the other that night. Him, losing a friend, and me, losing a love. Toga might as well have been dust for all the attention we gave him in that moment. He must have felt that way too because he left without another word.
"I'll inform the Hunters Association to see if they'll do anything about it. I can't guarantee anything though. You know that Ground Zero is off limits and you might even be at risk of losing your vampire hunter status," he said, turning away from me to sit down at his desk again, the moment between us lost.
"You know I don't care. Something like that needs to be stopped. I don't care if they're lower-class vampires, they might as well be Level E's for committing such a crime," He nodded, agreeing, but gave me another look and I knew exactly what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. "We need to know which pureblood is supporting such a monstrosity." I decided to say it aloud, because it needed to be. Any vampire hunter knew that only purebloods could change humans. The real question was why a pureblood would want to associate with such low-class degenerates.

"Kai, about what you walked in on the other day," I said sheepishly, thinking that now would be as good a time as any to try and explain.
"No. If you and Toga want to be together, it's fine. Technically, you aren't real teachers so the rules don't apply. However, if a student were to walk-in-"
"They would have thought the same thing you did: that we were together. That's not true though," I replied, cutting him off.
"Then why was he in your room, and you were…lacking proper attire?"
"I swear we didn't do anything. Well, he didn't do anything," I said, shame obvious in my voice and actions as I looked down. "I had forgotten to lock my door after I'd taken a shower that night so he must have crept back in and decided my bed was a better sleeping place than his. But to tell the whole truth, I came on to him when you left." I looked anywhere but Kai. Revealing something like this to the man I'd previously loved wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world.

"You came on to him? Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? I need to know what happened Suru- Yaiba," He'd almost called me 'Surudoi-san' again.
"Let's see. I felt lonely, he was attractive, I straddled him, I kissed him, he pushed me off, and he left. So don't worry, it was only one-sided. You can be rest assured that all men who come into contact with me will eventually reject me," Even I could hear how cold I sounded at that last statement. I ran my fingers through my hair that I'd decided to keep down today, letting some of it cover half of my face. I still hadn't looked back at Kai, so it surprised me when I felt his hand brush my shoulder. When had he gotten so close? I expected him to say something, but he kept silent. His other hand tucked my hair behind my ear and out of my face, then brushed through, stopping halfway down the strands. He lifted my hair up to his face and kissed it, eyes closed and glasses discarded somewhere. The hand I hadn't been paying attention to was at the small of my back, lightly pushing me toward him to which I quickly obliged.

"I'm sorry," I could barely hear what he had said, but it rang loud and clear. He buried his head in my neck, lips brushing my skin lightly, making me shiver. "I'm sorry," he whispered once again. He lifted his head, eyes holding mine for a moment. "I'm sorry," Lifting his head slightly higher while gently maneuvering mine with his hand at my neck, he kissed my forehead. "Yaiba." I seriously had to strain my hearing to hear the name that left his lips. He pulled away from me, gently caressed my cheek with his hand, and left the office, the door clicking slightly as it closed. What in the world was that supposed to mean? What was he so sorry for? Why didn't he explain before he left? Well hell, leave it to these guys to completely blow my mind away with unanswered questions…

~Writer's Note~
Yay! This is the longest part I've ever written, and I think it may be my best XP Whew, so there we have it...a bunch of questions that even I don't know the answer to yet ^.^ Lol, but I'll figure it out...somehow ^.~ All will be revealed in due time ^.^ But for now...off to finish the next part to my LxOC before fangirls come at me armed with pitchforks XP

Shadowsnow: Thanks so much for reviewing! ^.^ Lol, I'm glad you liked that scene...though it was kinda sad to write in the part where he walks out Y.Y And yeah, I personally would like to see their relationship develop but as you can see...all is not well at the moment. I felt kinda bad about writing him off to be a mean person in this one, but we had to make room for Kaien somewhere. Lol, Kaien can't just be pushed out of the way...he's too cool for that XP And hmm...Toga might turn out that way in later chapters, but not for now. This time he's here to help bring to light how much history Yaiba and Kaien have. Whew...I know that's a long reply to your review but I couldn't help it...you're my first reviewer so you should get a long reply ^.^ So again, thank you for reviewing ^.^