Chapter 26: Reenactments of a Puppet
Disclaimer: Vampire Knight, along with its characters and locations, belong to Matsuri Hino. Reiko Souma, her parents and people of her hometown and prior residence, Shourim Manti, and Schian'tlo (not an actual village on the U.S. Virgin Islands) belong to me.
Thank you to all who review! Your reviews are very helpful to me. :)
Note: This is my idea of a rewrite for how the invasion of the Academy should have really happened, spanning through several chapters. Of course, Reiko isn't an official character of the series, so this "rewrite" will obviously include her experiences.
Although this chapter will contain no lemons (only a little lime), this story is rated M for mature content not suitable for minors. I will always reiterate the need for you to go visit another age category if you're younger than the age of eighteen.
Ridō smirked. He had been listening in on Reiko's conversation with the Headmaster. How very, very wrong you are...go on. Keep living in denial. Such a sinister smirk he wore as he sat back on his would-be throne. "When you least expect it..." He would be ready to snatch her away in a human's heartbeat.
•–•–•–•
"Take it easy, now…I'm sure there's a very good reason behind it." Reiko had lifted her hands slightly to the one with whom she spoke. A tiny drop slid down the back of her head as she made what was starting to seem like a feeble attempt of convincing Zero not to burst through the Headmaster's door in the next two seconds. Why would he be wanting to do so to begin with?
He and Reiko had been paired up to hunt down a Common vampire together was why.
When the news had been given to them by the woman's lover, Tōga, Reiko had been caught off-guard. Zero had been as well, only he was taking it rather poorly. "I know it's not what either of us expected to hear, especially given I normally go on hunts with your sensei and some people think you're going to push me off a roof again…but think about it, Kiryū-kun. We're the only two Prefects remaining in the Day Class. The Headmaster might want us to start building some kind of mutual trust with each other whilst Tōga focuses on the Hunter's Association with my guardian. Or something like that…" The last thought had been spoken in a mutter.
Unfortunately, it was of no help to Zero, whose glare only intensified at the mention of their being the only Prefects in the Day Class. "Two, what about-" He stopped when he saw the Albino now looking down sullenly. "-she's not gone for good, you know."
"Tell that to the bastard who stole her away from us!" Reiko burst, clearly still not over what had transpired with Yūki's reawakening, and she turned on her heel before running off. She paid very little attention to where she was going, not stopping until she had let herself into Tōga's room. Rather than cry, she shut the door most of the way before diving beneath the blankets of his bed. Reiko didn't need to be reminded of her former classmate having been awakened (or reawakened, rather) by the Pureblood she couldn't stand. Why not run back to her own room instead? She simply hadn't been paying attention and had run blindly.
Either way, the woman must have zoned out after a few minutes or so. What she thought to have been a slow blink, had instead been her dozing off for a good hour. The first thing she saw was someone standing at the window. "Tōga..?" Reiko was still groggy from her unexpected nap, or she would have known that the one standing at the window was not her lover. When they turned around confirmed this, and they made their way over to the bed Reiko was still on before kneeling.
"He's not here right now, but you're close," the male said.
"Then who..?" She stopped when he reached out to stroke her cheek carefully. As soon as hand touched face, the sound of a baby softly crying could be heard. This is weird. What is going on here? the woman thought. This stranger touches her, and a baby is heard crying? But, why?
The male was simply smiling as the sound of a baby's soft cry was still heard. "When Father is out, someone still needs to take care of you when you're not feeling well. You should rest some more, and feel better soon." The still-groggy heard, and saw, nothing more before her eyes slid shut once more.
"Rei…Reiko." Her shoulders were being gently shaken. Had she fallen asleep again? She felt lips softly touching her forehead and knew right away that it was her lover's lips kissing her. Her eyes slid open in little slits to see the man himself standing over her with worry in his eye. "There you are. When did you come in here?" To answer that question would mean having to know the current time, which she did not. Too groggy to manage more than quiet incoherent mumbles, the woman sat up some. Toga sat to her right and wrapped an arm around her. "Hn. Guess it's been a few hours, judging by your reaction."
The woman turned her head to look at him and sleepily pressed her lips to his to kiss him. "I…thnkino now…" she mumbled. She was still mostly incoherent, but she looked like she was starting to wake up a little bit more. "…host…who host…" But, did she really? That part was up for debate. In her current state, she kissed him again and kissed her way down. When she stopped at the left side of neck, one hand slowly walked up his pants and felt along his crotch lightly. A moan met her in response, and Tōga was now kissing Reiko as well. They stopped a moment later with the man gently moving her so that she was sitting sideways across his lap, his arm still around her to support her. Then he noticed. Reiko wasn't much of a lightweight anymore. When had that started?
"I'm not following you right now, Sleepyhead, but one thing's for sure. You're still quite adorable when you're sleepy, and you're the most beautiful woman ever." He kissed her forehead and let her lean against him. He'd wait for as long as it took for her to wake up. Then they would hopefully talk about why she had come to his room in the middle of the afternoon. She should have been on patrol with Zero. Why wasn't she?
As Reiko stirred, she buried her face in the crook of Toga's neck and softly laid a kiss there. A little muzzle, and she took hold of one of his hands before moving it to her stomach. "Messengers of the Crescent…they said I ail because of one I host…how could I host anyone..?" She left his hand on her stomach to rub her eyes as she straightened some, and then she placed her hand over his. "Am I hosting a spirit that's possessed me..? Or, am I hosting another person that's somehow living in me?"
In his diving into his own thoughts about what his girlfriend had asked, Toga didn't even notice right away that his girlfriend had bolted from the bed to the private bathroom the bedroom had. The sounds of gagging clued him in on that, and he hurried over to take hold of her hair with one hand and rub her back with the other. A tiny corner of his mind started to think about Reiko's classes. Surely, she had taken health and sex education classes…
"Rei. It'll be okay." Toga and sympathy weren't on the same wavelength at all, a new concept to him. He gently kissed the top of her head and waited for her to be able to move again before he helped her stand. "Can you move?"
She nodded, and she was guided back to his bed. "Hey…Toga?" Reiko lay beneath the covers and let her lover pull the blanket up to just below her shoulders. "Do you think it's possible..? The one I host…am I hosting another person..?"
"Maybe…" As if he'd had a change of plans, Toga moved the covers aside and laid beneath it with her. He unbuttoned his shirt after removing his tie and shed both before wrapping his arms around his woman. His woman wasn't feeling well, so he was going to be there for her. One hand rubbed her back; the other rubbed her thigh. His lips softly touched her forehead, then her left cheek, and her right. Then to the top of her head. "…mmmm…Rei…you're so precious to me…" He rolled onto his back, but didn't take her with him, just in case she ended up sick again. Instead, he moved her hand to touch his stomach. But, that didn't seem to be enough for him, so he rolled back onto his side and pulled Reiko close to him again. Now he was satisfied.
"…this hosting a person matter…maybe thinking about it is causing some form of stress that's making me sick here and there…because of my schoolwork and hunting down vampires…" She started to weave her fingers through the man's hair slowly, her other hand between his shoulders. "…at least schoolwork won't be an issue anymore for a few weeks." Reiko kissed him softly. She nibbled on her lower lip.
"Something's on your mind," Toga said. It had cut right into her thoughts.
"Yeah…when I fell asleep earlier, I had this weird dream." She told him about the young man she had seen, as well as the sound of a baby's cry. "When would we be meeting this person..? I want them to be a good person. No more meeting people that pretend to be good, only to end up being bad…or worse, evil vampires."
She's raw with fear… Toga kissed her forehead again. "We'll be okay, Rei. They'll be okay." They shared a lengthy kiss, and he gently pressed her closer to him. Reiko felt her stomach was settled enough and gently lifted her left leg. Toga rolled onto his back, this time taking her with him, and she straddled him…only for them to end their kiss with a linger. There they stayed for awhile, Reiko's fingers still weaving through his hair. "Rei, maybe we should…"
"Tell the Headmaster?" she finished. "Something tells me he already knows, from the cups of tea and soup he's been giving me recently."
"Yes…we should tell him anyways." He pressed his lips to hers again for just a moment. "And your guardian."
•–•–•–•
A hand traced the outline of a young woman's face. She had beads of cold sweat sliding down her face as she stared ahead with wide eyes. "You'll have to do. You're the only one who shares every class with the one I'm looking for, and you know what that means." A man with a deep voice spoke.
"N-no! I-I don't know what you're talking about!" the terrified student stammered. "P-please don't hurt me!"
But, the man wasn't interested in hurting her. Or, rather, the vampire had no interest in that. Rather, he leaned in close and dragged his tongue along the side of her neck. The woman's head tilted back involuntarily as her eyes were wide as plates, her entire body trembling with fear. "Your blood…it smells so good…it'll taste even better, I bet!" And, he sank his fangs deep into her neck. He wasted no time before he started to drink, making sure not to miss a single drop. Before long, the girl was fading from consciousness. Darkness overcame her vision quickly.
Then, a moment later, she opened her eyes. They had originally been chestnut brown. For some reason, however, they were now crimson. Whoever it was that had awakened her, her eyes were now the same colour as his. "My dear…how do you feel?" he asked.
A fangy smile took form on the awakened student's face. "Thirst…I feel thirsty…" She sounded a little bit raspy, but no longer afraid.
"Ah, yes. We should probably fix that. You do need to not be of Deranged status in order to do my bidding…" The left side of his neck was revealed. The student moved towards the right, but he guided her over to the opposite side with a chuckle. "…you'll soon learn that my right is not my favourable side. You can, ah, thank the lady's boyfriend and those other hunters for that…now drink…feast until I say you've had your fill." The student licked the indicated side, as if by instinct. In the next moment, she sank her teeth in and broke the skin. She drank as if it was her last day to have a drink, the first-time desperation not phasing the man any. "All right. That's enough." He moved her head away from his neck. "That should last you a little bit. You'll want to stay in your room for a couple of days, at least until you can get used to functioning in the daytime and walk amongst your peers."
"And…and who is this lady you're looking for?"
The man smirked. "You know her well, my dear…her name is Reiko Souma."
The newly awakened student vampire looked confused. "Reiko? That woman barely says a word and gets sick a lot. What could you possibly want with her?" Even in her new state, her memories remained intact. "Besides, she hasn't been in class lately. How am I supposed to find her?"
The smirk waned. "When is the last time?"
"A week ago, at least." The student rubbed her eyes. "I feel tired."
"Go. You'll know when I need you. We'll find another way of finding her."
•–•–•–•
A soft kiss planted on Reiko's forehead early the next morning. The woman had spent the night in Toga's room, the couple having simply relaxed after speaking to Shourim and the Headmaster. With Reiko being finished with her classwork and finals meant she could now sleep in as late as allowed and then spend her time patrolling the Academy for trouble. Trouble still meant Level-Es and any other abnormalities whilst Toga taught his classes.
A question should be asked at this point: how were Reiko and Toga able to continue getting away with their sleeping together, occasional sex, and basically being a couple at all without other faculty members catching on? What about students? The entire Night Class knew, and obviously Kaien, Zero, and Yūki knew, and so did the new guy. Somehow, nobody else was aware.
When Toga kissed Reiko once more, he left his room for his first class of the day. Today was his easy day with only two classes to teach, and he liked to show up early to set up for the day's lesson. He also had a chance to glance at his notes regarding a final test before finals. Yeah, why not give those brats a reason to sweat? They were damn lucky to have Reiko in their class to carry their average test scores. If not for her, then the class average would be struggling to remain above the shitter. Ah well.
Students started to make their way into the room just as the tall man finished with last-minute preparations. Once everybody was seated, he took attendance.
Interesting. Sadeki's absent today. Toga didn't usually care about who was in class or not unless they were Zero, Reiko, or Yūki. Sadeki, however, has never been absent a single day and had an above-average grade in his classes that she was in. Maybe she was just feeling under the weather today? Either way, there was a class to teach.
•–•–•–•
Pink lashless eyes opened in slits. It sure was bright in this room…oh wait. She was still in Toga's room. The couple had fallen asleep whilst holding each other and enjoying each other's company, and she fully expected to wake up alone because he still had to teach. So, sitting up in bed, Reiko let the blanket fall away to reveal the bra straps and tank top that she had worn to bed. The top of her shorts were visible as well, her hair still serving as a partial blanket.
Suddenly…blech! The woman felt the now-familiar churning in her stomach and hurried to the toilet in the private bathroom. "No…not now…" How could she be sick when she hadn't eaten anything yet? It made zero sense to her.
"Still feeling under the weather?" A voice asked from behind her. Reiko's eyes widened. Who was there? It didn't sound like Kaname…she turned her head when she felt safe enough to do so and saw not a brunette, but a blonde, in a Night Class uniform.
"You're not Kaname-Baka…" Reiko pointed out. She remained sitting on the bathroom floor. "…but you're friends with him, right?"
The blonde knelt in front of her. "You can say that. I'm Ichijō Takuma. I'm the Vice President of the Night Class. I came to see how you were feeling, but…I think this answers its own question." This was met with a nod. "Reiko-chan, does anyone else know? Know about the cause of your sickness, that is."
Reiko shook her head no. "I don't even know the cause. I wouldn't expect anyone else to," she told him. So far, for a vampire, Ichijō didn't act like one. What was he doing in the Night Class? He acted more like a Day Class student than a Night Class student. "For all I know, stress from the recent invasions has been causing this."
"May I?" Ichijō moved closer without standing. He reached his hand towards Reiko's stomach, but he didn't touch it. Not without her permission. Olive eyes looked to her, waiting.
"I guess…go ahead." The woman watched as the other gently touched her stomach. This felt strange. Nobody's ever touched her stomach except for Toga and a doctor (basically, Shourim). Letting Ichijō touch her like this, Reiko had no idea how to feel. Seeing him smile just seemed weirder. "Surely you have a good reason for this?" Reiko asked.
The blonde nodded, moving his hand away. "I was touching your stomach because, if you're sick like this, then it usually means more than stress." He watched as Reiko's eyes widened. More than stress? Obviously the thought had never crossed her mind before. "I don't mean to cause you any alarm, really."
Reiko shook her head. "No, I just feel weird about the whole thought…" And, she turned to vomit once more. "…I…" She tried to talk as she was able to. "…I was going…to tell the…Headmaster." The woman stood when she was sure her stomach had settled down. "Ichijō-san…I know you're a vampire…but you're different from the rest of the Night Class." She washed her hands and used them as a cup to fill with water and drink. "You act more human than vampire…take that as a compliment. You know how I feel about vampires."
Then she looked down at what she was wearing. She couldn't go to the Headmaster's office with what she currently had on. It was hardly appropriate for outside of the bedroom. "Yes, I'm aware." He watched the woman retrieve some clothes from her backpack and walk back towards the bathroom. "You're going back to his office?" Reiko nodded. "Will you see the doctor too?"
"You really think it's..?" Reiko asked in response.
"I do." He sounded sure of it.
"What if it's just stress?"
"Then I'll eat my shoes." Now that had Reiko laughing. Ichijō was definitely an exception to her hatred for the vampires. "Feel better, Reiko-chan." By the time the bathroom door shut, Ichijō was gone.
•–•–•–•
A sloppy path of Level-Es paved the way through a darkened, and seemingly abandoned, dormitory building. None of them had been devoured, simply asleep, as they awaited their master's call. Meanwhile, Rido maintained his place on a throne, in which he had made the self-proclamation as King of the Purebloods.
Not if Kaname had anything to say about it.
As both Purebloods' eyes opened for the day, someone from the Day Class was on the prowl in the forest by the Moon Dormitory. She would find that bitch before long, and she would take her to her master, even if it killed her!
At this point, anyone could think anything about what this could be - Reiko's body under unusual stress from the invasions? An ongoing stomach bug? BABY TIME? It could literally be anything at this point, so let your mind wander (or don't) until I write my next chapter.
Until then, feel free to leave a review if you wish! I know it's been awhile since my last post!