Red Vengeance Vampire Knight Fanfiction)

Chapter 19

The one thing that makes me happy about going to Aunt Yumi's is the chance to see Eri. During the taxi ride there I make sure to smooth down my short hair and hide my parent's guns --now my guns-- from sight. My little angel doesn't need to see that. If I have it my way she'll never be introduced to this life.

During all of this, Kaien watches me with a small smile, I ignore this and continue my primping. Going to see Eri always makes me nervous, I'm not exactly the ideal mother figure.

When the taxi finally pulls up to Aunt Yumi's quant house I make sure to be slow in getting out of the taxi. Call me childish, but I'm not happy about going to tell Aunt Yumi that we lost the book.

Kaien chuckles at me, noticing how slow I'm being. I send him a nasty look in return.

"Come on, Hitomi." He urges.

With a sigh I give up being slow and just march right up to the door and knock.

Uncle Daiki answers the door. "Oh, Hitomi." He grins, enveloping me into an embrace. "It feels like it has been so long!"

After a few seconds of awkward hugging he releases me. "I wish I could stay and chat longer, but I have to head to work. Yumi is in the kitchen making brownies."

"Alright, thank you." I say with a deep nod.

"No problem." He grins as he hurries to his car.

Kaien and I enter, the warm smell of mouth-watering chocolate brownies fills the air. I can practically see Kaien drooling. I smile at his expression, nothing is better than Aunt Yumi's cooking.  The smile, however quickly fades as I remember what I have to do.

I close my eyes for a moment and when they open I'm ready for what I have to do.

Grabbing Kaien's arm, I drag him into the kitchen where Aunt Yumi does the dishes as she waits for the cookies to finish cooking.

"Aunt Yumi?" I ask timidly.

Startled, my Aunt looks up with wide brown eyes. A bright smile dawns over her pretty features and she stands, wobbling over to me and giving me a short hug. When she lets me go her hand goes to rest on her very-pregnant belly.

"It's so good to see you, Hitomi. Eri's been really missing you."

Immediately I feel guilty, but I shove the feeling away. "That's not why I'm here. We need to talk to you." I say, voice grave.

Aunt Yumi's eyes narrow and she stiffens as if realizing something. Her eyes meet mine, cutting me like glass. "We need to talk."

"I know." I say.

The blond haired woman shakes her head. "No, that's not what I mean." She looks to Kaien apologetically. "Can you please go play with the children in the living room? I'd like to talk to Hitomi in private."

Private.

That's not a good sign.

Kaien nods his head respectfully before heading into the living room where the children can be heard chattering happily.

Once Kaien is gone, Aunt Yumi sighs and leans against the countertop. "This may be awhile, have a seat."

Despite feeling uncomfortable, I do as she says, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Where's the book?"

My eyes widen and I stare at my aunt in utter shock.

"I've been guardian of that book for centuries.  You don't think I wouldn't be able to sense its presence?"

I nearly choke on thin air. "What the hell do you mean, centuries?!"

Aunt Yumi scrubs her eyes tiredly and that's when I'm able to see just how old she really is.  She may look like she's in her late thirties, but looking at her now I can see the ancient look in her eyes.  "Hitomi, I didn't want to tell you this, but I think that I don't have a choice now.  I'm a cursed twin.  Hitomi, I'm over three hundred years old. It's why I was able to sense the level E's before Kaien the last time you visited.  It's why Kaien treats me so respectfully."

I throw my hands up.  "How does he know and I don't!"  I demand.

"We're both cursed twins.  We know our own kind."

I rub my face, trying to let all of this sink in. My whole life I thought Aunt Yumi was just like any other vampire hunter. But looking back on it, it all makes sense. Sweet and I never got away with anything on our visits.

"Okay." I sigh at last, any anger I held gone.
We all have a right to our secrets, I'd be a hypocrite to think otherwise.

I look up at the pregnant woman. "Are you mad that I lost the book?"

Aunt Yumi shakes her head, she only looks deflated. "No, I'm not." She offers me a wan smile. "I still have the book." Aunt Yumi taps her head. "Up here. I'll just have to make another copy somehow. But that's besides the point, the book isn't what I'm concerned about, it's you." Her eyes stare into mine and I look away, it's as if she's looking into my soul. I don't like it.

"There's nothing for you to be concerned about.  Everything is fine."

Aunt Yumi's gaze doesn't shift from me.  "There's no way that you just lost the book.  Who stole it, Hitomi?"

"Someone from the Brandeis family."  I say.  "Kaien and I recently found out that this is also the family who is committing these crimes in the case we're after. So, it's probably one of them."  It's not a lie, I'm just not telling her the whole truth.

"I know when a person is keeping things from me, more than anything I know when you are.  When you first came for help from me when you were a pregnant teenager I didn't ask questions. I didn't ask for details of what happened the night your parents died, why it took you so long to come to me, or even how you became pregnant. But I think it's time now, Hitomi. I have questions and suspicions that need to be answered and I have a feeling that this case is bigger to you then it seems. Tell it to me from the beginning."

Looking into Aunt Yumi's dark brown eyes I can tell that I can evade her no longer. And so I do as she says, I start with the night it all began.

"Eri and I were upstairs, it was late and our parents were asleep...."

"Don't take anymore than that Spice!" Sweet chastised with a grin. "We already should be in bed, it's way past our bedtime......!"