Circuit ( A Vampire Knight Fanfic)

Chapter 19: Close Call

A yawn made her turn her head to see her brother a few feet away, covering his mouth with a yawn as he settled down against a small boulder. She smiled when he glanced her way, his eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. Then soon he was out cold. 

Settling down on her haunches, she let out a yawn, shaking her head from side to side. A pair of footsteps approached, and Zero sat down next to her, one leg bent to support an arm. She turned her head to look at him, but her ears still stayed moving to catch any unfamiliar sound.

"What is it?" She asked, having morphed her vocal chords so that she could speak. Zero's hair was tinted orange from the light of the fire behind him, silhouetting half of his face in darkness. 

"What do you think about this?" He asked.

"This?"

"This." He replied, gesturing to the surrounding darkness. "Don't you find it a bit odd that there is a swarm of Level E's out here?"

Maya gave a rough snort, blinking her golden eyes as she turned away. "It's not the first time this has happened. What are you thinking?"

"It just doesn't feel right. Usually, the Association keeps tabs on nests like this, and the assignment came out of the blue, isn't that odd?"

"Maybe a bit, but I won't worry about it. The Association gave us a job to do, so we're getting it done." She said. There was still no signs of any activity, or the scent of Level E's anywhere near the place, so she laid down, curling into a ball so that her shoulder pressed against Zero's leg. She felt him run a hand down her back and then scratch behind her ears and it made her smile before drifting off to sleep. 

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"Maya...Maya wake up."

She yawned, running a hand through her hair as she sat up, not realizing that she had turned back into her human form overnight. 

"I'm surprised you fell asleep next to a vampire." Said Zero.

"Shut up." She replied, standing and stretching her stiff muscles. "What time is it?"

" Almost 6:30, we should get a move on." Replied her best friend.

A sudden chill crawled its way down her neck, making the hairs stand straight up. "Guys! We have company! Get up!" She hissed at her fellow hunters who were already awake. They quietly got to their feet, stoking the fire and turned on their earpieces with weapons in hand. "Kaito, Yagari, take your group and head left. Zero and the rest of you come with me. Watch your backs." She watched them run off before following them, and slowly separated her group from theirs.

All their group could hear was the sound of their boots scuffing the hard packed dirt, but there was no sign of the Level E's anywhere. Their close proximity had triggered her senses, and now it was just gone. The mic in her ear screeched and she gasped, holding a hand to her ear. Zero, including Daisuke and the others, had the same reaction.

"What's going on!" I shouted. "Answer me!"

"We're getting ambushed! Yagari and Kaito are gone! AHH-" yelled Ryuka into the mic. Several more shots were fired and there was another yell before the mic cut off.

"Ryuka! Ryuka!" Maya yelled. "Dammit!" She turned to everyone. "Come on!" They ran as fast as the could towards the sound of distant gunfire, which had cut off at some point. They burst into a clearing at the bottom of the hill and froze at the sight before them. Ryuka and three other hunters lay on the ground, obviously dead because of the blood that pooled around them while three Level E's lapped up the remainder of blood from their victims. Maya wanted to hurl, but with an angry cry, and with the help of Zero, they shot the Level E's in the head without wasting a bullet. Kaito and Yagari were nowhere in sight.