The only source of light I had is gone. The door I had opened, closed on it's own, and now I fall in darkness. I regret my choice of jumping. I look down, and see growing orange lights. I guess I'm not screwed after all! I do a front flip in midair just to show off, and then I land safely on the ground. It didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would. I nod my head proud that I learned to tuck and roll safely, and then take a look at my surroundings.
I look to see that the orange dots were torches. I sigh relieved at this source of light, but I don't like where I'm at. I'm in a one way corridor, iron cells lining each side, and this place smells like death, decay, torture, suffering, and excrement. I breathe through my mouth instead, and walk forward.
"This must be a dungeon." I look on ahead. Afraid of what I might see in the cells.
I jump as I step on something. I move my foot, and nearly scream out at the sight of a bone that looks like it used to be someone's finger. I gag again, and speed up my progress down the corridor.
I'd feel much safer if I had my Black and Blue Rose, but Ichio took them away from me. Lucky them, but not me. I probably should have taken a weapon with me, but I guess I'll have to rely on hand to hand combat.
I stop walking at the sound of whispers. It sounds like it's coming from one of the cells. I gulp, and start looking through the cells. Most being empty of life, but they're perfectly filled with dead bodies, decaying bodies, bones, and rats. The whisper gets closer, and I slow my pace.
I find a cell containing a dark moving figure on the furthest corner of the cell. It's cloaked, but I can tell that it's a vampire and a man at that. I gulp, and grip the cell bars.
"H-hello? Mister, are you alright?" He hardly even twitches. I guess he sensed my presence from before hand, but his frantic whispering continues.
"Do you need help?" I question again. Hoping to get his attention. I hear something escape his lips. A little louder than before, but he said it so fast that I hardly understood him.
"What? I can't hear you." I tell the man. He slightly moves, and I watch him.
"d. . ." He stands up, but he rises with a hunched figure. "BLOOD!" I scream as he rams his body on the cage. I managed to move back, and bump into another cell.
"GYAH!" I kick my leg back as an arm wraps around my neck. I hear a slur of curses in a voice I recognize. I quickly turn around. I see him crouched down, and clutching his shin. His black hair has grown longer, and shines with days of oil and filth.
"Yagari-sensei!" I cheer grabbing the cell bars. Hoping falsely to open it with my bare hands. He glares up at me with his single blue eye, but I continue to smile.
"You idiot! What are you doing here?!" Yagari-sensei questions me as he limps towards me.
"It's great to see you too, Sensei." I say sarcastically, but not sarcastic at the same time. I really am happy to find Yagari-sensei alive, but he looks in awful shape. Now looking closer, I can see the injuries all over his body, the bruises on his face, and the feverish look in his eye.
"Sensei, how badly injured are you?" I question him worriedly.
"That's not important. I asked you, why are you here? I thought Zero and Kuran were protecting you." He says still apparently angry that I'm here. I sigh.
"They were, but getting caught was the plan to come rescue you." I tell him. His frown deepens.
"I didn't need you to come rescue me. Hunters die everyday. My death doesn't mean a thing." Now it's my turn to frown.
"Geez, Kaito said the same thing. Yet that didn't stop him from finding me and helping rescue you." I tell him. He looks at me surprised.
"Kaito?" I nod my head.
"Yeah, he came over a week after you had disappeared, and questioned me on your whereabouts. Eventually I managed to get the information out of Shizuka Hio thanks to Ichiru. So all this time I've been training my butt off, and planning for this moment to get you out of here." I tell him the short and undetailed version of the events. He looks at me very much surprised.
"So, it's better that I get you out of here now. I'm pretty sure that the vampires think they have me where they want me, and are going to kill you. But I won't let that happen." I reach into my hair, and pull out a bobby pin. I kneel down next to the lock.
"What are you doing?" Yagari-sensei questions me.
"I've seen this on T.V. I know what I'm doing." I hear him sigh, but I continue to pick the lock.
"It's not going to work." He says to me, and he drops to one knee. Looking worn out, and older than he really is. I frown.
"You said you'd have a little more faith in me. I act stupid, but I'm not. This will work." I tell him with a smile. He watches me intently as I continue my work. I cheer silently as I hear the lock click. I pull off the lock along with the chain.
"Told you!" I say swinging the chain around. I open the cell door, and enter to kneel beside Yagari-sensei. He looks awful. It looks like they haven't fed him, bathed him, or treated him nicely at all.
"Can you walk? Climb maybe?" I question him.
"I can manage." He says with a slight wince. I bite my lower lip, but nod my head.
"Okay, but if you need me for support I'm here." I tell him with a small smile. He nods his head, and I help him stand. He trembles as he does so.
He puts his arm over my shoulder, and we walk out of the cell. "It's only a single corridor. So I'm sure the entrance is all the way back." I tell him. He limps with me, so I slow down my pace.
"Sorry I didn't come sooner, but I had to be sure of my own abilities before I even set foot here." I tell him.
"I wasn't expecting you to come." He tells me slightly stumbling. I smile, because I can tell he's slightly relieved.
"I know, but I wasn't going to leave you either. Once someone becomes close to me I won't let anything bad happen to them." I say with a nod of my head.
"So, how are we going to get out?" I wince.
"I knew there was something missing in the plan!" I complain, but there is only one way. I'm not going to rely on that way though. Not until I'm sure of what I really want.
"You really are a reckless idiot." I grunt at Yagari-sensei's insult.
"Thanks." I tell him with sarcasm. "There!" I say stopping right above the door way above us.
"Now to find a way to cli-" I stop talking as I see Yagari-sensei climbing up some steps. My temple throbs at the fact that I didn't see those steps. It sends an annoying sense of deja vu. I mumble, and make my way up the stairs to help Yagari-sensei.
"Wait! Let me make sure it's good for you to be up there." I tell him as I press my ear against the door. I don't hear a thing or sense a thing. Looks like Yagari-sensei doesn't either. I let out a breath of relief, and open the door.
I help Yagari-sensei towards the bed, and he sits. I rush to the bathroom to see if there might be a medical kit or something. Hopefully they planned for me to 'hurt' myself. I find a couple things like alcohol, gauze, bandages, and cotton balls. I take those supplies, and go back to Yagari-sensei.
"Sensei, let me treat your injuries." I tell him showing him the stuff. He runs a hand through his greasy hair.
"I'll clean myself off first." He says standing up, and walking towards me. I move out of the way so he can use the bathroom, but he stops.
"What is it, Sensei?" I question him.
"They sure have you living in luxury even if your freedoms have been deprived from you." I nod my head.
"Yeah, they're probably trying to get me to trust them. Now go on. I don't know how much longer we have before they notice you're free, and with me." He closes the door behind him, and I sit on my bed.
"Hm?" A thought crosses my mind. "Hold on. Yagari-sensei is showering, and he has no clothes. WAH!" I blush brightly, and fall back on my bed.
"My parents would kill me if they ever found out I was in a room with another man, a naked man! An older, naked man! We're not in that kind of relationship, but still! Anyone could think bad! Oh boy! What am I going to do?!" I roll around the bed in a panic, not sure what to do.
"What are you freaking about now?" I roll off the bed, and stay there.
"Nothing." I say from the other side.
"Hurry up then. Looks like some of my injuries reopened." I blush brightly, and take a slight peek. I gasp at the cuts covering his bare torso. I can feel tears springing up in my eyes. I can't imagine the torture he went through, and to still act so normal. He is a really strong man. These wounds could be infected and the only thing I have is this alcohol to clean him up.
"What are you crying about?" He questions me. I wipe my tears away, and pick up the medical supplies. He sits down on the bed, and I start to clean off the blood and wounds with the alcohol.
"Sorry it's just I feel awful about the torture you went through because of me. How did you get caught anyway?" I question him as I start to wrap him up in the bandages.
"After you left that night there were members of the Senate in hiding, and they ambushed me right after they released Shizuka and Ichiru." I nod my head. Finally understanding how Ichiru got free that time. They probably used him because the Senate was with him and Shizuka. I understand now.
"Well, I guess we don't have to worry about Shizuka anymore." I tell him finishing up, and sitting on the other side of the bed.
"What do you mean?" I sigh, and mess with the sheets.
"I'd made a deal with Shizuka, to give her my blood if she told me where you were. I thought I would die because I didn't think the deal through, but Ichiru saved me, and killed her. He says he's now a target of the Senate since he killed a pureblood. A huge taboo in the vampire society." Yagari-sensei nods his head, and sits there in silence.
"You should rest, Sensei, and build up your strength." I tell him getting off the bed. "No complaints! I may need your help. I wo. . ." I stop that final sentence, and sit down on the single couch near the left wall.
"Where'd that necklace come from?" I wince, and put my hand to the vile of blood on me. I guess I have to tell him.
"This vile was part of the plan. If I got into serious trouble I had to drink Kaname's blood, and become a pureblood. I'm not going to rely on it though." I tell him holding the vile close.
"If you truly meant that you would have gotten rid of it a long time ago." My eyes open wide in shock, and I look over at Sensei looking at me intently. My eyes drop back to the vile of blood.
"Oh my gosh. Yagari-sensei is right. If I really didn't want to become a pureblood I wouldn't have even accepted the vile in the first place. I think everyone noticed it." I drop to the side until my head rests on the arm rest.
"You're on Zero's side too, right?" I question Yagari-sensei.
"What do you think? I was his teacher." I nod my head seeing his point.
"Sorry I asked." I mumble, and feel my eyes droop. Now that I think about it, I haven't slept at all since I got here. I let my eyes fall closed, and I feel my grip slip from the vile. I'm so happy that Sensei is finally back with me. We need to escape...
~0~
I startle awake at a knock at my door. I sit up abruptly at the sight of this unfamiliar room, but it all comes back to me in an instant. I remember that I've been caught by the Senate. I look to find myself in the bed. Sensei is nowhere in sight, could it have been just a dream then? Did I imagine rescuing him? I sigh disappointed, and the knock comes again.
"Who is it?" I question.
"Ichio. Are you dressed?" I look at the clothes I've had on since yesterday. What kind of stupid question is that.
"I think so?" I question. The door opens, and I see the old man step in with a box in his hand. I look at it confused. I tilt my head to the side, and he hands me the box. His eyes tell me that he wants me to open it. I gulp, and open it. He seems awfully quiet.
I only see white cloth. I pull it out, and find a long white dress, that has tie on straps. I find white flats in the box as well. I look confused up at Ichio.
"Put that stuff on. I will return for you in an hour." He tells me with his cold gaze.
"Huh? What for?" I question him.
"Are you questioning me?" I open my mouth, and close it again.
"Forgive me, Ichio-sama. I shouldn't have questioned you." He nods his head, and leaves me to put on the stuff.
"What the heck is that about?" I yelp, and find Yagari-sensei coming out of the door I found yesterday. At least it wasn't a dream, and he looks in better shape than yesterday.
"Sensei, are you alright?" I question him. He nods his head, and sits on the edge of the trap door entrance. "No clue. He wouldn't tell me. I guess I have to go, and find out. I'm sure it can't be nothing more than seeing the other members of the Senate." I tell him. Yagari-sensei watches me, as I head towards the bathroom to shower and change.
I look myself over in the mirror and nod my head, I'm relieved the chain is long enough to hide the vile. It just looks like a regular necklace underneath. I step out of the bathroom, keeping the towel over my shoulders and find Sensei looking around the room.
"Sensei? What are you doing?" He shakes his head and sits down on the couch, looking back over at me. He must still be exhausted and drained from his time here. He wasn't here just a few days, he was here for weeks. "How do you feel? Your injuries aren't infected, right?" I grab the med-kit from under the bed and hold it up before Sensei.
"It was before, but they did treat me in order to keep me alive." Ah, that is not good. I'm glad he's alive, but it sucks that he had to suffer. I walk up closer to him.
"Well, lets make sure it doesn't happen again, lets clean up your wounds again." He sighs and unbuttons the shirt he cleaned up in the shower that finally dried over night along with the rest of his clothes so, he wouldn't be in just a towel. Well, to be honest I have no idea how long I've been here.
Once again I carefully clean up his wounds, they look much better than yesterday. It might be better to keep the wounds that aren't so deep open instead of wrapped up by the bandages.
"Sensei, I'm going to only cover up your deeper wounds, your smaller wounds definitely look much better than yesterday. I suppose that's the benefit of your hunter blood, right?" I look up at him and smile. He nods his head, of course his face is as serious as usual. Well, that's fine, that just means he's being himself. I look back down and finish patching him up.
"Okay, all-" I jump as his large hand goes on top of my head and moves his hand to pet my hair. No one has really done that to me before, at least not since I was a little girl. It feels so warm and kind. I can't raise my head because I don't want this warm sensation to leave. It feels like such a relief after coming here to this cold and cruel place.
"Thanks for not giving up on me, kid." I blush as I feel the threat of tears coming up. I nod my head and blink my eyes to make sure I don't end up crying again. There's only one way to settle down my more vulnerable emotions.
"Your welcome... old man." He stops petting my head and squishes down my head in a painful way. "Ow! Ow! Easy!" I fall on my butt as he lets me go and I can't help but laugh. He just looks at me like I'm a crazy weirdo. I am, but I won't admit it to him right now. I sigh content and nod, feeling ready to face what is coming up soon.
1 hour later:
"Are you ready?" I nod my head as I put the vile under my dress. Ichio opens the door for me, waiting for me to follow him. I avoid looking towards the trapdoor Yagari-sensei hides behind. Hopefully this room will be left open since I'm not in it. Yagari-sensei will bust out, and we'll get out of this place. Easy peasy!
"Yes, I'm ready. We can go, Ichio-sama." I say 'shyly' walking out of the room. I'm curious as to why I'm being summoned honestly. All I know is that it can't be good.
We walk down a long hall, just like those big fancy manors you see on TV with Victorian décor. As well as your typical vampire taste of the old days. What a bare place, there's nothing on the walls. There aren't even any other doors besides the one where we came out of and the one we are heading to.
I gasp at the sudden feeling of darkness invading the room behind the closed door we stand in front of.
"You can sense them, right?" He questions me. I look over at him.
"Who is 'them'?" I question him.
"Two purebloods that want to see you." My eyes open wide in shock. Looks like it was worse than I thought. I try to make a break for it, but Ichio grabs my arm.
"NO! Let go!" I yell out at him. He opens the door, and pushes me in. Throwing me in front of the beings that want my blood.