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"Come in, child. We have much to talk about."
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Hesitantly, I walk into their house and look around. The lead me to their living room, which is fitted with five pieces of furniture. After everyone sits down, the pureblood beside Maria, an awkward silence reigned down. One minute of silence... five minutes of silence... ten minutes of silence... Hey lady, didn't you say 'we have much to talk about'? So, where is the talking?!?!
Suddenly, ZVT walks in the room carrying a platter with three cups of tea. He places a cup in front of each of us, except himself, and backed away so that he was standing to the right of and a little behind the pureblood. I take a small sip of the offered tea, and then begin the conversation.
"So... now can someone tell me who ZVT... err... the grey haired man is?"
At my question, ZVT seems to lift his guard and the two vampires look at me curiously. Maria seems more confused about the whole 'ZVT' name I gave the guy, and the pureblood seems more confused about why I wanna know about the guy.
"This guy is my bodyguard, Ichiru Kiryu. May I ask why you are so persistent in knowing his identity?"
"Kiryu... say, you wouldn't happen to have a twin brother named Zero, would you?"
At my question, the entire room's atmosphere stiffens. ZV- *Ahem* Ichiru instantly stiffens while the pureblood, still don't know her name, looks at me with even more interest. ...Perhaps I should have asked Zero about his family... but then again... when would have been an appropriate time?!?! The pureblood releases me from my mental conversation with another question.
"You know Zero?"
"So, I guess that was an affirmative to my question... oh, and I know Zero! We're friends... I think. I dunno, I consider him my friend, and I think he considers me a friend too... *Sigh* I guess that's another question I'll have to ask him when I next see him."
"Oh? Interesting... him befriending a vampire... Speaking of which, what is with your aura? It is not that of one I would see around a vampire..."
Nope, not about to tell some random pureblood my other secret. I'm just your everyday pureblood... no demon in me... nope, not a vamon at all...
"...I'm a pureblood, it's not that hard to manipulate one's aura so that others can't tell. I like to do this so that the other vampires around me can't tell my true identity... Purebloods are too closely monitored. ...Speaking of which, why don't you seem to be so closely monitored?"
"Some... incidents happened. I don't much appreciate being closely monitored as well."
"Oh. So... why is ZVT yo- *Sigh* why is Ichiru your bodyguard and not with Zero?"
"After a certain incident, he decided to go with me and we left his brother."
"...Now that you mention it, you took a very human Ichiru with you after a certain incident. A slowly becoming Level E Zero is not taken with his brother by you, a pureblood. Only purebloods can make Level E's, and, from my knowledge, most purebloods are being monitored. So, help me understand this better, but you wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Zero's current condition... would you?"
"Whether I have anything to do with that has nothing to do with you."
A silent flame of rage begins to build up at her words. Nothing to do with me? Zero is my friend! Furthermore, turning someone into a Level E is worse than just killing them straight up! That is why I have always been careful about who I feed off of. I refuse to feed off of a human; that way, I don't end up accidently condemning them to a fate of going insane and killing others.
"Though, seeing that you are a pureblood, do you know who your father is?"
Switching topics, are we? Fine... I'll switch topics. I don't really need to crime of killing a pureblood on my hands.
"No, I am unaware of my father's identity. All I know is that Juri and Haruka often referred to him as an 'evil man with evil eyes'. They said my eyes looked like his."
"Hmm... interesting."
"Wait, do you know something?"
"Nothing of importance. May I ask if you are close to Kaname Kuran?"
Nothing of importance? What do you mean? So you don't know who my father is either?
"Kana? Yeah, I guess you could say we're close now. We had... a bit of a falling out when I was four, but we reunited recently and have slowly become like siblings again. He's a great big brother for the most part. Why?"
The pureblood's, I still don't know her name, eyes lit up as she looked at me with a more sinister look in her eyes. Not at all liking the fact that this woman, that I already knew is causing Zero to become a Level E, was looking at me like I was her next prey, I stood up and began to slowly back out towards the front door.
The pureblood gave a pointed look in Ichiru's direction, and the bodyguard responded. He quickly walked over and blocked the front door by standing right in front of it. I don't really get why she sent him to block the door, considering the fact that she knew I was a pureblood and the boy is human. Still, purebloods are known for their intelligence, so something must be up.
"So... uhh, pureblood lady, what's your name?"
"I guess it does me no harm to tell you my identity. My name is Shizuka Hio, and your life is no longer your own. It now belongs to me."
...WHAT THE BLOODY FANG?!?! What sort of grudge does she bear with Kana that she is willing to take it out on me?! Kana, manage your enemies before they go after me!!! Please!!! I've never killed before, and I really don't wanna start now!!!
I turn towards the door to escape when I see Ichiru with a sword pointing my direction. Deciding I would have an easier time not accidently killing Shizuka, the pureblood, I turn back towards her just in time to see her lung at me. I quickly dodge her attempt to grab me and send a kick in her direction. My foot makes contact with her stomach as she is sent flying into the kitchen. I watch as she crashes into the counter and plates fall on her. ...Opps?
Suddenly, I feel I pain in my chest, and I manage to react in time to grab a hand that was somewhat plunged into my chest and was reaching for my heart. After pulling the hand out, I through the arm, and the body attached, into Shizuka, who had just managed to get up. The body I threw, it turns out, belongs to Maria. Maria collides with Shizuka after being thrown, and Shizuka just barely manages to catch her.
I go to attack them once more until I get stabbed in the stomach. ...Right, I forgot about Ichiru. I quickly grab the sword from his hand and fling it out the window and far into the horizon. Don't underestimate a vamon's throwing power... Ichiru is going to have to get a new weapon. Quickly, I move behind the now weaponless boy and hit his acupuncture point, causing him to faint.
I turn back towards the vampires just in time to catch Shizuka's hand from plunging into my already healed chest. I quickly hit her in the stomach and send her flying into the kitchen once more. I then turn slightly and look into Maria's eyes.
"Stop attacking."
I use my super duper pureblood authority to stop Maria and then hit her acupuncture point as well. Two down, one more to go. It's just a very murderous pureblood... what's the worst that could happen?
This time, I take the initiative and attack Shizuka. I thrust my hand into her stomach and then pull it out just as quickly. She falls to the ground slightly, and I take this opportunity to try and hit her acupuncture point. I fail when she suddenly moves and quickly approaches her two passed out companions. After finding them both very much alive, she sighs in relief and then looks at me with a smirk.
"You've never killed, have you?"
My eyes widen at her sentence. How had she known? Was it that I didn't kill her friends? Or was it that I didn't try to kill her when I had the chance? Either way, now that she had this information, it looked like she planned to use it against me.
She took out a kitchen knife and pointed it in my direction before lunging at me. I block her attack by hit her arm with my own hand, which sent her knife off course. I then began to attack as well, mainly aiming for her stomach and other non-lethal areas for a pureblood vampire.
After about five minutes of us attacking one another, and only be being able to land hits, she seemed to think up a new strategy. She smirked at me and backed away from me. She then rushed out the door, leaving me dumbfounded. Did she... retreat? Would her retreating be a good or a bad thing?
Before I could ponder on my new questions, Shizuka put a cap on my thoughts by coming back into the house. This time, however, she was holding a human boy in her grasps. The child was crying and struggling to get out of her grasp, to no avail. His eyes were already beginning to get puffy yet his cries for help just got louder.
"Shut up, kid."
Shizuka looked at the child with killing intent in her gaze. He immediately obeyed her to the best of his ability, only letting out sniffling and choked sobs as he dangled in her hands. She lightly smirked at the sight while I felt my gaze becoming angrier.
"So, Ivy. Normally, I dislike getting those uninvolved involved in my affairs, but you leave me no choice. Seeing that I can't beat you with just attacking, I have to play a little dirty. How about this, if you don't surrender yourself to me, I will begin to turn all the children in the area into Level Es, starting with this boy."
"W-What? How could you be so cruel?!"
"Sometimes, one has to be cruel to get the things one desires. So, is it a deal? Don't worry, I won't kill you, just put you into a very deep sleep. If I kill you, I can't use you against Kaname Kuran, now can I?"
My eyes widen at her words. Firstly, it is obvious that she plans to use me against Kana. Secondly, she really does plan on turning innocent children into Level E monsters just to get what she wants. I know better than to just agree, seeing that she could still end up doing something to the child she is currently holding. I also don't want to be used against my brother... but at the same time, I can't just outright refuse her. I don't want to be the indirect reason some children become monsters.
As I stand there for a bit contemplating what I could do, another option comes to mind. Perhaps I could say that I agree to this deal, but then help the boy escape and make sure the Shizuka is no longer able to go and attack the children. It could be possible to try and put her into a deep sleep like she was talking about...
"I-I agree..."
Shizuka grins and beckons me forward with her free hand. I slowly walk over to her and let her grab my right wrist. She lets go of the child and I use this opportunity move subtly so that we are now facing away from the child. I hope the boy uses this chance to escape...
She then uses her hand that was holding the child to stab into my chest. I make use of my pureblood powers and freeze her hand... then her arm... and before it could move any higher she uses her own ability to manipulate a nearby plant to twist around my neck tightly. I use my free hand to pull out her frozen hand and then cut the plant with my rather sharp nails.
Just as I turn to attack her, I see her holding the child, fangs uncomfortably close to his neck. I freeze in my movements and look at her with wide eyes. She moves her frozen arm in indication that I should unfreeze it. I unwillingly listen to her unspoken command and unfreeze her arm and hand. She then pulls on my wrist, that she has managed not to let go of, and I am sent tumbling into her.
She quickly seizes this opportunity and once again sends her hand into my chest. This time, however, she manages to grasp the heart, but she does not pull it out.. Due to extreme blood loss and my heart being literally in the hands of an enemy, my consciousness becomes hazy. I have difficulty breathing, probably due to the fact that she cut through my lungs a little, and it seems like loss of oxygen greatly helps one to fall unconscious.
Just as I'm about to give in to the sweet embrace of the darkness, Shizuka's hand is forcefully removed from my chest and my body begins to use this chance to heal. The healing my body is doing causes my hunger to rise to levels that can no longer be considered safe, and my consciousness begins to return a little. Suddenly, something is forced into my mouth, and I instinctively bite down.
The taste of blood is the first thing that hits my tongue. It tasted like a mixture cherry blossoms with a hint on insanity added to it. The delicious taste mixed with my current insatiable hunger caused me to continue to drink the scrumptious substance until there was no more that came. Power also came with the delicious drink. My pureblood powers began to strengthen significantly and a couple new abilities made themselves apparent to me. It was only after the blood ran dry that my senses returned to me.
My eyes snapped open and I looked at what I had been feeding on. There, laying before me, was Shizuka Hio, now dead, bloodless, and becoming dust. It was apparent that her neck had been snapped right before I fed on it. Snapping a vampire's neck does not kill it, which means that I had just unintentionally killed her. I just killed Shizuka Hio.
My eyes widen at the revelation and my vision blurs as tears silently came out. Even when her body became dust, I sat on the ground staring at where she once lay. I had just killed someone who had friends, enemies, perhaps even family that still lived. I had just taken a life when I could have done something else, such as put her in a deep sleep. I just killed her, though, in a loss of self control. I just killed her...
"Ivy, it's alright. You did nothing wrong."
What...? Who is it? Now that I think about it, her neck was snapped. Furthermore, her hand was taken out my chest by a third party... so who is this third party? Who is it that seems to know me yet tell me that killing her was right?
I look up and what I see shocks me. Crouching right in front of me is someone who isn't supposed to be here... some one who was only supposed to return tomorrow. Crouching right in front of me is Senri Shiki. His shirt is slightly marred by blood that was not his own, but otherwise, he was completely clean. His calm and cute arua was replaced by a more mature and dark aura. His left eye was now a blood red color, and his eyes now looked like an exact replica of my own.
"...Senri? No, Senri's body. You, who are you?"
"You're right, I'm not Senri. I just happen to have a use for his body for a bit. Ivy, my sweet daughter, I'm Rido Kuran, your father."
It took awhile for my mind to process what this guy, Rido, said. My father... he said that he's my father. Is it possible? Shizuka did mention his name when she noticed my eyes... and as he's possessing poor Senri, he does have the same eyes that I do. Everything seems to line up... I just met my father while he was possessed my brother and watched me kill another pureblood. Due to the extreme stress due to the situation, my consciousness collapsed and I fell into a dark embrace.
--------------------Rido's POV--------------------
I catch my daughter as she limply falls to the side. It seems as if this day has been stressful for her... poor dear. Don't worry, Ivy. I'm back and, this time, I'm not leaving you.
I pick her up so that her body does not lay on the dirty floor. I begin to make my way out of the house when a knife, presumingly one that was meant to chop vegetables, is thrown at my daughter. Swiftly, I turn and catch the handle of the weapon and turn towards the assailant. There stood a human male who had an additional knife with him.
How dare he try and lay a hand on her. She is a Kuran Princess, my daughter, and she should not be sullied by the likes of him. Now that I think about it, he most likely also had a hand in my daughter's wounds.
"Fine. If you think it's fine to wound my daughter, I'll just have to show you otherwise."
Smiling to myself, I throw back the kitchen knife, just this time with a lot more power and speed that the boy could. The knife flew in the air and buried itself in the boy's stomach. He coughed up blood and sank to the ground, dropping his other weapon.
Carefully, I lay Ivy onto the couch and turn back towards the beaten and broken boy. I make my way over to him and when I am right in front of him, I crouch down. I pick up the knife that he dropped on the ground and used it to make a series of cuts down his arms, legs, stomach, and neck.
After I was finished with my handiwork, I stabbed my knife into his right thigh and walked back to my daughter. There, I got my desired revenge against the boy's attempt and possible harming that he did to her. Really, it was too simple, too dull. Not to worry though, my revenge against Kaname and Yuki has just began.
Smiling to myself, I give out a light chuckle and continue to walk with Ivy in my arms. I shall return her to her dorm for now, and I will see her later. It will be interesting to see the different reactions that will result from my appearance. Well, still not as interesting as getting back at those who wronged my daughter.
"Sleep well, Ivy. Your fathers back, and he's back for good."
--------------------Zero's POV--------------------
I shoot the last blood sucker surrounding me as watch as it too becomes dust. Recently, there has been an influx of these creatures in the area, and the vampire hunter association has kept me busy. It's annoying how these 'Level E', as they've been called, are popping up in larger numbers; however, they do help me get my mind off one thing. Ivy.
Ivy Phantomhive is a vampire-demon mix of sorts, meaning that she is part blood sucker. She grows fangs and drinks blood like the rest of them, and yet, I can't help but think she's different. Not just different in terms that she is part demon, but different in terms that perhaps she's not as bad as the other blood suckers or her demon friends. She's... better then them in a way.
When she saw me that day, when I was in desperate need of blood, she came and offered her own. I know better than to accept a blood sucker's invitation to drink blood, as they all have an alternative motive, but something inside me trusted her. At first, I blamed it on my strained self control, but as my control returned after I drank my fill, I still felt that strange trusting feeling towards me. The most amusing part of the entire incident would be that her entire 'alternative motive' was just to get me to clear a small crowd...
After that time, I just tried my best to forget her, but that failed when I stumbled across her eating fished near the lake in school grounds. Her cat features were out this time, but rather than disgusting me, I just found it adorable. What I found the most shocking, though, was not her cat features or that she could turn into a cat, but that she trusted me enough to allow me to hold her while she was a practically defenceless cat. I wonder if she's aware that I'm a vampire hunter... well, she does know of my hatred for vampires... that for some reason does not extend to her.
Everytime that I'm around her, I just want to kiss her rather than feed from her, and yet I control myself each time. I keep telling myself, 'she's a blood sucker' and yet, the feeling never leaves me. It confuses me, why do I feel this strange comfort from her? Why do I feel a need to be around her? Lastly, why do I feel an intense need to kill the men surrounding her? The blood suckers Kaname Kuran and Senri Shiki, the demons Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis, and perhaps even her teacher the Undertaker, they all seem to annoy me to no end.. These men all all considered close people in Ivy's heart, and yet, they all don't deserve it. They don't deserve her.
As I am brooding on this subject matter, a certain smell reaches my vampire-like nose. The smell of blood is wafted around the area, and not just any blood, but two rather powerful bloods and one human's blood. Curious, I follow the scent to an everyday house that has its door wide open. Walking in, I see a gruesome sight. There are blood stains all in the carpet of the living room and a pile of dust in the side of the room. It is obvious to me, a vampire hunter, that the pile of dust used to be another vampire, and from the smell of it, it used to be a rather strong vampire.
A raspy breathing fills my ears as I turn and look at its source. There, leaning back onto a wall, is someone I thought I would never see again; Ichiru, my brother. What is he doing here? I thought... I thought that all those years ago, he died. Now, here he is, dying and barely holding onto his life.
Quickly, I make my way over to him. His large wounds and bleeding wounds would have made me lose control, if not for the blood I had earlier from Ivy. Luckily, I was somewhat easily able to calm my vampire instinct to drink from him, and moved over to his body.
"Ichiru? Ichiru! What happened?!"
"Z-Zero... I never thought that I would s-see you here."
"Ichiru?"
"I-I'm sorry for the past, but I don't regret it. Because of it, I-I could meet her a-and fall in love... Z-Zero, I need you to feed f-from me. I-I wish to become a part of you like I should have b-before birth."
"I can't do that!"
"P-Please? I'm going to die soon a-and, I would prefer if I c-could become a part of you before I did."
Many conflicting emotions ran through my mind, but, in the end, I decided to agree with him. I loved my brother, and I thought I lost him that day. If this is his last wish, then I see nothing wrong with grant it.
"Okay..."
I slowly lower myself to his neck and my fangs grow out. As I am about to puncture his skin, he calls out to me one last time.
"Z-Zero? I fell in love, and d-don't regret it. Should you also fall in love, then p-pursue her to the ends of the earth."
Tears fall down my cheeks, and I close my eyes and bite into his skin. His blood fills my mouth and goes down my throat as I continue to drink. Unlike from when I feed from Ivy, memories and power begins to flood into me. I watch through Ichiru's eyes as he is with the pureblood that ruined our family, and watch as he falls in love with her. I watch as she refuses to turn him into a vampire, but allows him to drink her blood to keep him healthy. I only get fragments of memories, but they show me just how much the pureblood meant to him.
Then, my newfound power takes my attention. It courses through me and turns me into a being that is no longer human or Level E. Perhaps it is the blood that he drank from the pureblood that successfully allows me to turn from a potential Level E into a vampire. The power, however, continues to course through me. It makes me stronger and improves my scenes.
In addition, a new connection forms between my weapon and I, and the Bloody Rose, my gun, becomes part of my body. Knowledge on how to use an evolved state of the Bloody Rose fills my mind, as well as knowledge on what it could do. This new power now enables me to kill vampires with more ease as well as kill purebloods. Despite the amazing benefits, I am also somehow aware of the consequences of using the evolved state, which is a large amount of my own blood. How I know these things, I am unaware; however, I will use this knowledge in the future.
I look over at my brother's corpse and pick it up. I begin my walk to the 'Undertakers', where I will be certain that Ichiru will get the best possible coffin and then burial. He's my little brother, even if he betrayed the family. No matter what, he's my brother, and I will miss him now that he's gone. The only form of comfort now about this is that now, at least, he is with me, forever and always.