I shook my head stubbornly. I would not run. I had a job here after all.
"Yuki," I tried to pull the smaller girl to the doorway. I had to get her away.
"No," Yuki resisted my efforts. That resistance sent a small flare of anger through me. Was she crazy? She could not get in between the fight. She had no fighting abilities except for Artemis and I couldn't see it anywhere. She wasn't even a vampire.
"Yuki, you know that you can't help him," I hissed at her, still trying to pull her away. "Zero can handle this himself."
Ichiru and Zero had engaged in a fight while I tried to deal with Yuki. Metal clanged as Zero brought up his gun against Ichiru's sword. An unfair match, but I knew that if I didn't get Yuki away, Kaname would have my head.
"Don't leave," Shizuka's patronising voice stopped us as Yuki and I were about to leave the room. "Yuki did make a deal after all." I glared at her.
"Well then it's over," I informed her icily. "Yuki has no part in your plans." Heaven knows that if Yuki did end up in Shizuka's plans, I would be the first to suffer.
"I am a pureblood," Shizuka replied calmly. "You have to obey my orders." My limbs froze in place, like they were tightened and kept in place. This wasn't good.
"Perhaps I should taste your blood as well," Shizuka said, getting up from where she sat. "You're quite feisty for a puppet." The minute she said puppet, my eyes widened. I was not a puppet. I would not be controlled by some pureblood. Yuki clung to me, urging me to get away as Shizuka approached, even though it wasn't possible.
Yuki couldn't fight Shizuka and had no choice but to back away as Shizuka leaned down to my neck. As her fangs began to close in on my neck, I felt terror seize me. Run. Run. Run. Just run!
I forced myself to move a leg, to move backward, to move at all, but the pain was intense. This body wasn't mine anymore. I couldn't control it.
"Don't fight," Shizuka whispered as she bit down on my neck. Hard.
With a yell of shock, I yanked myself free of the invisible chains that held me in place. In my terror, I sought for the light energy in me, pulling it out, trying to defend myself in any possible way. Light began emanating from me and Shizuka had to retreat. I couldn't stop the light that burst from me however. It kept coming, bursting out in waves, lifting me into the air even, until I dangled there, limp, with no way to stop it. I couldn't see anything except brightness, burning my eyes, even when I shut my eyes.
The faint cries and shouts of Yuki, Zero, Ichiru and Shizuka came through into my ears, getting past the light that surrounded me and the whole room. They couldn't block the light, and a vampire should never be exposed so clearly to light. Even Yuki and Ichiru wouldn't be able to stand it.
A hand grabbed my shoulder and someone called into my ear. What were they saying? I couldn't hear them. It was like the light was blocking out everything including sound.
Another hand grabbed me, shaking me hard. How could they see in the light to shake me? Who was shaking me?
Then something warm closed around my lips. Someone else's lips? It was soft and warm, reaching in and snapping me out of the trance. I could hear again, but the light was still there. Only the...kiss, was keeping me stable. Arms wrapped around me, hugging me and I dared to open my eyes, looking at who it was that...was hugging me.
White hair framed the face pressed up right against mine and my eyes widened in shock. On the contrary, his eyes were closed, shut tight, but sensing me move, he opened his lavender-hued eyes. Gently he released me, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Ichiru," I breathed, confused, feeling somewhat giddy. "What did you-"
"I had to bring you out of the trance," he replied simply, walking over to where Shizuka lay, her arm over her eyes, in a futile attempt to block the light that had just threatened to erase her existence. "It was nothing more than that." Picking her up with ease, he walked to the doorway.
I stood aside and let him pass, feeling more broken than anything. It didn't matter now that Yuki was safe. Shizuka was gone, so the danger was gone. I just felt more hurt about Ichiru. He only kissed me for the sake of saving Shizuka. I should have realised before. He loved Shizuka more than me. He probably never liked me in the first place.
Zero stirred from where he was sitting, crumpled against the wall. Opening one eye first, he glared at me blearily, while I moped over how similar to Ichiru he looked. Zero glaring at me was almost like Ichiru glaring at me.
"Where did they go?" Zero hissed, getting up, his lanky figure rising up until he was taller than me. "Where's Yuki?"
"Yuki is fine," I replied hollowly. Yuki was the last thing I cared about now. "The light blinded her, but she'll be alright." Zero picked up his gun from where it lay on the floor and I didn't want to see him anymore. Seeing him was like seeing Ichiru. Seeing Ichiru was like getting a direct hit in the stomach. Turning around, I left the room, skirting the unconscious form of Yuki outside.
The music that greeted me as I came back into the main hall was soft and happy, unlike the mood I was in. I couldn't care less about the ball. I never should have come in the first place.
Kaname leaned against a wall next to me as I exited the corridor.
"Yuki's fine," I told him, in response to his unspoken question. "I'll be leaving now." Kaname inclined his head slowly, his dark eyes half-closed as though he was sleepy.
"Thank you," was all he said as I moved forward to leave the hall.