Fic: Scarlet Marks [Beyond The Red p1]
Title: Scarlet Marks
Series: Beyond the Red - 1
Author: clover71
Fandom: Vampire Knight
Pairing: Kuran Kaname/ Kiryuu Zero
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2260
Description: Written for the prompt/ trope ‘bite mark/ bruise’ for Trope Bingo 2015 Round 5, from this BINGO CARD
Warning: A bit of gore?
Summary: Saving Zero from Shizuka Hio was only the beginning of the long, winding path that fate had opened up for Kaname.
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. Copyrights remain with the original creator, Matsuri Hino.
Author's Note(s): Written in a rush, ugh. Since deadline for amnesty for Trope Bingo is at the end of the month.
The town was literally painted in red, streets filled with puddles of crimson and the air heavy with the metallic stench of blood. None of this bothered him though. This was his stage after all.
Kuran Kaname kept his hands in his coat pockets even as he advanced with slow, steady steps, eyes locked on the young vampire before him. His energy seeped out of him, hot and sharp, and judging from the way the lowly creature cowered, there was no doubt that his aura was glowing with killing intent.
“You’ve sank too low, you must not be allowed to exist.” The words left Kaname’s mouth like an epiphany. The creature’s eyes grew wide, a clear indication of fear brimming on the surface, so translucent that Kaname could see his reflection, his own carnelian eyes flashing against the dark backdrop surrounding him.
The vampire screeched - an unequivocal sound of pain slicing through the air - when Kaname’s energy tore through him, ripping him to pieces, flesh and bones disintegrating in seconds, leaving nothing but gray ashes that fell languidly on the ground.
A blanket of silence fell upon the street where he stood. He had lost count of how many level E vampires he had disposed since he arrived in this derelict urban area. There were more, that he knew. He could sense them, could smell them. The stench of their blood left a bitter taste in the air.
The serene setting was soon disrupted as raised voices echoed from the distance. Hunters, he thought, but he had no plans of fleeing. He wasn’t afraid of them and he was certain that the hunters were there for the same reason he was.
Kaname remained where he was. Listening. Waiting. Only when he felt, more than heard, the hunters drawing closer did he move. Up ahead, around the bend there was one, a young hunter judging from the scent alone. So Kaname wasn’t surprised at all when someone leaped in front of him, spear in hand, the tip aimed at his heart, its silver surface glistening.
The hunter - a young boy, perhaps around eleven or twelve years, maybe younger - held his gaze. There was an alluring fierceness in those pretty lavender eyes. Moonlight shimmered against the silver tresses that crowned his little head, making him look ethereal. For the first time in a very long time, Kaname felt breathlessly captivated.
“Zero!|” Another hunter, much older, bounded towards the young boy. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay put?” This hunter seemed familiar; the patch on his right eye was a clear giveaway although his name escaped Kaname at the moment. The lone visible eye never left Kaname, despite the fact he was still talking to the boy. “Let’s go, Zero. We did what we came here to do.”
“But he’s a vampire,” the boy - Zero - said, his eyes full of intent determination to kill.
“I know, Zero.” The older hunter grabbed hold of the spear and eased it out of the boy’s hand. “But we were sent here to get rid of level E’s and he doesn’t belong to that category. Now, let’s go.”
Kaname watched them leave. The young boy turned around to look at Kaname one last time before he was swallowed within the shadows.
*
His world was no longer a canvas of different shades of red and gray but was now draped in an iridescent brocade of pale purple and silver.
Those lavender eyes, the silken silver hair, the porcelain skin haunted him for nearly a year. Kiryuu Zero was the name etched at forefront of his mind.
Kaname needed to push fate to weave their threads together. If only he could break free from the Council of Elders.
*
Shizuka Hio was the detonator to a bomb that exploded beyond Kaname’s control. She was supposed to go after the council, not the Kiryuu family. But her thirst for revenge against the hands that were stained by the blood of her dead lover was something Kaname had overlooked.
Spare the boy, was the thought that flooded out of his mind as he rushed towards the scene, driven by desperation and fury.
A sea of red greeted him when he arrived at the Kiryuu household. The air was thick with the scent of blood. Death was all over the place. It was the sight of Shizuka holding Zero in her arms with her fangs bared, ready to sink into the boy’s neck that snapped Kaname into action.
His hand was soon wrapped around Shizuka’s neck in a tight grip, his fingers digging into her flesh, and Shizuka, despite being a pureblood like him, was no match, not at the state Kaname was in.
The sharp, shrill sound of a voice yelling, “Zero!” broke through Kaname’s livid concentration and he spied a boy who looked so identical to Zero at the threshold.
The split-second distraction lowered his guard for a moment and Shizuka used that chance to escape. It was in a flash that she snatched the other boy and fled.
Kaname would have pursued her, but the sound of Zero’s voice - broken and weak - made him reconsider. The boy was covered in blood; the skin on his chest have been torn open and his face was white as sheet. It was apparent that Zero wouldn’t last long. Unless.
It was a gamble, one that Kaname was willing to take rather than watching the boy die.
Everything would change. The path he had painstakingly paved ahead may branch out to several directions. But Kaname could care less now.
He held Zero in his arms, each breath he took stole a single thread from Zero’s life. There wasn’t any more time he could waste. Throwing all rationalities aside, Kaname dove in for Zero’s neck, his fangs sinking into the boy’s jugular until blood, sweeter than any he had tasted, flowed into his mouth.
Just enough. Enough to give him the power to heal. Hopefully. There wasn’t a guarantee things wouldn’t turn worse for Zero but Kaname held enough faith that this dire choice would somehow save him.
Kaname removed his mouth from Zero’s neck, brought his wrist up to his lips, the tip of his fang pricking his own skin. Then he watched his blood drop on Zero’s parted lips. Just a drop.
All he could do now was wait.
*
The blood had been washed off, his body no longer stained in red. Patches of crimson were gone from his hair, now looking like tarnished gray rather than glimmering silver. His lips were no longer purplish but pale pink. Too pale.
But he was alive.
Alive and healing well. Regardless of how slow the process, the important thing was that he’d live.
He’d live.
While every part of the boy mended gradually, the vivid reminder of Kaname’s desperate effort to achieve this remained on the boy’s neck: a scarlet mark sitting right on the spot where his fangs pierced through.
*
Such sweet, innocent face. Kaname watched Zero’s sleeping form from the doorway. Though beneath that innocence, past the tranquil mask, he knew, feared even, that belligerence could be brewing.
Kaname pulled the door close, turned to face Kaien Cross and asked, “You’ll take him in, then?”
“Of course,” the former hunter answered with unwavering certainty. “Will you be wiping off his memory?” It was something Kaname had yet to consider but Kaien added a fact he could not disregard. “It might be a good idea. That would lessen the possibility of him suffering from severe trauma.”
There wasn’t a single thread of doubt that Kaien had a logical point. But Kaname would prefer to leave Zero’s memories untouched. The aftermath of this tragedy could either break him or make him stronger and Kaname held high hopes of the outcome being the latter.
Before he could provide a definite response, a terrifying scream pierced through the walls prompting him to rush into the room that housed Zero with Kaien in tow.
Zero sat on the bed, hands holding his head, his face red, glassy eyes glinted with anguish and rage. Kaname gathered the boy in his arms, whispered a chant in Zero’s ears that had him sedated in merely seconds.
The sight of Yuki standing at the doorway, wide eyes reflecting fear and confusion, sealed his decision. “You’re probably right,” he told Kaien then gently laid his hand on Zero’s head.
To Yuki, it might have looked like he was soothing the boy, but Kaname was in fact removing the details of the heartrending incident from Zero’s mind.
*
Asymmetrical expression played on Kaien’s face as soon as Kaname informed him that Shizuka Hio had been killed.
“I’ve never heard of vigilantes,” he said, finger rubbing his chin, the skin between his eyebrows furrowed as if he was in deep contemplation.
“Neither have I,” Kaname said in accord. “My sources told me there’s a group that acted like hunters with a goal to eradicate vampires, regardless of class or level. Given that they are not born or trained hunters, they our out of the Hunter’s Association’s jurisdiction, thus, were dubbed as vigilantes.”
This group sounded trouble, another crack on the fragile crystalline case that contained the carefully sculpted design of maintaining peace between humans and vampires.
Incredulity and worry rang clear in Kaien’s tone when he asked, “And they are responsible for Shizuka Hio’s death?”
“According to the reports, yes.” A vestige of silver danced right past Kaname’s peripheral vision but he kept his eyes on Kaien.
The former hunter must have sensed the new presence as well because his voice was low enough for only Kaname to hear when he asked, “And the boy?”
Kaname refrained from clarifying if Kaien meant Zero’s twin. There could be no other boy he was referring to so he went on to explain, “He was no longer at the scene when my sources arrived. There’s a hypothetic possibility that he was taken by the same group that attacked Shizuka Hio.”
Kaien lowered his gaze for a while, shoulders rising and falling as he heaved a sigh. Then he turned to the boy hidden behind the wall. “Why don’t you come out and say hello, Zero?”
The boy stepped out with no sign of hesitation, eyes sharp and fixed on Kaname. His mouth moved, the sound coming out was no more than a snarl, too unintelligible even for Kaname’s heightened sense of hearing.
Then Zero raised his right arm, the silver knife trapped within his tiny hand glinted. “Vampire,” he growled then sprang towards Kaname with incredible speed, the knife evidently aiming for Kaname’s heart.
Kaname was faster though. He blocked Zero’s attack with his arm then grabbed the boy’s wrist, his thumb pressing on the spot near the pulse until Zero’s hand relaxed and the knife fell on the floor with a resounding clang.
A chorus of “Zero!” echoed in the room, Yuki’s voice higher than Kaien’s.
There was fire in Zero’s eyes, speckles of red tainting the beautiful shade of lavender. His emotions - a chaotic mixture of anger, fear, and grief and others Kaname couldn’t identify - resonated around them. It was so strong that Kaname could feel it himself.
Then the flickering flame disappeared, cold emptiness glimmered in those lilac orbs just before Zero collapsed in Kaname’s arms. It was then Kaname noticed the two scarlet spots on the boy’s neck right where the bite marks should be.
*
Two red spots prominent against clear white skin like two drops of blood on a bed of snow.
These bruises on Zero’s neck, according to Kaien, weren’t there before. It was a presumptive conclusion that Kaname’s presence somehow had a triggering effect on Zero’s supposedly gradual transformation and the appearance of the marks was the repercussion.
“I think it would be best if I keep my distance, visit less from now on,” Kaname mused out loud.
“No.” Yuki appeared at the doorway, tears starting to brim on her eyes. “No, Kaname-sama.” She ran over to him and threw her arms around his waist. “Don’t stop coming over. I’m sure Zero would be fine. He’ll get used to having you around. I’m sure he’ll be fine with you being a vampire.”
Kaname couldn’t help but wonder how much Yuki had heard, but the innocence in her words were apparent. Despite his heart breaking upon seeing the little girl shed tears for him, Kaname had to keep his ground. “I’m sorry, Yuki. But this is for the best. I’ll still visit, but not as often.”
Yuki raised her head, longing eyes blinked up at him. “You promise.”
“I promise.” Kaname crouched low enough so he could be at her level. “Take care of Zero for me, okay? Make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”
A firm nod is what Yuki offered in response then Kaien herded her out of Zero’s room, declaring that Zero needed peace and quiet.
Kaname stayed, sat on the edge of Zero’s bed and brushed a finger against the scarlet marks. “I’ll wait for you, Zero. I’ll wait for the day you will be ready to receive me.” He planted a kiss on Zero’s forehead, taking away the last remnants of that tragic memory.
The marks on Zero’s neck started to fade as Kaname moved farther away from him.
This isn’t goodbye. Kaname would be watching over Zero and Yuki from the shadows. So he didn’t bid either of them farewell, just left with a promise that he would return to them - to Zero - one day.
Series: Beyond the Red - 1
Author: clover71
Fandom: Vampire Knight
Pairing: Kuran Kaname/ Kiryuu Zero
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2260
Description: Written for the prompt/ trope ‘bite mark/ bruise’ for Trope Bingo 2015 Round 5, from this BINGO CARD
Warning: A bit of gore?
Summary: Saving Zero from Shizuka Hio was only the beginning of the long, winding path that fate had opened up for Kaname.
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. Copyrights remain with the original creator, Matsuri Hino.
Author's Note(s): Written in a rush, ugh. Since deadline for amnesty for Trope Bingo is at the end of the month.
The town was literally painted in red, streets filled with puddles of crimson and the air heavy with the metallic stench of blood. None of this bothered him though. This was his stage after all.
Kuran Kaname kept his hands in his coat pockets even as he advanced with slow, steady steps, eyes locked on the young vampire before him. His energy seeped out of him, hot and sharp, and judging from the way the lowly creature cowered, there was no doubt that his aura was glowing with killing intent.
“You’ve sank too low, you must not be allowed to exist.” The words left Kaname’s mouth like an epiphany. The creature’s eyes grew wide, a clear indication of fear brimming on the surface, so translucent that Kaname could see his reflection, his own carnelian eyes flashing against the dark backdrop surrounding him.
The vampire screeched - an unequivocal sound of pain slicing through the air - when Kaname’s energy tore through him, ripping him to pieces, flesh and bones disintegrating in seconds, leaving nothing but gray ashes that fell languidly on the ground.
A blanket of silence fell upon the street where he stood. He had lost count of how many level E vampires he had disposed since he arrived in this derelict urban area. There were more, that he knew. He could sense them, could smell them. The stench of their blood left a bitter taste in the air.
The serene setting was soon disrupted as raised voices echoed from the distance. Hunters, he thought, but he had no plans of fleeing. He wasn’t afraid of them and he was certain that the hunters were there for the same reason he was.
Kaname remained where he was. Listening. Waiting. Only when he felt, more than heard, the hunters drawing closer did he move. Up ahead, around the bend there was one, a young hunter judging from the scent alone. So Kaname wasn’t surprised at all when someone leaped in front of him, spear in hand, the tip aimed at his heart, its silver surface glistening.
The hunter - a young boy, perhaps around eleven or twelve years, maybe younger - held his gaze. There was an alluring fierceness in those pretty lavender eyes. Moonlight shimmered against the silver tresses that crowned his little head, making him look ethereal. For the first time in a very long time, Kaname felt breathlessly captivated.
“Zero!|” Another hunter, much older, bounded towards the young boy. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay put?” This hunter seemed familiar; the patch on his right eye was a clear giveaway although his name escaped Kaname at the moment. The lone visible eye never left Kaname, despite the fact he was still talking to the boy. “Let’s go, Zero. We did what we came here to do.”
“But he’s a vampire,” the boy - Zero - said, his eyes full of intent determination to kill.
“I know, Zero.” The older hunter grabbed hold of the spear and eased it out of the boy’s hand. “But we were sent here to get rid of level E’s and he doesn’t belong to that category. Now, let’s go.”
Kaname watched them leave. The young boy turned around to look at Kaname one last time before he was swallowed within the shadows.
*
His world was no longer a canvas of different shades of red and gray but was now draped in an iridescent brocade of pale purple and silver.
Those lavender eyes, the silken silver hair, the porcelain skin haunted him for nearly a year. Kiryuu Zero was the name etched at forefront of his mind.
Kaname needed to push fate to weave their threads together. If only he could break free from the Council of Elders.
*
Shizuka Hio was the detonator to a bomb that exploded beyond Kaname’s control. She was supposed to go after the council, not the Kiryuu family. But her thirst for revenge against the hands that were stained by the blood of her dead lover was something Kaname had overlooked.
Spare the boy, was the thought that flooded out of his mind as he rushed towards the scene, driven by desperation and fury.
A sea of red greeted him when he arrived at the Kiryuu household. The air was thick with the scent of blood. Death was all over the place. It was the sight of Shizuka holding Zero in her arms with her fangs bared, ready to sink into the boy’s neck that snapped Kaname into action.
His hand was soon wrapped around Shizuka’s neck in a tight grip, his fingers digging into her flesh, and Shizuka, despite being a pureblood like him, was no match, not at the state Kaname was in.
The sharp, shrill sound of a voice yelling, “Zero!” broke through Kaname’s livid concentration and he spied a boy who looked so identical to Zero at the threshold.
The split-second distraction lowered his guard for a moment and Shizuka used that chance to escape. It was in a flash that she snatched the other boy and fled.
Kaname would have pursued her, but the sound of Zero’s voice - broken and weak - made him reconsider. The boy was covered in blood; the skin on his chest have been torn open and his face was white as sheet. It was apparent that Zero wouldn’t last long. Unless.
It was a gamble, one that Kaname was willing to take rather than watching the boy die.
Everything would change. The path he had painstakingly paved ahead may branch out to several directions. But Kaname could care less now.
He held Zero in his arms, each breath he took stole a single thread from Zero’s life. There wasn’t any more time he could waste. Throwing all rationalities aside, Kaname dove in for Zero’s neck, his fangs sinking into the boy’s jugular until blood, sweeter than any he had tasted, flowed into his mouth.
Just enough. Enough to give him the power to heal. Hopefully. There wasn’t a guarantee things wouldn’t turn worse for Zero but Kaname held enough faith that this dire choice would somehow save him.
Kaname removed his mouth from Zero’s neck, brought his wrist up to his lips, the tip of his fang pricking his own skin. Then he watched his blood drop on Zero’s parted lips. Just a drop.
All he could do now was wait.
*
The blood had been washed off, his body no longer stained in red. Patches of crimson were gone from his hair, now looking like tarnished gray rather than glimmering silver. His lips were no longer purplish but pale pink. Too pale.
But he was alive.
Alive and healing well. Regardless of how slow the process, the important thing was that he’d live.
He’d live.
While every part of the boy mended gradually, the vivid reminder of Kaname’s desperate effort to achieve this remained on the boy’s neck: a scarlet mark sitting right on the spot where his fangs pierced through.
*
Such sweet, innocent face. Kaname watched Zero’s sleeping form from the doorway. Though beneath that innocence, past the tranquil mask, he knew, feared even, that belligerence could be brewing.
Kaname pulled the door close, turned to face Kaien Cross and asked, “You’ll take him in, then?”
“Of course,” the former hunter answered with unwavering certainty. “Will you be wiping off his memory?” It was something Kaname had yet to consider but Kaien added a fact he could not disregard. “It might be a good idea. That would lessen the possibility of him suffering from severe trauma.”
There wasn’t a single thread of doubt that Kaien had a logical point. But Kaname would prefer to leave Zero’s memories untouched. The aftermath of this tragedy could either break him or make him stronger and Kaname held high hopes of the outcome being the latter.
Before he could provide a definite response, a terrifying scream pierced through the walls prompting him to rush into the room that housed Zero with Kaien in tow.
Zero sat on the bed, hands holding his head, his face red, glassy eyes glinted with anguish and rage. Kaname gathered the boy in his arms, whispered a chant in Zero’s ears that had him sedated in merely seconds.
The sight of Yuki standing at the doorway, wide eyes reflecting fear and confusion, sealed his decision. “You’re probably right,” he told Kaien then gently laid his hand on Zero’s head.
To Yuki, it might have looked like he was soothing the boy, but Kaname was in fact removing the details of the heartrending incident from Zero’s mind.
*
Asymmetrical expression played on Kaien’s face as soon as Kaname informed him that Shizuka Hio had been killed.
“I’ve never heard of vigilantes,” he said, finger rubbing his chin, the skin between his eyebrows furrowed as if he was in deep contemplation.
“Neither have I,” Kaname said in accord. “My sources told me there’s a group that acted like hunters with a goal to eradicate vampires, regardless of class or level. Given that they are not born or trained hunters, they our out of the Hunter’s Association’s jurisdiction, thus, were dubbed as vigilantes.”
This group sounded trouble, another crack on the fragile crystalline case that contained the carefully sculpted design of maintaining peace between humans and vampires.
Incredulity and worry rang clear in Kaien’s tone when he asked, “And they are responsible for Shizuka Hio’s death?”
“According to the reports, yes.” A vestige of silver danced right past Kaname’s peripheral vision but he kept his eyes on Kaien.
The former hunter must have sensed the new presence as well because his voice was low enough for only Kaname to hear when he asked, “And the boy?”
Kaname refrained from clarifying if Kaien meant Zero’s twin. There could be no other boy he was referring to so he went on to explain, “He was no longer at the scene when my sources arrived. There’s a hypothetic possibility that he was taken by the same group that attacked Shizuka Hio.”
Kaien lowered his gaze for a while, shoulders rising and falling as he heaved a sigh. Then he turned to the boy hidden behind the wall. “Why don’t you come out and say hello, Zero?”
The boy stepped out with no sign of hesitation, eyes sharp and fixed on Kaname. His mouth moved, the sound coming out was no more than a snarl, too unintelligible even for Kaname’s heightened sense of hearing.
Then Zero raised his right arm, the silver knife trapped within his tiny hand glinted. “Vampire,” he growled then sprang towards Kaname with incredible speed, the knife evidently aiming for Kaname’s heart.
Kaname was faster though. He blocked Zero’s attack with his arm then grabbed the boy’s wrist, his thumb pressing on the spot near the pulse until Zero’s hand relaxed and the knife fell on the floor with a resounding clang.
A chorus of “Zero!” echoed in the room, Yuki’s voice higher than Kaien’s.
There was fire in Zero’s eyes, speckles of red tainting the beautiful shade of lavender. His emotions - a chaotic mixture of anger, fear, and grief and others Kaname couldn’t identify - resonated around them. It was so strong that Kaname could feel it himself.
Then the flickering flame disappeared, cold emptiness glimmered in those lilac orbs just before Zero collapsed in Kaname’s arms. It was then Kaname noticed the two scarlet spots on the boy’s neck right where the bite marks should be.
*
Two red spots prominent against clear white skin like two drops of blood on a bed of snow.
These bruises on Zero’s neck, according to Kaien, weren’t there before. It was a presumptive conclusion that Kaname’s presence somehow had a triggering effect on Zero’s supposedly gradual transformation and the appearance of the marks was the repercussion.
“I think it would be best if I keep my distance, visit less from now on,” Kaname mused out loud.
“No.” Yuki appeared at the doorway, tears starting to brim on her eyes. “No, Kaname-sama.” She ran over to him and threw her arms around his waist. “Don’t stop coming over. I’m sure Zero would be fine. He’ll get used to having you around. I’m sure he’ll be fine with you being a vampire.”
Kaname couldn’t help but wonder how much Yuki had heard, but the innocence in her words were apparent. Despite his heart breaking upon seeing the little girl shed tears for him, Kaname had to keep his ground. “I’m sorry, Yuki. But this is for the best. I’ll still visit, but not as often.”
Yuki raised her head, longing eyes blinked up at him. “You promise.”
“I promise.” Kaname crouched low enough so he could be at her level. “Take care of Zero for me, okay? Make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”
A firm nod is what Yuki offered in response then Kaien herded her out of Zero’s room, declaring that Zero needed peace and quiet.
Kaname stayed, sat on the edge of Zero’s bed and brushed a finger against the scarlet marks. “I’ll wait for you, Zero. I’ll wait for the day you will be ready to receive me.” He planted a kiss on Zero’s forehead, taking away the last remnants of that tragic memory.
The marks on Zero’s neck started to fade as Kaname moved farther away from him.
This isn’t goodbye. Kaname would be watching over Zero and Yuki from the shadows. So he didn’t bid either of them farewell, just left with a promise that he would return to them - to Zero - one day.