VK fic: Still Memories 3/?
Title: Still Memories
Pairing: Kaname/Zero
Rating: T
Summary: Zero comes to a decision. Kaname won't even know he left.
-Three years later-
Wistful eyes gazed down at a worn photograph; obviously taken in and out of its frame so many times it was a wonder it hadn't fallen apart yet. Cross Kaien sighed softly and placed the picture back down on his daughter's desk. Yuuki had started packing for university last week and most of her belongings were now in cardboard boxes or suitcases. The picture, one of her most treasured items, would be traveling alongside her in her favorite shoulder bag, the one Zero had gotten for her some years prior as a spontaneous gift, claiming someone had given it to him, but that he had no intention of using it.
Yuuki had loved it. She didn't mind it might have been a cast off; the leather was new, smooth, and the size was just right, even for her small stature. With small pockets in convenient palces, slots for pends, cards and other assortments, the bag quickly became filled with her daily knickknacks. She was hardly seen without it. She took an inordinate amount of delight in telling people it had been a gift from Zero whenever someone asked after its origin. For anyone who knew Zero to any degree, the fact would come as a great surprise, inciting wide eyes and gaping mouths. Stoic and distant, it was hard to believe he would be inclined to gift giving without a legitimate cause.
"And then you left."
Poking at the unsmiling boy in the picture reprovingly, Kaien pursed his lips. There was no warning, no sign to tell what he had been planning. One day he was here, and the next, he was gone. Most of his things had been left behind, as though he hadn't intended to leave for long or that he wanted leave as much as he could behind. Kaien would have liked to think there were some unforeseen circumstances keeping Zero back, he suspected Zero would never be gone longer than he wanted to be. If he had yet to return, it was because he was choosing not to. Why he didn't know, and doubted he ever would.
"You could have at least said something to Yuuki."
His daughter had been nothing short of devastated after Zero's disappearance. She hadn't come out of her room for hours. None of his cajoling or Kaname's coaxing charms could get her to open the door. Zero's last words to her hardly helped.
"Awake again, Yuuki? What've I told you about drinking too much coffee? Come here."
He had led her back to her room, tucked her in, and made sure she stayed in bed until she fell asleep, his presence a solid block of assurance by her bedside, she'd recalled. He hadn't said another word, just sat there, at the edge of her bed, and it was as though he'd willed her to sleep. She'd thought it soothing then, and later when finding out he was gone, found it heartbreaking.
"I don't know what he did after that. What he must have been thinking before he... It was his way of saying goodbye. He wanted me to know he would always be here, still, just not as obvious as before."
Kaien believed every word. Yuuki knew Zero best, and if she felt that way, it must be true. It didn't make the pain of his loss any easier to bear, but she smiled her special smile and declared she would be fine. When and if Zero came back he would see she was just as strong as he said she could be (after beating him withing an inch of his life for leaving like that first, of course.) She was filled with a new sense of determination.
Then the new Guardians and hunters Zero had secretly appointed showed up the very next week and things went pear-shaped again for a while. Zero couldn't have chosen better people for his replacement, and the replacements had even become part of hunter standards, but it had been a rough few weeks. Only those who were approved through a series of strict tests and questions were chosen to watch over both humans and vampires of Cross Academy. Tests and questions which Zero and Yagari had apparently worked together to create. Seemingly a simple task, watching ove the Day class and Night class required calm, even tempers, and a good dose of maturity or hunter or not, a Guardian wouldn't last.
"The vampires had it easy with Zero," Yagari had said bluntly. "The Kuran kid was comfortable with him and that affected how the others viewed him. Zero never seriously hurt them or abused his authority as a hunter, which he could've. You know the vampires don't need to do much to get one of us going. He did what you wanted a Guardian of this school to do, Cross. He protected themas much as he protected the Day class students.
Kuran wouldn't know the new hunters; they'd be different ground and you know how territorial purebloods are. Zero knew what was doing with this. He knew Kuran."
And boy did he, Kaien smiled wryly. It was alarming how well Zero had anticipated Kaname's reaction. The hunters knew exactly what and what not to do, keeping a perfectly diplomatic air, cool and professional. Things were settled without a hitch. The hunters changed every three to six months or every year, but the routinely meet and greet procedures remained in tact to the last letter.
For the hunters, the role of being a Guardian was treated no unlike that of an internship opportunity. It was a chance to explore what non-violent relations with vampire aristocracy were like. They didn't have to go out of their way to be friendly, but it was certainly an experience to see how vampires as students were, that they could be considered 'student' at all. It helped the younger generation of hunters gain a slightly different aspect of the race they were trained to distrust on principle and kill.
Kaien wasn't sure if Zero had been aware of the possible long-term impacts his 'replacement routine' would have, but he still marveled at the genius of it all. Despite dreams of coexistence and peace, Kaien had never come up with something like this to smooth the way between the future of vampire ruling class and Hunter Association. His idea of lumping the two races together within close living quarters with two students as guards hoping things would work out seemed incredibly crude in comparison.
At first disbelieving and not a little incensed Zero and Yagari (Yagari of all people! The man should have known better!) had planned something so extensive behind his back, he wasn't so blind as to not see a good thing when it so daringly smacked him in the face. The new Guardian system worked and worked well. Despite his fears of letting the Academy mingle with the Association, he'd yet to see a problem crop up that was serious enough to object to it.
"You would've done well as leader of the Association," Kaien murmured. "Getting such a volatile group to work seamlessly together is a gargantuan task, and you managed a solution in five months. I know you would've hated the job, but you really...really would've done well."
Zero's expressionless face, forever preserved as youthful and seventeen, stared off to the side of the photograph, away from Yuuki grinning brightly at his side, and didn't offer an answer.
* * *
Aidou Hanabusa gracelessly dumped himself onto the nearest armchair in the common room and groaned loudly. "You know what I want? A big fat sundae with a mountain of toppings and a river of chocolate syrup to wash away the worst days ever. Like, now. Right now. I don't think I know my sister anymore, I seriously don't. The sister I knew would never have-- Whatever. And then we got our asses handed to us by some evil I-can't-remember-the-name-of Western vampire and the entire thing got swept under the rug!"
Souen Ruka looked up briefly from her textbook with an irritated glare and parted her mouth to shoot off a reprimanding remark, but Ichijou Takuma got there first with an uncharacteristically strained voice,
"Aidou be quiet."
From anyone else, it would be an equivalent to: "Shut the fuck up."
"Ichijou?"
The rest of the occupants in the room turned to stare uncomfortably at Takuma, unsettle by his unease.
"I hope none of you have forgotten what day it is," Takuma hinted, a slightly exasperated touch to his tone. When everyone continued to stare blankly, he frowned. "This day marks the third anniversary of Kiryuu-kun's disappearance." He gently reminded. "The third year Kaname has failed to trace his whereabouts." No leads, no clues, not even a hypothetical guess as to where to start searching. Those had run out a year and a half ago.
The temperature in the room lowered a few degrees.
"...I knew this day was about to get worse." Hanabusa mumbled.
Takuma's strained smile crumbled to a grimace. There was no denying Hanabusa's statement. Kaname had been...off since Kiryuu Zero's leaving the academy, and tended to turn into a ball of agitation whenever his name was mention. Everyone assumed the source was directly related to how deeply Yuuki had been affected by Zero's loss, but as Yuuki seemed to pick herself up and move and Kaname, well...didn't, they all came to realize it was most likely something else.
Those less familiar with him chalked it up to Kaname's sense of responsibility or pride getting marred at not being able to find Zero. Regardless of occupation as a hunter, Zero was also a vampire in Kaname's range of influence. It was part of the duty of a pureblood to look after its 'people'. Zero however unwittingly, fell under Kaname's responsibilities. When he went missing, Kaname would have instinctively felt the need to make sure of Zero's mental, physical, emotional status. Being denied the information he felt was his due would have been an annoyance, yes, but not to the extent Kaname had actually shown.
Someone the room coughed lightly and they all shared wary glances, as though knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Or rather, remembering:
Cracked, singed walls from bursts of energy, white, frosty spreads of disjointed webs across the glass panes, ripped curtains, melted carpets...if they had all happened at the same time, god forbid, the entire room would have looked like something out of a nightmare of horror film in the aftermath of a massacre. No, the incidents had occurred separated, but that made it ever more frightening. Kaname, usually so composed, slipping with his powers on so many instances was alarming, and what was worse, it was all connected to Zero and his sudden disappearance.
"I'm turning in early." Rima flatly announced. Tugging at Senri's sleeve, she made for a quick escape to her own room with him silently at her heels. "I'm not suffering another one of his tantrums, Takuma."
"Oi," Hanabusa weakly protested. "Kaname-sama's just frustrated. You'd be too, if you couldn't find some brat you don't even care for, for three whole years."
She sent him a cool look right before she closed the door, her soft voice audible with their heightened sense even as she made her way down the hall. "Maybe. But after three years? I'd get over it, especially for a 'brat I don't even care for'."
And that's where things became baffling, Takuma silently noted. They had seen no evidence of Kaname taking special care for Zero and couldn't comprehend his aggravation. Takuma was of the opinion it wasn't that Kaname didn't care at all, but that he cared too much. Why else would someone, anyone, put aside time to look for another person? They must matter in some form. Zero, without their knowledge, had developed a connection with Kaname, deeper than they could ever assume. The nature of whatever relationship they shared was none of his business, but he hoped Kaname found a lead some time soon on his ongoing Zero-Hunt, or it wouldn't just end with broken furniture when his powers decided they above behaving.
"Those new hunters didn't help." Ruka sighed, shoulders slumping. "They came nearly right after Kiryuu vanished. It just proved he was planning to leave and no one knew about it." That hadn't done anything for Kaname's temper. Zero had slipped right past his fingers, from under his nose, deliberately, and successfully too.
The new hunters had flabbergasted everyone. Unlike dark, broody Zero, they were calm, reasonable, and easy to get along with as long as the rules were respected. Some were unafraid to even joke around if the mood suited them. They all seemed to go through quite the process in order to be chosen as a Guardian, and a majority of those who were approved as Guardians went on to become excellent hunters once their time at the academy was up.
Considering the only hunter they knew who was in their teenage years was Zero, it was a fascinating experience to meet so many other young hunters who were just as curious, if wary and suspicious about the 'other side'. The first few weeks into their arrival had been trying, what with Kaname in the middle of dealing with Zero's loss, unwilling to welcome strangers under his radar, resulting in mistrust among the other members of the Night class against the newcomers.
Ironically, the breaking point, which had convinced Kaname to accept their presence on campus, had been the very reason behind Kaname's frayed nerves. Zero had placed his own trust in these hunter to do his job, and inexplicably, that seemed well enough to Kaname. He and the hunters had exchanged words and emerged from their meet-and-greet discussion unscathed, with an understanding.
"Ha. Kiryuu and Yagari put us through the ringer before we ever stepped foot in here, guys. If we even think about bending the rules here, it's on our ass. Yagari, we knew about. He can beat us seven ways to Sunday, no sweat off his back, but Kiryuu...well, that's the kicker, isn't it? He's one scary bastard. We're lucky he's such a softie."
Or so the more laidback half of the Guardian pairs had confessed.
And Takuma hadn't missed how they always came in pairs or trios, making patrols more efficient and the workload manageable. Yuuki started to look brighter than ever, now able to actually sleep, and supposedly, much to Kaname's pleasure, her grades were granted relief from her constant distractions.
She would be off to university soon, Takuma mused fondly. Yuuki, a university student. It was hard to imagine. He'd watched, alongside Kaname, as she grew from a young girl to a young woman. So quickly she had gone from child to adolescent. She would be making her way thorugh the world as an adult in no time.
"I wish he'd just turn up. I don't care how." Hanabusa shook his head, resigned. Then paused and turned green. "I can't believe I just said that." He croaked.
"I can't either, but I know what you mean." Akatsuki said amusedly.
"What do you think he's like now? He was all grunts and glares, like a caveman before. You think he hasn't changed, or maybe he's learnt some manners, evolved to semi-civilized single word responses?"
The entire room fell ominously silent during the middle of his questions. Everyone looked Hanabusa's head to the doorway.
Feeling the back of his neck prickle, Hanabusa smiled shakily, swallowing. "Right. A lot. Things just got a lot worse."
Nobody answered, faces pale.
"For you, yes, I would presume so, Aidou." The rich tones of Kaname's cool voice filled the silence. "Come."
When certain Kaname and Hanabusa were out of hearing range, Ruka sighed. "He's such a glutton for punishment."
Pairing: Kaname/Zero
Rating: T
Summary: Zero comes to a decision. Kaname won't even know he left.
-Three years later-
Wistful eyes gazed down at a worn photograph; obviously taken in and out of its frame so many times it was a wonder it hadn't fallen apart yet. Cross Kaien sighed softly and placed the picture back down on his daughter's desk. Yuuki had started packing for university last week and most of her belongings were now in cardboard boxes or suitcases. The picture, one of her most treasured items, would be traveling alongside her in her favorite shoulder bag, the one Zero had gotten for her some years prior as a spontaneous gift, claiming someone had given it to him, but that he had no intention of using it.
Yuuki had loved it. She didn't mind it might have been a cast off; the leather was new, smooth, and the size was just right, even for her small stature. With small pockets in convenient palces, slots for pends, cards and other assortments, the bag quickly became filled with her daily knickknacks. She was hardly seen without it. She took an inordinate amount of delight in telling people it had been a gift from Zero whenever someone asked after its origin. For anyone who knew Zero to any degree, the fact would come as a great surprise, inciting wide eyes and gaping mouths. Stoic and distant, it was hard to believe he would be inclined to gift giving without a legitimate cause.
"And then you left."
Poking at the unsmiling boy in the picture reprovingly, Kaien pursed his lips. There was no warning, no sign to tell what he had been planning. One day he was here, and the next, he was gone. Most of his things had been left behind, as though he hadn't intended to leave for long or that he wanted leave as much as he could behind. Kaien would have liked to think there were some unforeseen circumstances keeping Zero back, he suspected Zero would never be gone longer than he wanted to be. If he had yet to return, it was because he was choosing not to. Why he didn't know, and doubted he ever would.
"You could have at least said something to Yuuki."
His daughter had been nothing short of devastated after Zero's disappearance. She hadn't come out of her room for hours. None of his cajoling or Kaname's coaxing charms could get her to open the door. Zero's last words to her hardly helped.
"Awake again, Yuuki? What've I told you about drinking too much coffee? Come here."
He had led her back to her room, tucked her in, and made sure she stayed in bed until she fell asleep, his presence a solid block of assurance by her bedside, she'd recalled. He hadn't said another word, just sat there, at the edge of her bed, and it was as though he'd willed her to sleep. She'd thought it soothing then, and later when finding out he was gone, found it heartbreaking.
"I don't know what he did after that. What he must have been thinking before he... It was his way of saying goodbye. He wanted me to know he would always be here, still, just not as obvious as before."
Kaien believed every word. Yuuki knew Zero best, and if she felt that way, it must be true. It didn't make the pain of his loss any easier to bear, but she smiled her special smile and declared she would be fine. When and if Zero came back he would see she was just as strong as he said she could be (after beating him withing an inch of his life for leaving like that first, of course.) She was filled with a new sense of determination.
Then the new Guardians and hunters Zero had secretly appointed showed up the very next week and things went pear-shaped again for a while. Zero couldn't have chosen better people for his replacement, and the replacements had even become part of hunter standards, but it had been a rough few weeks. Only those who were approved through a series of strict tests and questions were chosen to watch over both humans and vampires of Cross Academy. Tests and questions which Zero and Yagari had apparently worked together to create. Seemingly a simple task, watching ove the Day class and Night class required calm, even tempers, and a good dose of maturity or hunter or not, a Guardian wouldn't last.
"The vampires had it easy with Zero," Yagari had said bluntly. "The Kuran kid was comfortable with him and that affected how the others viewed him. Zero never seriously hurt them or abused his authority as a hunter, which he could've. You know the vampires don't need to do much to get one of us going. He did what you wanted a Guardian of this school to do, Cross. He protected themas much as he protected the Day class students.
Kuran wouldn't know the new hunters; they'd be different ground and you know how territorial purebloods are. Zero knew what was doing with this. He knew Kuran."
And boy did he, Kaien smiled wryly. It was alarming how well Zero had anticipated Kaname's reaction. The hunters knew exactly what and what not to do, keeping a perfectly diplomatic air, cool and professional. Things were settled without a hitch. The hunters changed every three to six months or every year, but the routinely meet and greet procedures remained in tact to the last letter.
For the hunters, the role of being a Guardian was treated no unlike that of an internship opportunity. It was a chance to explore what non-violent relations with vampire aristocracy were like. They didn't have to go out of their way to be friendly, but it was certainly an experience to see how vampires as students were, that they could be considered 'student' at all. It helped the younger generation of hunters gain a slightly different aspect of the race they were trained to distrust on principle and kill.
Kaien wasn't sure if Zero had been aware of the possible long-term impacts his 'replacement routine' would have, but he still marveled at the genius of it all. Despite dreams of coexistence and peace, Kaien had never come up with something like this to smooth the way between the future of vampire ruling class and Hunter Association. His idea of lumping the two races together within close living quarters with two students as guards hoping things would work out seemed incredibly crude in comparison.
At first disbelieving and not a little incensed Zero and Yagari (Yagari of all people! The man should have known better!) had planned something so extensive behind his back, he wasn't so blind as to not see a good thing when it so daringly smacked him in the face. The new Guardian system worked and worked well. Despite his fears of letting the Academy mingle with the Association, he'd yet to see a problem crop up that was serious enough to object to it.
"You would've done well as leader of the Association," Kaien murmured. "Getting such a volatile group to work seamlessly together is a gargantuan task, and you managed a solution in five months. I know you would've hated the job, but you really...really would've done well."
Zero's expressionless face, forever preserved as youthful and seventeen, stared off to the side of the photograph, away from Yuuki grinning brightly at his side, and didn't offer an answer.
* * *
Aidou Hanabusa gracelessly dumped himself onto the nearest armchair in the common room and groaned loudly. "You know what I want? A big fat sundae with a mountain of toppings and a river of chocolate syrup to wash away the worst days ever. Like, now. Right now. I don't think I know my sister anymore, I seriously don't. The sister I knew would never have-- Whatever. And then we got our asses handed to us by some evil I-can't-remember-the-name-of Western vampire and the entire thing got swept under the rug!"
Souen Ruka looked up briefly from her textbook with an irritated glare and parted her mouth to shoot off a reprimanding remark, but Ichijou Takuma got there first with an uncharacteristically strained voice,
"Aidou be quiet."
From anyone else, it would be an equivalent to: "Shut the fuck up."
"Ichijou?"
The rest of the occupants in the room turned to stare uncomfortably at Takuma, unsettle by his unease.
"I hope none of you have forgotten what day it is," Takuma hinted, a slightly exasperated touch to his tone. When everyone continued to stare blankly, he frowned. "This day marks the third anniversary of Kiryuu-kun's disappearance." He gently reminded. "The third year Kaname has failed to trace his whereabouts." No leads, no clues, not even a hypothetical guess as to where to start searching. Those had run out a year and a half ago.
The temperature in the room lowered a few degrees.
"...I knew this day was about to get worse." Hanabusa mumbled.
Takuma's strained smile crumbled to a grimace. There was no denying Hanabusa's statement. Kaname had been...off since Kiryuu Zero's leaving the academy, and tended to turn into a ball of agitation whenever his name was mention. Everyone assumed the source was directly related to how deeply Yuuki had been affected by Zero's loss, but as Yuuki seemed to pick herself up and move and Kaname, well...didn't, they all came to realize it was most likely something else.
Those less familiar with him chalked it up to Kaname's sense of responsibility or pride getting marred at not being able to find Zero. Regardless of occupation as a hunter, Zero was also a vampire in Kaname's range of influence. It was part of the duty of a pureblood to look after its 'people'. Zero however unwittingly, fell under Kaname's responsibilities. When he went missing, Kaname would have instinctively felt the need to make sure of Zero's mental, physical, emotional status. Being denied the information he felt was his due would have been an annoyance, yes, but not to the extent Kaname had actually shown.
Someone the room coughed lightly and they all shared wary glances, as though knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Or rather, remembering:
Cracked, singed walls from bursts of energy, white, frosty spreads of disjointed webs across the glass panes, ripped curtains, melted carpets...if they had all happened at the same time, god forbid, the entire room would have looked like something out of a nightmare of horror film in the aftermath of a massacre. No, the incidents had occurred separated, but that made it ever more frightening. Kaname, usually so composed, slipping with his powers on so many instances was alarming, and what was worse, it was all connected to Zero and his sudden disappearance.
"I'm turning in early." Rima flatly announced. Tugging at Senri's sleeve, she made for a quick escape to her own room with him silently at her heels. "I'm not suffering another one of his tantrums, Takuma."
"Oi," Hanabusa weakly protested. "Kaname-sama's just frustrated. You'd be too, if you couldn't find some brat you don't even care for, for three whole years."
She sent him a cool look right before she closed the door, her soft voice audible with their heightened sense even as she made her way down the hall. "Maybe. But after three years? I'd get over it, especially for a 'brat I don't even care for'."
And that's where things became baffling, Takuma silently noted. They had seen no evidence of Kaname taking special care for Zero and couldn't comprehend his aggravation. Takuma was of the opinion it wasn't that Kaname didn't care at all, but that he cared too much. Why else would someone, anyone, put aside time to look for another person? They must matter in some form. Zero, without their knowledge, had developed a connection with Kaname, deeper than they could ever assume. The nature of whatever relationship they shared was none of his business, but he hoped Kaname found a lead some time soon on his ongoing Zero-Hunt, or it wouldn't just end with broken furniture when his powers decided they above behaving.
"Those new hunters didn't help." Ruka sighed, shoulders slumping. "They came nearly right after Kiryuu vanished. It just proved he was planning to leave and no one knew about it." That hadn't done anything for Kaname's temper. Zero had slipped right past his fingers, from under his nose, deliberately, and successfully too.
The new hunters had flabbergasted everyone. Unlike dark, broody Zero, they were calm, reasonable, and easy to get along with as long as the rules were respected. Some were unafraid to even joke around if the mood suited them. They all seemed to go through quite the process in order to be chosen as a Guardian, and a majority of those who were approved as Guardians went on to become excellent hunters once their time at the academy was up.
Considering the only hunter they knew who was in their teenage years was Zero, it was a fascinating experience to meet so many other young hunters who were just as curious, if wary and suspicious about the 'other side'. The first few weeks into their arrival had been trying, what with Kaname in the middle of dealing with Zero's loss, unwilling to welcome strangers under his radar, resulting in mistrust among the other members of the Night class against the newcomers.
Ironically, the breaking point, which had convinced Kaname to accept their presence on campus, had been the very reason behind Kaname's frayed nerves. Zero had placed his own trust in these hunter to do his job, and inexplicably, that seemed well enough to Kaname. He and the hunters had exchanged words and emerged from their meet-and-greet discussion unscathed, with an understanding.
"Ha. Kiryuu and Yagari put us through the ringer before we ever stepped foot in here, guys. If we even think about bending the rules here, it's on our ass. Yagari, we knew about. He can beat us seven ways to Sunday, no sweat off his back, but Kiryuu...well, that's the kicker, isn't it? He's one scary bastard. We're lucky he's such a softie."
Or so the more laidback half of the Guardian pairs had confessed.
And Takuma hadn't missed how they always came in pairs or trios, making patrols more efficient and the workload manageable. Yuuki started to look brighter than ever, now able to actually sleep, and supposedly, much to Kaname's pleasure, her grades were granted relief from her constant distractions.
She would be off to university soon, Takuma mused fondly. Yuuki, a university student. It was hard to imagine. He'd watched, alongside Kaname, as she grew from a young girl to a young woman. So quickly she had gone from child to adolescent. She would be making her way thorugh the world as an adult in no time.
"I wish he'd just turn up. I don't care how." Hanabusa shook his head, resigned. Then paused and turned green. "I can't believe I just said that." He croaked.
"I can't either, but I know what you mean." Akatsuki said amusedly.
"What do you think he's like now? He was all grunts and glares, like a caveman before. You think he hasn't changed, or maybe he's learnt some manners, evolved to semi-civilized single word responses?"
The entire room fell ominously silent during the middle of his questions. Everyone looked Hanabusa's head to the doorway.
Feeling the back of his neck prickle, Hanabusa smiled shakily, swallowing. "Right. A lot. Things just got a lot worse."
Nobody answered, faces pale.
"For you, yes, I would presume so, Aidou." The rich tones of Kaname's cool voice filled the silence. "Come."
When certain Kaname and Hanabusa were out of hearing range, Ruka sighed. "He's such a glutton for punishment."