Your mother sighs in relief at the fact that scene is over as she rushes over to check on her children. She bends down to your height, wrapping an arm around each of your shoulders. She pulls both you and Zero closer to her while placing a hand on the back of each of your heads. She kisses each of you on the forehead, squeezing you tightly. You glance at Zero to see him hugging her harshly. His whole body shakes with fear, his head buried into the crook of her neck. She mumbles some comforting words in his ear and runs her fingers through his silver spiky hair in an attempt to comfort him. His muscles slowly relax, his grip going completely limp.
"I hate vampires," he mumbles into her skin as you get the sense he's remembering that terrible night. Tears cloud his eyes, his facial features twisting into a pained expression.
"I know, sweetie. It's okay. (Y/n) will always be here for you, though. You two won't be separated and she'll be by your side no matter how much pain you have to deal with," she says, lifting up his head to look up at her. He sniffles while wiping at his eyes angrily with the back of his hands. She playfully taps his nose, making him giggle a bit. You glance upward to see Akatsuki watching the two of you in silence. You quickly twist out of her hold, racing up to him. You wrap your arms around his waist and lean your head against his chest. You smile brightly, burying your face into the fabric of his shirt.
"Akatsuki, you came," you mumble as you hug him tightly. He flashes you a bright smile, placing a hand on top of your head. He ruffles up your (h/c) bangs while Zero finally calms down. You look upward to lock eyes with him, your face flushing light pink.
"I would never miss seeing you," he mumbles while your mother notices Zero's hair. She stands upright, narrowing her eyes at you.
"What did you do? (Y/n), don't tell me you pranked Zero and he almost ended up with his hair dyed a different color," she scolds you and crosses her arms over her torso. You turn to look in her direction, guilt written over your awkward expression. Zero rolls his eyes as he regains his emotionless demeanor. He steps forward, standing between the two of you. He grabs your arm while directing his focus to whatever he was going to do earlier. You hesitantly let go of Akatsuki, being dragged toward the doorway.
"Where do you think you two are running off to?" Akatsuki involves himself into the equation and tilts his head to the side in curiosity. Zero stops in his tracks, turning to face the other boy.
"(Y/n)'s coming with me to help me out with some chores. It's no big deal. I'm just heading over to the abandoned graveyard nearby," he replies as he pulls you closer to him. Akatsuki sighs in slight annoyance, spotting the night class nearby.
"That's not a good idea. Level Es have been showing up on a regular basis in this area and other locations close by. You could put both of your lives in danger. At least let me come up with you to watch your back," he states matter-of-factly while taking your other hand. Sadness pumps into your heart, suddenly feeling like prey being stalked by two hunters. Zero clenches his jaw painfully and you realize the boys are about to get in each other's way.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll protect her and I know the property like the back of my hand. Besides, I can take care of some level Es on my own. I don't need a pampered pet slowing me down," he says in a rather harsh tone, pulling you out of the doorway. You frown as your hand slips from Akatsuki's grip. You stare at each other until the wind slams the door shut in your face. You allow Zero to lead you down an old gravel path as you cautiously take in your new surroundings. Rocks stab the bottom of your boots, a shiver going down your spine. A wooded area is on both sides of you while snow covers the ground like a fluffy wonderland.
You lift up your chin, your eyes locking onto a full moon lingering the dim gray sky. He tugs on your hand to make sure you're keeping up and keeps his gaze forward. You sigh in slight annoyance, carefully walking across a fallen tree trunk. You glance down at an icy pond below you and notice something bubbling to the surface. You try to get your best friend's attention, but he drags you to the other side without even casting a glance your way.
You finally break free from his iron grip as you step back to give yourself some space. You angrily smack the back of his head to get his attention, clenching your jaw painfully. He flinches immediately while placing a hand on the back of his head. He twirls around to face you, cracks of annoyance showing through his blank facial features.
"What was that for?" He mumbles, biting his lip at the pain pulsing in the spot you hit. Your (h/c) bangs blow in a cold yet gentle breeze and mixed emotions flicker in your bright (e/c) orbs.
"You should have been nicer to Akatsuki. I hate it when you pick fights with him. He was only making sure we were both safe. He was only trying to help and you treated him poorly. I want you to apologize to him when we get back to the house, Zero," you reply in response, your voice traveling along with the wind. He mumbles under his breath as he crosses his arms over his chest. He growls at your words like a predator, shaking his head.
"I'm not apologizing to him," he states matter-of-factly while narrowing his eyes at you. You sigh loudly, your breath fading into an icy fog.
"Why not? Akatsuki is my best friend besides you. You two need to get along in order to keep me from being driven crazy by both of your endless ruckus," you demand and raise your voice to get your point across.
"I'll start treating him better when he starts looking past the veins in your body," Zero says, beginning to head for the graveyard you can see in the distance. You race after him as you slip through an opened gap between the black cemetery gates. You carefully step onto the other side, quickly catching up to him. You cautiously glance around while watching him pick up a cage settled on the muddy ground nearby. A rabbit rapidly moves in the metal contraption, it's red eyes glowing with fear. You automatically frown and Zero carefully opens the top of it. He reaches his hand into the cage, carefully picking up the poor creature. He holds it up to his chest and wraps his fingers around its neck. You look away for a moment, hearing a loud popping sound break the heavy silence.
He motions for you to open the cooler in your free hand as the scent of decay lingers in the air. You tilt the plastic cover back, silently gazing at the dead rabbit. Sadness circulates throughout your veins while he dumps its lifeless body into the container. It hits the bottom with a sick thump, it's head tilted at an unnatural angle. Your face fades to a light green shade and you suddenly feel sick to your stomach. You may be a pure-blood vampire, but you're not used to seeing this kind of thing or any actual blood spill. Your mother is very protective over you both and she doesn't want you to deal with this kind of thing until you're older. Your dad did insist you come to help Zero out with this, though. He told you he wanted you to get used to it. This is how you live and it's the only way for vampires to survive.
Zero places a hand on your shoulder as he squeezes your shoulder in an attempt to comfort you. You quickly look around to see at least ten to fifteen more cages scattered about. You shake your head to clear it, handing the cooler to him. You stop yourself from getting sick anymore while deciding to check out some of the headstones. He shrugs his shoulders at your reaction, walking away to finish up his job. You let out the breath you were holding in to stop yourself from smelling the blood in the rabbit's body and silently begin walking through a path carved out. You hum your favorite song your mother taught you, distracting yourself by heading for a tomb nearby.
Various types of gravestones are scattered about as well as flowers or other gifts your family left over many centuries are placed on the muddy ground in front of the carved out stones. A few tombs are in each corner of the gravesite, crows settled on top of the metal rods isolating the area from the rest of the world. You continue humming as you carefully step into the tomb. You cautiously take everything in, your footsteps echoing off the brick walls. The interior is mostly made up of concrete slabs while one wooden coffin is propped up on a stone table in the center of the huge room. You approach the coffin with curiosity, casting a glance upward. A gap stares back at you and you notice a beam of moonlight shining directly onto the wooden contraption. You turn your attention back to the creepy coffin, blowing dust away.
You wipe away the rest with your sleeve as you lean forward. You narrow your (e/c) eyes, reading the words carved into a metal plate bolted to the wooden frame. Your (e/c) orbs immediately grow wide in fear while you feel your heart begin to pound against your ribcage. You swiftly use some of your strength to push the coffin lid far enough back to look inside, hesitantly checking to see if anyone is currently sleeping away their century. Unfortunately, the coffin appears to be empty of a sleeping pure-blood and that's also no sign of a corpse either. You try to stop yourself from panicking, suddenly feeling a pair of eyes on you. You swallow loudly and turn to look in the far right corner.You immediately spot an unnaturally tall silhouette blending in with the shadows.
It's outline is super lanky as well as tall. It's red orbs glow in the dark like a creature belonging to the night, it's fangs glinting in the moonlight like blades. Long yet razor sharp fingernails extend from its fingertips while it's head tilts to the side a bit too far. A twisted smirk appears on its creepy facial features, the sound of claws scraping against the floor breaking the heavy silence. It slowly begins to laugh endlessly and raises like a puppet to stand upright. It makes a suggestion about serving you as a gift to its master, before leaping into mid-air in your direction.
