Change in Plans

Zero: The Mission

The switch over between the day-class and the night-class, left Zero in a foul mood as usual. It made him sick to his stomach to think that those stupid girls were throwing themselves at the bloodsucking parasites. How could they not see what monsters they were? Granted, they hadn't actually been told they were parasites, but it still left him in a bad mood. 

He really had nothing better to do than walk around, grumbling from annoyance more than anything. He loved Yuuki as a sister, but she was the second reason he was usually in a bad mood after the switch overs. He simply couldn't understand how someone could be that helpless. He was starting to think she had some kind of medical condition, or something. Zero knew it wasn't just him, even though he was technically one of those parasites himself, and a hunter, because gym was co-ed at Cross academy and he had seen enough girls compete in athletics, to know it was just Yuuki that was that helpless. It would also be better to not even get him started at how mad he was when Yuuki ditched him during the switch over to talk to Kaname, helpless or not.

Zero heard a cat in the bushes, but reconginized it as someone's pet, so he shrugged it off, not bothering to catch and return it, and instead, started thinking about Kaname's surprise 'hello' earlier. It was shockingly friendly, from out of no where really. He had kind of stomped off, but really, he had no idea how he should respond it. Nastiness he could handle. Cheerfulness, went away because of his bad attitude, but Kaname could ignore his dark aura, and he thought Kaname hated him, so what was he supposed to say? It's not like any of their previous conversations were very friendly. In fact, they just tried to ignore each other as much as they could, although that always upset  Zero for some reason.

"Hey  Zero!" Yuuki called over to him.

If it had been any other time, Zero would've had to suppress a groan from her painfully loud footsteps that always let him no when she was anywhere near him, but he was so lost in thought before, that he jumped at the sound of her voice.

"What is it Yuuki?" she shrank back a little at his glare.

"Well, um, I was just at the chairman's office..." Zero's glare darkened, why had she been there, instead of patrolling like she was supposed to, Yuuki must've read his mind because she suddenly got very angry and indignent. Her voice rose by the word.

"What! He asked me to come after the swtich over because he knew you would never come, and even if you did, you'd never listen!!!" 

His glare softened a little bit, it had been unreasonable to suspect her of wanting to skip out on her duty the way he did, especially when he's this distracted. However, anything that the chairman didn't think he would stick around long enough to hear was probably bad.

"So what are you hear for?"

"A mission or something, he said to give you these."

She handed him a stack of papers he immedietly reconized as official Vampire Hunter Association mission details. Zero just raised an eyebrow, and walked away to the stables where he could get some peace to look them over, wanting quite badly to just rip them in half and pretend he never got them if they were going to be so horrible that the chairman didn't think he'd sit and listen to him about a mission to hunt what he hates the most. Still, it was because he did hate those bloodsuckers the most that he couldn't do that.

Zero sat on a small pile of hay next to his favorite horse Lily, and quiely started to read. The slight improvment to his mood that came from time, vanished almost instantly, and he started holding a scowl on his face withen the first two senteces. They used all kinds of fancy words, and beat-around-the-bush a bit, but the gist of it? Both the Hunter's Association and bloodsuckers hate this guy. As a sign to help prove, and support the cause that humans and bloodsuckers can work together, you will go with Kaname and kill him. No refusel.

He would have to go on a mission with Kaname. Why did it have to be Kaname, or any bloodsucker for that matter? He was sure he could take care of a single bloodsucker himself. In any case, just as he was getting up, to burn the paper or to scowl at the chairman until he convinces the Hunter's  Association to pick someone else, he wasn't quite sure, but he was stopped before doing anything by a calm voice from the stable entrance. 

"I suppose you got the letter from the Hunter's Association, hm?" Kaname said with a slight smile. He jumped for the second time that day. Really, two times, he really should stop voning out if he missed Yuuki's elephant footsteps, and a Bloodsucker's which he has a sixth sense for, in the same night, and within an hour of each other. However, Zero could nothing but stare at his attitude for several minutes. It was almost friendly.

"Yes," he finally stated simply.

"Are you going to accept?" Kaname asked, "or are you going to convince the chairman to get you out of it any way possible?" His smile seemed to turn into a slight smirk before he continued, "I think this will be more challenging than the papers let on, so I won't do it unless you are too."

"Scared?" It came out sounding meaner than Zero meant.

"No," this time he actually laughed a little. Laughed. Was he drunk or something, do bloodsuckers get drunk? What was wrong with him? "I just feel if they 'request' for me to go, and the Hunter's Association is sending their best, then there must be a reason, right? Well I want a partner who can take care of himself."

"I'm not their 'best', and don't you hve more power than the Vampire Council, why are you being ordered around?"

Kaname gave a little sigh before answering "But you are the best, you just aren't given recongnition for your skill because you are young and never around the Association, and I'm being 'ordered around' because, there isn't technically a Vampire King right now, so the council takes over in the mean time. I won't become King until I marry, and only if I don't give them any reason what-so-ever call me 'unworthy' which they will at a heartbeat to keep power."

Just as he gets over one surprise, Kaname pops another on him. Why the hell is he being so talkitive tonight? He usually just ignores him.

"I disagree,"

"Well, you're wrong," He said with a quick dismissive shrug, unusual, "but you still haven't answered my first question." Uh, what... what was the original question?

"Um, well..." Kaname's smirk widened a bit, obviously he knew Zero couldn't remember 'cause he interupted before he could finish. Zero was slightly embaressed at his emotions being read so easily. Yuuki was okay because he knew her since he was a child, but Kaname?

"I asked, are you going to accept the mission?"

"Yes," He said without thinking. He had answered quickly because he was still getting over his shock, but now he was just starting to realize what he agreed to do. He had agreed to spend an entire day putting up with the worst of the bloodsuckers, whose odd behavior had been distracting him the entire night which was life threatening for him, and he agreed to suck some of his blood as Kaname always insists he does before a mission. Even though the extra blood, and the person it came from, has saved his life before. This was a horrible outcome, but he couldn't back out now.

"Good," Kaname said, before he turned and walked away, looking oddly, and creepily happy, making Zero wonder what he was up to.