With the Waning Moon [VAMPIRE KNIGHT]

From Your Veins

-A.

Walking through the woods served to be a lot harder than I had anticipated. Every step sent shockwaves through my body and I gritted my teeth against the agony. I felt lightheaded as I walked and I knew that I needed to get some blood into my system soon or I would be in some trouble. I could feel a fire spreading across my abdomen, emanating from the gunshot wound. It felt almost as if the wound itself was spreading and ripping itself open. Who knew? Maybe it was, but I was too afraid to look. All I could think about was Mika. I had to find her before that sick freak did something to hurt her.

What felt like hours, but was maybe ten minutes, later, I saw the schools creeping into my field of vision. Thank goodness, I thought. My head told me to go to Cross Academy and find one of my classmates. My heart told me I should go to Crescent Moon and find the Headmistress so we could get into contact with Mika's father. I had to to remind myself that I was in no condition to help her and turned to the left. I ws lucky the moon was still out. The only Day Class students I might run into this late would be Yuki or Zero. It would be a little tough to explain away all the blood to a normal human.

I stumbled as I reached the gates and caught myself on the iron. "Ow," I groaned aloud, slowly reaching up to touch the soaked fabric of my shirt. My head was pounding and it was getting harder and harder to walk. But I would crawl if I had no other option. I pushed off the gate and continued up the cobblestone steps. I fell to one knee in front of the door, breathing heavily. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. But I didn't have a choice. I pressed my bloody hand to the door, leaving a smear of red, and forced myself to my feet. Maybe if I called out someone would come.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" I glanced over my shoulder to see Akatsuki standing there, a slightly worried look on his face. It was obvious he was trying to look indifferent and I wanted to laugh. But I didn't.

"You know me," I said, my voice flat. When would this pain stop? Kain walked over to me and crouched at my side.

"You look terrible. Let's get you inside and cleaned up. Is this yours?" He gave a sniff and recoiled slightly. "It is yours. What the hell happened, Hanabusa?"

I coughed and blood spattered across his shirt, dribbling down my pale lips. "I got shot."

Kain growled and his eyes began turning red. "Zero," he snarled.

I grabbed his wrist weakly. "No. Just...get me inside." My voice was weak and I could tell that things were going from bad to worse and fast. I needed to explain what happened, but my brain was growing foggy. I wasn't sure I even remembered what happened. All I could remember was pain. It seemed like there was never a time before the pain.

Kain muttered something unintelligible beneath his breath and hpoisted me to my feet without warning. A hiss escaped my lips and I skewered him with a glare. He didn't say anything as he helped me to get inside. He ettled me on the couch and I had an insane thought that I would get blood all over the nice white couch. I must have been delirious to even care. Kain stepped back and regarded me a moment. "Wait here," he said.

I almost laughed. "Like I have a choice." The words were barely audible.

He turned and left me there and I didn't bother wondering what he was doing. My head fell back against the couch and my eyes slipped closed. It was starting to feel cold. Funny, I thought. I don't remember a time when I was cold.

A dull pain to my cheek forced my eyes awake. I blinked slowly, looking up at Senri and Rima.

"You're a mess," Senri said, cocking his head to the side.

"You were right, Kain. He needs blood and a lot of it." Rima mirrored Senri's posture, regarding me. "Who first?"

"I'll go," Senri said. "Just make sure he doesn't take too much." He sat on the couch beside me, looking only mildly interested in my state. I just stared at him, uncomprehending. He lifted his arm and pulled his sleeve back, holding his wrist out to me. I continued to stare.

My mind was slow to work, but I finally pieced things together. Kain had brought them for me to drink. I snapped into motion a little too quickly and growled at the pain it caused as my teeth sank into Shiki's flesh. His blood was warm and good and seemed to help. But it wasn't hers. I remembered the taste of Mika's blood and it made Senri's taste all the fouler. I'd never had a problem drinking from my fellow vampires, but having had a taste of Mika, I seem to have been spoiled. But still, I drank. I needed the blood and the strength.

A strange tightening feeling in my stomach prompted me to abruptly release Shiki. He sat back, looking down at his bloodied wrist. I had not been too gentle. He reached into his pocket and produced a handkerchief, dabbing at the mangled mess. He would heal, of course, but it was a little rude of me to leave him that way, I supposed. He didn't speak of the exchange, but stood and motioned for Rima to have a seat. She looked more than a little displeased, but did as she was silently asked. She held her wrist out to me, but I ignored it for a moment.

I reached down and unbuttoned my shirt, peering down at my stomach. The gaping hole was still there, but it felt as though it had grown smaller. So I reached out and took Rima's arm and bit – much gentler – down on her wrist. I drank silently, my mind wandering.

Once I had regained my strength I would cross the trees and find the Headmistress. I would explain to her what had happened and she would contact Mika's father. From there, we would search for her. I would search all the way to the ends of the earth. I must have made a strange noise, because Rima shifted and I glanced up, extracting my fangs. The tightening feeling resumed in my stomach. The wound was healing. Would it be enough? I wondered if I would need to drink from even more of my fellow classmates. As I was thinking on it, I realized that I was no longer looking at Rima. She and Shiki had slipped from the room and I now sat opposite Kain.

He held out his wrist without a word. I knew the drill by now. I took his arm and bit down, thinking again. It must be unfortunate to be my friend. I was always getting into some sort of mess. I wondered what Mika had seen in me, to allow me to get closer to her. And then I wondered if she really had. Did she truly care about me as I cared about her? I was beginning to doubt myself.

I drank until I felt full and pulled away. I looked down and saw that a thin layer of scarring had formed over my stomach. It wasn't fully healed and even the slightest of blows could tear it open again, but it was enough. I looked at Kain and he sighed.

"Talk."

"She's gone." The words left my mouth and I felt the anger swirl up inside of me.

"Who?" Kain asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

I tried to stand, but he stopped me. "Mika," I said, allowing myself to be pulled back down. "She's been kidnapped."

"Wait, what? Kain asked me, shaking his head. "Who kidnapped her? When did this even happen? And how does that explain why you got shot?"

I growled with frustration. "Mika came and told Kaname that her Sire – the man who turned her into a werewolf when she was little – was coming for her. And he did. Tonight. He showed up and she went out into the woods to meet him because she thought she was protecting everyone else by keeping it away from the school. I think she meant to fight him. Anyway. Kaname followed her out there for some reason – I haven't really thought about why he would have done something like that – but I saw them go towards the woods and I knew what was happening and so I followed the two of them. And I found them out in the woods with the Sire and he was spewing some bullshit about Mika being his property and he tried to take her and I tried to stop him and...well...and he shot me. Twice. The first time he just grazed me a bit and it hurt, but not like the second time. The second time he was actually trying to kill me and I just got lucky that his aim wasn't all that great. When I came to, she was gone."

Kain stared at me. "You're an idiot."

I frowned. "Why?"

Kain stood and rested his hand on top of my head like I was a child. "Because you love her, idiot."