Puppets chapter 10

Chapter 10: Battle!

It had been awhile since Zero's encounter with Kaname, and he figured he had given up on the chase. He turned around, and started walking back towards Hanako's location at the clearing. He pulled out the melted ice creams, and threw them down in disgust. "Sorry Hana, no ice cream for us tonight." he mumbled silently while heading back. He started going at a faster pace, seeing it had started to get dark.

It was about 15 minutes later when Zero finally arrived to the clearing where he'd left his little sister. "Hanako, I brought us some food!" he said before realizing she wasn't there. He dropped the grocery bag containing the stolen food and sweets, and stood there for a few moments, anger rising. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no. This can't happen! Not again!" he shouted before taking off into the woods, attempting to follow the scent. He grew even angrier when he sensed five other vampires, with the stench of level E's, and one more that pissed him off the most. A pureblood.

Zero continued running, hoping to find Hanako before anything bad happened….or in this case, anything worse. He stopped at a certain part of the woods where he saw ashes of level E's. He bent down, and examined them closer. "Two down. Three to go." He said before standing up and running again. He just hoped he wouldn't be too late.

Out from the trees surrounding her, were at least 5 level E's. Hanako instinctively let her hunter instincts kick in on automatic, and shot two of the five. The other three were far too fast, and knocked the gun out of her hands. She squealed, kicking and thrashing around, attempting to get out of their strong hold. "Com….rade…" one of the Level E's whispered. The other two murmured, repeating the word. Hanako felt her spine tingle, and her entire body washed down in fear. She was able to get free from one by kicking it where the sun-don't-shine. Apparently, vampire or not, it still hurts for a male. The other two exchanged glances at each other before jumping back at her. She dodged the first vampire, and punched the other one in the throat.

The vampire yelled out in pain, then recovered from the punch. "Wanna play? I'm only seven, and I'm kicking your butts!" Hanako yelled at them in victory. She sensed a vampire coming up from behind, so she instinctively jumped up in the air, and then gave it a round-house kick. Suddenly, the other two vampires jumped from nowhere, and grabbed her arms. She again attempted to escape, but failing miserably. The last vampire came and helped hold her down.

"Master tells us hold girl!" one of the Level E's said. She looked at the three vampires holding her in curiosity when a familiar presence entered into the little clearing, out from the safety of the darkness that the trees had held. "Hello, Hanako." The person said. Hanako felt anger rage through her veins, every instinct telling her to escape the hold of the vampires, and kill them all. She took one glance at said person, being completely overwhelmed by rage. "Kaname." She said.

Kaname's smirk grew wider at her anger. He took a few cautious but sly steps forward towards the young Level D. "Hmm. Since you went along with running away, I could scare you into never doing so again…" he started. Hanako shrunk back a little bit. Suddenly, the two Level E's holding her stepped away, stretching the poor girl. Kaname lifted his arm, and made a slash through her coat. Hanako flinched, feeling the coat slice and rip part of her shirt. Kaname chuckled. "I could attack you, and make it seem like the Level E's attacked you. I could easily wipe your memory and put a new one in its place." He continued.

Hanako shrunk back in fear. Kaname took some steps backwards, his smirk growing wider. "Let's play a game, Hana. You seem like the type of child that plays games." Her eyes grew wide in fear. "Please, don't!" she cried, a few tears tugging at the corner of her eyes. "Level E's, release her." Kaname commanded. The vampires did as told, letting go of Hanako, and her falling to the ground. "Ouuuch." she moaned. "I'm giving you a 20 second head start. Run." Kaname said evilly. She jumped up and started to run, stumbling every here and there. "19….18….17…"

She ran through trees, maneuvering through each and every one. She couldn't hear his counting anymore, so she figured she got away far enough. She stopped behind a tree, and took a break to catch her breath. Next thing she knew, the level E's were surrounding her, their vicious laughter the only thing to be heard. "Keh heh heh…Didn't make it far, eh?" The ugliest vampire gave his rhetorical question. Hanako panicked, her eyes searching the ground for anything she could quickly grab and use. She finally laid eyes on an old large rusted nail about 5 feet ahead of her.

She quickly dove for it, picked it up, and turned around as fast as she could, stabbing the closest vampire to her. "KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" it shouted out in pain. It grabbed her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. She fell to the ground, helpless at that very moment. She kicked the nail that was in his chest with her left foot, causing the nail to dig deeper inside the creature. It screamed in final moments of pain, digging its nails into her right arm, down to the bone.

She screamed in pure agony, her right arm throbbing almost immediately. Kaname could be heard silently chuckling from the trees above the scene. "Help me! Somebody! Please!" she cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks while she held onto her bleeding arm protectively. The last two level Es laughed maniacally, taking a few more cautious steps toward her. She whimpered, attempting to crawl backwards.

Zero was running further into the woods, looking for Hanako, when he ran into Kaien. "Ah! Zero! I've found you!" he squealed happily. "Move it, Headmaster!" Zero shouted, attempting to shove Cross out of the way. "Zero! Please! Stop!" Kaien shouted, grabbing onto Zero's arm to stop him. "What? Do you realize that I have somebody to protect right now? We'll talk later!" Zero shouted, wriggling his arm free of Kaien's grasp. "Zero-kun, at least bring me with you. I sense danger." Zero stopped walking, anger flowing throughout his body at a million miles per second. "Really now? Really? Danger? Being a vampire hunter, there is danger everywhere! There is always that risk where you might not even come back! Hanako is too young to experience any of this, and if she dies, then I will never forgive myself, for it's my fault I left her! I need to get to her, quickly!" Zero shouted, huffing afterwards, feeling adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Kaien only gave him a sympathetic look, then a little nod. "Alright, but I'm coming along." He said. Zero nodded, then turned around and started running again, Cross not too far behind. Suddenly, there was a loud piercing high-pitched scream coming from the center of the forest. The only thing they knew at that moment was that it was Hanako, and their top priority of that moment was to get to her, fast.

One of the remaining two level Es lunged at Hanako, knocking her down. He licked her neck, savoring the taste before piercing his fangs into her neck, digging them in and ripping through her skin. She let out a piercing scream, thrusting her back in pain. She tried to shove the vicious vampire off, failing due to her injuries and him being too strong. She dug her nails into his back, trying to at least make him become more focused on that. Just her luck, he hissed, pulled his fangs out of her neck, and tried to pry her hands off. She could feel blood trickle down her neck and onto her shoulders, but she ignored the feeling. She was starting to feel light-headed, but she had to keep going, had to finish this off, and had to stay strong.

She shoved the vampire back, startling him. She picked up a stick that just happened to have a sharp edge, and drove it in the vampire's heart. (Eheheh. Stereotypes. ^-^) He hissed in pain before dissolving into millions of grains of dust. Hanako sat on the damp grass, panting. In only a few hours, she had gone through so much. She knew she needed to wait until Zero arrived, and she would be in safe hands again. That is, if Kaname didn't kill her.

The last level E just stood there, frightened that this would be the end for him. The other 4 of his comrades were killed by only this tiny human! For somebody so small, she's powerful, and doesn't give up easily. She stood up on one knee, and then struggled to pull herself up. She finally stood up, and pulled out a kunai. She glared at the vampire before throwing the kunai at him. He jumped, dodging the fast throw.

Kaname's ear twitched, meaning that somebody was coming. He sighed, upset that he had to stop his entertainment. He jumped from the tree with grace, landing onto the ground in a perfect posture as though he did not just jump from a 25-foot tree. "Filthy being. You can't finish what you started!" Kaname said as he ran up behind the level E and pulled its heart out. It screamed in pain before falling to dust, blowing in the wind. Hanako fell to the ground in fear, backing up slowly.

"Hanako!" Zero and Kaien shouted out as they neared the clearing, nearly out of the forest. Her eyes widened, both shocked and happy at the same time. "Zero….nii-san…" she called out weakly before collapsing. "Kaname! What happened?" Kaien demanded as he rushed to help the unconscious girl. "I heard her screaming while I was searching for her, and she was getting attacked by level E's. I disposed of the filthy things." Kaname lied naturally through his teeth. Kaien nodded, and picked up Hanako. Her violet eyes were dimming to an almost black color. Her crimson blood was still slowly flowing out of her porcelain neck; her silver hair was stained with it. Her hair was messy and it draped over her face.

From the look on Zero's face, you could tell that he was questioning Kaname's reasons for being there. For some reason, he knew that it was Kaname that had done this to Hanako. The way she looked at him just before she passed out. He glared at Kaname and growled, "What did you do to her, Kuran?" Kaname put on a shocked face as he looked toward Zero. "Kiryuu, I just saved your sister's life. No thanks to you." Zero flinched back at the final comment. It was his fault that Hanako was thrown into that situation. If he hadn't left her alone, maybe she wouldn't have been hurt. "We don't have time for this you two! We need to stop Hanako's bleeding," Kaien interrupted. He started to run back to the house and the other two went running after him.

When they made it to the house, Yuuki was sitting at the dinner table. She went pale when she saw the blood covering the little Hanako. "What happened?" she asked, worried. When Kaien got close, she pulled out the first aid kit. She then washed and dressed her wounds. "She was attacked. She put up quite a battle until Kaname saved her. It's a surprise she lasted this long!" he said, informing the girl. She blushed, imagining her beloved pureblood on a white horse wearing a silver suit of armor. "Quit with that stupid look on your face. You're in the middle of bandaging my sister's face," Zero said as he walked into the room. Yuuki looked down at Hanako. She had gone from bandaging her neck to stop the bleeding to accidently wrapping her face and stopping the breathing. She squealed and unwrapped poor little Hanako's face. She was shaking as she put away the other bandages.

Zero's heart ached with guilt. He kept thinking that maybe if he had been there to protect her it wouldn't have happened this way. He watched as his sister was cleaned up. Her small body was limp on the small wooden table. He felt useless as he stood there. He could feel Kaname looming behind him with that stupid smirk of his. It was probably too faint for the other two to notice it. He hated it. Kaname smiled kindly to Yuuki as he patted her head. "It's all right, Yuuki," He said, "I'm sure Hanako will be just fine. I wish that I could stay longer but I need to take care of something back home." Kaname turned away from her to face Zero again. "I'll see you later, Kiryuu." He smirked with a cruel glint in his eyes and slipped out of the house. As soon as the click of the door closing was heard the atmosphere got even more awkward. There was a soft mumbling sound coming from Hanako. It got louder and Hanako turned to Zero, "N…Nii-chan." Her hair was tied up in a small bun so that it wouldn't be in the way. She looked pale from blood loss and the bandages on her face didn't help. Zero ran towards her and said, "What is it? How are you feeling? What happened?" "Nii-chan, what happened? Why does my neck hurt so much? I know that my arm hurts, and I don't know what happened. I remember Kaname saying that I had better go home and he walked away. Then, nothing. " Everyone looked at Hanako with shocked looks. "What are you talking about Hana-chan? You were attacked by level Es and Kaname-sama saved you.

Hanako looked completely confused. Her eyes told the truth, she didn't remember anything or she didn't want to remember. She touched her neck and was shocked at the bandage. She slowly touched her arm and flinched away with pain. "Nii-chan, I'm scared," Hanako whimpered. Zero pulled his sister into a hug. "You scared me, Hanako. I swear to you I won't leave you alone again."

Hanako was stuck in bed for a few weeks. She had a broken arm (with torn muscles), a sprained ankle, and a healing neck. Kaien had called the only people she knew besides Yuuki, Zero, and himself that were alive. He told them all about how Hanako was attacked. Toga was the first to show up with Kaito and a girl they didn't know. She had light brown hair, green eyes, and pale skin. Her hair was medium length and flowing down her back. She held out her hand to Hanako and said, "Hey there! My name's Haruhi Tsukiyomi. I work at the vampire hunter society with Kaito-chan." Hanako took her hand in her working one, "I'm Hanako Kiryuu. My big brother is friends with Kaito-chan." She smiled at Haruhi.

Zero was sitting at her bedside, glaring at Haruhi. Lately, he didn't trust anyone as much as before. He felt that he didn't even deserve to trust himself as he watched his sister happily talk with Haruhi. Something about her was off; it was like he was missing something. Yet, he didn't think that much about it because he was so worried about Hanako's wounds. Soon enough they all left.

Suddenly, Kaien burst in with two bouquets in vases. "Hana-chan, Zero, look at what Takehiko sent you from Egypt! The blue ones are called bluebells. They symbolize being grateful, and the clovers wrapped around them represent luck. He must be saying that he's happy that you're okay and that you're lucky." Everyone looked at the other bouquet. It had black roses in it with blue roses surrounding them. In the center of the flowers was a single white lotus. Kaien whispered, "The lotus and blue roses are nice but what's with the black roses? They aren't for Hanako, are they?" Yuuki ran over to the flowers and read the card. "Nope, they're for you Zero," she said with a cheerful face as she handed them to him.

Zero glared at the flowers as he lifted the card to read it. On the inside it had pages, the first page said, "YOU GONNA DIE SUCKAH! HAHAHAHA!" Zero, being slightly disturbed, turned the page. This time it said, "Just kidding Zero. I'm giving you these black roses not because of the meaning behind them but because I thought it would be fun messing with you. Note: there is a camera in here that takes pictures of your reactions." Zero's eyebrow twitched and he made a very un-zero like face of disgust and anger. He threw the card in the air and dug for the camera in the box. When he finally found it the camera said, "This box will self-destruct in T minus 3…2…1. Have a nice day! *BOOM*" The box exploded and there was a quick squirt of water onto Zero's face. Then, small packing peanuts flew into Zero's face. Hanako couldn't help but laugh when the peanuts stuck to her older brother's face.

Out of nowhere, a small toy soldier floated down in a parachute and a tape recorder taped to his back. The recorded tape started to play, "There was a countdown so if someone got hit it isn't my fault." Kaien laughed when he heard Takehiko's monotone voice say that. The boy may have said different but he was still a child. Poor Zero had gotten caught in his web of mischief, meaning that Zero was going to be like a brand new toy to Takehiko. This was going to be interesting.

Focusing back on Zero, he was ready to slap a bitch. He pulled out his bloody rose hoping that it would at least make some sort of wound on the hunter boy. "I'm going to kill him," Zero growled as he made his way to the door. Kaien pulled Zero into a weird hug and said, "Now, now. There isn't any reason to go killing him, Zerorin!" "I think there is a very good reason to kill him. He's purposely messing with me." Hanako stopped laughing and said, "Nii-chan, I think that the reason he did that was to make you laugh. He seems to be the type that doesn't know how to express his feelings." Yuuki giggled at Hanako's characterization of the boy. It was so funny to think of the stoic boy saying, "I…I really don't know how to talk to other people." Now that she thought about it he was sort of a bishonen.

Zero had finally calmed down after a bath where he washed off all of the peanuts. He still wasn't happy about how the flowers weren't even dented from the explosion. The blue roses were shining in contrast to the black ones. He wanted to know how those flowers reminded Takehiko of him. He didn't have anything to do with death, unless he knew about Shizuka. It worried him. If more people knew would they take Hanako away? It really wasn't something he wanted going around. He didn't want Yuuki to worry about him and Hanako. He determined that the next time he saw Takehiko he would interrogate him on it.

Hanako didn't have a problem with the flowers she got like Zero did. They were simply beautiful. Honestly, she thought the prank was funny. "Zero nii-chan, is Takehiko your lover?" She giggled. Zero was taken aback, a little blush appearing across his cheeks, due to the fact that his youngest sister just made a gay joke about him. "Hanako, that isn't very nice." Kaien scolded while walking into the young girl's room. "But you never know! Zero nii-chan might take a fancy to somebody!" she defended. Zero face-palmed, not wanting to hear any more of the conversation. It was already humiliating enough that his youngest sibling thought he was gay.

"Well, if he is, I'm sure he'll say so when the time is right." The headmaster winked at Zero. He shuddered and began to walk out the room when Kaien spoke up again. "Oh yeah! I came in here to tell you that Takehiko is here to visit you, Hanako!" Zero rolled his eyes. "I have a few words to spare with him first." He said darkly. Kaien and Hanako exchanged glances before giggling evilly. He glared at them before exiting out the room. He walked down the hall to the living room where Takehiko was sitting on the couch. "I believe we need to talk, Takehiko." Zero said, malice obvious in his voice. "Aw, are we hitting bumps in the road this early in our relationship?" he teased. Zero growled before jumping on the couch and attempting to attack him.

They both were then punching and kicking, trying to beat the other. "This. Shit. Isn't. FUNNY!" Zero said between hits. Takehiko smirked and dodged a few hits, then kicking Zero in the stomach and chest. Zero fell off the couch, bringing Takehiko down with him. They were rolling on the floor, fists and legs everywhere. It was about a few minutes in the fight when Kaien came running in. "What the heck is happening in here?" he demanded, trying to split the two up. "Zero won't admit he's gay with me." Takehiko said with a straight face. Zero growled and threw another punch. A little while after, the two boys had stopped. Kaien sent Zero to the couch, and Takehiko to the chair opposite from the couch. Kaien sat between them on the outside of the table and sighed.

Hanako came limping in, clinging onto the wall for support. "What was going on out here? It was really loud, like, louder than fireworks. Oh wait, Nii-chan. You shouldn't be doing THAT in here where people could walk in on you, " She said worried. Zero shot up out of his chair, as did Takehiko, and were both by each of her sides in a matter of seconds. "Hanako! You know you aren't supposed to get out of bed! You didn't fully heal yet! On top of that, I am not gay! " Zero lectured her. "Says you," Takehiko added. Hanako frowned, feeling the uneasy atmosphere. "I'll carry you back." Both Zero and Takehiko said at the same time. They both looked up and glared at each other before starting to move. "Ouch!" she yelled, pain shooting up her leg immediately after both attempted to pick her up, but ended up being too much in a rush, and also too rough.

"Sorry." They both said at the same time, releasing her. "What about just Zero carry her back?" Yuuki suggested. Takehiko sighed, letting Zero do it. Zero picked her up, and blew a raspberry at Takehiko, then continued on back to Hanako's room.

A/N: sorry for the sucky ending of a chapter. I got too lazy, and figured I should update. Lul. I'm not making promises anymore on when I'll update. xD Reeeeeeeeeally busy summer. Oh, and sorry for OOCness. ^-^ kthxbaiiiiii.