afterlogs | SCHOOL FESTIVAL

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SCHOOL FESTIVAL

WHO: Everyone!
WHAT: School Festival / Arriving in the Afterlife!
WHEN: 9/30/2012. Morning through evening.
WHERE: All around! Mostly at the school, since it is a school festival!
WARNINGS: Potential violence, but since everyone's already dead it's not like it matters, BUT FOR THE MOST PART HUNKY DORY PG! So PG+V? That works.
SUMMARY: A school festival! Details here!

No matter where it is you woke up, if it's near buildings the sounds of merriment are all around. The shouts of people rooting for the winner of a game, students trying to pull in attention for their booths, adults laughing as they trip over themselves during a sport or someone screaming at the haunted house...

It's then that you realize you're at some kind of festival, everyone's invited, and no one seems to be bothering with money.

Then the realization that you're not even in your clothes. What the hell is this outfit? A school uniform? A janitor? A store clerk? Waitress?

No, no, the bigger question is deinitely "What the hell is going on and where am I?" With nothing but forest and mountains visible in the distance, it's kind of--

POP POP!

..Are those fireworks?

If your character isn't at one of the events and are elsewhere in the town/forest/school/dorms/exploring the buildings/wherever, feel free to just comment with their own thread at the bottom.

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She glanced back up, brow knit as she shook her head.

"I haven't ever really..." Even at home she barely took note of the power she possessed as a pureblood. The few times she had accessed it had been accidental at best. It just happened naturally. That shouldn't make a difference, though. If she wanted to do something she could.

With a half step back she lifted her arm, palm raised up before her chest. Fire, just like Atasuki Kain. She could feel it, the spark within. On instinct she knew what to do as she drew internally upon herself, and shifted to change that flame into reality-

And nothing happened.

She blinked, stunned, too shocked for words. What...? Again she grasped for that fire but nothing happened. It didn't make sense, if she wanted to do something it should possible. Ice then, just like Aidou, she could draw the moisture from the air and freeze it in place--

Again, there was nothing.

She shook her head.

"I... I don't understand..." From one element to the other she shifted, and tested boundaries but at every attempt she met a road block. Even transmutation of herself was met without a single shift of hair upon her head. At a loss, she stared back up at him.

"Nothing- I can't do anything. I still have my fangs, but-" The rest of her status as a pureblood had been removed, as far as she could tell. What was that supposed to even mean?

The longer Zero watched her, the further his heart sunk into the pit of his stomach; the larger it swelled at the back of his throat. He knew she was trying, just as he knew that it was possible that Yuuki had never truly used her abilities before, aside from the displays of strength and speed.

It was truly unnerving.

Zero raked a hand through his hair in obvious frustration.

"And you still have a taste for blood," he murmured. It wasn't out of spite, or anything of the like. Simply an observation of the elephant in the room.

"I don't understand, either," he continued, then glanced around at their surroundings.

". . . We should find somewhere to continue talking. Night is beginning to settle in."

They had barely managed to get along back home prior to now. It felt a little surreal, how, whatever their differences were, they had suddenly been set aside. Her arms wrapped around herself, and she hugged her waist, before her head dipped with a nod.

It wasn't good to talk so openly like this anyway, and they had no idea who could be lurking, though she didn't feel that anyone was too near.

"Where at?"

It was strange. Her emotions had come full circle, and now an uneasy numbing sensation had settled over her once more. Calm befell her. With a deep breath, she turned back to the school.

"Apparently I have a dorm room, but I haven't checked it out yet. I'm not sure if that would be safe, or if we should just check one of the class rooms, and see if the school itself is still open."

Oh how that would change, once they began talking of their last memories of home. . .

Zero nodded. "I have one as well," a slight frown. New world or not, he never was one who liked the idea of living in a dorm, especially since it likely was with another person. Someone, in this case, whom he probably wouldn't know at all.

The library seemed to be nearby. Zero had peered into one of the windows of the building they were currently by.

"There's the library," he looked over to Yuuki again, then glanced back towards the path he had taken. "Unless we want to try the dormitories or the main school building."

"The library is fine."

It was large enough that they could find a corner to talk in unperturbed, and with the school festival, she doubted there would be anyone to bother them inside.

She walked past him to try the door, and it was unlocked. Turning the handle she held it open for him and waited to follow him inside. She let it close behind her after.

"I think this will be fine. I don't sense anyone." People were too busy elsewhere. She glanced around the room to look for a secluded area to speak. She didn't want to stay be the doors. They'd just have to move if someone else came in.

"It should have an area for studying, or a back room."

He followed her in after, panning his gaze across the vast room. It appeared to be two levels.

Although a bit tempted to peruse through some of the books, and maybe see if he could find anything via the computers, Zero remained by Yuuki's side.

"Over there," he pointed to the back, towards a few doors. They appeared to be study rooms, and maybe a computer lab.

She nodded and followed the direction of his hand. Deep enough into the building, they entered an inner room without any windows. They'd have the privacy they needed here, at least.

Quiet, she crossed the room and stopped before one of the tables. The thirst was there, strong for a moment as a wave struck her. In here only their scents remained, unperturbed by the wind or outside influence. Anxious, she drummed the table, before she changed her mind, abruptly, and instead crossed her arms around her chest. With a breath she found his gaze.

"What do you think?"

Personally she didn't know what to make of the situation. Denial, mostly, at least in the very moment. Her emotions spun rapidly. Tongue flicking out she wet her lips.

"I've had people I don't know all day treat me like long time friends. I'm in the night class... so if it was back home, I could understand that a few people might be aware of who we are, but... " She shook her head, "I don't know any of those individuals. Or know what to make of the fact that they seemed to know me."

As Yuuki had, so did Zero. Don't think he didn't notice it. He eyed Yuuki momentarily, attention lingering upon the beat of her heart before he caught himself.

How different it was to - for the very first time since initially meeting Yuuki - not physically thirst for her blood. Or any blood at all.

It would take some getting used to, ironically.

"It's been similar for me," he finally replied. "People recognizing me and whatnot." A frown knit his brows as he leaned back against the doorway, arms folded cross his chest.

"But there's absolutely nothing familiar about this place at all." Save for - maybe - the ramen.

"If it's not what others have said it is, then who is responsible?"

That was the most pressing matter. At least, in her mind, at the moment. Despite whatever her body or anyone else might say. She stared at the ground, a look of concentration clear on her face.

"The chairman? At the very least, I can't imagine anyone else would have as many answers."

It didn't account for how she couldn't recall an interuption to her life. She had only just seen him, and had been within the middle of a conversation with Maria. Eyes shut, she lifted a hand to rake her fingers through her long hair. It gave her a moment to pause and think. This itself was odd, wasn't it? She swallowed the itch within the back of her throat and glanced back up to him.

"You're fine with this...? I mean, working together to figure this out... "

"I have absolutely no idea who could be responsible," Zero replied. It was the flat out truth. Who had that kind of power, anyway?

He watched her for a moment, mulling over what she just asked him. Hadn't they already decided to work together?

"Yuuki." He started. "What is the last thing you remember, from home?"

It wasn't like it had been all that pleasant. Even Maria's words had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Watching him, she shrugged, a touch uncomfortable. For her, it had been a little awkward.

"I was talking with Maria-san. Prior to that you had delivered a message to me that Ichijou-senpai wanted to talk."

Edited 2012-10-07 01:35 (UTC)

"That's—" His eyes visibly widened. (What in the. . .)

A shake of his head. "That happened at least a week ago, for me."

She blinked. That didn't make sense. Could he just be mistaken?

"It isn't like before. I shouldn't have any sort of amnesia."

And absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened. There was nothing-

"Except..."

No. She shook her head. That was more of a feeling, regardless. She hadn't ever been shot. She would have remembered that clearly.

"Zero, that can't be right. Time couldn't just stop for one of us."

"It shouldn't be right, but it is. Just like we couldn't have been dragged to some weird new place without being aware of it, but we were, and now we're here."

How to even begin this. . .

"Tell me. So you don't remember when I brought Maria back to her dorms, then took you out by the forest's edge to give you my blood?"

That was enough to definitely alarm her. Wide eyed, she stared up at him in shock. Slowly she shook her head

"I would definitely remember something like-- "

Again she blinked.

"You offered your...? But..." Last he had been awful cold toward her.

The flow of time had most certainly been skewed. He was sure of it, now.

He offers a single, perhaps solemn nod. "I did. For our coinciding interests. You.—" Zero glances away briefly, frowning some. "I offered my wrist, but you took from my throat. You were rather unsure about the whole thing, but admitted to needing help, and. . . that you craved my blood."

A touch of red flushed her cheeks. He said it so calmly, yet something like that would definitely be major for her! She opened her mouth, but only accomplished a faint stammer.

"W-Well..." She didn't have a response to that. If she protested it would be a lie. And he had already experienced it, apparently.

"I see...?"

Their coinciding interests? To stop Kaname? She turned away, arms wrapped back around herself. It didn't help that at that very moment, she was starved for blood. His crimson life that flooded through his veins echoed in her ears. Ignore it, Ignore it...

With a breath, she tried to steady herself.

"That...what I last remember, when you saw me before Maria-san's unpleasant interruption..." Her words tumbled out, slightly jumbled. She wasn't sure exactly what she was trying to get at either. "That time was my first time taking a blood tablet. Because it had been forbidden before, so it was...difficult for me." She bit down on one of her nails, before her fingers curled in against her mouth.

"Naturally Zero smells very tempting." ... "Err...smelled tempting," she tried to correct. Her breath released in a sigh. It was best to just be honest right now.

"At the manor I always thought about home and you. So even though leaving the manor had been out of the question, I did, especially when hungry, crave Zero's blood."

Edited 2012-10-07 03:05 (UTC)

"I know," he calmly replied. Her confusion, Zero supposed, was only natural. It was okay.

Zero understood what she was saying, as well. He clearly remembered seeing Yuuki when she was taking the tablets.

"A lot of things have happened since then, Yuuki," Zero finally met her gaze again, brows knit. Kaname Kuran was a large part of that, too.

"If you want. . . " He started, a little unsure at first. Zero let the words linger as he glanced around the room again. There was a desk near the front corner by the darkened window. He made his way over and began to rummage through one of the drawers. Most of its contents was pens, paperclips, a stapler—

A letter opener and a pair of scissors, too.

Zero picked up the latter. They were sharper than the rather dull blade of a letter opener.

"Yuuki." He walked back over to her, resolve settling in as he gauged her reaction while he began to roll up one of his sleeves.

"You can see what has happened, if you want." A heavy pause. "I know you're thirsty right now, especially if you're truly from when you say you are."

Her heart was heavy in her chest. The sound of it filled her own ears. She stared at the scissors within his hand, at a loss for words. To begin with she had never imagined a time when he would have offered it so freely. Let alone now that he had somehow turned human. Blank faced she opened her mouth soundlessly, before it shut again.It was one thing for him to tell her he had done this only a week ago, but still another to experience it personally now.

There was no doubt that she greatly longed for and desired his blood. Her large eyes, normally brown, were flecked with patches of crimson. Full of unease, she glanced back up to him, slightly wary. Zero wouldn't trick her, she knew him much better than that. But this was more than she had ever expected.

"You're human again, but even so you still-- "

She cut off. It was his precious blood. Not something he could throw out so easily. She shook her head.

"You said before you shared your blood because of our coinciding interests, in regards to the situation at home. But we don't understand anything here." Even her abilities were gone. She was useless, but still very much a vampire. "Why now..."

"Because there's no other way," Zero was almost a bit too quick to respond. It was easy to pick up on why Yuuki was behaving the way she was. Why she spoke such things.

Zero understood, too, however he remained firm with her.

"Why now?" He repeated. "Because there likely are no blood tablets here, Yuuki, and—" his hold on the scissors tightened a bit at the thought. ". . . And I don't want you to have to go to strangers. I can tell you're starved, and I just know you won't do well for whatever we have to do in this place if you let yourself go crazy."

She hadn't even thought of that- the lack of blood tablets. They weren't common. Not outside their circle. If there were no other vampires within this place, and Yuuki had yet to sense any, then she was without.

The thought unnerved her, and Zero's words struck home. This wasn't like some little thing she could just shake off. It was a real issue. Back home it had been one, of course. But after Kaname had abandoned her, there was the small, however weak, reassurance that, at the very least, she had the tablets to get her by.

Now she didn't have that at all.

Her gaze lifted and their eyes met. The expression that met her was calm, as he studied her, both firm and unwavering in his stance. Mouth dry, her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Unsteady her hands gently trembled, a slight quake as she swallowed back the thirst that grew exponentially in the wake of his offer. Grip tight, fingers curled around his shirt above the chest. Her opposite hand gently wound around the hand the carefully clutched the scissors.

Lips parting, she drew a shaky breath, forehead coming to a rest against his chest. She was starved, thirst intense. If they started and he changed his mind, she didn't think she'd be able to stop.

"If we do this today... then from now on, until we find a way to return home, Zero will become my prey."

Head tilting back, she looked up again to catch his gaze.

"You're fine with that, right?"

Zero returned her gaze; although still firm, he was calm in the presence of Yuuki's reaction and response, alike. He didn't need to guess how she was feeling right about now.

More than anyone, he knew and understood what it was like to starve, didn't he? Not to mention, unlike Yuuki, Zero had technically already lived through this experience.

"If I wasn't, do you truly believe I would make the offer, Yuuki?" he asked. "You know me better than that."

Zero took a step back from Yuuki, giving them a bit of room. "I'm not sure how much more you know about where we are, but I've been told that everyone here is able to regenerate upon being injured. Death is not a possibility. I have no issue in what I'm offering to do for you."

Honest and true. Zero opened the scissors, one blade poised just above his wrist, before he commented on one more thing, firmly meeting Yuuki's gaze.

"If it still is something I can do here, though my blood, I want you to witness what I've experienced in the time that spans between what I last remember, compared to your most recent memory, Yuuki." He paused, frowning a bit. "Don't dig much further than that."

That said, Zero grit his teeth and made one, clean (and rather deep) slice across his wrist, and held it out for Yuuki to take.

Edited 2012-10-09 04:12 (UTC)

"Ah-"

Her mouth parted the instant his blood met the air and crimson saturated her eyes a dark red. They vanished beneath the fringe of her long hair as her head dipped down. Blood trickled to the floor beneath, small splatters upon the hard tile before she could stop them from being lost. No more, she thought, predatory, as his own life poured down the sides of his arm.

A shudder of pleasure wracked her body the moment her lips wrapped around his wrist and she tasted his blood for the first time. It was completely different, separate, for sure, from the all too familiar taste of Kaname. Intoxicated she drew harder, while both hands wound around his wrist to support it in place.

Emotion struck her first before all else, quick to flood her body as his confusion and feelings swept through her like a strong current. Uncertainty, determination, among a myriad of other feelings and some that contradicted one another were immediately felt. As much as she desired to dig deeper, his mind opened up to her, to reveal that future she had yet to experience for herself.

A time similar to this flashed through her mind, where she took Zero's blood for her own, and further yet a confrontation with Kaname, truths revealed while her heart broke. Further and further she spiraled into the recesses of his mind, before she forcefully pulled herself back.

Two tears slide down either side of her cheeks as she finally released his arm. She was stunned, heartache strong and she had to take a moment to fully come to grips with what she had just witnessed. The pit in her stomach knotted tight, and she clenched her teeth to swallow back the emotion that rose to her throat.

With the back of her hand, she wiped the blood from her mouth, and drew a breath. Even her chest hurt. She hadn't known it was possible for her heart to break even further. At last she looked up at him. Both eyes full of tears, she reached up to cup his cheeks within the palms of her hands. Numb, she shook her head.

"I-- Zero, until now I never realized..."

Her arms slide around him to wrap about his neck and she hugged him tightly to her. All of this time, it had been due to her family, that he had lost his own.

"I'm so sorry."

Zero remained quiet as Yuuki fed. It was just as it had been before: how thirsty she truly was, how much she needed to calm down. He almost couldn't stand to watch, as it made a part of him ache.

Even so, there were things that she needed to see. Unlike the first time, Zero felt a little more open about the memories he would allow Yuuki to experience. What she would see and experience wasn't necessarily in the depths of his heart, but the very real circumstances of their present day lives. It was the insight from Kuran that only deepened Zero's animosity for the pureblood.

Zero wouldn't question the way Yuuki reacted.

No, it was perhaps expected, even. Especially when considering the fact that Yuuki would bear witness through Zero's point of view, which could only amplify the flurry of emotion.

While the embrace didn't surprise him, Zero didn't respond immediately. When he finally did move to wrap an arm about her, the cut on his wrist was already beginning to heal. His other hand tentatively went to rest atop Yuuki's head. Brows drawn, a dip of his head down toward her, and then, quietly. Softly.

"Don't cry for me." Still, it's consoling. Even gentle as he reassured her of the one true thing in all of this. "You did nothing wrong, Yuuki. . ."

None of it was her fault, but it didn't stop the ache or the remorse. It was the most horrifying thing to feel in the world. To realize that an entire family could be destroyed for such selfish reasons. And here, all along, like usual, Yuuki was a mere pawn on a giant chess board and again the last to know.

He could ask her not to cry, but it was near impossible not to.

Her hand released him and she slowly drew back. Both arms hung limp and lifeless at her sides. What could she possibly say to him now?

"Although that person is my fiance... and we are both from the same family... after all of this time, Zero knew him better than I did."

The admission was harsh and it hurt. In the end it was truthful, though. The entire time she lived in that manor she had spent trying to better understand Kaname, and that impenetrable sadness that surrounded him daily. It had always been impossible from the start, hadn't it.

Then another thought...

"If this is really the afterlife, then...does that mean we failed?" Her fingers spasmed and twitched at her side. How foolish she must have appeared. A hopeless, silly girl who hadn't been able to accomplish a single thing. Damn it...

"Sara-san... must have died, then, too." After all it had been his entire purpose for his sudden appearance at the association. Although Yuuki felt no attachment to Sara, particularly when in comparison to the person who stood before her right here, the fact of the matter was that it went well beyond her and even them.

"How many other, now, I wonder. And now, Kaname..."

He would succeed. Somehow, although maybe it was self-centered, she didn't believe that anyone would have the ability to stop him, outside of her, and maybe Zero. And if she was dead, and Kaname's purpose had been to kill the pureblood... would Kaname have lifted his hand against even her?

The elusive memory of the hunters and the guns stirred within the back of her mind, but she couldn't concentrate upon it long enough to grasp a full picture. Instead it receded.

No...

Both arms lifted to cradle her head, before she knelt down. This was too much. It couldn't possibly be reality. Even after all of the terrible things Kaname had done and the crimes he committed, she couldn't believe that he would harm her, despite what he had said that one time in what felt like so long ago. Yet here she was, whether by his hand, or the hunters, along with Zero too, and after all these bitter bitter harsh realities.

"I can't accept this. I can't..." Even worse than her own presence- "And the fact that Zero is here too. I just can't."

SCHOOL FESTIVAL

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