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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"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."

Even with all that Zero knew, coming from the point in time that he did, for Yuuki to still call that man her fiancé left a bitter taste at the back of his throat. He wouldn't doubt her, though, with the fact that he knew Kuran better than her. He didn't like such truth.

(There's no saying whether we failed or not) Zero wanted to say. The mere idea of it was infuriating; he didn't want to believe a word that Yuri had explained to him. There was too much to do at home, too much to make right. Too many fights to be settled. He was supposed to become the president of the association, not die trying.

Zero could only stand in his place as Yuuki began to unravel. Her distress palpable, more similar to Zero's own feelings than he'd care to admit. He sunk back against the wall, but not before his hand curled into a tight fist, then to slam it against the chalkboard he was next to. He paid little attention to how the impact didn't splinter or crack the surface.

"If you and I are from different points in time," Zero began, head dipped. Maybe this was the answer, the possibility that he wanted to believe. "Then maybe time, here, moves in a different manner, and stands still at home."

His jaw tightened, both hands at his sides again, albeit in fists. "I can't just accept this, either. . . even if I'm clearly human again, here. That can't just happen."

She didn't glance up from her cocoon, but only shook her head. As much as she wanted to believe it, even that didn't make sense. The reason was because of the very thing he had just stated himself.

"It should be impossible for a vampire to turn human." There wasn't a cure for former humans, except to drink the blood of the one who turned them. And even then that was only to stave off the madness. It didn't return them back to the former self. "The only way that could happen would be if a pureblood was to--"

She stopped mid-sentence. Ah--

Wide-eyed her head slowly lifted to look back at Zero. That kind of thing... for a pureblood to release Zero from such a fate, if she was here with him that was impossible, wasn't it? There was no one else.

"...You can still remember the past, though... ..."

Zero went silent at that. Of course he remembered his past, just not what (supposedly) killed him. So what was she insinuating?

Arms folded cross his chest, he looked down upon Yuuki, a frown tugging at his expression once more, although not without confusion and bemusement.

"Obviously I remember my past." Stern, his brows furrowed. "What do you mean, 'If a pureblood was to. . .,' Yuuki?"

"..."

She fell silent for a moment. A frown tugged at her lips and she glanced away. That was not an easy question. Knees pulled up tight against her, she licked her lips. It hurt to think back to that time. But she surprised herself, by opening her mouth to speak.

"The only way to turn a vampire into a human- " As far as she knew, at least. "-is for a pureblood to forfeit his or her life. As a result, the memories that person possesses though, are lost..."

She trailed off, the words heavy in the air. As it was, she knew, at that, she didn't need to expand upon the process. Gaze fallen, she hugged her knees tighter and stared at the floor.

"It's not typically done."

(That. . .) His eyes widened. It sounded more like something out of a myth. Something practically unfathomable.

. . . But then again. (Wait. Yuuki, you—)

Suddenly it all made sense. Crystal clear, and not the idea that maybe Yuuki had done so, which is how they ended up here. No, something different. Something even more important, in that the blanks were finally being filled with answers.

"Yuuki. . ." Zero started. The concern edged his tone. Her demeanor, alone, said everything. "So that's how—" he swallowed. ". . . For Yuuki to be human, then, you were. . .

From the start she knew he'd realize what must have happened. The only possible explanation to how they had lived together for so long, and neither had known what she truly was. She nodded in response but didn't look up.

"Only my mother, though. Father was murdered."

A light nod, gaze cast downwards. Solemn. He didn't need to further press, the hows and whys didn't matter right now. He clearly was understanding, however. It showed.

Although hesitated briefly, Zero lightly placed a hand atop Yuuki's head. Silence stretched between them for several long moments.

It was so like the boy from her past. The nostalgia welled up inside. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of his palm temporarily sooth her. Although so much had changed this was still, undeniably, the person who had always tried to protect and sooth away her fears.

"I'm fine," She said after a moment. Her own hand lifted to curl around his fingers, and she gently removed it from atop her head. Though not without a small squeeze.

She had to pull herself together. Whatever had happened, for better or worse, she couldn't afford to let herself break down here. With a small umph she pushed herself up from off the ground and dusted off her skirt.

"I feel uneasy, about the fact that Zero is suddenly human again with no explanation, and that I myself no longer possess the power to do what I once could."

The absence of Artemis, admittedly, had her on edge, too.

"Although no one has stepped up to the plate to reveal themselves yet, surely someone very powerful must be behind all of this." Even if it was true that they died, the place that they were in now could not be run on its own. And she still questioned the words that she had heard from others. This was the kind of thing that they would need to explore themselves.

"I want to find something to protect myself with. Even though it might sound weak, coming from a pureblood, I don't feel comfortable without something tangible in my hands." That had never changed, even when she had hoped that by becoming a vampire it would banish her fears. What a beautiful delusion. Zero, too, would likely benefit from the extra protection of a weapon. They just needed to find something.

With a breath, she extended a hand, and held it out for Zero to take. Whatever fears she had at the moment, she wanted to bury them within and move forward with her head held high.

"I don't know who is responsible for this, but I want to get to the bottom of it. Although it may not be related to that person, this is still a goal that Zero would like to see achieved, right?"

Her eyes moved to stare into the pale violet that watched her in turn. She had to hope that there was something - anything - that could right things.

"If our objectives are still in alignment, would you work together with me as an ally once more, Mr. Future President?"

Zero watched Yuuki for the moment. Watched as she sifted through her thoughts, putting the necessary ones behind her for the time being, while organizing the goals for the present. He watched as the melancholy truths settled, making way for what new answers needed to be found.

All of what she said was true, and things he could only agree with.

He watched as she rose to her feet once more, and stood her ground with a new found strength.

"It may be the fault of more than just a person, or group," Zero finally commented, looking upon her.

The offer she made was more of the Yuuki Zero remembered. More so his Yuuki, than the confused one he had drink his blood.

So of course he would work alongside her. How reminiscent of home it was.

He took her offered hand. "Yeah, I will."

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SCHOOL FESTIVAL

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