Entwined

Delusions

Disclaimer: I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Vampire Knight. Original characters are all mine of course.

A/N:The incredibly mean author is back~! Well, sort of. I had time to finish this chapter, so here it is. Don't expect regular updates though. I am determined to finish this story (along with Thorny Path), however. Yes, I am aware I write horribly bad cliffhangers. I enjoy watching my readers squirm. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Oh, I jest, I jest. I'll try and be nicer in the future. Maybe. c:

This darkness was not natural. Not even enhanced vampire vision could penetrate it. For a moment, a fleeting twinge of panic surged through Seiren. She quickly quelled it. No, this was not blindness. This was something else.

An experimental flex of her limbs quickly told Seiren that she had been restrained, and through no conventional means. She felt no metal or leather bindings. She felt nothing. She simply could not move. Sightless and bound, the vampire's means of finding out what had happened to her was limited.

She could feel no restraints, but she could feel cold, hard floor; stone, judging from the coarseness and the smell. Focusing her working senses, she could hear the faint drip-drip of trickling water, the occasional creak of old wood and a near constant rustling nearby. Her nose picked up mixed scents; old, unused building and a distinct earthiness.

She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, so she could only hope that she had been taken to the building that she had been observing. If she had been taken elsewhere, further afield, it would prove more inconvenient. She needed to get free, needed to find out who the powerful being was that had so easily subdued her and report back to Kaname.

The voice she'd heard had been female and, judging by the fleeting glimpse before unconsciousness had taken her, had a humanoid form. She was certain it wasn't human. But Seiren had detected no other presence. So the logical conclusion that it was a vampire seemed unlikely as well. Not impossible, just improbable. She hadn't spent her entire life honing and refining her senses to have them so easily fooled by another vampire.

Seiren wriggled against the stone floor. Her limbs were completely immobile, but she could at least move the rest of her body. To answer the questions that were gnawing at her, she would need to get free.

With great effort, she managed to roll onto her back, the cold of the stone seeping through her clothing and making her shiver. There was dampness there too. So she was in a section of the building that wasn't heated. An outhouse maybe? Or a basement?

Gritting her teeth and tensing her back and stomach muscles she rocked forward at her waist and, after a few attempts, managed to push herself to a seated position. She panted, catching her breath. Such a seemingly simple act requiring so much effort was not a good sign.

Seiren tilted her head as she picked up a distant sound. Footsteps? No, too irregular. Something knocking against wood flooring. But it wasn't nearby, so there was no need to worry just yet. She now knew it was likely there was someone else in the same building. Another tiny piece of information to weave together with the other scraps. Eventually they would paint an entire picture.

Now to tackle the problem of moving around without the use of her arms or legs. Twisting her torso, she attempted to shuffle along the floor, using the momentum as she rocked back and forth. She scowled after several minutes of relatively fruitless exertion.

The quiet tinkling of delicate laughter from somewhere above her had Seiren stilling herself. Someone was in the room with her? She hadn't heard anyone enter or felt any presence at all. She held her breath, listening through the sudden, eerie silence for any sign of her watcher.

A breeze brushed past her cheek and she flinched. It was gone as quickly as it had come, but the accompanying scent had been unmistakable. Cherry blossoms. So this was the being she had encountered back in the grove.

Her throat was dry, her lips feeling taut and they resisted as she opened them. "Who are you?" Her voice sounded hoarse.

Another bout of laughter from her right, again slightly above her, carried across the room, the faint echo telling Seiren that the space was a fair size and mostly empty. Still, if her ears and nose were not telling her there was someone else here with her, she would not know it. She could not detect any presence.

"Ah, child, you ask such amusing questions." The voice was silky, light. It unnerved Seiren.

Tilting her head so one ear was facing her company, she swallowed and opened her mouth to speak once more. "Then you should have no problem answering them?"

There was no immediate reply, nor the laughter she had expected. Her head whipped around to the left as a soft whisper brushed over her ear, the unexpected change of position making her lurch away, toppling her onto her back.

"Why do you presume so much, young one?" Then came the expected laughter.

This… being was toying with her. Quite successfully. Seiren could do nothing but lay there, a slave to her captor's games. Even so, she would not give up. Her mind worked through that which she had observed so far. There must be something that would aid in her escape.

Takuma listened carefully to the voice on the other end of the call. He stared at a concerned-looking Aidou, barely noticing his quizzical expression. He murmured an acknowledgement as the caller said his farewells, a click signifying the end of the phone call.

Aidou took the chance to step forward, gripping Takuma's arm. "Just what the hell is going on?" he hissed, trying his best to keep his voice down.

The noble's gaze slid to the floor as he went over what he'd been told during his rather lengthy phone conversation. "I-," he sighed, rubbing his temple at the beginnings of what promised to be a splendid headache.

After what the other blonde had managed to piece together earlier, the results of the forensics sweep of the building and the conversation he had just had, events seemed to be heading towards something far more complicated than any of them had initially suspected.

Aidou shook his arm, impatience getting the better of him. Takuma shot him a warning glance; an unexpected reaction that had the other noble suddenly releasing his grip.

"That bad?" he asked after a moment, significantly more subdued.

Takuma sighed again and slowly shook his head. "I'm not sure, Hanabusa. I hope it's not what it seems." He paused, trying to get everything straight in his mind. "Someone managed to get into the building, set up the explosive device in the empty office, and leave, all without being detected or looking out of place."

The other noble nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, there wasn't any sign of any non-employees gaining access to the fifteenth floor, so it was probably someone who worked here." He cocked an eyebrow. "Or someone who's invisible."

Takuma smiled wryly. "We know that Holmes was liaising with Seiren, which seems the only likely cause of why he'd be targeted. And from what you discovered, we've ruled out Aera Enterprises or Kuran Inc being the intended targets. So, this boils down to something that Seiren discovered. And her disappearance."

"Someone's going to extreme lengths to keep their secrets secret," Aidou observed. "What I don't get is why this assistant would plant a bomb. He's the only real suspect we've got, but going over his file, he doesn't fit at all."

"Motivation is murky at best. Who knows what goes on in some vampires' heads."

"Unless…" Aidou thought out-loud, trailing off.

Takuma raised an eyebrow. "Unless?"

The other noble paled visibly. "Get Kaname on the phone."

Zero choked on the acrid air that flowed into his lungs with each breath. His mind reeled, trying desperately to make sense of what his shocked senses were telling him.

Rolling onto his side, he slowly scrabbled to his feet. He cringed as his muscles protested. Mixed in with the strands of suffocating smoke was the scent of blood. As if in response, a burning pain shot up his arm and he hissed, grabbing the damaged limb. With a grunt, he pulled out what looked like a thin piece of metal. Blinking, he looked around. It was a part of the car's chassis. Larger slivers of metal lay strewn around him, along with pulverised brick from the nearby building.

Zero's breath caught in his throat as the impact of what it all meant suddenly dawned on him.

"Kuran!" he croaked out as he stumbled forwards, towards the bulk of the remains of the vehicle they'd been travelling in. Several other cars had been caught in the blast and the smell of destruction was thick on the air.

From what he could see of the interior of their car, most of the metal was still glowing red from the sheer ferocity of the explosion. He could feel the intensity of the heat even from the distance he was standing at. There was no way a living being could have survived in there.

He cursed under his breath, looking frantically at his surroundings. "Where the hell are you, Kuran?"

How had he been thrown so far from the wreckage, and without suffering any burns? None of this made any sense. Just who had attacked them?

In the distance, he could hear the faint wail of sirens. Emergency services were already on their way. He cursed again. Shaking his arm, he noted that the feeling was returning to normal. Good. The wound was already healing. He needed to get away before humans began arriving.

Throwing another cursory glance around him, he broke into a run when he was sure there were no witnesses. He made for the side of the building that had been partially destroyed in the explosion. As soon as he was out of direct sight of the road, he paused and focused his senses.

If Kaname was nearby, he would be able to sense him, wouldn't he? Yet, there was nothing. Had the pureblood really been killed in that explosion? The thought seemed ridiculous. There was no way.

The ex-human sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The car had stopped outside the dead director's assistant's apartment. He glanced at the building to his left. The apartment was in there. He had no idea which was the assistant's though. He should've paid more attention. He ground his teeth in frustration.

He and Kaname had been in the back of the car. His thoughts stalled briefly at the memory and he groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. He'd let himself go and look at where that had got him. Fool!

He'd heard the driver get out and moments later…

"Fuck…" he hissed, sinking to his haunches, one hand pressing against the cold ground for balance. "What am I supposed to do now?"

The smell of his own blood was starting to make him feel sick. He grabbed at the buttons of his shirt in irritation, fumbling as he undid them and shrugged out of the torn item of clothing. He shivered as cool air hit his naked arms. Luckily his vest had escaped damage for the most part.

Straightening to his full height, he sighed. There was no use hanging around here. He would be found by the local authorities soon enough and he didn't exactly want to explain how he'd survived an explosion like that. Trotting over to a set of dumpsters at the side of the apartment block, he dumped his shirt in one and set off for the rear of the building.

As he approached the end of the street, he caught a familiar scent. Scowling, his gaze was drawn to the top floor of the closest building.

"Kuran, you bastard. If you're dead, I'm gonna kill you."

Blood. Dripping down the walls, seeping through the cracks in the ceiling, pooling in the dips of the floor; it was everywhere. It felt slick against his feet. Slick and warm. It was fresh, inviting.

No. That was wrong. That had to be wrong.

What was that light? Slivers of pure white, shooting through the red, speeding in haphazard lines along the floor, up the walls, across the ceiling. The pureblood gasped as the room shattered into tiny flakes, disintegrating before his eyes. And then he was falling, disappearing into the blackness that existed outside that room of blood.

"No!"

Kaname blinked. What was that? Had he been dreaming?

He'd drifted off again. It seemed he wasn't able to fight off the exhaustion after all. It was unlike him to overestimate his own limits. Then again, he'd been doing many things that were unlike his usual self.

So, resting was out of the question. He pushed himself to his feet, stifling a groan. He shook his head. What kind of hunter tired quicker than his prey? He couldn't let him get away, he knew that. Even if he needed to push himself past his limits.

His calculations had been off. He'd admit that. He had known there wouldn't be any evidence at the assistant's apartment. They'd covered their tracks too well up till now to allow such a slip. He'd wanted to draw them out by going there all the same. It had worked, certainly. A little too well. He hadn't expected such a show of force. And now Kaname was paying for that mistake.

The pureblood had only just detected the attack in time to throw Zero free of the car. The other vampire probably wouldn't forgive him for that, he thought a little wryly. His mind had been so… foggy at the time. Another foolish mistake.

He'd taken the full brunt of the explosion. That had cost him time; almost too much. He'd dragged himself out of the wreckage and managed to pick up their attacker's trail. Luckily, he had recently fed, so his wounds were mostly healed. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken his fill, so he still felt drained. It was taking its toll.

His thoughts flitted back to Zero. He hoped the ex-human was okay. He hadn't wanted to simply leave him there, but he wasn't a fragile human. He was capable of taking care of himself. Kaname sighed. Why was he trying to justify his actions?

He narrowed his eyes. He was getting distracted again. The human he'd been following, a fact he was still surprised about, moved exceptionally fast. He wondered how a human could be capable of such feats.

Hopping down from the roof of the outbuilding, he landed silently in long grass and padded towards the boundary of the farm's land. The trail had led out of the city and well into rural landscape. Darkness blanketed the scenery and Kaname was thankful for the cover that night afforded. He would catch this human soon and get some answers.

Breaking into a run, he pushed forward, his innate vampire speed helping him cover ground at a swift rate. His eyes darted to any sign of life as he travelled, quickly dismissing them as irrelevant when he saw they weren't his prey.

Exhaustion soon began to creep up on him once more and he had to slow his pace to recover. He slowed to a walk on a narrow stretch of road. He hadn't seen any vehicles for some time. This was truly a lonely area.

To his left and right was farmland and he could make out small groupings of sheep grazing in the distance. Ahead of him, the short grass gave way to wood. He headed in that direction.

Kaname paused at the tree line, his brow creasing slightly. He focused his senses on the area around him. Silence. No animals. Something wasn't right. He couldn't sense the presence of either vampire or human nearby, but something prickled at him. His gaze was slowly drawn to a spot on the horizon. There was a very faint glow of light against the pitch black sky.

Logically, it could have just been a farm, or a remote residence, but something told Kaname that wasn't the case. A small smile tugged at his lips as anticipation pooled in his gut. The end of the hunt was drawing near.

"Cross…"

The brunette peered ahead, an oblivious smile on his face. "Hmm?"

Arlena groaned. "You really are insufferable."

The pureblood drummed two fingers against her temple, propping her elbow on the padded armrest next to her.

He turned to her, his expression suddenly sombre. "What made you come back?"

Arlena blinked. "What?"

"What made you come back and tell me?"

The man's questions were always so random, so unexpected. She couldn't help but be caught off-guard by him.

"I-, well, it was the right thing to do. You know the boy after all."

Cross hummed an acknowledgement, nodding. "But, I don't think Kaname Kuran is the sort of vampire to take others into dangerous situations so recklessly. Even a captive. Or no, especially a captive. He wouldn't be much use dead, would he?"

Arlena eyed the human. She knew he was more than he seemed. Why did he insist on keeping up the charade though? She shook her head.

"No… I don't know the specifics of the situation, though. There could be any number of reasons. Perhaps he didn't trust those around him with Zero, or…" she shrugged, not wanting to weave the lie too much.

"Right. Well, I don't see how I'll be of any help." He paused, rubbing his chin. "I've not seen Zero for so long. He probably doesn't even remember an old man like me."

"Old?" The pureblood snorted. "Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

He tilted his head to one side. "I try not to. Bad for your ego you know, being so vain."

Arlena rolled her eyes. "Right, Cross, right." He was back to his silly self, but she was glad the conversation had steered away from Kuran and Kiryu.

She would have to suffer his company for a while longer, but it was necessary. When she'd heard that Kuran had flown out of the country and had taken the ex-human with him, she knew she'd have to push forward her plans a bit. Quite a bit. She could sense something was brewing in the corporate world, but business matters bored her recently. She would let others handle that side of things. While she manoeuvred into an agreeable position.

She smiled to herself. She could almost taste the satisfaction that accompanies a carefully laid plan coming to fruition. She just hoped that speeding things up wouldn't inadvertently send things off course. Still, she had an escape route if needed.

"Steamed sea bass." Cross' voice brought her rudely out of her thoughts.

"What?" she cringed inwardly as she realised just how much she was asking such an inelegant question in recent company.

"I bet that's what you're thinking about. Your face says it all."

The pureblood groaned. Just a bit longer, Arlena, just a bit longer.