Scene #470: After the Hunter's Battle

Owner	Pose
Zero Kiryu	Njorun Station Medical Metahuman Wing Zero Kiriyu can be found in a small but heavily reinforced hospital room. It is in an interior section of the ship, and although no one said so it is one of the rooms specifically meant to accommodate vampiric beings. The windows look out on an interior courtyard that presents a simulated day/night cycle, but which seems to linger on night unusually long. The room itself is simple apart from simply being made of sturdier stuff than is average for a hospital room. The walls and doors are strong enough to take blows from even very powerful vampires, though they wouldn't hold up under sustained assault. It's just enough to keep a raging supernatural being contained until they can be calmed down, one way or another. Strictly speaking this is not an ICU, but when he first came in, Zero was being kept under extremely close observation due to the severity of his situation. They had actually been forced to feed him quite a lot of blood simply to begin working on his injuries, which began with the wooden needles embedded in his arms. They hadn't taken them out until he had consumed quite a bit of blood, incredibly reluctantly. Enough to kickstart his own regenerative abilities, at least. Nurses had quickly administered disinfectants before the wounds closed up, an unnecessary measure that is nevertheless undertaken just in case. The larger wound on his shoulder was stitched together to help the healing factor along, and that wound had been the next to begin disappearing. It had been deep though, and the bone itself had been cut and was quite visible for a while. That had been the first "fix" that had occurred, though it still looked quite gruesome for a time after. Right now, the Vampire Hunter can be found lying in bed, half-awake. What remains of his clothes are sealed in plastic bags, but they're an absolute ruin. The amount of blood on them is staggering and revolting. Or, perhaps, enticing if that's what you're into. It's dried up by now though, so it's not particularly appetizing even to a vampire at this point. Zero is dressed in a hospital gown, sitting halfway up with a blanket drawn up to his stomach. Bandages cover the great shoulder wound, though by now it has largely repaired itself. A bit of dried blood remains visible through the bandage, but it's not much relative to the severity of the wound itself. There is a small cooler on a roller table in front of Zero. Ordinarily it would be used to deliver regular meals, but... It's just blood packs and ice right now. Zero hasn't touched them, and evidently has simply refused to eat after taking in the bare minimum of blood required to pull himself back together.
Yuuki Kuran	BEFORE... A weeping Yuuki helps try to support a staggering, barely-standing Zero back to the Union, who, thankfully, have fantastic medical help available for affiliated elites in Njorun Station. A few featherlight punches are delivered to his good shoulder, after the tears dried a bit, and Yuuki makes Zero aware of how much of an idiot he was, for trying to die, AGAIN, and almost getting himself killed. Again. Yuuki expresses this feeling repeatedly throughout the night. "If I don't have you, then forever will be that much longer..." Is the highlight line of the night. NOW... In the aftermath of the battle upon the mountain, Yuuki had recieved a minor amount of first aid, but it was all useless. She had regenerated all the damage SHE had taken on the trip back, even starving. When she had arrived at Njorun, and seen Zero safely there, she had taken a quick trip back to the apartment to acquire things Zero would want. Now, returning, with a chilled blood bag in a large mug with a straw stuck into it and a black battered suitcase - one of Zero's - Yuuki comes in. "Hey, Zero, did you know they put blood in /bags/ around here, and then if you ask they just hand you them? It's far better than bloo-... I see you're not eating. Oh well! I brought you some stuff." She offers, cheerily. She overlooks the fact that Zero, a vampire, is outright refusing blood. She unpacks a change of clothes, a container of blood pills - which she pockets - and some light snacks. Like chips! She sets the care package next to Zero's bed, beaming at him. "All better, hmm?" She wonders, before taking another drag off of her mug'o'bag'o'blood.
Zero Kiryu	All told, Zero was not very helpful the night prior. He had managed to drag himself along for a while but it had become evident eventually that something had broken his legs. Fortunately they hadn't need to be reset, but he wasn't very talkative at all past telling Yuuki that he was fine. That was, of course, an incredibly bold-faced lie. He wasn't really in danger of turning to dust on the spot, but he wasn't going to be much use at the time no matter what the circumstances were. Right now he's a little bit more lively. In his own way. Violet eyes slide from the window to the icechest and the blood in front of him. He stares at it for a long while, but stops when Yuuki re-enters the room. The blood that they serve here is functional but not satisfying. He sniffs audibly at Yuuki's entrance, but it's not because he's smelling her... though he is. It's because he smells the blood that she's carrying in a mug. His expression starts as flat, and then becomes downright incredulous, as if to ask, 'Are you fucking kidding me?' A shaky hand reaches up and snaps the ice chest in front of him shut. He doesn't have enough confidence in his dexterity to pick it up and set it down on the floor, so instead he just scoots it aside on the tray. Zero looks back at Yuuki, observing her closely as she unloads the care package for him. It's appreciated, and with her positively beaming at him he can't really muster the will to be too harsh, but... he sighs exasperatedly in answer to her question. His eyes slide from Yuuki's face to her pocket, and back again. If he hadn't been hurt as badly as he was, he might have been able to simply shrug it off and act normally. But he was, and he can't. Striking violet gives way to bright red, and it's with a stammering voice that he holds out a hand and says, "I need that thing you just put in your pocket." Like a child refusing a proper meal, Zero demands his cold double quarter pounder with cheese. He does manage to swallow his frustration and closed-in nature enough to add, "... And... thanks." It's probably the best anybody is going to get out of him in the circumstances.
Yuuki Kuran	The look, the incredulity, is entirely missed by the young Pureblood as she cheerily takes drags off of her mug-bag. It was, in and of itself, sort of like a cold smoothie or other icy beverage. Flavorful, unified in its contents, and provided with a sort of detached impression of a person. Like a fruit juice from concentrate, it's tasty and satisfying, but it's nothing like the real deal fresh from the grove. Or the vein, as it were. She glances at the ice chest, and then back at Zero. "You're not hungry?" She wonders. Part of her is just elated, and satisfied, that it is recieving BLOOD! In quantity! This was not her first, and she feels a sort of giddyness from her sated humors. Of course, in a few hours the thirst would return, but since she was sipping off her second, she rode the wave of contentment a while longer. In fact, it was because she was so 'radiant' that she wanted to share with Zero. "No, really! It's good. Well, not as good as... Well, you know, but... Try it!" She offers, extending her hand with the mug and the bag slouched inside and the straw sticking out of it. "Ugh, you are not eating /blood pills/. They use this stuff..." She shakes the bagmug. "To make it anyway! It's... It's like wanting cheap chips but hating potatoes! So no! Either you drink this..!" She begins, before baring her left wrist. "Or this. You pick! I bet I know what you want, but you can drink either to your heart's content! They said I can have as /many/ bags as I want! Though I think they were telling me to get /you/ to drink them. Anyway..." She offers, her Determined Upbeat Yuuki look in full force. "No blood pills. You need your /strength/ if you're going to stop D without some stupid murder-suicide play. We need to save him, and to do it..." She waggles the mug in his face. "You. Need. To. Eat!" She announces in a no-arguments-allowed tone. "Also, you're welcome."
Zero Kiryu	Zero issues a puff of air, staring flatly at Yuuki. He leans back and relaxes again, insofar as he is able. It must be a struggle to do so, because his eyes are still glowing. They probably won't stop until he's eaten something properly, which Yuuki is determined to force him to do. Today, she gets her way unconditionally. He dips his head forward and sips some of the blood out of her mug reluctantly. Sensations rush up at him from some... stranger or another. There are memories too, but they're muddled and unclear, like watching events play out in the reflection of a pool of water. If it's somebody important, then at least they're not important to him. It's better than the blood pills, and actually filling besides, but... "I wasn't planning on dying." His eyes flick back to Yuuki's face from the cup she's holding up for him. "I've already outlived my expected lifespan, so I don't mind dying. But it was not my intention to die if I could avoid it. D is quite strong. His claws were in my chest by the time that exchange occurred. Even if I shot him immediately, I'm sure he would have the time to kill me too. Dying to keep him away from you is acceptable to me, but I didn't believe that dying in those circumstances would be acceptable to him." "And I was right." Zero steals another sip from Yuuki's blood mug, a little less reluctantly. The glow in his eyes dies down a little bit, and he relaxes more genuinely then. His eyes drift towards the cooler full of blood packs on his little tray. "I... don't dislike the taste of blood. I should. I want to. But I don't. The smell of it is intoxicating. The feeling of taking it is..." He doesn't clarify, because Yuuki doubtless understands just fine. Perhaps it's simply too much for him to deal with to describe it. He swallows, looking towards Yuuki's pocket. "Those are not satisfying. They taste foul and confusing, and do nothing for my abilities. But it isn't so unusual for a human to take foul-tasting medicine that makes the head swim." In other words, though he doesn't come right out and say it directly, Zero prefers them because they let him feel human, even though they're awful.
Yuuki Kuran	"You weren't planning on it, but it seems to be your go-to answer for everything. You go at the world like you don't care whether you live or die... And I hate that. You act like your life isn't worth anything, and it is. It's worth a lot to me, and it should be worth more to you. You... Torture yourself, and whittle away your time trying to... I don't know. Trying to be... what we once were." Yuuki places the mug onto Zero's chest, high enough he can reach it without much effort. "I finally figured it out, Zero. What I meant, when I said that the vampire part of me ate the human part. It was dumb, and it was impulsive, and it was hurtful... To both of us. But it was also, in a lot of ways, true. I'm not human... not any more. But I won't be a vampire either, if being a vampire means turning people, hurting people, and destroying everything I love and desire. That's being a monster." "The vampire part of me ate the normal human and just left me. Yuuki. A person. I don't do a lot of human things, it's true, and I need to drink blood, but..." She points at the blood bags, and rattles the blood pills in their container. "... I don't need to be a vampire about it. So now I like my steaks a bit on the rare-er side and I sleep during the day. It doesn't change who I am. And it didn't change who you are. Stop... Stop /torturing/ yourself. Please." Yuuki takes one of Zero's hands in both of hers. "Just be the best person you can be, and stop making all sorts of choices that are just there to hurt you. You and I, we can change our world. For the better! My brother is the Vampire King, and you... You'll be the head of the Hunter Association soon, I know it. Together, we can make peace, and destroy the Level E that prey upon people, and bring all the nobles in line, and... We can do it together. Not as humans, or as vampires, but as people." "Good people." She finally relents, sitting back, though she keeps a hand on his. "And... you're right. Those tablets are foul, aren't they? Well if you don't want any of /my/ blood, I'm not giving you any tablets, so at least finish that mug! You'll need it. Really."
Zero Kiryu	"Idiot. I'm not whittling away my time." Zero answers, exasperated. He half-shuts his eyes, sipping idly at the mug Yuuki sat on his chest. He's not being very enthusiastic about it, but at least she got him to start eating a little bit. He explains himself a moment later, "My hourglass was already empty. I had accepted that I was going to die young already. The only thing I wanted was to die while I was still me. I don't mind living longer, but if I died now..." He focuses blearily on Yuuki. Really, if she weren't around he he wouldn't even have that much of a reason to care. He clicks his tongue in aggravation, and sips more of the blood. Another little puff of air issues from him. "It's not easy to change gears." There's half a heartbeat where, on the subject of their parting a year ago, Zero looks as if he is growing quite angry. It's not an inaccurate appearance. The fact that he was stupid back then has occurred to him, but it's not an easy thing to deal with. Being a vampire is not something he wants. Her being a vampire is not something he wants. It's not that he thinks it was a choice he should have made for her. But the conflicting feelings are both very strong. Zero can hate himself just fine, but hating Yuuki is hard. It's so frustrating he wants to throw this mug across the room and watch it shatter into a million pieces. He might have even done so, if Yuuki hadn't taken one of his hands and kept talking. All Zero can think of, though... is losing himself and attacking Yuuki on that stairwell. And then doing it again, and again, and again just to hold on a little while longer. Zero smiles, but it's an expression that is completely devoid of any semblance of happiness. He reaches out with the hand she's holding, moving it from her grasp to tap her on the chin. "If you're right," He says, voice brimming with resentment, "then I am completely responsible for attacking you when I began to lapse into Level E, and the same is true of all other Level E vampires." The hunter withdraws his hand and rests it as his side. Zero too broken to be fixed so easily. He adds, tiredly, "I want your blood. Did you think I was starving myself completely all this time? I found ways to get proper meals without hurting anybody who wasn't doomed anyway. Blood from others is filling, but it isn't satisfying." "I could drain you dry and it still wouldn't sate my hunger for you."
Yuuki Kuran	"Of course you are. You're always whittling away your time - not doing the things that need doing. Like /relaxing/. Like enjoying yourself! Like not burning your candle from both ends, and drilling a little hole in the candle to burn the center up too." Yuuki chides, but she's still in good humor, gesticulating about her silly candle analogy with her fingers a bit unhelpfully. "I don't believe so, Zero. Just as I have a voice in my head which whispers sometimes, and screams others that I should devour this, attack that, own and consume and dominate. And as part of me, I suppose I could be completely responsible for it if I went out and acted on every impulse I would have, while I was starving and confused and needed help." Yuuki shakes her head. "But I don't blame you. I wanted to help you. And you never did anything to hurt me. A little blood was what you needed, and I don't regret giving it to you. But you were hurt, and needing help. Those Level E's are incapable of being anything more than their impulses. That is what makes them Level E. And that's what makes you, you." Yuuki beams back at Zero. "You're not a Level E, or a Vampire, or a Human, or a monster, or anything. You're Zero. You're my brother. Just like I'm Yuuki. Just like Chairman Cross is my father. You see?" "It doesn't matter WHAT we are... It matters who we are. Who we let ourselves become. Don't you see, Zero?"
Zero Kiryu	Through all of this, Zero really intensely just wants to be angry and resentful and self-loathing to the extreme. He glowers at Yuuki, criticizing his personal habits and tendency to just not care about himself. A tiny part of him drifts back towards one of their days out in town, when a Level E recognized him as an 'ally'. Another lost soul drifts to mind, calmly relieved that even though he's going to die, at least he doesn't have to kill anymore. It's not like they wanted to do the things that they were doing. Even just beneath the surface, that man didn't really want to eat all those girls. But he had no choice. In that one moment of weakness, Zero had no more choice to not attack Yuuki than those people did. So why does she think he's so different? Because he managed to avoid his fate, probably. It's a reasonably perspective, realy. But... "You are a useless, troublesome girl." He gripes, glaring at her good-naturedly. This is not a sincere complaint. This is more like it was way back in their days as prefects together. Zero reaches over and pulls his ice chest open, draining a blood bag into the mug that he's currently drinking from, courtesy of Yuuki. Zero glares sulkily at her as he sips at the resulting mixture. "You just can't... stand to let me have my easy answers, can you."
Yuuki Kuran	"Useless and troublesome..." She repeats, gesturing at the ice chest besides Zero lightly and staring at the lock very intently, as it slowly, wobbilingly unlatches, which she gives a quiet 'yessss' to, before reaching over Zero for another blood pack, rifling through the pile until she found something she liked - possibly just from sight - before pulling another straw out and jamming it in the pack like a red capri sun and leaning back, sweeping the ice chest closed with a gesture. "It really is easier to control my powers when I'm not /starving/ all the time." She grins, before taking a few long sips and sighing happily. "It may not be exactly what you want, but it's filling, and sustaining, and it takes all the worst parts of the edge off. It's not so bad, really. Plus, I'm not making more vampires trying to sate myself. So I'm... making a choice. I'm meeting what I want, and what I am, somewhere near the halfway point." "So if I'm doing that, like heck I'm going to let a huge idiot jerk like you have your 'easy answers', ay-kay-ay, starve like an idiot and be a huge jerk, your modus operandi!" She laughs, though she leans back in her chair sipping at her capri blood with lightly-lidded eyes and watching Zero finally give in. To Yuuki, who desired the blood of Zero, being in his company and seeing him allow himself to live and not suffer was almost as sweet as drinking his blood. She could just... almost imagine the blood she sipped was his, and even though she wasn't... The innocent fantasy of the monster, the Pureblood Princess Kuran Yuuki, made her happy all the same.
Zero Kiryu	"Hmph." Zero isn't good at communication so instead of just straight up telling Yuuki that he refuses to drink from her partially because he knows she hasn't had much either, he just makes a vaguely indignant noise. His expression doesn't match the noise he's making, though. He's smiling just the tiniest bit, which is really more of a smirk, but it's also more than anybody can usually manage to get out of him. Maybe that blood she gave him was a little bit infectious. Or maybe it's Yuuki herself that is the infectious one. He tilts his mug towards Yuuki in gesture, "If you're going to insist that I drink blood regularly, then you're obligated to drink at crucial times as well. It's not acceptable for you to go without drinking blood when we are entering the battlefield. It's safe to take mine in those circumstances." Yes, he is implying that she can just bite him in public if she needs to. This is doubtless too embarassing to consider. "Oh..." He stares at her flatly, "And pay attention to battlefield conditions before you make assumptions. Do I need to teach you how to screw your head on straight in a fight?" It's hard to say whether that's a real question or playful banter.
Yuuki Kuran	That smile that he gives, the little smirk that he allows to slip past his defenses... That makes the entire night worth it. "Hmph is right. Now you 'hmph' your way through those blood packs, and then I'll get Aido to work out /regular deliveries/ to your apartment. Discrete ones! Maybe get a second fridge for your apartment, too, so we can get normal food at the grocery store..." She goes, off on a little tangent as she pulls out her phone and starts thumbtyping. "Well, if I stay topped off, and we have blood tablets for walking around and snacks and stuff..." She shrugs. "I don't really see how we'll need it. A little bit of blood won't fix anything. Staying /fed/ will fix both of our problems. Now, normally, it'd be totally mind-boggling for us to do this just with our world, but... we're members of the Union, too. So there's not really any taboos or crazy vampire conspiracies to steal all the best blood for themselves. Just... us." She beams once more, her smile practically radiant, as the walls slowly shift from nighttime to daytime. She stands up, holding her bloodbag strawdrink carefully cupped in one hand. "You finish that, and then get a little sleep, and we'll both be better about starving ourselves, okay? I'm going to trust you, too... To actually give yourself what you need. And finish that! Someone bled so you can eat. And once you get released..." She tosses the small black plastic container of Vam-pez out onto his chest. "You can munch those until you get back. Only one or two, though, okay? And I'll get Aido to get stuff for a big feast! And then..." She smiles, warmly, her brilliant mood dimming down to a content happiness. "Then I guess you can start teaching me how to really fight. Gym class and self-defense lessons really don't cut it against vampires and witches and..." She shrugs. "You know. We'll help each other."
Zero Kiryu	Once again, Zero lapses into a sulky silence. He's actually draining that blood out of this cup pretty fast now, and avoiding Yuuki's gaze. At least, until Yuuki tosses him his pills and makes some unreasonable demands of him. He looks at the pills, and then back at Yuuki... and he shakes his head. The blood gets set aside temporarily, the pills opened up. He removes two of them, places them on his tray, and then closes it back up and tosses it at Yuuki. At first it seems like he's got nothing else to say, but as he draws the sheets up and settles in to rest properly he mutters: "I'm not that trustworthy." Zero would chew through that packet in a couple of hours, tops. As he shuts his eyes, an image swims up a time that's not so long past. He's speaking with Chairman Cross, and just sat down to chug down a third of a bottle of that crap. The phantom sensation of the taste causes him to make a funny face. Ordinarily it wouldn't, but he's just been drinking the... well, half-decent stuff at least. Those blood tablets are nasty. And, just like that, Zero drifts off to sleep. His sleep doesn't seem quite peaceful, but it doesn't seem nightmarish either. He doesn't stirr himself from it, but he does... mutter, and shift about more than is normal for a person.