The Cure
Chapter 9
When Zero woke, his eyes were bloodshot. Nausea overwhelmed him and he stumbled out of bed to the toilet, retching due to the incompatible combination of alcohol and the blood tablets he’d consumed the night before.
Last night’s events had been a bit of a blur; He wasn’t completely certain if Yuki had been there, or if he had dreamed up her being there. Something told him, perhaps the facts that his gun had been left on the floor, that it wasn’t a dream. He struggled to remember what happened, but… he couldn’t recall but bits and pieces. He retrieved Bloody Rose and mentally cursed and vowed to never drink again. He felt like shit. There was a stuffy sort of pressure throbbing against his skull and it made his senses feel a bit off. Zero brushed his teeth and showered, exiting the bathroom and placed his gun on the table to rummage through his bag, his hair still dripping.
Suddenly there was a cold blade pressed to his throat. He stiffened, an aggravated scowl instantly appearing on his hard features.
“Hey handsome,” a feminine voice whispered into his ear over his shoulder, sending shivers down his spine. Zero instantly recognized the voice as the red-haired woman from the bar. “Remember me?” Come to think of it, he’d never bothered to ask her name. Or if he had, he couldn’t remember. “Of course you do,” she answered for him before he had much chance to respond. “Come on,” she ordered as she guided him at knifepoint to the chair, “Sit.”
He reluctantly did as he was told. She began to tie him up tight, with practiced skill.
“Are you with the Association?” he had come to the conclusion that she was playing him all along, trying to get closer and wait for the right opportunity to strike. It worked, seeing as he never suspected her of being a hunter.
She snickered in amusement. “It’s nothing personal, sweetheart. I’m a bounty hunter; a girl’s gotta make a living. Just be a good bloodsucker so I don’t have to kill you, m’kay? Someone from the Association will be here for you soon enough.”
When she was finished with his bindings, she stood and leisurely walked around to stand in front of him. She knelt down to eye level. He had his usual scowl while her eyes had a smirk to match her lips.
She pinched his cheek fondly like a grandmother would do to a child. “It really is a shame though, I really did like you.” She teased and then thrust a flyer in front of his face with his picture on it. It said, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’ in bold lettering as the title and described him as ‘very dangerous.’
“But I asked all those questions because I had to be sure this was you, ‘Zero Kiryuu.’” She emphasized his name as it was written on the wanted poster. “I’d recognize a handsome face like yours anywhere even if it is hidden behind a mask, but… The hair was what really gave you away.” She was referring to the unusual color. She ruffled his silvery locks playfully until it was a tangled mess and stopped and pondered a moment, lowering the paper and chuckling to herself a little. “In case you weren’t aware, I drugged you too.” She confessed as if gloating, “How else was I going to get all that information out of you? You were so suspicious of the bartender, you never even suspected me. I originally meant to capture you while you were under the influence of the drugs, but there was a woman here with you and that put a little kink in my plan. And I thought you said you didn’t have a girlfriend.” She mocked, “No matter though, it worked out in the end.”
He didn’t say anything, only kept up his murderous glare. He was nearly out of his bindings already, using a small file-like blade kept up his sleeve. She was pretty good, but he was specifically equipped and trained on how to get out of situations like this. They probably should have mentioned that on his poster.
She was much too busy examining his belongings and the décor, chatting nonchalantly to notice his bindings loosen from him and fall to the floor. She eventually turned and gasped that he was unexpectedly behind her, stumbling backward a little. She swung at him with her knife but he caught her hand and twisted it, forcing her to drop it. He then moved to strike her with the blunt end of his gun in attempt to knock her out, but she twisted out of his grasp and evaded him. The frantic, clumsy dodge she attempted dumped over the stuff on the table and knocked over a lamp with a loud crash.
She narrowly escaped but his leg scooped under her feet and tripped her in the process of fleeing. It would have been a lot easier to kill her, but she wasn’t a vampire or even an evil person for that matter and therefore his morals wouldn’t allow it. So he forced himself to play nice.
The woman fell and landed beside the rope he’d left discarded on the floor. She snatched it up and scrambled to her feet before he could reach her.
There was a knock at the door and Zero turned, momentarily distracted. It was probably a hunter or hunters from the Association. Today obviously was not his day, he decided. The bounty hunter took advantage of the disturbance to get the rope around his neck, squeezing tightly.
Zero struggled, thrusting himself backward, smashing her between his back and the wall to free himself multiple times. She still hung on, the rope chaffing as she tightened it even further, cutting into his neck. He was starting to feel lightheaded. He fell to his knees. He didn’t want to hurt her, but… he was beginning to think he didn’t have a choice.
He ruthlessly threw her off of him and over his shoulder. He coughed and rubbed his neck in relief. Recovering, he vaguely heard the door burst open and he realized with dread that he’d now have multiple, much more skilled opponents to defeat. He heard the bounty hunter get up but then cry out in pain and crumple back to the floor.
Zero aimed his gun as the new intruder as they approached him through blurred vision. They heard the click of Zero’s safety and Ayame gasped. “Please don’t shoot!” She shouted.
He stared up in confusion, his mind registering that it was Ayame hovering over him. Releasing the trigger, Zero lowered his gun in relief. “Ayame?” he questioned. “What the hell are you doing here?” She held out her hand to help him up. He accepted it, still massaging the tender flesh of his rope-burned throat with his other hand.
“I uh, well…” she stammered nervously, “I kinda, sorta, put a tap on my father’s phone. When this woman called to turn you in, I heard your location and decided to come to your rescue. You should hurry though, others are on their way here for you too.” She braced herself for his reaction, fearing that he may be angry at her for getting involved but he seemed to look more apprehensive than anything.
“How’d you get a tap on the phones without getting caught? What if-”
“You clearly underestimate me, Zero.” Ayame interrupted, smugly. “He’s my father, so I guess I just have an advantage. Their only other lead was Kaien Cross; They know you were there, despite your father and that pureblood lying for you, by the way. They’ve set up watch there.” She explained.
Zero exhaled, wondering how she knew so much. “You hear that over your father’s tapped phone too?” he asked a little sarcastically.
“No, but I have ways of finding things out. It’s easy when your father is head of the Association.” She told him. “Speaking of,” she started, pulling a worn, folded paper out of her pocket and opened it before handing it over to Zero.
He accepted it, looking it over skeptically before it registered in his head what he was looking at… It was a map. There was a path outlined in red and a location circled.
“That map… will lead you to the only remaining pureblood with the ability to revert you back to a human. Although such information is usually restricted, the Association has maps and records of every pureblood with unique and rare abilities, but… It seems that for this particular power, this may very well be the only one left.”
He was admittedly grateful and amazed that she got her hands on something like that for him. That map would be exceptionally useful; He now had a much more clear and set destination of where he was going. Still, she was risking a lot to help him and he hadn’t asked her to. He didn’t want it on his conscience if something bad happened to her.
“T-thanks,” he rasped, swallowing. He still forced himself thank her with a bit of effort. He turned back to the redhaired bounty hunter, sprawled unconscious on the floor. He looked a little concerned.
“Don’t worry, I only tasered her. She’ll wake up soon.”
He nodded in acknowledgement, but was distracted by a sudden thought. “How did you know that I was-“
“Looking for a pureblood to cure you?” Ayame finished his question for him. “I saw all the books you checked out from the library and all the stuff you had highlighted. Hope you don’t mind, I stole them from your apartment and hid them before they properly searched your place so the others wouldn’t catch on.” She could tell he was impressed. Speechless, even. “Any more questions for me?” she asked as if it were a challenge.
Zero returned his attention back to the worn, yellowed paper in his hand. He stared at the map, as if to memorize it in case something happened to it. After a moment, he looked back at Ayame, folding the map back up and tucking it away. “You beat the Association here and risked your life just to give me this…”
Ayame blushed. “I want to help you, Zero. I have connections, you know. I can keep track of the Association’s movement and plans and… I can report back to you what they know and anything else that I find out.”
Zero considered her offer, running a hand through his hair and sighing. “It’s too dangerous, Ayame. You’ve already done more than enough.” He replied. “You could get us both killed if they find out you’re helping me.”
Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. “I thought you might say that.” Ayame looked back up at him with determination. “Please trust me with this, Zero!” she begged. “You never let me help you, but if you just give me a chance…”
Zero sighed and massaged his temples, trying to ease the headache forming there.
“No, Ayame. And that’s final.” His voice was firm, “You shouldn’t let them find you here either.”
He didn’t leave room for further discussion and she hung her head. “Don’t worry, I’m gone.” She assured him but then hesitated, looking unsure of herself.
Before he could ask what was wrong, she abruptly threw her arms around him in a tight hug, nearly knocking him over. He stood starkly tense, obviously uncomfortable. He initially seemed as if he didn’t know what to do with himself but after a few long moments, she felt one of his arms return the embrace.
He soon awkwardly used the same arm to pry her from him, avoiding eye contact. “You should hurry. I’ll be out of here soon after.”
Ayame nodded and reluctantly left him, exiting and slipping out through the balcony, just in case there were hunters to confront her if she exited the same way she came. She turned back over her shoulder to watch him stealthily climb down from the balcony, similarly to the way she had. He kept to the shadows and snuck around the back way to where the horses were kept to retrieve a solid white one. She watched him climb up and then disappear, staring after him longingly.
Seconds later, the sound of a car quickly approaching brought her out of her daze. A black Association vehicle screeched to a halt in front of the tavern and kicked up a lot of dust as it did so. Three hunters immediately emerged, one of them barking orders. They split up and the two men went inside while the female began to walk around the side of the building towards her. She avoided the other hunter before she was seen, slinking away and into the nearest alley. When Ayame was at a safe distance and unlikely to be detected, she took her time heading back to the Association, letting her thoughts take over her mind. Though she was disappointed she couldn’t stay with Zero longer, she was only happy that she could help and see him again. Despite his warnings, she wanted to keep helping him in any way possible… Even if it cost her life.