OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!
*hyperventilates while running around the room in circles before she finally runs out of breath and energy and collapses into her chair*omg!!
*whispers now, horse from squeeing*The fantabulous Sagakure's done it again, she's completed the scanlation of Vampire Knight Chapter 48! And it's a simply delightful chapter!
Read Vampire Knight Chapter 48 on SGK's LJA huge thank you to her for doing the awesome scans and translation!
SPOILERS AHEAD_____________________________________________
This chapter was sheer delight all the way through. Especially for Kaname, Kain or Ruka fans. It's kind of told from Kain's POV, which is cool because we don't usually get to see much into his head. Aido and Ruka wear their emotions more openly, but Kain's always been the quiet, unreadable one, so it was really interesting to see things through his eyes.
I tend to go for Aido, because he's such a cute, flamboyant, wonderfully earnest occasional idiot. :D But I really have to like Kain's personality too. In a way, I probably have the most in common with him of anyone in VK. He's the quiet one who tags along with what everyone else wants to do, gets in trouble for all of Aido's messes, is loyal to those he cares about and supports the causes of those he loves.
It was interesting to see confirmed what I always kind of suspected - Kain is loyal to Kaname, yes, but he is tied to him strongly really only because Ruka and Aido are so fanatically loyal, and Kain is loyal to them... especially Ruka. :)
Ruka is another person I just have to LOVE in this chapter. I didn't care for her much in the beginning, not that I didn't like her, but I just didn't think much of anything about her. But the past few chapters I've grown quite fond of her and this chapter makes me adore her. :)
I really have to marvel at the way Ms. Hino has developed so many 3-Dimensional characters that have slowly evolved into complex personalities all their own that we can love and adore in their own rights. I mean, yes, for me the series will always be about Kaname and Zero... oh, right, and Yuki! (
LOL) but it wouldn't be nearly so rich or captivating without all the other characters. It's not at all easy to write an ensemble story and give everyone an engaging part, so I really respect the way Ms. Hino does that.
*applauds*And my very favoritest part of this chapter... of course, was Kaname. :) It was really wonderful to get to see him through time in the different flashbacks, and my heart just goes out to him so much.
*wants to huggle him so badly* The flashbacks were great. I LOVE that we got to see different perspectives / parts of so many scenes we've already seen, including the sand box scene, the party/soiree, and the Kaname drinking from Ruka scene. It occurs to me now that the first two of those, we actually only saw from Aido's perspective when he was remembering them. So it's cool to see them from Kain's now too.
The Sandbox: LOL! Okay, totally doesn't surprise me that Ruka knocked Aido flat for what he said! :D Highly amusing that she was defending Kaname before he was, and that Aido apparently has been a slap-magnet from an early age. ;) Kaname was so cute and lovely there, I really wanted to cry for how lonely he sounded, and how happy he was at the thought they'd let him play with them.
Right there, in that little scene, I think you have a microcosm of Kaname's whole life as a pureblood. Whether people love him or hate him, he's always forced to be apart from them. Even Ruka didn't think he should dirty himself by playing with them, meant in the very best of ways of course, but still... it's got to be so lonely. Bless Kain for being the even-headed one who invited him. :) Of course, the the fact that Kaname then started to apparently flash back to something else (probably to do with the ancestor thing) made me want to cry some more and make it all better. You know, I really wonder who that guy with Kaname was? A body guard / babysitter, probably... but it can't be coincidental that he took Kaname away when Kaname started having those 'nostalgic' feelings.
LOL I have to note that it was cute earlier, that Aido's the one who used the word "love" even if he was being petulant about it, but as Ruka pointed out, he's the one that said it... ;D
The Soiree: We've seen Aido and Kaname's interaction at the party after Kaname's parents had died, now we get to see Ruka and Kain's! WOW. Okay. I just LOVED Kaname throughout this. He was such a beautifully compelling picture of contained angst. I loved the way he was sitting in the window, something about that pose just does things for me...
*spaces out*. I liked how he asked them to just stay near him a little bit. The way he was popping blood tablets like a junkie was so... wow... it just added this great, desperate edge to his despondency that really tugged at my heart. Kaname touching his mouth or licking his fingers is always a plus too...
*cough*Kain's line about how Kaname didn't have to take the pills, because "they" (obviously meaning the council) had prepared
sacrifices for him to help with his greif was really interesting for several reasons. For one thing, I adore that Kaname was downing the pills so desperately for precicely that reason - because he didn't want to risk killing someone by losing control once he had his fangs in them.
(ah, Kaname-sama... so kind and conscientious, even at that age and with everything he was going through...). For another thing, it confirms the notion I've had for a while that drinking blood isn't
just about food for vampires, they also derive a certain kind of comfort and pleasure from it - hence why they might expect Kaname to want/need more blood while he was greiving. The thought that severe emotional upset could bring on blood lust or intense hunger even without any other contributing factors gives me SO many plot bunnies. :D
The glimpse that whole little bit gives to vampire culture is also very interesting, such as the use of the word 'sacrifices'. As in, I'm assuming, it was more or less expected, or at least okay, if Kaname had killed them. Also the revelation that they were human, which seemed to surprise Kain very mildly. Here again, was an interesting revelation - that the council could and possibly did force Kaname to turn humans for them. I find that very interesting. I had always actually somewhat assumed that Kaname had never turned anyone, because of how against it he seemed to be. But the possiblity now that he has been obliged to do so for others' purposes, gives an even more angsty weight to his words when he said (in relation to Zero) how ex-humans should not be made. Can you imagine them forcing him to take that responsiblity, when he was still just a kid like that, and all messed up inside after Haruka and Juri's deaths and all? And Kaname obviously had to play along with just about whatever they wanted, as he even said, to keep the council thinking he was compliant with their schemes... for the time being.
*shakes head*I actually really liked the part right after too, when Kaname goes to leave, and he poses that kind of cold, almost threatening question to them, much like he did to Aido. In part I think he was testing them and in part I'm drawn to the conflict it shows within him, that he can't afford to be open with anyone, that that hell he's in... he is stuck in all alone. The fact that he calls himself a liar and an untrustworthy person is very telling. To me, it makes me think that he kind of hates what he has to become, the kind of games he knows he's going to have to play in order to survive in the sea of sharks in which he lives....
Okay, I will stop analyzing every little nuance, but I really liked that scene, it may have been breif, but there was so much packed into it that it gives a lot to think about.
Kaname drinking from Ruka: Okay, this was awesome. It was so neat getting to see more than just mostly Yuki's POV on this. It's actually infinately sweeter and sadder and I love the way they tied it together, from Ruka wishing she could have given Kaname her blood back at the party, to finally getting the chance to do so in that instance.
The way the scenes tie together, makes one suspect that way back at the party Kaname was partially suffering from wanting Yuki's blood too, in addition to not eating and whatever else may have been wrong.
It was really cute that Ruka actually seemed pretty anxious to get Yuki out of Kaname's room, but not for the reasons one might expect. Kaname's attention was obviously fixed almost obessively on Yuki, and the way he was talking was at the same time very sweet
(especially for those of us who know the truth now - oh my gosh, how cute was the baby chick references?!), but also very intense. The fact that Ruka was kind of wanting to protect Yuki, and in larger part, protect Kaname from doing something she feared he'd regret, is just lovely.
It was surprising and cool that Kaname almost did lose it and bite Yuki right then (although he may or may not have pulled back again, as he had done before) and I think I may have audibly gasped when Ruka actually physically yanked him back. O.O That was VERY gutsy of her to lay hands on him like that, or stop him from doing something, and it shows how much she cared that she would take that risk because she feared he wasn't in control and might spoil something he had worked for for so long. :) Gotta love Kaname too for not reacting to what she did negatively, even given the state he was obviously in.
We always knew that Ruka was obviously quite a willing donor in that senario, but it makes it even more sweet and sad that she's the one that offered, that she asked Kaname to take her blood. Who initiated it was a point which had never been clear before, so that was interesting. Kaname had to be doing pretty badly to accept as he did, and you can't help feeling sorry for him, for Ruka and for Kain, who was apparently standing outside the whole time. The expression on his face when he must have smelled Ruka's blood and understand what was happening within... *suddenly feels the urge to hug Kain too*
The part when Kain goes in, after seeing Yuki rushing out of there, and finds Kaname holding Ruka's unconcious body is also very angsty all around. Obviously, you have to respect Kain's control and acceptance, the fact that even though he had every reason to be jealous and protective, I think he really did realize that Kaname didn't want to hurt Ruka. The somewhat lost look on Kaname's face and the way he admits he did something unfair to Ruka is also heartbreaking. I really respect Kain for telling him that no, this was what Ruka had wanted, and also for loving her enough that he was not afraid to tell Kaname that if in the future he hurt her, Kain would not forgive him.
And Kaname... ah, dear Kaname, of course tells him that that's okay. It's okay if Kain did not forgive him in that case... unspoken, I think we know Kaname wouldn't forgive himself either.
The way everything wraps up is great too, with Ruka, Aido and Kain (mostly the first two LOL) confirming that as soon as they've touched base with their families, they're off to try and find Kaname and Yuki. :) Kain wonders more or less if he'll ever have the strength to walk his own path, but I hope that someday he'll realize that he is very strong, and he does walk his own path - being true to those he loves - even when it's not easy. :)
Awesome, AWESOME chapter! And oh yes! I forget to mention it, but the bit in the beginning with Aido's dad was cool too. :) As was Ruka giving Aido a hard time in the beginning for not catching Seiren so they knew where Kaname was going. ;D
Labels: chapter 48, vampire knight chapter 48, vampire knight chapter 48 scanlation, vampire knight chapter 48 translation, vampire knight manga chapter 48
