Vampire Knight Fan Fiction ❯ For You-repost #2 ❯ Chapter 4
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Dolphin_26 
Aido can't make sense of Ruka, while Yori makes a surprising request of Zero.
Anime/Manga: Vampire Knight Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Shounen | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 11.01.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 797 | Status: Work In Progress
Aido can't make sense of Ruka, while Yori makes a surprising request of Zero.
Anime/Manga: Vampire Knight Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Shounen | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 11.01.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 797 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Vampire Knight and make no claim otherwise. VK belongs to Matsuri Hino.
Author’s Note: Minor changes made only.
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Hanabusa looked like he was ready to tear his hair out by the roots. He paced the length and width of his and Akatsuki’s room in extreme agitation; said cousin still hadn’t returned from the meeting with Kaname-sama. It was so odd to be the one in this position, and he didn’t like it one bit. Now I know how Akatsuki feels whenever I do something stupid. The palms of his hands actually hurt from where he kept digging his nails into them when he clenched his fists. A small detached part of his brain dimly wondered why he wasn’t smelling blood. The blonde noble felt exhausted. So many things were happening so quickly: Kaname-sama’s strange behavior, Akatsuki falling for Zero, Zero returning his cousin’s feelings, learning Zero was an ex-human, and Ruka was acting oddly. Speaking of said female noble, Hanabusa looked over to his bed.
Ruka sat on his bed with her legs tucked underneath her while she read a book. To make things even stranger, they weren’t fighting! She seemed perfectly content to stay where she was for the rest of the night. He and Akatsuki had been friends with her since they were young children, but this was the first time ever that Ruka ever spent time alone with him willingly. She and Akatsuki always got along well with each other; however, the older they got the more strained the relationship between her and Hanabusa became. Their friendship started to crumble after they first met Kaname-sama and began fighting for his attention.
She looked up from her book and smiled softly, “Akatsuki’s going to be just fine. Though, I doubt he’ll be happy if you wear a trench through the floor with all of your pacing.”
Hanabusa resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her. He didn’t know what had gotten into her, but he wasn’t about to upset whatever peace existed between them right now. “I just wish he’d hurry up and get back. Things have been too weird lately.” Without realizing he was doing it, he started to pace again but stopped when Ruka tossed one of his pillows at him. Instead of retaliating Hanabusa just fell backwards onto his cousin’s bed holding tightly to the large, soft pillow.
“You mean with Akatsuki falling for Zero, Kaname-sama wanting both of them, and how he acted last night when he pounded on your door.”
Hanabusa sat up straight staring at her. “What do you mean Kaname-sama wants both of them?” He wants both of them, since when? Where have I been that I missed this?
Ruka looked at him surprised as she pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. “You didn’t know?” When he didn’t answer she continued, “He’s always watching them. I know you’ve noticed how Kaname-sama keeps invading Akatsuki’s personal space and the looks that last a little too long. What you apparently haven’t seen is that he does the exact same thing with Zero. You seriously can’t tell me you’ve never noticed how much Kaname-sama seems to enjoy their verbal sparring?”
Now I really feel like a moron. He truthfully never once caught any of things; or if he did, Hanabusa brushed it off as something else. “Wait, what about Yuki?”
Ruka shook her head. “Kaname-sama treats her like a sister; he’s got her on a pedestal. I think he does care for her just not romantically like everyone assumes. I also think that he gets close to her just to attract Zero’s attention.” She quickly guessed his next question. “Zero treats her like an annoying, yet lovable little sister.”
The ice manipulator fell onto his back, staring at the ceiling while he digested his companion’s words. I hate to admit it, but everything she’s said makes perfect sense. “How the hell do you know all of this?”
“Women’s intuition.”
Further conversation was disrupted by the sudden opening of the bedroom door admitting one of the four people they’d been talking about. Hanabusa jerked up into a sitting position to start interrogating his cousin, but the look on Akatsuki’s face stopped him. Blonde eyebrows rose in surprise at the look of shock on the flame wielder’s face. To anyone else Akatsuki looked completely normal; Hanabusa and Ruka knew better. Blue eyes darted over to Ruka who returned his look and nodded. Akatsuki kicked his shoes off at the door before making his way to his bed and collapsing on it beside the blonde. The worry that had been plaguing the blonde skyrocketed when his cousin made no move to push him off. Sharing another look with Ruka, the blonde began poking his cousin’s side. It was an old, odd habit Hanabusa developed when they were kids. Akatsuki was always so quiet, rarely talking about what was running through his mind. Normally the blonde respected his cousin’s privacy. However, when something happened to make the quiet vampire act like this then Hanabusa refused to let Akatsuki deal with it on his own.
The first time something like this happened Hanabusa had been absolutely terrified because the person in front of him was not his cousin. The blue eyed noble didn’t remember what caused the reaction. What he did remember was how Akatsuki had lain on his bed unmoving for several hours not making a sound or responding to anything outside of his mind. He didn’t understand why no one was doing anything to help his cousin. Later, he would learn that no one else knew about these episodes. Right then, though, Hanabusa was frantic to pull Akatsuki back from inside his mind. Begging and yelling didn’t work, so finally the small blonde sat beside his cousin and began poking the unresponsive boy in the side. He sat there for what seemed like hours. Whether it was irritation, pain, or something else Hanabusa never knew; but Akatsuki suddenly sat up, hugged him, and finally told him what was wrong.
This time Hanabusa hoped it wouldn’t take hours to get Akatsuki to respond. He completely ignored Ruka, who wasn’t saying anything, instead focusing on his cousin. I wonder what Kaname-sama wanted with him. Sure he’s been punished along with me whenever I’ve done something stupid, but Akatsuki’s never done anything to get punished on his own. I hope he didn’t get into trouble for taking care of his mate. If Ruka’s right, then Kaname-sama wouldn’t punish him for that. I don’t see any visible marks.
Akatsuki suddenly groaned before turning his head so that Hanabusa could now see his face. The blonde asked quietly: “Are you okay?” He stopped poking the other’s side now that he somewhat had his attention.
The quiet vampire smiled weakly in reassurance, “I’m fine.” His slightly unfocused eyes drifted back down to the blankets on his bed. Suddenly the sunset eyes looked up at the blonde regaining their focus. “They’re going to be the death of me,” he mumbled.
“Who?” Ruka spoke for the first time since Akatsuki entered the room.
Akatsuki mumbled his answer into the bedding just loud enough for them to hear. “Kaname-sama and Zero.”
Out of nowhere Hanabusa began laughing. Akatsuki really does know how to pick them.
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Meanwhile, Yuki was walking/running down the hallway to her first class of the morning. I am soooo late! Why didn’t Yori wake me up sooner?! The brunette knew she wasn’t being fair to her best friend because the other girl had tried for a good hour and a half to wake her up. Thankfully there was no one in the hallway to see her as she dashed by praying that her teacher would be lenient with her. In her haste, she almost ran right by her class. After stumbling to a halt and catching her breath, Yuki gingerly pushed open the door and poked her head in the room.
“Come on in, Cross-san.” The teacher said in patient resignation.
Yuki felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment as she walked to her seat beside Yori. Geez, even Zero is here already. For once Yori didn’t give her a sympathetic look, but Yuki was to out of it to notice. The teacher waited until she sat down before resuming the interrupted lecture. Yuki could’ve cared less what it was about; the room was warm, her eyes were all ready closed, and her head fell to her arms. Within seconds she was sleeping soundly. She began dreaming of ways to catch Zero and Kain-senpai in heated moments in photos or on film. As her dream self ran through the various scenarios, her dream took on a different focus. Slowly her dream shifted from her adopted brother and the flame wielding noble to her and Kaname. In her dream they went on various dates ranging from cute to romantic. They always held hands, walked close together, and at the end of every date Kaname would hold her close whispering how much he loved her.
BANG!!
The sudden noise right in front of her rudely woke her up making her body jerk into a sitting position. We were just about to kiss…Yuki felt her cheeks burn. The embarrassment ran away when she noticed that Zero was standing right in front of her glaring at her. Off to Yuki’s side Yori recovered from her own shock and was now giggling at the surprise written on the brunette’s face.
“Zero, you jerk! What was that for?!” Yuki yelled at him. She cringed when his glare intensified.
“You can sleep through math class, then. Just don’t come to me wanting help when you don’t understand the homework.” He turned his back to them and walked out of the classroom.
Yuki groaned as she realized she didn’t even know what the teacher had lectured on. With a hopeful look on her face, the guardian turned to Yori. “W…” Yori didn’t give her the chance to ask.
“Not this time, Yuki. I’m gonna need my notes for my own homework.” Yori gave her a sympathetic look before turning and making her way out of the classroom.
Yuki scrambled to catch up muttering about her fellow guardian. “I don’t see how he can be the top of the class when he sleeps even more then I do,” she grumbled.
“Well for one thing, he does his homework instead of daydreaming about Night class students.” Yori responded. When she saw the stubborn look on Yuki’s face she continued: “For your information Zero didn’t sleep through class today. He was wide awake the entire time, and even helped me with my notes. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself for your bad grades, Yuki.”
Yuki looked at her best friend in concern. This was the first time Yori had ever talked to her so sharply. Normally the short haired girl was sympathetic and willing to help Yuki out. “Is everything all right?”
Yori stopped right in the doorway to give her an unreadable look. “I’m just fine.” She turned and walked into the classroom before Yuki had the chance to question her any further.
Geez, first Zero’s been acting oddly and now something is off with Yori. She shook her head before squeaking when she realized that she was still blocking the doorway. At least Kaname-sama is still the same. Thinking of the brunette vampire made her blush. I can’t wait to see him tonight.
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How he made it through the day without falling asleep Zero didn’t know. That’s a lie and you know it. He thought as he walked back to the Sun dorm. I’m too keyed up from last night’s talk with Kur-Kaname and this morning’s talk with Akatsuki. I’m going to have to get used to calling Kaname by his first name. He’ll enjoy reminding me every time I slip up. All of his teachers were certainly impressed; though his alertness made Yuki’s sleepiness look even worse than normal. Class changeover should be very interesting tonight. I wonder why…
“Kiryu-kun.”
Zero’s thoughts were interrupted by none other than Yori. “Yes?” It was odd to see the short haired girl standing beside him without Yuki at her side; however, he realized that he hadn’t seen the two of them together in quite some time.
Yori had spent enough time around him to not be put off by his bluntness. “I was wondering if you could possibly introduce me to someone.”
The girl now had one hundred percent of his attention. “Who exactly do you want to meet, and why are you asking me?” This was the first time she’d ever asked him for help with anything other than the occasional homework assignment. Yori was a very smart girl, and as far as he was concerned the only sane female at the academy. Under his gaze she actually fidgeted a little.
“Could you possibly introduce me to Toya-senpai?” She was avoiding looking at him.
“Toya of the Night class?” He didn’t show the surprise he felt at being asked this by her. Yori was probably the only female on campus who didn’t have a crush on one of the Night class males. Yuki once mentioned that Yori was slightly afraid of them.
“Yes.” She finally looked him in the eyes. “First, I’m asking you because you’ll take me seriously. Second, I just want a chance to talk to her without the rest of the Night class students standing around over my shoulder.” She continued walking by his side to the dorms. “The Night class makes me uneasy, but Toya-senpai doesn’t give off the same feeling. She seems very lonely and isolated.”
They stopped walking a few feet away from the Sun dorm buildings. Zero looked at Yori assessing her and her words for a few minutes. “I won’t promise you anything,” he finally said. “However, I will mention the idea to her when I get the chance.”
Yori smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, all I wanted was at least for you to do that. I realize that there’s a high chance she’ll say no, but I had to ask.”
Zero scowled in irritation that was directed more towards him. Now I just have to find an opportunity to talk to Toya. He turned to enter the boys’ dorm when he heard Yori say one more time: “Kiryu-kun, I really am thankful.” He twisted his head to look over his shoulder acknowledging he’d heard her. “I’ll see what I can do and for crying out loud drop the formality and call me Zero.” He didn’t stay to watch her response. She’s as much a little sister as Yuki is. Why can’t life be simple for once? He asked himself that question every day. He glanced at the clock hanging on the lounge wall as he passed by. Only two more hours before class changeover.
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Akatsuki woke up after a night of restless tossing, turning, and little sleep. Sunset eyes stared upwards not really seeing anything. His ears picked up the sounds of Hanabusa getting ready for class. One of his hands reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. For the first time since they’d been at Cross Academy, his cousin actually got up before him. On a normal day, Akatsuki would have to hound the blonde for at least half an hour to get him out of bed. He forced himself to not remember the previous night’s events otherwise his mind would start racing in circles to comprehend what he’d gotten himself into. The flame wielder was a bit wary of stepping out of his room because Ruka was bound to be waiting to interrogate him. Hanabusa kicked her out of their room not long after Akatsuki was pulled out of his break from reality. The long haired girl protested the entire time his cousin was shoving her out the door. She even stood outside the door nearly yelling at them to let her back in. I think she’s spent way too much time with us. She’s going to need every bit of that spunk to handle Hanabusa.
Said blonde walked out of the bathroom still rubbing his head from where Akatsuki had hit him for laughing. “Good morning!” His greeting was followed by some sniggering.
“You want that lump to gain a twin?” He threatened as he finally got out of bed.
His cousin waved his hands shaking his head. “No, no, one’s enough. I won’t laugh again.”
Akatsuki snorted as he walked into the bathroom to take his shower. He didn’t believe for one second that Hanabusa would stop laughing his ass off about this. As he washed his hair, he wondered how he was supposed to treat the dorm president now. Do I pretend that nothing’s changed while we’re in public? He’d planned on saying a few words to Zero during the changeover, nothing overt. But how the hell do I interact with our gang leader? Once his hair was washed, he began washing his body. Stressing out like this isn’t like me. Since when do I worry this much over anything other than Hanabusa? He stepped under the spray of water to rinse off when it suddenly hit him that he was acting just like his cousin. Take a breath and relax. If the dorm president wants you to treat him any differently than normal in public, he’ll let you know. Stop over thinking this. I don’t have to worry about dealing with him privately until after class.
Flashback
Amusement flickered briefly in the burgundy eyes. “Or the two of you can just come to my room since the wards are all ready in place.”
Akatsuki stared. His mind raced to put things in place but was failing to do so. He’d entered the study somewhat prepared to deal with a jealous, violent pureblood not an amused pureblood.
“You sound like a perverted old man, Kaname.” A very familiar voice said from the doorway to the pureblood’s bedroom.
Akatsuki’s brain shut down. Zero? The guardian stood leaning against the doorway with a smirk on his face. The flame wielder looked back and forth between the two unable to process that the two were in the same room, not arguing, not threatening each other—and did Zero just tease the pureblood?
The brunette’s lips twitched with amusement clearly written all over his face. “You have to admit, Zero, he looks adorable when he’s stunned.”
Akatsuki was beginning to get frustrated, which was noticeable in his voice. “Do either of you care to explain to me what’s going on.” He felt the start of a headache and closed his eyes while rubbing the bridge of his nose. The flame wielder was tired of being out of synch. After the emotional rollercoaster he’d been on for the past several days, he just wasn’t in the mood to play games. If things kept going the way they were, the rest of the Night class as well as the Day class were going to see something they’d never thought possible: him losing control. The couch cushions dipped on his right as someone sat beside him. One of his eyes cracked open to find that Zero was the source of the body weight. “You’re pretty calm,” Akatsuki observed.
The guardian gave him a small smile. “What’s going on is that the three of us are a bunch of idiots. We’ve been so immersed in what’s right in front of us that we never noticed anything else.” He paused as his eyes drifted over to where the dorm president sat. Whatever he was about to say was obviously difficult for him to say. When his eyes moved back to Akatsuki, he began speaking again. “I’ve been attracted to you for quite awhile. I just never thought you could possibly return those feelings. At some point I also found myself interested in Kur-Kaname too; but I always pushed aside those feelings as byproducts of being enemies and rivals for so long. I thought everything had to do with Yuki. When you confronted me a couple of nights ago, I had to acknowledge what I was ignoring.”
It was the dorm president’s turn now to speak. “Akatsuki, you’ve had my attention ever since we were children. You’re the only one who ever treated me like a person. You’ve always treated me the same way. The only other person to do that was Takuma, and he’s like a brother.” His burgundy eyes were locked with sunset eyes trying to convey the truth behind the pureblood’s words. “I was always content to watch you.” His eyes shifted to Zero before moving back to the flame wielder. “There is one other person who caught my attention. I met someone else who could’ve cared less about what I was. However, there were so many misunderstandings between Zero and me that it never once crossed my mind that we could be anything more than opponents.” He stopped as if considering his next words carefully. “When you began watching Zero and he began watching you, I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t just sit back and observe. So while the rest of you were in class yesterday, I acted. I made Zero an offer because it was the only way I could think of getting him to gradually see me as anything more than an enemy. I never wanted you to think that I was angry with you.”
Akatsuki took a breath trying to relax his tense shoulders. He never suspected that he’d be having a conversation like this with these two males. Of course, a lot of things weren’t planned. “So a couple of nights ago when you pounded on my door, you were doing so because you were jealous?”
The dorm president had the grace to look away from embarrassment. Later Akatsuki would realize that Kaname was blushing. He didn’t say anything instead nodding. Akatsuki let his head fall against the back of the chair. He began talking out loud to try and help organize his thoughts. It was amazing how these two males could disrupt his mind like they did. “You like Zero. Zero likes you. The two of you like me, and I like the two of you. So I guess the only thing we can do is to try and make a relationship out of this mess.”
Because his eyes were closed he was surprised when the couch cushions shifted on his left. Judging from body heat, he was aware that the dorm president was now sitting very close to him. Shifting on his right side told him that Zero had moved closer.
End Flashback
I learned a very important lesson. Akatsuki thought as he dried off and dressed. Never, close my eyes when those two have me cornered unless I want to get molested. Not that I really minded, but next time I want to be able to fully participate not be paralyzed from surprise.
“Akatsuki, stop fantasizing about fucking those two and get your ass out here. We’re going to be late!”
The taller noble cursed under his breath making a silent promise to get his cousin back. I’m sure I’ve got plenty of embarrassing stories about him that Ruka’s never heard before.
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Zero stood on his side of the path like he did every evening silently daring the girls to put one foot past him. On the other side, Yuki was barely able to forcefully restrain her half of the Day class girls. For once, Yuki wouldn’t be able to yell at him over being late. The large group of girls sprinkled with a few guys was as loud as ever. Of all the things to never change, I’m starting to believe that it wouldn’t matter if these idiots knew the Night class was full of vampires or not. Oh, he knew that some of these psychos would run away the first chance they got. The rest, however, would probably offer themselves as food. Movement to his left caught his attention. It was that one girl he’d caught when she fell on St. Xocolatl’s Day. The difference was tonight she wasn’t eyeing the Moon dorm gates; she was eyeing…him? Shit. Can’t I get a break? The desire to bang his head against the gate was getting stronger by the second. Thankfully, he was saved by the sudden creaking of the dorm gate as it opened slowly. The rest of the insane mob rushed forward blocking him from that girl’s view.
“Get back or you’ll spend the next month in detention!” He actually barked out the command like some sort of drill sergeant. The mob froze in mid-step. I love my reputation. Yuki, on the other hand, was trampled by her side. “That goes for you too!” The other half of the mob froze. His fellow guardian managed to get back on her feet before the vampires walked out.
The mob didn’t try to get past him yet they continued on with screaming their adoration as the Night class began walking out. Zero kept his attention focused on everything but the white clad vampires that were about to cross his path. As usual Kur-Kaname walked at the head of the group followed by his inner circle. Whispers behind his back warned him that someone was about to invade his personal space. He looked to the left to once again see a girl, the one who was eyeing him earlier, try to get closer to him without making it obvious. Damn it! This was also the same girl who kept trying to ambush him at different times in the hallways. While he was keeping an eye on her, Zero could vaguely hear Yuki babbling something to Kur-Kaname.
Suddenly the girls around him went wild. The guardian jerked his eyes back to the Night class to find that Akatsuki and Aido were right in front of him. A glance behind them confirmed that Yuki was basically holding Kaname hostage. He retained the glare but his eyes softened a bit when they landed on the flame wielder. He started to greet them, but ended up glaring at a girl a few feet down the path because she was trying to edge her way closer to Ichijo. Once she noticed she was the focus of his glare, the girl scurried back into the throng.
“Ouch! Would you stop doing that?”
Zero turned back to the cousins to see Aido rubbing the back of his head as he mumbled something about being hit for the fifth time that night. “Good evening, Kain. Aido.” It was a much friendlier greeting especially when previously he ignored them.
Akatsuki stopped glaring at his cousin long enough to give Zero a warm look. “I wouldn’t do it if you stopped saying that.” He then turned back to the guardian with exasperation written on his handsome face. “Good evening, Zero.” The words were said softly enough that none of the Day class caught that he’d used the hunter’s first name. He looked like he wanted to say more but his cousin spoke up with his own greeting.
“Good evening, Kiryu-kun! The day class is really wound up tonight.”
Zero shrugged in response. “They’re about the same as always.” Akatsuki’s eyes shifted to his side and seemed to harden. The only ones to notice were Zero and Aido. Zero realized that the taller aristocrat’s eyes were on the girl who wouldn’t leave him alone. “Some are more annoying than others.” She finally seemed to get the hint and backed off, for now at least. Sunset eyes softened as they once again focused on him.
Kaname finally managed to extract himself from Yuki by saying “I would love to hear more; unfortunately, if we don’t get moving we’ll be late for class.” It wasn’t a lie. If the Night class didn’t get moving then they really would be late. Zero caught the pureblood’s eyes and nodded in greeting. Burgundy eyes warmed as Kaname returned the greeting with a quick nod of his own.
Sunset and amethyst locked together once more this time both clearly amused yet exasperated. Before the cousins could walk away Zero remembered Yori’s request. “Could you do me a favor?”
“What is it?” Akatsuki inquired. Aido snickered.
Zero turned the full force of his glare onto the blonde and growled, “Not that kind of favor!” Aido began quickly walking away. The guardian returned his attention to the taller vampire. “I need to ask Toya something for Yori. Can you let her know?”
Some surprise showed in the sunset eyes. “Sure. Isn’t Yori the short haired girl Yuki’s friends with?”
Zero nodded, “Yeah. They don’t seem to be getting along too well right now.”
A tiny smirk appeared on the aristocrat’s face. “See you at the next changeover.”
The silver haired guardian couldn’t stop the light blush that colored his pale cheeks. His ears picked out the sound of Akatsuki chuckling as he walked away.
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Ch 4 the End
I hope you’ve enjoyed this.
Converting /tmp/php1ufRLy to /dev/stdout
Author’s Note: Minor changes made only.
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Hanabusa looked like he was ready to tear his hair out by the roots. He paced the length and width of his and Akatsuki’s room in extreme agitation; said cousin still hadn’t returned from the meeting with Kaname-sama. It was so odd to be the one in this position, and he didn’t like it one bit. Now I know how Akatsuki feels whenever I do something stupid. The palms of his hands actually hurt from where he kept digging his nails into them when he clenched his fists. A small detached part of his brain dimly wondered why he wasn’t smelling blood. The blonde noble felt exhausted. So many things were happening so quickly: Kaname-sama’s strange behavior, Akatsuki falling for Zero, Zero returning his cousin’s feelings, learning Zero was an ex-human, and Ruka was acting oddly. Speaking of said female noble, Hanabusa looked over to his bed.
Ruka sat on his bed with her legs tucked underneath her while she read a book. To make things even stranger, they weren’t fighting! She seemed perfectly content to stay where she was for the rest of the night. He and Akatsuki had been friends with her since they were young children, but this was the first time ever that Ruka ever spent time alone with him willingly. She and Akatsuki always got along well with each other; however, the older they got the more strained the relationship between her and Hanabusa became. Their friendship started to crumble after they first met Kaname-sama and began fighting for his attention.
She looked up from her book and smiled softly, “Akatsuki’s going to be just fine. Though, I doubt he’ll be happy if you wear a trench through the floor with all of your pacing.”
Hanabusa resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her. He didn’t know what had gotten into her, but he wasn’t about to upset whatever peace existed between them right now. “I just wish he’d hurry up and get back. Things have been too weird lately.” Without realizing he was doing it, he started to pace again but stopped when Ruka tossed one of his pillows at him. Instead of retaliating Hanabusa just fell backwards onto his cousin’s bed holding tightly to the large, soft pillow.
“You mean with Akatsuki falling for Zero, Kaname-sama wanting both of them, and how he acted last night when he pounded on your door.”
Hanabusa sat up straight staring at her. “What do you mean Kaname-sama wants both of them?” He wants both of them, since when? Where have I been that I missed this?
Ruka looked at him surprised as she pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. “You didn’t know?” When he didn’t answer she continued, “He’s always watching them. I know you’ve noticed how Kaname-sama keeps invading Akatsuki’s personal space and the looks that last a little too long. What you apparently haven’t seen is that he does the exact same thing with Zero. You seriously can’t tell me you’ve never noticed how much Kaname-sama seems to enjoy their verbal sparring?”
Now I really feel like a moron. He truthfully never once caught any of things; or if he did, Hanabusa brushed it off as something else. “Wait, what about Yuki?”
Ruka shook her head. “Kaname-sama treats her like a sister; he’s got her on a pedestal. I think he does care for her just not romantically like everyone assumes. I also think that he gets close to her just to attract Zero’s attention.” She quickly guessed his next question. “Zero treats her like an annoying, yet lovable little sister.”
The ice manipulator fell onto his back, staring at the ceiling while he digested his companion’s words. I hate to admit it, but everything she’s said makes perfect sense. “How the hell do you know all of this?”
“Women’s intuition.”
Further conversation was disrupted by the sudden opening of the bedroom door admitting one of the four people they’d been talking about. Hanabusa jerked up into a sitting position to start interrogating his cousin, but the look on Akatsuki’s face stopped him. Blonde eyebrows rose in surprise at the look of shock on the flame wielder’s face. To anyone else Akatsuki looked completely normal; Hanabusa and Ruka knew better. Blue eyes darted over to Ruka who returned his look and nodded. Akatsuki kicked his shoes off at the door before making his way to his bed and collapsing on it beside the blonde. The worry that had been plaguing the blonde skyrocketed when his cousin made no move to push him off. Sharing another look with Ruka, the blonde began poking his cousin’s side. It was an old, odd habit Hanabusa developed when they were kids. Akatsuki was always so quiet, rarely talking about what was running through his mind. Normally the blonde respected his cousin’s privacy. However, when something happened to make the quiet vampire act like this then Hanabusa refused to let Akatsuki deal with it on his own.
The first time something like this happened Hanabusa had been absolutely terrified because the person in front of him was not his cousin. The blue eyed noble didn’t remember what caused the reaction. What he did remember was how Akatsuki had lain on his bed unmoving for several hours not making a sound or responding to anything outside of his mind. He didn’t understand why no one was doing anything to help his cousin. Later, he would learn that no one else knew about these episodes. Right then, though, Hanabusa was frantic to pull Akatsuki back from inside his mind. Begging and yelling didn’t work, so finally the small blonde sat beside his cousin and began poking the unresponsive boy in the side. He sat there for what seemed like hours. Whether it was irritation, pain, or something else Hanabusa never knew; but Akatsuki suddenly sat up, hugged him, and finally told him what was wrong.
This time Hanabusa hoped it wouldn’t take hours to get Akatsuki to respond. He completely ignored Ruka, who wasn’t saying anything, instead focusing on his cousin. I wonder what Kaname-sama wanted with him. Sure he’s been punished along with me whenever I’ve done something stupid, but Akatsuki’s never done anything to get punished on his own. I hope he didn’t get into trouble for taking care of his mate. If Ruka’s right, then Kaname-sama wouldn’t punish him for that. I don’t see any visible marks.
Akatsuki suddenly groaned before turning his head so that Hanabusa could now see his face. The blonde asked quietly: “Are you okay?” He stopped poking the other’s side now that he somewhat had his attention.
The quiet vampire smiled weakly in reassurance, “I’m fine.” His slightly unfocused eyes drifted back down to the blankets on his bed. Suddenly the sunset eyes looked up at the blonde regaining their focus. “They’re going to be the death of me,” he mumbled.
“Who?” Ruka spoke for the first time since Akatsuki entered the room.
Akatsuki mumbled his answer into the bedding just loud enough for them to hear. “Kaname-sama and Zero.”
Out of nowhere Hanabusa began laughing. Akatsuki really does know how to pick them.
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Meanwhile, Yuki was walking/running down the hallway to her first class of the morning. I am soooo late! Why didn’t Yori wake me up sooner?! The brunette knew she wasn’t being fair to her best friend because the other girl had tried for a good hour and a half to wake her up. Thankfully there was no one in the hallway to see her as she dashed by praying that her teacher would be lenient with her. In her haste, she almost ran right by her class. After stumbling to a halt and catching her breath, Yuki gingerly pushed open the door and poked her head in the room.
“Come on in, Cross-san.” The teacher said in patient resignation.
Yuki felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment as she walked to her seat beside Yori. Geez, even Zero is here already. For once Yori didn’t give her a sympathetic look, but Yuki was to out of it to notice. The teacher waited until she sat down before resuming the interrupted lecture. Yuki could’ve cared less what it was about; the room was warm, her eyes were all ready closed, and her head fell to her arms. Within seconds she was sleeping soundly. She began dreaming of ways to catch Zero and Kain-senpai in heated moments in photos or on film. As her dream self ran through the various scenarios, her dream took on a different focus. Slowly her dream shifted from her adopted brother and the flame wielding noble to her and Kaname. In her dream they went on various dates ranging from cute to romantic. They always held hands, walked close together, and at the end of every date Kaname would hold her close whispering how much he loved her.
BANG!!
The sudden noise right in front of her rudely woke her up making her body jerk into a sitting position. We were just about to kiss…Yuki felt her cheeks burn. The embarrassment ran away when she noticed that Zero was standing right in front of her glaring at her. Off to Yuki’s side Yori recovered from her own shock and was now giggling at the surprise written on the brunette’s face.
“Zero, you jerk! What was that for?!” Yuki yelled at him. She cringed when his glare intensified.
“You can sleep through math class, then. Just don’t come to me wanting help when you don’t understand the homework.” He turned his back to them and walked out of the classroom.
Yuki groaned as she realized she didn’t even know what the teacher had lectured on. With a hopeful look on her face, the guardian turned to Yori. “W…” Yori didn’t give her the chance to ask.
“Not this time, Yuki. I’m gonna need my notes for my own homework.” Yori gave her a sympathetic look before turning and making her way out of the classroom.
Yuki scrambled to catch up muttering about her fellow guardian. “I don’t see how he can be the top of the class when he sleeps even more then I do,” she grumbled.
“Well for one thing, he does his homework instead of daydreaming about Night class students.” Yori responded. When she saw the stubborn look on Yuki’s face she continued: “For your information Zero didn’t sleep through class today. He was wide awake the entire time, and even helped me with my notes. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself for your bad grades, Yuki.”
Yuki looked at her best friend in concern. This was the first time Yori had ever talked to her so sharply. Normally the short haired girl was sympathetic and willing to help Yuki out. “Is everything all right?”
Yori stopped right in the doorway to give her an unreadable look. “I’m just fine.” She turned and walked into the classroom before Yuki had the chance to question her any further.
Geez, first Zero’s been acting oddly and now something is off with Yori. She shook her head before squeaking when she realized that she was still blocking the doorway. At least Kaname-sama is still the same. Thinking of the brunette vampire made her blush. I can’t wait to see him tonight.
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How he made it through the day without falling asleep Zero didn’t know. That’s a lie and you know it. He thought as he walked back to the Sun dorm. I’m too keyed up from last night’s talk with Kur-Kaname and this morning’s talk with Akatsuki. I’m going to have to get used to calling Kaname by his first name. He’ll enjoy reminding me every time I slip up. All of his teachers were certainly impressed; though his alertness made Yuki’s sleepiness look even worse than normal. Class changeover should be very interesting tonight. I wonder why…
“Kiryu-kun.”
Zero’s thoughts were interrupted by none other than Yori. “Yes?” It was odd to see the short haired girl standing beside him without Yuki at her side; however, he realized that he hadn’t seen the two of them together in quite some time.
Yori had spent enough time around him to not be put off by his bluntness. “I was wondering if you could possibly introduce me to someone.”
The girl now had one hundred percent of his attention. “Who exactly do you want to meet, and why are you asking me?” This was the first time she’d ever asked him for help with anything other than the occasional homework assignment. Yori was a very smart girl, and as far as he was concerned the only sane female at the academy. Under his gaze she actually fidgeted a little.
“Could you possibly introduce me to Toya-senpai?” She was avoiding looking at him.
“Toya of the Night class?” He didn’t show the surprise he felt at being asked this by her. Yori was probably the only female on campus who didn’t have a crush on one of the Night class males. Yuki once mentioned that Yori was slightly afraid of them.
“Yes.” She finally looked him in the eyes. “First, I’m asking you because you’ll take me seriously. Second, I just want a chance to talk to her without the rest of the Night class students standing around over my shoulder.” She continued walking by his side to the dorms. “The Night class makes me uneasy, but Toya-senpai doesn’t give off the same feeling. She seems very lonely and isolated.”
They stopped walking a few feet away from the Sun dorm buildings. Zero looked at Yori assessing her and her words for a few minutes. “I won’t promise you anything,” he finally said. “However, I will mention the idea to her when I get the chance.”
Yori smiled brightly at him. “Thank you, all I wanted was at least for you to do that. I realize that there’s a high chance she’ll say no, but I had to ask.”
Zero scowled in irritation that was directed more towards him. Now I just have to find an opportunity to talk to Toya. He turned to enter the boys’ dorm when he heard Yori say one more time: “Kiryu-kun, I really am thankful.” He twisted his head to look over his shoulder acknowledging he’d heard her. “I’ll see what I can do and for crying out loud drop the formality and call me Zero.” He didn’t stay to watch her response. She’s as much a little sister as Yuki is. Why can’t life be simple for once? He asked himself that question every day. He glanced at the clock hanging on the lounge wall as he passed by. Only two more hours before class changeover.
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Akatsuki woke up after a night of restless tossing, turning, and little sleep. Sunset eyes stared upwards not really seeing anything. His ears picked up the sounds of Hanabusa getting ready for class. One of his hands reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. For the first time since they’d been at Cross Academy, his cousin actually got up before him. On a normal day, Akatsuki would have to hound the blonde for at least half an hour to get him out of bed. He forced himself to not remember the previous night’s events otherwise his mind would start racing in circles to comprehend what he’d gotten himself into. The flame wielder was a bit wary of stepping out of his room because Ruka was bound to be waiting to interrogate him. Hanabusa kicked her out of their room not long after Akatsuki was pulled out of his break from reality. The long haired girl protested the entire time his cousin was shoving her out the door. She even stood outside the door nearly yelling at them to let her back in. I think she’s spent way too much time with us. She’s going to need every bit of that spunk to handle Hanabusa.
Said blonde walked out of the bathroom still rubbing his head from where Akatsuki had hit him for laughing. “Good morning!” His greeting was followed by some sniggering.
“You want that lump to gain a twin?” He threatened as he finally got out of bed.
His cousin waved his hands shaking his head. “No, no, one’s enough. I won’t laugh again.”
Akatsuki snorted as he walked into the bathroom to take his shower. He didn’t believe for one second that Hanabusa would stop laughing his ass off about this. As he washed his hair, he wondered how he was supposed to treat the dorm president now. Do I pretend that nothing’s changed while we’re in public? He’d planned on saying a few words to Zero during the changeover, nothing overt. But how the hell do I interact with our gang leader? Once his hair was washed, he began washing his body. Stressing out like this isn’t like me. Since when do I worry this much over anything other than Hanabusa? He stepped under the spray of water to rinse off when it suddenly hit him that he was acting just like his cousin. Take a breath and relax. If the dorm president wants you to treat him any differently than normal in public, he’ll let you know. Stop over thinking this. I don’t have to worry about dealing with him privately until after class.
Flashback
Amusement flickered briefly in the burgundy eyes. “Or the two of you can just come to my room since the wards are all ready in place.”
Akatsuki stared. His mind raced to put things in place but was failing to do so. He’d entered the study somewhat prepared to deal with a jealous, violent pureblood not an amused pureblood.
“You sound like a perverted old man, Kaname.” A very familiar voice said from the doorway to the pureblood’s bedroom.
Akatsuki’s brain shut down. Zero? The guardian stood leaning against the doorway with a smirk on his face. The flame wielder looked back and forth between the two unable to process that the two were in the same room, not arguing, not threatening each other—and did Zero just tease the pureblood?
The brunette’s lips twitched with amusement clearly written all over his face. “You have to admit, Zero, he looks adorable when he’s stunned.”
Akatsuki was beginning to get frustrated, which was noticeable in his voice. “Do either of you care to explain to me what’s going on.” He felt the start of a headache and closed his eyes while rubbing the bridge of his nose. The flame wielder was tired of being out of synch. After the emotional rollercoaster he’d been on for the past several days, he just wasn’t in the mood to play games. If things kept going the way they were, the rest of the Night class as well as the Day class were going to see something they’d never thought possible: him losing control. The couch cushions dipped on his right as someone sat beside him. One of his eyes cracked open to find that Zero was the source of the body weight. “You’re pretty calm,” Akatsuki observed.
The guardian gave him a small smile. “What’s going on is that the three of us are a bunch of idiots. We’ve been so immersed in what’s right in front of us that we never noticed anything else.” He paused as his eyes drifted over to where the dorm president sat. Whatever he was about to say was obviously difficult for him to say. When his eyes moved back to Akatsuki, he began speaking again. “I’ve been attracted to you for quite awhile. I just never thought you could possibly return those feelings. At some point I also found myself interested in Kur-Kaname too; but I always pushed aside those feelings as byproducts of being enemies and rivals for so long. I thought everything had to do with Yuki. When you confronted me a couple of nights ago, I had to acknowledge what I was ignoring.”
It was the dorm president’s turn now to speak. “Akatsuki, you’ve had my attention ever since we were children. You’re the only one who ever treated me like a person. You’ve always treated me the same way. The only other person to do that was Takuma, and he’s like a brother.” His burgundy eyes were locked with sunset eyes trying to convey the truth behind the pureblood’s words. “I was always content to watch you.” His eyes shifted to Zero before moving back to the flame wielder. “There is one other person who caught my attention. I met someone else who could’ve cared less about what I was. However, there were so many misunderstandings between Zero and me that it never once crossed my mind that we could be anything more than opponents.” He stopped as if considering his next words carefully. “When you began watching Zero and he began watching you, I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t just sit back and observe. So while the rest of you were in class yesterday, I acted. I made Zero an offer because it was the only way I could think of getting him to gradually see me as anything more than an enemy. I never wanted you to think that I was angry with you.”
Akatsuki took a breath trying to relax his tense shoulders. He never suspected that he’d be having a conversation like this with these two males. Of course, a lot of things weren’t planned. “So a couple of nights ago when you pounded on my door, you were doing so because you were jealous?”
The dorm president had the grace to look away from embarrassment. Later Akatsuki would realize that Kaname was blushing. He didn’t say anything instead nodding. Akatsuki let his head fall against the back of the chair. He began talking out loud to try and help organize his thoughts. It was amazing how these two males could disrupt his mind like they did. “You like Zero. Zero likes you. The two of you like me, and I like the two of you. So I guess the only thing we can do is to try and make a relationship out of this mess.”
Because his eyes were closed he was surprised when the couch cushions shifted on his left. Judging from body heat, he was aware that the dorm president was now sitting very close to him. Shifting on his right side told him that Zero had moved closer.
End Flashback
I learned a very important lesson. Akatsuki thought as he dried off and dressed. Never, close my eyes when those two have me cornered unless I want to get molested. Not that I really minded, but next time I want to be able to fully participate not be paralyzed from surprise.
“Akatsuki, stop fantasizing about fucking those two and get your ass out here. We’re going to be late!”
The taller noble cursed under his breath making a silent promise to get his cousin back. I’m sure I’ve got plenty of embarrassing stories about him that Ruka’s never heard before.
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Zero stood on his side of the path like he did every evening silently daring the girls to put one foot past him. On the other side, Yuki was barely able to forcefully restrain her half of the Day class girls. For once, Yuki wouldn’t be able to yell at him over being late. The large group of girls sprinkled with a few guys was as loud as ever. Of all the things to never change, I’m starting to believe that it wouldn’t matter if these idiots knew the Night class was full of vampires or not. Oh, he knew that some of these psychos would run away the first chance they got. The rest, however, would probably offer themselves as food. Movement to his left caught his attention. It was that one girl he’d caught when she fell on St. Xocolatl’s Day. The difference was tonight she wasn’t eyeing the Moon dorm gates; she was eyeing…him? Shit. Can’t I get a break? The desire to bang his head against the gate was getting stronger by the second. Thankfully, he was saved by the sudden creaking of the dorm gate as it opened slowly. The rest of the insane mob rushed forward blocking him from that girl’s view.
“Get back or you’ll spend the next month in detention!” He actually barked out the command like some sort of drill sergeant. The mob froze in mid-step. I love my reputation. Yuki, on the other hand, was trampled by her side. “That goes for you too!” The other half of the mob froze. His fellow guardian managed to get back on her feet before the vampires walked out.
The mob didn’t try to get past him yet they continued on with screaming their adoration as the Night class began walking out. Zero kept his attention focused on everything but the white clad vampires that were about to cross his path. As usual Kur-Kaname walked at the head of the group followed by his inner circle. Whispers behind his back warned him that someone was about to invade his personal space. He looked to the left to once again see a girl, the one who was eyeing him earlier, try to get closer to him without making it obvious. Damn it! This was also the same girl who kept trying to ambush him at different times in the hallways. While he was keeping an eye on her, Zero could vaguely hear Yuki babbling something to Kur-Kaname.
Suddenly the girls around him went wild. The guardian jerked his eyes back to the Night class to find that Akatsuki and Aido were right in front of him. A glance behind them confirmed that Yuki was basically holding Kaname hostage. He retained the glare but his eyes softened a bit when they landed on the flame wielder. He started to greet them, but ended up glaring at a girl a few feet down the path because she was trying to edge her way closer to Ichijo. Once she noticed she was the focus of his glare, the girl scurried back into the throng.
“Ouch! Would you stop doing that?”
Zero turned back to the cousins to see Aido rubbing the back of his head as he mumbled something about being hit for the fifth time that night. “Good evening, Kain. Aido.” It was a much friendlier greeting especially when previously he ignored them.
Akatsuki stopped glaring at his cousin long enough to give Zero a warm look. “I wouldn’t do it if you stopped saying that.” He then turned back to the guardian with exasperation written on his handsome face. “Good evening, Zero.” The words were said softly enough that none of the Day class caught that he’d used the hunter’s first name. He looked like he wanted to say more but his cousin spoke up with his own greeting.
“Good evening, Kiryu-kun! The day class is really wound up tonight.”
Zero shrugged in response. “They’re about the same as always.” Akatsuki’s eyes shifted to his side and seemed to harden. The only ones to notice were Zero and Aido. Zero realized that the taller aristocrat’s eyes were on the girl who wouldn’t leave him alone. “Some are more annoying than others.” She finally seemed to get the hint and backed off, for now at least. Sunset eyes softened as they once again focused on him.
Kaname finally managed to extract himself from Yuki by saying “I would love to hear more; unfortunately, if we don’t get moving we’ll be late for class.” It wasn’t a lie. If the Night class didn’t get moving then they really would be late. Zero caught the pureblood’s eyes and nodded in greeting. Burgundy eyes warmed as Kaname returned the greeting with a quick nod of his own.
Sunset and amethyst locked together once more this time both clearly amused yet exasperated. Before the cousins could walk away Zero remembered Yori’s request. “Could you do me a favor?”
“What is it?” Akatsuki inquired. Aido snickered.
Zero turned the full force of his glare onto the blonde and growled, “Not that kind of favor!” Aido began quickly walking away. The guardian returned his attention to the taller vampire. “I need to ask Toya something for Yori. Can you let her know?”
Some surprise showed in the sunset eyes. “Sure. Isn’t Yori the short haired girl Yuki’s friends with?”
Zero nodded, “Yeah. They don’t seem to be getting along too well right now.”
A tiny smirk appeared on the aristocrat’s face. “See you at the next changeover.”
The silver haired guardian couldn’t stop the light blush that colored his pale cheeks. His ears picked out the sound of Akatsuki chuckling as he walked away.
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Ch 4 the End
I hope you’ve enjoyed this.
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