Storm

Disclaimer:

Vampire Knight belongs to Hino Matsuri. This story is based on Vampire Knight Guilty episode 07. Feel free to hit the back button if you do not wish to be spoiled. I only own this plot. Thank you.

Full Summary:

[One Shot] [Spoilers: Vampire Knight Guilty 07] There was a violent storm coming. The prelude was already well underway and things were slowly starting to unravel into an uncontrollable mess. His sixth sense for detecting trouble annoyed him sometimes as they, more often than not, tended to be related to Hanabusa. But today, he was glad for it. If not, he dare not think of what could've happened to Ruka.

Something big was going to happen and the prelude was already well underway. It was still calm – mostly – like they were still in the eye of the storm… but that was already slowly beginning to change and the false sense of calm was being eroded away steadily. He didn't know when he became positive about it, but he suspected it was when Hanabusa stayed back at Cross Academy for the summer holidays and requested him to do some research on the Kuran family's past.

Now, several of the Night Class students – him included – were being Cross Yuuki's bodyguards at Kaname's orders. While he went along with the order without complaints, he silently questioned why it was necessary. To add to the sense of unease he was feeling, just earlier he'd seen Shiki – of all people – talking to Kiryuu Ichiru. It was a surprise to see that Shiki was back; it was an even greater one to see that he actually knew the younger Kiryuu twin. Perhaps the thing that made him the uneasiest about the two talking together was that even Rima didn't know what was going on. Speaking of Rima, she had seemed particularly upset over something too, and he had a gut feeling that it was because of Shiki. Not that she was going to admit it if he asked, but he'd always been able to sense when things were going wrong. It was probably a rather detrimental side effect of being Hanabusa's cousin. But at this moment, he was glad for it.

Standing outside the Day Class' classroom, he suddenly had a sense of foreboding. A few moments later, he felt a sudden spike of fear in the air. It was distant and somewhat faint, but it originated from the Moon Dorms. Plus, there was no way he would ever mistake that aura despite the number of vampires still sleeping away there; he'd had the feel of it memorized a long, long time ago. It was, without a doubt, Ruka. He didn't bother to question just what could've happened to make Ruka suddenly so fearful. If she was afraid, then something bad was happening and he had to get to her. He immediately left his post, knowing that Hanabusa would still stay there and if Kaname ever found out… he'd think about an excuse then. Or perhaps the truth would be fine. But first, he needed to find out what that truth was.

As he made his way rapidly through the school grounds, skirting groups of star-struck Day Class girls as he went, he could clearly feel Ruka's fear rising. Rapidly. This was bad. What was happening in the Moon Dorms that would freak Ruka out so badly? He knew she was still recovering from her shock at Kaname taking Yuuki as his lover and was more emotionally vulnerable than usual, but regardless, nothing in the Moon Dorms or in the entire school should be able to scare her. Kain willed himself to run even faster, just short of using his actual vampire speed so as not to alarm any of the Day Class students. Damn it, what was happening to Ruka!?

Once he entered the Moon Dorms, Kain didn't bother to refrain from using his vampire abilities. It wasn't as if he'd be exposing the existence of vampires to humans, and he could feel Ruka's fear so starkly now that he was surprised that no one else in the vicinity had noticed it, even if they were slumbering, that even if he were out in public he would've used his abilities anyway, consequences be damned. Memories could always be wiped later. Her terror was heavy and thick; it was practically suffocating him. Or perhaps, it was his own growing fear over Ruka's safety that was making his breath catch in his throat.

Whatever he'd expected to find in Ruka's room though, it was definitely not seeing Shiki cornering Ruka and about to attack her. For her blood. And his words to her…

"Did it hurt? Then I'll be gentler to you…"

Rage flooded his entire being instantly, and he almost literally saw red. The only reason he managed to prevent himself from losing it completely was because he didn't want to frighten Ruka anymore than she was. She didn't look terrified – it would take a hell lot to make Ruka show her fear – but he knew that she clearly was and she didn't need to be feeling unnecessarily threatened due to the presence of a raging vampire. That and because Shiki was still his friend, and he would resist the most tempting urge he'd ever felt in his long life to actually incinerate a friend until he got the reason out of him. But that still didn't stop him from immediately grabbing Shiki by the front of his uniform blazer and slamming the other vampire harshly into the wall, only just barely managing to control his strength so that the wall didn't give way from the impact.

"Shiki… You bastard…" he growled, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

To his utter shock, Shiki was entirely unperturbed by his question and anger. The other had actually smirked at him. Then in his lazy drawl, though it was tinged by an unusual note of condescending that was highly unlike the model, he said, "Exactly what you saw."

Kain gritted his teeth. That was it. Friend or no friend, Shiki was going to pay. He barely heard Ruka's frantic "Don't, Akatsuki!" and he honestly wasn't sure if he would've headed her words at that point. But he didn't have the chance to make the decision for Ichijou had suddenly appeared with a cry of "Stop!" and had then quickly pushed him and Shiki apart.

Ichijou turned to Shiki first. "Shiki, go back to your room now!"

When Shiki smirked at Ichijou, that was when Kain finally realized that there was something different about Shiki. To be exact, there was something inherently wrong about how Shiki's aura felt; it was as if the person before him wasn't Shiki but someone who had a startlingly resemblance to the brunet. And then the brunet spoke.

"Eh? You dare to order me around?"

Kain swore that, at that moment, if he were a lesser man, his jaw would've dropped open at Shiki's words. Ichijou was the Vice-President of the Moon Dorms, and nobody disrespected him to such an extent even if they took certain liberties with him that they would never have done towards Kaname because of Ichijou's generous nature. He knew Shiki and Ichijou were close friends and Shiki definitely took a lot more liberties with the blond vampire than anyone else, but this was the first time he'd ever seen such outright disrespect towards Ichijou. Then he noticed that Shiki's eyes were different. It wasn't just the arrogant attitude shining within them… their color had changed. When did Shiki ever have eyes that were red in one and blue in another? Why couldn't he shake off the chilling feeling that the model wasn't wearing contact lenses to create that effect?

Despite his self-control, Kain couldn't keep himself from uttering a wary, partly shocked, "You…" at Shiki. You can't be Shiki, he completed mentally.

But Shiki ignored him, choosing to address Ichijou once again in a mocking, but quietly menacing drawl, "Who do you think you're talking to?"

There was no way in hell this could be Shiki, Kain decided there and then. His personality was all wrong. But if it weren't Shiki, then who the hell was the vampire standing before him?

"Please. Would you please return to your room," Ichijou amended, sounding almost as if he were submitting to the other vampire. And that puzzled Kain even more.

"Since you put it that way, I guess I can't help it then… Well, see you all around."

As Shiki sauntered out of the room as if he hadn't been moments away from attacking Ruka, Kain had to fight the urge to go after him and beat him into a bloody pulp before finishing it off with turning Shiki into a blazing inferno. He resisted that urge though, because of the general oddness in the atmosphere he was feeling as well as how Shiki's strange aura had felt almost deadly when he'd spoken to Ichijou. He didn't know if he'd suddenly developed an over-active imagination, but Shiki seemed to be silently promising revenge on Ichijou. Kain had been around angry vampires before, even murderous ones, but the way Shiki's aura had felt… It was as if the Heavens were about to rain all hell down upon them. It felt almost like the rage of… of a pureblood, which was so highly illogical that it was almost laughable. But there was nothing laughable about the fact that Shiki had indeed intended to assault Ruka, and there was nothing remotely funny about the way Shiki's aura felt. Damn it. The more he thought about it, the more confused he was getting.

"Ruka, are you all right?" Ichijou then asked, reaching out a hand to help Ruka up.

Accepting the offered hand, Ruka stood up. "I'm fine," she murmured.

Kain mentally pointed out that she wasn't totally fine. He could still feel the lingering tinges of fear in her aura, but they were noticeably lesser than when he'd first spotted Shiki cornering her. He breathed a mental sigh of relief. Ruka would be okay. She was rattled, but he didn't think this incident would traumatize her. As for himself, he needed to get his anger to somewhere below the simmering rage he still felt.

"Takuma-sama, about Shiki, just what happened…?" Ruka asked.

"I hope you'll let me handle his matter. Would it be all right if you kept it from Kaname too?"

"Not even Kaname-sama?" Ruka asked in surprise and Kain was sure his face mirrored Ruka's surprise too.

Ichijou was going to keep something so major away from Kaname? He couldn't help but begin to protest, "But-"

"Kain," Ichijou snapped harshly.

Kain was surprised at the normally affable blond's harsh tone. There was no mistaking the rare but definitely steely look in Ichijou's eyes. But behind that, he could clearly see the troubled look that Ichijou was hiding. He was deeply troubled by something, most likely Shiki. There was a high possibility that Ichijou knew something that he wasn't letting the others know about, but Kain also knew that Ichijou wouldn't let harm come to any of the students here, be it the Night Class or the Day Class. So he relented; he would trust their Vice-President.

"…I understand."

"Ruka, you too… Okay?"

"Okay."

"Both of you… I'm sorry." Then Ichijou left, gently closing the door behind them.

Kain could feel an unwelcome headache starting up. The short episode with Ichijou had only served to confirm his belief that a violent storm was on the horizon, and setting in very, very soon. It was-

"Akatsuki…" Ruka's voice cut his thought processes short, and he looked at her inquiringly. But she wouldn't directly meet his eyes.

"Thank you," she said softly.

He blinked, and he could admit to himself that the simmering anger he still felt had been replaced by faint surprise. Ruka didn't ever need to thank him for coming to her rescue. As long as he was alive and she was in danger, he would save her again and again. But the moment was awkward enough as it was, and Ruka was still coming to terms with Kaname and Yuuki being together…

Kain turned his face away from Ruka, lifting a hand to his forehead partly to try to ease his headache away and partly so that he could partially hide his face behind his palm. He wasn't entirely sure what to say to her. She'd be highly affronted if she knew that he thought of her current state as that of fragile glass… She was usually a strong woman, but right now… To him, her well-being and happiness was at the top of his priorities. He wasn't going to upset her, however unintentionally it might be sometimes, if he could help it. So he settled for a neutral comment instead.

"…Just what on earth is happening?" he murmured.

There was a bout of silence where Kain quickly got his composure back before he turned to face Ruka once again. She had to be tired. It was still considered late at night for them vampires, and she just had a rather scary encounter with Shiki. She should return to bed to rest properly.

"You should go back to bed and rest, Ruka," he advised gently.

"I'm fine, Akatsuki. And I'm not really that tired."

He frowned slightly. Ruka looked tired. It was written all over her face. It seemed as if she hadn't had a good rest in several days and he knew that she'd been in her room since Kaname's announcement to the Night Class. He didn't understand why Ruka would lie to him. She had always been honest around him… Sometimes, she was even too honest, especially when it was with regards to Kaname… But no, now was not the time to think about this. He was going to have Ruka get to bed and rest properly. Hopefully, it would take the tired expression off her face when she woke up later in the day.

"Don't lie to me, Ruka. You don't look like you've had much sleep for the past few days. Go rest now."

He then gently took her hand and led her to the bed. Ruka followed and sat down on the bed, still hesitating. "Akatsuki…"

"I'll be here until you fall asleep, okay?"

She nodded and got under the covers, settling down to rest. He helped tuck her into bed, reminiscent of the time when they were younger. Sometimes, he wished that they could go back to the past, before Kaname entered their lives and stay there. It was a selfish thought, and he wished that he would never have such thoughts, but he couldn't control it.

"…Thank you again, Akatsuki…" she murmured quietly.

"…You're welcome," he finally said.

Kain smiled slightly as he watched Ruka's eyes flutter shut and her breathing even out. He'd like to think that it was his presence that allowed her to fall asleep so soundly in such a short time. He stayed for awhile longer, watching her beautiful, peaceful expression in slumber. As he got up to leave and resume his duty as Cross Yuuki's bodyguard, he gave in to temptation and leaned down to kiss her softly on her forehead, taking care not to wake her up.

"Sleep well, Ruka," he murmured.

Perhaps… It wouldn't be so bad like this. As long as he could continue to stay by her side and protect her from the coming storm, he would be satisfied.

Wow, my first HeT fic in awhile! Kain/Ruka is my Vampire Knight HeT OTP! While I usually do not like the changes to the anime, seeing Kain being so protective of Ruka made my fangirl heart cheer! And thus this story came out! Halfway through it I also had inspiration for a Rido!Shiki/Takuma story... which will probably come out soon, I hope. Although it will be slightly AU from episode 08. Regardless, I'll still post it.

Hope you've enjoyed this!

carzla