Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to the great Hino-sensei, and I claim none of the characters, except Izumi, and she isn't really relevant :P
Enjoy! And please review ;)
The subtle fragrance of cherry blossoms tantalized him. He slowed his pace. It would not do to burst in and give the illusion that he was enthusiastic to see her. No, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. He could already picture her expression; that wry smile of hers, not quite a smirk; her pale, slim fingers, teasing strands of hair like liquid silver. And her eyes...like magenta tinted mirrors, would reveal nothing. He often heard people say they lost themselves in a lover's eyes. That was not the case for him. When he gazed at hers, he saw only his own reflection, staring back suspiciously at him. Her mind was a guarded mystery. He had long since given up trying to solve it. After all, this was not a social call.
"How rude..."
Her voice drifted through the fusuma, delicate and refined. "Why are you loitering, dearest?"
Her words were tainted with sarcasm. He slid the door aside and stepped in. She was wraithlike; an ashen ghost as she knelt, her back to him, on a tatami mat.
"Shizuka", he purred.
She made no reaction. The only sound was the trickle of the water fountain outside."Izumi. Leave us, please." Izumi, Shizuka's favoured maidservant, jolted. Her doe like eyes fixed on him in terror. She turned to her mistress, her expression a silent plea. Shizuka did not respond.
"Izuuu-mi..." he cooed, sliding his gaze to the door and back, blatantly indicating his wishes. The girl's violet eyes flickered back to him, hesitating, and the young vampire stood. Her movements were tense, and she seemed reluctant to leave. "I will stay nearby, Shizuka-sama", she murmured, bowing. Rido Kuran resisted the urge to snort. As if that waif of a girl would be of use to anyone. Izumi made a hasty retreat, breezing delicately past him in a swish of rose coloured silk and alabaster limbs. He watched her leave with renewed interest. Maybe he would pay dear Izumi a visit later on.
"You're getting distracted again", Shizuka said sourly, her eyes sceptical. Rido smiled broadly at her, sidling over. "I could never be distracted from such a fine example of flawless beauty", he chuckled. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him.
"Somehow I don't think you came here to praise me."
Rido explored the room with his eyes, absent-mindedly playing with his cufflinks. He murmured in agreement. "Astute as ever."
"I certainly hope your reasons are more honourable than coming to harass my maidservants."
Rido laughed. He was pleased to note the glimmer of a smile that flitted across his fiancé's face. But it was hidden as her sheet of silver hair fell across her face, obscuring her expression. His fingertips fluttered across the mahogany table, picking up the decorative objects that littered its surface and briefly examining them before setting them down again. He lingered on a transparent red paperweight, containing a perfect orchid.
"I thought you would smash this", he remarked, holding it aloft. He felt it snatched from his grip. She could move quickly when required. Rido turned slowly to face her. She took one step back, the blood-red paperweight clutched in her slender hands.
Her eyes bored into his own like icicles. "You hold yourself in such low regard", she said softly, her voice had a sneering edge to it. "And you virtually admit that you are aware of my...opinions...of you." As she spoke she held the ornament to her lips and bowed her head, watching him from under her pale lashes.
Rido tipped his head to the side, smiling sardonically. "Yes", he said carefully. Shizuka dropped her gaze, her fingers losing tightly around the object in her hands. "So why....do you insist...on...tormenting me?"
Rido arched a brow, turning on his heel and strolling to the open doors that overlooked the ornamental garden. "I'm afraid I don't follow your drift", he threw behind him. He heard the whistling disturbance in the air and felt the breeze as the paperweight sailed past his right ear. It shattered on the stone pavement. He stared at the crimson shards, perplexed.
"I hate you", she hissed. "And you hate me. Yet you persist in this joke of an engagement. Why don't you skip off and please yourself with the multitudes of other women who would gladly throw themselves at your feet, and leave me alone?"
Her words echoed in the cool night air, and he heard the choked sob that followed her outburst. He heard the dull thud of her knees hitting the floor. He heard her ragged gasps and anguished sobs. Rido turned and examined her pitiful frame, before striding over and crouching beside her.
He clutched her cold hands in his, gently rubbing her fingers to warm them. Then he brushed the tears that stained her cheeks and pressed her head to his shoulder. She didn't offer much resistance. "Now, now. Where would be the fun in that?" he smirked.
Shizuka jerked away from him and opened her mouth, but he spoke over her.
"Did you really think you could conceal it?" he asked, mouth quirking in amusement. Shizuka narrowed her eyes. "I don't follow..." she regarded him cautiously. Rido laughed. It was a rich and jubilant sound.
"Why, of course you do! I've had the pleasure of meeting your latest pet. I could smell your blood on him straight away. You don't wish for him to degenerate to level E?"
Shizuka's mouth remained slightly open, her eyes filling with realisation. Rido continued. "It's most displeasing. To discover that my fiancé is playing around on me, and not even with a proper vampire; a piece of breathing dirt, a former human, nothing but vermin-"
His rant was cut off as the back of her hand caught his cheek. He hadn't expected her to strike him, and it was unusual of her to so rashly display her emotions. But it proved his suspicions. Shizuka stared at her hand in faint astonishment, almost as if it had acted of its own accord. They both knew she had stumbled; that she had given herself away.
Rido pressed a hand to his burning cheek, bright red against the pallor of his face. "Ouch", he smirked. "Does it feel wonderfully wholesome to have defended your beloved?" Shizuka pressed her lips together, her eyes burning with hatred.
But Rido had no further motivation for his visit. The task was complete. He knew what he needed to know. Calmly, he turned and moved towards the door, not even bidding her farewell. She scrambled after him. "Wait, where are you going? What are you doing? Stop it! Come back here at once!" Her voice was rising and he could detect the hint of panic.
His mouth tightened in a grim line. If he could not have the one he loved, then he didn't see why she should enjoy such a privilege. He would take it all away. And leave her just as anguished and hate-filled as he was.
"I swear, if you lay a hand on him, I will hunt you down and kill you." Her voice was even and sincere, dripping with malice. They both stood frozen, until Rido turned. He smiled, grasped her hands and placed a light kiss on the top of her head. "I swear I shall not lay a hand upon him", he proclaimed amiably. Shizuka glared at him with haughty distrust. "Satisfied?"
"Leave", she whispered. "Izumi will escort you out." Rido's smile widened. Ah yes. He had not forgotten Izumi. He bid his fiancé good night and swept outside. Izumi materialized a few moments later to heed the commands of her mistress. Her eyes, like amethysts, regarded him fearfully and she shrank away from his suggestive wink.
But that didn't dampen his spirits. No, nothing could. There was a feeling of ardent glee that came with bringing down his enemies. No, this little pet of Shizuka's was unworthy of that title. He was just an inconvenience; and easily dealt with, at that. Rido Kuran had many contacts in high places, and it would be no large feat to slip a name onto the Hunter's execution lists. Perhaps a tinge of primal jealousy had tinted his judgement, but he irately brushed that thought aside.
He laughed, causing Izumi to glance nervously behind her. "Is everything alright?" she ventured carefully. He smiled and nodded, his eyes falling on the pale skin of her throat. "Everything is rather perfect, Izumi."