A/N:
Okay, so I posted this story a long while ago under the name "Hva med oss". It was then in Norwegian, and I told you guys that if any of you wanted to read it, you should just contact me about it. Well, two did, and it's because of them that I've now translated the story from Norwegian to English. Beside translating it, I've also added a little here and there – but not as much as in "In Between the Lines" – trust me.

So, the original Norwegian was written by me on a writing day in my first year in high school – you know, one of those day you're sitting in a room for four or five hours just writing on a story.

For some strange reason – I have no idea why, I almost always ends up writing fanfics from different anime shows I've seen. My teachers often found this a bit strange – and some even told me quite bluntly to stop doing it, but screw them, right?

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Disclaimer:
«I do not own any of the following pictures, music, characters or the original universe. I only own the story itself and to the idea.»
Thanks a lot to Lightning Bee for betaing on this story and to Dragonlover91 for advising me when I reworked the Norwegian version.

What about us?

Life is a gift, but so is death. These were thoughts that often ran through the mind of Rima Toya; and each time she ended up asking herself one question: 'What about the living dead?' Rolling over onto her stomach she reached out a thin, pale hand and reached out tp grab the worn out and old plush rabbit and hugged it tightly as she rested on the bed. A soft sound, barely a whisper left her lips: "Shiki…"

It had been so long, so long since she'd seen him, or so it felt. The other students living in the dorm would probably think it quite strange to be able to miss someone when they'd just been absent twenty-four hours, but she did not care for their thoughts – she never did.

Rima took in a deep breath and felt an ache in her heart as the scent of lilac she knew all too welled up from the plushy and into her nose. "Shiki," she found herself repeating his name over and over. Looking at the rabbit she wasn't even sure whether she was addressing the plush animal or talking directly to- No, she could not let herself to think about him.

The young vampire had been said to be a lot of different things through the years of her life but never had those words been one of them. She let out a snort, thinking. What if it was true, what if she proved to be weak and dependable? The mere thought of it made shivers run down her spine, and she quickly reached for the blanket at the foot of the bed and pulled it over head, hiding.

Knock knock. The boy waited a few seconds. "Rima? Are you in there?" He waited for a little while longer before the pushed the handle down and went inside. In the corner of the room he could see a big bundle on top of the bed, and the sight of it made smile for the first time in a day. Carefully he tiptoed over to the bed and knelt down as he reached it, finding a small gap in the blanket revealing a mess of peach hair.

"Aaah!" Rima sat up with a jerk. "Shiki! How many times have I told you NOT to blown in my ear!" He kept on smiling, relieved that she was still the same old Rima he'd left the before going away the previous day. "What' are you grinning about, you idiot?"

Her face flamed hot and red as she looked up at him. It irritated her that he could just stand there, all calm and relaxed, as if nothing had happened, nothing at all! But, truth be told, nothing really had. Shiki had only been gone for one day, and still… The words she despised and feared came crawling back to her, and she shook her head, ridding herself of both of the thoughts and the anger.

"Shiki…" He looked down at her and as he saw her, he instantly understood.

"Fine, but not for too long." He sat down beside her on the bed and stated unbuttoning his pale yellow shirt. As he did, Rima got herself untwisted from the blanket and looked at him with hungry eyes as he undressed and a wicked smile grew on her lips; this was the Shiki she knew.

She moved her body closer to his and let her fingers touch the skin of his arm, sliding up and around his shoulders. Her other hand followed a similar route around his other shoulder, her chest pressing up against his back as she let her her hands rest just above his stomiach. Bending closer she could feel the slight warmth of his skin blending with her own. She closed her eyes and drew in the sweetness of his body, and when she opened them again they'd flared up in a cascade of gleaming, red sparks. Her whole being melted in sensation, something that never happened when she was around any of them. No, only Shiki could bright forth that part of her, only he... She opened her mouth and let a pair of sharp, little teeth pierce and sink into the skin of his neck. There was a small gasp from the boy, a sound of slight discomfort and also pleasure, and Rima slowly started sucking. Her body suddenly felt as on fire. His blood filled her mouth and made her unable to think clear and she let herself give in to it. Ever since she'd first tasted him she'd been overwhelmed and it had been as if her eyes had been opened to something entirely new. It was something different with it, something unique that she couldn't describe. At first she'd thought it was because of Shiki, that he just tasted different, but she'd been wrong. His blood was just like that of the other nobles in the dorm, but not to her. Each time his warm, thick fluid slid down her throat she feel an unfamiliar tingling in her entire being – almost as if she'd been alive once again. All too soon she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, slowly pushing her away. Her whole body screamed out in protest, longing for more, but she carefully withdrew her fangs with a sigh.

The door suddenly flew up and in the opening stood Ichijo Takuma.

"Hey, Rima. I-"

"HAVEN'T I TOLD YOU TO KNOCK?!" Rima screamed, blotchy shades of red flushing her face. Beside her, Shiki let out a sigh. For once he'd actually thought he would be able to enjoy a nice and calm Rima, but now it seemed like this wish would not be fulfilled.

In the doorway, Ichijo quickly started apologizing and was about to close the door again, but stopped himself in the middle of a sentence and a smile appeared on his face as he noticed some red drops around Rima's mouth.

"Already gotten your lunch I see" He teased, and Rima subconsciously licked her lips, gathering up the last drops of blood.

"What's it to you, Ichijo?" she asked, her voice harsh. Slowly she let her eyes trail up and down the dorm's second in command "Why did you even burst in here in the first place? What is it that you want?"

"Just a formality actually. Kaname asked me make sure that absolutely everyone is ordered to be present in the ballroom for tonight's annual celebration." Rima snorted.

"Ordered? Really? That doesn't sound like something the president would do."

"Well," Ichijo scratched the back of his hand in an embarrassed motion. "I might have accidentally let slip that there were members of the dorm that wouldn't show up otherwise."

Then he hurried out the door, just in time to avoid Rima's accurately thrown tennis ball. Shiki smiled to himself. Rima was probably not the quietest and most restrained person he knew, but boy didn't she make up for it in her own way.

"What are grinning about this time, Shiki?" The boy just continued smiling, something he immediately realized was a mistake.

"Ouch, Rima!" The growl left him as he bend down to hold his shin after she'd finished kicking it. She just snorted oncemore and then curled up in a ball on the bed again, pulling her covers with her. Shiki shook his head in exasperation, well aware that he in a way had asked for that kick. He knew all too well that she just couldn't stand not knowing why others smiled at something she didn't know about. Shiki pushed himself up off the bed and walked towards the door.

"Shiki?" Rima had noticed the movement and was now peering up at him from a slit in the blanket. He turned halfway and sent her a serious look.

"You heard yourself what the vice-president said… The fact that Kaname himself ordered it leaves us with no excuse I'm afraid…" With a displeased look on her face, Rima nodded. Shiki was of course right, he always was.

"Fine," she mumbled. "I'll be ready in an hour." Shiki gave her a small smile. Even though he would never admit it to anyone, and especially not to Rima, he'd actually looked forward to this event.

"I'll see you there then." He gave her a little nod and then left the room to get himself ready.

Down in the great hall everything was all set for the big event. The large crystal chandeliers were lit especially for the night and flowers of all shapes and colors were artistically scattered, spread and placed in various antique vases that were situated along the walls. The second Rima reached the lower floor she could practically feel the smell of the food displayed on the buffet hit her, so delicious that it made her mouth water. She let her eyes scan the room, noticing with distaste that everyone present were considered 'the normal' ones. The vampire girl let out a sigh, remembering all the times in the past that she'd wished she was one of them, just a normal human girl. What would her life have been like? The thoughts often haunted her, even now, but she usually dismissed them as soon as they came to mind. Still, some nights, the thoughts kept her awake and she laid there thinking, wondering how like would have been if Shiki, her friends and herself had been something else, if they had been-

The train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name. She quickly turned around, suddenly standing face to face with Shiki. Judging by the look on his face she could sense that he'd just asked her a question.

"Did you say anything?" she asked. He just rolled his eyes at her.

"When are you gonna start paying attention?" As if on instinct he quickly moved his foot to the side, just in time to avoid a sharp heal coming down on the floor where his foot had been just a second ago. "Geez, you don't have to take it so personally, you know I'm just teasing you, right?" She kept glaring at him. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, it was my mistake. How about a dance?"

Rima looked left and right, studying the many beautiful girls around them, trying to find the one Shiki had asked. She tried to follow his gaze but could not manage to see who his attention was on. Finally she gave up and looked quizzically at him.

"Me?"

"Well yeah, of course I mean you. Do you see anyone else?" For a second Shiki expected another attempt to crush his foot, but instead of the usual offended look on her face, a smile appeared and she put her hand in his and let herself be pulled out onto the dance floor. As they danced, Rima's face brightened, and as he swung her around between all the joyful teens she felt that in this instant, right now, she couldn't care less what the others thought of her.

"Miss Toya!" Rima jumped just as someone slapped her head.

"What?" She quickly straightened up bewildered. Looming over her was the teacher, and he did not seem very pleased. In his hand he held a roll of paper and as she focused her gaze on him, his eyes narrowed so that all that was left was a couple of this cracks.

"What have I said about sleeping in class, young miss?" His tone was insisting and bore trace of a threat, but Rima simply shrugged it off; she didn't care about teachers, and especially not this one.

"How should I know? I don't care; not for your class and especially not for you – you have no value to me at all."

In absence of words the teacher turned on his heel and marched down to the catheter again. Rima rejoiced at the sight of the ferocious anger displayed on his face as struggled to get his emotions under control; and smiled wryly before she again settled down over the desk with a thoughtful smile on her lips as she relived the previous night's events.

Life was a gift, but so was death. The greatest of all gifts, however, was to be one of the living dead.

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