Summary: A very human Yuuki attacks a very confused Yori in the Chairman's bathroom one evening. What on earth could have made her best friend go crazy? -- A slightly dark tale that Yori may or may not get to remember the next day. Oneshot.
Disclaimer: I do not own VK.
Shattered
Sayori Watanabe stood in the Chairman's spacious bathroom, critically regarding the spiky little green plant in front of her with a frown. It looked like an innocent enough present for Aido-sempai and she really was hoping that he would like it. Although it was only their second month anniversary, she had wanted to get him something small. And of course giving him a plant this time wasn't really all that special, she thought, muttering darkly as she recalled the fate of the last poor 'love-plant' she had given him. Seriously, had no one ever told him that plants needed water?
She shook her head as she remembered the state of the poor desiccated little blossom when the chambermaid had finally thrown it out.
That had better not happen again this time, she thought with a scowl. After all, this one was a cactus! Which such cute little pink flowers too! If only the pot wasn't quite so big and ugly... The lady she had bought it from in town had refused to change the pot for her. However, she had bought a cute little pot in a different shop which she was certain would be absolutely perfect. It even had adorable little elephants painted on it!
She smiled to herself as she pictured him receiving her small gift. Maybe she would tie a little bow around the pot, she mused, leaning over the side of the bathtub as she started shifting the sand into the smaller pot.
It was a slightly messy business. The sand had stubbornly refused to come out at first and she had shaken the pot vigorously, causing its entire contents – cactus and all – to upend into the bathtub.
Once she finally had the cactus re-potted, she leaned back to survey her handiwork. A small smile of satisfaction crept onto her face as she regarded the gift but quickly faded as she took in the mess before her.
Oh well... She would no doubt have to clean it up later, she thought as she looked at her watch. The Night Class would be leaving their dorms soon. If she wanted to give this to Aido before his classes, she had better hurry.
Grabbing the newly potted cactus and the bigger pot, Yori quickly left the bathroom and made her way across the school grounds.
The afternoon had been hot and sticky and Zero Kiryu was more than grateful as the evening finally approached, bring with it the promise of cooler weather. He had skipped classes again to go after another level E in town. Of course the Association had to pick this day of all days to send him out, he thought was a groan.
The sun had already been blazing overhead as he walked out of the Academy, and for once in his life he wished that Yuuki had been stubborn enough to tag along.
Vampires were always attracted to her. Not that he could really blame them... The scent of her blood was completely tantalizing – he of all people would know – and he couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that her presence would have made his job so much easier.
He scowled as he stopped his thoughts in their tracks, completely horrified. Had he just thought of using Yuuki as bait? What the hell was wrong with him? He would gladly roast under the blazing sun in the middle of a desert for a week than let her stand in harm's way! The heat must be getting to his brain...
Unfortunately for him (and maybe it was karma for his abhorrent thoughts), his job was not made easy. This particular one had been a 'runner' and he had been forced to chase the deranged vampire ten blocks in the relentless heat. When he had finally trapped it in an ally, the stupid creature was already quite delirious – if an already crazed ex-human could be delirious – from the heat.
Feeling his own bloodlust heighten due to his exertions under the sun, Zero wasted no time in finishing the business. He was already heading back to the academy when he had spotted yet another level E hovering around a young woman and her baby...
So much for going home early, he thought with chagrin as he forced himself to go after it.
By the time he had finally returned to the academy it was already late afternoon. He groaned inwardly as he checked his watch. He had fifteen minutes at best to clean himself up before having to help Yuuki ward off idiotic, screaming fan girls from their idolized bloodsuckers...
He stepped into the Chairman's bathroom and proceeded to undress, swiftly unbuttoning his shirt and unceremoniously tossing it into the bathtub. His pants and jacket he discarded too with much the same manner before stepping into the shower.
He was already almost dressed again when he heard a knock on the room door. Doing up the last buttons of his clean shirt, he walked outside to see who it was.
Opening the door, he was surprised to find Yagari Sensei's broad frame standing in the hallway.
The one-eyed sensei addressed the young hunter in his usual monotone and asked him to come to his office. There had been calls from the Association. A pureblood was looking for a level D who had gone missing and had suspected the hunters for killing it. Photos of the level D had been circulated.
Zero frowned. He really didn't see how this was any business of the Association's, but decided not to voice the thought as he followed the teacher down the stairs and through a different hallway to his office. It looked like he wouldn't be able to help Yuuki manage the Day Class this evening after all.
That stupid vampire! Yuuki Cross could barely suppress a growl as she thought of her fellow guardian. He had skipped the whole day of school! And not only was their teacher mad, but he had also spoken of giving the boy a whole week of detention! The exams were coming up soon. How was he going to juggle a whole week of detention as well as tutor her in math which he had already promised to do? And he had also once again abandoned her during the exchange, leaving her to the mercy of the fan girls.
This evening she had barely been able to hold her own as the rowdy throng of fan girls had her nearly crushed against the gate. Without Zero's hostile aura and intimidating death stares, she had been almost completely defenceless. It was only when Kaname sempai had ordered Siren to help her, did things become more controlled. However, she couldn't help but cringe at the thought of the added venom this extra help would cost her. They already hated her so much due to Aido's mischievous flirtations and the little attention Kaname sempai gave her.
Yuuki was wrapped in her thoughts as she trudged towards the Chairman's bathroom so she was quite surprised to find Yori standing in the bathroom when she walked in.
"Yori-chan?" she said in surprise. What was her roommate doing here? Was everything okay? The little blonde girl looked worried...
Yori merely blinked at Yuuki before casting her a troubled glance. She seemed to hesitate before finally finding her tongue.
"Um. Yuuki? Where is Zero? Why is his uniform and gun left in the tub? " she asked the brunette guardian as she motioned to the items strewn across the white porcelain.
Yuuki frowned as she regarded the pile of clothes. The metal of the gun glistened dully in the bathroom light. This was odd.
"Zero never goes anywhere without his –"
She stopped short, suddenly noticing the sand that lay strewn across the bottom, unmistakable against the smooth white china.
In that moment, it felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. She felt the blood drain from her face as her chest tightened, her eyes flying open in horror.
Clothes and sand. Zero had saved her from enough level Es for her to know...
This was exactly how... The last time when... When vampires...
Zero...
No! It wasn't possible...
But he hadn't turned up for classes today!
Adrenaline pumped through her veins as her mind reeled in panic. Pain shot through her as if a blade was slowly and firmly being pushed into her chest, an invisible hand twisting the handle. Beside her, an oblivious Yori held the showerhead in one hand as she started turning the faucet.
"No!" Yuuki yelled as she lunged at her roommate, knocking the blonde clean off her feet and onto the bathroom tiles. Yori's bloodcurdling scream filled the bathroom as she landed; the showerhead bounced out of her hands and hit the floor.
It was then that the sobbing started.
Zero closed the office door behind him has he stepped into the hallway. He hadn't really seen the point of the search for the missing level D. The unfortunate ex-human was probably a level E by now and had most likely been killed by some other hunter. The pureblood should have turned him into a level C sooner. Not that it mattered to him, Zero thought with a frown. One less vampire in this world could not be a bad thing.
He was just about to leave for the stables when he heard the sounds of distress coming from upstairs. His heart raced and adrenaline shot through his blood as he dashed up the stairs in alarm, towards the cries that were coming from the Chairman's bathroom.
"What the hell is going on?" Zero demanded as he burst through the threshold of the bathroom. He stopped abruptly in his tracks, suddenly aware that there were three humans staring at him. Everything went quiet.
He scowled as the silence continued. Somebody had better start explaining what the hell had just happened or he was going to lose it really soon...
He heard a sob, and it was then that his eyes locked onto Yuuki's tear stained face. His purple-grey eyes widened with shock as he registered the shining tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"Z-ZERO!" she cried as she threw herself into his middle, locking her arms around him and almost causing him to lose balance. She buried her tearstained face into his shirt as her fingers clenched the fabric behind him in a death grip. He drew his arms protectively around her, holding her small frame close to his chest as her body wracked with sobs.
Yuuki's behaviour sent spikes of fear through him and his immediate response was to fight whatever had harmed her. His eyes quickly darted to the other miserable looking girl and the Chairman.
Yori herself looked on the verge of tears as she stood against the bathroom counter. Her eyes were wide with fear and confusion. The still trickling showerhead lay at her feet.
The Chairman stood by the doorway, frowning but otherwise looking relieved. Zero's tensed muscles relaxed slightly. There was no immediate danger.
He scanned the bathroom for answers and immediately saw his gun on the floor and the clothes he had so unceremoniously dumped into the bathtub without care. He then noticed the sand at the bottom of the tub and his violet eyes widened in sudden understanding.
Ah.
Zero fought to suppress the small, grim smile that threatened to play on his lips as he regarded the two silent humans standing in the room and finally the sobbing girl in his arms.
He lowered his head so his forehead touched the top of Yuuki's head and sighed softly into her hair.
"Yuuki... don't cry," he whispered.
"Z-Zero…" she gasped brokenly, her head still buried in his chest. "I- thought... I t-thought..."
He held her tighter as he felt her tremble. Her unspoken words hung in the air, bringing with them a fresh round of tears.
"It's alright, Yuuki, it's alright," he chanted again and again as her sobs slowly subsided, giving way to tears of relief.
"I'm s-sorry for knocking you down, Yori-chan," Yuuki finally whispered, her watery voice still trembling from the depths of Zero's embrace. I thought you were washing Zero down the drain...
"It's ok Yuuki." The girl had been so terrified and confused at Yuuki's unexplained behaviour, but she was glad that Zero had come and that her friend was now being comforted.
Even when the crying stopped, neither guardian moved. Yuuki continued holding on to Zero, refusing to let go and he was only too happy to let her.
The Chairman slowly led the other trembling girl out of the bathroom, wondering if he should call a certain pureblood to wipe away this confusing and horrible memory.
She held on to him until they sat down for dinner. Only then did she unwillingly released her fingers from the back of his shirt and take her seat at the small round table.
The 'special' meal that had been prepared did not cheer her up. She sat in stony silence, staring dejectedly at her plate, leaving Zero to entertain the harebrained academic's futile attempts at light conversation.
The young hunter's usual one word answers did not leave much room for discourse and the rest of dinner soon lapsed into silence.
They remained together for hours after dinner, curled up on a sofa as they watched the orange flames flickering behind the grate in the living room.
Homework remained forgotten. Memories of the day's classes and hunting trips seemed to exist in another lifetime.
She sat in his lap, her head resting against his chest as he held her. If she pressed closer she could feel the faint thud of his heart, as if it were calling out to her – a remainder that he was still very much alive. For now.
They remained this way – silent, listening to each other's breathing as she stared unseeingly into the fire.
A small tear trickled down her cheek as his blasé words on suicide collected themselves in her memory.
One small hand was still fisted into the fabric of his shirt as if afraid that he would suddenly decide to leave.
But he wasn't going anywhere. At that moment there was nothing in the world that could have possibly made him leave. As he held one arm protectively around her, the other hand stroked her hair and rubbed circles into her back.
He watched her, anxiety etched onto his features as he chided himself for his carelessness for the millionth time that night.
Soon she will snap out of it, he told himself. Soon she'd smack him and scold him for giving her such a scare and things would go back to exactly the way they were before.
Somewhere inside, he was glad she wasn't staring at him, glad he didn't have to suffer the full force of emotions that still lingered in her chocolate eyes.
"Promise me Zero," she whispered.
Her voice was rough from crying. Her eyes remained locked on the dancing flames. And yet somehow the pain she made him feel was real. It tore deeply into him, unforgiving.
It was in that moment that he realized that it no longer matter how much he hated himself. He had lost the courage to ever pull the trigger. His entire being would forever avoid anything that could bring this out in the girl he cared so much for.
"I promise."
He felt her relax the moment the words left his lips. The agony that haunted her eyes was slowly fading.
They continued sitting in the living room for a long time afterwards.
Burrowing her nose into his shirt, she breathed in his musky scent, finally feeling her chest expand fully for the first time since the incident. Curled up in his arms, she allowed her eyes to flutter close as she pressed one ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he continued to hold her protectively as he stared unseeingly into the fire.
A/N: Rushed though this piece and I can't bring myself to redraft even though it probably needs it.
Hmmm. I feel slightly bad for torturing Yuuki.
This was probably inspired from one of those Ways to Anger Zero fics which somehow got me thinking about the worst possible ways to scare Yuuki…
Anyway, thank you for reading guys! Reviews would be awesome.