warning: implied incest. major scenes taken from VK's extra chapter 93.8, "Ai's Wish". If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do, because you'll be more than a little confused.
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play me an elegy
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Once upon a time, a girl fell in love.
It did not end well.
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"I've decided," she says, pointing a finger at the unassuming pair accusingly, "—that until you two give me a younger sister, I'm going to sulk in bed!"
Silence ensues. Feeling especially vengeful, she adds, "Maybe I'll even be like Father Kaname and sleep for eternity!"
—just to spite them.
Yuki is the first to respond, and she does so by spinning around, lips jutting out in a pout. "You'll make Yori-chan sad."
She wants to scream and throttle the wizened but forever youthful woman in front of her. She wants to drag the fair-haired man and his equally prudish companion by their collars and smash their mouths together—
Because God knows they weren't getting action anytime soon.
She's about to retort, but she catches wind of soft, unfamiliar footsteps nearby, thrumming on cold concrete in balanced, unwavering surety. A finger flies to her lips. She motions her companions to keep quiet.
"...a Day Class member roaming around at night?" She pauses. No—the heartbeat is faint, but sharp and unfaltering. "...no. It has to be an intruder." She throws the pair one last glance, hoping the fire in her lungs would go undetected. She rips her gaze from the man before it lingers, gnawing on the insides of her mouth as compensation. "I would love to stay and beat some sense into the two of you, but duty calls."
—and she slips into the night, dark hair billowing out behind her, the taste of her words rancid in her mouth. And she knows when she's far enough, he'll reach out to touch her with kindliness reserved for her and her only, a trail of ice at his fingertips, and she would smile that strange smile reserved only for him.
It's a ritual, what they share, and it burns just thinking about it, but Ai is used to the blaze and the smell of ashes in the aftermath, but it still hurts.
She wishes it would stop, but it never does. The inferno knows no bounds, only knows the will to consume.
"We-ll, the two have a great atmosphere going on at the moment," Ruka sings, shifting eyes and nervous smiles. "And I adjusted Yuki-san's schedule like crazy today and made plenty of room for free time—"
"...Ruka-neesan," she begins, sounding as if she doesn't want to know the answer to the question she's about to ask. "...what...is it?"
"...it's a custom made sticky mat trap," Akatsuki supplies, sounding just as uncomfortable. "If you force yourself to move, it'll only get worse..." he lets his sentence trail off, sweating at the sight of Ai attempting to dislodge her hand.
There's a sigh, and Ai glances up to see Ruka crouching, a frown settling in her eyes. "Sorry for putting you into a bind, Ai-chan, but those two need time they can spend together—"
Oh. Ai suddenly remembers, with infuriating numbness, that it can hurt more.
"—alone," she finishes, and she feels the shards snapping into smaller pieces. She wonders when they'll be reduced to dust, small enough so that even her eyes won't be able to detect it. She continues, "I know you worry about those two...you just want to see them happy, don't you?"
Ruka has always been beautiful—sad, dark eyes, and full lips—but seeing her smile with such empathy leaves a bittersweet taste in Ai's mouth.
So, she denies it.
"That's not true," she says immediately, not having to look up to see the knowing look Akatsuki and Ruka share. "I just want...a little sister."
She pauses, and her expression twists into something horrible.
"If I get one, and I win her over when she's still young, I'll be able to take as much blood as I like—"
She cackles, and it's rich and lovely, but she knows it's hollow. She wonders how long it's been since she really laughed and finds she cannot recall.
They have gotten accustomed to her unsettling laughs by now, to the point where they cannot distinguish it from a genuine one.
But it's only a half-lie. It's horrible and cruel, she knows, but she needs it. Thirsts after it. Because she cannot dive into his arms and sink her teeth into his neck and wish for him to hold her close—
And it burns. She thirsts for him, not simply for blood or body, but his essence; it's a strange way to put it, and Ai knows it doesn't make sense. But from the time she was born, it has always been him.
Then, she remembers, this is Rukaneesan, and she doesn't have to hold up her facade. So, she lets her mask crack, stares down at the ground, and quietly says, "I'm serious about this. If possible, I'd like a little sister who...doesn't resemble Zero."
It feels strange not referring to him as 'him' but rather by his real name, and she sings it like a prayer because she knows she's damned.
"Holding it in everyday, the person that I want to be mine...already belongs to another." Her words are jumbled and messy and bitter.
She loathes herself, she really does, but she can't live with grief in her heart so she blames it on a curse—yes, she must have been cursed, to feel this way towards her mother's lover.
And she couldn't even begin to describe the disgust she felt when she looked at him because that's all she could see—she did not see Zero, a man she loved, nor did she see a father, because he made it his damnedest job to remind her that he was anything but—
She could only see her mother's man. Her mother, the woman she loved with all her heart, the one person she could not bring herself to hate.
That only left herself to resent.
"I see." Ruka's voice is soft. "...but, Ai, is is not that you need someone for you to love to appear?"
She's grown now, too old to shed mindless tears, but that does not stop the dam that's holding everything together from collapsing. Ai releases a shaky breath, clinging to Ruka, because she gives her so much hope, hope that one day this will all be over, the curse will end, and she will not feel—
...oh, silly neesan. How could she say such things with such sorrow when her someone is standing right before her?
Ai smiles at Akatsuki, shaking her head. You've got it bad, she mouths, her eyes twinkling. The man sighs, resigned, as if to reply, I know.
But she knows he wouldn't have it any other way, and it fills her with hope.
She can't help but ask. "Ruka-neesan, why do you go so far for those two?"
"Oh? Haven't I told you?" Ruka places a hand on her chest, closing her eyes. "The wishes of my special person...what I wished for, up until the end—" she paused. A smile lights up her face and she looks nothing short of angelic, so much prettier than her own mother and anyone else she'd ever seen. "In the end, he chose someone else as his other half. But still, if he were here, he would want them to be happy."
"You loved him," Ai says softly.
Her answering smile is dazzling. "I did, and I was lucky. My sad, broken heart came away cleanly from a one sided love."
And suddenly, the floor disappears from under Ruka, and she's piled into Akatsuki's arms, and Ai can't help but smile.
"Ruka."
Good for you, Ruka-neesan, Akatsuki-niisan.
"Start thinking of me already."
And she means it.
Swathed in moonlight and the cold, night air, she stands lone on the roof, observing, but never too close.
She doesn't want to ruin their fragile infinity, but she needs closure.
She sees her with her head in his lap, his hands roaming the expanse of her lovely, youthful face, and finally, at last, her hands rest on his cheek.
"...I want to stop dwelling on a strained love. However..."
Ai smiles, even though it aches more than it ever did before, because both her greatest dreams and worst nightmares are coming alive.
Yuki places a finger to his lips. She sees his eyes widen, and the adoring smile that breaks across her mother's face like the sun.
"...the rest is a secret." It rings like a promise, and she knows it's over.
Finally.
She knows they think she was jesting when she proclaimed she would sleep. She knows it's selfish.
But she needs it.
"Zero, I love you."
It's dark and quiet and not a single speck of light can be seen. There is no sound. Even her acute senses fail to pick out anything.
She knows he knows the meaning behind her words, because he pauses, lifts his eyes, and asks,
"Do you want me to pretend I never heard that, or respond?"
Her blood turns to ice.
She closes her eyes.
"Don't tell her." She may love him relentlessly, desperately, but she loves her mother more. "If you do, I'll kill you."
She loves her mother more than anything in existance. It triumphs over her love for him, even if the cost is her own happiness. She will not allow him to make her upset.
If need be, she would kill him.
He nods. "I won't."
And she knows he's not lying, because he loves her just as much.
"Goodbye, my first love."
And she sleeps.
Ren Kiryuu is born during a stormy night in April, his cries swallowed by crackling thunder across the sky. He is immediately tended to by a cooing Yuki, her tired face glinting under lamplight. His first memory is of the bloodstained sheets that are strewn across him like a cocoon, his mother speaking to him in hushed tones.
Later, he would meet his father, a man of few words and a nurturing smile.
He never doubts they loved him, but he can't help but notice the wistful glances they steal at the various portraits littering the hallway—each one framed in shades of ivory, wood, and gold. But what catches his eye are the ones with a smiling, dark-haired girl in them, so much like his mother yet so...different. Her eyes are calmer, more intelligent, her hair thicker and wavy.
It doesn't take him long enough to realize they sighed over her. Often, he'd catch his mother staring at the frames, looking like she was trying hard not to cry—then his father would enter, pulling her away, though he'd never miss the sadness in his short glances.
Not much later, he pops the question, having stolen one of the pictures from its post.
"Who is she?" He demands, pointing at the stranger tucked away in his parent's arms. His, not hers.
Yuki looks horrified. "Ren—put that down!" He watches in annoyance as she swipes it from his arms, placing it back on the wall—this time, higher, so he can't reach. He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. Yuki traces the outline of the young girl with fondness, spurring his anger to new heights—just who was this girl?
"I'm sorry." Yuki breaks the silence. "I probably should have seen this coming." She sits down next to him and untangles his arms, pulling him into her lap. "You have a right to know, after all."
"Who is she?"
Yuki smiles slightly at his petulance. "Her name is Ai, and she's your older sister."
Ren feels his world come to a stop.
"...but...she looks nothing like me. Or Dad."
Ah, the dreaded question. Yuki sucks in a deep breath, closes her eyes, and tells him everything.
Throughout the story, she sees him inspecting the photos in a new light, eyes keen and sharp. His gaze pauses between two pictures—one taken during Ai's tenth birthday, and the other from when she was twelve, and a frown settles on his lips. Yuki isn't sure if he's paying attention at this point, but he tells her to continue and so she does—
—stopping at the day Ai decided to enter her slumber. He asks her where she is and Yuki replies carefully, knowing how dangerous it is to awaken a sleeping pureblood. She takes into consideration Ren's boldness and decides it's best if he doesn't know her whereabouts.
Ren looks strangely upset by the revelation.
"She went to sleep forever because she was mad you didn't give her a sister?" He asks flatly.
"...well, I'm sure Ai has her reasons, but—"
"If you think that's true, then you're stupid." He scoffs, rolling out of her lap. Yuki watches him disappear down the corridor, her mouth open in shock.
"...I'm home...Yuki? Why're you sitting on the floor?"
Ren finds himself staring at the pictures on a daily basis. Not a day would pass when he wouldn't sit down and speculate, shifting from Ai's days as an adorable toddler to a sharp young girl. In every picture, she's smiling, and he realizes that's what's wrong.
He wonders when sweet little Ai had become such a liar.
It's not until his parents drag him off to his fourteenth Christmas banquet that he gets the chance to ask. He spots his mother's vampire acquaintances, none of whom look a day older than they appeared in pictures—save for maybe Hanabusa Aido.
The man, while having not undergone growth, had grown weary, thin from malnourishment, eyes dark and tired from overwork. He was the grandfather to a gaggle of admittedly rather cute kids, but his wife had been human and all too fleeting. Sayori Wakaba, he recalls, with startling familiarity. He sees the way his eyes seem to stare out, tireless and eternal, only brightening when they rest on his daughter scolding her son, but still, so dark—
But Ren knows he's waiting for the day he can see his grandchildren grow old and wed, so he can finally go in peace. He promised her, after all, but even Ren can see the impatience carved into his eyes.
He waves to Shiki and Rima as they pass, searching for a woman with toffee-colored hair and eyes spun of gold. He finds her draped across the arms of a man with fire for eyes, speaking quietly—when her eyes catch his, she smiles slightly, dipping her head once.
It makes him angry.
He doesn't know what he's done to make her so apprehensive of him. He knows she bears no ill-will, but he sees the peculiar glances she throws him when she thinks he's not looking, sees the way her lips curl in contempt and her eyes narrow. If she weren't so loyal to her mother, he would've thought the woman hated him.
So he marches forward with his shoulders squared, not intending to bite his words any longer.
"Tell me where she is."
And Ruka, for the first time, sends him a genuine smile.
"—Yuki-san and your father wouldn't approve of this."
"I don't care." He scowls like the indignant child he is. Then, he remembers what his father had told him, and he can't help but query, "How well did you know her?"
She was closest to Ruka, he'd said, pointing to an aesthetically pleasing woman in one of his mother's old scrapbooks. They knew practically everything about each other. Almost like sisters.
Which makes him even angrier because she is his sister and not hers and what right did she have to deprive him of siblinghood?
Ruka smiles widely and for a split second, Ren thinks she's beautiful, more than any other vampire that he'd ever seen, and he wonders why every man in the ballroom isn't pining after her. She is beautiful, Ren realizes, a wry smile slipping onto his face. But she sings songs of sorrow, and he didn't think there were many men willing to nurture those tunes.
He glances up at her fiery companion, who remains quiet.
"She is nothing short of exceptional." Normally, he would snort at such high praise, but he knows she's not lying. "She is...such a kind-hearted girl, even more than I was—" she pauses. "Watch your step, it's darker than normal down here..."
"...why did she do it?"
Silence lingers in the air. Akatsuki clears his throat. Ruka suddenly looks uncomfortable.
"...I...don't think it's in my place to say."
Which means I'm back where I started. Ren sighs in frustration, batting away a throng of cobwebs from his shoulder. This place is ancient.
"But she did what she thought was best." Ruka reaffirms, hardened. "She...she wanted them to be happy, even if it meant getting hurt. She didn't want to...be a hinderance. But I think she was just trying to keep herself from getting more hurt."
"...what are you saying?"
"She was truly the most selfless when it came to love."
Ren stops.
"Selfless?" He spits, incredulous. How does she have the audacity to insinuate that? "She locks herself up in an eternal slumber, disregards her family, abandons her role as an older sister, and—"
He's said too much. Ruka smiles knowingly.
—and he loves her already. He doesn't know the girl with forced smiles and secrets in her eyes, has no idea what instruments she plays by, her philosophy, or her laughter, but he longs to wipe the sadness from her mouth and be held in her arms, even just once—
"And you love her." She says softly.
Ren does not respond.
"...I can only hope that it's enough."
He sees her bathed in darkness, her pale skin the only indication that she exists. She sleeps with both hands pressed against her chest, a familiar, sad curve to her mouth, eyes closed. She's beautiful, of course—that's only obvious—but the fact that she's solid and right in front of him is surreal, and his breath catches in his throat, his lungs go dry—
"...Ruka, this is going too far, he's going to wake her—"
"Leave it be, Akatsuki."
"He's in danger."
"Ai has only slept for twenty years. I have faith she won't snap at her own flesh and blood."
"Ruka—!"
He presses his bleeding mouth to hers, and the incarnation is complete.
Ai stirs. Ren lifts his mouth from hers, lips swollen and dyed red, dazzling and dazzled. Enraptured, he stares, watching—he had breathed life into her once more, color flushing her cheeks, dark hair gaining a luster that was not present before, her own lips swelling with want.
Ai opens her brilliant eyes, drinking in the sight of her younger brother.
"Ai—"
Then, she lunges.
She doesn't remember who she is, where she came from, or her own name—
She only knows the burning in her throat and the ache in her heart, begging to be satiated.
She slams her victim down by the throat, hearing a gasp of—pain? Surprise? Hurt? She doesn't know.
She doesn't care.
All she wants is to taketaketake and he tastes so—good—
Somewhere, she hears someone screaming.
Something is touching her.
No, clawing at her, she realizes, though she can't bring herself to care.
Ai!
Ai, she repeats. Ai. What does that mean?
Ai, you have to stop!
Stop...what? She doesn't know.
Ai, he's going to die—!
...who?
"Ai, you're going to kill your brother!"
Oh.
Oh.
She sees him lying underneath her, eyes hazy from blood loss, widened in fear.
No.
He touches the vicious marks on his neck, staring at her in wonder.
No.
She sees everything—his birth, their warm smiles, the loving childhood he'd been blessed with—
Please, God, no.
—and he sees his eyes, his hair, everything that's not supposed to be there but is—
—and slams away from him, fingers digging into her scalp, mouthing words that sound gibberish to her own ears.
No, no no. It was supposed to be a little sister.
She was supposed to look nothing like him.
She was supposed to have her mother's wide eyes and silly smile and dark hair.
She was not supposed to be lean and beautiful, fair-haired and tall with eyes like an evening sky.
She squeezes her eyes shut.
"Ai—"
"Get him away," she spits, blood pooling under her nails.
"...Ai, sweetheart, it's all okay now, he's fine, you're fine—"
She wants to laugh.
It will never be fine.
The curse is back. It never left. And she can see him in a few years, shedding his docile nature, his eyes becoming sharper, his cheekbones defining, turning into a carbon copy of him.
And in time, he will come to him, and she will lure him in with false promises and pretty lies and use him and break him and—
He doesn't deserve that.
"GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!"
She jumps to her feet and climbs the walls, slipping away from Ruka's cries and Akatsuki's desperate calls.
What a fool she was, thinking she might've been able to catch a break.
She was damned for all eternity.
So she runs, her bounds devouring the ground from underneath her, headed for the one place that can offer her comfort.
"This is all your fault," she says, knowing he cannot hear her. "Want to know what I think? You shouldn't have been selfish and tossed away your heart as if it were garbage. What a coward you are, Kaname Kuran."
He does not reply.
She's suddenly enraged.
"You should've stayed with mother. You should have given up your promises to that damned woman and focused on making mother happy—you didn't love her, did you? Now I know. If you loved her, you wouldn't have left. But you didn't. Only he loves her. You're nothing but a lying bastard."
She pauses. Her chest heaves up and down from exertion, and only then does she take note of the tears dripping down to the floor. Disgusting, she laughs.
"I wish you would've chosen me. I wish you would have stayed. I wish I came first. I wish you didn't leave me with a broken woman and a sorry excuse for a father. He could never be my father. You must have known that, right?"
Her breathing is labored. She does not know why.
She does not care.
"Why did you leave? Did I not mean anything to you?"
Silence.
"Answer me, you coward!"
Glass shatters. The walls crumble.
But she cannot bring herself to harm him, as easy as that may be.
Then, a quiet, broken voice calls out to her.
"Ai."
And it's the last thing she wants to hear. If Yuki's here, it means he's here, and she can already smell him next to her, his scent on her neck and mouth and skin—
—and she catches a whiff of a new, flagrant aroma, too dangerous, too tempting.
The taste of him is branded on her mind, his memories a reminder of the fact that she would never belong. She had seen him bundled up in Yuki's sweaters, Zero lifting him by the arm while Yuki tickled him. He laughed a sweet, adorable little laugh, and they looked so happy.
She only wishes they could have continued to lead a life of ignorance. Had she not been awakened, they could have.
"Ai-chan." She feels her reach out, the air tingling in anticipation for her next move. Her hand is familiar and warm, but it smells like him. "...we've missed you so, so much."
She flinches away before they make contact. She doesn't want to turn around and shrivel in more self-hate. She knows Yuki is wearing an expression of grief.
She can't stand that look.
"I'm sorry," she says, her voice raspy. She sucks in a breath, gathering herself piece by piece, already hearing the chime of her broken heart. "...I can't come home."
The silence is deafening.
"Ai-chan, talk to me, please?" She's close now, but hesitation is apparent in her movements. "I'm here for you. We're all here."
And then, he speaks.
"Ai."
And everything she's worked so damn hard to keep together falls apart.
"This isn't like you."
If you saw the real me, you'd wish you hadn't.
"Come on. Let's go home and rest up. We can talk things over later."
And fall into hell again? You fool.
"I'm afraid that's not possible right now." She rises to her feet, wiping her bloodied hands on the skirt of her uniform. She hadn't bothered to change before she slept, but she really wished she'd put on something less conspicuous—she looked like something straight out of a horror movie. "...I had my reasons for doing what I did. If...if you were to find out, it would...ruin everything."
She speaks slowly, carefully. She feels Zero's gaze pierce the back of her head.
"...you three are family."
Yuki's eyes fill with tears.
"Ai-cha—"
"...I want you to be together. You belong together." She raises her head, and she knows she wears the face of a broken child, because even Zero's eyes tremble. Tears blur her vision. "...Zero, Yuki, and...my little brother. I'm sorry for being such a horrible oneesan, I really am. You deserve better."
He doesn't miss the way she says "Zero" and not "Daddy", and he suddenly looks guilty.
"Ai, we're you're family." Yuki insists, looking mortified, as if she were reliving some sort of traumatic memory. It's not your fault, Ai wants to say, but she doesn't.
"No." She shakes her head, a smile on her lips. "We're not. You, Zero, and your son—you're perfect. You don't need a reminder of a past love, Mother. You've been without me for twenty years—" she doesn't add the fact that a little part of her had been hoping they would have woken her up, "—and I want you to live out the rest of your days together. My family...is here."
She places her hand on the ice. It's cold, but it does not burn. She thanks her father for that much.
"...be happy."
"You're an idiot." A sharp voice cuts in. Ai's eyes widen at the sudden animosity. She turns to face the owner of the voice, and her throat goes dry with want.
"You really think we'd be happy if you weren't in the picture? You're so oblivious it hurts." He continues, balling his fists—he looks so unlike Zero then, Ai notes, so impudent and irksome, unlike Zero's collected demeanor. "You're such a selfish brat."
Ai reels back as if she's been slapped.
"What?"
"You heard me." Ren snaps, glaring at her. "For your information, I couldn't give a damn about your feelings. I don't care who your father is. I wouldn't care even if we didn't share the same mother. You—" he stabs a finger in her direction. "—are my sister. You have an obligation. You're not allowed to just run away from your problems and abandon me, coward."
"What did you just call me?"
"That's right—you're a coward. Running away from your problems. I know damn well whatever you said was a lie. On top of that, you're a hypocrite, too. You're yelling at your father for abandoning you when you're doing the same to me."
"That's...not the same thing!" Ai sputters.
"Really? It sounds pretty similar to me." He stalks up to her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. He's close, and she can smell the scent of lavender and sandalwood and something deliciously masculine underneath it all. "You think you can just wake up, suck me dry, and carry on with your life? Take responsibility, neesan. It still hurts, you know."
"That's—that's—" Ai opens and closes her mouth. Just...who does he think he is? "...you don't know anything about me!"
"Exactly." He peers down at her through narrowed eyes. She responds with a glower of her own. "That's exactly why you're coming home. With me, Father, and Mother, so you can catch up on the fourteen years you missed of my life."
"...are you blackmailing me?!" What happened to my wish for a little sister? She was supposed to be cute and give me her blood without complaint, not this—this devil!
"Keep in mind, neesan, you owe me. I sired you." Ren states coldly. "And if you think you can make up fourteen years by running away and sending me nice birthday presents, you're dead wrong." D-don't get so close to me, idiot! Why am I even intimidated by you? You're younger than me! "Now that you understand...I'm looking forward to spending time with you, neesan. You can call me Ren."
Ren.
...Ren?
"You didn't." Ai deadpans. Yuki and Zero suddenly find an interest in anything but her.
"They did." Ren says sarcastically. "Congratulations, you've won the privilege of being the center of a ridiculous pun. Look, you're already experiencing the perks of having a sibling."
Ai stares at her brother in frustration.
"You're not cute at all."
From far off in the distance, a duo observes the scene unfold, binoculars attached to their eyes.
"...Ruka, do you really think this was okay?"
"Shut up, Akatsuki. I know what I'm doing."
"...but seriously? Her little brother?"
"He's cute enough for my Ai. Besides, it's a Kuran thing. You wouldn't understand."
"Do you really think it'll work out?"
Ruka blinks. "Even if they don't get romantically involved, it's important they met. They are brother and sister, after all. And something tells me that Ren can keep her busy enough that she doesn't get hung up over Kiryuu again." She sniffs. "Honestly, what does she see in him?"
"It's a Kuran thing," Akatsuki reminds her, placing a hand on her head. "Even if we tried, we wouldn't understand."
.
.
fin
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note: For those who didn't get the joke, the kanji for Ren means romantic love while Ai's kanji stands for platonic love. Together, they form "renai", which means "love" or "to be in love" (?) lmao idk, it was meant to be a pun according to the manga.
Basically Ai likes Zero but Zero belongs to Yuki and Ai wants them to be happy but she hurts all over so she decides to handle it Kaname Style. Ren is tired of her shit and just wants an oneesan to hug him. I really wanted to portray Ren as kind of a brat because he is blunt (?) but he's also spoiled which makes him snappy. He talks respectfully, but he's unintentionally cheeky. Ai is just a ball of angst and thirsty for some Zero, wants a little sister to eat, gets a mini Zero, throws a fit, and gets some sense slapped into her. I always thought Ai would've felt like the oddball of the family, and with her liking Zero, it just makes it much worse.
But yeah here's Ai and Ren ft. fucked up Kuran-Kiryuu fam and supportive Ruka. I really felt like there needed to be more elaboration on the nature of Ren and Ai's relationship, and I had a hunch that Ai was sorely disappointed when she found out about her brother. She also mentioned sleeping for quite a while (in the extra) so yeah. I'll admit Renai is cute, and I ship it a bunch of ways—I don't want it to be completely romantic. I think they're very "platonic" in a way Kaname and Yuki never were, but I also think they are potentially involved. Either way it was too cute not to write about, haha.
Tell me if you think I should continue, because I'm debating on whether or not to leave it as a oneshot or make it multi-chaptered! Feedback is always welcome :)