CHAPTER 1

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight and all its characters belong to Hino Matsuri-sensei.

A/N: This is like the sequel to my first fic. But no worries. It can stand on its own. You can read the first one (and review!) if u wanted to. Well actually, PLEASE read the first fic. And review. Thanks! -LOL-

The storyline of this fanfic is pretty much the same with the first one except that it deals more with Shiki's emotions and there is a bit of action. Rima is slightly OOC in the later chapter(s) but I assure you that it does not go far away from her usual character. So, sit back, read with free mind and… REVIEW! XDD

CHAPTER 1

"Rima, wait!" Shiki called from behind as he stopped to catch his breath.

"Hurry up, Senri," Rima stopped dead in her track. "We're gonna be late," she scolded him but still let a smile to spread across her face.

Rima walked slowly towards the gasping Shiki, resting her white umbrella on her shoulder. Shiki's dark red hair swung as he crouched down and watched her intently. His silver eyes flashed and a sly grin crawled across his pale face. In no time, he grabbed her left hand and grasped it strongly. He didn't look so tired anymore as he looked up to see her reaction. Rima arched her eyebrow in disbelief.

"You're going too fast, Rima. I'm afraid you'll leave me," Shiki whined and faked a pout. As he stood up, he brushed his hair and swung their hands casually. "Now that I'm holding your hand, you're not going to leave me behind," he winked.

Rima blushed slightly at his remark. "I'm not going to leave you. You know that, Senri."

"Of course. Neither do I," he said in a serious gaze but his smile returned to his face. "Come on. Ayako is waiting for us."

Shiki pulled her hand gently and Rima twined her fingers between his. As soon as they reached their agency building, they were greeted by their manager's psyched expression.

"She must have something in her mind," Rima muttered in her softest voice. Shiki nodded and stared blankly at the short-haired woman. He groaned as he saw Ayako who was practically lunging at them.

"O-ha-you, Shiki-kun, Rima-chan!" Ayako said excitedly,

"What's up, Ayako?" Shiki asked, seeing the sparkles in the bespectacled woman's eyes. Rima just put on her stoic expression as she closed her umbrella.

"First of all, I'm terribly sorry for not being able to pick you two up today. I have an important client and he wanted to see you. Come," Ayako replied, pulling both of them. Shiki and Rima looked at each other in wonder.

Then they saw a well-dressed young man sitting on a couch. He was reading a newspaper and as they moved closer to him, he peered from his glasses. He gave them a warm smile before standing up and adjusted his coat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ishida-san," Ayako chirped at him and stood between Shiki and Rima. The man called Ishida nodded as he eyed them.

"Shiki-kun, Rima-chan, this is Ishida-san from OneStar Agency. He came here to meet both of you. Ishida-san, this is Shiki Senri-kun and Touya Rima-chan , our most photogenic models," Ayako introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," Shiki and Rima bowed politely.

"Nice to meet you, too, Shiki-kun, Touya-chan," Ishida smiled. "I'm glad that I finally can meet both of you personally."

"Both of you can go on with the photoshoot. Ishida-san and I have something to discuss about," Ayako said to them and gestured for Ishida to follow her.

Shiki and Rima nodded before moving to their respective changing rooms. Shiki wondered why did the man came to meet them. It was certainly not just a mere 'sight-seeing'. He glanced at Rima who had already walked into the female changing room.

'Something's not quite right,' he thought, clutching at the side of his shirt tightly.

But he shook away the thought and quickly changed into a white loose-fitting shirt before putting on a black coat and a scarf around his long neck.

He smiled when he saw Rima. She was wearing a black knee-length dress with white and pink frills on the skirt. The dress hung perfectly on her slender body and its dark color undoubtedly matched with her porcelain skin.

Shiki approached her and she couldn't help but to smile at his sight. He reached out and stroked her cheek with the side of his hand. No words were needed to express his feelings and Rima knew that too well. She gazed deeply into his bluish silver orbs.

"Okay, that's enough, lovebirds. Sorry to interrupt you but can we start now?" Their photographer, Fuji teased, earning a few chuckles from the other crew members.

"Sure, Fuji-san," Shiki waved and then turned to grin at Rima, whose face already became scarlet.

The crew members started to shuffle to their respective positions, getting ready to start the shooting. Shiki and Rima tried various poses and followed Fuji's instructions obediently, which earned them good commentaries from him.

In the middle of the photoshoot, Shiki's eyes caught the sight of Ishida, who was watching them intently from the side of the studio. Ayako stood beside him and she gave Shiki a thumbs-up.

Shiki's mind wandered off somewhere as he felt uneasiness swept over him. Not a good feeling. Not at all.

"Shiki, please focus," Fuji's voice boomed through his head.

"Y-Yes. I'm sorry," Shiki stammered and tried to focus back. Rima gave him a curious look. She'd never seen the usually calm and collected Shiki became like this.

"What's wrong, Senri?" Rima whispered. Though her face was facing the camera, Shiki could not miss the worried tone in her voice.

"Nothing. I was just distracted for a while," he whispered back. His lips were barely moving but he knew Rima could hear him. Shiki squeezed her hand reassuringly before glancing at Ishida, who was now talking to Ayako.

After the photoshoot, Shiki and Rima rested on a couch. Rima breathed in deeply as she wiped the dangling sweat from her forehead and her neck with a clean towel. She could feel a sharp gaze on her and turned to see Shiki staring at her. No, he was staring at her neck, to be precise.

A smirk hung on Rima's lips, seeing the way he looked at her.

"Are you thirsty?" Rima asked quietly, raising her eyebrow.

"No. I'd had enough last night," he replied and reached out to touch her neck. His clod fingers stroked the smooth white skin of her neck before tracing down her jaw line. His eyes stayed in her blue ones. "Your neck is tempting me, that's all. I could barely resist it," he teased.

Rima shuddered at his touch but she still didn't want to lose to him. She opened her mouth to say something but a voice interrupted her.

"Well done, Shiki-kun, Rima-chan," Ayako exclaimed. Ishida walked behind her, a grin plastered on his face. "You guys did very well today."

"I am very impressed with you," Ishida sneaked in. "You finished the shooting in such a short time. That was amazing and you were really professional."

"Thank you, Ishida-san," Rima said. "We were lucky to have someone from a famous agency to watch us."

"Actually, we have something to tell you," Ayako said. Ishida nodded at her, allowing her to continue. "Ishida-san and I had discussed about something and we came up with a very big plan. It is important for your career path and we are pretty sure it will be very successful."

Shiki and Rima eyed them suspiciously, waiting for her to finish. Ayako inhaled deeply and smiled.

"We decided to have a collaboration made between us and OneStar Agency. Their top model and both of you will have a special photoshoot to promote a clothing line. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"If you accept this offer, you can expand your career further. Moreover, it will be a very good experience for the three of you. I could sense a big chemistry coming," Ishida added, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Shiki and Rima exchanged glances, tried to delve into each other's thoughts.

"I think it's a good chance for us. You okay with it, Rima?" Shiki asked Rima, trying to brush off the uneasy feeling that loomed over him since just now. Ayako grinned happily.

"If Senri is okay, then I shouldn't have any reason to decline," Rima shrugged. "But who is the other model?"

"Hayasaka Akira."

An unfamiliar voice answered Rima's question, making the four of them jumped. Suddenly, a handsome guy with silver hair and emerald green eyes stepped in from the shadows, smirking slightly.

"Akira-kun! You're here? What about the photoshoot?" Ishida asked the guy called Akira.

"No worries, Ishida. I've finished it. Since I don't have any plans for today, I decided to drop by."

"Are you Hayasaka Akira-kun? I've seen you in those magazines and my, you looked so amazing!" Ayako exclaimed.

"Ah… I'm so rude for not introducing myself. My apology. My name is Hayasaka Akira. Nice to meet you," Akira bowed slightly in a gentleman manner.

"Nice to meet you, too, Akira-kun. I'm Ayako and let me introduce you to our models: Shiki Senri-kun and Touya Rima-chan," Ayako said.

Akira held out his right hand at Shiki and they shook hands briefly. "Nice to meet you," Shiki mumbled and Akira nodded at his remark.

Akira then turned at Rima and he swiftly took Rima's hand before planting a kiss on the back of her hand.

"Beautiful," he said, looking into her cerulean eyes.

Stunned, Rima pulled her hand back awkwardly. Shiki frowned and glared at him. He bit his lower lip and clenched his fist.

'This guy…' he thought, while Akira casually brushed his silver locks with his fingers and smiled at Rima.

"If all of you agreed, then let's go to my office to sign the agreement," Ayako said, interrupting Shiki's thoughts.

All of them started to follow Ayako, except Shiki. He just stood still on his spot. His mind flew everywhere as the feeling came back to him. Realizing that Shiki was not following, Rima turned to look at him.

"Senri, are you okay?" she asked, seeing his bewildered expression. This was so not him.

"Oh… I-I'm fine," he stuttered and forced himself to smile. "Let's go."

'What is this feeling?' Shiki wondered and glanced at Rima who was looking at him with a confused expression.

'Could it be…?'

A/N: So… how was it? Please tell me what you think. Constructive comments are much appreciated. Will update as soon as possible. XP