Revised version: as of July 2011

The revisions I've made on this story mostly adds more fluff and details to the plot...oh, and I also changed various parts of the plot. So if you haven't read the July version, I highly recommend you do so!

Have fun, enjoy, review. Thanks!

Kuro-chan

A Healthy Dose of Jealousy

Chapter One: Serious Discussions and Surprises

"Rima?" He whispered quiet to the girl that was supposed to be asleep in his arms, "Are you awake yet?"

"Mmm?" Rima opened her bright blue eyes lazily against his chest. "Shiki, why don't you sleep anymore? When did you start waking up this early?"

"Sorry, I couldn't fall asleep," Shiki smiled and then proceeded to stoking Rima's orange-blonde hair. "You're so soft."

"Mmm."

Silence.

"Rima?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you think I should go talk to Ichijou?"

"About what?"

"You know, this whole thing. I mean, I got what I wanted, right? But what about him? I still want to be friends with him even though I've been acting like a selfish jerk for the past two weeks." Shiki subconsciously traced a finger down where the vein in Rima's neck would be. She shivered at his touch and snuggled closer to him.

"Stop it Shiki, that tickles."

Shiki felt a wave of satisfaction and happiness wash over him. It was incredible how different he felt now than how he felt just a couple of days ago. Then, he was lying awake at night regretting how he had acted his entire life and now he had his best friend reciprocating the feelings he had denied for so long.

"Oh, sorry." Pause. Shiki gave Rima another nuzzle to which Rima rewarded him with a small laugh. "Can I have some blood?"

Rima groaned, "It's too early Shiki…"

"Please?"

"I don't know…we'll wake up the others." She blushed as she said it, which made Shiki love her all the better.

"Pretty please?"

"You're so spoiled Shiki," Rima teased.

"It's only when I'm with you."

XkurochanX

The story begins two weeks before…

After class every day, Senri Shiki and Takuma Ichijou can always be found in their room reading something. Ichijou would probably be reading one of his many ordered manga if not helping Kaname-sama and Shiki would be scanning though random magazines looking for pictures of himself and his modeling partner to add to his collection on the wall. Sometimes, when Ichijou read something good, he would recommend it to his friend by throwing the comic across the room. Shiki wasn't particularly interested in manga so he became adroit in dodging books aimed at his head. Occasionally, they would be visited by Aidou and Kain for updates on dorm stats or their best friend, Rima Touya.

The two followed this routine everyday so Shiki was surprised one night when Ichijou put down his manga and asked, "Shiki, Valentine's Day is coming up."

Without looking up from his magazines, Shiki grunted a reply.

Ichijou sat up on his bed, obviously not satisfied with this answer, "Are you thinking of giving someone anything special?"

Shiki flipped a page, "Sorry Ichijou, I'm not interested in giving you or Aidou chocolates."

Ichijou sighed and spoke as if Shiki was a little boy, "No, no, no Senri. I don't need chocolates; I was actually thinking of a girl this time."

"Actually?" Shiki raised an eyebrow, "Wow, that tend to happen…once a never."

"Very funny Senri."

Silence.

"Are you not curious who I'm thinking of?"

No reply.

"Shiki! I will ask Kain to burn up all of your magazines."

Shiki's deadly blue pupils moved from the magazine to Ichijou, remembering what happened last time the vice-president used that threat. "Okay, talk. Who are you thinking of?"

"Rima," Ichijou smiled innocently.

Shiki rolled his eyes. "Dude, I'm not interested in Rima. I mean, we've lived with each other for practically our entire lives. She's almost like my sister. And plus, if I give chocolates to her, I bet she'll freak out."

Ichijou frowned, "Shiki, how clueless can you be? I'm pretty sure everyone in the moon dorm predicts that the two of you are going to get married."

Shiki rolled his eyes, but the blush was starting to slowly creep up on his cheeks. "You're ridiculous Ichijou. Why don't you leave the match-making to Ruka?"

"You like her don't you?"

Shiki answered without even bothering to look up. "Not that way."

"Bullshit."

"No, it's actual real shit this time Ichijou. Now stop badgering me and get back to your manga."

"She likes you, you know?" Ichijou muttered quietly from his side of the room. Hearing no reaction from Shiki, Ichijou continued, "She's had a crush on you since the first moment she's met you."

Shiki set his magazine down and pulled a blanket over himself to get ready to go to sleep. "Now you're bluffing Ichijou. I met Rima when we were like…three. Vampires don't fall in love when they're three; they need to grow fangs in order to begin the process of attraction. You obviously haven't been paying attention in psychology."

"Stop with whole psychology crap." Ichijou snapped, "Do you have feelings for her or not? You keep denying it, but I think the entire Night Class has seen the way you stare at Rima when you think she isn't looking and the way you play with her hair."

"I play with her hair? Weird. I never knew that." Absentmindedly, he shrugged, "So what if I think she's attractive?"

Ichijou rolled his eyes, "Well then, get her chocolates or pocky on Valentine's Day. Or…" he winked, "Why not ask her out?"

"Ichijou, just cut the crap. I said 'I think she's attractive'. Attractive is different from liking her. I mean, I also think Ruka's pretty attractive and I'm not getting Ruka chocolates."

"That's only because Ruka chases after Kaname while everyone that looks at her might end up as Akatsuki's barbecue. But even still, the way you look at Rima is different than Ruka-"

"My point is," Shiki cut Ichijou off, a little annoyed, "I don't like Rima more than a friend and vice versa."

Ichijou snorted. "You're hilarious Shiki. Are you sure Rima doesn't have any feelings for you that are more than friendship? Haven't you noticed how much Rima always admires and follows you around? And when we had our first private tutor? Wasn't she the one that always had your favorite snacks with her?"

"It could also be a coincidence that she happens to be interested in the same things as I am."

"I think you're just afraid to admit it."

There was a long pause before Shiki answered quietly, "I don't want to exacerbate my current relationship with Rima, Ichijou. I guess maybe later it would be appropriate if we dated, but right now, I feel like Rima wouldn't want that." Then, he went back to sleep as if nothing happened.

Ichijou sighed desperately, "Shiki, my friend, in this world, women don't last forever, especially attractive ones like Rima. Don't you think you're being a little cruel for ignoring her feelings? What if she really wants to be more than friends with you?" Noticing that Shiki wasn't really paying any attention anymore, Ichijou picked up his manga and threw it at his dorm mate's head, "Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you even listening?"

Shiki dodged the manga by rolling over to one side and lazily scratched his head, "Just go back to reading your manga, Ichijou. This isn't any of your business anyways."

Ichijou, annoyed at how this conversation had taken a turn, fingered through his hair in aggravation, "But Rima likes you and you know it! You know she's not going to wait for you forever."

Shiki stretched and let out an exaggerated yawn, which only infuriated Ichijou more, "I know, I know. I'll think about it in a couple years or so…I'm just not going to bother worrying about it now." And before Shiki knew it, Ichijou was next to him, shaking his shoulders as if Shiki had completely lost his mind or something.

For the first time since the two of them became best friends, Ichijou looked like he wanted to hit Shiki with all his vampire powers put together, "Wake up to reality, Shiki! Rima is a cute girl with a pure heart. Are you seriously telling me that you're going to wait for a couple years? She'll probably be taken from you in a couple years! Maybe even married in a couple of years"

Shiki sat up suddenly so that his cold blue eyes were at the same level as Ichijou's green ones. In a harsh tone, he growled, "Ichijou. You have gone a little too far over the line. I believe the situation with Rima rests on my hands, not yours. Stop sticking your nose in other people's businesses where it doesn't belong."

Ichijou raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're afraid of that happening aren't you? You want to keep Rima to yourself, yet you refuse to confess to her?"

Shiki grab the first magazine and jacket within his reach and headed towards the door. The cold glare that was directed at Ichijou made him see how Shiki was related to the Kurans. Out of annoyance, Shiki decided to end the problem altogether. "I'm going to sleep somewhere else tonight." With that, Shiki slammed the door shut and left Ichijou alone in the room.

As the sun fell into the other side of the world, Ichijou sighed and let himself fall back on his bed. "'I can take care of myself perfectly fine', huh?" he muttered to himself, "We'll see about that Shiki. You say it's none of my business, but what if I am really involved in this complication. What would you do then Shiki?"

XkurochanX

Shiki, unsuccessful in finding an empty dorm to sleep in, found himself in the main commons of moon dorm. There was a nice lavender-colored sofa in the center of the room lined with lavender pillows. Shiki suspected that Aidou slept here a lot. He shuddered a little bit under his thin gray jacket he had taken out of the room. The spacious room was draining his body temperature and Shiki felt stupid for forgetting to bring a blanket with him out here. He closed his eyes and decided it would be best if he didn't go back to his dorm and ask Ichijou for something to keep him from suffering from hypothermia. Of course, Shiki had his pride to protect. He would rather have Aidou freeze him for a week rather than letting chagrin be brought upon him. It was shameful for him to walk back for something as silly as a blanket after walking out on his best friend.

Deep down, he actually felt really bad for having such an argument with Ichijou, but he just seriously hated it when people talked about Rima…especially him and Rima. He understood the fact that the entire Night Class noticed that he spent an exceptional amount of time with her, but he wasn't quite sure what he thought of their relationship yet. Were they really friends? Or were they something more?

Shiki's thoughts were disturbed as a girl with unbearably sweet, tasty blood crept down the stair. He could recognize her presence anywhere. One whiff of her scent made him drunk with the desire of her blood. Did he like her? Did he really want something more than just friendship with her? "Rima, what are you doing so late at night?" He opened his eyes a crack to catch a glimpse of her bright orange hair moving down the stairs and advance towards him.

Rima crept over and sat down next to him. The female vampire was wearing a light purple night gown that was adorned with white laces on the brim. Shiki recognized the cloth from their last photo shoot. Rima also had her hair down, which partially blocked out the scent of her blood, but not by much. "I was getting a drink of water and plus, Kain wanted to visit Ruka, which basically means I have to leave since they usually have their 'important business' to talk about." She looked over him curiously as if wondering why he was out here, but decided against asking, "I'm sorry for waking you, Shiki."

Shiki shrugged. "No worries, I wasn't sleeping. You know, sometimes I wonder why you and Kain haven't switched rooms yet."

That brought a smile to Rima's lips. "It's because I don't want to share a room with that annoying cousin of his." Both of them laughed and Rima tilted her head in curiosity, "Is everything alright?"

Shiki stopped smiling. "Uh…for the most part, yes."

Rima raised an eyebrow, "For the most part? So you're not entirely alright? Or are you not alright at all and you just don't want to tell me?"

Shiki shrugged again; that was Rima, always knowing exactly what he's thinking. He knew Rima well enough to know that she wouldn't drop the subject until she knew what was really going on. He sighed, "Ichijou and I had a little talk."

Rima began playing with her hair, a habit she still hasn't broken since they were playing in the sandbox. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"I don't really like the concept of elaboration." He turned away from Rima so that his eyes wouldn't be the object of Rima's disapproving glare.

Rima narrowed her eyes, "Don't you dare give me that Senri Shiki. I can tell when something is upsetting you; did you and Ichijou get into a fight or something?"

"I guess…I don't know…" Shiki didn't want to answer her questions; he already knew how upset she gets when the two immature boys fight over something stupid.

Rima sighed, "Well, what was the disagreement?"

There was no reply, and Rima sensed that she wasn't going to get one any time soon.

"Fine, don't tell me; I'll go ask Ichijou-sama what happened."

"Rima, seriously. You're just as nosy as Ichijou; it's so annoying. Can't you just stay out of our business?" Shiki saw the hurt in Rima's eyes, but it only lasted a millisecond before she put up the blank expression on her face.

"I guess that's what sucks about being friends with two guys, huh? I'm usually the one that's not included in boy-talks." Her voice was cold and Shiki almost reconsidered telling her the truth.

However, Rima didn't persist on the topic any further and instead focused on him. She put a hand on Shiki's forehead and lightly brushed his messy hair while wearing her blank mask. "Aren't you cold? Do you want me to get you a blanket or something?"

Shiki shrugged and Rima took that as a 'yes' so as to not destroy Shiki's ego any further tonight. "I'll be right back. Use my bathrobe for now so you don't get cold, Shiki." She tossed him her robe and headed up the stairs before Shiki had a chance to object.

He took her dark purple robes and pressed his nose in it. It smelled just like her: the scent of white lilies and the mango peach shampoo she uses every night. Without warning, his blue irises turned bright red and his fangs elongated in his mouth so that his could feel them on his bottom lip. Funny, just a second ago, he wasn't even considering the possibility that he was hungry. With great effort, Shiki stopped himself from sinking his fangs in Rima's bathrobe. How awkward would it be if Rima came back with a blanket and found two holes in her clothes?

Shiki began to seriously consider what he and Ichijou had discussed earlier that evening. Should he do something about him and Rima? The entire night class knows that they like each other? And the most important question that haunted him: Maybe what Ichijou said about her was right: she might seriously be taken by another guy right before me. Should he take Ichijou's suggestion and start building a relationship with her?

He could imagine the conversation right now:

"Rima, you know when you asked me what was wrong before and I said nothing? Well, I lied."

"Huh, I figured as much."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I actually really like you. No, not as a friend, but as a man likes a woman."

"Shiki, I feel like it would be best if we still remained as friends. However, if you are that attached to me, I feel like it might be best if we stopped seeing each other, okay?"

It would be a disaster.

Shiki chuckled to himself for thinking up of such as scenario and closed his eyes as he fantasized about what would happen if he and Rima were actually dating. Then the two of them could hold hands while going to classes and he would have someone soft to cuddle with at night. He would also get to drink her blood. That brought a shiver up his spine.

Rima took longer than Shiki had expected to return with the blanket. When she came down, she had an odd expression on her face that Shiki had never seen before. He was worried for her now and couldn't help asking, "Is something bothering you, Rima?"

Rima replied with a nervous giggle and an absent tap of her head, "No, I'm fine Shiki." Shiki raised an eyebrow; if she claimed herself 'fine' so quickly after he asked meant that she wasn't 'fine' at all.

"Rima," Shiki caught her arm as she was about to go, "Are you telling me the truth?"

Rima looked down and blushed, "No," she answered quietly and truthfully, "but I don't think it's something you should worry about." She wouldn't lie to him. She couldn't lie to him.

After that, she left him to sleep by himself without another word.

XkurochanX

An excited Aidou shook Shiki awake in the morning. Shiki groaned and put another pillow over his eyes to block the light of the setting sun from his face. "Shiki! Tell me what happened last night!"

A dazed, puzzled, and sleepy Shiki rubbed his eyes and turned over so his back was to Aidou. Barely audible, he muttered, "Go back to sleep Aidou. I was having this amazing dream about pocky before you woke me up."

Aidou didn't back down, "Oh come on Shiki! Just tell me what happened last night? What did you do to Rima?"

At Rima's name, Shiki's foggy mind cleared up a little. "What are you talking about? Aidou, please sleep-talk when you're asleep and leave me alone."

Aidou scoffed with noble pride. "I am not sleep talking if that's what you're worried about; now answer my question: what did you do to Rima last night?"

"Nothing. Rima only went upstair to get a blanket after I refused to sleep in the same room as Ichijou."

Aidou frowned as he was doing some deep analysis. "Are you sure that was everything? No missing details? Like, for instance, why did you and Ichijou fight in the first place?"

By now, Shiki was tired of being asked questions about his relationship with his best friends. "Stop trying to get trying to wake me up. I'm pretty sure it's not relevant to you why Ichijou and I fought."

Aidou shrugged innocently, "Okay, then I guess you're not interested in hearing about what happened last night between Rima and Ichijou."

"Rima and Ichijou?"

"Yup. Oh, it's a shame I can't tell you more since you probably want more sleep…" The smirk on Aidou's face drove Shiki crazy.

He frowned at Aidou and threatened, "Tell me what happened or your face might not be in one piece when you meet up with your precious fan girls today, Aidou."

"Okay, okay," Aidou calmed down Shiki and smiled slyly, "It's about Rima and Ichijou."

"Uh-huh, I got that part…"

Aidou's baby blue eyes met Shiki's blue ones, "Yeah, did you know the two of them are dating now?"

Thank you so much for reading! Give me some feedbacks! Questions? Comments?