It was utterly unexpected. The way her lips caressed his, the way she pressed against him, pinning him to the wall with her body. She had simply fisted her slender fingers in his hair and captured his mouth, her cherry blossom eyes unreadable. There had nothing to lead up to it, leaving him unbalanced and shocked. She seemed to like that.

Her nails cut long gashes in his skin, down his arm from his collar bone. Her tongue lapped at the wounds even as her hips rocked tantalizingly against his. She never bit him, of course.

Startled gasps left from his lips; not as much as the first time; he was used to it now. These sudden displays of affection that left his mind reeling and his heart aching, were something Shizuka favored. She had casually stated that she loved manipulating the emotions on his face, this toy of hers, on many occasions.

Her mouth pressed against his once more, tasting of blood, and he helplessly returned the hungry kiss. He was starved for her touch, leaning into her every caress with longing that bordered on desperation. He had lost track of where they were, all thoughts of their surroundings driven from his mind. His heart pounded in his chest, a flush coloring his cheeks.

She didn't love him. She didn't love him.

Ichiru repeated that fact again and again in his mind, wishing for the mental and physical strength to push her away. It was useless; he belonged to her entirely and his body was as frail as a butterfly's compared to hers.

Her fingers fisted in his shirt, her tongue tracing the shell of his ear. "Zero," she moaned throatily.

Everything froze.

And then he did push her away, struggling against her unbreakable grip until she released him. He staggered away from her, the world reeling as his vision blurred. He couldn't think. She had just called him…she had just…

He leaned against the far wall, away from her, staring blankly at the dull-colored surface. He felt cold; he couldn't bear to look at her, horror freezing him. He wanted to die, he wanted to stop existing. Shizuka had just…

Silence.

He blinked, flinching slightly, then daring to turn his head to meet her gaze. Could it possibly be that…could she really have….

Did Shizuka-sama…

She stood regally a few paces away, by the wall where he had left her, unperturbed as she regarded him intensely, studying him. Her expression was impassive, unreadable, but her eyes…

…did she…

Mirth. Sheer, unmasked mirth swam in her cherry blossom eyes. That told him everything.

…do that on purpose?

He let out a short breath, sinking to the floor and leaning his head back against the wall. His eyes closed, a bitter smile twisting on his lips. Ichiru honestly understood his twin's feelings of loathing toward the silver-haired pureblood a thousand times more than he understood his own, crooked love.

He stiffened as playful fingers toyed with a lock of his hair. He hadn't even heard her move to sit beside him. "I doubt you'll forgive me for that," her velvety voice said lightly. "Wasn't it clever? I spent all night planning exactly how to do it. Your stricken face is adorable." She placed a lingering kiss on his throat, her lips warm. "Ne, Ichiru?"

Drawing a quick breath, he opened his eyes to meet her gaze. "Shizuka-sama…you really should just go rape Zero."

Her expression was so shocked that he almost laughed out loud; instead he quickly stood and fled the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Maybe he could find somewhere to hide that she wouldn't think to look.

Thinking back on it, her stunned face was really quite adorable too.