Disclaimer : I do not own Vampire Knight and few lines I've used in this chapter do not belong to me too.

This story contains Akatsuki x Ichiru and a little bit of Ichiru x Yuuki.

This chapter is edited by : faded. brilliance.

This story is a prologue for 'A Spoonful of Ginger', I removed it from the story and put it as one shot because it disturbed me, somehow. :/

"What time is it?"

"Almost 2."

"Right. I'll just finish this one off and then we'll head out to meet others. Okay, Akatsuki?"

"Anything you want, Ichiru."

"Last time you said you got something awesome to show me, I end up spilling out all my heartache in a bar full with our acquaintances and everyone gushed all over me the next day. I almost missed the hatred!" Zero barked at his friend. Hanabusa frowned looking at him, seemingly affronted by the words.

"I did not!" he exclaimed, causing Zero to roll his eyes at him and Takuma chuckled. They were sitting in the cafeteria as they just finished their shift. Zero poked the shorter blond's shoulder with his spoon, his lilac eyes narrowing.

"Of course you didn't. You left me there after you got me drunk."

"I told you the drink was strong!"

"You didn't, you spawn of the Devil. You said the drink was colourful and it tasted like rainbows!"

"Your fault. Why the hell would you even believe me in the first place?"

"And now you ask me that!"

"Guys, please get a room." Takuma drawled with a sly smile at them. Zero turned his glare at the blond doctor for his suggestion – because that sounded so wrong – while Hanabusa paled dramatically.

"I'd rather die!" Hanabusa exclaimed again and Zero actually considered killing the short blond on the spot. He'd pick getting tossed in jail and a death sentence to boot if he could end the Aidou family line right there, right now.

Quietly Zero suppressed the tempting urge and decided to take a deep breath. When he finally calmed down, he glared at them again.

"You guys make my hair turn grey."

Hanabusa rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah right, Mr. Obvious."

Takuma chuckled at the remark instead. Zero was about to jump over the table and strangle Hanabusa who sat across him when his twin and friend made their appearances. Ichiru looked slightly tired but his smile was still bright on his lips and Akatsuki was... well, Akatsuki.

"Hey, guys." Takuma greeted them with a smile. Ichiru grinned and patted him on his back.

"Ready to go home?" Ichiru inquired. Takuma nodded before looking at the other two. Zero growled under his breath, trying to finish his cup of warm tea as quickly as he could while Hanabusa snickered at him. Ichiru blinked at them.

'They must have been at each other's throats again. I wonder if that's attraction speaking.' The younger Kiryuu wondered with an innocent expression plastered on his face. Akatsuki stepped forwards until his chest was pressed against Ichiru's back. He held the shorter forensic pathologist on his elbow and it caught his attention.

"Akatsuki?" Ichiru turned over his shoulder only to look directly at a pair of amber eyes. He felt his heart skipped a beat but quickly shook it off. Akatsuki stared down at him.

"Sit down if you're tired."

Ichiru grinned at him and did as he was told. He pulled the taller blond's hand in his and pulled him down as well. Hanabusa watched them with a raised eyebrow.

"When did you guys got married? I didn't remember ever receiving an invitation card." He leered at them and received a mini bun thrown in his direction. He barely dodged it when it hit Takuma instead.

"Bloody Kiryuu!" Hanabusa shouted at Zero who was preparing to throw another bun at him. Ichiru shook his head at their antics before he took the bun off Zero's hands. "Nii-san, don't play around with food!"

His older brother rolled his eyes at him for that.

"Yes, Mother."

Ichiru frowned at him but chose to eat the bread instead. He wanted to offer the bread to Akatsuki but then he remembered Akatsuki was not really fond of mini buns. He said they were too small and not up to his satisfaction. He had once asked 'What satisfaction?' but all he ever received was Akatsuki's blank face.

As Ichiru ate his bread, Hanabusa's face suddenly brightened up like a bulb. Zero narrowed his eyes at him and Takuma looked restless.

"Hanabusa, don't you dare-" his twin started with a warning tone but Hanabusa waved it off like nothing, as always.

"Ichiru! I have this awesome thing to share with you!" Hanabusa said almost cheerily. He felt Akatsuki shifted to sit closer to him, but it felt more like a protection shield. Ichiru blinked his eyes. "Eh? What is it?"

Hanabusa's eyes twinkled.

"You know the street close to our hospital? 13th Rose Wood?"

"Hanabusa, one more word and I will cut your head off with a scalpel." Zero threatened and Ichiru pushed him slightly.

"Nii-san, stop being paranoid! I want to know what it is." his twin glared at him and Zero glared back. However, he did shut up. Hanabusa inwardly snickered at the interaction.

"A fortune teller resides temporarily at a restaurant there named 'Dynasty'-"

"Sounds like dysentery-" Akatsuki wondered out loud.

Hanabusa rolled his eyes at the blond pathologist. "Funny, Akatsuki, I never knew you're capable of making a logical statement due to your mental illness, not to make a joke out of your profession of course-" at this, Akatsuki's eyes twitched, "but anyway, this woman is so good that everything she told me was right! She said that I would get two new patients today, I would receive a call from my mother and I would find fifty dollars in my old doctor's coat! And all of them happened for real!"

Ichiru stared at the blond with an awed expression on his face. Zero sensed a headache coming.

"Really? That's awesome!" Ichiru grinned, already planning things in his mind. Takuma faked a cough; suddenly feeling bad at the innocent display Ichiru was showing.

"Yes! She will only be here for few more days because she is on a trip, helping other people to read their fortunes and stuff..." Hanabusa drawled with something akin to mischievousness. Ichiru didn't seem to notice this, of course.

"And what will you gain from this, Aidou?" Zero shot at him, causing Hanabusa to snap his head at his direction and glared back.

"I'm merely helping! Tasha, the fortune teller said that if I help my friend with silver hair to come forward and have his fortune read, good luck will come down on me." Hanabusa answered, crossing his arms on his chest to show his seriousness. Zero frowned at him until he realized something.

"So that's why you have been bothering Seiren since morning! And you suddenly offered yourself to help Shizuka-san to carry her stuff!" Zero practically screamed at him and Ichiru felt Akatsuki twitch again. He always hates it when Zero raises his voice, his high pitch sounds like a woman's shriek.

"And don't forget that he had been bugging you since we finished our shift." Takuma added, nodding his head. Zero shot a particularly lethal death glare at the short blond but Hanabusa already has his eyes fixed on Ichiru. His younger twin was drooling, for God's sake!

"Ichiru, you pony lover! He's using you!" Zero barked at his twin instead but then Ichiru looked at him and used those eyes.

Those eyes that you get from a stray puppy that is suffering from the cold outside your house, begging for you to let it in. Ironically, Ichiru could make it better. He could make it look like it's your puppy that's shivering outside in the cold.

Your puppy.

"Fuck you." Zero snarled at his teary eyed twin. Hanabusa made a face.

"Eww, incest." Hanabusa's remark was interrupted by Ichiru's cry.

"Nii-saaaan!"

"No, you're not going to do that and waste your money on a fucking fortune teller that earns her keep by telling lies."

"But Nii-san! Just take this for fun! I mean, it won't hurt me!" Ichiru dramatically wailed and Zero had to suppress the urge to kill Hanabusa and his twin.

"I'll pay for it, don't worry, Zero." Akatsuki suddenly said, causing all of them to look at him. Zero almost forgot that he even exists. But still, it didn't change anything.

"But that's your money!"

"Pretend that this is just something a friend wants to do."

"... Akatsuki, that's the worst excuse I've ever heard."

"Nii-san! Why don't you love meee!"

"For fuck's sake, Ichiru! Do you think I'd let you put me through the nine levels of hell if I didn't?!"

"Well, Zero, you act like you didn't." Hanabusa commented.

"Damn it, why isn't anyone listening to me? Takuma!"

Takuma shook his head, his face bored but his green eyes glinted playfully. Zero pointed a threatening finger at the blond.

"If you don't have anything pleasant or helpful to say, shut it." Zero gritted his teeth. Takuma just grinned. Akatsuki sighed.

"It's all right, it's my money and I can do whatever I want with it." Akatsuki spoke at last, finality visible in his tone.

"So everything is settled! Let's go home now!" Hanabusa announced excitedly and quickly ran away to avoid being hit by Zero. Zero growled at the leaving figure of the paediatric but he just stood to leave as well. Ichiru's grin was wide as he hugged the taller blond around his neck; his sitting arrangement almost led him to sit on the blond's lap.

"Yay, Akatsuki! You are the best!" he exclaimed while Takuma laughed looking at them. Akatsuki smiled quietly, patting the silver head before pulling him up, his arms remained locked around his neck. They heard the shuffling sounds of their friends leaving the cafe but Akatsuki was too focused on Ichiru to comment on that. The younger Kiryuu was still grinning up at him and he relented by kissing him on top of his head; a gesture that familiar to both of them ever since they met at medical school.

"You're awesome, you know that?" Ichiru murmured, eyes softening. Akatsuki held him on the sides of his waist, nodding slightly.

"Anything for you, Ichiru... Anything for you."

"He's mad?"

"Yeah, mad as hell. He kicked me out from our room, imagine that." Ichiru quietly answered as he snuggled close to older man. Akatsuki silently wrapped his arms around the smaller man, pulling him close so that both of them were at the centre of his bed. His is a single bed and fortunately, it fits both of them when they sleep together.

Ichiru chuckled softly against his chest, causing him to look down at the younger down.

"What is it?" he inquired. Ichiru looked up at him, his eyes were bright against the darkness in his room. His fingers played with the buttons on Akatsuki's pyjamas and shivers ran through the blond's skin.

"Hanabusa never seems to stop pouring petrol onto Nii-san's fire." He said quietly, his words tinged with amusement. Akatsuki smiled at him, his fingers running through Ichiru's silver locks that were longer than Zero's.

"Actually he thinks he's a vampire, immortal and all. And sometimes he thinks he's a ninja. He has the mental capacity of a five-year-old. I'm surprised that he isn't dead yet. His retardation cannot be healed." The blond answered.

Ichiru made a face at that while his partner chuckled softly. He gently placed his palm against Akatsuki's chest, feeling his heartbeat. He always feels a sense of wonder when he does that because Akatsuki never allowed people, not even his parents to touch him intimately. He always wondered what made him so special to be in this position; to feel Akatsuki's beating heart this close.

"But I think he's just lonely." Akatsuki continued almost faintly and Ichiru stilled in his motion. They were both quiet for a moment as Ichiru stared into Akatsuki's pair of ambers. Understanding was there and it made Ichiru lost his breath for a moment. The blond stared at him for another second before he leaned forward and rubbed his thumb against Ichiru's cheek.

"I'm not going to leave you... never." The urge was sudden but Ichiru felt that he needed to voice it out.

Akatsuki is his parents' only child and he grew up in an environment where people that weren't as rich as his family wouldn't be considered friends. He was used to loneliness before he met them and being partnered with Ichiru, he had admitted, was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Akatsuki however, just nodded and kissed him on top of his head.

"Get some sleep now; we got a lot of work to do tomorrow." Akatsuki murmured softly and Ichiru hummed comfortably at his touch, resting his cheek against Akatsuki's chest as they settled down to sleep.

"Would it be okay for you to go alone? I'll try to leave the meeting as soon as possible." Akatsuki's voice was filled with guilt as he spoke through their phone call. Ichiru suppressed his sigh and shook his head, sulkily kicking away a pebble with his shoe.

"It's fine, just attend the meeting till it's over. I'll be all right..." Ichiru mumbled. He heard Akatsuki sigh at the end of the other line.

"Okay, be careful." Akatsuki reminded him gently and Ichiru closed his eyes. "Yeah."

He ended their conversation before he looked around him. He was now in a restaurant, sitting close to a table occupied by a brunette woman wearing a flowing white dress. She wore feather earrings and a necklace made out of rare stones. She probably was in her mid thirties and currently, she was consulting a customer. Ichiru felt a little bit weird. Was he taking this stuff so seriously? Zero seemed to have calmed down and didn't care about whatever he wanted to do with this fortune teller and Hanabusa was starting to creep him out. He kept on reminding him to go and visit the fortune teller Tasha, making Ichiru nervous all over again.

When the current customer finally left, Ichiru gathered what's left of his courage and approached the woman. Tasha looked up at him and smiled.

"I've been expecting you since three days ago." She said warmly. Ichiru blinked. Three days ago Hanabusa had told him about her. Ichiru let a grin slip out on his face and took the empty seat across her. The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice as her table was situated at a corner and was partially hidden behind a large vase. Her table was empty; save with her glass of drink. Inwardly, Ichiru grimaced; he had been expecting tarot cards or something like that. Now his childish imagination on fortune tellers was ruined.

She placed her arms on the top of the table, still smiling at him.

"What's your name?" she asked and Ichiru tried to hide his nervousness by grinning as wide as he could. He wished Akatsuki was there with him.

"I'm Ichiru... Are you really a fortune teller?" he questioned back and immediately blushed when she laughed.

"Well, Ichiru-san, I can't say that. Sometimes fate decides to play with you and your destiny changes when circumstances do. But I can tell you things that you want to know... I can tell your past, however, I trust you to not believe the future I am going to tell you." Tasha smiled, showing her even pearly white teeth. Ichiru chuckled nervously.

"All right... But I just want to confirm things first."

"Of course you can." Tasha nodded at him.

"Can you tell what my worst experience as a teenager was?" Ichiru bit his lip, reminded of the past that caused him to almost kill his only brother. Tasha gestured for him to give his left hand at her and he obligated. Then she closed her eyes and spent a few seconds in silence. When she raised an eyebrow at him, eyes still closed, Ichiru felt shivers running through his skin again.

"When you were fourteen... a sibling of yours stole your most important treasure... a book, or it is a diary? And he showed it to others without your permission..." she quietly stated before she opened her eyes and Ichiru felt heat burn his cheeks. He wanted to die when he remembered the situation himself. He was and still is the naive one and cry baby in his family, while Zero took the role of a bully big brother. Even though Zero had started to treat him better as they grew up, sometimes he felt like throttling his twin and skin him alive.

"Okay, that's true." He blushed furiously. Tasha smiled at him and he took a deep breath.

"Can you tell me about my future? About a person... that I will marry?" Ichiru looked at the woman straight in her blue eyes and she stared back at him. It took her another second to smile again and she nodded. She gently grasped his left hand in her right and closed her eyes again.

"I found a word... it ends with 'ki'."

"I need to get going." Akatsuki glared at the short blond, causing Hanabusa to pout. They were in the locker room as Akatsuki finally managed to slip out but a certain blond paediatric had managed to track him down.

"You can't leave me there with Zero and Kaien! They are scary... and crazy!" Hanabusa whined and Akatsuki rolled his eyes at him. He quickly pulled off his pager and pristine white coat, tossing them inside his locker carelessly and grabbed his keys and wallet.

"And now they are yours." He replied, leaving the room as swiftly as he could.

"Oh... this is interesting... You are to meet the person very soon, as soon as you step out of this restaurant, you will..."

"Maybe I should get him something. He did sound a little bit sad." Akatsuki mumbled to himself as he drove out from the hospital. He slowed down the car when he entered the main road, wondering what he should buy for his friend. But then again, Ichiru wasn't that hard to please.

He parked his car in front of a shop, his amber eyes staring at a particular thing he knew the Kiryuus love.

"That person will be holding something... flowers, they will be holding flowers when you meet them after this."

"Thank you." He paid the amount to the girl at the counter, giving a small smile as she handed him the flowers he just picked. He had bought a box of chocolates too, bunny shaped ones. The girl blushed heavily when she saw his smile but he ignored it.

Ichiru probably was still there. Akatsuki was already used to his behaviour. He would just wait – regardless whether he had finished with his work or not – for Akatsuki. And somehow it warmed his heart.

When he got back inside his car, he turned to look at the flowers, lilacs, in his hands and frowned.

'Why does this feels like a date?'

"You step out from this place and you will find them. Hmm... it seems like that's all I can get." Tasha blinked her eyes open. Ichiru looked at her; his thoughts all jumbled up.

"Umm... Alright..." he nodded his head, almost awkwardly.

And then, Tasha grinned.

"And that costs you eighty dollars!"

"Geez, I should have listened to Nii-san..." Ichiru mumbled, eyeing his empty wallet in his hands. Akatsuki was supposed to pay for him but he wasn't here so Ichiru would just ask for it later. A treat is still a treat.

He sighed heavily, placing his wallet on top of his table since Tasha just left. Apparently Ichiru was her last customer in the city. She was leaving for Tokyo tomorrow morning. He looked at the clock and then sighed.

"It looks like Akatsuki won't be here for a while. I'd better get home and start making dinner." He continued to grumble, stood up and went for the main door of the restaurant. He was about to leave the restaurant when suddenly he remembered that he just placed his wallet on top of the table. Panicking, Ichiru turned back and his body collided with someone.

"Ohh, sorry! I am so sorry!" Ichiru panicked, quickly helping the other person, who was a brunette girl to stand properly. It was then he saw a bunch of flowers in her arms. His lilac eyes were wide as he stared at the girl, his heart beating fast.

'Could it be-'

"It's okay, don't worry!" the girl laughed, a little bit dizzy by their abrupt bump. Ichiru couldn't find his voice so he settled for gaping like a fish out of water instead. The brunette laughed softly at his expression before she wrapped her arms tighter around her bouquet of flowers. Ichiru continued to gape while his imaginary Hanabusa snorted at him.

"If you see yourself in a mirror now, you'll see a baboon advertisement, Ichiru."

"Shut up!"

The girl was taken aback by his sudden exclaimation and Ichiru quickly shook his head.

"No, no, not at you! Umm, I'm Ichiru!"

"And Ichiru's wallet is on the table now. Free to be taken." Imaginary Hanabusa rolled his eyes at him. Ichiru tried to imagine himself strangling the imaginary blond but it failed. It's kind of funny sometimes. Even in his imagination the blond was infuriating... and immortal.

"I'm Yuuki..." Yuuki smiled at him, offering a handshake.

"Yuuki..." Ichiru's grin was wide as he shook her hand.

Behind them, in front of the main door, Akatsuki stood with his hands holding onto a bouquet of lilacs, the chocolate on the ground, forgotten and his amber eyes blinked.

And that was how, Ichiru met Yuuki.

While somewhere in a certain doctor's office...

"Yes! Yes!"

Zero tried to kick out the blond from his office but he avoided it easily, since he was jumping around anyway. The headache he had since the meeting seemed to be added more by Hanabusa's sudden happiness.

"I hope," Zero began in a deathly quiet tone, "that you have been attacked by monsters that were so vile that they caused you to lose your sanity."

But Hanabusa went to quickly approach him who was currently sitting down on his chair. The blond grabbed him on his coat, pulling him close. His blue eyes twinkled brightly.

"No. But I've tried something to test the luck that Tasha told me if I manage to get a silver haired friend to meet her."

Zero's eyes widened.

"YEESS! MY PENIS JUST GREW 5 MORE INCHES!"

Zero fainted.

.

.

.

.

.

(Haha... okay, I'm just joking.)

"No. But I've tried something to test the luck that Tasha told me if I manage to get a silver haired friend to meet her."

Zero's eyes widened.

"YEEES! I JUST GREW UP TWO INCHES!"

... Oh well.

And that was how Hanabusa got his extra two inches.

A/N :Review please.