It'd been two weeks since Shiki found out about Zero's feelings for Kaname. They'd become slightly closer since then, and they now exchange nods during class change-over. Yuki and the other nobles were confused about when they became close but they never asked since neither of them were exactly the sharing type.
One Tuesday, in the early hours of the morning, Kaname and his inner circle of nobles were all sitting in the lounge. There was a plush leather couch, and two armchairs. Kaname was sitting in the left armchair while Aido was sitting in the right one with Kain on the arm rest. Ruka was sitting on the left side of the couch, closest to Kaname. Rima was sitting next to her with Takuma on her right with Shiki sitting by his feet.
They were watching the TV that was situated on the wall directly in front of the couch. The movie they were watching was about vampires and they all shared laughs at the inaccuracy of the movie.
Kain frowned when he saw one of the characters put on lavender contact lenses. It reminded him of Zero and that reminded him of that time two weeks ago.
He turned to Aido. "Those lenses remind me of Kiryu-san."
Aido frowned as he turned to his taller cousin. "Why are you bringing him all of a sudden?" The others all looked over at the two.
Kain shrugged. "It's just that, two weeks ago, I thought I saw tears in his eyes. It's been bugging me for some time now." Shiki froze in his spot on the floor.
Ruka frowned. "Zero was crying? I don't remember seeing him cry during changeover."
Kain shook his head. "He wasn't full on crying, but he was tearing up."
Shiki bit his lip. "Maybe he had something in his eye?" This wasn't looking too good.
Kain frowned at him. "Both eyes? And he didn't rub his eyes to clear them, he just blinked them away and then yelled at the girls," Kain paused and glanced at Kaname, "He also sent a longing look your way, Kaname-sama."
On the outside Shiki was the perfect picture of calm, but on the inside he was freaking out! Damn Kain and his observation skills! Shiki knew he needed to fix this, but he wasn't sure how.
Luckily, Aido provided the perfect solution with a snort. "Kiryu was probably just jealous of the way Kaname-sama held Yuki's attention."
Shiki sighed with relief. Thank god! That was a plausible excuse and something he, himself, had considered.
However, Aido wasn't finished. "Kiryu's so pathetic, pining after a girl who is so obviously in love with Kaname-sama! And he actually thinks he has a chance against him! As if Kaname-sama would lose to a Level D." Shiki frowned. He didn't like what Aido was saying. While he and Zero hadn't actually spoken since those two weeks ago, Shiki still felt that they were as close as friends, and he didn't like hearing his friend bad mouthed in front of him.
Aido laughed. "He was probably crying because he realized that his love for Yuki is pointless and is never going to be returned."
Shiki'd had enough. "Zero isn't pathetically in love with Yuki, he doesn't love Yuki!" Crap, not the best thing to say. Everyone was looking at him in confused shock at his outburst.
Rima frowned. "If he's not in love with Yuki, why was he crying while watching her with Kaname-sama?"
Shiki had never felt so terrified in his life. He couldn't breathe right and his heart was beating so fast and loud he was sure the others could hear it. He had to get out of here, fast, before he said or did anything else to put Zero's secret in jeopardy.
Fortunately for Shiki, the gods were on his side and his phone rang. Mumbling a quick apology, he ran off to answer the call and to tell his manager how much he loved her.
Takuma frowned as he and the others all watched Shiki's quickly retreating form leave the lounge for his room. None of them could have missed the cold terror on Shiki's face and it would forever be etched into their brains. Takuma's had feelings for the other for some time now, but Shiki never showed any interest in him that way, so he'd kept his feelings to himself.
Takuma had been jealous of Zero when Shiki and he would exchange nods every day. Takuma had never seen them interact before, and yet they'd just out of the blue started greeting each other every day like it was normal. He didn't understand how they'd become close.
Ruka huffed. "What was his problem? All Rima asked was why Zero would cry over Yuki if he didn't love her. Was that really so hard a question?" Aido and Kain shook their heads.
Takuma swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, his jealous mind putting two and two together and getting five. "You don't think...that…"
Aido leaned forward in his seat and rolled his eyes. "Do we think what, Taku?"
Takuma lowered his gaze to the floor. "That Shiki and Zero are...lovers?"
Silence fell over the room as they contemplated that statement in their own ways. Aido and Ruka thought it was ridiculous, Kain was skeptical but couldn't outright deny it, Rima was trying to remember if Shiki ever showed any interest in Zero before two weeks ago, Takuma was remembering how frightened Shiki looked when questioned about Zero's feelings, and Kaname was…well, Kaname was having mixed feelings. He felt disturbed by the thought of Shiki with Zero. It wasn't because they were two men, he had no problem with people who prefer such things as he knew Takuma did. When he tried to picture Shiki with Takuma, it didn't disgust him. When he tried Zero with Takuma, he had to force himself not to shiver. He wasn't sure why exactly, but the idea of Zero with Takuma or Shiki made him feel…anxious. He decided that it was simply because Zero was a Level D vampire and thus was not good enough for a noble vampire.
Rima finally broke the silence. "I don't think that's it, Taku. They just don't seem like a compatible match." The others murmured their agreements.
Takuma sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I must be really tired to suggest that. I think I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight everyone." The others said goodnight to each other and went to bed as well.
During changeover later that day, Shiki slid another note into Zero's hand as he walked by.
Zero wondered what Shiki wanted that he couldn't say in front of others, and started to get nervous. He quickly walked away from the Moon Dorm gate, ignoring Yuki's calls to wait. When he was comfortably surrounded by the thick forest, he unfolded the note.
'Lake. After class. We might have a problem.'
Zero's heart skipped a beat. A problem? What problem? Did someone find out about his feelings? Or were they close to figuring it out? Was it someone they could trust to keep quiet, or was it someone who was going to tell Kaname? If they did try to tell Kaname, would Shiki be upset if he shot them?
He took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. All these thoughts were only going to freak him out more. He needed a distraction.
Zero sensed the perfect distraction coming his way, fast.
Three Level E vampires. Zero smirked. Well, at least he could kill some time on them. He was curious about why three E's would be coming this way, but he pushed the thought aside for now. He pulled out Bloody Rose, and prepared to fight.
When the first E finally came into view, Zero shot it instantly between the eyes, reducing it to ash. The second one came at him from the side, and he twisted away and shot it in the back twice. Before he could turn around, the third barrels into him from behind. They both tumble to the ground, and the E sinks its fangs into his left shoulder.
Zero clenches his teeth so hard he starts to taste blood. He lifts Bloody Rose and tries to shoot it, but the bullet only grazes the left side of the E's face. It pulls back and lets out a high-pitched scream that made Zero's ears start to ring. Zero sits up and aims his gun at the E.
It jumps away from Zero and cries out, "Traitor!" before running away.
Zero's shocked by what the E said, and that moment of hesitancy allows the E to get away. He shakes off his shock and tries to stand up to go after the E. But by the time he manages to actually get up, the E's aura has already disappeared.
He leans against a tree for support as he thinks about the attack. Not only had E's managed to get on to the school grounds, but they'd come so far undetected. They were also working together in a pack, when E's are normally so far gone that they could never work together without fighting each other. But these E's had worked together. The first one had distracted him from the second one and the third one used the distraction the second one caused to attack him from behind. It was a fairly coordinated attack, which was something unthinkable for E's.
Then there was what the third one said. It'd called him a traitor. A traitor to who, the E's? He wasn't one of them, Kaname's blood makes sure of that. How could he betray someone when he was never one of them?
Shiki was worried. The other nobles were so close to figuring out Zero's secret. At the meeting tonight, he was going to warn Zero about it so he could hide his feelings better. He should have known that he wasn't the only one who noticed what happened two weeks ago. Hopefully, though, he was the only one who pieced together Zero's love for Kaname.
Shiki forced himself to keep his face blank because the others were all watching his reactions. They'd been watching him ever since he ran out of the room last night without answering Rima's question. He had no idea how to answer it if he's asked again, but he plans to ask Zero what he should say.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kaname sit up straighter and discreetly sniff the air. That's when he is hit with the strong scent of blood and the aura of a Level E vampire. Kaname stands up and walks out the door, the other nobles in his inner circle hurrying after him. Who was bleeding? Shiki hoped it wasn't one of the Day Class students, that wouldn't go over well.
When they got to the clearing where the smell of the blood was coming from, there was two different piles of ashes that signified two dead E's. There was blood splattered on the ground and on a nearby tree, but the source of the blood was nowhere to be found.
Where was the person who's bleeding?