Full Circle II: Goodbye, Yuuki
Yuuki watched with a seemingly detached expression as the Kuran car bearing Sara Shirabuki drove away, its shiny paint gleaming in the bright afternoon sun. It has been years already, but somehow the reality of their relationship still shocked her. Sister-in-law.
Yuuki didn't even realize she was angry, until Zero put a hand on her shoulder and said soothingly, "Calm down, Yuuki."
She gazed uncomprehendingly at the worried eyes of Zero, and then at the butler, who stood holding the umbrella with trembling hands. Following their gazes, she gasped when she saw the huge cracks that appeared at the front glass windows of the Kuran mansion's main hall.
"My apologies," she murmured sincerely, trying to soothe the rattled butler. "I shall answer for the damages. For now, please take us directly to Onii-sama."
"Certainly, my Lady."
Yuuki purposely ignored her surroundings as the butler led her and Zero through the spacious living room, decorated with European furniture and lush, frilly curtains in various shades of pink. She cannot help wrinkling her nose, however, as she caught the scent of the sickeningly sweet perfume that Sara loved and seemed to have permeated every corner of the house. Her house.
She blocked off further thoughts quickly, not wishing to lose her temper again. The butler, as if sensing her discomfort, quickened his steps and led them through a door, which exited into a nondescript, less decorated corridor.
They turned corner, and Yuuki suddenly stopped walking. "This is?"
The butler stopped and turned respectfully to Yuuki. "This is the corridor leading to Kaname-sama's private study, Yuuki-sama."
Her impassive lips twisted into a seemingly harmless smile that only Zero would have recognized for what it really was – bitter. "Oh. How nostalgic."
At the end of the long, narrow corridor, she knew, was a dead-end with a huge portrait of the Kuran ancestor hanging from the whitewashed wall. Behind the portrait was a keyhole, which opens into an anteroom that had a small comfortable couch and a coat stand.
The anteroom led to a mahogany door, which, in turn, opens into a huge, windowless room where Yuuki Kuran, the princess in hiding, spent her childhood before the nightmare.
"Yuuki…"
It was Zero, reminding her gently that this is her last chance to stop this madness. In response, she caught his hand and squeezed it once to reassure him that everything will be fine.
Then that mahogany door opened and she found herself standing at the far end of the spacious room, now filled with bookcases twice as tall as herself. At the other end was a huge wooden table, and behind it, his hair covering his eyes as he sat poring over a book, was Kaname Kuran.
He looked up as the butler announced their arrival. Over the furious thumping of her supposedly dead heart, she vaguely heard him greet Zero, who replied politely in return. Then the warmth of Zero's palm slipped from her hands as he pulled gently away, whispering that he'd wait in the anteroom.
The door closed behind the butler and Zero, and Yuuki stood in the center of the familiar room, standing a few feet away from the man she had loved all her life, separated by the humongous weight of the mahogany table.
Everything in him was exactly the same as the last time they saw each other – his raven-black, unruly hair, the kind, perfect face, and those deep, dark eyes that always stared at her with gentleness. He was the same as she remembered him, and yet so vastly different.
"Yuuki." The warmth in his eyes was genuine as he looked her over, sincerely pleased with her arrival. "Welcome home, baby sister."
Baby sister. The words stung, but not as much as the look in his eyes. The tenderness is still there, as they had always been, as well as happiness at seeing her again. But the thing that she was vainly hoping for – recognition – was nowhere in those deep, burgundy orbs.
Don't you remember me, Kaname? Do you know who I am? Have you – truly forgotten me?
She knew that, of course. This is how things were supposed to be. Wasn't she the one who worked to have everything as they are now? Wasn't all of this her choice, for the common good?
So why does she feel like dying at this very moment, staring into those brown eyes that held nothing but love – albeit the kind that wasn't exactly what she wants?
"Yuuki?" Kaname's brows were furrowed with concern as he stared back at her, puzzled by her lack of response.
Yuuki bowed down before her brother, more to hide the sudden tears that sprung in her eyes rather than show her respect. "I am home, Onii-sama."
*****
Kaname and Yuuki sat on the elaborately arranged dining table, sharing a bottle of after-dinner wine. Kaname sat at the head of the table, chin resting on his left hand in a pensive pose. Yuuki sat on his right, delicately taking a sip from her goblet. Zero had declined the elder pureblood's invitation to dine and is now making himself comfortable at the special room prepared by the Kuran's butler.
"You are planning to establish a branch of Cross Academy abroad?"
"Yes, Onii-sama. The members of the Academy's Board of Trustees are one in saying that the time is ripe for an international expansion. I agree with them, but given the nature of the Academy's student body…"
"So you need my help to build up the necessary support from the vampire communities abroad?" He said a matter-of-factly.
"Hai. I'm afraid I am not that well-known in the vampire circles, and I barely have any influence at all especially to the foreign groups."
Kaname nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Of course I will assist you in every way I can."
"Thank you, Onii-sama."
She said it with a rare, genuine smile of gratitude which, for once, reached her eyes. Kaname stared back at her, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Is there anything else that is troubling you?"
"Nothing more, Onii-sama. That is all I wanted to ask you."
"I see." He replied condescendingly, and turned his attention to savoring the age-old wine, a gift from Sara's parents. But his downcast eyes never left the beautiful, somber face of the girl beside him.
Yuuki had no idea, but Kaname thought of her as the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Sara is lovely too, of course, in an outlandish short of way, but his sister possessed a kind of elegant, sensuous aura that held such an intense appeal to Kaname. It was more than the flawless face and the perfectly proportioned body – Yuuki exuded a captivating charm that belonged only to purebloods of the Kuran line, and which attracted Kaname to no end.
Her face enamored him so much that he forgot himself, and the lapse was enough for Yuuki to sense that he was looking at her. "Kaname Onii-sama?"
Kaname couldn't help chuckling at his sister's half-amused, half-irritated expression. Yuuki could be so poker-faced sometimes that it was really a treat to see her like this. "I guess I really just missed you so much, Yuuki."
His sister looked at him with wide, chocolate-brown eyes. "I missed you, too," She said in almost a whisper.
The melancholic tone of her voice didn't escape Kaname. "Maybe we should see each other more often, then. Honestly, Yuuki, you take your work too seriously!"
"But you were the one who taught me to always do my best, Onii-sama."
He laughed. "Well, I am proud to see that it's paying off. I hear nothing but praises about the way you run the Academy, Yuuki."
"It's all thanks to you supporting us from the sidelines, Onii-sama, and also to our friends who continue to help promote our ideals."
"Ah, yes. Takuma and Kain are teaching the night class, and Ruka's family had been backing you up financially, right?"
"Yes, and Hanabusa and Yori-chan's children are a big help as prefects. Not that we have much need of them, considering that there is hardly any gap between the day and night students."
Kaname nodded thoughtfully as an idea hit him. "I just remembered. Senri and Rima have established themselves well enough in Europe for the past years. I am sure they would be only too glad to help with the expansion."
Yuuki's face took on a wistful expression. "It seemed so long ago that I last saw Rima-chan. Their son must be at six or seven years old already." She smiled that rare, genuine smile again, making Kaname's heart skip a bit.
"Yuuki. Look at me."
The moment their eyes met, it hit Kaname. Yuuki, from childhood, and even during her days as a human, was always happy, hopeful, and optimistic. Her eyes always shined with laughter, although she had every reason to be sad. The Yuuki in front of him now – powerful, beautiful, immortal – had absolutely no reason to be sad, but still…
"Yuuki," the words tumbled out of Kaname's mouth by their own volition, "I have always wondered – why do you always look so sad whenever you're with me?"
The girl beside him went very still. For the longest time Yuuki stared back into his eyes, as if daring him to say – no, to do – something more. Kaname, not quite understanding, merely looked back, equally expecting an answer or a slap. At that moment, his gentle sister seemed capable of doing both.
Then something flickered in Yuuki's deep dark eyes – was it disappointment, frustration? – before she quickly looked away. "I have never been happier, Onii-sama."
*****
Yuuki left early on the afternoon of the next day, a day earlier than what was originally planned. Kaname tried to dissuade her from leaving, but she was firm, saying that a message had arrived from Cross Academy asking her to return immediately.
He wasn't quite sure if his sister was telling the truth, but the resolute look on her face clearly told him that she won't take no for an answer. So Kaname instantly arranged for transportation and ordered the chambermaids to help prepare the Kuran princess for her departure.
Kaname had offered to drive her to the town's outskirts at least, but Yuuki refused that too, much to his consternation. So he contented himself with seeing her off at the main gates of the Kuran mansion.
"And when will you be back, may I ask?" He said as he caught her in a warm embrace and kissed her on the cheek.
"I will try to find time as soon as possible, Onii-sama."
"I hope you won't turn down any of my succeeding invitations anymore. I know you and Sara do not get along well, but…"
Yuuki smiled mysteriously. "I don't know if you would believe me, but I do have a more justifiable reason for denying your invitations."
Kaname sighed. "You sound suspiciously like Sara." He turned to Zero, who stood a polite distance away from the siblings, gazing at some faraway horizon. "Zero-kun. Please continue to take good care of my sister in my stead."
The ex-vampire hunter nodded gravely and turned to Yuuki. "We must go."
"Yes, I know. Just give me a few more moments, please, Zero."
Zero nodded and walked away towards the car, parked a few good yards away from the grand staircase.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Yuuki turned to Kaname for one last time and took his face in her hands. Her thumb gently traced his cheeks as she tiptoed to give him a kiss on the nose. "Please take good care of yourself. I am not very good at showing it, but you do know I do love you."
Kaname closed his eyes to savor the moment. "I love you too, Yuuki, more than you'd ever know."
Yuuki didn't reply. Then Kaname felt the hands holding his face tremble, and his eyes flung open in alarm. His sister's face was still a blank mask, except for her eyes, which were turbulent with an emotion he couldn't identify.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Yuuki was faster. In one quick movement she had detached herself away from him, bowed down, and turned away after an abrupt, "Farewell, Onii-sama." In a space of a few moments, he found himself staring at her retreating back, walking with quick steps towards her waiting car as if chased by demons.
"Goodbye, Yuuki."