Alright, I'm back again guys~ and here's the second installment on this fanfict~ Hope you guys enjoy it~
After the brief talk with Ruka, Rima made her way back into the living room, obviously none too pleased with what had just conspired between the two females. On her way to the stairs, she carefully passed Kaname's room, not wanting to wake the royal pureblood and cause some sort of annoyance for him. After silently passing his room, she gracefully made her way down the stairs and sat across from Senri, right next to Akatsuki. She was too emotionally exhausted to even care where she ended up sitting down. Only after she had leaned back into the couch, getting comfortable and being careful not to slouch, did she feel the tension transpiring in the room. She hadn't known what had caused it, being that it was definitely there before she had re-entered the room, but now that she had truly felt its presence in whole, she let her mind drift wondering as to what had caused this feeling. It wouldn't have been the first time that Hanabusa and Senri had made snide comments back and forth, eventually ending up in the blond ice user to storm out, obviously upset about something. That had obviously not been the case this time since the ice user was still in the same room. The only thing Rima could've hoped is that Hanabusa didn't make matters worse on her. It seemed that some days, although she doubted that Hanabusa even realized that he was doing it, the blond loved making trouble and being very argumentative with Senri. The blond ice user always had a short temper when it came to certain things, even when he was younger. But even when he acted out on his anger, it seemed that he was very comical about things.
More often than not, she had wondered what it felt like to live with such carefree thoughts and ideas. She had been with Senri for as long as she could remember, their relationship evolving to romance only recently, so she couldn't even remember the last time she had the ability to go out and free do things. When they were younger, Senri had never abused the girl like he had been doing the past few months, but he had always been emotionally manipulative and for the longest time, survived off of the other. More often than not, they would share their blood as if they were lovers before even becoming so. Since Senri survived off of her, she always had to make the most practical decisions about almost everything. She was shaken back from her thoughts when she felt a hand rest gently on her back in concern. Rima made no sudden movements but careful slid her eyes to the side, wondering whose hand it was. It was when the model felt the semi-cold touch, she understood who it was. Rima relaxed against Hanabusa's hand slightly to show that she appreciated the gesture but didn't move enough to alert Senri of what was going on. She knew that if Senri had caught on, another argument would break out between the blond and him.
Before anyone could say another word about anything, Kaname had begun to walk down the stairs with Takuma in tow, chatting away to him about something to do with his grandfather and his plans. He only stopped once they got closer to the others. Sensing something was off, Kaname simply sat in a chair on the outskirts of the living room, quietly surveying. Seiren brought him some tea before quietly returning to kitchen. She always knew what he wanted and when he wanted it. The whole room kept quiet after that, it felt as if it was almost taboo to talk at the moment. Takuma let out a little nervous chuckle before sitting down next to Kaname, who seemed to be half-listening to what Takuma was blabbering on about. Once Takuma started talking again, everything seemed to fit right into place. Ruka, who hadn't left her room after Rima exited it so briskly, finally re-emerged and took her spot rightfully next to Akatsuki. Rima, who noticed Ruka discomfort with her, for whatever reason, had removed herself from next to Akatsuki and situated herself next to Hanabusa for whatever reason that might have been. It only seemed to antagonize Senri, who clearly didn't like Rima so close to any other boy that wasn't him. Kaname just kept quiet, watching the scene unfold.
Some time had passed before words were being spoken again. Laughter could be heard occasionally, although sometimes it sounded forced. It didn't take long before Rima allowed herself to sleep, leaning against Hanabusa, strangely feeling comfortable in his presence. Hanabusa wasn't going to object such an action as he felt that the girl had already had a lot of rejection in her life so far. But he didn't think that Shiki was going to take too kindly to Rima's actions. Hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her side, resting his hand on her shoulder as he gently pulled the sleepy girl next to him. He could feel the darker red head's gaze on him with an increasing amount of scorn growing on it every second. But, the blond didn't move nor show signs that he was scared of him. He wasn't going to let the girl get taken advantage of any longer. He was definitely going to save her and get her out of this mess before any more harm would come to her.
Eyeing Shiki down for a quick second, he gently picked up Rima, who was in a deep sleep, and carefully brought her to his room. Gently laying her down on his bed, as to not wake her up, and covered her with his comforter. Hanabusa silently left the room and locked his door behind him before putting up an ice guard to make sure that only he could enter the room. After all, he didn't want Shiki walking in there like he owned the place. The only other person who could get in would be Akatsuki simply due to the fact that his aristocratic power was fire. On the other hand, this didn't mean that Rima was trapped in the room. It simply meant that no one could get in. She could leave any time she had wanted to. Returning to the common room, Hanabusa had noticed that Shiki was no longer in sight. "Hey," He'd turn to Ruka. "Where'd Shiki go?"
Ruka simply glanced up from the book she was reading to shrug. "Last I heard, Lord Kaname called him into his room for a talk. It's been a while since then, though. So, he might have already returned to his room." She would reply in her smooth voice. "Where did you lay Rima down at?" She asked, simply closing her book, using her finger as a bookmark. "I trust that you didn't return her to Shiki." Ruka raised an eyebrow at the blond who immediately looked disgusted.
"Do you really think so low of me!?" He would snap at her, getting very defensive. "There is no way I would simply hand her over like that. I care about her, she is my friend too, you know!" He would reply in a sharp voice, eyebrows scrunched to form an annoyed face. "I can't believe that you would think I would, or that I am capable of such a thing. I'm not heartless, Ruka." He'd huff before excusing himself and left to go in another room. As he retreated to a different room of the dorm, he had passed by Kaname's office, over hearing a conversation between Kaname, Takuma and Senri.
"This can't keep going on, Senri. Even you know that." Kaname's voice, muffled by the large wooden door, resounded. "I can't keep letting this happen and you can't keep hiding behind your father as an excuse. It's not okay and I won't stand for it." He would pause, taking in a deep breath. "Rido is a thing of the past. Even you know that. Hiding behind his name is like hiding behind a smoke screen. More recently, my sources had still confirmed that Rido isn't even at 50% of his full power. Yet, you still hide behind him like he's some sort of God. I wonder why that is." A nervous chuckle – probably coming from Takuma – was heard next.
"Lord Kaname, with all due respect, I don't believe you have an inkling of an idea what you are talking about. Your sources are obviously wrong if that's what they're reporting." A new voice, Senri's this time, was heard. "Lord Kaname, I'm not this big bad bully everyone's making me out to be. You know that half the time I can't control what I do." A snide chuckle was given, presumably, by Senri. "And hiding behind my father? I would never do anything of the sort. I might have casually mentioned his name once or twice, but it isn't something that I proclaim every day. And who here hasn't talked about their family history? I know for a fact that Takuma talks about his grandfather, who is running the council right now. Isn't that the least bit suspicious too?"
Hanabusa could practically feel the room's atmosphere drop when Senri spoke that last sentence. "Don't make me do something I regret, Senri. Takuma is my most trusted advisor. I will not take threats to him so lightly." It was an unstated fact that Takuma had also happened to Kaname's best friend. "Our conversation isn't over Senri but it appears that I have some work to do. Leave and return to your quarters. We'll resume this later." Hanabusa heard that as a que to quickly walk as fast as he could from Kaname's chamber door. It wasn't until Hanabusa and Senri were no longer near Kaname's room before the ravenette sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Now, now, Lord Kaname. We don't want to anger the Shiki family. Think about what's at stake here. We don't want to sound aggressive and come off like we're after the Senate. We need to settle this matter peacefully and without further conflict from either side. That wouldn't be good for Rima or you." Takuma replied gently to his friend before pausing and releasing a sigh. "Would you like some tea, Lord Kaname?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'll have some be brought up to you shortly. In the meantime, I'll excuse myself." He would give a slight not of his head before leaving the room. For some reason, Takuma had a feeling that things were about to get pretty ugly and he didn't want to stick around for the aftermath.
