Chou raced out of the room, clutching her shirt and jacket to her chest. She hurriedly draped her jacket around her shoulders and ran even faster, not daring to look back. What happened? she thought to herself. What happened in that time that we've dated? Is my love not enough? Just because I've been gone for a year... we still had six months together! So why?
Frightening thoughts and situations came thundering into her brain as she ran. The shadows lengthened as the dim candle lights along the corridors lit up and the sky grew dark outside. However, Chou kept running and running. She didn't even care where she was going or where her light feet led her. Even the slow weight growing on her legs from fatigue didn't stop her. She just knew that she had to get away; from life, from love, from troubles... from Zero. Her moment of free flight was abruptly cut off when she smashed head first into someone else. They fell down together and Chou could hear the victim's small "oomf" when he landed on his back.
"Hey, watch where you're going... Chou?" Aidou Hanabusa rubbed the back of his head as sat up. It seemed as if he hurt his head too. "What's wrong?" he asked.
The girl immediately tackled him, hugging the vampire tightly around his chest.
"Um.. hey... Whoa! How come you were running around without a shirt?"
Chou didn't answer and Hanabusa sighed and tried to push her off gently. Her arms didn't budge. When he was about to pry the girl off forcefully, Hanabusa heard muffled sobs as Chou cried into his uniform. He could already feel the tears soaking the front of his shirt.
Seriously... Hanabusa thought, pulling Chou's jacket closer to her neck to cover her chest. What do you want me to do in these kinds of situations? Just because Kiryuu isn't treating you right...
"Sorry... Aidou..." Chou sniffed, holding a mug of warm hot chocolate tightly in her hands.
"Ah.. it's fine. I'm used to it, already," he replied, managing a small smile. She's drinking hot chocolate at her age... so much like a little kid.
They were sitting in the lobby of the Night Class dorms while Chou was sitting on one couch and Hanabusa was doing the same across from her. He had waited until she finally calmed down and listened to her story, preparing a box of tissues and a few blankets from his room beforehand.
"Look, here's what I think..." he started to say.
"What?"
"I think... you should dump him."
"No way!"
The answer came more forcefully and was louder than the two of them anticipated; mostly on Hanabusa's part. Chou sighed and started to lightly scratch at the mug's outer surface, "I mean... I still love him so much... If I didn't then why did I started crying?"
Silence fell like a sudden blanket of snow, muffling them and making it hard to breathe. The two avoided eye contact as they started to feel awkward, regretting how they talked to each other.
"Um... about them... Yuuki and Zero..." Chou trailed off.
"U-Uh, yeah?"
"While I was gone for a year, trying to fix the problems around the Suzuki family, I mean, my family... How were they?"
"What do you mean, how-" Aidou cut himself off, flashbacks started to engulf his mind. He shook his head, desperate to make them go away and grinned, "Nothing happened. They were just friendly, as usual."
"I see... Then I was wrong to mistrust him," Chou smiled, her grip on her cup relaxing. The look on her face softened with relief, and when Aidou saw this, he wanted to bite off his own lying tongue.
"What about you?"
"Hm?"
"What happened between you and Kiryuu before you left?" He ventured, feeling guilt for being so nosy at the same time.
"Same... nothing special," she replied. "I'm just worried..."
"About what?"
"My mom used to say that all humans or those with human hearts, are attracted to demons at first, but they stray off and become attached to the angels in the end," Chou said.
Hanabusa blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"
Chou didn't answer and she got up, pulling on her shirt that had been lying on the side for a while. She had been draped with thick blankets the whole time.
"Nothing.." she muttered softly and quietly left the building.
Yuuki paced back and forth in her dorm room, clutching the glass vial with the rare rose that Kaname had given her as a present. Her head was throbbing from the overflow of thoughts and she stopped her feverish pacing and crouched down, covering her head. She gripped at the long strands of her hair so hard that her nails dug scars into her palms. Yuuki Kuran sighed and flung herself on her bed, stuffing her face into a pillow.
Argh... why did I do that? Yuuki thought. It's Chou and Zero who are together... I have to leave Zero alone, but I got jealous and went in Chou's way again... And this time, she got hurt!
A weak, yet stinging pain pulsed from the light scratches on her cheek. She touched it with her fingers and winced, feeling the poison slowly digging deeper into her system. I have to stop being so spoiled and wait for Kaname-senpai to come back... wherever he is...
Yuuki climbed out of her bed and sighed as she headed out of her room with heavy steps. She made her way to the headmaster's room and before she could open the door, Zero zipped right past her. She looked back and forth from the door when he came from and to where he was heading, confused and startled.
"Zero!?" she called out.
He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her.
"Where are you going?"
"Have you seen Chou?" Zero asked, ignoring her question.
"No, why?"
Again, Zero ignored her and somehow, inside, she began to feel a twinge of envy. Only if Kaname-senpai were here... he would be treating me with this much attention... What's so special about Chou!?
Yuuki gasped and bit her lip, not believing what she had just admitted. No... I don't hate Chou... no way...
But you want her to disappear, don't you? A voice snickered from within her emotions.
No... No, I DON'T!
She's so spoiled... always stealing the spotlight... you know that, don't you?
"Stop it!" Yuuki screamed out loud.
"Yuuki!" Zero ran to her side with a worried look reflecting on his purple eyes. "Are you alright?"
Relief flooded throughout the girl and she smiled. "I'm fine... it's nothing," she replied.
Zero nodded, a bit of a faraway look appearing in his gaze and he said, "Yuuki, I've been thinking..."
"Yuuki~!" Kaien Cross called out, stumbling out of his office.
"Yes?" she demanded.
"Kaname is here! He just arrived!"
"K-Kaname-senpai!?" Yuuki exclaimed, her whole face brightening with delight. "I have to go see him!" She turned and took the shortest route, the window, and jumped out to the ground where she started to run at top speed.
"Eh~! That's dangerous, jumping out the window like that..." Cross trailed off.
Zero clenched his fists and dashed after her.
"Ah! Geez... the young ones are so lively... it's like they will never grow old or die..." the headmaster sighed.
Blood splattered on the ground.
Chou coughed heavily as she collapsed onto her knees, her whole body shaking. She covered her mouth with her hands, quivering as her own blood stained it even more. Beads of sweat rolled down the sides of her face rapidly, not giving her a second to wipe them off. She continued to hack and sputter red until she had to use her trmebling hands for support , keeping her from crumbling completely. It's my 18th year... She thought. I don't have much time left... my body is so weak... so faible...
Footsteps came closer as a long shadow lengthened until it covered Chou's body. She looked up at the figure and her eyes widened as her lips quivered, too shocked for words.
"K-KANAME-SENPAI!" Yuuki called out as she ran to the gates of the academy's grounds. She stopped as soon as she saw who was there and her lower jaw dropped open.
Zero soon caught up with her, panting heavily as he too, looked up to see who it was.
"No.. way..." She gasped.
"You've grown old, Chou Suzuki... no..." the man greeted, mouthing the last words of his sentence.
The whites of her eyes grew more visible as the man walked closer towards Chou. She clenched her shaking hands, begging them silently to stop and veil her fright. She managed a twisted smile as she glared up at him.
"Kaname Kuran... You've finally come."
From far away, in a far corner of a town, a wailing cry unheard by the persons at Cross Academy pierced the air. The owner of that cry would be the one who would change everything.
Teehee! Thanks for reading! Hope to see you soon! Please review! ^-^