Warnings: OCs, Language and Angst (somewhat).

Author's Note:

I'm late. Super late. I hate my blocks :'(

And my life. I hate my life too.

Okay, that's enough talk for n—oh wait, there's one more thing.

I had been stuck on writing this chapter for a LONG time, so please forgive my spastic changing of writing styles in here, alright?

Alright. Let's roll out!

Vampire Knight © Matsuri Hino

Fan-Fiction Plot and Original Characters © Kuro Nightroad/ Me

Fragility

A Vampire Knight Fan-Fiction

Chapter Three:

"The Countdown to 00:00"

There they stood, their eyes fixated on the other.

The full moon had never seemed more cold, more cruel that night to them—the supposedly gentle light illuminating, highlighting the tension hanging in the air.

There was no doubting they had to choose their words carefully now.

For they knew that in the next moment, the very words they would then speak, would change absolutely everything in a heartbeat.

Five minutes to seven that morning, Riel found herself waking to a first-rate migraine worse than the day before.

She groaned, her fingers rubbing in small circles on her temple. The gesture did nothing to help soothe her throbbing head, however. Great. Just what she needed. An unwanted migraine trying to pound her brain into a pile of jelly mush in the early morning. A wonderful morning indeed. She managed a sigh through the pain, listening to the white silence in her room broken by the sounds of light snoring from her side.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see Ruri curled up comfortably against the crook of her neck—still wandering in her own world of dreams.

Riel pushed herself from the bed gently, careful not to wake her pet and gave a minimal feline stretch. Her bleary eyes were on each breath turning white before fading, and in spite of the brief tranquility, her mood still couldn't improve with the apprehension of her latest assignment building up overnight.

Oh god, how she wanted to just drop everything and run away from it all.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Ruri jolted awake, crimson eyes wide with surprise and her master could only deign to fall back onto the bed in response.

"Urk… What now? I can't even sulk in peace?" The red-haired hunter groused, a low and feral growl threatening to erupt from her throat. "I'm not here. Just go away, go away. I'm not here." She continued to grumble out under her breath. Whomever it was at the door, Riel desperately hoped they would get the hint and just leave her to brood, but the knocking seemed to last for hours.

When the incessant rapping had finally stopped, Riel let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding—only to suck that breath right back in at the unceremonious loud click of the door. Wait, that wasn't the front door. The red-haired hunter realized belatedly, tensing as she bolted from where she laid as a woman in her late twenties barged into her bedroom uninvited at that moment.

"Hey El, time to get your ass—WHOA FUCK! Its freezing in here!"

"Abby?" Riel called in uncertainty, and Abigail only scowled at her.

When it didn't seem like the pending conversation was to be continued, the older woman felt her patience snap. "Are you out of your mind!? Close the goddamn windows!" She barked out brusquely, wrapping her woolen cardigan tighter around herself and unwilling to take another step in. The temperature had to be around ten degrees in there, surely—contributing to Riel's credibility that she was indeed a crazy for sleeping through the night in that biting cold.

The presumed crazy couldn't resist a small smile, unable to hide her mirth. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and eventually stood, closing the windows before flipping the switch for the heater. When she next turned to face her uninvited guest, Riel had almost expected to hear another string of obscenities but it never came. So instead, she decided to ask first.

"How did you get in?"

Her small smile from before was now gone and replaced with a frown, a clear indication that she didn't exactly appreciate the company so early in the morning. "I don't remember giving you a spare," she added before Abigail could come up with an excuse.

And the older woman blinked, her mouth gaping like a goldfish chewing on air. Her eyes twinkled like a pair of emeralds and she twisted a lock of dual-colored hair around her finger as she decided to come clean.

"I picked the lock."

"Excuse me?" Riel stared at the woman incredulously, "You broke into my apartment?"

She soon recovered from the incredulity of their situation and cocked an eyebrow, leaning against the wall groggily whilst trying to tame her wild locks.

"Abby," her voice broke the awkward silence, sharp as the edge of a knife as she continued. "You broke into my apartment, are you fucking with me?" Riel was never one for swearing unnecessarily, but it had been barely two hours after she managed to sleep. That migraine was still hammering her head. And as though she wasn't miserable enough, her only female (human) friend had not one shred of morality to hold her back from breaking into the red-haired hunter's home.

Needless to say, even misery couldn't appreciate the company with all the apparent circumstances at seven in the morning.

The shuffling of footsteps approached, and Makoto's perpetually chirpy voice spoke out. "Don't be so hard on Abby now, El-chan." He poked his head from around the corner, nonchalantly covering for Abigail before she could snap back an indignant remark. "It was my idea after all."

"Then you're paying for the repairs on my lock," Riel shot back in retaliation, quick to change her target but Makoto remained unfazed. At the very least, he found her foul mood much more comforting than the doom and gloom hanging heavily around her the day before. The price of a broken lock was hardly an issue if it meant grinding her gears enough to snap out of her apprehension.

Makoto then grinned from ear to ear with a frypan in hand. "So anyway, scrambled or sunny-side ups?"

Had it not been for her sleep incapacitated mind, Riel would have gaped in horror at the thought of Makoto attempting to cook in her kitchen again and made a frantic grab for the frypan she had replaced after one of his culinary endeavors. It hadn't been an easy decision—she really liked that last frypan, but her common sense convinced her that keeping a scorched and dented frypan with a broken handle was just ridiculous.

How the burgundy-haired man even managed to damage it until that point in a span of five minutes trying to make pancakes was beyond her. And she didn't bother to ask about her kitchen then either, completely ruined as it was though a hurricane had passed right on through the place.

…okay, that's enough about damaged frypans and destroyed kitchens. At the moment, Riel needed to prioritize stopping Makoto before he potentially decimates her apartment. She didn't know how it would be possible, but this was Makoto she was dealing with. Questioning his deadly culinary expertise was no better than asking why the trees are green, and why the sky is blue.

They are just as they are, and that includes Makoto's innate ability to be a destructive bumbling klutz outside of his official job.

"Makoto, instead of covering for me—I'd appreciate it more if you would put that frypan down. Now." Abigail retorted grumpily, apparently aware of how much damage the burgundy-haired man could cause with a simple household item in hand.

On the other hand, the man in question couldn't be more clueless. "Huh? Why?"

"Because you can't fucking cook."

Well, Abigail had never been one to pull her punches… but still.

Ouch. Riel winced, exasperation just threatening to split open the back of her skull at the ensuing banter.

"Why can't I cook?"

And the (mostly) auburn-haired woman looked about ready to strangle Makoto at that point, their bantering growing more frustrated and louder than what was good for Riel's aching migraine.

"Guys—"

"That's enough outta you two now." Fortunately, Jinmu appeared to step in and steal back the frypan before the redhead could shed another layer of her sanity in trying to resolve the situation. "Abby, take the damn frypan and start cooking already. I'm starving here." He handed the kitchen utensil over to Abigail nonchalantly, talking over his partner's protests ("Hey Jin! Don't ignore me!" "What's wrong with my cooking!?").

Come to think of it, I'm kind of hungry too… Riel realized through her haze, recognizing the familiar feeling of bubbling and rumbling low in her abdomen. Soft fur brushed against her feet and Riel instinctively reached down to pick up Ruri in her arms, following after a grumbling Abigail.

"You gonna drop by my place before heading out?" Abigail asked, done with her grumbling as she rummaged through the kitchen cabinets. She didn't need to look back to know that Riel was still there, a cuddly pet in her arms and contemplating the sudden question now that her sullen mood has lightened a little.

"If I have the time," she shrugged.

"I'm sure you do have the time, so just come over and see my mom for a bit." Abigail rolled her eyes, huffing indignantly. "She'll definitely be happy to see you."

"And then you'll have me to work for free at the diner again." Riel elaborated, a small chuckle escaping her.

…Not that she actually minded it. Money had never been an issue for her, and it had somehow always been a silent rule that she be generally left to her own devices whenever she isn't out on an assignment, so working at the diner sounded like a better idea than being a shut-in on her off days.

Abigail shot her a withering look, deadpanning. "Not when you have to rush off for another assignment so soon, and you're the one refusing the money when we're supposed to pay you by the hour." For all the smarts and good will Riel had, the redhead was incredibly and insufferably hypocritical whenever they start bantering or arguing over the smallest and or strangest things. And the auburn-haired woman had no clue why she'd always put up with it.

Then, she realized, for a very good reason when Riel let out a sheepish laugh in response and left for the bathroom.

Rustle.

The auburn-haired woman looked back over to the counter, emerald-green met with crimson as Ruri pawed hungrily at the frozen bacon. She sighed, rolling up her sleeves before patting the snow-white pup briefly.

"You look out for her and try not let her do anything crazy, won't you fido?"

Arf.

She smiled. "Good to know."

—07:10.

"Kiriyuu is absent again?"

Yuuki tried to make herself smaller than possible, holding her textbook upright to act as a shield from the physics teacher. Unfortunately for the oblivious brunette, at some point of time into their first year in high school, it had already been established that the mention of one Kiriyuu Zero would no doubt always bring one Yuuki Cross into the picture. It was just her luck that no matter the circumstances, Yuuki would probably be forever stuck in the same boat as Zero—except when it came to their academic performances.

"Do you know why Kiriyuu is not in my class, Cross?"

Their Physics teacher, Sasabe, was a size double-zero stick of a woman. Though clearly lacking in figure, the piercing and stern gaze of her eyes was enough to make one quiver in fear. Despite being the academy Chairman's daughter, Yuuki was no exception. She was plain terrified of the middle-aged woman who would often call on her and stick (pun intended) her with an extra load of homework if she couldn't answer correctly, and now she couldn't help but flinch from her steely attention.

"Er, he's… sick today too." She forced out hesitantly, averting her eyes and tried not to laugh at the bitter irony of her excuse.

There was absolutely no way that Zero was actually sick, that much she was sure.

To the best of her (limited) knowledge—a sick person did not wake up at the crack of dawn to clean the stables, and then wander off to God knows where to mope in all of his good-looking glory for the rest of the day.

Yes. He mopes. The Kiriyuu Zero actually mopes.

One could argue that he was still grieving instead (anyone who knew of his past, that is), but Yuuki begged to differ.

Having spent four years with the silver-haired teen, she had learned how to tell the differences by now. And she supposed the slight improvement in his current social skills had also helped a little.

Then again… He looks just as pasty and gloomy as he did four years ago.

She gave a small pout, wondering what little she knew of the silver-haired teen over the past four years they had spent together. And even then, she knew nothing more about him than how he had lost his family to a vampire before they met on that cold wintry night. The brunette frowned, tempted to sigh but looked down to her interlaced fingers instead.

He had been normal—grumpy as always—up until two days back, before he had been dragged to the Chairman's office for sleeping through mathematics. When Yuuki next saw him, she could have sworn he looked as if he was going to break down at any given moment but she quickly realized an emotional meltdown was impossible.

No. Zero is much too stubborn and pigheaded, she thought with a frown and returned to sulking over the fact that she still hadn't the slightest idea of what might be bothering him.

Any hopes she had and effort she spent trying to pry some answers out of Mr Grumpy had also been proven fruitless too. And it would seem to the brunette that her concern did nothing more than put him in a fouler mood than before, causing him to scowl and stalk off in a hissy fit like a child.

Naturally, Yuuki was forced to relent and gave the latter some space like she always did in the past—hoping that he would eventually tell her when he felt comfortable enough with whatever it was weighing on his mind.

He never did tell her anything anymore, though. Not anymore.

Not since the day he found out how fond she was of the vampire who happened to save her life.

How… how depressing this situation was.

"Hmm, I see."

Sasabe narrowed her eyes, her scrutinizing gaze hardened. "Do send him my regards if you will. Now let's all get out the books and turn to page…"

Yuuki heaved a quiet sigh, relieved she hadn't been called out for her pathetic lie. Her reaction hadn't go unnoticed as Sayori's soft whisper reached her ears, "Kiriyuu-kun's not sick, is he?"

The dark oak gave a loud screech in protest to the brunette's outburst as she jumped from her seat in shock, auburn eyes wide. "WHA—HOW DID YOU—"

"A-HEM."

And she froze, having temporarily forgotten where she was exactly. Her terrified gaze landed on the unforgiving figure that was dubbed every Cross Academy student's dreaded boogeyman (or boogey-woman in this case) of Physics. The brunette tensed, positively blue in the face as she mumbled quiet incomprehensible excuses beneath her shallow breaths.

Sasabe's hardened eyes flashed a dangerous glint. "Do you have a problem with my lesson, Cross?" The firm strictness in her voice promised another extension to Yuuki's month long schedule of after-school detention, a suitable penalty in her books for being a constant disruption during her classes.

Yuuki gave a shudder in dread, then tilted her face to the ceiling dramatically—wondering to whatever higher power above she had done to be so unlucky.

Just you wait, Zero...! Yuuki chastised inwardly, determined to punch her fellow councilor a good number when she would next see him. She had him covered for two days straight after all.

If he wasn't going to confide in her about his problems, then the least he could do was take a small beating from her.

The brunette gave a minimal grin at the thought.

Yep, it was but a small price for him to pay.

—13:24.

Riel pulled her fur-lined jacket tighter around her slight figure, and gave into a quiet yawn just as the central clock tower drawled its chime, surprising a flock of pigeons that took off in a flurry of snow-white feathers. Ruri barked, wagging her tail in excitement and crimson eyes positively gleaming like the natural predator she was.

The red-haired hunter smiled wryly and spoke quietly—"Ruri, behave now."

The white pup tilted her head back, blinking innocently.

Riel only managed to shake her head, quiet amusement clear in her eyes as she squatted down, her hands outstretched towards her little pet—who trotted over obediently, and hopped up her arm before settling down in the hood of her jacket. Ruri then barked again, an indication that she was comfortable and ready to go.

The pair then settled their eyes on the woman a few steps ahead of them, who stood out like a sore thumb with her purple highlights. She popped a piece of gum nonchalantly, a sharp glance in their direction before moving on. Riel pursed her lips, slipping a hand into one pocket while the other picked up her luggage and slung it over her shoulder as she made to follow the older woman.

For a few moments, they walked in silence when Riel decidedly tried to persuade Abigail once again. "Abby, you really don't have to send me off at the station."

"Nope."

"I am not a child."

Abigail spun around on her heels, walking backwards now as she deadpanned. "You look like shit and about ready to keel over, I'd say you're a pain in my ass more than any kid I had dealt with."

She had a vague idea of how terrible she must look but Riel puffed her cheeks slightly still, a near indignant look on her face. "Then I could almost say the same for your mother in that respect."

"…"

The whimsical supermom had been nursing a slight cough when she had visited and there was the weather too. The harsh temperature drops isn't helping anyone's health these days, she thought. And the red-haired hunter couldn't help but feel the nagging concern that Abigail didn't seem fazed by her mother's recent poor health.

Then again, it was Abigail after all.

The older woman never showed her weaknesses to anyone.

She took extra care not to let that little bit of knowing slip, however—Riel knew the auburn-haired woman would never let her off easy otherwise. A shy Abigail had always covered up her embarrassment with the temper tantrum of a twelve-year-old. And the redhead would have giggled at the very thought, if it wasn't for her frustration with being treated like a child.

Feeling a little spiteful, she had every intention to take another jab at the older woman for worrying over her more than her (Abigail's) mother when she caught herself midway, forcing out a small mumbled apology instead. "…Sorry."

Abigail snorted, rolling her eyes. "Right. You're fine." The redhead was far from it, actually—but she didn't need to know that Abigail had already seen through her.

"C'mon, the train ain't waiting for you forever."

"I know."

"Do you now." The auburn-haired woman's response was more of a sarcastic statement than a question. Crud, she always hated it when Riel talked like that. Like she didn't have a choice.

"Y'know, you could stay a while longer and hop on a later train in the evening." She suggested.

Riel gave a rueful smile, a small shake of her head as she now walked ahead of the auburn-haired woman.

"You're sending me off, aren't you? Let's get going."

—16:37.

It was getting harder to keep a grip on his composure as he walked, each step he took uncontrollable and unsteady.

Zero soon collapsed in the corner, slumped against the wall. His blood curdled like it was on fire, and he almost couldn't breathe. The grim reality of his situation weighed heavily on his psyche, and something in him screamed to shut everything out.

The Chairman then spoke, his expression grave and serious unlike his usual comedic character. "No matter how hard you try, you can't change reality. You can't run away from it, Kiriyuu-kun."

Zero had to strain his hearing over the loud pounding of his heartbeat in his ears to hear those words, though he later wondered why he even bothered. And he would have laughed bitterly too, letting sarcasm drip from every retort possible at the irony.

Well, fuck the irony.

Even if he couldn't change a damn thing, he could still damn well try to drag it out.

Zero wasn't going to give in so easily.

"Shut," Cough! "Shut up…" He rebuked or, at least he tried but it lacked the usual barb and warning his voice normally held.

The Chairman furrowed his eyebrows, deep concern etched his youthful features and shook his head with disapproval. Really, it hurts to see his foster son prolong his pain and suffering like this.

"You have to stop pushing yourself to reject it like this."

Zero felt his throat burn as he forced out the words again. "Stop nagging…!" Cough!

He didn't need the Chairman's concern.

He didn't want his pity.

He didn't need it.

He didn't need it. He didn't need it.

HE DIDN'T NEED IT.

THROB. "…Ugh!"

Zero jerked back to hit the wall, clutching his chest at the onslaught of what felt like needles and flames fighting to break out from his skin. It hurts. It hurts. Stop. Not now. His mind repeated in vain as the painful sensations only seemed to last longer.

Pant. Pant. "…argh…ngh…" Pant.

Somewhere through it all, the Chairman remained silent and watched over him. The older man knew that there was nothing he could say to make it easier for the silver-haired teen, so he said nothing. He only waited patiently, sighing softly as he picked up the jug on his counter to pour a glass of water for his foster son.

He slowly brought the glass over, a hand fumbling in his pockets before pulling out a small packet. "If you want the pain to stop, swallow this…" His expression was solemn as he held both items up for Zero to take. "You know… what's inside."

Zero merely gave a low feral growl and shoved the Chairman's offer away roughly.

SMASH!

The glass shattered, the water it previously held now spilled and seeped into the expensive carpet as well as soaked the packet thoroughly. Soon, an obvious red bloomed amidst the mess, spreading its rich colors where the spilled water had reached. Zero scowled in disgust and averted his fervent gaze from it.

"Never!" He almost snarled, bristling in white anger.

"Kiriyuu-kun," the Chairman admonished. "Your fits are becoming more frequent lately. If you keep rejecting this, your condition will only worsen." There was no room for stubborn arguments, he made sure—he needed Zero to recognize the gravity of his willful decisions.

It broke his heart to be so harsh with the boy though, "…Please understand that you can no longer afford to fight it." He eventually relented, softening his stance.

For a moment, it seemed like Zero wasn't going to reply when he finally spoke reluctantly. "No, I do understand…" He pursed his lips before continuing in a mumble, "…I think."

They paused, neither wanting to continue the topic.

Zero eventually stumbled to his feet unceremoniously, heading for the door. He had no idea where he was headed though, just that he wanted to be left alone.

The silver-haired teen then found himself just standing before the doors to the Chairman's office, struggling to gather his thoughts amidst his half-conscious state. He was hesitant to leave in his current condition when the knob turned with a click and was met with the last person he wanted to see in this whole goddamn world.

"What a coincidence, Kiriyuu." Kaname smiled in greeting, but the courtesy his lips held did not reach his wine-red eyes as they glanced over his shoulder briefly. "Is Yuuki not by your side today?"

Zero scowled further, narrowing his eyes. "That girl's having detention right now." He retorted, standing aside sourly to let the brunet pass. It was clear that he was neither in the mood to argue, nor did he have the energy for it.

"Kiriyuu… how goes the health check?"

He tensed, and glowered with subtle surprise at the seemingly harmless question uttered and stayed silent.

Kaname wasn't fazed, his expression unreadable as he turned to the Chairman. "Take care…"

"Mind your own business." He recalled snapping with a low growl, before storming from the place.

Those words stung like a festering wound.

To hear his concern of all people.

An empty remark of concern from Kaname Kuran of all people.

It was the worse.

Why?

Why. Why. Why.

His chest tightened again, and his throat burned.

He held a trembling hand over his mouth, as though to suppress it, but the gesture helped none.

Slow footsteps approached from behind, and Zero straightened reflexively. With a quick breath, he recomposed himself—Bloody Rose faithfully in hand. Her silver frame glimmered somberly, a quiet promise to harm the golden-haired beauty as her safety disengaged with a click.

"What are you up, Night Class?"

Leave me alone.

"I fail to understand why Kaname-sama is so kind towards such a ill-mannered human like you. Your insolence is unacceptable!" Ruka rebuked in contempt, her bell-like voice shrill with displeasure.

Let me be.

Kain interceded, calm yet apprehensive as he tried to mediate the tension between his classmate and the silver-haired councilor. "Don't let your jealousy get the better of you, Ruka." He turned to the rest, "And that applies to everyone else too, Kaname-sama won't be happy if he hears of this."

GO AWAY.

"Come now, Kiriyuu." The tall blond kept a hand raised, wary of that finger on the trigger—ready to pull at any time. "Put that thing away…!"

THUMP!

The next thing he knew, Kain found himself sprawled unceremoniously on the ground. His dark eyes of apricot wide in surprise while several of his classmates stared with deadpan expressions.

"That was so uncool…" Shiki and Rima commented offhandedly, both sporting the same poker-face as the blond grunted indignantly.

"…Just shut up," he retorted.

Zero holstered his gun, expression unreadable. "In other words, you lot are ganging up on me because of Kaname Kuran?"

His lips curled into a smirk, temporarily burying the bitterness he felt.

"I'd like to see you try, Vampires." He cracked his knuckles, eyes positively gleaming with a menace that promised nothing but pain. "You've been getting on my nerves anyway."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Yuuki yelled from above, Artemis extended and ready as she leapt down into the crossfire. "No fighting allowed! Isn't that written in the student handbook?"

Her childlike features contorted into an unintentional pout, hardly intimidating enough to be considered an angry look. And the Night Class couldn't help their sheepish expressions as they watched the petite brunette tug on her councilor armband as if to assert her (nonexistent) authority over them.

"If Zero and the Night Class students insist on brawling, I will be forced to take action befitting my role as a student councilor!" She warned, causing the Night Class to further break out into cold sweat—for they were certain that there was nothing the brunette could have possibly done to stop them if they were to truly start a fight with her fellow councilor.

Ruka could only look back to Kain, exasperation and uncertainty written on her face at the situation. He sighed, "Well… Let's just go back to class, alright?"

The blonde beauty folded her arms, throwing a brief look towards Zero once more before turning away. "All right, I've lost interest anyway."

Auburn eyes watched as the Night Class returned, and she heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like the worse of their troubles had blown over for the night, but there was still the issue of Mr Grumpy glowering behind her back.

Yuuki almost sighed, hands on her hips as she kept her back to him. "Zero, what did you think you were doing?"

She waited, and waited—but the reply never came.

The brunette then glanced over her shoulder, but was unable to meet Zero's eyes. She turned about, facing him and tried again. "You know, I've been wanting to ask you something but… Zero, you've been acting rather strange lately…"

His mauve eyes burned her skin harshly and she froze, unable to comprehend the intensity of what he could possibly be feeling behind that dark scowl. He made to leave the roof, passing by Yuuki before she could recover from the shock.

Flustered, the brunette reached out to grab his sleeve in a panic—she was nothing short of desperate. They really needed to talk, whether Zero wanted to or not. "Hey, Zero…!"

The silver-haired teen jerked his arm away the moment Yuuki made contact with his arm. "Leave me alone," he snapped—unwilling to humor the brunette as he left without waiting for a reaction from her.

Yuuki could only remain where she stood, her mind reeling with questions. Questions she had without answers.

Rejected again.

Zero had never opened his heart to anyone, not even to her. In fact, he's always been stubborn that way. And it hurt. It pained her to see him bottling everything up like that.

Is he going to keep pushing people away forever?

She clenched her little hands into fists, tight enough for her short nails to dig into her palms.

I've always been by his side, and yet he has never been able to place his trust in me…!

She broke out into a run after him, "Zero!"

—23:54.

Riel looked down to the map she had photographed back at the station on her phone, then back up at the iron gates before her.

"Well, this is it."

Cross Academy.

…

She sighed.

"I don't wanna go in…" She whined softly, filled with dread and cold nerves as she crouched down with her hands on her knees.

The redhead could feel her entire figure quiver and shake, making her queasy with the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. This whole situation had been harder on her than she had expected, and it was almost enough to make her turn tail and bail.

"No, no." She mumbled, "No bailing. Keep it together now, Riel." She quickly shook her head, willing the urge to go away. "You've been through worse," she tried to convince herself.

Ruri whimpered and mewled from the hood of her fur-lined coat, pawing at her master's head in an attempt to comfort the redhead. She smiled, picking the pup from her hood and pulled her into a small hug.

"Thanks, Ruri."

Arf.

Anytime.

The redhead giggled, nuzzling the little ball of soft fur with loving affection. After all they have been through together, Riel couldn't be more thankful for all those times that Ruri had been there for her—the times when she doubted herself more than she should.

"…I think I'll be okay now," Riel grinned as she picked up her bag.

She took a quick breath, ready to push through the gates when she froze.

That sickeningly sweet scent assaulting her senses.

Fresh. Sweet. Blood.

The gentle gaze in Ruri's eyes turned predatory as she growled, her fur bristling. And in that moment, there was a sudden burst of white energy as the pup leapt from Riel's arms. Her miniature form pulsated as she grew in size, her pupils turned to silts, and her growls became feral snarls.

"Ruri, no!" The redhead called frantically, but her command went unheard as pup-turned-wolf jumped the gates in a single bound before disappearing pass the uneven rooftops of the academy and into the night. Riel cursed and pushed passed the entrance, running after her rampant partner.

At the moment, it didn't matter whether there was a vampire breaking the law somewhere on the campus. It was having Ruri attack one of the vampires attending classes at Cross Academy being the last thing she needed on her plate. She didn't need her smarts to know that every last one of them here would easily hail from an influential family of aristocracy, and if she didn't get to Ruri in time…

She shuddered, refusing to imagine the horror.

It would be nothing short of a political disaster, and Riel would be held responsible in the center of it all.

Oh, the bloody horror.

She cursed again, hearing a window somewhere shatter in the distance and promptly made to look for the source. A few broken shards showed the way, but the redhead could hardly feel the relief at having found the window as she climbed through—though she could feel that Ruri was near, the oversized wolf was still no where in sight.

This is bad. This is bad. This is so very bad!

Her hurried steps echoed as she took the stairs two at a time, towards the smell of blood. And the closer she drew towards her pet, Riel could tell it wasn't a small amount being spilled.

"PLEASE DON'T, SENIOR KANAME!"

A feminine voice cried, stricken with such panic that it only spurred Riel to run faster. Her ears were ringing with urgency as subsequent voices were muffled, and the only thing she could take comfort in hearing was Ruri's predacious growling—that meant damage control was still possible.

"Ruri…!" Riel called as soon as the snow-white wolf came into sight, but something didn't seem right to her. She slowed to a walk, panting slightly. "Ruri…?" She called again, now clearly baffled at how her pet was strangely docile in spite of her hostile demeanor.

Crimson eyes then looked up at the redhead, dilated and almost pleading.

It was as though Ruri was begging her master not to approach, but it was much too late—for she was already by her side, frozen with cold feet and her palms clammy.

Now, after four long years, her golden eyes met with his eyes of amethyst once again.

So there they stood, their eyes fixated on the other. Neither able to speak a word, being much too weary to even try.

The Chairman could only look upon the moment with his heart in his throat.

Their bitter reunion… was much too cruel for anyone to see.

—00:00.

Author's Note:

So it has been a year since I last updated this story, and I truly apologize for making people wait.

Why, oh why did I choose to be a teacher? Oh, woe is me!

But putting aside my dramatics, university really hasn't been very kind to me and I often find myself much too worn out to do anything else but sleep. Of course, my blocks didn't go away either. Instead, they only seemed to grow bigger and trying to write became even harder than before.

Now, nobody panic. While I indeed do find writing difficult now, I honestly and truly want to finish all my stories I have on here—so there is no way I am dropping them. EVER.

I'll just probably take a… long while to finish them, and I can only hope everyone will stick around long enough for it to end. If you can do that, I will offer you virtual cookies ;)

But in any case, thank you for all the support so far!

See ya beautiful people around :3

~KuroChama