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Vampire Knight © Matsuri Hino!

These Wooden Ashes.
Hanabusa Aidou / OC
Chapter Four

Chesa's Father did not know the meaning of the word tact.
Nor was he aware of a thing called sensitivity.
Or feelings.

Just any sort of mushy emotions, for that matter. For Chesa's reasoning in regards to her Father's lack of emotion of any kind except disapproving disappointment was very well enforced- in her mind, that was.
The girl really tried- one had to give her credit.
She tried to please her Father.
She tried not to think bad thoughts. She really gave a strong attempt to set aside his lack of sensitivity and respect him as the man he was- her Father, the man who had raised her with an iron will when her Mother had passed.
He had not once wavered in his rules, not in his teachings, and not in his and Chesa's work.

But he did waver in one area.
Full circle- feelings. Sensitivity. Awareness of others' problems, for the most part.

Grasping her small umbrella in a particularly tight hold, Chesa scrunched her eyes as she stood at the entrance of the school in which she could only dream of attending.

Cross Academy.

She desperately attempted to keep her clouding eyes from smearing.
Her vision was blurred.
Her condition was worsening by the day. Her Father was not aware. He thought she was at a remission stage- he thought her vision was maybe even improving. He even thought that she had stopped losing it from time to time.
Too bad her Father was dense in those areas.

With her umbrella in one hand and a small manila folder in the other, Chesa heaved a heavy sigh before entering the gates.

/~/

"Cross-san. I-I… I am sorry for intruding so suddenly, but my Father insisted for this trip to be made."
"Chesa-chan~! I haven't seen you in ages! Where have you been hiding, my darling! Your Father has been holing you up in that shop of his, keeping you from the public eye, hasn't he~!"

Chesa's large eyes widened as the one and only Chairman of Cross Academy leaped over his desk and cupped her hands with his, tears streaming down from the glasses of his.
"C-Cross-san!"
"It's been so long, Chesa-chan!"

The small youth could only flush a deep scarlet as the Chairman continued his rant, greying eyes blinking quite innocently at the man. The rain was pouring outside- it had gotten particularly violent, now.

Chesa had waited until the Chairman had sobered- which took quite awhile, on her watch- to address him with her sudden intrusion once again. "Cross-san…"
"Are you wondering why your Father has sent these reports to me, Chesa-chan?"

The girl merely moistened her pale pink lips, keeping her expression clean.

"I will not question Father's motives."
"Maa~ You're such a good daughter, Chesa-chan. I would find it odd that my Father sent three autopsy reports to a mere Chairman."
"You and Father are long-time friends, Cross-san. I trust his judgment."

Her voice was as firm as could be.
The Chairman noted this with a serious air.

"Have the years been good to your Father, Chesa-chan?"
"I cannot say he is doing his finest."
The hitch in her voice told the Chairman that problems were arising. Rebun's health, from Chesa demeanor, was failing. The Chairman watched as Chesa stood there with her hands cupped before her, slim fingers lacing together as her clouded eyes stared out the window.

Her health was failing as well.

"Chesa-chan…"
"Yes, Cross-san?"
"Your Father does not have much time left, does he," came the Chairman's statement.

There was a long silence after his words.
He merely waited for the raven haired youth to answer.

And when she did, her voice was uneven. "No. No, he does not."
"And tell me, how is your condition coming along?"

Another silence.

"… I cannot say that I am fairing well, either."
"I see."
"Chesa-chan…"
"Yes?"

Silence. The Chairman laced his fingers as he rested his chin on his hands, staring at the small girl with an indecipherable glint in his eye. Chesa was always a meek, modest girl. She was polite. She was formal.
She was too obedient to that Father of hers.

"Why don't you enroll in Cross Academy?"

When her Father left this world…

"W-What!"

She would have nothing left.

"What do you think, Chesa-chan?"

Her Father had once been partners with the Chairman. Their business was not of making coffins or examining the deceased. For the deceased in their line of work turned out the be nothing more than ash after just a few minutes.

It was sad to see that Rebun had not warned his daughter of the horrors of their world.
And there she was with those autopsy report, thinking she had given them to the Chairman to simply be aware of the danger in the area- to keep his students safe.
The deaths were those of a vampire.
And Rebun was keeping that from his daughter til his very end, it seemed.

"For give me, Cross-san, but that is a very preposterous and fantastical idea."
"Why do you say this?"

He was not amused this time around.
The girl flushed a nice scarlet shade.

"I-I am sorry, but I will have to-"

"Accept."

A new voice had interrupted the girl's train of thought, and she blinked quite owlishly, clouding eyes blank.
Her slow voice, "Accept…?"

She was unaware of that wide grin curling Cross's lips until she heard his quite jolly exclamation. "Good! Very fine choice, Chesa-chan! I just knew you would accept my offer!"

Blink.
Blink.
"A-Ah! N-No! That's not it! I meant-!"
"Don't make a young beautiful Chairman such as myself cry, Chesa-chan!"
"C-Cross-san!"

Grey eyes were wide as Chesa turned to look at the cause for her speech blunder, blinking at the new arrival, who had taken to leaning in the threshold to the room.

He was beautiful.
Just like Hanabusa.

And that had the girl's cheeks red all over again.

"Kuran-san! Did you hear? I've got myself a new student!"
"Yes, I have. Congratulations, Rebun-san."

Chesa merely blinked again at the man standing in the doorway once again, a slow frown curving her lips. His eyes were a deep maroon, and his hair was a sharp chestnut.

"I-… Cross-san… you know Father and I do not have the means-"
She had turned back to the blonde, but he had just waved her off with a nonchalant gesture. "Don't worry about that, Chesa-chan. Your Father is a dear friend of mine."

"Then understand when I say that I simply cannot-"
Great. The blonde was crying again.

The girl simply stood there with a frustrated frown, a deep plunge to her brows. She bit her lip to keep back some exasperated words, and her small and calloused hands bunched at her sides.

Her vision blurred once.
This was not going well.

Sighing, Chesa pinched the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb, scrunching her damaged eyes in hopes to get rid of the sudden swirling.

"Chesa-chan?"
"It seems you have distressed her, Chairman," came the silk voice yet again. Chesa had no choice but to ignore it, swallowing thickly as her head gave a light pound.

Blinking her eyes open, the girl found two curious gazes on her.

She spoke before either one, "I'm fine. But I cannot attend this academy."
"Chesa-"
"Father is not well. We do not have the means of payment, and I have a shop to run and coffins to build."

And bodies to examine.

"I do not have time for schooling."

The Chairman merely frowned at the girl before him. Chesa was still that modest child that he had met all those years ago, but it seemed that only her loyalties had grown. She was still small, her hair was so long, and her eyes had gotten worse.
She was still as thin as a rail. She was still soft spoken.
But she had grown a backbone.

"Sleep on it, Chesa-chan."

The girl merely tightened her lips and narrowed her cloudy eyes.
"I'll take my leave now."
"It's raining cats and dogs, Chesa-chan."

"… Rain does not prevent my steps forward. Good day, Cross-san," here the girl flicked her eyes towards the man with maroon eyes, "Kuran-san. It was nice to see you again."

"Give your Father my best, Rebun-san."
A curt nod was his only answer as the door clicked shut.

A heavy sigh, followed by silk.
"She is still very loyal to her Father."
"Yes. And he will soon pass."
"She was only a child when I met her. I am vaguely surprised that she remembers."
"That's Chesa for you."

Silence.

"She will not leave Rebun-san's side, Chairman."

…

"That is what I fear the most, Kaname-kun."

I apologize for the lack of Hanabusa in this chapter, but I had to speed up the plot.
He'll be in the next one, I promise.

-Mel.