A/N: I wish I could personally message every single one of you that reviewed (but most of you are ninjas) to gush over your kindness. Nevertheless, know that I totally geek out and drive my husband crazy as I fangirl and grin like an idiot. So thank you! -Kezzi
Whether you're a YuMe or a ZeKi, I respect you. :)
I am rating this M/MA for violence, language and sexual themes.
Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is owned by Matsuri Hino.
"Yuuki, are you okay?" Sayori asked her the next morning as they both dressed for school. Yuuki's face flushed as she recalled her dream.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Your face is red." She placed her hand over Yuuki's forehead and frowned slightly. "You feel warm too. Are you getting sick?"
"Eh? Oh, no. I just didn't sleep well."
"I could tell. I woke up a few times from you moaning in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?"
Yuuki could feel her face getting warmer in embarrassment as blood pooled in her cheeks. "No, it wasn't bad. I don't remember much of it, actually," she tried to lie.
"Well, if you remember and want to talk about it, let me know, okay?" Sayori turned and grabbed her jacket and bag before exiting the room, waiting for Yuuki in the hallway.
"What about you, Yori?" she asked. "You seemed out cold when I first got back. Did you sleep well?" It was Sayori's turn to blush as she looked down at the ground with a slight smile on her face.
"Actually, I have something I'd like to talk to you about during lunch. Will you meet me under the old tree in the courtyard? Or do you have to meet with Chairman Cross again?"
"No, I'm free during lunch. I met with him last night."
They both walked with the crowd of students in the hallway to their classroom. When the bell rang, Yuuki looked up a few rows to see Zero missing. It wasn't unusual for him to cut class. She often found him sleeping the day away somewhere. She sometimes thought he acted more like a vampire than a human when she considered his sleeping habits. If he ever knew she thought that, she was sure he would be upset with her.
"Zero's not here today?" Sayori whispered to her.
She looked back at her best friend, noticing the slight look of disappointment in her eyes. Zero and Sayori weren't exactly friends, though she knew Sayori liked him, so the expression piqued her interested.
"It doesn't look like it. He's probably sleeping in the barn like always. Why do you ask?" Yuuki whispered back. The drone of the teacher carried on as he explained things Yuuki couldn't comprehend. What with acting as Perfect after school and doing patrols during the night, she hardly had time to sleep, let alone study.
Sayori gave Yuuki a large smile but did not respond with further details. The mischievous smile portrayed a secret that had Yuuki raising a questioning brow.
"Later, at lunch. That's what I want to talk to you about."
Yuuki nodded and turned her head back to the front of the class, attempting to listen to the teacher and understand at least a fraction of what he was saying.
"Shizuka, come here."
Rido sat on his bed, propped up against pillows covered in deep shades of red and gold. The silk brocaded sheets fluidly ran over his body as he shifted. Heavy, maroon curtains trimmed in golden tassels shaded the room from the unforgiving sun. The soft glow of a dozen candles lit the room, casting flickering shadows along the walls.
Shizuka Hio sat on the floor at the end of the bed. Thickly rich Oriental rugs sprawled all along the room, overlapping one another in various areas. She had sat there in the same position, her knees pulled up to her chest as she hugged her legs, for what seemed like hours. Her body was cold and stiff as she untangled her arms and rose to her feet.
Ever so slowly, she walked around one of the wooden posts and sat on the edge of the bed. Her movements caused the sound of metal scraping against each other to permeate the room.
"Here, Shizuka."
Rido pointed to the spot directly next to him. Shizuka crawled across the large bed on all fours until she was next to Rido. She sat in a traditional Seiza position with her hands folded in her lap. Silence filled the room as he stared at her.
The flames from the candles danced across her bruised and bloodied face. She was naked, as he demanded of her when she was in his chambers. The metal collar around her slim neck was securely locked in place. A chain connected to a loop on the collar ran the length of the room but was attached to one of the four bed posts. Her arms and feet were unbound and if she truly wanted to, she could have easily wrapped the long chain around Rido's neck when he slept and killed him.
She never did though. Funny what fear did to you sometimes. The power he had over her took away any and all free will. She remained alive only to act as his living puppet. Since he regained his physical body, he would administer some sort of punishment whether she did anything to deserve it or not. It was his way of exhibiting his power and authority. A way to stroke his own ego.
It was wise to never do or say anything unless he commanded it. Until he gave her further instructions, she would remain seated and silent while staring at the wallpaper covered wall behind the bed. He raised a hand and caressed her cheek.
"You know I don't hurt you because I want to, don't you?" He traced her bottom lip with his thumb. When she remained silent, thinking his question was rhetorical, he moved his hand down to her throat and squeezed tightly. "I asked you a fucking question, Shizuka! I expect a fucking answer!" he shouted into her face.
He squeezed tighter until her face reddened and tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. She remained still, however, fearing him from lashing out further. She desperately wanted to claw at his hands or at least turn her head to the side to loosen his grip.
When he felt satisfied that he made his point, he let go and tucked a strand of her white hair behind her ear. Her pink eyes remained fixed on a swirl on the wall as she started coughing. Chapped and cut lips sucked air in as calmly as possible.
"Do I need to repeat my question?" His mood swings were much like a yo-yo. He was calm and gentle one moment and an otherworldly beast the next.
"No, and I know you don't do it on purpose," she replied.
He smacked her across the face, adding another cut and bruise to her collection. Not once did she cry out, even when he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back.
"You forgot the appellation," he sneered, his lips hovering over hers, eyes looking down at her with hate.
"No, Master," she amended. "You don't hurt me because you want to. I deserve it."
He held on to her a little longer to ensure his point had been made. When he seemed satisfied with her response, he loosened his grip on her hair and ran his hand down the length of it, straightening pieces of the white strands that were matted with dried blood and tangled from not being brushed.
"That's a good girl. I think I'll reward you." He smiled a sickening smile as he grabbed the collar around her neck and yanked down, causing her to fall forward. She held her hands out to catch herself, ending up on all fours again.
He moved a few pillows aside to reveal a metal plate fastened to the thick mahogany headboard. Six rivets held the metal piece sturdy and in place, with a protruding metal hoop that was welded in the center. A few metal links were attached to the hoop with a snap hook connected at the end.
Rido examined the chain attached to Shizuka's collar, running it through his fingers as he thought of the length he desired. Finally settling on an arm's length worth, he grabbed the appropriate link from her chain and fastened it to the snap hook. He deemed himself generous to give her so much slack.
"Now, Shizuka. I'm giving you permission to scream this time. I encourage you to do so, and you better make it good or I won't stop until I'm satisfied. Remain on all fours as you are now. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master."
Leaning down to reach one of the nightstands, he opened and closed drawers until he found the item he was looking for. "After we're done with your reward, I think it's time to get in contact with my bastard son and set things in motion. He's in the perfect position to get details on my prize. I may even let you play with that Kiryu boy you were so fond of years ago."
With a fast and hard swing forward, Rido struck Shizuka's rear with a metal studded riding crop. She yelled out in pain, the area she was hit burning and welting.
"That wasn't good enough, Shizuka. I want to hear you be louder. C'mon, I have faith in you. The sooner you accept your reward, the sooner we can start my plans to get Yuuki to my side." He hit her again, producing a shout from his overused slave.
"Tch, I'm just not feeling it today." He rubbed her bottom gently. "The great thing about us being pureblood, is that you can heal quicker than a normal vampire and I have more stamina." He hit her again, a scream tearing from her throat as he continued to get the same spot. His eyes, one red and one blue, started to glisten with excitement.
"That's more like it!" Another strike. "You see, Shizuka? Yuuki is mine. First Haruka took Juri away from me. And now Kaname thinks he can do the same with Yuuki? No! I'll stop him just like I stopped Haruka!" He hit her again, his heart racing as anger and excitement mingled with one another.
Though Shizuka Hio was a pureblood, she wasn't a Kuran like he and Kaname were. And the reason why Yuuki was so valuable to him? She was the last remaining female pureblood of the Kuran line. Once he got his hands on her, he would awaken her to her vampiric side and take her as his wife. He'd mate with her and continue their powerful bloodline and become the new king over all the other vampires in the world.
Yuuki stopped in her descent down the stairs and held on to the handrail as she felt another sense of doom run over her spine. Again, she thought. Why was she having this unsettling feeling lately? Trying to shrug it off, she took the last couple of steps that placed her on the landing before the next flight of stairs.
Not really paying attention, she collided with a hard body and almost fell backward. Before she could fall, two strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her upright. Her face was squished to a muscled and broad chest belonging to a tall man. She felt herself flush as she started to apologize, noticing a familiar scent as she pulled away.
"I-I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
She looked up to notice she ran into Kaname. Her hands rested on his chest as he loosened his grip on her waist but did not let go. Dark chocolate eyes with a shade of carmine bleeding through studied her face and she felt herself getting lost in his gaze. She inhaled deeply, her senses filling with the comforting and nostalgic scent he always had, a combination between his body wash and the freshness of a cool, dewy evening after a storm.
"Are you okay, Yuuki?" His voice was soft and silky as she felt it brush over her. She nodded lightly and stepped away, this time breaking free of his embrace and letting her arms fall to her sides.
"Yes, sorry about that. What are you doing here?"
She looked around and noticed the stairwell was empty. Alone with Kaname. Still so close to him, she couldn't help but inhale his rich scent again. Last night's dream rushed into her mind and she blushed profusely. She turned her head away in embarrassment. He could never find out how she felt or what she dreamed of. He was on a different level from her entirely.
What was she to him? Kaname was always nice to her, but she felt he was nice to everyone. He was the one that saved her from a crazed Level E vampire ten years ago, the start of her memories and life. Originally, she felt uneasy around him as he was also a vampire. As time went by, she became fond of him, enjoyed his visits to the house when he met with the Chairman and always looked forward to the next time she could see him. Eventually, that led to her being aware of how much she had fallen in love with him.
But he was Kaname Kuran, a powerful pureblood vampire of great importance. He was royalty. What was she? A lowly human girl with nothing special about her. To put herself on the same level as him and entertain the thoughts of them being together was foolish.
"I'm here to meet with the Chairman. I was on my way up. What are you doing?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"Oh... class is out for lunch and I was going to meet with Yori under the old oak tree." She played with the sleeve of her shirt as she fidgeted, wanting to escape his presence before he found out about her dream.
"Yuuki, are you okay?" he asked with slight concern.
"Okay? Yes, why?" She stared at her shoes.
"Why won't you look at me? Are you afraid of something?"
She could feel tension filling the air and his voice tighten. He's going to find out, she thought. To appease him enough not to continue getting suspicious, she looked up at him and gave him a quick, short smile before turning away and walking around him.
"No, no, everything's fine. I just don't want to be late for lunch and not have a chance to eat before the bell rings. I'll see you later!"
One step was all she was able to take before Kaname grabbed her by the wrist gently to stop her. He noticed that she was acting strangely, the way she kept averting her eyes and that her heart was racing. With the events that took place yesterday he had driven himself mad with the possibilities of what could have occurred. He wanted to know what had happened between her and Zero and he wanted to hear it from her own mouth.
"Wait, Yuuki. There's something I want to tell you." He watched the back of her head and the way her shoulders tensed. The grip she had on the handrail tightened slightly. "Won't you look at me?" He kept his voice calm but inside he was getting angrier by the minute.
She couldn't even look at him when he spoke with her? Did she feel that high and mighty after sleeping with Zero that she felt she could disregard him completely? What of the relationship they had built over the past ten years? The thought of Zero asking her to never speak to him again out of jealously crossed his mind. He'd have to snip that idea from her head before it infected the rest of her.
"Well, if you won't look at me then at least give me the honor of listening."
He waited a moment more and was going to continue when he saw her chest rise and fall as if taking a deep breath. She turned to face him. Did she really need to prepare herself just to have a conversation with him? The hand holding her wrist twitched, wanting to clamp down and drag her away. Lock her up somewhere and keep her hidden and to himself forever.
"Yes, Kaname?" She stared out the window in the stairwell as if examining the variations of clouds.
"I want to let you know, again, that no matter what happens I am always here for you. I always will be. You're my dear, precious girl. You can tell me anything, you know. Anything at all." He raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles. Yuuki's face further reddened as her blush deepened.
"Um, I know and I appreciate it." She tugged her hand out of his grip and smiled at him, though he could see through her effort to make it look normal. "Zero skipped class again so I have to go find him before lunch is over." She turned to step away before he stopped her again.
"Have lunch with Wakaba or find Kiryu?"
"Eh?"
"You said you were having lunch with Sayori Wakaba. Now you're saying you need to... find Zero Kiryu. Which is it?" He barely bit back his temper. The sounds of laughter from below echoed up the staircase, breaking the tension between the two.
Yuuki snatched the opportunity the distraction created and started descending the stairs. "Gotta go, thanks!"
He ground his teeth together and clenched both hands into fists as he watched her disappear. Maybe it was time he took a more direct approach.
"The Chairman can wait," he said to no one in particular as he counted to a hundred to calm his nerves before going to find Yuuki.
Yuuki ran from Kaname as fast as she could. The idea of him finding out what she dreamt about almost gave her a heart attack. Following the little twitches in his hand and at the corner of one eye, she could tell he was getting angry at her for keeping a secret from him. She just couldn't fathom telling him and in the midst of being flustered from his kiss, her mind fumbled and out came the lie about finding Zero.
She dashed out through the front doors and made a beeline for the courtyard that held the large oak tree she and Sayori enjoyed eating lunch under. The afternoon sun was bright and warm and calmed her nerves a bit.
It wasn't that vampires couldn't be out in the sun. Few were able to handle it without any adverse effects, though most found it draining of their energy and power and painful to the eyes. This was something that could be used to her advantage. With the sun high in the sky and the meeting he had to attend to with the Chairman, Kaname would be busy and she could gather herself before seeing him again.
Students milled about and many were in small groups as they ate their lunches together and talked amongst themselves. The oak tree they typically ate under had branches that reached up to the sky. Its full set of leaves created a shaded canopy to sit under. The occasional furred acorns that fell were always a fascinating topic to converse about as they found them strange looking and large in size.
Yuuki found Sayori already seated and waiting for her, chopsticks in hand as she ate from her bento quietly. She jogged the rest of the way and dropped down next to her best friend with a flourish. A second bento box was next to Sayori, waiting for Yuuki. She picked it up, opened it, and dug in.
"You finally made it. I was wondering what happened to you." Sayori finished her food and put her belongings away in her bag. "What took you so long?"
"Ugh!" Yuuki started. "The teacher held me back to lecture me about my horrible grades." She lowered her voice to mimic their teacher. "'I understand you're a Perfect. You're probably busy but you need to do your school work. What are you going to do after school is done and you're not passing?' Can you believe that?"
"Well, it's true though. Do you plan to stay at the academy after you graduate and remain as a Perfect for the future Night Class members? You gonna do it until you're a granny?" Sayori asked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Anyway, after that I ran into Kaname, so that held me up, too."
"Yeah? And how is your sexy, little Kaname?" Sayori leaned forward with a knowing smirk. Yuuki blushed lightly and ate some rice.
"Shut up. It's not like that. It was embarrassing!"
"Why? You've known him forever. Why don't you make some moves already or something?"
"I couldn't possibly do that. He doesn't think of me that way," Yuuki huffed.
"You must be retarded. That's why you're failing, not because you're busy being a Perfect." Sayori crossed her arms across her chest in exasperation.
"I am not retarded! Now enough about me, what did you want to talk about?"
It was Sayori's turn to blush as she became excited and sat forward, grabbing the bento from Yuuki and placing it on the ground before turning back and holding her hands. Yuuki stared at her best friend in complete bewilderment. She hadn't seen Sayori that enthusiastic about anything.
"Well, you know how I've been crushing on Zero, right?" she began. Yuuki nodded her head slowly. "So last night, he pretty much confessed to me!" Yuuki squealed and bounced on her thighs, pulling Sayori forward in a hug.
"That's awesome! I'm so happy for you! What did he say? What did you do? When? Where? Tell me all the details!" The torrent of questions rushed out of Yuuki.
"I know, I know! He came to our room last night and kissed me, then said he'd been wanting to do that for a long time."
"So that's why he seemed to be in a good mood last night. What else happened?"
"Well, I didn't really confess back or anything. I mean, I did tell him I found him attractive but... we ended up... you know." She couldn't finish her sentence just yet.
Yuuki stared at her in slight confusion, cocking her head to the side in thought. "You ended up what?"
"You know..." Sayori prompted again.
"I know what?" She squinted her eyes in further thought. "Oh! I know! You guys decided to go out! That's great, Yori. I'm really happy for you."
"No, no, no. I mean, well, we didn't really go over the details like that. Actually, we didn't talk much at all." The realization made her sad. "But I'm hoping I can catch him tonight after classes and before you two have to do patrols."
"So, if you didn't talk, then what did you do?"
"It!" She couldn't believe how dense her friend could be at times. "We did it!"
"You guys did it?" Yuuki eyed her roommate.
"Yes!"
"Oh, I see. You guys kissed, but you already said that."
"No, Yuuki. That's not what I mean by 'it'. I mean, it."
"Hugged."
"No."
"Played Yahtzee?" she guessed again.
"Yuuki! We had sex! Sex, okay?! Sex! Zero and I had sex!" Sayori threw her hands in the air and rolled her eyes. Yuuki stared at her wide eyed.
"You... and Zero... had... sex?" she asked. She watched as Sayori nodded and then started grinning. "Oh my gosh, Yori! How was it? I don't want the details about him, ew! I mean for you!"
"Well!" Sayori repositioned herself to rest her back against the trunk of the tree. "Actually, it was really sudden and it hurt a lot at first." She looked down at her hands in her lap as she picked at her nails. "I mean, really painful. But after a little bit it felt really good and... I had my first orgasm!" She covered her face with her hands.
"Whoa. How was it?"
"Oh Yuuki, it was amaaazing. I've never felt anything like it before. It's really intense and different and then you just explode. And then afterward you feel so relaxed, like you've been tense your whole life without knowing."
"Woooow..." Yuuki thought out loud. "That explains why Zero was gone for so long. Then, can I tell you a secret? It's really humiliating though!"
Sayori sat up and stared at her. "Don't tell me you've had sex and you never told me! I will be really upset!"
"S-sex? No! I haven't! I... had a dream."
"That the nation will rise up and live out its creed's true meaning?" *
Yuuki stared at her in utter confusion. "What the Hell does that mean?"
Sayori sighed. "Never mind, no wonder you're flunking. Anyway, what was your dream?"
Yuuki eyed her suspiciously a moment before continuing. "I had a dream that Kaname and I... had sex." She stared at her best friend's hazel eyes, waiting for some sort of response. When nothing but silence greeted her, she nudged at Sayori's leg. "Yori? Did you hear me?"
"Well, this is awkward."
"What?"
"You woke me up because you were moaning in your sleep, remember? That's... really awkward."
"Oh my God!" Yuuki shrieked, leaning forward and covering Yori's mouth with her hands. "Shut up! Don't say that!" They both giggled a moment and readjusted themselves.
"Are you ever going to tell Kaname how you feel? Or at least tell him you had the dream and want to act some of it out?"
"No way, I can't do that. He's Kaname freakin' Kuran!"
"I really think you should. But moving along, was the dream good? Because it sounded good on my end."
Yuuki threw her a threatening glare that she returned with a grin.
"You had sex with Zero! I'm sure the real thing is nothing compared to a dream!" Yuuki retorted loudly, upset at being picked on.
"Whoa! Don't yell 'you had sex with Zero'!" Sayori exclaimed as she looked from side to side. "Someone might hear you, jeez. So anyway, are you going to tell Kaname?"
She tried to redirect the conversation back to Yuuki's dream and her feelings. After being roommates for years, she was disappointed she wasn't able to get Yuuki to admit her feelings for the Night Class Dorm Leader.
"Absolutely not! Kaname, under no circumstances, must ever find out!" Yuuki thought of the way her heart raced and her stomach knotted when she thought of Kaname. How she would get flustered and anxious. She felt as if the whole world darkened and the only light that could be seen would emanate from Kaname, and that feeling scared her. "Ugh, I feel sick just thinking about him."
There was a sharp gust of wind that blew their hair into their faces. Yuuki scrambled to grab her bento box before it flew away as Sayori held down her skirt.
"Whoa, what was that?" Sayori asked. She glanced over at her friend and noticed the look of sheer panic across her paled face. "Yuuki? What's wrong?" When Yuuki didn't respond, her eyes transfixed on something past the tree, she turned to look in the same direction.
Directly behind them stood an extremely angry looking Kaname.
A/N: * Sayori's quote is from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Had a Dream" speech.
A few notes:
Rido - creepy, inorite?!
Yuuki - dense, why are you a main character?!
Sayori - you poor thing, just wait for it.
Kaname - worst timing eva, brutha. Fist bump.
Any criticism, positive or negative, is welcome.
Thank you for reading.