A Sweet Fanged Smile

OK, before this chapter begins, I wanna add in my comments. (If you want you can skip this.)

YES the poem is supposed to be improper!

That out of the way, I just wanna thank anyone who bothers to read my first attempt at fan-fiction, you all make me so happy! ^-^ Please judge me as harshly as possible, I need it. THANK YOU SO MUCH! \^o^/

Chapter 4

You,
Or
Us?

Always close,
Never winning your love
Do you love me too?

Myself,
Enveloped in your love,

Was that too much to ask?
And I see behind your eyes,
Smiling, yet sad

Now I want help you, and know
Everything about you
Veiled eyes hide secrets
Evening brings forgotten memories to light
Remember those memories

Memories
Encase who you are
And what you are,
Never
Think otherwise

To you, am I special?
Or just another memory?

Because to me, you are my
Everything

YOU AND ME WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE.
Me and you was never meant to come true.

"What? How?" Mizuki whispered hoarsely.
Takuma tugged at his collar. He had never liked how much power the Ichijo family had, but this time he felt almost compelled to use it. In a mutual agreement, he made himself promise not to abuse the power his name gave him.
He put on a smile. "Nothing much, just a simple search."
Mizuki gave a shaky laugh and blinked back tears of joy.
Suddenly Takuma felt something. He could sense who was behind him and turned around. "Ah, Aido. Was there something you needed?"

Takuma rapped his knuckles twice against the door, then proceeded to open it. "You wanted to see me, Kaname?"
The pureblood sat with his back turned to his friend. He twirled a chess piece over in his hand. "Yes," he said slowly.
Takuma sat down in front of desk Kaname was behind and waited patiently. He occupied his eyes by watching the chess piece.
Kaname swiveled around and saw Takuma watching the piece. "Would you like to play?"
Takuma smiled, but it was a serious smile, not the happy-go-lucky-emotion-hiding smile he usually wore. "No thank you. It is not as fun when your opponent knows all of your moves. Besides I think I am already a piece on the chess board."
"I'm sad to see that you consider me your opponent," Kaname's eyes flicked toward Takuma's, "Ichijo."
"Only in this game."
Kaname looked back down to the black knight he held in his hand. "Yes, but there is still time, this game has not ended yet."
Takuma ran a hand through his long, blonde hair. "Kaname, Aido said there was something you wanted to tell me."
"Yes," he said drawing out the word like a snake. "Ichijo, stay away from that girl."
Takuma, smile still on his face, couldn't comprehend it. "What?"
"Stay away from that girl."
Takuma calmly said, "All right, I understand." He left the room shortly after.
Takuma leaned back against the door and closed his eyes. Thirsty. He was so thirsty. His fingers coiled themselves around his neck. "Welcome back, Takuma," he muttered under his breath. He swallowed hard, barely managed to keep his eyes evergreen, and went back to his room.
Yep, there they were all right. Takuma's blood tablets were right there on his bed where he had left them. He immediately took one and popped it into his mouth without letting it distill in water. The hard, outer surface broke on contact with his tongue and the powdery insides spread out across his taste-buds.
Takuma was a little astonished at how unsatisfactory they were, at least, compared to real blood. He sighed, he would just have to make due with the bland tablets, they were all he had.
Takuma pulled his shirt over his head and risked a look at his wound. Better. By far, but still horrible. He plopped down on his bed and put his hands behind his head. "Shika." he mumbled. His blood suddenly felt very hot, then very cold, all at once. He sighed deeply, and drifted into half-sleep.
"How did you get that?"
Takuma snapped himself out of his uneasy sleep and opened his eyes. Senri was standing at the foot of his bed, expressionless as ever. It took Takuma a moment to understand what his roommate was talking about. Of course. He was still shirtless, and large wound in his chest was still present.
He hurriedly put on a smile. "Don't worry Shika- I mean, Shiki. It's nothing."
Senri shrugged and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Doesn't look like nothing to me."
Once Senri was gone Takuma breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized he had been holding his breath.
His mind wandered back to the thoughts jumbled within it. Shika, Kaname, Mizuki, all were racing through his head. Shika, why was she invading both his thoughts and his dreams? Kaname, did he know Mizuki had found out he was a vampire, or had he just gotten a little too close to her? And Mizuki... What did her really think of her? Did he like her as a friend or... Something more?
Takuma was lucky his alarm was still set. He snapped out of a strange dream involving cookies, his sword, and the headmaster dressed as a girl. He shuddered, grabbed his things, and headed out to class.
"Hello Ruka," he said cheerily. His classmate ignored him, lost in her own thoughts about her precious Lord Kaname.
Takuma merely shrugged, and waited for the gates to unlock.
A click, the scraping sound of metal, and the gates pulled open with a reluctant groan.
Takuma, used to it by now, was able to cut out the deafening fangirl screams and (after making sure Kaname had his eyes on Yuuki) scanned the crowd.
Mizuki gave him a shy smile and a wave.
Teasing his lips was always a smile, but it was even broader than usually. The fangirls surrounding Mizuki nearly keeled over dead when they thought his wave was directed toward them.

Takuma jerked awake. One hand was wrapped around his neck, the other, clawing the bedsheets.

It had been a long time since he had had a real nightmare.

Slowly, he unwound his shaking hand from his neck and loosen his death grip on the mattress. He was sweating and there wasn't a doubt in his mind his eyes were scarlet. Takuma sat up, took a deep breath, and put on a shirt without bothering to button it. A shiver ran down his spine as he made his way to the common room and opened the window, even though it was broad daylight. His hands latched themselves around the windowsill and he didn't bother trying to keep his eyes green. At least, if anyone saw him, they would just assume he was reading.
He breathed in the cool air deeply and opened his red eyes. Those same red eyes wandered down through the air scanning the grounds.
"Takuma!"
Receiving a jolt from the shout, he jumped and looked down. Mizuki, obviously ditching class, waved to him from the grounds. "Come down here! I need to talk to you!"
Forgetting his eyes were still red, (and Kaname's orders,) he nodded and ran down the steps to the door. "Mizuki, hello, was there something you needed?"
"Letter from Kana, it's addressed to Mizuki and "handsome", so I figured- hey, why are your eyes red?"
Takuma flinched slightly. Right. His eyes.
"Never mind, I really don't care if they're red or green, do you want me to read the letter?"
"Are you sure you really don't mind?"
"Yeah, when I was little I was always with Kana and Raiden, so I was around vampires a lot. You get used to it. Anyways do you want me to read it or not?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"To Mizuki and handsome; I've gotten you permission from K-A-I-E-N..."
"Oh, she must be talking about the Headmaster."
"Ah, all right, that makes more sense.
"to come back to the house for a while. And no 'buts', handsome, this is an order from your doctor."
"Sounds like Kana to me."
Mizuki gave him a cheeky smile. "It does, doesn't it?"
"Listen, Mizuki, there's something I need to tell you."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Kaname has ordered me to stay away from you."
"… What?" she said, still smiling.
"Listen-"
"What do you mean? You're just going to go along with that?"
"It's Kaname's orders, I can't go against his will."
"Why not? I've never even met him before, are you just going to do what he tells you to?"

"I have to."

"I don't understand! Why?
"Because he's Lord Kaname!" he bellowed
Mizuki reeled back.
Takuma sighed and lowered his voice. "In the vampire world, there are different classes according to your blood-"
"I know, Kana told me about them. You're an aristocrat, right? Then why can't you just tell him no?"
"I can't go against him because he is a pureblood, and he's my friend," he added.
Mizuki looked boldly into his scarlet eyes. "Takuma, I want to talk to this pureblood lord myself."
"Wha-? I can't let you do that, it's the middle of the day."
"Well-"
"Ichijo."
Takuma felt another shiver run down his spine. He whipped around and cringed. "K-Kaname, I can ex-"
"So you're Kaname."
Takuma had to stop himself from clamping a hand over her mouth.
Mizuki kept her eyes focused and her voice level when she spoke. "Ah, my mistake, it should be Lord Kaname, correct?"
Takuma's still red eyes frantically darted from Mizuki, to Kaname, to the trees above him. Then he felt another jolt.
Seiren, like a black panther, was watching from the foliage, waiting to pounce and erase Mizuki's memories in an instant if Kaname gave the orders.
The pureblood looked like he wanted to silently burn holes through the girl. "I heard you were looking for me?"
"Well, given the circumstances, I would say you came looking for me. Is there anything you would like to ask me, Lord Kaname?"
"How did you come to know the existence of vampires?" He flicked a glance at Takuma, who, even though he was trying immensely hard to, couldn't keep his eyes green.
"Before I came here, I lived with vampire hunter Kanako Aoi, also known as the Joker."
"A vampire hunter's daughter."
"No, not her daughter. You could say I'm... Adopted?" she said, stretching the word.
That hit him hard. She couldn't possibly know about Yuki... Could she? "Your question?"
"I want to know the reasoning behind your orders. Why did you tell Takuma to stay away from me?"
Kaname inclined his head ever so slightly to his friend. "There's no need to ask my reasoning, just take a look at him."
Takuma couldn't look back at her. "He's right, Mizuki," he said to the dirt.
She stuck up her nose, even though it was killing her to act so pompous. "I don't see the problem," she said, linking her arm with his and pulling him towards her. "What's wrong with him? It's just Ichijo being himself. I can't find anything wrong." (Even though he couldn't tell, Mizuki calling him by his surname was a way of hinting to Kaname she respected her friend.)
Bad move. With Takuma barely containing his fangs, having Mizuki this close to him was almost overwhelming, and Kaname could sense too.
The pureblood sat silently watching to see how Takuma would take it.
He swallowed and looked anywhere but her. He could smell the sweet scent of her blood, but he didn't try to pull away.
Kaname narrowed his dark, brown eyes. "Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps. She may be good for you, Ichijo." He snapped his fingers to the trees. "Seiren."
The latter sprang from the leaves and followed her master.
The second Kaname was out of sight, they pulled away from each other.
"I can't believe you did that, what were you thinking?" Takuma gasped, clutching his neck and shaking badly.
"I'm so sorry Takuma, are you OK?"
He looked at her incredulously. "Remind me again, why did you do that?"
"Kaname was testing you, to see if you would follow his orders, and once he saw your eyes were red, he was testing you to see if you could restrain yourself. I figured doing what I did was the best way to convince him of that."
"And what would have happened if I couldn't have restrained myself?"
"But you did right? So it doesn't matter-"
"Of course it matters! You have no idea how close I was to biting you! What would have happened then?"
Mizuki bit her lip and blinked back tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You have every right to be angry."
Takuma looked away, regretting what he had said. "I'm not angry I just... I just wonder why you take risks that could end up hurting you."
A minuscule smile teased her lips. "I really am sorry. Tell you what, to make it up to you, I'll show you my secret hiding place this weekend when we go see Kana." She saw Takuma raise a skeptical eyebrow, still panting slightly. "Come on, it's really special to me, even Kana doesn't know where it is."
Takuma sighed. "All right."
Both of them looked up, which was sort of pointless since neither of them could see the bells bonging in the distance.
"You better get ready for class, Takuma." She walked up to him and, on tiptoe, kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Goodbye, I'll see you this weekend."
Unconsciously, Takuma's fingers ran up his neck, and slowly drew circles right where her lips had touched him.

"Hurry up!"
"Hold on Mizuki, I'm almost done."
"Aunty Ka-naaa, we need to go before it gets to dark!"
Takuma, who was being inspected by Kana, thought that going after dark to Mizuki's hide out would actually be rather nice.
"OK, OK, I'm done. You're looking better, handsome, but you're still stuck coming over here for a check-up every weekend."
"I think you just want to see him, Aunty Kana."
"No lies will be spoken in my house!"
Takuma smiled. "Thank you, Kana, I'll be sure to keep stopping by."
"You better." She noticed Takuma watching as she twisted the ring around her finger. Immediately, she dropped her hands. "Old habit," she said.
"Takuma, are you coming?" Mizuki shouted.
"I'll be right there!" he called back.
Kana sat back and huffed. "So smiley," she muttered under her breath. "Well, you're free to go, handsome."
"We better not catch you following us!"

"Don't worry, Mizuki, if I was following you, you wouldn't be able to catch me."
"Aunty Ka-naaaaa!"
Mizuki, who had gotten tired of waiting, ran into the room and blushed slightly at the sight of Takuma putting his shirt back on. He was pretty handsome, after all.
She linked her elbow in with his. "Come on, let's go," she said, forcefully pulling him out the door and slammed it behind them.
"That Mizuki, I can't believe she isn't really ours, Raiden," Kana said softly. "She's so much like you."
"Mizuki?"
"Yes?"
"Why are we barefoot?"
She bumped Takuma lightly with her hip. "Because," she said pointedly. "You need to be barefoot to get into my secret hideout."
He sighed. "All right," he said a little uncertainly.
Mizuki led him down toward a small alcove of rocks and put a finger to her lips. She went through first, and Takuma, after some hesitation, followed her.
He emerged and had to blink back the glowing rays of the sun. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around.
A beautiful beach showered in the last peach rays of the sun stood before them. Clear, blue-green waves lapped the sandy shore and shell of all shapes, sizes, and colors were scattered about.
"Takuma, over here!"
The blonde boy switched his range of vision to the left slightly and smiled at her. He ran up the shore to meet her.
Mizuki smiled and wrapped her fingers around his. "Come on, I want to show you my second favorite spot."

"What about your first favorite?"

Mizuki grinned slyly and put a finger to her lips. "Another day. It takes a while to get there, so we would have to be prepared."
Foam fingers of water tickled their ankles and the pink colored sun sank farther into the distance. "Here it is," said Mizuki, plopping down under a large tree and patting the space next to her. "I found this place when I was little. Actually, Raiden and I found it together. Whenever I got scared or angry and ran out I would always hide under this tree. Kana could never find where it was, so Raiden always came looking for me. He would sit with me, hold me in his arms and tell me everything was all right, then he would take me back home," she said softly. "I miss him so much."
Takuma forced back a smile. If he told her the investigation was going well, it would ruin the surprise, but he did feel a pang of guilt at not letting her know.
"Takuma, will you stay out here with me? Just until the sun goes down," Mizuki whispered, lacing her fingers with his again.
"Yes, I will."
"You're so sweet, Takuma, and you are so nice to me." Mizuki laid her head down on his shoulder and gazed out over the water. "No matter what I do you always forgive me, and you still say that you owe me. You're kind, and beautiful, and smart, and even though I don't deserve it, you still stay with me."
"Well, I'm certainly not perfect."
"No." Mizuki closed her eyes sleepily. "But I don't care, you're perfect to me. Takuma, I..." Mizuki could feel herself drifting off to sleep. "I love you."
Takuma felt her relax against his shoulder. "Are you asleep?" he said softly.
No reply.

Takuma smiled lightly. But his smile seemed... Lonely. Closed off. He was very secretive, Mizuki could probably sense that at least. This was how he could get along with Senri so well, they just got each other. He lived a bit like a doll too. Always smiling to hide what he really felt. A very un-vampire way of handling things, but it worked well. This was the reason he could relate to Mizuki so well too. Similar personalities, completely different lives. But still, that undeniable crave for human companionship when no companion could suffice. That as what drove them together. What drove them to each other.
Takuma leaned down, brushed Mizuki's clean-cut bangs off of her forehead, and planted a kiss in their place. "Goodnight."
He stroked her hair until the last of the sun vanished. He was tired too, but he was afraid of reliving his nightmare. At least it hadn't come true today, when he had come inches away from sinking his fangs into her neck. He tried to force the image from his mind, but it still came swimming back. Mizuki, dead on the floor, blood pouring from two fang prints in her neck, Takuma's fang prints...
He held up his hand and saw he was trembling. Takuma pulled the sleeping girl close to him and felt a huge amount of relief at feeling her steady heartbeat.
It had been dark for a long time before Takuma scooped the sleeping poet into a princess hold and carried her back to her home.

"Mizuki, wake up." Kana said, gently shaking her.
"Mmm? Aunty Kana, where's Takuma?" She rubbed her eyes, sat up slowly, and put her round glasses back on.
"Waiting for you outside, he said he wants you to come see something."
"In the middle of the night? All right."
Mizuki sat up and walked toward the door, where Takuma was waiting, arms folded, with the biggest grin she had ever seen. "Open it," he said excitedly, cocking his head toward the door.
Mizuki, who by now was fully awake, sighed and pulled it open. Her eyes widened to the size of plates and she ran out the door in a flash. "Raiden!" she screamed.
The shatter of a dish drilled Takuma's eyes to a frozen Kana"What?" she said hoarsely. She dropped the dishcloth and ran beside Takuma. Her eyes widened as well and she nearly lost her balance. "Raiden?" she whispered, slumping against the door frame.
The man spun around, Mizuki in his arms, a smile even broader than Takuma's etched across his face. Laughing, he placed her back on the ground and noticed his fiancée for the first time. The grin on his face widened even farther as he raced up to Kana, embraced her, and kissed as though he might never get to again.
Tears streamed down her face as she pulled away from the kiss and let herself become enveloped in his arms. "You jackass. Do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought you would never come back," she whispered.

"I'm so glad you kept waiting for me," he whispered back in her ear.
Takuma, who was watching the touching scene from afar, was taken by surprise when Mizuki threw her arms around his neck.
"Thank you," she whispered, tears cutting tracks across her pretty face. "Thank you so much Takuma." She released him and ran toward Raiden, who took her in one arm, Kana in the other, and pulled them both into a soft hug.
Suddenly, a thin hand reached out of the black car Raiden had arrived in.
Takuma squinted. Who could that possibly be?
"Raiden?" said a woman's voice. "Raiden, where are you?"
Takuma's eyebrows knitted themselves together. Her voice sounded strangely familiar...
A black boot stepped out of the car, and the thin hand felt through the air as another on pulled the figure out of the car.
Takuma's eyes widened.
She had hair as pale as the luminescent moon, and eyes as ghostly as the orb that beckoned them.
"Shika?"

END OF CHAPTER 4