Two Faces
By:
Mparker2501
A/N: First and foremost, I HATE Matsuri Hino! I won't say why precisely for fear of giving away what just happened in the newest chapter, but I will say this: that item and its reaction to someone had already been written up by me and played a minor role in one of the upcoming chapters. So now it is safe to say that I will be changing a few things before posting anything new (I so called what happened to it!) Secondly, I would like to thank all those who were able to find the Review Button! Yeah! Cookies for you all! In all seriousness, thank you; I love reading reviews, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. And now without further delay, the sixth chapter of Two Faces…
Reader's Key:
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
--o-o-oOo-o-o-- change in the same scene
'Inner thoughts'
"Inner speech"
Chapter Six
Of all the different buildings that made up Cross Academy, only one was able to inspire the awe, beauty and wonder that its architect had originally intended: the main building. With its century's old stonework, which had been subjected to all of nature's different wraths and had eventually made the once daunting façade less intimidating. Its original purpose could never have been grasped by its present occupants these hundred-or-so of years after its construction. Meanwhile, the Sun Dormitories, while much more approachable and accommodating, did not make their inhabitants feel more like home. True, it did have bright colors, swimming pool, garden and just about anything its residents could want, it did not make them feel better just by walking through its doors. The greenhouses, the boat house, the sports facility, none of them were able to make the people who walked into them feel anything. Even the venerable Main Building did not make the people who passed through it feel like they were home, if anything it intimidated them – a fact its creator would have been glade to hear...
But no, only the Moon Dorm could set its occupants at ease.
Most of the students who attended Cross Academy wanted to live in that special dorm: the Day Class girls wanted to be nearer to the subjects of their unrequited love and admiration; some wanted to live in it because of the mystique that surrounded it and its residents. Others just wanted to get away from their annoying roommates. But no matter what their reasons, they all had one ulterior motive to wanting to live in that special dorm: they wanted to see if the rumors about it were true.
During the construction of the Moon Dorm nearly a decade ago, the students at the Academy had seen the numerous trucks and construction vehicles going in and out from the walled off construction site. But what they thought more interesting than the huge walled off area were the different items that were being brought in. Oh no – they couldn't see what was brought in – but they could see the names on the trucks and some – mainly the girls – noticed something odd: the trucks going in were not the average run-of-the-mill companies, instead only the finest contractors were called in to supply the Moon Dorm with its facilities. Which quickly made almost every person in the school at that time want to transfer in upon its completion. And once they were denied their chance, they soon started speculating about what could possibly be in that Dorm; and the legend and mystique of the Moon Dorm only grew more upon the arrival of its inhabitants…
From the first day the Night Class had been introduced, the Moon Dorm had been looked at as the epitome in living by everyone from the Chairman and the Night Class down to the Day Class students who had grown up on tales of all the amenities that the dorm surely had in abundance.
It was those longed for amenities that Seiren was so thankful for.
As soon as she had arrived back at the Moon Dorm after her trip for Kaname she had dropped off the item he had requested she retrieve on his desk before briskly walking to her dorm room – right around the corner from Kaname's.
Seiren was a lucky girl in several respects: firstly, she had no roommate to worry about keeping her awake, secondly, she had the complete trust of Kaname Kuran, which counted for more than gold in almost the entire vampiric world, and lastly, she had one of the most luxurious bathrooms in the entire dorm.
She had her own private bath and glass enclosed shower, and the white tile that comprised her floor was hidden below a plush black rug. Her marble counter top held her sink above her waist and several soaps and towels but otherwise her bathroom looked unused. Her towels were pressed and perfectly straight, compliments of the Moon Dorm's maids, and no matter how wet she got her black rug, it was always dry the next time she entered the bathroom. There was no hint of make up anywhere in either of her rooms – she never had the time or reason to wear it…
Upon entering said bathroom, she turned on the lights and quickly started a shower for herself, then gave herself a once-over in the long mirror that extended the entire length of her counter top while the water gradually warmed up to scalding.
Her reflection was not her usual simple, composed – some might say cold- self. Instead, she looked like she had been put through a blender; it was as simple as that. Her jewelry had probably been lost somewhere between running out of the forest around the school and arriving at her intended destination. The fact that those jewels were worth more than the average person made in a year gave her no pause, they were presents from her parents when Kaname had picked her to be his confidant, and meant very little to her. Her heels had been lost in the forest as well, and her dress was ripped in too many places to count. Her miniscule amount of makeup was no longer present on her face, having been stripped from her face by her right sleeve, which now looked more like an artists smock than a formal dress that had been looked at with envy hours before.
Her body, meanwhile, had no blemish upon it at all. The only indicator that she had done anything other than walk back to her dorm was the light pink blush that adorned her cheeks. She wasn't flushed, but she was by no means her normal alabaster self. It seemed running thirty miles, searching through a very large old study and desk, then running back to the Academy in less than five hours was just slightly more exhausting than she had originally thought.
'It seems I might need to start running again. But that would leave Kaname unguarded, which would be the thing I am trying to avoid happening. This presents a slight dilemma.'
After giving herself one last once-over, she started peeling her grimy, dusty, battered dress from her body. She didn't even think about having it fixed, she could just as easily buy another one when she needed it again. She threw it at the far wall where it landed next to the Jacuzzi she rarely used. It wasn't as though she didn't want to use it, it was just that she never had the time to – it was the same for most of her bathroom facilities and alone time – non-existent. She was either sleeping, studying or looking after Kaname; she never had the time to worry about her appearance anymore, but only a very small portion of her cared about it anymore.
She stepped into the shower and let the scalding water fall all over her, and proceeded to wash the filth that her body had accumulated over the last hectic day. As she washed her thoughts turned to the item Kaname had asked her to acquire from…there.
'I wonder what it is. It had to be of some importance for it to be so carefully hidden, but why would Kaname need it now out of the blue like this?'
She furrowed her wet brow at that last part, and then widened her eyes as a thought popped into her head, 'Where is he?'
True, she didn't need to be with him 24/7, usually once they were behind the wall surrounding the dorm Kaname didn't need her much. She was usually left to do whatever she wanted during that down time. But after he sent her out to do different things for him, she usually returned right to his side again, but this time he was not there waiting for her. Nothing too odd, Kaname always did whatever he wanted and he often kept weird hours, but for something like this – she expected him to be pacing his room waiting for her to return.
'It's not like Kaname to go off without at least –' she frowned, ' – no, he would go off without telling someone wouldn't he?'
She quickly switched off the shower and wrapped a towel as she got out.
"Alright Kaname, where did you get off to now?"
She didn't even bother to turn the lights off or close her door as she quickly found and dressed in her school attire and then hastily exited her room, intent on returning to her missing leader's side.
--I--
--o-o-oOo-o-o--
I I
Ms. Aono had been having a fairly easy time of it at Cross Academy. There had been only minor scrapes and bruises and only two broken bones during the last semester. Most of the time her hospital wing, consisting of twenty beds, was deserted. Which was what every doctor wanted to see, no one hurt, which left her with nothing to do all day but read her favorite mangas and collect her paycheck at the end of the week for doing very little.
That wasn't to say she was a bad doctor, quite the contrary, she was very good at what she did, the students at Cross Academy just weren't stupid enough to hurt themselves too badly. More often then not, she was filling out prescriptions for medicine the student was already on, or just giving out cold medicine. So when Yuki Cross had come into her infirmary out cold with no visible signs of trauma or bite marks, she was stumped. All she could do was put her on a solution of regular fluids to make sure Yuki was comfortable, and thus far Yuki was still soundly resting.
If anyone had walked through the wing without knowing anything about her patient, most would have assumed that the girl was simply taking a nap, but her machines and scans told a different story. Yuki's mind was racing and it looked like every portion of her brain was working at the same time, something that normal people couldn't do voluntarily. Meanwhile, her heart rate was very low and she had been sweating since she had been brought in by Kaname hours ago.
Needless to say, Ms. Aono hadn't had time to read her precious manga. Instead she concentrated on keeping careful track of Yuki's vitals conditions', that way she would be able to see any changes in her current state. And so, for the last five hours, she had sat there and watched over her ward.
And there had been no change in Yuki's condition.
Until that moment when her heart rate monitor started picking up speed until it was back within normal parameters.
Ms. Aono sighed and gave a tired smile to the tossing teen in front of her, " It's about time Yuki, I'm not sure I could spend another twelve hours watching you sleep." And so grumbling, Ms. Aono walked back to her office and dialed the Chairman to inform him that Yuki was about ready to come to.
'Now where did I put that manga?'
--I--
--o-o-oOo-o-o--
I I
Sayori Wakaba was not scared in the least about her current situation, quite the contrary, she was livid. Upon leaving the infirmary's waiting room and following the Chairman back to his office for – as he put it – "a little chat", and spending nearly an hour listening to the obviously insane man ramble on about murders and how she was not to inform anyone of the Night Class' secret, she had been given a choice. Her acceptance of the before mentioned choice was what found her sitting on her lonely dorm room fumbling with the brass clasp of a long, thin wooden box.
She couldn't say she hadn't seen it coming, especially after her questioning the Chairman's use of his "children" as the school's private guardians, but she hadn't honestly believed that he would listen to her – let alone agree with her!
She placed the long box down next to her lap and flopped back onto her bed. She really hadn't realized how depressing the room could be without her friend. Sure, she was used to being alone at night – with Yuki being out performing her Prefect "duties" and all – but in the back of her mind she knew that Yuki would be coming back eventually; now she might not be coming back at all. True, Ms. Aono had said that there was nothing seriously wrong with her room mate – Sayori was pretty sure that unexplained coma qualified as serious- but Ms. Aono also didn't know what was wrong with Yuki either…
But while Sayori looked up at the plane white ceiling she finally decided on a course of action…
She would kill Yuki as soon as she was discharged from the infirmary for getting her into such a predicament, and having to spend an hour with that maniac of an adopted father…
/FLASHBACK/
Sayori was not as intimidated by the Chairman like most of the students were. For one, she knew him slightly better than most of the school – being his adopted daughter's room mate probably had something to do with that – and she also had been over to his lodging for dinner once or twice since she had started there. But that only gave her a more confident feeling as the two walked in silence towards his office. She wasn't afraid simply because the Chairman couldn't pull off intimidating to save his life. Yes, he was the man who could throw her out of school, but she highly doubted that he would do anything major to her today. More likely, he was going to give her a stern talking to and order her to never reveal the Night Class' secret to anyone – which seemed redundant seeing as she had told Kaname she wouldn't anyway but…
Sayori figured the silent treatment that was being directed at her as they walked was more for the Chairman to organize his thoughts about what to tell her rather than to cow her into doing as he asked. He didn't give the impression of someone who would do that to a student under his care, reprimand them yes, but not intentionally scare them. So while they walked from the hospital wing to his office on the other end of the Main Building, she decided to simply do nothing. She had nothing to hide and already explained how she had figured out the Night Class' secret, what more could he ask of her?
If she had only known what he would ask of her, she would have probably thrown herself out the closest window…
When they arrived at the Chairman's office he offered her a chair before sitting himself behind his desk and peering at her through his dirty glasses.
She returned his gaze with an unflappable smile and smoothed out her skirt.
The Chairman smiled at her levelheaded and calm demeanor and let out a small chuckle, "Soooo…Miss Wakaba, what are we going to do about all this?"
She looked up from her lap and scrunched up her face in mock-thought, "I don't have the slightest idea what you are thinking about Sir, all I know is that my best friend and roommate is currently in your school's infirmary after an encounter with some unsavory person."
The Chairman wasn't what scared him the most: it was either the sickly sweet voice in which Sayori had just implied that Yuki had been attacked by a vampire, or the fact that she was more than likely right about it. As much as he wanted to believe that no student at his school could be responsible for his adopted daughter's condition, he was a realist, although he oftentimes didn't act like one – the odds were on one of the Night Class's members being behind her coma.
'I'm getting too old for this…'
He steepled his fingers and tapped them against his lips, his eyes roaming over the young girl's head – desperately trying to make sense of everything that had happened over the last 24 hours. 'What do I do? We have no idea when Yuki is going to wake up, I have a large hole in my forest, I have a student who may have violated my rules about taking blood from humans, I have another student who knows the Night Class' secret, and to top it off, Zero is going to be the only thing protecting the Night Class during passing periods.' He suddenly paled at the thought of what Zero might do to the fan girls – he knew the Night Class would be fine fending for themselves, 'besides, they need to learn how to interact without supervision,' but he feared what Zero would do to the screaming fans without Yuki there to stop him…
Involuntarily a groan escaped him, "Oh dear God – they won't last the week!"
Yori was now starting to question her decision to follow this blatantly obvious mad-man into his private office unaccompanied. Sure he promised not to do anything to her – but he could just as easily break that promise, and she doubted that either Zero or Kaname would object to her being excluded from the secrets of the Academy. The only reason she hadn't fled from the room screaming was that she doubted that the Chairman would do anything to his comatose daughter's best friend; she was banking on Yuki's current condition to keep the Chairman's attention off of her – thus far it had worked out fairly well…
The Chairman abruptly stood up and started towards a glass cabinet in the corner to the right of the door. As he passed by Yori she thought she heard him mumble something, but she was only able to pick out a few words that were suspiciously close to "gunshots, lawsuits and migraine". Luckily she was facing his back, so he never saw the wide eyed look of pure terror she gave him – whatever was in the cabinet was the only thing he was focused on.
The Chairman pulled a necklace out from the dirty white ruffles of his destroyed formal attire and proceeded to skim over the various items dangling from it, looking for something. As soon as Yori had heard the distinct sound of lots of small metallic things – keys, she thought – clanging against each other, she started to rise from the seat she had been in and started edging closer to the door; if the Chairman tried anything, she was going to make him work for it, and she was no slouch in the 500 meter.
But it seemed the Chairman's attention was on whatever he currently was doing: sorting through the numerous things on his necklace. There were rings of all different sizes and shapes, some gold, others silver, onyx, and other different precious ores. Some had valuable stones set in them, others were plane, while a few looked to be etched with different symbols and runes. And jumbled in with the numerous odd trinkets on the chain, were what Yori would guess to be about one hundred different keys.
Old skeleton keys, shiny new ones that had car companies engraved on them, rusty old keys that looked more like small saws, and a few that looked like the Chairman had wrapped tape around the handle and written what they went to on them. It was one of the later that the Chairman plucked from the necklace and inserted into a small keyhole on the side of the glass cabinet, the other occupants of the chain clanging against each other whenever he moved his hand.
With a soft click, the cabinet's glass door opened and the chairman grabbed a long wooden box that had previously been pressed up against the back of the case. Tucking the box securely underneath his arm, he locked the cabinet back up, and simply put the chain and all of its oddities into his jacket pocket. And, while continuing to mutter to himself, he walked back to his desk and deposited the box right in front of where Yori had been seated a moment ago.
He blinked once…
twice…
thrice…
…his left eyebrow rose in confusion as he gazed at the unoccupied seat in front of him, "now where did she get off to?" He swiveled his head around his office until he found an amused and slightly wary Sayori Wakaba looking at him from near the door.
"How did you get from there," he pointed at the chair, "to there," he pointed to where she was currently standing, "without me seeing you?"
"I walked," she deadpanned.
The Chairman seemed to mull her answer over a moment before he said, "that makes sense…" he trailed off as he looked down from her and to the long wooden box resting in front of him. He brightened up immediately, "Ah – yes – you're probably wondering what – ah – this thing is…" He trialed off as he looked between the box and Sayori – who now had an upturned eyebrow of her own after watching the Chairman's antics – "why don't you open it and find out what it is."
Again Sayori's face held no emotion, "what?"
The Chairman smiled and rubbed his hands together like a kid on Christmas morning while his eyes flicked continuously between the two, pleading with her to open the box and discover its contents. She allowed her eyebrow to drop back in line with her other one and slowly walked towards his desk, her head cocked warily to the side. Yori slowly lowered herself into the chair and looked at the Chairman's eager face.
"What's the catch?"
His excited face slowly turned into one of seriousness, "remember that question you asked me in the hospital wing?"
"Yes…"
The Chairman gave her a sardonic smile…
'I'm not going to like this am I?'
/END FLASHBACK/
--I--
--o-o-oOo-o-o--
I I
He hated every minute she was in that bed. Every minute she just lay there lifeless and nonresponsive, he felt more and more useless. He knew what Shizuka was capable of, he had seen the end results of her work with his own two eyes, but he never would have thought she would stoop as low as to attack Yuki. The only reason Yuki would even have been in the situation to be attacked was because of him.
He had let her get too close to himself as the years had gone along.
But he couldn't stand the thought of not being near her. Sure he was here to carry on their dream, but all he wanted was to see her grow up…
Kaname had been sitting in his current position for nearly two hours, ever since he had left the Kiryu boy in the waiting room. He had his back to the fountain behind him, and his right leg was resting on his left knee, his already destroyed uniform getting even more dirt and ash on it from the underside of his shoe. He didn't care.
The only thing that made him stay here was her, and if she was gone – well, the Senate would learn what a truly "mad" vampire could do. And he doubted that they were suicidal enough to lock in up, that would cause an uproar throughout the entire vampiric world. And killing the "last Kuran" would spell their end…
'If she wakes up she will be better protected. I don't care what anyone thinks, this will never happen again.'
He ran his right hand through his long hair and heaved another sigh. These last few hours had been even more taxing than he had ever expected. Learning that Rido had somehow stolen a boy's body and was traipsing around with one of his old supporters – and probably solidifying his standing with his old Senate supporters – hadn't made him as nervous as having her unresponsive in a hospital bed. The only thing that looked like it might have turned out for the best was his talk with the Kiryu boy; now that he had confessed to him about Yuki, maybe Zero would take the hint and stay away from his princess…
"You can come out now Seiren."
He saw a shadow slip out from behind a tree to the right of his vision and move silently towards him. His eyes left the figure of his bodyguard and again looked back towards the Main Building that was now bathed in the bright sunshine of early afternoon. She noiselessly waited a few steps away from him, waiting for the answer that was sure to be asked.
"Did you find it?"
She nodded, small droplets of water falling to the ground from her damp hair, "It took longer than expected, but I found it." Her face was unreadable as she stared at him, 'I've never seen him like this. Upset yes, but this is more…' she searched for the word, '…grave.'
He swiveled his head to face her, looking her up and down, "You took a shower and changed. The place must be in worse shape than I had imagined."
She gave him a turn of the lip that could have been interpreted as a smile, "It's in your room. I looked at it only to verify if it was what you wanted…the place must have been beautiful in its prime."
Kaname gave her a tired smile, "It was, and will be again – given time." He looked back to the school and ignored the stares of the few students also in the courtyard that afternoon, "Seiren I'm going to ask you to do something that you are going to hate me for."
Her only response was to minutely raise an eyebrow.
"While you were off collecting that item for me," he sighed, "it seems Shizuka attacked Yuki."
Seiren raised her other eyebrow.
"While she was not bitten, she is currently in a coma, and I fear that Shizuka might try and finish what she started, that is after all why she was here to begin with."
Seiren nodded and smirked, "this doesn't have anything to do with that large hole in the ground doesn't it?"
Kaname didn't smile, "the others are out in the forest looking for Shizuka, or her ashes. But I don't think they will find anything, she isn't about to let herself die quite yet. But – if she survived, like I think she did – she will be out of the equation for quite some time."
She was silent for a few moments before she nodded, "what is it you need me to do?"
"Be at her side from this moment on," Kaname stood up and looked her square in the eye, "be her shield, like you have been mine."
Seiren closed her eyes and nodded, resigned.
"Thank you Seiren."
She gave him a small bow, "Oh course my Lord."
They exchanged no words as she silently followed him towards the school.
--I--
--o-o-oOo-o-o--
I I
Zero had been leaning against the wall since Kaname had left hours ago, but in all reality, he hadn't noticed that time had passed at all. He just leaned there, letting his mind wander from one idea and topic to another, more-often-then-naught unrelated in any way. He was just there. He wasn't in shock, or heartbroken, or angry – he wasn't really anything. That wasn't to say that he was apathetic – he did care for Yuki – he just wasn't devastated that Kaname had all but said that Yuki was his and no one else's.
He allowed his head to flop forwards and rest on his chest, inhaling the scent of his clothes as to try and forget he was in a semi-sterile environment. He hadn't really noticed the lack of any smells or anything else that signaled that this was indeed part of a school – he guessed that his worry for Yuki had dulled his perception of the world around him for a bit. But now he was starting to hate antiseptic more than anything in his life: it didn't hide the scent of blood like a normal room did.
The lack of other people also meant that his hearing had tuned into other living things near him. Namely Ms. Aono and her beating heart just beyond the door to his right. Just thinking about her and her bloody beating organ made his gums hurt. His fangs hurt worse the more he spent in this room without something or someone to distract him – and that didn't look all that likely to change…
He brought his head up when he heard the handle of the waiting room's entrance turn. The door swung open to reveal a now clean and smiling Chairman.
His head twisted left and right around the room and finally came to rest on the rooms only other occupant – Zero. He beamed at him and walked over to him, "Ah! – you've been here all this time? I knew deep down you cared for your sister!"
Zero let out a tired groan at the Chairman's words and pushed off from the wall, both a little happy and exasperated to now have a distraction.
"I haven't left since she was brought in," he said with a nod towards the closed infirmary door.
The Chairman's smile grew even wider – if that was even possible, "Ah! – but in that area there is now good news. Yuki is waking up, or will be in a little while!"
Zero allowed a small tired smile to form on his face, "That's good. I thought we might have to wait longer than that for her to wake-up."
The Chairman started nodding his head very quickly at that, "I thought so as well, but it seems that nothing can keep our Yuki down for long!" He punctuated his remark by pumping his right hand into the air and laughing loudly.
"So it would seem."
Zero and the still posing Chairman looked to the figure standing in the open door that once again admitted another person into the waiting room.
Kaname, like Zero, was still wearing the same dirty school clothes he had worn the last time the three were all in the same room. But the young woman behind him looked like she had just gotten her uniform back from the cleaners. Seiren silently followed her Dorm President into the room, and walked over to the closest door to the infirmary and sat down.
The Chairman and Zero, both knowing about how Seiren liked to be near Kaname at all times, raised their eyebrows at both her actions and Kaname's seeming indifference. Both of their attentions were brought back the Pureblood when he coughed.
"I have a favor to ask of you Chairman," the Chairman blinked at Kaname, "I would like to have Seiren transferred into the Day Class. That way Yuki would always have someone to protect her."
Zero bristled at the last sentence, aware that Kaname had basically told him that he didn't think that Yuki was safe with just him around. He clenched his right hand into a fist and tried to control his anger as Kaname continued to speak to a more than slightly confused Chairman.
"I think that it is time for Yuki to have a shield that – a," but Zero didn't even pay attention to the rest of Kaname's sentence. He allowed the corners of his lips to rise into an imperceptible smile, 'so this is what he meant by a better shield for her.' He let his fist uncurl.
As much as Zero hated to admit it, Kaname was right. Seiren was probably better than he was in terms of guarding someone – heck, she had done pretty well making sure Kaname's brains still rested in his head after Zero had pulled his gun. To be honest with himself, Zero hadn't seen Seiren move until he felt her hand at his neck, he just didn't want to admit it.
By the time he finally started listening to Kaname's and the Chairman's conversation, the Chairman was shaking his head. "I cannot allow it Kaname. As much as I would love to integrate the two classes, I cannot risk the Night Class' secret being revealed – even if it is to protect Yuki." He closed his eyes and sighed, "As much as I respect your opinion on whether or not she would be tempted to drink any of her classmates' blood, I cannot take that chance."
"But haven't you already done so sir?"
Three heads looked at Zero in confusion, "don't you allow me to be in the Day Class even though I myself am a vampire?" Although on the outside Zero's face was the epitome of stoic, on the inside he was hyperventilating. He had just done the one thing he promised himself he would never do: he had openly called himself a vampire. In front of a person the thought was insane, another who he despised, and another who had on idea about his secret no less.
He felt Seiren's shock even though he couldn't see her face.
The Chairman was doing his best imitation of a goldfish and Kaname had a look that Zero could scarcely believe: gratitude.
"Um – well – yes – but you see Zero, you have your seal, so even if you do something, I could rein you in…"
Zero looked over to Kaname, "you say she won't touch anyone in that class?"
Kaname nodded, "not unless they mean harm to Yuki, then and only then will she intervene."
"Are you sure?"
Kaname had all but forgotten that the Chairman – the one with the power to actually mover her to the Day Class – was even in the room. His attention was focused solely on the hunter slightly to his right, "you have my word as a Kuran."
Zero nodded and looked to the Chairman, "works for me. You?"
The Chairman was now doing his best rendition of an owl as he blinked several times, "Um – sure?"
Both Kaname and Zero nodded.
"Now how about we go greet Yuki as she wakes up?"
Zero simply nodded and followed Kaname into the infirmary through the door held open by the newest Day Class member, the Chairman followed behind them, still speechless and gaping.
A thoroughly shocked Seiren closed the door behind her.
--I--
--o-o-oOo-o-o--
I I
Throughout the years, numerous alliances had been forged, broken and strengthened behind closed doors. This one proved to be no different. The two figures – one a man, the other a woman – sat facing each other across a mahogany desk. The woman leaning back in her chair with a champagne glass in her hand, he sitting stiffly in his seat. He reached out and picked up the manila folder from the woman's desk.
"Are you sure these observations are correct?"
"They come from one of my most trusted operatives who just reported back in after extended time in the field. The information is accurate."
The man glanced back down at the file, "this place is a fortress. We need to lure him out and make this easier on us."
She took a sip from her glass, "agreed."
The man closed the file and stood up to leave, "I need to show this to the others, they will want to have a say as to how this goes."
The woman leaned forward, setting her glass on her desk, "surely you have time for a little banter before we adjourn?"
The coy smile that graced her red lips was not reciprocated by the man before her, "I am not her to 'banter', I am here to retrieve the valuable information you had acquired and return to the others so we may discus what action we wish to take next."
Her smile turned into a pout, "you big old meanie."
His gaze grew even colder, "and Madame, I am loath to stay here another minute – this place is not so kind to one such as myself."
The woman's face twisted into a cruel smile, "but soon it shall."
The man nodded, "indeed it shall. Now, if you do excuse me, I have another meeting to attend."
She merely nodded as her companion melting into the shadows of her office.
She leaned back and sipped the rest of her champagne slowly, 'soon we will be the most powerful forces in the world. And nothing is going to stop us this time.'
The only problem was, she didn't know about the several trump cards that had yet to be put into play…
--I--
--o-o-oOo-o-o--
I I
Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum. -- Graycie Harmon
A/N: Sorry about the wait but this chapter sets up several things and I wanted it to be up to my own screwed up standards before I posted it. And I am not trying to make each chapter longer than the last - it's just turning out that way. Tell if you like it that way or not and if there are any mistakes in this. Anyways, lots of stuff happening this chapter huh? What is the item that Seiren retrieved for Kaname? What did Yori get from the Chairman? What is with his necklace? Why doesn't Kaname think that Shizuka is dead (there was a huge fireball – no one could have survived that…right?) Why did Zero help Kaname? What was that last part about? And finally, what is up with Yuki? All will be revealed in time good readers, I promise! TTFN
You're getting closer…
…closer…
…you're almost there…
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