mint: Hello guys, sorry for the long wait! I must say that this chapter isn't so exciting... It's mostly about Aido's rantings/thoughts.... I think I should have written this in his P.O.V. but since I don't like P.O.V.s (and it's already finished) so.... yeah.

I promise that the next chapter is more interesting though :D Actually, this chapter and the next chapter are supposedly just one single chap but it became too long (for me co'z I only type my chaps 4-5 pages long.....)

Thank you for my reviewers:

EggyMiNa, irmina, lil joker, smutty-hime, mimifoxlove, KanameZero4Eva, LuanRina, GomenTillTheEnd, Flor Oriental, Kitsune Demon Girl, XxNyu-chanXx, DreamsDragon, GoddesOfWrath, VampireMangaYaoiFreak, oztan, Bell Cullen2809, starberries bite, dragonlilly1993, Kags21, Sasu-Sama' Sarukiji-Sempai, Demon child of heaven, kiwi-pi, shiinaanobaka, Dark-Angel-Princess 01, cmunch, AnimeCrazed121, Rawrsaysthefrickin'dinosaur, KxZ fan girl, XxYingYangxX, Yumiii, DonnieBella, Epic22, PWNsomeness, Gundum-grrl

Again, as I always say, I read every, single review that you send me. I just can't find the time to reply to them.

And again, special thanks to:

Silver Tears 11 :D

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is not mine

For the next few days, much to Kaname's disappointment, Zero continued to 'disregard' his presence. Not only in the dorms and in class, but literally everywhere they would meet, Zero would turn around and walk away or just passing by him as though he was not there.

Kaname absolutely did not like it and the whole dorm knew about it. Whenever their paths would cross, the vampires that happen to be around all quivered with nervousness. Their dinner was also surrounded by the heavy aura and the two with the highest status would continue to eat like there was nothing wrong. This only caused everyone to be even more frightened.

Aido had been thinking a lot since the day Zero decided to side himself with him in his punishment. It has been weighing him down and as much as he didn't like it, his conscience was haunting him for it. He couldn't help but feel guilty for what he had done and he decided that he couldn't just let it pass after all. The ice wielding noble wanted to properly talk and settle things with Zero. He needed to apologize as Zero siding with him made him think that the other wasn't really a bad person, or vampire, after all.

With this thought in mind, Aido headed to Zero's room to apologize.

On his way, he came across the dining hall that has been arranged in a formal manner. The usual simple yet high-class porcelain dishes were replaced with fancy silverware and glassware, all adorning the table.

"Oh yeah, that council guy is visiting today," He mumbled to himself.

Unfortunately, for Zero, being a carrier vampire had already reached the Vampire Council's ears and in result, had immediately sent someone to see, or rather, confirm the Hunter's new status within Vampire Society.

"Zero-sama I came here to-" Aido knocked on the door before he was rudely interrupted.

"Zero-sama!" A girl shouted from the inside and threw the door open, tackling the unknowing Aido to the floor.

"Zero-sama! Where have you- Oh, it's only Aido…" Remarked a disappointed Rima. Knowing that he 'captured' the wrong man, she stood up slowly and fixed her dress.

"Rima! What were you thinking?!" Snapped the blonde and dusted off the dirt from his suit, glaring at her all the while.

"I'm sorry. Have you seen Zero-sama?" She quickly asked.

"No. I went here to see him and by the looks of it, he isn't here,"

"Yes, he seemed to have slipped our sight and had wandered off somewhere," Explained Shiki who came up after Rima from behind.

"You said you were looking for Zero-sama right? Then go find him and bring him here this instant. I need to fix his hair and he also needs to change," The girl quickly said and slammed the door in front of Aido.

'Scary…' the blonde thought before leaving.

'Now, where would that guy be?'

Aido had already checked almost every corner of the Moon Dorms where Zero might have hidden. He had already checked outside, the kitchen, the lobby, the rooms, every hallway and corner but was nowhere to be found. After a lot of wandering, the blonde's feet led him in front of the library.

'The library… I haven't checked here!' He happily said to himself at his brilliant idea.

The blonde vampire opened the doors and was greeted by the huge library.

"How can I find him in here?" He mumbled quietly.

"Aido?" A voice broke the aristocrat from his thoughts.

Aido looked at the direction of the voice and saw the Vice President of the Moon Dorm, Ichijou Takuma. With all the books that surrounded him, the aristocrat concluded that the other was probably studying. However as he got approached, the 'books' were not really books at all, but manga that were probably brought by Takuma himself.

"Ah... Ichijou-sama… What's with all the manga?" He asked.

"Oh, these? I managed to persuade the librarian to keep some manga in the library some time ago so I occasionally donate some of my own," Takuma smiled.

"I see," The blonde replied.

"What about you?" The Vice President asked, arranging his manga in the shelf.

"I was looking for Zero-sama-"

'Now that I think about it, Ichijou-sama wasn't affected at all by him… I think I even saw him go in the room after Akatsuki dragged me outside. How come he wasn't that affected? And Akatsuki and Shiki too. Is it just self control? Does that mean I don't have control over my feelings?

"Umm… Aido?" Takuma looked worriedly at the other vampire.

"Ah… It's nothing. I was just wondering why…" The blonde mumbled his last words.

"Hm? Pardon me, but I didn't get what you were saying,"

"Umm… I was wondering why you weren't as affected by Zero-sama's blood as me," He quietly said but enough to make the other hear him.

"Oh, that. Well, I was wondering if it was something important," The dorm Vice President said and walked closer to Aido.

"What?! It was important-" He was cut off in his sentence when he felt Takuma's hands on his cheek.

"Ichijou-sama…?" He asked, startled.

"Well, truth is, I have someone I like. You see, the attraction to Zero-sama's blood can be lessened when you have someone you like," Takuma caressed his cheek in a loving manner making Aido blush a little.

The blonde looked at the Vice President in his eyes and saw sadness in the green orbs.

'Why is he sad?' Aido asked himself, fighting the urge to reach to his face and wipe that sadness away. He didn't know the reason but he didn't want Takuma to be sad.

Their little 'moment' didn't last for long because Takuma smiled and removed his hand from the other, putting the last manga back to the shelf.

"I guess I better leave now or else, I won't make it in time for the party," He said as he waved away leaving Aido stunned in the middle of the library.

The aristocrat could not help but touch his cheek where Takuma's hand previously held. It was still burning hot. It's as if that hand never left and Aido wanted the feeling to last.

A shuffle and tired groan snapped the blonde out of his thoughts. He looked at the direction of the sound and saw, the one he was looking for all this time, Zero who was seated in one of the library tables, rubbing his head lazily.

"Zero-sama, what are you doing in the library?" He asked as he approached the ex-hunter slowly.

"Huh? Oh, it's you. I was sleeping. I couldn't find anything to do so I went here. At first I was reading but I fell asleep. Luckily the librarian let me," Zero explained and sure enough, a handful of books were beside the carrier and one was still opened, showing that he was reading.

"I see." 'They don't normally let people sleep in the library. It's just that you're Zero-sama so they let you' Aido wanted to say but stopped knowing that the other probably didn't want to know.

"Would you like some coffee or tea?" The blonde offered which startled the carrier.

"… Tea," Zero finally answered after a moment of silence. He was suspicious as to what made the aristocrat suddenly feel as if he had to cater to him but kept his expression blank as to not seem rude. The situation was already bad enough between them and it would not help if he showed such a face.

"Eh? I didn't know you liked tea," The blonde grinned relieving some of the tension between the two.

"It's not that I like tea, I just prefer it over coffee right now," The carrier explained.

"Alright then," Aido left for a while to get tea for them both, taking a glance at Zero first, who was returning the books he borrowed back to the shelves, before leaving. His face seemed relaxed to him and the blonde sighed in relief. 'I'm glad he wasn't as skeptical as I thought,'

When Aido came back, Zero was back to reading another book that he randomly pulled out of the shelves to keep himself from getting bored. It turned out to be a good novel and the silver-haired carrier was so absorbed in it that he didn't noticed the other coming.

'How come I'm not affected by his blood right now? With this close proximity, I should at least feel a tug of hunger. Although I can smell his blood, it doesn't give me any trouble at all. Don't tell me…' Aido's mind was suddenly reminded of his encounter with Takuma earlier. He absentmindedly touched his cheek again and when he noticed what he was doing, he shook his head not knowing that he was faintly blushing from the memory. 'No… That's impossible! Maybe I'm already getting used to his scent. Yeah! That must be it!'

"Zero-sama, here's your tea. I hope you like Jasmine," He said politely and brought down the tea set down in the table and pouring tea for both of them.

"Oh thank you," Zero replied setting down his book and taking a sip of the tea that the other vampire had brought him.

The two engaged in a conversation, Aido constantly asking about random things and Zero just letting him ask away. He didn't know where the conversation was going but every time the blonde would stop, an awkward silence would envelop the both of them leaving him with the conclusion that Aido must have to say something important.

However, the aristocrat was nervous and Zero sensed it, reasoning that the other's nervous ness was causing him to ramble and avoiding the 'real' reason for talking to the ex-hunter. It was fine with him though. He wanted the other to feel comfortable enough to ask or tell whatever he really wanted to say to him.

"Aido, is something wrong?" The silver-haired carrier asked when the awkward silence was hanging in the air for too long.

"Umm… Well… I really want to apologize for what happened before," Aido stared at his tea, nervous of what he would say.

"I told you. It's alright. You don't need to apologize,"

"But-"

"Why is it so noisy outside?" He asked before Aido could reason out again.

"Ah, that? We're preparing for a party," He replied.

Zero raised an eyebrow in amusement. Who would prepare a party out of the blue? "Party?"

"You didn't know?" The blonde asked eyeing the carrier curiously.

"I was in the library the whole day," He reminded in a bored tone.

"Oh, yeah. Well... Ah! I almost forgot. Rima asked me to bring you back to your room," Aido said, quickly grabbing the carrier's hand and led him out of the library.

"Wait! Tell me what's happening first!" Zero shouted at the blonde who was dragging him without care.

"No time!" 'Rima will kill me if I don't bring you back as soon as possible' he thought as he ran faster.

"Oi! Wait! At least, slow down!" But his complaints were all unheard.

Meanwhile, Kaname was doing rounds, making sure that everything was perfect. He felt uncomfortable with The Council coming for the sole reason of Zero. Why couldn't they just believe that he was a carrier and leave him alone? Well, he needed a formal welcoming to the vampire world after all.

The pureblood continued his rounds, and thinking about other matters when he saw two certain vampires running in the opposite hallway that made him growl.

'What is Aido doing?!' he angrily thought to himself.

What really made him angry was Aido was holding Zero's hand. Zero's hand. His Zero. He growled again in anger but quickly sighed and suppressed it. He would deal with Aido later.