A/N:
I'm so sorry! I've been preoccupied and when I did have time, I didn't feel like writing.
However, I can say that I'm as good as done with chapter 8, and I have also been able to sit down and write the summaries for the remaining chapters and now know exactly where I'm going. So, when CampNaNoWriMo starts in July, I'll get quit many of my words from this story.
That said, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Please do tell me what you think of my story and writing in general.
So leave a review, okay? ^^
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Disclaimer:
«I do not own any of the following pictures, music, characters or the original universe. I only own the story itself and the idea.»
Thanks a lot to The Walrus and the Carpenter and Soaring Okami for betaing on this story.
A Bloody Rose - Part 7 - "The Flustered Octopus"
"Zero..? You're awake, right?"
The vibrations of the sweet, careful calling tingled and a pleased grunt escaped my lips. The girl was still lying in my arms. That surprised me. Yuki could hardly ever sit still for more than fifteen minutes, and for her to still be here… Half an hour should have passed already.
"Are… Are you alright? I mean, there isn't anything wrong is there?"
'Wrong?' I asked myself. 'Was there anything wrong?' No, not really, I decided and shook my head.
"Ah, okay… But if there ever is… I'll always be here" Her reply was a weak mutter, and then suddenly, I felt her nudge her face against my chest as if she was hiding herself.
So sweet, I thought, and without realizing what I was doing, I placed my lips on her forehead; giving it a soft kiss. I tried to pull away, but my own body didn't listen to me, letting my lips rest on her bare skin.
She smelled so good. For an instance I feared it was the demon in me talking; thirsting and heightening my senses. But no, I realized. It wasn't the scent of blood I felt drawn to, it... it was Yuki...
A flood of relief washed over me; there was nothing wrong with me. My blood lust was under control, and everything was as it should be..
Wait. I told myself, Normal? I had never felt allured by the scent of her… Could it be that my growing vampirism was responsible? Was it intensifying my sense of smell? Well, whatever it was, it was a fragrance that I didn't mind.
"Ehm… Zero...?"
Yuki's voice cut through my thoughts.
"You'd better not have inked my face."
I blinked. What was she rambling on about?
"Octopus."
The meaning behind her words struck me. I could feel blood rushing to my face, and I immediately pulled away my lips.
"It seems I'm a pretty popular girl. At first I thought it was silly to think so, but everybody seems to be sucking on me lately. To think that I now have an octopus in addition to the vampires that-"
"Vampires?" My eyes widened. Had Yuki been bitten? Here? On school ground? "When? Who?" I pushed myself up on my knees, ready to go out and hunt down the student reckless enough to sink his teeth into my sweet-
"No!"
"I have to." I ignored her cry and leapt over her body, careful not to step on her in the process. Once one foot was safely on the floor, I changed my weight to let the other follow.
"No, you don't—just stop." Her voice was more determined this time and I noted that she had grasped onto my boxer shorts, holding it with a strong grip while wearing a hesitant expression on her face.
For a second I felt tempted to ignore the helpless attempt and just continue; letting my underwear decide if it wanted to stay on or not. But no… I just couldn't do that. That would just be … I could feel a prickling on my neck, and realized I was about to blush. I let out a frustrated sound and let myself fall back down to sit on the bed.
"Zero..." Yuki had sat up and was now kneeling beside me on the mattress. I could see the worry in her eyes, but I could also see something else… Was it … surprise?
The thought amused me. Had the lack of my indecency surprised her? Well, I guess the many shirtless mornings in the bathroom with her, and today's lack of pants, could indicate a certain tendency to expose myself, but to go that far…
"Nothing happened." She let go of my clothing and wrapped her hands around my arm instead. "None of them have bitten me. I didn't mean for it to sound like-"
I didn't care anymore. Yuki was safe and untouched; that was all I wanted to hear. Still, she had made my heart go berserk for a moment, and I knew I didn't dare to think of what might had happened if I had made it out of bed.
"Yuki..." I turned my face and let my lavender colored eyes pierce her chestnut ones. "Never say anything like that to me again."
"I-"
"Never." I repeated, grabbing her arms, shaking her. "You hear me?"
She gave a slight nod and I felt my body relax again and, before I could stop it, my head fell forward and down on Yuki's shoulder. For a moment I thought she would push me away, but she didn't. Instead, she wrapped her arms around me and started stroking my hair gently.
"You worry too much about me, Zero."
"How can I not? Seeing how those monsters out there look at you, I-" I stopped myself before I could say something stupid. Although the many looks she got from the night class bothered me, it wasn't the thing I feared the most. No, what I feared was that it, one day, would be me that would stand in their place; watching Yuki, listening in on all the thumps her heart made as it pumped her delicious, red blood.
"I'm fine, Zero. I do know how to take care of myself; I'm not defenseless."
I couldn't help but snort. Although it was true that Yuki knew the vampire world and had been through training to protect others, as well as herself, she still wasn't anywhere near the level of a vampire hunter. In truth, her abilities would only buy her a chance if she was dealing with a newborn that was unaware of her Artemis rod.
"Ey, stop that." The gentle stroking had stopped. "I'm not that bad at it."
"Well..." A smirk appeared on my lips, as I once again let the mesmerizing scent fill me with peace.
"Jerk." The curt word came, and at the same time I felt her hands move; letting go of my hair and withdrawing towards her body.
Faster than I'd planned, my hands flew up and caught her left hand by the wrist as it passed by my cheek. I didn't squeeze hard, just enough to keep it up, and as my hand covered hers, I let my fingers slide between hers, intertwining them.
"Ze...ro…" Her eyes widened and I could see the surprise in them. However, to my relief, she did not show any sign of wanting to escape my touch.
"Yuki, I-" I lost my words. What was I even going to say? I didn't even know myself. All I knew was that I wanted to be right here. I knew it couldn't have been that long, but for just a small amount of time I wanted to be by her side.
Without a sound, I closed my eyes and let her enticing smell fill me. It was truly the scent of happiness and freedom—both of them were things that I couldn't have. Her touch… I moved my head, letting my skin touch against hers.
"Wha-" Yuki cut herself off, her attention drawn to my other hand. I had reached out and was now cupping her chin with my fingers, slowly letting the tips play with her soft skin.
She was so perfect… I knew the words sounded silly and like a badly written cliche, but there was no other word that could take its place. Yuki was perfect, so sweet, so gentle to me, she was my-
Shivering, I leaned my body forward, closing in on her. I moved slowly, letting her prepare and understand my intention. I was scared to look up at her, frightened to see rejection in her eyes, but I forced myself to lift my gaze. Our eyes met, and for a second I thought I saw fear in her eyes, but then a calm glow replaced it. I took it as a sign for me to continue.
I bent even closer; my hand let go of hers, moving between us as a pillar to support my weight. My heart was beating like mad and I noticed I was breathing heavily.
Closer.
I carefully tilted my head to the side. Closer... Yuki's eyes were still on mine, the breeze of her breath teasing me as it came dancing out between her parted lips.
'She… She won't reject me...'
The realization made my heart stop. She wasn't going to push me away. She was going to-. The blood rushed through me, and I had to stop myself from not pushing her down and kissing her passionately. I couldn't do that. Or, could I?
Without having made a decision, I found myself laying her gently down by pushing her shoulder. I halfway expected her to push against me, call me a jerk and walk off, but instead, she just looked at me with those big eyes as I placed myself on top of her.
The anxiety came flooding through me. Was this really all right? If I bent down, if I kissed her…? Was this what she wanted? She did; didn't she? She couldn't have misunderstood my—no, our—actions, could she?
No, I decided. Even though Yuki was one of the densest persons I knew, even she would know. I was sure of it.
Closing my eyes, I took a quick breath and-
"Hello? Anybody home?"
My heart stopped. For a few seconds, I swear my heart was not beating. Then, without warning, it rushed forward, pumping blood like mad and making my body feel as if it was on fire.
What was I doing? How-? Why-? I looked at Yuki, but when our eyes met, she was quick to look away, her own face turning a shade of red that was similar to mine.
"Yuki? Zero? Are any of you here?"
What should I do? Should I answer him? I opened my mouth, but then realized with horror the possible course of events that might follow. How would he react if he came in? What would he say?
True, he wasn't my father, but I still didn't want to disrespect him to that degree, and anyhow, Yuki was actually acting as his daughter. But if he saw this; me towering over her like a beast… I didn't even want to think about what he might do.
No, I told myself. It's something that should be avoided. The best thing to do is to pretend we're not home. Yeah, then he would probably-
"Yes. I am. And Zero too. " Before I could stop her, Yuki spoke up, and before I could collect myself, slid out from underneath me. She didn't even look at me, but hurried to straighten her uniform and hair, before opening the door slightly. "I just woke him up. That idiot skipped school and spent the whole day sleeping." She closed the door, and for a second I thought I saw a quick wink… But it was probably my imagination...
"Oh, Zero..." I could hear the headmaster sigh from outside of the room. "I thought he understood after the last time I talked to him. Oh well, I guess I'll have to talk to him..."
"Don't!" Yuki's voice sounded sharp, and I found myself sitting up, eavesdropping. "I mean... Ehm. He's really grumpy, and he promised me he would change, so… I wouldn't go in there if I were you."
"Hmm… Well, he does have the worst case of morning-grumpiness that I know of… Fine, I think you're right, honey. I'll talk with him after dinner. He probably should lighten up by then, don't you think so?"
"Yes, I'm sure that would be a better idea." The enthusiasm in her voice was clearly exaggerated, but I knew the headmaster wouldn't notice. The man was as blind as could be when he wasn't fully focused—which luckily for me, wasn't often.
I lay still until I could hear the footsteps and their accompanying voices disappear. For a second I considered falling back to sleep, but I decided against it. I had already spent too long in bed today—even for my liking—and besides, the headmaster was likely to burst in, expecting me to be up.
Damn it, Yuki. Why had she told him that? And more, why had she ratted me out like-? Wait a second, that sounded totally like her.
A/N:
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it will help me write better in the future^^
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