Disclaimer- I don't own Vampire Knight, k?
Chapter 8
Annoyances
Reina sat on the edge of the wooden desk in Kaname's office that adjoined his bedroom, her stockinged legs crossed elegantly. She was still in her uniform only she had removed her shoes, tossed the tie aside somewhere in the hall, and had unbuttoned the stuffy jacket. Aido and Kain, who were a few feet in front of her, were also still in their uniforms. Aido was sitting on a wooden chair with plush red cushions while Kain stood beside him, his hands in his pockets.
"Ten days' suspension," Reina told Aido.
"Yuuki's blood was worth it," Aido sighed dreamily.
Reina's face flickered angrily at his response. Something he didn't catch, but Kain had and tried to nudge Aido to get him to shut up. Reina had scared him a bit earlier with how serious and cold she had been. She had now become comfortable with her surroundings and was quickly taking on a very prominent role in helping Kaname and Ichijo manage some of the other students. Her presence was feared more than Kaname's, though. For she could be much colder than Kaname and it had caused many people to avoid her altogether. Kain didn't think she minded that however. He actually thought she preferred it that way. It meant less people trying to get close to her. He was one of the few in the circle of people she would talk to. And she had become quite talkative now that Kaname didn't seem to be angry with her and she was more comfortable in the presence of those she talked to. Namely Ichijo, Aido, Shiki, Rima, himself and, of course, Kaname.
Kaname walked into the room. A dark gray shirt left unbuttoned and a pair of loose fitting slacks sitting low on his thin but well defined hips and a towel over his shoulders that he was using to dry his hair.
"I don't think the blood tablets are enough for me," Aido was saying while Reina's eyes narrowed further at the blond haired boy. "I just couldn't resist her blood, and I just..."
Reina floated lightly down from the desk to approach Aido, but before she got more than two steps, Kaname was in front of her. His back to her as he stared at Aido.
"Just?" Kaname pressed before swinging his hand across Aido's face leaving a small, bleeding scratch where his fingers had brushed over the boy's skin.
"Sorry," Aido muttered apologetically, a repentant expression on his handsome face.
Kaname raised the hand that had slapped Aido to his mouth so that he could lick the blood that had gotten onto his fingers. His tongue flicked lightly at the blood as it ran down his finger, gathering the red liquid into his mouth.
Reina fidgeted slightly, she wasn't used to the scent of blood. She had fed off only the blood tablets for such a long time that being around actual blood was strange for her. It hadn't been a problem earlier when she was more focused on Aido's behavior than the blood and she had just finished a blood tablet shortly before hand, but now it was just too much for her. She could feel the slight tightening of her chest as she breathed in the scent and watched Kaname's tongue brush the red liquid from his finger in a way that made Reina's breath hitch in her throat. She had a sudden urge to step forward and take his hand so that she could lick the rest of the blood from his fingers, but she resisted and instead stepped backwards.
Snapping out of her stupor, Reina brushed past Kaname. She left the room quickly, nearly knocking Ichijo over as she stepped into the hall when he opened the door to enter the room. Ichijo blinked at her as she walked down the hall to her room. It looked to him like she was upset about something and he wondered if he should go after her or not.
"Don't worry about it, Ichijo. I made Reina uncomfortable. I had forgotten she isn't used to dealing with actual blood," Kaname called through the half open door.
"Really?" Ichijo asked curiously as he entered the office and shut the door behind himself.
"Yes, she was raised on blood tablets. She has only drunk blood once," Kaname stated.
"Only blood tablets, that's sad," Aido sighed, before shrinking away from Kaname's glare.
"You two can go now," Kaname said to Aido and Kain who both nodded and left the room quickly.
Reina shut the door to her bedroom and walked straight to her bathroom. Breathing quickly, she made her way to her sink and shakily picked up the glass on her counter. Fumbling with the knobs of the faucet Reina turned on the cold water and filled the glass. She then clumsily opened the container that held her blood tablets and dropped two in the glass.
As the pills dissolved she backed up until she felt the cold wall behind her and slid down it to the floor. She let her legs fall awkwardly with her knees meeting in front of her, and her feet on either side of her body. Her skirt fanned out around her and she rested the hands that held the glass of blood infused water on her lap.
Shakily, she raised the glass to her lips and began to sip the liquid. After taking a few drinks her chest tightened again and she clutched at the fabric of her silky black shirt, clenching her jaw as her eyes shut instinctively while pain washed over her.
She tightly kept her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate on something, anything, other than the scent of blood, and the seductive way Kaname had collected the blood with his tongue. She repressed a shiver as the image replayed in her mind.
'Snap out of it, Reina,' she said to herself as she again raised the glass to her lips and drank down more of the water.
As she took another drink her body began convulsing weakly, forcing her to cough and fight the urge to vomit up what she had drunk. The coughing became violent and uncontrollable and the glass slipped from her hand, the red liquid spilling onto the floor as the glass rolled away from her. She leaned forward, grasping at her chest as her hair fell into her face. She was gripping her chest so hard she had unintentionally drawn a few small beads of blood, she could feel the wet warmth as it trickled down to the fabric of the black lace bra she wore.
It was seconds later that she heard a knock on her door and someone calling her name.
'Damn,' she thought as the coughing subsided and she gasped for breath.
She cried out again moments later as the invisible band around her chest tightened and she hunched over to rest her head on her knees as her hair spilled onto the floor.
The door to her room flew open and Kaname walked in, followed by Ichijo. The two walked to the door of her bathroom and stared down at Reina's curled up form.
"Reina," Kaname said quietly as he knelt beside her and rested a hand on her back.
Reina let out a small groan and tried to scoot away from Kaname.
"I'm sorry I upset you, Reina. Would you look at me, please?" he asked.
Her white hair swished quietly against the floor as she shook her head no.
"Ichijo, close the curtains in the bedroom please," Kaname requested, glancing back at the emerald eyed blond.
Ichijo nodded and turned to close the heavy drapes over her windows, casting the room into shadow. When he finished he turned to see Kaname carrying Reina out of the bathroom, her hands around his neck and her head buried into his chest. Walking to Reina's bed Kaname set her down on the soft, plush sheets and detached her arms from around his neck so that he could sit beside her.
"Would you get a glass of water and some blood tablets, Ichijo?" Kaname asked as he pulled a blanket over Reina's bare legs.
"Of course, Kaname," Ichijo said as he headed to Reina's bathroom.
He picked up the fallen glass and used a hand towel to wipe up the spilled liquid on the floor. After cleaning out the glass in her sink, he filled it with water and picked up the tin that held her blood tablets before walking back into the room. He set the glass and tin down on the little nightstand beside Reina's bed and stepped back to stand beside Kaname who was still sitting on the edge of the bed.
Reina seemed to be breathing easier now, but her eyes were closed and her skin was paler than usual even in the dim light of the room.
"Will she be alright, Kaname?" Ichijo asked worriedly.
Kaname nodded and leaned forward to put two blood tablets into the glass of water before picking it up. "Reina, drink."
Dark sapphire eyes fluttered open, a pale red glow illuminating them in the shadows of her bed. They wandered over the glass Kaname held out to her and she pushed herself up on the bed, leaning against a few of her pillows.
"Thank you," she mumbled, reaching for the glass to sip the beverage.
Her face distorted into a grimace as the pain in her chest flared up again. Her eyes squeezed shut while she fought to keep her breathing even and relaxed. After a few seconds her eyes reopened and the red glow was gone, leaving tired, dull sapphires in their place.
"Feeling better?" Kaname asked.
Reina nodded and sighed as she drank more of the blood tablet and the pain in her chest began to subside.
"I'm sorry," she choked out, her throat was still somewhat dry and tense from the recent attack.
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Kaname said with a small, rare smile.
Smiling softly back, Reina set the now empty glass on the nightstand again. "I told you this was a bad idea, Kaname."
"You'll be fine, Reina. You're just not accustomed to blood, you'll adjust. We all must," Kaname said as he stood from the bed. "Get some rest."
"I think I will," Reina replied as she tossed the blanket off herself and stood lithely from the bed to walk to her closet.
"Good night then. Ichijo," Kaname called, snapping the blond out of the small trance he'd been as he stared after Reina.
"Huh? Oh. Good night, Reina," he chirped happily as he followed Kaname from the room.
"Is she really going to be alright?" Ichijo asked after he followed Kaname back to his room.
"She'll be fine. She needs to learn to deal with the scent of blood. We're vampires, it's time she understood what that entails. She's afraid of what she is, she had a bad experience in the past," Kaname replied as he sat down on the chaise and began picking through the papers that were strewn across the table before him.
Ichijo sighed before grinning widely. He wasn't going to get anything else out of Kaname, and he didn't want to pry. "Well, I'm off to read some more manga. Good night, Kaname."
Reina was acting normally the next day as they all, except for Aido, went to class. That is to say she was being cold and distant and really not paying attention to her surroundings until she kicked something soft that was on the ground.
Looking down, she blinked to see that Yuuki was sprawled out before her, a look of surprise on her face.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Reina," Yuuki stuttered out when she saw the cold sapphire eyes staring at her.
Snapping out of her own world, Reina shook her head down at the girl and reached her hand out to help her up. "What are you doing down there, Yuuki?"
"Oh, well, I was..."
"The girls?" Reina asked casting a look behind Yuuki to all the screaming girls. There didn't seem to be quite as many since Aido wasn't attending classes.
Yuuki nodded furiously and blushed.
"Are you alright?" Reina inquired, chuckling softly at the girl's embarrassment.
"I'm fine, thank-" Yuuki paused as a strange look passed over Reina's face.
Reina reached up, towards Yuuki's face. As her fingers brushed against the girl's brown hair her wrist was suddenly, and rather painfully, snatched away.
Reina turned angrily to see that Zero was holding her wrist and glaring icily at her.
"Zero!" Yuuki shouted.
"It's alright, Yuuki. I was just, well, see?" Reina said as she glanced at something small she held in her fingers.
"Th-that was in my hair?" Yuuki asked with a shiver as she stared and pointed a finger at the spider that was dangling by one of its legs between Reina's fingers.
Reina nodded and turned to look at Zero. "Here, you can have it. I don't particularly like spiders," she said as she let the spider drop on to Zero's black jacket.
"Zero," Yuuki hissed at the lavender eyed boy who was still glaring at Reina and holding her wrist in a tight grip. "Let her go."
"Kiryu, is there a problem?" Kaname asked as he stepped towards the three.
Tearing his gaze from Reina, Zero turned his face to Kaname and dropped Reina's hand. "No, just get to class."
"Are you alright, Yuuki? That was quite a fall you took," Kaname pointed out.
Yuuki blushed madly. "I'm fine, thank you," she replied hurriedly with a small bow.
Reina smiled at the top of the girl's head. "Sorry, if I angered Zero, Yuuki. I seem to have that effect on him."
"Oh, don't worry about him, He's always like that," Yuuki said with a shrug.
"I'm still here, you know?" Zero growled.
"I don't think he knows how to be anything other than a jackass," Yuuki shrugged, ignoring Zero's glare while brushing bits of dirt from her skirt.
"I'm sure he has his moments of kindness," Reina replied with a smile at Zero.
"Come on, we have to patrol," Zero snapped, grabbing Yuuki's arm and tugging her away with a small squeak of surprise from the girl.
"Reina," Kaname called.
"I'm coming, Kaname," she answered as she turned around to follow him into the Academy.
"I won't tell you to stay away from Kiryu. You can make your own decisions, but don't let your curiosity lead you to do something you will regret," Kaname said as they entered the academy building.
"Of course not, Kaname," Reina replied with a small smile.
Several days had past and Reina was trying to get some actual sleep for once. She had stayed up a little longer than normal reading manga with Ichijo and talking in his room in hopes it would tire her out so she could sleep, but it didn't appear to be working. Her nightmares had stopped over the past weeks, but she still found it hard to get to sleep since she was afraid they would return to haunt her again.
Groaning, she pulled the thick black comforter over her head and tried to block out the sounds of the Day class girls. They were up earlier than normal and screaming ten times louder than usual as well. Apparently there was an important festival that day called St Xocolatl's Day. It was a day girls gave chocolates to the boys they wanted to proclaim their love to. She had never heard of it until Ichijo explained it to her earlier.
After a few more failed attempts to block out the annoying, high-ptitched screams Reina tossed the sheets off of herself, huffed irritably, and got out of bed. Her blue silk nightgown fluttered softly to her toes when she stood up, stretching and yawning tiredly. Slipping on a robe that matched her nightgown, she yawned again and quietly stepped out of her room.
"Akatsuki, it's too bright!" Aido complained loudly when his tall cousin pushed the curtains aside to look out the window and over the grounds.
"Oh, that's right. I know what it is today," he replied, ignoring Aido's whining while the blond huddled under his blankets to avoid the sunlight that was filtering into the room from the window. "It's St. Xocolatl's Day, the day girls give chocolates to the guys they like."
There was a soft knock on their door and Akatsuki let the curtain drop back into place, letting the room go dark once again
"Hm?" He hummed as he stood up from the bed, clad only in pajama bottoms and a towel that was draped over his shoulders.
Upon opening the door he was surprised to see a rather annoyed looking Reina staring up at him. Reina was hard to actually annoy so he wasn't sure what to think and was worried that Aido had some how managed to get them in to trouble...again.
"Hey, Reina, what's up?" Kain asked uncertainly.
"Me," she grumbled with a small, childish pout.
"Reina-sama," Aido greeted cheerily as he turned to look at Reina who was still in the doorway.
"I thought I said no sama," Reina snapped.
Aido pouted. "Sorry."
Reina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, Aido, those Day class girls are annoying, and it's even louder in my room. Do you guys mind if I sit in here for a little while?"
Kain shrugged and stepped out of the way to let her in. "Sure."
"Thank you, Akatsuki," Reina said as she stepped in to take a seat on the couch that was in the center of the room, between the two beds that were against the walls.
"Hey, why do you call him by his first name and not me?" Aido whined, an immature pout on his face while he stared at Reina.
Reina shrugged, something she rarely did. "Maybe it's because he isn't wearing a shirt."
Aido opened and closed his mouth a few times as Reina nonchalantly picked up a magazine that was on the table beside the couch and began to flip through it. After snapping his mouth shut, he turned to glare at his cousin who seemed a little surprised by Reina's comment, and even had a very out of place blush on his face.
"Put a shirt on, Akatsuki," Aido snapped.
"I'd rather he didn't," Reina mumbled, casting an obvious glance over at him and smiling before raising the magazine over her face and stifling a laugh at the looks she had earned.
Kain blinked at Reina in confusion, she was being abnormally forward today and it was a little weird.
Aido glared at his cousin again who just shrugged at him and toweled of his still dripping wet hair.
"Stop glaring at Akatsuki, Hanabusa. I was joking," Reina said.
Aido brightened when she had said his name and smiled widely at her before turning to look at his cousin triumphantly.
"Well, I'm looking forward to sunset. It's the biggest festival of the year," Kain said.
"I'm going to get the most chocolates," Aido proclaimed pridefully.
"And I'm going to get a headache," Reina stated quietly under her breath.
"Are you going to give chocolate to anyone, Reina?" Aido asked.
Lowering the magazine, Reina looked at Aido like he was crazy. "No."
"Not even me?" Aido asked sulkily.
"Why would I give you chocolates, Aido?" Reina replied bluntly.
Aido's head fell and his shoulders drooped at her response.
"Aren't they supposed to be in class by now?" Reina asked as Kain again pulled the curtain aside to look outside.
"They're too excited apparently," he replied.
Reina sighed. "And I was actually looking forward to getting some sleep today."
"It is really noisy," Aido observed as he plopped himself down beside Reina on the couch.
"You'd think they'd be tired of screaming by now," Reina replied. She leaned over so that she could lay against Aido's shoulder.
Aido yawned and nodded as he rested his cheek against Reina's head with a pleased smile.
Kain shook his head at the two as he laid down in his own bed. Reina had opened up a lot in the past several weeks and now it was almost hard to get her to shut up sometimes. Not that he minded, he knew that it pleased Kaname to see her happy. Not only that, but she and Aido got along very well. They acted more like siblings then he and Aido usually did. Which also meant he didn't have to deal with Aido as much, and that was fine by him because he got into less trouble that way.
Proof that she had become more relaxed around them could be found in the fact that she had taken to falling asleep on Aido. You could often find the two curled up like kittens in her window seat or on her couch. She also didn't seem to mind falling asleep on was Ichijo. They would stay up reading manga almost every day and she would fall asleep against his shoulder. Of course Ichijo was more of a gentleman then Aido and less like a spoiled little kid so he would always return Reina to her own room. Aside from that the only other person she would let get close to her was Kaname. It didn't bother him that Reina only allowed the three people close to her, after all why should it? He liked Reina and all but she was a pureblood. She wasn't like the rest of them and purebloods tended to be dangerous to get close to.
"I'm sleepy," Shiki whined.
"Me too," Reina sighed.
They were headed to the Academy for their night of classes and almost everyone looked a little worn around the edges. The Day Class girls hadn't let up much during the day and no one had slept well. The screaming from the other side of the gates intensified when the wooden gates began to slowly swing open.
Reina was walking with Shiki and Rima. They were trailing a little way behind the rest of the class, none of them were interested in the festivities of the day. Kain and Aido were near the front of the group, while Ichijo was just in front of Reina, Shiki, and Rima. He was walking with another Night Class girl whose name slipped Reina's mind.
"You like Ichijo, don't you?" Rima asked.
"Of course I like Ichijo," Reina replied, slightly confused by the odd question.
"That's not what she means," Shiki said before yawning widely.
Reina blinked at him and then looked over to Rima. The girl sighed, giving a small shake of her head. "I mean you like Ichijo as in more than a friend."
"Why would you think that?" Reina asked.
"Because you've been glaring at Mai's back," Shiki answered.
Reina blinked at him again. "Who?"
"The girl Ichijo's walking with," Rima replied, nodding at the girl. "You've been glaring at her back since we left the dorms."
"No, I haven't... Have I?" Reina inquired curiously.
"Yes," both Shiki and Rima replied without hesitation.
"Oh.." She trailed off uncertain and a little embarrassed. "Well I didn't know I was. It wasn't intentional and I don't like Ichijo like that."
"Uh huh," Shiki yawned.
"I think he likes you too," Rima offered.
Before Reina had the chance to ask further questions the gates rumbled open and the screaming of the girls on the opposite side became nearly deafening. They all began to gather together as Yuuki, who was on the other side of the open gates, began to tell everyone the rules for the day. The boys were to go to their gates and take their chocolates from the girls behind them. It was simple and meant to expedite the process.
"I'm going to get the most," Aido gleefully shouted before running off only to halt in his steps as Kaname called his name.
"Behave yourself," Kaname said.
Aido gulped before smiling brightly again. "Of course, President Kuran."
"This is troublesome," Shiki yawned.
"Be careful, Shiki. They might try to eat you," Reina teased as she began to walk towards the Academy.
Shiki blinked after her for a moment before Kain stepped beside him. "She was joking," he said.
"I know, I just don't want to go through," Shiki replied.
"Come on, just go to your gate. Lets get this over with," Kain sighed, running a hand through his reddish blond hair.
Reina walked passed all of the gates only stopping briefly as she passed by Ichijo who was happily letting the girls pile chocolates in his arms. She shook her head before continuing on to the steps of the Academy building where she stopped to wait for the rest of the class. A few other students were gathered on the steps also waiting, but they kept their distance from her and let her be.
She watched idly as the Day Class girls crowded around the gates of their favored Night boy. They were all giggles and smiles and blushes. She found it tiring to watch and she wondered how the girls could have so much energy.
Her gaze kept finding its way to Ichijo. He was talking and laughing cheerfully with the Day Class girls who had lined up at his gate. She kept thinking about what Rima had said about her liking him as more than a friend. It was true she liked to spend time with Ichijo and their friendship was a bit different from the relationships she had with the others. She didn't think that meant anything other than she was comfortable around him, she trusted him, and she liked being around him. He was so cheerful and upbeat that you couldn't help but to want to be near him. Just because she was so comfortable around him didn't mean she liked him, did it?
The more she thought on it the more she wasn't quite sure what to think. The idea of him liking her as Rima had said made her face feel warm and her stomach weak. She shook her head to clear away the thoughts, blaming Rima for making her think over something as absurd as Ichijo and her liking each other.
'It is absurd, right?' she asked herself.
She sighed again and stared off into the crowds of people until a loud heart beat echoed in her ears. She cocked her head to the side and looked around curiously. The heart beat pounded in her head again, only louder and she cringed slightly at the sudden burst of noise. There were so many people around she had no idea who could be giving off such a strong pulse. When another loud beat echoed through her head she dropped the book she had been holding to bring her hands to her chest. The beating of the heart kept ringing in her ears, she gripped her chest tighter as her own heart seemed to be speeding up. A natural response for a vampire. A heart beat meant blood, blood was food.
The heart beat suddenly stopped and Reina looked around to see that a short, blond haired Day class girl had wandered away from the crowds of screaming girls. She narrowed her eyes at the look of utter blankness on the girl's face.
"Michael," she hissed before disappearing in a chilly gust of wind to follow the girl into the forest that surrounded the Academy.
As she stepped into the forest the trees seemed to circle around her and block her in. She could only go one way in the choked, dense forest. Straight. While following the path she would catch occasional glimpses of the black clad Day Class girl up ahead of her. The little streams of light that were filtering through the trees became less and less frequent as she progressed deeper into the forest and soon she was plunged into darkness.
Her eyes flashed red in the darkness as she came upon a small clearing that was surrounded by thick vines and moss covered trees that were hidden in shadows that seemed to move and slither towards her. In the center of the clearing was Michael, the body of the Day Class girl held tightly against his chest. He had an arm around her waist and another wound around her shoulder while his fingers brushed against the exposed flesh of her neck. The girl's eyes were open, but she showed no fear, no sense of awareness. It was as if she was in a trance with no idea of what was going on or that her life was in danger.
Reina stepped in to the clearing defiantly, no readable emotion on her pale face as her hair hung around her in loose waves. Her crimson tinted eyes stared fearlessly at Michael as he looked up to grin at her before slowly lowering his head towards the immobile girl's neck.
