There was something in the air that made everyone act differently for the rest of the day. Rima stared into Shiki's eyes for the whole incomplete lesson while everyone else sat around doing nothing.
For some reason the teacher had disappeared during the last semester. Chairman Cross had decided that there would be no more teachers for the Night Class in case that the disappearance of the previous teacher was caused by a Night Student. That way Chairman Cross would be able to protect the Day Students from the most unimaginable danger in the world. It had been decided that the only sufficient person to look over the Night Class would be Kaname.
The bell rang to signal the end of the class. Rima and Shiki walked hand in hand out of class; although there were people who still didn't suspect of their relationship. Everyone else's relationship that was in the Night Class was suspected of being purely neutral and nothing more. It was puzzling to Rima and Shiki how Kaname wouldn't make a proper move to Yuuki and how Akatsuki wouldn't confess to Ruka how much he really wanted to protect her.
They returned to Shiki's dorm together to get ready for their date. Rima didn't know it but he had planned time alone with Rima on a midnight picnic. He had already set up a blanket and a basket filled with food in the middle of the Night Class' courtyard. They would be able to sit together and be able to stare at the stars while they ate.
He put on a blue dress shirt while admiring Rima's shimmering intense blue eyes. She had noticed that he had been willing for him to look at him with her eyes and buttoned up the rest of the shirt for him. "I know that you couldn't resist looking at my eyes," she smiled cheekily, "Ha, I don't think that you knew that it was our first month's anniversary though. Happy anniversary." She commented as she gave him a rose set in resin as well as a handmade card.
He set the card on a bedside table and stroked her cheek, "I didn't forget our anniversary, here you go." He commented handing her a favourite book of his, "I thought that I should give you something personal so that you'll remember me always."
She thanked him taking the book up to her face, "I will never ever forget you," she said taking his hand in hers. "So, where are we going for our month anniversary date?"
"It's a surprise! Take my hand and believe me that you'll like it." She slipped her arm into his and held tightly onto his hand. They finished dressing and leapt outside the open window to the ground below. He kissed her hand as if to heal any wounds that she might have incurred leaping down from the window.
There in the centre of the courtyard were two identical cushions set together with a satin covered basket set in front of them. "Shall we?" He questioned as he helped Rima up from the ground.
She smiled comforting Shiki's worries, "sure." There had been worries that they had been fighting against but for a moment there was nothing to be concerned about.
She took out a small container that was filled with ice cream and a spoon, "start with dessert?" She commented as she took a spoonful to Shiki's mouth. He was appreciative of their relationship too; it had been the only thing that made him happy in the past years that he had been on Earth. Working as a model was no comfort unless you had someone to share the comfort with. He was happy that the person that he was sharing the happiness and comfort with was Rima.
He lowered his eyes, thinking of something more intense than ice-cream. "I'm worried Rima. The other day I smelt blood that was spilt on the campus; I'm not sure whether it's Yuuki's or Kaname's, I cannot distinguish between them. I am hoping that nothing serious had happened."
She hugged him with big arms, "There is nothing that you need to worry about. Don't worry Shiki, if Kaname doesn't tell us details about blood being spilt there is a proper reason that he doesn't tell us." Clearly to her heart she was still worried about Shiki breaking her heart in order to satisfy that of Melrose's. There were many things that she needed to worry about but none was as important as that of protecting Shiki's heart. She wanted to protect him even if he didn't need protecting.
He touched her hand gently to comfort her, "there should be nothing for you to worry about either Rima. I will not ever break your heart Rima, I love you too much to do that." She shed a tear hugging him tighter.
"I know that there is nothing to worry about but still..." she felt her heart pang, "I want to know for sure the trueness of your feelings for me. I do love you too." She commented shoving another spoonful of ice-cream into his face. She gave him another smile, "you know that I love you and there are pangs in my heart also."
"I know. I will do anything to help you to be rid of them."
"Yes...but there are too many that you don't know about. It's just all too much." She buried her head in her hands and wept. Shiki took her hands and stared directly into her eyes.
"I love you, Touya Rima. That means that I will not ever betray you."
Out into the shadows of the trees there was a pair of glowing red eyes and protruding fangs emerging. Blonde hair had grown thin and her mind was filled with nothing but the sweet scent of Shiki's blood. Melrose had been thirsting for his blood for too long and her parents' knew that even though she was a pureblood there was someone more that she wished for.
Rima gave him a half-hearted smile, "I know that you love me but I also know that Melrose will try to do something to break us apart again."
Shiki stroked her face and kissed her on the cheek, "you know that if that happens I will never fall for whatever charms that she attempts to put on me." He took out her hair ties and shoved them into his pocket, "I like your hair much better like this."
He was about to stroke her long blonde strands lovingly when out of nowhere Melrose lurched at Rima knocking her to the ground. "You will never get him to be truly yours." She began to feast on Rima's blood as Rima lay limp on the ground and faced Shiki to try and scare him into being with her. "She doesn't deserve you!" She yelled as she walked away leaving Rima to bleed to death.
She wanted to hurt Shiki and she had definitely done that he thought. He had thought that he had made it quite clear that he didn't like Melrose; but he might have thought wrong. Shiki had been the short time and most obsessive crush of Melrose. It had damaged her reputation between her parents and the rest of the vampire society as a pureblood.
Shiki cradled Rima in his arms and picked her up to take her to the infirmary. The nurse was shocked, "What happened?!" It was unusual for animals to be on campus but the nurse knew what happened. "She had been attacked by one of the other Night Students, right?" Shiki nodded, "The thing that you have to do is give your blood to her so that she'll regenerate the wound quicker and heal faster. Tell me what happened." He bit himself letting a small wound drip into Rima's mouth.
Her neck healed quickly and Rima awoke surprising herself with the situation that she had just got herself into. "What happened? I don't remember anything before we went to our picnic..." she fainted again.
Shiki attempted to resuscitate her to a normal state, "don't Shiki." She held his hand to stop him from hurting her more than she had been hurt already. "There is nothing that you need to worry about Shiki, Rima's fine- she's just resting through the ordeal that she had just been through. Can you tell me please what happened?"
"I'm afraid that it will incriminate someone that doesn't need to be incriminated right now, "the nurse assured him that it would be for the best. "Okay," he admitted, "I'll tell you what happened. Rima and I were on a midnight picnic to signify our first month anniversary. Out of nowhere Melrose lurched onto Rima and started to feast on her blood. Then she left her limp probably hoping that it would hurt me severely. Argh, it's a personal issue with Melrose that I have got; I don't know how to handle it though."
The nurse shook her head, "The night class and their personal issues. I have had enough with Kaname and his lust for that Yuuki girl in the Day Class."
He stepped out of the infirmary to contemplate what he would do next to try to protect Rima. There was the option of destroying Melrose; however that was the biggest taboo that he could commit. What else could he do though? If he didn't make a move to protect Rima then she could be lost forever; there was no other option.
He let himself into the Night Class Dorms and into Melrose's room where she was staring outside the window. She was unaware of what was going to happen. Shiki closed the door and wrapped his arms around Melrose; he knew that she wouldn't be able to fight against him- she wasn't a full vampire. He took hold of her throat and shoved his arm into her chest, pulling her heart out and quashing it.
Her famous last words would be, "you haven't heard the last of me." With those famous last words she fell to the ground and her body fell into a mere pile of ashes. He had done it; there would be nothing else that would provoke Rima to be frightened.
He went back to the infirmary to confirm that Rima was okay and to stay by her side for the rest of the night and day. When he returned he found her bed empty, "where'd Rima go?"
"She went back to the Night Class Dorms; after the blood that you had given her she healed right up."
He strolled happily back to the Night Class Dorms and into Rima's room where she was sitting on the bed waiting for him. "You're alright!" She commented happily, "when I came to I didn't know where you had gone so I came back to my dorm and you weren't here either."
It was like a sad love story; Rima and Shiki's romance. He had once thought that there was nothing that was going to tear them apart but then he knew that he was wrong. There was something in the world that he knew that would break them apart for good. If that were to happen he would do whatever he could to keep that from breaking them apart.
He grabbed her hand, "I have done something that will ensure that we are safe; I have done something that I know the vampire society might hate me for. I have killed Melrose." She was frantic; Melrose was a pureblood vampire and she knew that it was taboo to kill a pureblood vampire.
"What if the Hunter's Association finds out? Or worse? What if the Senior Council finds out that you killed a pureblood vampire? They'll kill you to make amends for the death of a pureblood vampire."
"Don't worry Rima; I know that Kaname won't ever let that happen. He's on our side and will help us because we have been so loyal to him."
"Don't count on it though; even though Kaname is tough and fair mixed together he's more tough than fair. Be careful Shiki; there's nothing that the Hunter's Association would like more than to find out how there is chaos in the vampire society."
He wasn't worried about what the Hunter's Association or the Senior Council would do if they found out that he had killed Melrose. She deserved to be killed for misuse of her power to try and break a couple that belonged together apart. He and Rima did belong together he believed; there would be no one that would break them apart.
He hugged Rima tight and reassured her that everything would be alright, "Don't regret your decision to do this Shiki. There's no going back when you have killed someone of the vampire society; when you have killed someone from such a prestigious pureblood family."
END OF CHAPTER NINE- THANK YOU FOR READING. HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED IT AND PLEASE REVIEW.