Yuuki Kuran had a hard time explaining herself upon their return to Cross Academy. Her and her vampire escort reached the premises just in time, for the sun's rays had started to peak over the eastern mountains. As they crossed the courtyard, Aidou's steps quickened, and eventually the two were running to beat the clock. It was common knowledge to vampires that the sun's first rays were the strongest, and many had grown sick and even died under its unforgiving light. Even Yuuki, who seemed to have built immunity from her years as a human, found herself anxious to reach the familiar steel doors.

When they got inside, all was quiet. The night class had gone to bed, and it was still too early for the day class to be awake. Yuuki breathed a long sigh of relief, glad that she would not have to deal with questions until the early evening. Her entire body ached, pushed to the brink of exhaustion from both lack of sleep and its need to continuously repair itself. Her arm had completely healed on the short journey back, and that gnawing reminder of immortality made Yuuki feel uncomfortable in her own skin. She shivered despite herself, and Aidou looked at her with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You don't look good at all!"

"Thanks..." Yuuki grumbled. "You don't look so well yourself.

Her statement was not untrue, for the usually-poised noble was looking uncharacteristically beaten down. His fine blonde hair was wet and matted, his class uniform torn and dirty, and the lack of color in his face caused Yuuki's stomach to churn with guilt. It was all her fault that he was like this... that he always had to come out and save her from some bad decision.

"I'm sorry, Aidou." she said, not bothering to add an honorific to his name.

He turned and gave her a weak smile. "It's fine, Yuuki. It's my fault for taking so long to find you, it's just that..."

The vampire was cut off by the soft sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. After a few seconds, Chairman Cross became visible out of the shadowy hall, a long sword glinting in his hand behind him.

"Yuuki..." he whispered softly, and she braced herself for the worst.

The conversation with her foster father had not gone well. From the moment she had seen him look at her, sword in hand, she knew that she had nothing to give him. No explanation as to how she had ended up in another city, what she had done for three whole days, or the reason she'd ended up unconscious in the first place. She stuck to the story that she had told Aidou, how she'd fallen off the balcony in her room, a clumsy mistake, and ended up in the hospital. The tale was mostly true, yet Yuuki knew it best not to tell anyone of her newfound strength, not even her own father.

She watched his face as her lips moved and shut, her words came out yet she knew they mattered not, for the eyes of the man across from her spoke their own language. "I don't believe you," they said, "what have you been doing, Yuuki...?" They flashed like steel and glinted with question, yet Yuuki held her ground. More pangs of guilt went through her as she lied to the only man who had taken her in, a man whose heart was filled with kindness and compassion for others. She lied knowing that she was hurting him, but after all, wasn't that all she ever did to those who loved her?

Her darkening thoughts were broken by a long sigh, and Kaien Cross rubbed the bridge of his nose underneath his spectacles. Yuuki noticed then for the first time that he looked very tired, and she had a sudden urge to reach across his desk and hug him tightly. But she didn't.

"That will be enough for tonight, Yuuki. Please go right to bed and clean yourself up. We'll talk some more tomorrow."

"Yes, Chairman." Yuuki said quietly, resisting another urge to call him 'father'. Yet something stopped her.

There was another presence outside of the door, an enticing and familiar smell, and Yuuki mentally cursed herself for not noticing it before.

Zero...

She stood up quickly, too quickly, because she tripped over her own chair and went tumbling onto the floor. The white jacket that Aidou had given her earlier fell off her shoulders as she attempted to catch herself, but the blonde vampire caught her first.

"Yuuki," he moaned, not bothering to hide the frustration in his voice. "Can you please be more careful from now o-..."

Aidou stopped short in his sentence, noticing something he'd failed to see before. Down Yuuki's back, underneath her tattered gown, were two long wounds. They somewhat resembled slashes, and though they were almost healed, he could tell they had been deep. His brows furrowed in confusion. What could they possibly be?

Yuuki, who sensed the tension, turned over to face her former tutor. She saw how his eyes burned with question, so blue and intense that she thought he would turn her to ice, like he had the sea...

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Yuuki's stomach did a flip inside of her. She watched Zero watching the scene before him; Yuuki, tattered and broken, being held up in Aidou's arms on the floor of the Chairman's study.

"What..." he said menacingly. "Is going on here?"

"Ahh, Zero, I was wondering when you would come in." the Chairman said, clapping his hands together and putting on a glorious smile. "As you can see we have our Yuuki back, and everything is in order. Please do not worry."

Zero' s piercing eyes went back to Yuuki, who was scrambling herself off of the floor along with Aidou, who for some reason had turned red and excused himself. Yuuki's eyes shot darts at his back as he retreated from the office without a backward glance. She muttered something inaudible under her breath, and looked back up at Zero. His eyes were cold and emotionless, and they regarded her for what seemed like ages before anything was said. Her heart pounded in her throat, and she knew that he could hear it, that he could smell every pump of blood in her body. Could he smell her sin like Aidou had? She swallowed hard at the thought, but instantly regretted it as she watched Zero's eyes follow the lump in her throat. His eyes were like a burning furnace, so intense that she felt she would melt under their pressure. Yet she found herself lost in them, staring deeper into the violet orbs until she was actually leaning forward to get closer to them. She wanted to be closer, she wanted to feel the warmth coming from his body and be one with it. Like the desert yearned for rain, like a flower yearned for sunlight, she too yearned to be closer to his rigid form. Her heart was banging in her chest and she heard his quicken too, a scent coming from him like an incense so strong she felt she may choke on its sweetness. She found herself staring at his neck, but forced the animal in her to look back into his eyes. They were looking at her face again, and for just a moment she thought she saw a flicker of concern, but of course she was wrong.

"Why are you wearing that thing?" he asked coldly, looking at her like a fly on the wall. "Why don't you go and put some clothes on?"

Yuuki felt her cheeks turn bright red. The hospital gown, or what was left of it, was made of a very thin material, and underneath it she wore nothing but her panties.

"Yes..." she said quickly. "I'm going to go change. I just-"

"Please Yuuki," the Chairman interrupted. "It's been a long night for all of us. Now, please go and sleep. I don't want to see you all beaten up like this anymore! It makes me feel like such a bad father!"

Yuuki couldn't help but roll her eyes, her usual reaction to the Chairman's dramatics, and proceeded slowly towards the door. It took everything in her not to run, out of the room, away from the tension and the lies, but she knew she had dug a deep enough hole for herself, and didn't want to make things any worse for tonight. She snuck one last look at Zero, who seemed to be very interested in something out the window, and walked through the doorway.

"And Yuuki," the chairman called to her, his voice sounding almost desperate. "Please...stay inside."

Yuuki bowed her head, letting her shame and guilt rush over her at once. She felt so many emotions that she felt she may suffocate under the pressure. Was it all she could do but cause people pain?

"Yes...I will."