This chapter took me awhile since both, Kain and Akane, wouldn't cooperate nicely. But I do hope, it still turned out ok. Akane is one headstrong woman and Kaname is going to have lots of fun with her *lol* - I'm currently re-watching the anime and though I believe that he sometimes is a devious a** (granted, a good-looking one), I still think his intentions are good (especially when it comes to Yuuki). But enough chit-chatting, enjoy.
Chapter 9
He knew that he was dreaming the moment he opened his eyes.
The interior of the cabin was tainted in a warm yellowish light from the sun which was shining thru the windows and he was still spread across the couch. Slowly, he sat up, running a hand thru his hair. The movement felt strange, it was like his body was there but then again, not really, his self somehow detached from its physical shell. It seemed that the both were held together by some sort of invisible rubber band. He tried to stand up and just when he was about to move, his mind zoomed back into his body, the momentum throwing him back. For a couple of seconds, he simply sat still, waiting for the inner swinging to stop.
'What the hell?' he thought, this must have been the weirdest dream he had ever had.
"Akatsuki?" A wave of pleasure floated thru him. Whoever had said it was happy to see him.
He turned his head into the direction the voice had come from. Akane was leaning against the kitchen counter. What was she doing in his dream?
"It is not a dream."
It's not? A chuckle which was definitely not his echoed in his head.
Nonchalantly, she strode over to where he was sitting. More pleasure, anticipation and - was that anxiety?
"Well, not in the common sense. We are sleeping but our spirits are not, apparently," she explained.
'Of course, that makes perfectly sense,' Kain thought sarcastically. He didn't know what to made of this. Was this part of her noble powers? Was she able to pull his spirit or whatever she called it out of his body and put it in some sort of dream?
More anxiety, this time it clearly came across as trepidation of being rejected. Could it be that he was able to sense her emotions? Oh, wait a minute, that maybe would mean that she could sense his, too… Hastily, he tried to put up some sort of neutral expression. The whole time, Akane's gaze was fixed on him as if she was reading from his face as if it was a book.
"Will you believe me when I say that it is the first time this is happening?" She paused, apparently scrambling for an explanation.
"Somehow, I must have tapped into your soul when I first touched you with my ability. And this connection obviously allows us to come together… here." She looked around, not exactly knowing how to call it.
She was honest, this he could absolutely tell from what was emanating from her. He relaxed a bit since he also was curious. She smiled brightly at him in return.
"Where are we?" This time, he used his voice actually.
She sat down next to him on the couch, keeping a safe distance. But still… so close. Kain inhaled her scent, enjoying every nuance of her. Desire, he was not sure if it was coming from her or if it was his own sensation.
"I do not know but it must be some place in-between," she made a gesture with her hand. "No barriers here."
This was true, he felt it, too. Amazing.
When he looked at her face, he suddenly remembered what happened. Kaname had slapped her and it was his fault. This had to stop, he couldn't possibly impose more distress on her. If the pureblood found out that they had found a way to bypass his direct orders Kaname wouldn't stop at slapping her, that was certain. Kain froze.
"Shhh… " She tried to soothe him, her hand gently caressing his cheek. Kain closed his eyes. God, that felt incredible! In this space they were in her touch was so much more than just her fingertips on his skin. It went deeper, directly to his very core. Pure magic.
"Akane, we shouldn't do this. Kaname-" He tried to reason as long as he was able to but she cut him off.
"He will never know. He cannot follow us here."
How could she be so sure?
"Kaname will not be able to look inside our heads as long as he has not had our blood," she argued. "He did not have yours, did he?"
Kain shook his head. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he could do it, giving Kaname his blood that was, and he hoped that this question would never come up. Still, going against Kaname's orders was something he wasn't prepared to do. As much as he wanted to hold Akane again, he also was loyal towards the pureblood, even if this loyalty wasn't something genuine. He had already done enough damage and if he ever wanted to go back to the Kuran mansion, he had to comply. It was where his friends were after all. Ruka - her name came out of nowhere and his heart slumped when he thought about how it would be to never see her again. Right now, he admired her undaunted faith she had in Kaname, and though deeming her to be uncritical at times, he sometimes wished his attitude would be as firm as hers. But even if he had his doubts - and they might have even been legitimate - he wouldn't be going to go against their gang leader.
He looked up at Akane who smiled sadly at him. Of course, she knew, sorrow tugging at his heart when he felt her hurt. In this in-between state they were in, she could read his thoughts and he didn't need to spell it out for her. Later, he would surely regret his decision but his hands were tied. God damned, he didn't want to hurt her at all but yet he had done exactly it.
Akane took his hands in hers, her fingers stroking his palm.
"I understand, I really do," she said quietly, not looking him into the eyes. She was ashamed for her tears but he knew they're were there anyway.
"My dear cousin can be demanding and cruel but he always has his reasons." In Kain's ears, it sounded like a mantra.
Akane laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound.
"You may call it that if you want."
Well, Kain didn't really wonder about the trace of bitterness in her voice. After all, Kaname had killed her father. Holding his breath anxiously, he looked at her. Akane didn't look up.
Calmly, with her eyes fixed to their entwined hands, she said: "I know what he did. And still, I cannot bring myself to hate him."
"You know all of it?" he asked her incredulously. At least, Kaname hadn't hidden anything from her. Although Kain could imagine that it must have had been hard on her. If there was any pain involved she had brushed it off. It is what it is - the words popped up in his head. What a pragmatic approach.
"I might have spend my life insularly at this place but I have always been aware of the things going on around me." Obviously, Kaname and Takuma had been visiting her from time to time with Takuma being the one who had cheered her up. Kaname may have been many things but not a crowd pleaser, that was for sure. This earned him a small chuckle from Akane. Yeah, she knew that one, too. The pureblood didn't possess exactly a happy nature as one would call it.
The thought that Akane had chosen deliberately to stay far away from the rest of the vampire society crossed Kain's mind.
"I indeed prefer to live here," she said, picking up on his trail of thoughts. "Since I do not have any place I could go to out there," she added, an apologetic tone in her voice.
Kain raised one eyebrow. She certainly must have had a mother she could go to.
The thought of her mom let Akane flinch visibly and Kain regretted his lack of care instantly. Jesus, wasn't there a way for him to keep his thoughts to himself? But before he could go on scolding himself, he was drawn into her thoughts, a sequence of images passing by his inner eye. Apparently, Akane was thinking about the moment when her mother had decided not to visit her again. The memory was so vivid as if it was his own. She must have been not older than twelve or thirteen. No matter how much she had begged or how many tears she had cried, her mother had been adamant, looking down at her own daughter with cold eyes. Kain even thought to catch some disgust in them.
"You look more and more like your father."
…
"I will not come back here, you belong to his family now."
Kain watched as various emotions flickered thru her face. Her mother had hurt her terribly. Since then, Akane hadn't seen her. Over the years, she somehow had managed to transform her grief and anger into strength and kindness. In fact, he wouldn't have blamed her if she had become bitter over it but even more so, Kain admired her integrity.
In this very moment, his heart went out to her, the desire to hold her becoming overwhelming that he thought he might burst into thousand pieces. But he couldn't disobey Kaname, even if he had never wished for anything so strongly before. She wasn't to be touched, not here and not in the real world.
Finally, he whispered: "I'm sorry," not being able to look into her eyes. He didn't even know exactly what he was sorry for, the fact that her mother had abandoned her or that he was a coward.
He felt her hand touching his chin and gently lifting it so she was able to see his face. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"Do not be sorry, you have helped me a great deal and you are truly loyal to my cousin. I respect that, even I have to admit that I have hoped for us to resume that kiss we shared earlier." He could barely hear her saying those words, her voice only a hoarse whisper, but the effect they had on him wasn't any less intense. The memory of her lithe body in his arms and her soft lips almost floored him, letting him expect his heart jump out of his chest any second.
God, he was a fool to turn her away just like this but he had made his decision, no matter how loud the desire was roaring in his veins. If he remembered after he woke he still would have enough time to regret his foolishness. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Will we remember after we've woken up?" He really wanted to.
Akane thought about it for a moment before she answered.
"Probably not." Well, he had feared so, too. There were so much things he wanted to ask her but what was the point if he would have forgotten about the answers the minute he woke up?
Akane inched closer, putting one of his hands up to her cheek.
"You are worrying too much, Akatsuki." Well, she certainly was right but if he didn't who would?
She smiled at him. Oh, how he already loved that smile of hers. He dared to cover her hand with his, allowing himself briefly to indulge in the moment.
"You need to rest," she whispered against his lips, sending him off into the darkness of his own sleep.
