This morning, review number two trickled in - thank you so much for reading!

Chapter 10

Kain woke up early with a throbbing headache. He tried to sit up but the stinging pain behind his forehead made him fall back.

"Fucking hell," he muttered. Rubbing his temples, he tried to recall the dream he had been having but it wouldn't come back to him. It was as if there was a lid inside his head, preventing him from remembering. Eventually, he gave up, sighing deeply. Suddenly, he heard another sigh coming from his left.

Slowly, he turned his head to see Akane sleeping in a nest of blankets on the floor in front of the fireplace. Oh no, he must have had fallen asleep within seconds last night. Feeling guilty because she had to sleep on the floor in what would have been his spot, he gazed over her curled up figure.

She was truly beautiful as she was laying there, slumbering peacefully. Kain couldn't avert his eyes so he just watched her for a few moments. She was wearing only a black tank top with spaghetti straps and probably some sort of shorts, at least he assumed since she was covered with a blanket from the waist down. The cami revealed perfectly rounded shoulders and he was able to catch a glance of the slope of her breasts. From all what he could descry from his position on the couch, both must have had the right size to fit in each of his hands. The image of her ivory skin against his tanned hands was far too realistic and he shook his head to get it out of his mind. It wasn't supposed to happen, anyway.

Taking the last day's events into consideration, this was probably as close as he would ever get to her again. During the short episode in the woods, Kaname had been unmistakably clear about this, in fact, Kain thought that he had been lucky since he was still alive. The pureblood had given him the courtesy of a shot across the bow and Kain wasn't that stupid to ignore it.

Why hadn't Kaname told him who he would be meeting in the first place, for God's sake? If this had been a test then he had failed terribly. But with Kaname, one couldn't tell for sure sometimes why he did things and why he chose not to share his decisions with others. No matter how he looked at it, the damage was done, there was nothing Kain could do to turn back the clock and change his actions. And besides, was it really such a bad thing that they had kissed? Why would the pureblood even bother? Sure, family and all that he-had-to-look-out-for-her stuff, Kain would probably be a bit pissed, too, if someone else hit on a close female member without paying his respect to him first. Vampires were very possessive creatures after all and everything or everyone that was considered their subject would be protected fiercely.

His gaze fell back on the sleeping woman on the floor. Regardless the pureblood's intervention, Kain realized that he indeed wanted to protect this woman. The revelation hit him rather unexpectedly. When had this happened? He wasn't the type who fell easily for a woman, especially with the commitment he had made towards Ruka. Granted, it might be irrelevant to the rest of the world and he knew for sure that Hanabusa thought that he was a lost cause but it mattered to him nevertheless. So what had caused this reaction? The fact that Akane obviously wanted him? That couldn't be all though. There had been women (or girls more so) before who unmistakably had showed interest in him but he always had been unfazed by such advances. The only thing he knew was that she had touched something inside him he hadn't known it was there before. More precisely, it was like a gentle tug he wasn't able to resist.

Kain recalled the moments they had shared in the cave, a warm feeling radiating from his stomach thru his whole body while doing so. She had kissed him back then, he was sure of that. The memories brought back the heavy scent of her arousal mixed with her little gasps that had filled the air. Along with those sensations came the whole package of erotic images which his vivid fantasy created in front of his inner eye.

Kain put one hand over his eyes and suppressed a groan.

He needed relief and there was only one way to get it. He knew, he would feel kind of bad afterwards for doing it in her bathroom while she had been sleeping in the next room, but he wasn't going to leave with his hormones in uproar. And since he doubted that blood tablets would be able to cure the burning in his lower abdomen, there was no other option to put an end to this situation than to do it himself.

Carefully, as not to wake her, he got up, the headache sending a jolt of pain thru his spine. It kind of felt as if someone had put a dagger inside his head. This wasn't good. It had never been this bad before but he really hoped it would go away quickly, he couldn't have this right now, not when he was supposed to hike down to the hunters' quarter tonight.

He tiptoed past her to the bathroom and closed the door quietly. Putting both hands on the sink, he looked into the mirror. Ok, not quite so bad as he was feeling but still. He turned on the cold water and splashed some of it into his face, running his hands thru his hair. Better. He would need a quick shower and something to eat before leaving. A blood tablet or two couldn't hurt, either.

He discarded his clothes and stepped into the shower. The warm water was balm for both his soul and his aching head, allowing him to gradually relax. He put both his hands on the tiles and lifted his head, letting the water rinse over his face. He stood there for awhile, his head perfectly empty. The pain in his head succumbed and soon he was feeling a lot better.

Slowly, the wheels in his head started turning again. Pretty much 24 hours ago, he had been taking a shower in the Kuran mansion. Now, that seemed like a whole other planet to him. Strange enough, he had never felt more alive in his whole life than right now. Even though he missed Hanabusa and Ruka, his friends since childhood, he was finding himself in a position he began to like. Actually, he was looking forward to the hike to the hunter's quarter. With his private life going into pieces, that was the one thing he could do and he was going to do it the right way.

His mind wandered back to Akane who was most likely still asleep in the living room. Why hadn't he seen that she was a member of the Kuran family the moment they had met? It wasn't like the similarity between Kaname and her wasn't obvious. They could have been brother and sister if not for the fact that Kaname didn't have any siblings - and Yuuki didn't really count since the son of Juri and Haruka had been sacrificed by Rido in order to resurrect the ancestor. And though Kain wanted to believe that Rido had loved his daughter, he also couldn't deny the fact that he had been a twisted man. How Kaname must have had felt about it, Kain could only guess. Being resurrected by the cost of a baby's life, well, that was something that stuck with someone, no matter how caring Juri and Haruka had been towards Kaname, raising him in their son's place. But even with all the compassion Kain was able to muster for the situation the pureblood had been put in, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his head that prevented him from trusting Kaname blindly.

Kain remembered vividly the day Kaname had come to the Aidou villa to ask permission of Hanabusa's father that his son would be allowed to accompany him to the academy. Once Aidou Senior had acquiesced in the pureblood's request, there was no doubt that Ruka and Kain wouldn't follow, too.

That day, it had been a particularly nice day, sunny with a slightly cooling breeze, Ruka had been wearing a stunning blue dress, skirt ending an inch above her knees and the v-neck just revealing enough cleavage to not let it look cheap. The whole day, Kain hadn't been able to take his eyes off her, following her around like a puppy. If she had been irritated by his pursuit, she hadn't shown, instead, she had been in a light mood and allowed him to sort of flirt with her. As a matter of fact, that was the last day Kain had seen her untroubled. Their relationship - or whatever one might have had call it they had with each other - had been going downhill since then, culminating in the night when Kaname had claimed her blood. After that night, she hadn't been the same, tainted irrevocably by the pureblood.

While Ruka and Hanabusa had been hooked from the very beginning and shared Kaname's enthusiasm for the idea, Kain only reluctantly agreed to join the academy. For him, the determining factor had been Ruka and her absolute will to follow the pureblood. So eventually, he had decided to attend academy in order to be close to Ruka. But Kaname hadn't seemed to care about his motives, instead Kain had advanced quickly to their gang leader's right hand. Maybe, of all things, it was for his skepticism that Kaname had trusted him. Even more so now that Takuma was gone the hell knows where.

Kain really wished that Takuma would rejoin their little gang, he had always been such a nice contrast to Kaname's sour mood.

A loud knock at the bathroom door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Akatsuki?" Akane obviously had woken up. "Are you alright in there?" Her voice was a bit muffled by the door between them and the noise of the running water but he could her concern.

He turned off the water.

"Yes, I'm fine." He pushed aside the shower curtain, looking for a towel. "I'll be out in a minute."

Jesus, for how long had he been showering? Well, long enough to get her woken up and worried. What also meant that his needs would have to wait a bit longer. Sort of angry with himself, he wished that he would have had finished the urgent matters at hand, so to speak, first instead of pondering about the things which laid in the past. And where the hell was the damn towel?

"Shit," he cursed.

The answer came from the other side of the door instantaneously.

"Akatsuki?"

"Uh… I'm looking for a towel. Can you tell me where to find one?"

Silence. Foot steps moving away from the door, he heard her opening what sounded like a drawer and closing it again. More foot steps, this time moving towards the bathroom door.

"Akane?"

She tried the door handle. His heart stopped beating for a second or two. Thank God, he had locked the door.

"You have locked the door, Akatsuki," she remarked.

Hell, of course, he had locked the freaking door. The last thing he needed right now was Akane being with him in this tiny bathroom, let alone seeing him naked. And before any images could manifest themselves in his head, he simply refused to entertain this phantasy any longer, taking a deep breath.

"Please leave it there, I'll come and get it, thank you." There was a small thud in front of the door. The towel. He could hear her retreating back to the middle of the room, away from the door.

He stepped out of the bathtub and got into his pants before he went to open the door. The towel was right at his feet. He stooped down to pick it up. While coming up again, he scanned the room and his gaze fell on Akane who was sitting on the couch, openly staring at him with saucer eyes. When she noticed that she had been caught, she quickly turned her head but it wasn't fast enough for Kain who still could see her blushing.

He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again, not being able to take his eyes off her. Indeed, she was wearing shorts which revealed long creamy legs. Actually, these shorts ended exactly where her thighs began while her tank top snuggled against her body like a second skin, leaving nothing to his imagination. The fabric spanned over perfectly sized breasts, the straps reclined to beautiful collar bones directly next to the unimaginably elegant curve of her neck, her skin simply flawless. There was nothing ordinary about her. Maybe if he stared a bit longer, this piece of fabric would magically disappear?

Bloodlust crept up on him, he could feel it lurking at the back of his head, waiting to swallow the very rest of his sanity any moment.

With his self-control only being held by a few threads, he somehow forced himself to turn around and close the door behind him. Once he had brought this piece of solid wood between himself and Akane, he leaned against it with his back, eyes closed. His heart was pounding as if he had just run a few miles straight. He held onto the towel with his dear life, almost ripping it to shreds.

Why had he even had to look at her? He could have had simply picked up the towel and gone back to the bathroom. But now, with the image of her wearing this piece of fabric which didn't deserve the name pajamas burned into his mind, he was doomed. If they both kept having such encounters, it would be quite impossible for him to live thru the next couple of days without pulling her into his arms, taking her face into his hands and kissing her thoroughly at the first opportunity he got. The fact that made it even harder for him to restrain himself was that she felt the same. The way she had stared at him… it almost had been predatory. He shivered at the idea what she would do if he let her have her way with him.

He ran one hand thru his hair, taking a deep breath.

"Jesus, Akatsuki, calm down!" he muttered to himself. Retrieving the small box with pills from his pocket, he went over to the basin. He took two pills and quickly washed them down with cold water. Waiting for the effect to set in, Kain stared at his reflection in the mirror.

This silliness had to end right here. Yes, Akane was beautiful and alluring and yes, he wanted her - alone the thought scared the hell out of him. He had never wanted anything or anybody, for that matter, than Ruka. Until 24 hours ago, she had been the center of his universe. She had been the one he first had thought of when getting up and his last thought had been directed to her before falling asleep. Granted, his feelings had been one-sided, being near her had been tantalizing to some extent but at least it had been a constant he could rely on. No matter how forlorn his future might have had been with Ruka, Kain had never wasted a second to think about giving up on her. It still was his destiny to love her even if she didn't reciprocate his feelings, wasn't it?

After a couple of minutes, his breathing got more even and Kain actually allowed himself to relax the fraction of an inch. He sighed at the sight of his messy hair and tried to tame it with a few strokes of his hand but he gave up quickly. This was useless, it would look disheveled after a couple of minutes anyway, seeming to have a life of its own. He picked up his shirt from where he had discarded it earlier and put it on.

'I can do this,' he reassured himself. With that said, he went to the door and put his hand on the knob, hesitating for a moment. Whatever sort of feelings he had towards Akane, he shoved them aside. It was time for him to get ready and accomplish his task. He could still worry about his emotional mess later.

When he opened the door, he found her standing in the kitchen, preparing food. It smelled deliciously of omelet. She had her back to him and to his relief, she had put on a sweater and long pants.

"Can you please help me with setting the table? I already put the dishes out on the counter." Akane made a gesture with her head. Somehow, her voice sounded strained to him but Kain wasn't sure since she still hadn't turned around so he couldn't see her face.

Silently, he followed her order, wondering if she was mad at him. He wouldn't blame her though. Living under the pureblood's thumb would bring one to the edge sooner or later. It must be even harder for Akane since she was related to Kaname, with him being directly responsible for her.

He finished his task within a couple of minutes and sat down at the table, waiting for her to join him with the food. She was still in the kitchen, her back to him. Her braided hair covered her backbone all the way down. As he was watching her, she suddenly paused for a moment, her shoulders going stiff. It was not much of a movement at all but Kain could see it nonetheless, his power of observation paired with his vampire senses making it impossible to miss it. Tension was radiating off her.

"Akane?" He asked tentatively, not wanting to startle her in any way.

She seemed to gather herself before she turned around, facing him. A plate with food in each hand, she looked calm.

"Breakfast is ready," she announced, trying to let her voice sound cheerful. She crossed the room and put the steaming plates on the table. As last night, she sat down across him.

"Enjoy as long as it is warm." With that said, the plate in front of her had her full attention.

"Thank you," Kain answered. He didn't want to poke around so he went with it.

Whatever it was that was bothering her, the delicious smell of fried eggs and vegetables drove off Kain's thoughts of it. He was indeed hungry and he pitched into the omelet without hesitating. The next couple of minutes were rife with edacious silence.

Sated, Kain leaned back in his chair.

"That was the best omelet I had in a long time."

Akane looked up from her plate, pleased.

"I am glad to hear that. Omelet is the only dish I know besides throwing some rice into boiling water." She laughed and it seemed to Kain that the meal has lifted her spirits as well. He guessed that his mother had been right saying to him that a well stuffed stomach would make any person happier.

"You don't cook?" He was curious. But more so, he wanted to have a normal conversation with her, wanting her to feel comfortable.

Shoving the last bite into her mouth, Akane looked at him for a moment as if she had to decide whether to accept his invitation for small talk or not. After a second of consideration, she put her fork down and smiled one of her gorgeous smiles, making his insides melt.

"No, I usually do not cook or to put it differently, I cannot cook very well," she admitted playfully. "So I am thankful that somewhere along the way humans invented canned food."

Kain laughed.

"Yeah, that's true. It might not exactly be gourmet but it sustains you."

"I assume that living with Kaname means that you do not have to eat canned food," she added and winked at him.

Kain tried to picture the pureblood opening a can but he simply couldn't. More likely, Kaname would rather prefer stay hungry than eating such food. He wasn't even sure if the pureblood had ever cooked anything in his whole life.

"So what about you, Akatsuki? Do you know how to cook?", she asked suddenly.

"Yes, I certainly know how to cook. Not the fancy stuff though but still." He paused and looked her in the eyes. They were shining and he could see his reflection in the purple pools. Were they flirting? He wasn't allowed to touch her but he could cook for her.

"How about I cook for you when I'm back from the hunters' quarters?" There, he had spat it out. Holding his breath, he waited for her answer.

Akane looked at him intently. Kain sat still, letting her eyes pinching right thru him. He was afraid that if he moved she would shy away.

"I gladly accept your offer, Akatsuki," she said, smiling at him.

He released his breath.

"Good. It's a deal then." He stood up to bring their plates back to the kitchen.

The sun already had fully set and it was time for him to set out. Now, that he had something to look forward to, he was eager to leave in order to come back as soon as possible. Cooking was something he enjoyed doing, it reminded him on family gatherings where he had been allowed to spend time in the kitchen so he hadn't been in the way when his mother indulged herself in a decoration blast, watching the servants preparing the meals. It had fascinated him how they created delicious treats from a few ingredients that sounded so boring on their own. That process of transformation had caught his interest and he remembered pestering the poor cook with questions.

While he was letting his mind wander, he rinsed the plates in the sink and put them on a towel to dry.

Akane came towards him, carrying a bundle of clothes in front of her. "You will need to wear this."

It were pants, a sweater and something that looked like a ski mask, all in black. He took the pants and the sweater, hesitating when he reached out for the mask. Questioningly, he looked at her.

"Your hair color is not exactly what one would call inconspicuous," she explained.

Well, of course.

"While you are changing, I will be outside looking for your escort. Meet us there." She was gone the next second, the door falling shut.

So, I finally made up my mind how things will go with the hunters' association. More in the next chapter.