Okay, here's the next one! Thanks for all your reviews again! I liked them all! By the way, just a quick question: would you rather Akane stay with Zero and Yuki for the holidays, or go somewhere else?

"Bro...didn't you say earlier you weren't going to eat anything Zero made?"

"Well...I did."

"Oh."

As soon as I had brought the plate over, Aido had started to eat. Shrugging it off, I picked up the plates, told Aido I'd be back and to see if I'd be able to make Zero cook more, and headed into the kitchen, balancing them on my hands as I headed inside. "He wants more," I said simply, dumping the plates in the sink.

"What?" asked Zero, looking shocked. "He wants more?"

"His appetite, not mine," I pointed out.

He lobbed a package of blood tablets at me, and I caught them quickly between my fingers, letting out an exhale when I caught it simply. "Give him those for now," Zero said, and I nodded. I went to go back out, but I hovered in the doorway, trying to think if I should tell Zero now or after. Had I even decided on an answer yet?

"What?" asked Zero, turning from where he stood.

Jumping a bit - I had been lost in my thoughts, trying to determine an answer - I looked up, clutching the tablets just a bit tighter in my hand. "Huh? Nothing!"

"You suck at lying, Akane," he said, rolling his eyes.

"No I don't, it's a second nature-"

And then he was suddenly in front of me, his arms on either side of my head, blocking me in. I gave an annoyed look, knowing he wanted my answer whether I was ready to give it out or not. Licking my lips, I shrugged. "Alright, I get it out. To answer your question from earlier... You're a really, really good friend to me. Not many people can tolerate me, you know." I smiled, recounting memories of past years, at school. "It means a lot."

"Akane..." He locked eyes with me for a few seconds.

I wiggled out of the arm-cage and headed back to the doorway, the tablets now wedged in my jacket pocket. Grabbing a hair elastic off my wrist, I pushed my hair into a ponytail. "Just forget about it, okay? I gave you a half-thought out answer. You'll have a better one tomorrow, okay?"

"You know what I think?" said Zero.

I turned, but he had his back to me. I leaned my shoulder agaisnt the doorway. "What?"

"I think...possibly...you're a good influence here. Not for me, so stop thinking those thoughts I know you are." I laughed. "But for Yuki. Ever since you've been here it's like a burden was dropped off her shoulders."

"Thanks."

Leaving the kitchen, I headed back into the dorm and sat down across from Aido, who had his arms crossed and looked quite upset when I returned without food. "Where's my food?" he asked, glancing behind me. What, had I somehow managed to come in with the food behind my back.

"Zero said to have this for now," I said, throwing him the box of tablets.

He caught it effortlessly, toying with it between his fingers.

"I heard what you were saying back there, with Kiryu," said Aido, and for a moment I was shocked and was going to accuse him of eavesdropping, but then I realized he was a vampire and his hearing was probably much better than mine. Kinda made me think about wanting to be a vampire as well.

"Yeah?""

"I think he was right for a change. You're a good influence."

Smiling lightly, I said, "Thanks."

"I'm serious, you know," he said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Everyone here is so laid-back or they take their work seriously. It's a bit annoying. And in you come, demanding to be expelled and doing things differently...it's annoying too."

I laughed, leaning back. "Thanks!"

"So, you've told Kiryu about yourself...but I don't know a thing."

"You want to know about me?" I was suprised.

"Eh, it'll be interesting to know. Something to past the time, if you will." He grinned at me and I couldn't help but grin back, leaning my head on my hands. I had known Aido for more than a year now, and we were still pretty good friends. Coming to this school, I hadn't thought I could have grown to become friends with this guy. But, here I was...

"I was born on April 27th, 19-"

"Condensed version, please."

I rolled my eyes. "If you wish."

"Well, the first major landmark of my life is probably when my parents died. It wasn't anything fancy, just a car crash. But it's not suprising - those claim a lot of people's lives, you know? It's scary. But I was annoying and weird before then, if you can believe it. After that, I went from foster home to foster home, annoying the hell out of these people...until stupid Mr. and Mrs. Morioka sent me here."

"Are you glad they did?"

I picked mindlessly at the edge of the tablecloth, shrugging. "A year ago I might have said no. I might have said if you thought I'm going to be, you're crazy. But now..." I smiled gently. "I think I am." I suddenly kicked Aido's shin harshly, watching as he winced and frowned. "If you tell a soul that, I'll murder you, okay?"

He grinned. "I'd like to see you try."

"Is that a dare, Hanabusa?"

He looked curious for a moment. "How'd you know my first name?"

"I have my ways." I tapped my head.

"That," said Zero, coming in with a plate of food in his hands, "means she heard someone else say it, and tried to fool you."

"Zero," I whined as Aido laughed and started to eat.

I bent down, collecting my coat as I yawned. I was ready to go home. As the fabric entered my fingers, I felt someone ruffle my hair, almost gently. I stopped for a second, and then stood when the hand left my head. I stood, watching as Zero retreated out the door. Glancing to Aido, he shrugged. "I don't know."

I was in class with Zero. I had been drawing some random doodles, mostly of myself throwing arrows through the class rep's head, when Zero had fallen asleep. I watched, amused. I lifted my hand and ruffled his own hair, as he had done to me only yesterday. I laughed when he stirred, looking up.

"What was that?" he asked, stretching.

"Getting you back," I said casually, grinning as I closed my notebook and slid it inside my folder.

A sudden loud noise filled the back of the classroom and someone shouted. I turned, and frowned when Zero shot past me. Curious, I watched as he headed out the classroom, the girl - who I assumed had been the one the class was yelling about - in his arms. Grinning, I threw my books at someone, told them to give them to Ria, and followed.

After that little trip, little much happened until after, when I found myself in the headmaster's office, standing between Zero and Kaname. Kaname still scared me a lot, and I gathered the feeling he didn't like me much either, considering how he threw me a dirty look when I entered. Maybe it had been Zero he had glared at? No, it was me, our eyes met.

Zoning out, I tried wondering who had been the one to do this. Curious, I slumped forward a little, my brain working a bit harder as I tried to see if I had seen the girl anywhere else. I wasn't used to working this hard, I guess, and a headache throbbed dully in my forehead.

Someone patted my head. "Don't worry - just because you aren't smart enough to figure it out, doesn't mean you're useless."

"Gee, thanks," I replied, pushing Zero's hand off my head.

"You know," said Kaname, breaking my train of thought. "Zero's still a suspect."

Before Zero and the headmaster could say anything, I glared and crossed my arms. "Listen, you! I haven't liked you from the start, but this just makes it worse! Maybe if you had said something nice my first real opinion of you would have been better! Now you've just gone down in my book, possibly even further than the classrep!" I poked him harshly in the chest, ignoring his sharp glares, grabbed Zero's arm, and tugged him out the door.

"Akane," he started to say, but I cut him off.

"Don't you dare even think about saying anything yet."

We were finally outside when I stopped, let go of his arm, and turned. "Okay. Speak." When he didn't say anything, and just looked at me like I was a child who had drawn on the wall after being told not to, I sighed and turned away. "Okay, okay, I'll explain myself, geez."

"He's been bugging me before, and I didn't like him that much. Truthfully, I was just looking for a way to tell him off...and that was a perfect opportunity, don't you think? It'd be horrible if I didn't take the chance..."

I looked up when he laughed, only slightly. "You're such an annoying brat, Akane."

Unable to curb my own laughter, I laughed along with him.

He reached down, snatched my hand, and started to tug me with him back inside. "Hey! What are you doing?" I asked, digging my heels into the ground to stop.

"Aren't we going to visit the girl?"

"I'll meet you there. I have to go grab my books from Ria. If they made it there."

He nodded and left, leaving me standing for a moment. Just what was my relationship with Zero? Sure, I had known him for little over a year and we were actually kind of close now...and maybe he finally starting to tolerate me, but I doubted he cared more than that. I think he's just getting used to being so close to me and all.

Grabbing my books from the same person as earlier, I headed back to the infirmary, my head in a daze. No one was inside, not even the girl, so I peered around the various cots. I opened one curtain and found Zero, who looked as though he had just woken up from a nightmare. "Hey. Sorry I was a bit late, I was-"

I finally got a good look at him, and he didn't look all the well. He looked like someone who had woken up from a nightmare, and I knew that feeling. As a kid, I had gotten quite a bit of nightmares too, and had woken up with almost the same expression glued on my face. It had freaked out my foster parents quite a bit, which was almost always good for a laugh.

"Hey, did you fall asleep or something? Have a nightmare? Yeah, I know-"

He grabbed my forearms tightly, and for a second his face was so close I thought he was going to kiss me. I froze, my eyes wide. Then he let go, as if it had never happened. Reeling back, I held onto the curtain for a moment. He frowned. "Sorry, Yuki."

I paused. "Huh?"

"Akane, I mean. Sorry."

I frowned. "Oh, did you think I was Yuki? Sorry, I'll go get her if you want-"

"No, no, it's fine."

Almost nervously, I sat down on the edge of the bed and brought my knee up, curling my fingers around the toe of my boot. I glanced over to Zero, my eyebrows furrowed with worry. Was he still okay? If he wasn't in about three seconds, I was grabbing Yuki. "Did you have a bad dream about Yuki or something?"

"I guess. I mean, she was in it, but you were, too."

I ran a hand through my hair and laughed. "Don't tell me...was I the bad guy?"

"No." For a brief second I thought I saw a smile flick across his face, but it was gone in the same second. "I was."

Not knowing how to respond, I gently nodded and bit my lower lip, gazing off. "But I understand why you would call me Yuki instead of my name. I got confused whenever I woke up from a nightmare. Once, I was dreaming of my dad and this other man, who I didn't know. They were both fighting over something, but I got the impression it was me, because in the dream I had been five instead of ten. When I woke up, I saw my foster mother leaning over me, and I kicked her in the head and screamed 'Daddy no more fighting!'." I laughed. "It was funny, you should have seen her face-"

I stopped, the heat rushing to my cheeks. "Sorry...I got ahead of myself."

"No, it's fine," said Zero firmly. "It keeps my mind of my own nightmare."

"Oh." I pressed my hands down on the mattress. "Want to hear another one then?"

The rest of the day passed by quickly after that, and we spent the day talking; well, it was mostly me talking about the past dreams I've had and how they scared my foster families. It was still nice, though. I never got around to asking Yuki to go see Zero, but by the time I remembered she had headed out with Yori to go pick up something in the town. Bored once again, I paid the headmaster a visit to ask if there was something I could too.

Zero was already in there, reading a card he held in his hand.

"Hello," I said cheerfully, and slammed my hands down on the headmaster's desk, effectively making him jump. "I was bored, and as you know, that never ends well! So, if you care to stop me before I start causing trouble, is there anything I could possibly do?"

"Well, you could help out Zero. He's-"

"Say no more," I said, sticking up a finger to cut of the headmaster's talking. "I'm in."

Even before I knew what was going on, I followed Zero out the door to wherever he was going. I didn't say a word as we headed down the street, and into the town. Suddenly he stopped, and I bumped into his back with enough force to send a headache into my forehead. I turned, rubbing the skin of my head and huffed.

"Will you stop following me like a lost puppy?" he grumbled.

"I will if you tell me where we are going," I chirped, walking up to stand beside him.

"There's a vampire soiree. You know what that is, right?" He glanced down at me. Did he think I was that stupid? I hit him on the shoulder with not that much force and rolled my eyes.

"Fancy word for party, am I right?"

"Whatever. Anyways, vampire hunters always have to attend and just watch over the party. You got that?"

Grinning, I tugged on his sleeve. "Does this mean I'm a vampire hunter?"

"Whatever makes you stop talking."

"Vampire hunter, whoo!" I cheered and ran ahead of Zero, not knowing where I was going and getting lost for about two seconds before he stormed over, grabbed my jacket and tugged me back to the party. Inside, vampires were already gathered around. Awestruck, I looked around me as Zero tugged me to a corner, where he stopped. "Is this all we're going to do? Stand around and look tough?"

"Hopefully."

"Alright then," I said, puffing out my cheeks and crossing my arms. I glared as intently as I could at every vampire who walked past. I had a feeling I was doing pretty well. They sure were glaring back though, even worse than I was, and soon enough I was shrinking back into the wall to keep them from glaring at me so hard.

I hadn't been paying attention to Zero, but when I looked back to ask how it was going, I saw that the vampire hunter from way back when, that Yagari guy or something along those lines, was standing there. I pointed at him, mouth open. "Creepy dude's back?"

"Hello, Akane," he said to me, not even looking at me.

"I don't like you," was all I said, and then turned around, arms crossed again. I knew I still had questions I wanted to ask him, but I felt right now wasn't the time. My curiousity pounding, I glanced up, trying to see if there was anyone misbehaving so I could do something and prove that I wasn't just a stupid girl who tagged along.

And then I saw Yuki.

I have no idea if I was supposed to see her, considering she was peering over the edge of the wall and looking like she was ready to duck if she needed too, but I did. She didn't see me, though. And where was Yori? Was she lost? I ducked through the ground and started for the stairs, when someone had grabbed my arm.

A bit scared, I shook it loose quickly and turned, my heart thudding deeply and quite loudly in my chest. It had only been Aido, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Hey. What are you doing here?" I asked, and then inwardly remembered this was a vampire party, and earlier I had seen other members of the Night Class here.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, glancing behind me.

"I came with Zero because I was bored," I told him simply. "Mostly because I had nothing to do. Speaking of which, I haven't seen you since the great food disaster of...dang, what year is this?"

"Come on," he said, and grabbed my head, tugging me down the staircase. I looked back, and Yuki was still there, so I thought that I still had some time to grab her before she left. "You're not supposed to be up there, anyways."

"But I'm security," I said.

"You'd suck if anything happened, anyways," he told me, and I laughed, agreeing.

Noticing some of the people had started to dance, I stopped and grinned. "Why don't we join in?" I said, and grabbed Aido's other hand, started to goofily twirl around. I sucked at dancing, but I didn't really care what anyone else thought.

So we started to dance, and soon enough I got a bit better.

I was just about to suggest trying something else when someone had wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me into the air. Aido frowned, his eyes locked on the person behind me. I was getting awfully sick of this, people just thinking they can grab me whenever they want. "Hold up there, mister!" I said, and twisted around. "Oh, hey, Zero. What's up?"

"You were dancing for a long time," he said simply. "It's over."

Looking up, I realized most people had left already. My eyes sought out the upstairs where Yuki had been, only now she was gone. I frowned, and decided just to grab her back at the academy. Winter holidays were coming up, and I still didn't know what I was doing. One thing was certain, though: I was not going back with my foster family. After all, those idiots let me stay here!