Bond Through Time

Chapter 10: The Ice Rose

Five days had passed since Zero brought Yori to the safe house. She had given up attempts at each of their lives, but she remained locked in her room. She spoke to no one and rarely left her room. To make matters worse, Yori wasn't eating anything, and Yuuki feared the worst for her friend.

As much as Yuuki tried, she couldn't get her friend to eat anything much less talk to her. Still, she spent every waking moment with her friend talking to her and hoping she would get some response from Yori. But all Yori did was sit on the corner of her bed with her back against the wall, staring blankly into space. It was like talking to a breathing doll.

On the sixth day of Yori's silence, Yuuki walked out of her room and sighed. Zero watched from the stairwell, keeping his distance from Yuuki. They still hadn't talked much since Yori returned, confirming his suspicions. Yuuki was still avoiding him. He didn't push himself on her, but watching as Yuuki silently cried in front of her best friend's room, he found himself unable to control his actions.

He walked over to Yuuki and took her in a comforting hug. He didn't want to see her in such a fragile and weak state. It was his fault she felt such pain. He had brought Yori back with him. Still, he knew that as much as it hurt Yuuki, he knew it would help her in the long run. Being the only girl in the house must be difficult for her, and he could only imagine how lonely she felt. That thought alone made Zero tighten his grip around Yuuki.

Gasping, Yuuki began pushing away. "You're hurting me Zero." she whispered, releasing herself from his grip.

"I'm sorry Yuuki. I saw how upset you looked, and I couldn't help it." he replied looking away. It embarrassed him at how easily he had lost control of himself. Only around Yuuki could that ever happen.

They both stood in an awkward silence, unable to put their thoughts into words. Finally, Yuuki broke the silence. "I think Yori-chan is doing better. She's slowly reacting to my words. I hope she comes out of it soon."

"Don't worry, Yuuki. Wakaba is a strong girl. She will escape this pain and wake up from this shock." said zero.

"But what if she starts attacking us again? What if she really hates me?" cried Yuuki, tears slowly appearing at the corners of her eyes.

"No. She would never hate you, Yuuki. She's just in pain right now. She'll get through this pain, but in order to do that, she's going to need your support. After all," he said smiling, "You're the one who helped me get through the pain of losing my parents. Remember?" He thought back to those nights when Yuuki would slowly stroke his head until he fell asleep. One of the many reasons he fell in love with her.

Yuuki smiled slightly. "You're right." Suddenly, she held her throat and fell to her knees.

"Yuuki? Are you okay?" asked Zero concerned. She looked pale and exhausted, her eyes shining and bright.

"You've been denying yourself what you need most." came Kaname's voice from behind them. "I know your hunger Yuuki. It's been well over a week since you last fed. Come with me so I can help you."

"I can't leave Yori-chan alone." she whispered, bringing herself up to her feet.

"I'm sure Kiryuu will be more then willing to watch your friend for you, Yuuki." said Kaname, walking over to her and placing his arm around her shoulders. He looked towards Zero, and nodded. "Won't you Kiryuu?"

Zero glared at Kaname, but nodded back. "Of course. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Yuuki looked to Zero and smiled. "Thank you, Zero. I won't be long." With that, she and Kaname disappeared up the stairs.

Zero sighed and walked towards Yori's room, peeking his head in to check on her. She was still in her corner, eyes vacant. She sighed once and shifted her legs. Still no overall change. Sighing, Zero walked down the hall to his room. It was about time for him to take his blood tablets. He could feel the hunger and knew it would only intensify once the scent of blood slipped down the stairs. It was best to prepare himself now.

Walking out of his room, Zero saw Aido slip into Yori's room. He silently walked down the hall and peeked through the crack of the door. He was surprised at what he saw. Instead of Aido glaring down at Yori, like he assumed Aido was going to do, Aido was sitting on the bedside, talking to Yori.

"You've really surprised me, Wakaba Sayori." he whispered. "You're not that helpless day class girl I saved from that vampire all those years ago anymore. You've grown stronger. But after all that you've been through, I suppose that was all you could do." Yori made no motion as to whether or not she could hear anything Aido was saying, and he sighed.

"You know, you've grown surprisingly beautiful. I didn't recognize you at first. For a human, you aged well." he held out his hand and a rose made of ice appeared in his palm. "I'm not really sure how to say this, but . . . . " he trailed off. After a moment of silence, he placed the ice rose in her hand.

Yori slowly looked down at the rose in her hand, her eyes still vacant. She said nothing, but slowly brought the rose to her chest and hugged it. "Kaito. . . ." she whispered then began to cry.

Aido watched, a sad expression on his face. "Of course you still feel for him." he whispered. "I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I don't even understand what's wrong with me." He sighed and stood, walking out of the room.

Zero stood by the door, waiting for him. "You're the first person she's responded to." he said.

Aido kept his back to Zero, hiding his face. "She didn't respond to me. She responded to a memory of her husband."

"But you still helped her see it. Yuuki's been trying for the past six days to get any emotion out of her.

"I brought her pain. That's the last thing she needs right now." he said, anger in his words. Anger meant towards himself.

"You can't expect her to get over that pain, Aido. Losing someone you love is a pain that never goes away. It's always in your heart, whether you want it or not. But with the right help, she can find happiness again. Happiness that will numb the pain."

"Something you learned from experience?" asked Aido with a smirk.

"Exactly. I lost my family, but gained a new one." replied Zero.

"Look at yourself, Kiryuu!" shouted Aido, now turning towards Zero. "Can you really call any of us your 'family'? Kaname-sama hates you, Wakaba hates you, Akatsuki and I could care less about you, and Yuuki-sama avoids you like the plague! Knowing all that, can you still say you're happy?"

Zero just stared at Aido, hurt by the truth in Aido's words. He was right. Zero really had no one. His actual family was long dead and all the people in his life now either hated him or ignored him. For the first time since he came back to the past, he felt true loneliness.

"Zero-kun?" came a soft voice. Surprised, he turned around and saw Yori poking her head out of the door. "Zero-kun? Where am I? Where's the academy?" Emerging completely from the room, she looked to Aido and asked, "Aido-sempai? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Moon Dorm?"

Aido and Zero looked at each other. What was wrong with Yori? Had she really forgotten everything? Did she really think she was back at Cross Academy? The place they had all left behind all those years ago?

Walking next to Zero, she grabbed his wrist, a look of confusion in her eyes. "Where's Yuuki?"

Looking at the once again innocent eyes of Wakaba Sayori, Zero knew. She had forgotten. She had forgotten everything.

To be continued. . . . Hello everyone! Sorry It's been a while since I last updated. Been dealing with some stuff, but now there should be more updates. Definitely some interesting stuff coming up so be on the lookout! So what do you all think of AidoXYori? Leave your answers in a comment plz! Thanks! See you all in Chapter 11: Lingering Emotion!