××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

Chapter ten

(Un)Forgivable

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

She woke up as the first rays of sunlight touched her eyelids .

When she opened her eyes , she found herself in the arms of a still sleeping young man that was so beautiful that he looked like a peaceful angel . Maybe he was an angel , after all , she thought , smiling to herself .

His hair was messy , his breath even , and his chest bare . She remembered, blushing, how she took his shirt off just a few hours before , the way he kissed her , and the way he hopelessly cried for her . She still couldn't believe that he loved her that much , and that he always had .

But the night before hadn't been so important just for the things she found out about him and about herself .

It had been important because it had represented a turning point into her life .

She made a decision .

She listened to her heart for the first time in ages , and it told her who was the man she loved the most .

And it happened to be the one who's holding her tight in his sleep now.

It made her genuinely happy , but at the same time it made her heart ache , because she knew that she had to tell Kaname . She had to tell him .

She really loved him , she really did . But she wasn't in love with him . He was just like..a brother . Nothing else . She didn't need his kisses or hugs like she needed Zero's.

And that realization helped her much .

He mumbled something in his sleep and she knew he was going to wake up soon .

'Zerorin?' she whispered quietly , knowing he would be angry if she called him like that .

He slowly opened his eyes , and with a jolt of surprise Yuuki saw they weren't their usual amethyst color . They had a red hue in them .

'Zero..rin ?' he questioned, with slight amusement in his sleepy voice . She giggled .

'The fact that I love you doesn't authorize you to call me like that , you know ' he said with fake annoyance, and then pulled her towards him to give her a quick kiss , making her completely forgot about his eyes' color- shift. Yuuki blushed madly .

'It's your first time telling me .' she observed .

'Tell you what ? That you can't call me Zerorin?' he asked , moving to a sitting position .

'No , that you love me '.

He rolled his eyes . 'Like you don't know that already…'

'I do know , but it was nice to hear it from you anyway..' she admitted , embarrassed .

'I love you ' he repeated , making her smile, and then stood up , stretching his arms and neck . She looked at his perfect face , shoulders and chest .And that was then that Yuuki's smile completely dropped .

Right on his heart there was a huge scar that she was sure he had never had in the four years she had known him . He saw her looking at him with her eyes wide , and following her gaze , he saw what she was staring at .

'Zero ,' she heard herself say ,'..What is that?'

He looked like her question had caught him off-guard .

'So I was right . You don't know ?' he asked ,raising his eyebrows, but she completely ignored his question.

'Zero . How did you get that ?' she asked. ' On one of those stupid and dangerous damn hunter missions? 'she spat , losing her composure . She couldn't stand that for those stupid Hunters' sake her Z could get wounded like that .

'No , it's not like that..' he started to explain, but she interrupted him .

'Then tell me Zero..How did you get that ?' she repeated .' Please , tell me..'

He looked like he was about to give in , but then he shook his head . 'I can't. '

'Why?'

'I..don't want to talk about it now 'he said , but when he saw her sad and disappointed expression , he pulled her into an embrace. 'I'll tell you..Just..Not now , ok?'

She clung to him . 'Promise?'

He hesitated . Then nodded . 'Promise.'

They stood like that for a while , and tears threatened to well up in Yuuki's eyes out of frustration . She really wanted to know , she was worried about how he could have gotten that.

'Now , why don't you go and take a shower ? I'll take you back to the Academy ' he said , playing with the long strands of her hair . 'You didn't get to see Yori last time , did you ?' he asked . She looked up at him , her expression suddenly lightened up .

'Really?'

'Really. Now go and get ready..'

She freed herself from his embrace and headed towards the door . Then , as a second thought , she walked back to him and stood on her toes , to reach him and kiss him . He bent down , getting her intention , and she captured one last time his lips with hers .

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

'Yuuki ! I've missed you so much!'

A pretty girl with short blond curls was standing in Yuuki's old room in Cross Academy , hugging her best friend she hadn't seen in a long time . The Chairman had told her that Yuuki was at the Academy, so as soon as she had known , she had ran to come and meet her .

Zero had left Yuuki in her room while he went to his lessons ( which he had missed completely in the last week due to Yuuki's return) ; Yori , on the other hand , since she had perfect grades, could miss as many lessons as she wanted , and she was more than glad to skip them to talk with Yuuki .

'I've missed you too ! How have you been ?' Yuuki asked politely.

'Oh , I've been doing fine .. Always the same ! What about you ? School has been so boring without you..' her friend said with a tone of melancholy in her voice .

Yuuki smiled gently at her . 'Everything it's been boring for me too , without you Yori-chan..'

'Pfft , I don't believe you !' the blonde said , chuckling . 'I'll bet you have a lot of news to tell me.. With you and Kaname living together…' she continued ,and then winked . But something was off in her expression .

'Not at all ! I don't have any big new or gossip !' she instantly replied . 'Kaname and I barely see each other , he's always on some meeting away from home ..'

'I spend a lot of time alone , actually . Apart from the times when I see Ruka-chan or Hanabusa..'

Yori's face shot up .' Hanabusa? You mean Aidoh- sempai?'

'Yeah ..' Yuuki said , surprised by Yori's sudden interest . ' He's my teacher , since I'm not going to school anymore ', she explained.

'Oh , I see .' Yori nodded . ' So that's why Kaname brought you here ? To spend some time with your friends?'

'No , that's not it at all.. It's a long story..' she sighed . '..That mostly implies .. Zero .'

At the mention of Zero's name , a lot of emotions passed in Yori's eyes . Sadness. Fear . Hurt . Anger .

Yuuki was surprised .

'You saw him?' Yori asked ,hesitant .

'Of course . He was the one who took me here today ! ' then , seeing Yori's astonished face , explained : ' We got over that.. argument we had last year '.

'Really?'

'Yeah , really .' Yuuki smiled . 'Actually , Yori .. I do have a big new to tell you .'

'What is it?'

'We kind of …confessed to each other ,' she admitted , embarrassed . 'And I realized that I'm in love with him'.

'Oh my GOD ! Are you serious ?' Yori almost shouted .Then , without waiting for an answer , said : ' Finally ! I've always shipped you two together ! '

'What?' Yuuki couldn't believe in her friend's sudden change of behavior .

'Yes ! I've always supported Zero in the let's - win -Yuuki's- heart- mission .. But I didn't tell you a thing because it was your choice to make . Thank God you opened your eyes .. Kinda late , but you did ! ' she giggled happily .

Yuuki kept staring at her , shocked , but smiling .

'I'm glad that you came back to him , Yuuki.. I really am 'Yori said , sincerely. ' He deserves happiness , after all he went through during this year..'

Yuuki felt a pang in her heart at her words .'I know..I shouldn't have left him like that..'

'Yeah , but that's not only that..' Yori said . ' You know what I'm talking about , right ?' she gave Yuuki a meaningful look , but she looked completely clueless . When she understood that Yuuki didn't know what she meant , she started looking at her boots , like she knew something but she felt uncomfortable by telling it .

'I thought you knew..Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed '.. she whispered .

'Yori?'

Yuuki looked at her with a questioning gaze . What was there that she wasn't telling her? About Zero? And most important : why did she knew something about him and Yuuki didn't?

Yori looked up at her again at the mention of her name .Yuuki saw that her eyes were wet with unshed tears.

'Yori , you're worrying me.. What is it?' Yuuki asked , her voice panicky .'You can tell me everything , you know that '.

Yori didn't speak for a moment , then took a long breath , like she was about to say something important .

'He's so going to kill me for telling you , but … A couple of months ago ..Zero had a problem with his heart. And I don't mean metaphorically …'

Yuuki's jaw dropped . The image of the deep scar on his chest flashed in her mind . 'What?' she asked , breathless .'How's that possible ?'

'Oh , it was awful , Yuuki ! 'Yori blurted . ' I had gone to him to report some things the Chairman wanted him to know , I've been doing that since you left .' she started explaining . 'We were talking normally , but suddenly his face went pale… and he started coughing up blood .' she closed her eyes like the memory still scared her . Yuuki's face went paler as she tried to imagine the scene .

' I completely freaked out ! .. I seriously thought he was going to die , Yuuki . It scared the crap right outta me... I've never dealt with someone who was being sick .'

Yori's panicked voice from Zero's memory echoed again in Yuuki's head and her stomach started aching .

He's dying ! Please , someone !

Yori kept talking .

'I wanted to take him to the hospital right away , but we couldn't because he's a vampire... The Chairman was completely out of his mind , didn't know what to do . He wasn't aware of the fact that people like him could get sick . But we discovered that it can happen , it's a vampire-thingy … When they start rejecting the blood , the heart can fail .. Yagari sensei came , he knew what to do somehow , he took a knife - '

Yuuki interrupted her : she couldn't take it anymore . ' Why didn't anybody tell me ?' she asked in a whisper . Then she started yelling .

'I DIDN'T KNOW A THING ! WHY DIDN'T ANY OF YOU BOTHER TO CALL ME ? WHY?'

'We did '.

Yuuki's hands dropped to her sides , shocked like she had received an electric discharge.

'The Chairman phoned Kaname .' Yori continued , completely ignoring her outburst .

'I have to admit . I was SO angry with you .. For a second I thought that you really weren't the old Yuuki anymore , not even bothering to come and see him '.

'I didn't know ' she said , incredulous . ' He didn't tell me a thing !'

'I can see that now . But why didn't he ?' Yori asked .

Yuuki didn't answer , she just kept staring at the floor . She felt betrayed .

She knew Kaname never liked the relationship between her and Zero in the first place , but to keep things that important from her was a really cheap shot . She couldn't believe it .

And to think that she had worried so much about him ! About how he could take the new that she didn't want to come back to the mansion …

She had worried about hurting him , and he had hurt her like this ?

'Excuse me a second , Yori-chan ' , she said suddenly , standing up with decision .

' I need to make a phone-call .'

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

'Kaname .'

Her voice sounded so angry and upset that he immediately understood something was off .

'Yuuki , my dear ! Did something happen ?' he asked , worried .

'Yes . It happened that I found out some unpleasant things , onii-sama ' she spat . She didn't give him the time to ask her why . 'Like you, keeping vital stuff from me.'

He was speechless for a second . 'I don't know what are you talking about , my dear.'

Yuuki wanted to yell at him . He played so well the innocent part she almost believed him .

Almost .

'You don't ? Let me refresh your mind, then .' she said , trembling . 'My best friend had some kind of vampire illness , and he was about to die .' her voice cracked. 'They phoned you to tell me , but you didn't speak a word to me.'

'..'

His gentle tone completely disappeared . 'I should have known the bastard would have told you.. Always trying to make you pass to his side...'

Her anger boiled more . 'He didn't mention a single thing to me ! Yori did !'

'How could you ? ' she continued .' How could you not tell me, Kaname ?' she started sobbing .

'Yuuki , don't cry, please ..' he said , back to his kind tone . ' I have a perfect explanation for what I did .'

'..' She stayed silent for a second . 'I'm listening .'

'I didn't tell you because I knew you would have wanted to go and see him .. Yuuki , you have to understand that you're not the same as you were . The Chairman , Yori..and him, they're not part of your life anymore . I allowed you to stay with him this week because you were too sad and he was so stubborn . But you can't remain attached to him forever just because you pity him …or because you feel sorry for him..'

'I don't pity him !' she shouted . Then she drew a deep breath . ' I'm in love with him . There's a big difference between the two things.'

'You…are in love with him ?' he asked incredulous, anger rising evidently in his voice .'You're not thinking clearly.'

'Kaname . I really meant what I just said.'

'I don't care if you meant it or not . Yuuki , you can't be with him . You're my fiancée ! You are a pureblood , and you're going to be queen ! You can't lose your time with a lowlife like him ! '

'Don't you dare to talk about him like that !'

'I'm sick about this situation . When the meeting I'm going to now it's over , I'll come to get you and bring you back home ' he said , decisively .

'You wouldn't.' she said in a whisper .

'Oh yes , I will .'

'You don't know where to find us .'

'Why ? I know both the way to Cross Academy and Zero's apartment … Yuuki. '

'..'

'You'd better be here when I come .'

And with that last threat , the line went dead .

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

As she stood there unmoving , in that corridor , in front of Zero's room door waiting for him , Yuuki thought about the – few – possibilities she had to escape what she knew was coming .

But she hadn't come up yet with something that could grant her wish : stay with Zero .

She placed her back against the wall , and then slid down slowly, till she was sitting on the cold floor .

If Kaname would really come and get her , it would be the end of her and Zero . She would never see him again . Ever .

She wanted to cry .

She wanted to cry because it was breaking her heart . To know about what happened to Zero , while she couldn't be with him . To know that her brother was being cruel to her . To know that she was going to be separated from her angel.

She heard soft footsteps and she raised her head .

And her eyes met his .

'Yuuki , what are you doing there?' he asked , as soon as he saw her standing on the floor . She looked miserable .

Yuuki kept looking at him ignoring his question . All she could think of was that in the last week she had feared already two times to have lost him , and she didn't want to go through another experience like that .

'Yuuki?'

She slowly stood up and took his hand . He squeezed it tight , a questioning look on his face , and then opened his room's door , without speaking , and led her in .His eyes never left hers .

She closed the door behind them , but instead of turning to face him , she rested her head on the smooth wood , without moving .

She heard him coming from behind and didn't do anything to stop him . He placed his hands on her abdomen , his lips just some centimeters from her ear , travelling her neckline .

'Seriously – What's wrong ?' he asked whispering , and his warm breath on her skin sent a shiver up her spine . She slowly turned , caged between his strong arms to the wall . His tall and lean figure towered over her and even if she was scared to death because of Kaname , between this man's arms she felt safe , at home .

'Zero,' she said , breaking the silence .' Yori told me.'

Confusion swept in his eyes for a second . ' Yori told you wha-' then he abruptly stopped , as if he suddenly understood . 'Ah,' was all that he could say . Tears started coming out from her eyes .

'Zero , I swear , I didn't know . I would have come and –'

He hushed her putting his finger on her lips . ' I knew that nobody told you ..I realized it this morning and I suspected it all along ' he said , then shook his head in disapproval .'That's why I would have preferred Yori didn't tell you at all . It's useless to make you worry like that..'

She rested her head on his chest . She felt him stiff a little at her touch and she looked up at him , surprised . He had an apologetic look on his face.

'Sorry,' he said , a little breathless . 'It's just that I'm..'

She suddenly understood by the look in his eyes and finished the line for him . 'Thirsty?'

He nodded slowly , looking away , as if he was ashamed of himself . 'I'm sorry..'

'Don't be,' she said ,closing the space between them . She didn't want to argue with him about this , she knew that he would never drink from her without hating himself for hurting her. But she needed him so much .. she wanted him to bite her . She really did .

So she bit her lip purposefully , drawing up blood , and watched as his eyes turned dark crimson .

He turned his head , looking at her with so much desire that her heart fluttered . He pinned her to the door behind her , his tongue soon finding her lips , drinking from her , kissing her . She moaned against his mouth again and again, surprised at how good he could make her feel just by doing that to her .

His head moved to her neck in a rush , finding her pulse and finally biting down. She felt her knees weaken , and she started sliding to the floor again ,pulling him down with her .

All too soon , his mouth left her neck , and she kissed him again , tasting her own blood on his tongue.

When they finally regained their breath they were lying on the floor , Yuuki's petite frame completely shadowed by his big body , his hands gripping the wooden pavement , just centimeters away from her face .

'That brat ,' he said breathing heavily, breaking the silence, and Yuuki instantly knew who he was talking about . ' I won't let him get to you , Yuuki..' he assured her . ' Don't worry..'

And his soothing words really calmed her .

'I'm so angry at him…' she admitted sadly , and he stayed quiet for a second.

'I'm sorry..' he spoke then , completely surprising her .' I know how much he…means to you ..' he continued awkwardly and embarrassed . And now it was her turn to stay quiet for a while . She hadn't expected him to say something like that . He had changed , hadn't he? He felt more mature .

He freed her from his tight grasp and moved to a sitting position, his back to her , as if he was thinking about something and didn't want her to look at him . She sat too , her back against the wall , looking at his bent shoulders . She knew what he was thinking , somehow . And it implied her and a certain Kaname Kuran .

She held him from the back , pulling him towards her with a fluid movement , and he relaxed , lying down his head on her chest . They stayed like that for a long while , Zero still lost in his thoughts , Yuuki playing with his shirt collar and tracing invisible patterns on his tattoo , her legs on either of his sides .

'Z..,' she said suddenly . 'Can I take your shirt off ?'

She couldn't see his face but she could tell that he was smiling .'Only if I get to take off yours , Princess ,' he joked . Then , as she didn't answer , embarrassed , he asked , 'Why 's that? '

After a second of hesitation , she finally answered . 'Because I want to see your scar' she said .

'And why would you ? ' he told her . 'You're such a weirdo' he chuckled .

'Shut up !' she pinched him . '…Please ?'

He shifted a little , and then gave up . ' Alright,' he agreed .

She started unbuttoning his white shirt uncomfortably . 'Do you want me to turn around?' he asked .

'No , stay like that ' she told him and then bared his chest . She immediately reached the cut with her fingers and started tracing it lightly . For a while nobody spoke .

'Does it hurt?' she asked .

He sighed . 'Not anymore '.

'I can't believe that I wasn't with you when this happened ' she said , shaking a little her head in disapproval .

'Stop thinking about it ..'

'I can't stop thinking about something that could have killed you.. It scares me so much..'

'It's over now : I'm fine ,' he reassured her , and covered her hand with his , tracing his scar along with her .

'You know , I think it looks like a curved road ' he said , out of the blue .

'Yeah , you're –' she stopped. The word 'curved road' brought a memory back to her , and she suddenly had the clue to resolve their problem . 'You're a genius ! ' she exclaimed .

Zero turned to look at her like she was crazy . 'What?'

'Zero,' she interrupted him , her eyes sparkly with excitement . ' I have an idea!'

'You still have your driver's license , right ?'

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

Author's note : Longest chapter ever ! 8D

I'm sorry for all the Kaname fans reading my fic , really . He sounded like a frickin' bastard in here ,while he actually isn't , but I had to get rid of him . After all the latest VK chapters (always YuMe ), I needed an overdose of ZeKi action . Seriously . Kaname is a good character and all , but I need MY MAN BACK !

ZERORIN , get your sexy ass back ! And fight for Yuuki ! Damnit !

PS : Thank you to all my reviewers … You're the ones that keep me writing , and I love y'all .

*HUGS*