Chapter 11-An Unfortunate Realization
Shiki pouted as he sat cross-legged on the bed, watching Ichijou find his pants.
"I can't believe you hid my clothes." The blond muttered, searching frantically for his green pants.
"I can't believe you're going to abandon your boyfriend after our first night of making love." Shiki countered, still sounding disgruntled.
"Shiki," Ichijou sighed as he finally crossed paths with the missing bottoms. "It's not like I'm leaving you for good. I'm merely going down the hall to grab my manga."
Now it was Shiki's turn to sigh. "You and your manga."
Ichijou made no further argument after finding his shirt and before he left the room, he gave his companion a long kiss, so long that he had to stop himself from getting too carried away. Shiki seemed disappointed, but showed it as apathy as Ichijou exited the room.
Wow, what a night this turned out to be. Ichijou had no idea what time it was, but he was guessing it was close to midnight about now. He tried thinking of all the possible outcomes that could have occurred from the time Aido left to when he would come into his room. Had Kaname and Zero smashed everything up in his room? He cringed at the thought of anything in his room being torn up or smashed to pieces. He wondered how many times Zero had threatened to kill Kaname. He pulled his gun out quite a bit whenever Kaname said something that ticked him off. Ichijou imagined Kaname was getting tired of Zero constantly trying to kill him. It was just a waste of time.
As Ichijou approached the door, he paled slightly. His vampire senses were tingling slightly at the unusual sound he heard coming from inside. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Neither of them were talking. They were…
Moaning? Ichijou was suddenly freaked out. What in the world were they doing in there? Ichijou didn't really want to know the answer to that question as he bravely spoke up.
"Kaname? Are you in there?" He could hear the worry in his own voice as he asked the question.
It was a stupid question to ask. He had to be in there. Where else would he be? He had been tied up the last time Ichijou had seen him, but then again, Aido said he was untied when he came.
The noise stopped almost abruptly and Ichijou could hear whispers, frantic sounds coming from Kaname's lips. He tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard with the voices so close by. He caught a snippet of conversation.
"Ichijou? Why is he here?"
"Shh. It's his room."
"What?"
"Shh. Don't talk. Just…"
Ichijou heard rummaging in the room and he tried to picture what was going on. Again, he felt stupid listening in on this dull conversation. But then, the next thing caught his attention. He recognized Zero's voice.
"He had to interrupt then?" He sounded disappointed. Ichijou tried to keep his imagination under control, but it was more difficult than he thought.
"Shut up. He can hear us." Kaname said quietly.
"They why are you talk—"
Zero was cut off. Then, Ichijou heard Kaname breathe, "I'm not…anymore."
Kaname then called out loud enough for a human to hear, "Ichijou, do you wish to read your manga?"
Was I that predictable? Shiki said I was. "If you wouldn't mind, Kaname."
"I don't." Kaname said sincerely.
But before Ichijou could think clearly, he saw his newest volume slide underneath the crack in the door. Grabbing it, he noticed it was in near perfect condition, except for the inevitable dust it seemed to pick up from being slid across the floor. Ichijou then became suspicious.
"Uh…Kaname?"
He heard the dorm president sigh. "What is it, Ichijou?"
Was he still mad at me? Ichijou was debating whether or not he wanted to ask the next question.
"Um…are you okay in there?"
"I'm fine, Ichijou. Please, enjoy your manga. I'm occupying your room for the time being."
What? "What do you mean?"
Ichijou automatically regretted asking the question as he heard something smash from the interior of his room. He was afraid to ask and immediately became anxious. "Kaname, what was that?"
"It's nothing." Kaname breathed, "Please leave me alone."
It was at these words that Ichijou felt most upset. Kaname had wanted him earlier. He had been hinting at it since nightfall, yet now, Kaname seemed irritated. Aido must have been right. He had been untied and he was not yet calm. Ichijou wondered what it was he could do to try to convince Kaname to stop breaking fragile objects in his room.
"Kaname…" Ichijou started, "Are you still upset at me?"
There was a pause and some more rummaging and then Kaname had opened the door just enough so that Ichijou caught a glimpse of his face. He was stern and looked angry. Ichijou had seen this look before. It was the look Ichijou got when Yuuki had gotten mad at Kaname. He had been angry with her. But now, he was angry at him, it seemed. All because I didn't bring Yuuki.
Ichijou was shocked at his expression, then Kaname sighed, closing his eyes as if in pain as he said softly, "Ichijou, understand. I am not upset at you. But I do need you to leave me for a while. I need to calm down a bit."
"Is he making you upset?" Ichijou asked, remembering that Zero was in the room as well.
Kaname didn't answer. Instead, he advised, "Read your new manga, Ichijou. Once you've finished it, you can come back and I will leave your room."
Ichijou stared at him. Was he serious? After I finished the manga, I would be able to come back into my own room? It sounded utterly ridiculous, but for the irritation in Kaname's tone, Ichijou didn't want to upset him more than he already was. He wondered if Zero was the one bothering him and wondered why Kaname didn't just ask him to leave. It seemed to be a simple enough reason. Something was wrong.
Finally, Ichijou nodded in agreement and Kaname closed the door. Ichijou waited, hesitating to see if he could pick up any more of the conversation, but Kaname must have sensed he was still in front of the door and Ichijou shamefully walked back to Shiki's room, carrying the manga in his hand.
He had been so excited earlier to read it, but now, he didn't want to. He wanted to know what was bothering Kaname so much. It seemed like an odd fascination. Kaname was ambiguous, never really straightforward, always hiding something. The one time he had been completely straightforward was when he had asked Ichijou to tie him up. But now, he was untied. It was as if a bond had been broken between them. Zero had to have been the one who untied him. What was Zero to Kaname? Was he still a mortal enemy or was he something deeper, something Ichijou could never see?
As he processed his thoughts, he didn't think to knock before coming into Shiki's room, only to have him hiss and fly under the bed covers.
"Oops." Ichijou said, closing the door behind him. "I forgot you were still indecent."
Shiki growled at him, but then quickly ran to his side to embrace him. Ichijou patted his bare skinned back and smiled. How quickly he forgot how much Shiki had meant to him since he had visited Kaname.
"So, I assume you got it." Shiki said, using his apathetic tone again.
Ichijou held up the manga in his hands. "You assume correct."
Then, his smile faded as he was brought back to the scene he had just been a part of. He seated himself on the armchair in the corner of the room and saw his naked companion swiftly nestle himself in his lap. As Ichijou stared at the beautiful vampire in his lap, he murmured, "Aren't you going to get dressed?"
"Why should I?" Shiki asked in return.
"Because…" Ichijou trailed off. He knew Shiki was either being one of two things: extremely lazy, which would have been predictable in any case or extremely naughty, in which case Ichijou would have been up for the challenge had he not been cut down so harshly by Kaname.
It's nothing…please leave me alone. Even though he heard the sincerity in the pureblood's voice, he couldn't shake the feeling that Kaname was being unruly, if not secretive of something. He usually was. That generally didn't bother Ichijou, but the way he sounded tonight was different. There was something more than just the usual. It felt as if a brick wall had separated Kaname and his secret from the rest of the world and only he was allowed to know what it was. And if anyone dared to ask about it, he would drop a brick on their head to prove that they weren't worthy enough to know about it. The brick that Ichijou felt plummeted down to his stomach.
"Ichijou?"
The blond's eyes refocused on the redhead. Shiki must have noticed his thoughts were far away and he stared at him unfeelingly. Though Ichijou knew his companion was concerned from his voice.
"I'm fine." Ichijou said, with an unconvincing tone.
Shiki regarded him and raised an eyebrow in speculation.
The blond sighed as he admitted, "I think Kaname's still mad at me for disobeying him. I was supposed to bring Yuuki to him and I failed, instead bringing Zero. I don't know what was going on in my room, but it couldn't have been anything good. I hadn't seen Kaname that upset since earlier after he and Yuuki fought."
Shiki brought his hand up to brush Ichijou's hair out of his face as he said, "Don't blame yourself. None of us know what Kaname's intentions are. You shouldn't feel down because you thought you did something wrong. Be happy you're still here."
"I am happy." Ichijou said, smiling at the redhead. "I'm just concerned. I've known Kaname since we were young and I knew he's always felt something for Yuuki, but then Zero came and it seemed like things changed after that."
Shiki brought his hand up to touch Ichijou's chin and brought his eyes around so the blond was looking into the pale blue eyes again. Shiki then murmured, "Why are you so concerned about that prefect?"
"I'm not. I'm concerned for Kaname." Ichijou explained.
"Mm." Shiki said, closing his eyes as he leaned against the blond's chest. "Kaname can look after himself. He's a pureblood. You have to believe that he can tame a beast like Kiryu."
Ichijou didn't comment. He was still nervous about the way that Kaname looked, that irritated face made especially for him. Then, he remembered the conversation he picked up. He had to interrupt then? What had been going on at the time that he…?
Ichijou's eyes grew wide as he started, Shiki getting off quickly at the movement.
"Ichi—"
"Oh my gosh, please tell me that wasn't what I thought it was!" Ichijou cried, pacing frantically back and forth. His mind was reeling at the very thought of it. No, he tried to convince himself. It never happened. You're just letting your imagination get a hold of you. They would never…
"What's going on?" Shiki asked, finally realizing that Ichijou was too overwhelmed to do anything with him as he grabbed his boxers from a pile by the bed.
Ichijou suddenly felt catatonic. He wasn't sure what to say or how to phrase it. It was almost as much of a shock as hearing that his grandfather was coming to see him. Only worse.
"Uh…" He said, not knowing if Shiki needed his brain scarred as well from the blond's overactive imagination.
Suddenly Shiki, who was fully dressed, appeared right in front of him, stopping him mid-pace. The redhead lifted up a finger to Ichijou's lips and said softly, "Whatever it is that's bothering you, I'm sure it'll go away soon."
Then, Ichijou just blurted it out.
"I think Kaname and Zero were making love in my room."
Shiki stared at him for a moment with his usual apathetic expression. Then, it sunk in. Ichijou saw his eyes grow and his mouth fall open and then, he laughed.
"Senri!" Ichijou hadn't expected Shiki to burst out laughing. This was a serious situation that needed to be controlled.
"Are you serious?" Shiki asked after he calmed down a bit.
"Yes!" Ichijou cried. "This is a very serious situation. I'm not really sure what to do now."
"Wow." Shiki said, trying to get over the information. "Kaname and Zero, eh?"
Ichijou stammered. "It's not that amazing, okay. It's not right. They hate each other!"
"Maybe their hate for each other backfired." Shiki suggested, shrugging.
Ichijou considered this. "Maybe."
"It happens all the time. The person you really hate is really the one you can't live without." Shiki said.
"But that didn't happen for us." Ichijou pointed out.
"It doesn't happen to everyone." Shiki told him, swinging his arms around his boyfriend's neck. "But it does happen."
The redhead then brought his face up to meet Ichijou's, but the blond moved and Shiki kissed his cheek instead. The shorter vampire rolled his eyes as he forced Ichijou's face back to look at him.
"Why are you so concerned, Ichijou? Are you jealous?"
"Absolutely not!" Ichijou exclaimed. He wasn't that taken with Kaname. He admitted that the pureblood was beautiful, but he never imagined him and Kaname ever working. Plus, he thought Yuuki and Kaname were a great couple. But Zero…that just had an entire different meaning.
"Then," Shiki said, almost sadly, leaning his head against the blond's chest again. "What's bothering you?"
Ichijou suddenly felt guilty for putting Shiki in this position. He was grateful that the redhead had forgiven him when he saw Ichijou and Kaname like that. He didn't want to lose the man he loved the most. He also didn't want to lose his best friend, the pureblood who could be in his room doing things he wish he really wasn't doing with Zero. Even though, it was just a theory, Ichijou wasn't an idiot. Something had gone on, and Kaname's temper had gotten out of hand. He heard something smash. What was going on?
