Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight.
Chapter 12: Moonlight Confessions (Spotlight on Takuma)
As everyone knows without a doubt, fangirls are among the most tenacious beings to walk the earth. Hence, it should not come as a surprise to anyone reading this that, yet again, as twilight fell, the Day Class girls were out in full force screaming their heads off.
The gates opened and the Night Class strode out in all their otherworldly beauty, again. The human girls squealed, again.
But wait. Something was very different tonight. As if it was not bad enough that the Night Class had not come out the night before, but now they looked somehow less brilliant than usual. They seemed more subdued. Their steps lacked the usual ring of confidence. Their heads were bowed, their eyes on the ground. What happened to their beautiful idols? The dismayed fans had no idea what was wrong, but their eyes shone with new determination.
They were going to cheer up the Night Class!
Out of the corner of his eye, Takuma Ichijo spied the huge huddle of Day Class girls plotting something in hushed voices. He tried to cast a small smile in that direction, but not even their boundless enthusiasm could lift the gloom of this night. Despite the funeral-like atmosphere of the vampires' procession, they were not in mourning: they were in fear.
Thanks to Arashi's little demonstration, Takuma was sure Zero would never be bothered by the Council again, and she did not seem worried about any possible retaliation towards herself. With powers like hers, she did not need to be afraid of anything.
"Ichijo-san."
"KYA!" Takuma shrieked. He wheeled on his "attacker" only to find Arashi wearing a rather bemused expression at his outburst. Between the temporarily incapacitated Ruka Souen and the dead Ichijo, Arashi's identity as "just another Guardian" had been completely blown with the Night Class. There was no reason to hide her ability to consistently sneak up on people now. Still, Takuma being Takuma, he had to ask, "Did you have to sneak up on me like that?"
"No." The tiny grin had not left her face.
Takuma was not the only one to notice this Kiryu's sudden appearance. The Night Class was walking as far away from Arashi as they could, barely caring to be discreet about the looks they shot at her back. Kaname saw his best friend being left behind as the others entered the school, and the reason for the holdup nearly made his blood run cold. He motioned for the class to go on without him and swiftly turned around to head back to Takuma. Aido and Kain, being Kaname's bodyguards, and being insanely curious, just happened to follow him, too.
Arashi felt the three approaching her from behind, but she continued, "Ichijo-san, I know it is improper to skip class, but I was hoping I might have a private word with you tonight."
"Absolutely not," Kuran cut in as he reached the two still standing in the middle of the grounds. "Despite being in neutral territory, you just killed his grandfather last night! And now you expect me to let you take him off to some dark corner alone?"
Arashi's eyes narrowed. She could not exactly blame Kuran's distrust of her, but he was speaking a little too arrogantly for his own good. "That happens to be the very issue I wished to discuss to Ichijo-san. And I don't expect you to let me do anything. I will do what I wish with or without your consent, Kuran."
Knowing that there really was nothing he could do to stop her, Kaname opted for a compromise. "Very well, I will excuse Takuma from classes tonight, and Aido will accompany him."
At the mention of that certain annoying waste of perfectly good space, Arashi's severe face became the very picture of "fury." If only she could kill Kuran right then, but arguing more was not going to get them anywhere. "Fine."
Aido looked almost as happy as Arashi at the arrangement Kaname-sama had suggested, but he bore it with stoic silence. The pureblood forced himself to head back to the school, and Kain followed close behind. Neither one glanced back at the remaining trio, but nor was their unease dissipated. Well, Kain was not too worried. Arashi had not hurt anyone at Cross Academy without major instigation, and he did not think she would break that streak now. Kuran was praying with all his heart that he would not have two new piles of ashes at his doorstep by morning.
"Come," Arashi ordered. She walked back towards the Moon Dorm all the vampires had just vacated. Ichijo and Aido followed without uttering a word of protest. It seemed better to simply hear what she had to say and hopefully survive.
Then, a thought popped into Aido's head. "Where are Yuki-chan and Zero, tonight?"
Smirking a little at her own cleverness in planning things so perfectly, Arashi said, "I gave them the night off, so they could eat a nice dinner with the headmaster." She could just imagine the veins in Zero's forehead throbbing already while Yuki smiled amiably.
With the ice broken over thoughts of the younger Kiryu's torture, Takuma laughed a little, feeling much more like his usual carefree self. Even Aido had to loosen up a little bit, and they walked into the Moon Dorm more relaxed than when they had left, despite walking straight onto the site of a very recent murder. The doors closed with a low boom like thunder.
"And break!" the fangirls cried out in unison. They had finally devised the perfect plan to return all their nocturnal idols to their normal selves! Now, they just needed to follow the plan to the letter! Then, they realized that they were alone on the lawn with not a Night Class member in sight.
"Where'd they go?" one lone voice cried out.
As soon as the door was shut, Takuma's eyes immediately strayed down to the carpet where his grandfather had last stood. The maids had long ago taken care of the mess of ashes. Now, nothing remained to indicate that he had ever been there at all. Takuma tried to distract himself by transforming into the courteous host and was about to offer Kiryu a seat in the parlor to his right…until he realized that it was there that they had all been sitting last night when "it" happened.
Attempting to keep his forced smile in place, Takuma opened his mouth again, "Would you please sit down and make yourself comfortable, Arashi-chan?" He motioned to the salon on the opposite side of the entrance hall, and Arashi took the hint.
She walked in slowly, each slight turn of the head allowing her to take in every corner of the room, every escape route, every possible weapon. When Aido thought about it, perhaps she had always done this discreet survey whenever she entered a room, but they had never been looking for it. Now, with careful observation, he could see the disciplined, trained routine surfacing just enough to keep Arashi wary. To be like this wherever she went had to be tiring, but she was a hunter. If hunters wished to remain predators, they must never be caught off guard.
Arashi sank into the deep cushions of a couch by the window, the moonlight bathing her silver hair. Neither one wanting to be very close to Kiryu, Takuma and Aido both moved for the couch across from her. Unfortunately for Aido, Takuma reached it first and promptly swept both his feet up onto the furniture, thereby taking up the entire couch and forcing Aido to sit next to Arashi. Hey, just because he had been scared out of his wits when she murdered his grandfather in front of him was no reason for Takuma to not play matchmaker. The situation was tense enough without Aido playing the silent game. Besides, if Arashi did decide to go on a killing spree, maybe she would take enough time on the vampire closest to her for Takuma to get away.
The minutes ticked by. No one said anything. Arashi keep her unfocused gaze on the moonlit grounds outside. Aido worked hard to keep his fingers still and every so often chanced a quick glance at the girl beside him. Takuma could not stand the silence, again, but he decided to actually stay quiet this time.
Attempting to make the time pass more quickly, Takuma tried to guess what Arashi was going to say to him. Her eyes still refused to focus on anything. Her posture was relaxed and nothing about her betrayed the slightest bit of concern. It was too perfect. Looking more closely, he saw a faint trace of weariness and worry in her countenance. Was she scared that the Vampire Senate would come after her? Kaname had already sent word to them that there was nothing to be done, but that did not mean they would not try something. Still, this was an elemental he was talking about. Scared? No, so…
"Ichijo-san."
"Eep!" Takuma had been staring so intensely, he had been completely oblivious to the look Arashi had been giving him from the corner of her eye.
She closed her eyes and sighed. "You are wondering why I am here." Takuma nodded mutely. Arashi's eyes shot open and her bearing became ramrod straight. She looked every bit the hunter she had been last night. "I wanted to apologize."
Aido laughed. Takuma did not miss the bitter edge to it, and he was sure Arashi heard it as well. When his short spurt of laughter subsided, Aido said, eyes accusing, "Why do you bother? We both know you aren't sorry for killing Ichijo-san. What's the use of such empty words from a hunter, no less?"
Arashi did not respond to Aido. She did not even look at him. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth hardened into a firm, thin line, but she gave no other indication that she had heard anything.
Struck by the intensity of his friend's taunts, Takuma tried to soothe the situation. "Please, Arashi-chan, what it is you want to apologize for?"
For a moment, Takuma was not sure she had heard him, but then her eyes suddenly softened, and she looked at him with such sisterly care that he almost thought he had entered one of his favorite manga. "I want to apologize for the pain I have caused you, Ichijo-san, and for the trouble I have caused.
"It was not my intention to kill anyone when I came to Cross Academy, but the situation changed. I could not leave my brother in danger any more than Kuran could let me speak to you alone, tonight."
"So you admit that you aren't sorry for murdering Asato Ichijo?" Aido pressed.
Arashi sighed again, and the slight signs of weariness Takuma had detected before became more pronounced than ever. "I have killed hundreds, thousands of times in my life. Out of all of them, only two have been by my own choice, for my own reasons.
"No, I am not sorry that I murdered Asato Ichijo. It is one of only two kills I have made that I chose for myself, and I will bear whatever burden comes of it."
By this point, Takuma was so overcome by the fierce protection Arashi felt for her brother that tears were streaming down his face. "Arashi-chan! That's so beautiful!" he cried.
"You, idiot!" Aido yelled. "She killed your grandfather!"
Still crying hysterically, Takuma replied, "We all hated him anyway!"
Dumbstruck and unable to fully process what was going on, Aido slouched back on the couch and gave in. "This is ridiculous. Just go get yourself cleaned up, Idiot."
After giving Arashi one last big smile, Takuma obeyed and walked off to find some tissues.
"I will never understand that guy," Aido mumbled to himself, running a hand back through his hair. Feeling someone's eyes on him, he turned to see Arashi giving him a little half-smile. Her feet were tucked under her on the couch, and she looked, once again, like a normal, non-lethal schoolgirl. "What? Reveling in my pain?" he asked.
"No," she answered, the smile still there.
Realizing that he had broken his silent streak during the conversation, but too happy to see Arashi smiling at him again to care, Aido continued, turning his body to face her, "Oh, you still think this is funny?"
"No." The smile refused to leave.
"Are you sure?" Aido countered, bracing one hand against the back of the furniture.
Her face finally breaking into a full smile, she said, yet again, "No."
Aido pushed off the couch's back and pounced onto Arashi, grabbing her about the middle and pulling her back on top of himself. He had started laughing again, this time a happy, joyful sound, and she was still smiling as she half-heartedly tried to wriggle out of his hold.
Then, Aido realized something. "I'm not dead."
Letting out one little laugh, Arashi agreed, "No, you're not."
Ecstatic over this wonderful discovery, Aido pulled her in a little closer, turning her around so they would be face to face. "Does this mean you've changed your mind?"
The laughter left her eyes and the smile died, but Arashi did not move. "Aido," she began, a hand reaching up towards his face.
A sudden shock ran down Arashi's spine. Her eyes widened while her pupils dilated and her body stiffened with tension.
"Arashi?" Aido called to her. She wasn't breathing. Something was wrong. "Arashi!"
Her breath came back to her in a sweeping gust that would have knocked her off her feet if she had been standing. As it was, she all but went limp while Aido's arms held her more tightly and he cradled her head against his chest.
When she regained control of herself, she immediately stood and began walking towards the front door. Aido was barely a step behind her.
Reaching out, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Arashi, what's wrong?"
She looked back to the window, still gleaming with moonlight. "The last one is here. It's almost over."
A/N: Well, as Arashi said, it's (sadly) almost over. Not just yet, but we're getting there. As always, a big, warm "thank you" to everyone who put this in their story favorites/alerts. And an extra big "thank you" to everyone who reviewed last chapter.
Music played throughout the writing of this chapter: "Requiem Inori"
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