AN-Ah, I really could've combined this with the next chapter…but I'm cruel and enjoy leaving people in suspense XD. Besides, I will literally post the following chapters moments after this one, so don't despair! I probably could've had this chapter finished by last night, but I was really looking forward to writing it and wanted to relish it XD. So, here we are. Will Yuki really be able to confess her feelings for Zero? Or will Zero remain blissfully ignorant?

Zero had once said to me, in a tone filled with emotion and pain 'what am I to you?' Back then…I hadn't known how to answer that question. The look he had given me had opened my eyes to how vulnerable Zero really was…and it was the first time I had seen a needy side to Zero that rarely emerged from his hard exterior. The question had thrown me…but it had also warmed my heart to realise he trusted me enough to let his guard down in front of me. Now, here we stood again, only now his eyes were steely and cold, looking at them made me feel like I was wandering that snowy mountain alone…my first human memory. Things were different now. I knew how to answer that question. What am I to you? The question still sent shivers down my spine even now…after a year of contemplating those words…I finally felt I could answer him with a decent amount of truth and conviction.

"You really believe this all happened for a reason? You're delusional…" He scowled at me. Another stab to my heart….but…he couldn't really mean what he said…or else he wouldn't have hesitated…he would've left and not turned back. With this in mind I took a deep breath…I knew I didn't have a lot of time, I doubted Aido would be too long…but my nerves were getting the better of me, causing me to stumble hastily over my words. That wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to tell him calmly and sincerely how I felt about him…The words were like chains around my soul, and as long as they remained unspoken they would continue to torment me and weigh me down. How could I move on in life if he didn't know my feelings?

"If you're just going to stand there I'm leaving. I have better things to do…" He said frostily. My hands were curled into fists, not out of anger, but trying to hold my tears back…I winced as my nails dug into my flesh. He was turning to leave again, he was halfway out the door…no! I couldn't let him go now! I had to confess! Why was this so hard? Had he always seemed so intimidating? I raised my hands to my aching head. How do you tell someone so close to you, 'I love you'…no, how do you tell someone so faraway…what was Zero to me? Once one of my closest friends…now my enemy...which should I treat him as? My head was spinning, my stomach jittering within me…I thought I might vomit, or faint…

"What am I to you?" I cried out, my voice trembling with fear and emotion. My hands hovered at my chest uneasily. He'd frozen. Halfway out the door, one hand rested on the other remaining unopened door. His back was turned, so I couldn't even see his reaction…I watched his grip on the door tighten as he became animated again. My breathing was shallow and I didn't know if I could bring myself to say anymore…My voice felt hoarse even though I hadn't spoken very loud…Gulping, I took an apprehensive step towards him…I wished he'd close the door…what I had to say really wasn't for anyone else's ears…

"You asked me that…once, a year ago…" I mentally scolded myself. I couldn't keep the sheer emotion from my voice. I didn't want him to think I was being insincere…my voice wobbled unsteadily as if I didn't really know what I was saying. The truth was I didn't know exactly what I was saying…or how I was going to say it…but now I had broached the forbidden subject I had to go on. Zero remained very still, and I wished I could know what was going through his mind right now…was he remembering that day?

"Yes….When you were still human." He finally replied. The sound of his voice startled me a little as it cut through the silence more sharply than any blade could have. I flinched as he put emphasis on the word 'human'. I bowed my head. I see…so he could only have feelings for the human Yuki…His words were incredibly discouraging, and I was tempted to simply dismiss him. It was absurd…but at that moment I felt a pang of jealousy towards the human Yuki. The one who had worked so tenderly to win Zero's heart…no that hadn't been her intention. I clasped my hands close to my chest. Her intentions had been pure…she'd wanted to help the lonely and vulnerable Zero…no. Even that wasn't true. Even the human Yuki had been spiteful and selfish, only caring for him to ease her own pain. So then why did Zero's tone imply that he had lost someone dear to him?

"…Ever since we parted….I've been contemplating those words, for a year I've been weighed down by those words…no, that sounds wrong…for a year…I've been living for those words." I told him, finally discovering the courage within me to keep speaking. I looked up at him. Still, he didn't move a muscle. That was fine. If it meant he would stay put and listen, if only for a little while, I could bear it. Even if he had nothing pleasant to say to me…I reconsidered my words for the hundredth time. I silently prayed for Aido to take his time. I needed to make my feelings known now, or else I'd never be able to find the strength to do it again….besides, who knew when I'd come face to face with Zero again? I'd been handed a valuable opportunity, I'd been a fool not to take advantage of it…

"…and when you asked me that time…I didn't know how to answer you, I was caught off guard…a-and I was too naïve to really understand what you were asking of me….but now…" My voice kept breaking from the sheer intensity of my voice…I wasn't speaking loudly, but trying to maintain my tone was becoming more and more strenuous under the pressure. I could feel my conviction quaking. I saw his fingers twitch on the door….he turned slowly, only halfway towards me, and gazed intensely at me. I was frightened. This wasn't like an ordinary confession of love between a boy and a girl…it was so much more complicated. Forbidden love between two races…as romantic as it sounded it wasn't as glamorous as movies and books made it out to be. It was painful for both sides, and I saw a flicker of pain run through Zero's expression. It lasted only a moment, but I saw it clearly, and he must've known I'd seen it because he glowered even more fiercely at me than he had before.

"I'm sorry it took me so long…in the year that we haven't seen one another I've had time to realise…my…my feelings for you…have become indisputably clear…" I kept on, irked by my own babbling. Why was a dawdling? I didn't have as much time as I wanted to, I couldn't afford to mince my words too much…so why was I babbling so incoherently. Still, Zero seemed to understand exactly what I was saying, because he'd turned to face me completely, his gaze meeting mine directly…as it always had. I gulped, feeling a blush burning my cheeks, giving away what I had to tell him before the words had even escaped my lips…

Well?

He didn't speak those words…but he mouthed them, sending a shiver down my spine…His intense gaze drilled into me, though somehow it seemed softer than before…or perhaps I was just braver now than I had been a few moments before. I met his gaze with all the sincerity I could muster.

I love you…I have feelings for you…I yearn for you…I care for you…

There were more phrases that swam through my mind as we stared at one another, none of which I could seem to form. I looked almost pleadingly at him, opening my mouth, ready to put my life in his hands. I breathed deeply, suddenly allowing those fatal words to slip from my mouth-

"I love you."