Hey everyone, hope all is well with each one of you.
Here's another overly-due update. This was meant to be released last year but a few things had happened that caused this delay. In summary, after I returned from my Europe trip, I'd some pet problems—my mischievous puppy decided to eat something she is not supposed to and had to do x-rays (we almost had to do exploratory surgery). My elderly cat got very sick due to liver failure and we had to eventually put him down. After that, one of my co-workers had brain surgery and was out on medical leave about half an year now. During her absence, I was given the opportunity to learn and take on new tasks while training new staff. To cut my rambling short, it had been physically and emotionally stressful for the last half year. It was very difficult for me to keep writing, I'd no inspirations and each time I attempted to write, it never went well. I didn't like anything I wrote.
In all honesty, during that dark time, I thought that I was finally going to give up on writing. I was going to break my promise of finishing this story… However, some of you readers have wrote encouraging reviews. As I read them, my fuel for writing slowly came back. I didn't want to leave you readers hanging and thus… this chapter is finally completed.
I apologize for the agonizing wait and hope you readers—if you're still out—will find it likable.
I also want to thank everyone who took the time to write reviews (even if it's a few words) and especially to those who didn't give up on me. Please know that I do read every single review and try to reply to them all.
Here are my replies to the guest readers:
JessicaSpark: Hey there, thank you for the compliment. I hope you will like this chapter :)
Tex: Gracias!
FairyTails990: Thank you for the compliment, I hope you will like this chapter :)
Lilypad125: Hey there, thank you very much for composing such a thoughtful review. Reading it made me very happy :). Like I said before, initially I didn't intend to write a love triangle for Zero, Yuuki, and Kaname. It was purely going to be Yume but over time, as I tweaked Zero's character in this story, I think it will be interesting if I included the love triangle-in a different light. You have observed well that something will be happening between Zero and Ruolan. At this point, I may include that scene of Kaname letting Yuuki see his past and bringing Sara into the story. I do not want to make any promises as I'm currently changing my outline of the future chapters (a lot in progress). I'm glad to hear that I'm keeping the characters in character-side-note, I always have trouble writing on Kaname.
Coober: Thank you for the review, if you're inquiring why Yuuki is fainting in the last chapter's sneak preview, your answer is in this chapter :)
Rheakuran: Thank you for the review! I hope you will like this chapter .
Sarah-in-love: Thank for the lovely review. I'm really happy to hear that you like my story. I'll try my very best to give a better ending in this story.
Mesperyian: Thank you for the encouraging review, I hope you will like this chapter :)
Last but not least, thank you to my lovely beta for reviewing this chapter.
Chapter 21 – Spellbound
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"I'm late, I'm late..."
Yuuki muttered under her breath, zooming down the halls of the Academy.
"How could I forget this important date?"
She angrily scolded herself and smacked a hand on her forehead.
"Konbawa, Yuuki-sama." Miku and Miki respectfully bowed when Yuuki rushed into her bedroom chambers.
Yuuki nodded her head in acknowledgment and started yanking the buttons off her uniform jacket. "Is my outfit...?"
"Ready," Miku supplied the answer while Miki presented an lilac dress. "Kaname-sama had brought in this dress earlier today."
"He also said that he will inform the others that you will be arriving late due to patrolling," Miki added, helping her mistress slip out of her jacket.
"Oh," Yuuki blinked, trying to process the information in her racing mind. A smile formed on her lips, he was always so thoughtful. "Let us hurry and not keep the others waiting."
The devoted maids wasted no time in changing the outfits and fixing the hairstyle of the tired prefect. Within minutes, Yuuki found herself nervously walking up to the entrance of the party.
Bringing a hand up to her chest, she tried to calm down her pounding heart and exhaled slowly. Despite going through her soirée and various parties that Michiru arranged, she still felt butterflies in her stomach whenever she had to attend these type of public events in her society. Events that she knew she would be closely scrutinized by everyone including her peers.
Though she had made many friends within the Night Class, she knew that some of their parents were still not fond of the idea of the Academy.
Taking another deep breath, she donned her trademark smile and walked into the party. Her eyes roamed among the quiet crowd to seek out the star of the party.
She had found Takuma chit chatting away with a few of their classmates at the refreshment table. He soon turned around and spotted her. His smile had gotten wider and he quickly approached her.
"Good evening, Yuuki-sama!" Takuma cheerfully greeted and bowed. "You are looking radiant as always."
"Thank you and you're looking dashing as always," Yuuki returned the compliment. "Happy birthday, Takuma." She leaned in for a quick hug. "Are you enjoying the party?"
"Definitely, everybody from the Night Class is here! I feel quite honored." Takuma gestured to their surrounding, his smile never leaving his face. "I'm very happy, thank you for organizing this party!"
"You're very welcome," Yuuki replied before holding a present out to him. "Here's a little something from me, let me know if you like it."
"Thank you, thank you! I like anything from Yuuki-sama." Takuma happily accepted it, his eyes sparkling. "Come, please feel free to get some refreshments. You must be exhausted from your patroling."
Yuuki nodded her head. "I will, you go ahead and greet the rest of ourclassmates. I can take care of myself."
"If you insist, then I'll go greet our other guests, please let me know if you need anything!" Takuma said.
Watching her childhood friend return to mingling with other guests, she secretly envied how easily he could strike up conversations with others. It seemed he was always carrying a charisma that made everybody enjoy talking with him or be with him. Along with a gentle grin constantly adorning his face, it was very hard to not like him.
Yuuki suddenly felt happy that they were friends and thankful that he was by their side. Without him as VP of Night Class, she was sure that chaos would ensue. He was a good leader and she had hoped that tonight he would feel extra appreciated and loved.
After greeting few of her classmates, Yuuki began ascending the staircase. She had caught sight of her mate perched at the top of the staircase earlier.
Once she reached her destination, she warmly greeted him and sat down next to him on the dark blue settee.
Though they may have sort of made up in the shower incident last week, she still felt a bit awkward whenever she was around him.
"Takuma seems very happy," she attempted to strike a conversation, turning to him.
"Yes, he is." He glanced at her briefly, swirling the liquid of his glass that he held loosely on his right hand.
Silence fell upon them again and she decided to thank him for helping out in selecting a dress.
"I'm glad that you liked it." He gave her a polite grin before turning his attention back to the party below them.
Yuuki turned away and frowned. She was frustrated at being given the cold shoulder treatment. It had been going on about a week now and she was tired of the distance he was putting between them. She sighed internally, her attention going back to the party. A particular figure soon caught her eyes.
Her eyebrows narrowed as she recognized the grumpy person who stood out from the party. It was Zero, what was he doing there?
She was about to question Kaname but an enticing scent in the air distracted her.
"Ow!" Takuma exclaimed when he accidentally sliced his finger while cutting his birthday cake.
The light atmosphere of the party changed as Takuma's blood scent permeated the air. Yuuki unconsciously tightened the grip of her seat, observing closely on what was about to happen. Everybody seemed quite calm.
Senri, who was standing next to Takuma, slowly tended to Takuma's minuscule wound by licking it.
After Senri was done, everybody returned to what they were doing before.
Yuuki's attention then turned back to the hunter, curious if he was affected by the scene. He was not by the pole where he was there few minutes ago. Her eyes quickly scanned the crowd to find him limping away to the far west of the garden.
Concern tugging her mind, she slowly rose from her seat and excused herself.
She carefully followed the hunter at a decent pace. She soon found him in the pool area of the academy. He had one hand clutching his throat and was panting quite heavily.
"Are you...okay?" she asked.
"Do I look okay to you?" he barked, his eyes flashing red when he attempted to throw an irritated look at her.
She approached him cautiously. "How long since you last took your tablets...?"
He glared at her. Another stupid question, he thought.
"What can I do to help you?" she offered, wanting to help him ease the pain.
"...Disappear," he breathed, shutting his eyes.
She frowned at his answer and sighed. After all the nights they spent talking to each other on the balcony, he was still rejecting her. She didn't understand.
Seeing that her presence was unwanted, she turned her heels and decided to go back.
"Wait…"
She heard him call out. Before she could stop in her track, she was spun around and faced with an crimson-eyed Zero. Her breath faltered at the sudden proximity.
"Kill me," he pushed his weapon into her cold hands.
The immediate contact with his weapon caused her hands stinging and she hissed in pain.
"Ki-ll me be-fore it's too late," he repeated, staring deeply into her eyes.
Her eyes widened at his words, too astonished to speak. Many thoughts flew across her mind.
He was miserable.
He was suffering.
He wanted to die.
She watched him writhe in pain, fighting against his vampiric side. His eyes were full of sadness and pain.
"I'm sorry..." She lowered her gaze to the gun that was hurting her hand badly.
Zero closed his eyes, waiting for his moment of death. He was going to feel what the other vampires felt when he pulled the trigger at him.
It wasn't long that he felt an impact against him but what he didn't expect next was the lightness his body felt and water drowning his lungs. His eyes flew open and he found himself submerged into water.
Confused and losing oxygen, he regained his senses and swam up.
His lungs greedily gasped for air when he resurfaced in the pool. His right hand quickly wiping the water out of his eyes and hair. When his vision cleared, he was greeted by Yuuki who was kneeling at the entrance of the pool.
"Do you feel better now?" she inquired.
"Is…this hell?" he asked back, taking in his surrounding.
"That depends... " she answered. She aimed his gun at him. "If you want to live or not".
She spun the gun in her hands, rotating it until the handle faced him. "Your life is for you to choose to live or die, don't let others choose for you."
He stared at the gun, the impulse of wanting to die was no longer that strong. Minutes later, he soon found the gun was discarded to the side and was replaced with her hand that was extended towards him.
He looked up at her to find that pure and warm smile adorning on her face. At that moment, he felt captivated by it.
Unbeknownst to them, two hunters outside of the academy observed their interactions.
"And so the princess fell in love with the hunter..." Kaito commented in amusement, watching Yuuki kneeling and extending her hand to Zero.
Ruolan grimaced and looked away as Zero reluctantly took Yuuki's hand to be pulled out of the pool.
"Bad romance?" Kaito nudged his pupil, who was quietly standing next to him.
"...Let's just go, senpai." Ruolan turned away, clenching her fists.
.
.
Few days later...
"All finished!" Yuuki happily exclaimed, lifting her fountain pen off the flowery patterned letter. "I'm ready for mailing!" She eagerly held up her letter and waved it in the air.
Seeing no response from her mate across his desk that they were sharing, she called out his name a few times.
"Yes, Yuuki?" Kaname finally answered, putting down his folder and paid full attention. "You ready to mail your letter to Michiru?"
So he was listening after all, she nodded her head. "Yes... and I need our seal please…"
"Certainly." He opened his right drawer to get their wax seal stamp.
Taking the opportunity that he was distracted, she leaned forward to peek at the closed folder to see Takuma's cursive writing of the name Maria.
"Do you want me to seal it for you?"
"No thanks, I can do it." She answered, taking the seal into her hand. "Is that a new enrollment form?" She tilted her head towards the document.
"Oh, yes it is." He kept his answer short. "It's still in review."
"Enrollments have been increasing, that's good isn't it?" She offered a smile and he returned it. "So who is this new person?"
Knowing she was determined to find out about this new student, he slid the folder across their shared desk.
Opening the folder, she was greeted by a girl's portrait that eerily reminded her of someone. The long flowing silver hair and purple-colored eyes...
"Kurenai Maria," she read, unable to take her eyes off the photograph.
"She's a distant relative of Shizuka," he revealed.
"Oh." She stopped skimming her profile. Many questions started clouding in her mind at the mention of Shizuka.
"From the letters she wrote, it appears she shows genuine interest in our academy," he leaned back against his chair. "According to Takuma, she has been an fragile child since young with a weak body. Thus, she doesn't go out much and is confined to her parents' house."
"Oh," she muttered again. This stroke a chord in her heart because her parents had done something similar when she was young-sheltering her from the outside society.
"That is why she wants to enroll here, she supports coexistence and at the same time, sees this an opportunity to meet new people."
She nodded before asking what worried her the most, "How do you think Zero will react...?"
Hearing the Hunter's name fall off her lips with in a familiar one, he almost frowned. "She shouldn't be a threat, Takuma will keep an close eye on her."
"Ah, okay." She still feel uneasy about the situation.
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After knocking on the Headmaster's door for the fifth time, Yuuki was about to leave if no one answered.
The door was immediately flung open and Yuuki was met by a disheveled Headmaster. His eyeglasses crooked, strands of his hair sticking up, his poncho looked like it was about to fall off.
"Ah, Yuuki-chan, I apologize for the wait." Kaien put one hand on the door and the other on his abdomen, catching his breath. "Zero caught some sort of virus and is currently bedridden. His fever is on and off, I have been looking after him since this morning while juggling some work." He then held his left arm to look at this watch. "And apparently, I have a meeting to attend in less than half an hour." He placed his other hand on his forehead. "Oh my, what am I ever going to do."
"Is there something I can help?" Yuuki asked, pitying the stressed out headmaster.
He immediately brightened up at the offer. "Oh, will you? Do you mind watching and taking care of my son for an hour or so? It would be marvelous if you can!"
"Sure, I think I can look after him." She answered him, not giving much thought of dealing with the stoic hunter.
"Thank you, thank you!" Kaien pulled her into a quick hug before leading the way to Zero's room. "My son rarely gets sick but when he does, it's… a mess. He requires tons of attention even if he says he doesn't need it. Obviously he cannot take care of himself in this state!" He crossed his arms and shook his head.
Yuuki could only nod, sympathizing with him.
"Okay, here we are, be forewarned that he's extra grumpy; even more grumpy than usual." Kaien opened the door to Zero's bedroom.
The sound of coughing was soon heard. Zero was laying in his bed with a towel on his forehead. He didn't look too well with his cheeks flushed and sweat beading off his face.
"He's already taken his medicine, so you don't need to worry about it. What we need to make sure is he stays hydrated by drinking water and the towel on his head gets changed out once in a while." Kaien demonstrated by peeling the towel off Zero's head and lifting him up to force him to take a few small sips from his cup. He then gently laid Zero's head back into the pillow and dipped the towel into a basin of cool water to rinse it out. "One thing I'm worried about is that he's not eating much." He said, placing the towel back on Zero's hot forehead.
Kaien pointed at the bowl of porridge on the bed stand. "It's going to be hard but can you make sure he eats half of it?"
"I'll try my best," Yuuki said, grinning to give him reassurance.
"Anyway, I must go," Kaien glanced at his watch, running a hand in his already messy hair. "Yagari is going to kill me for being late, he's such an impatient man..." Kaien immediately pulled Yuuki into another quick embrace. "Once again, thank you! I'll be back soon, I promise."
With that the Headmaster rushed out of the room, leaving Yuuki with her sick patrol partner.
She slowly sat down on the chair next to his bed, wondering if pushing him into the pool contributed to his ill condition.
Yuuki observed him, watching how frequently his chest rise and fall. His cheeks were flushed in a pink hue. She lightly touched his forehead and felt the heat radiating off him through the cool towel. "You're burning up too." She pushed down the blankets he was tightly holding.
"It looks like you won't be able to patrol tomorrow night." She grabbed another towel from his bed stand and started dabbing his face. As her hand lowered to wipe the sweat off his neck, his tattoo caught her eyes. "As one of us, you shouldn't be sick... How strange..." She withdrew her hand and sat back down.
As minutes passed, she soon grew bored of sitting there and staring at his sleeping form. Truth to be told, she had never taken care of a sick person. This was something new.
Her eyes looked around the room, landing on the small bookshelf in the far corner. She stood up and walked over to see if there was anything good to read.
The first row of books consisted all academic subjects-Physics, Calculus, Statistics and Chemistry. Not very interesting. He must have had some fiction in his collection. She then went down to the second row and was greeted by a framed photograph.
In the photo, Zero and a girl-who resembled Ruolan very much-minus the pink pastel hair she had-was standing in front of the academy. There were barely any trace of a faint smile on both their faces. Zero had his signature look of stuffing one hand in his pocket while his other hand was holding Ruolan's hand.
An coughing fit snapped Yuuki back to reality and she decided she should stop snooping around.
"Hun-hungry, food."
She heard Zero weakly croaked. She went back to his side and picked up the bowl of porridge.
"This is a bit cold, I need to warm this up, I'll be right back!" she dashed out of the room to find their kitchen.
It took a while for Yuuki to return with a steaming bowl of porridge.
"I'm back, I'm back."
She carefully walked towards his bed and settled back into her chair. As she began his feeding session, her patience was tested as he kept refusing to eat despite of exclaiming to be hungry. She managed to have him eat half of the bowl to her relief.
Time went by quite slowly after his meal, she constantly would wipe the sweat off his face and rinse out the towel with clean water.
She soon grew tired and sleepy. Deciding it was good to take a short break, she placed her arms on the edge of his bed and nestled her head on top of it.
Zero tiredly lifted his eyelids that felt like an iron curtain. His body felt hot and aching. He groaned slightly as he tried to sit up and clear his head.
When he was half conscious, he stared at Yuuki who was sleeping at the corner of his bed.
He blinked, placing his hand in his forehead and feeling something cool. He peeled off the towel from his face and surveyed his surrounding.
His eyes trailed from the water bucket next to his bed to the half eaten porridge bowl.
Had she been taking care of him for the past few hours and not the Headmaster?
He massaged his temple with his hands, feeling a bad headache creeping in. He looked around in search of time and found his clock reading seven o'clock in the evening.
Something then caught his eyes, a small dark brown bottle next to his clock.
His hand automatically reached for it. He barely recognized the Chinese writing on the bottle but he certainly remembered the bad taste the herb pills left in his mouth. It had been a long time since he last saw it. The last time was before Ruolan left.
He attempted to open it but found it sealed. Confusion dawning on him, he surveyed his room again to see if he had any other guests.
Nobody was in the room except them.
Leaning back against his bed headboard, he stared at the sleeping pureblood. Judging by the wet towel that was in his hand and the exhaustion on her face, he concluded she had been taking care of him while Kaien probably had something to do.
Closing his eyes in an attempt to clear the fogginess in his head, he didn't know if he should care about the pureblood. He was too tired to be annoyed at her.
A light breeze gently reached in to the window, he peeked one eye open to see the window was opened.
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It only took a few days for Zero to recover and resume his prefect's duty. When he had shown up for patrolling, Yuuki was delighted to see him alive and kicking. Both of them seemed to be on mutual agreement to not speak about the day he was sick for it was overly embarrassing for Zero to be taken care of—let alone by a pureblood. For Yuuki, she was embarrassed about how she had spilled porridge all over his clothes when she tried to get him to eat the second time that day.
"I think today is a record that we got the Day Class to line up accordingly. Their behavior is extraordinarily good," Yuuki proudly said, observing the interactions between the two classes.
"That's because it is finals week," Zero flatly pointed out. "Half of the class is probably doing last-minute cramming in the library. Besides, they are supposed to be like that in the first place."
"If only they could be like this every day, it would make our lives easier, then maybe we can retire?" Yuuki suggested, smiling.
As much as she liked to be a prefect, sometimes she wanted to be a regular Night Class student and attended the same classes as her friends.
"Let me know when that day comes, I'm sick of their fangirling and… fanboying." Zero boringly watched as another Day Class boy confessed with flowers to Ruka.
"At least they are keeping it to a minimum?" Yuuki wondered if this fangirling phase will ever fade away. "Anyway, the Headmaster said he wanted to see me, I'm going to—" Yuuki paused, feeling a sharp pain in her head.
Everything began to become dim around her. She blinked a few times, trying to fight the darkness that was invading her vision but it got worse. She soon lost her sense of hearing and felt her body go limp.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Zero hovering above her and saying something inaudible. It took few more seconds before she could feel him padding lightly on her face which she found agitating.
"Hey, hey, hey."
His words finally reaching to her ears.
"Yuuki, hey, Yuuki," he called out more frantically than he intended. This was starting to freak him out. From his knowledge and experience, vampires didn't faint unless… well maybe when they were close to dying? He honestly didn't know and to see his patrol partner fainting was slightly terrifying.
"Y-yes, I'm fine," she mumbled, trying to push his left hand away from her. She then proceeded to stand with his help.
When she finally got back on her feet, she caught Kaname's gaze on her.
Feeling uncomfortable and awkward, she rapidly excused herself and weakly walked away.
For the next few nights, she was absent in patrolling duty. Kaien had explained that Yuuki requested time off and Takuma will become her substitute for the time being.
Exhaling slowly into the chilly air, Zero leaned against the stone rail and turned his head to the right side. He stared at the spot where Yuuki had occupied during their nightly chats.
He didn't know what bought him to their hangout spot. Perhaps it became a routine for him or he simply liked how the place offered serenity. It was a quiet place too, away from both classes.
He also didn't know how he should feel towards her absence. He had to admit that it was a little boring now. Her stories that he deemed to be silly and childish didn't seem that way anymore.
Sighing again, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
A memory plays in his mind's eye.
"Do you think... If I were human, we would be friends?" Yuuki stared at the moon, gripping her hands on the rail and swinging her legs in the air.
"...That is preposterous," he answered.
She blinked. That was a fancy phrase she would expect to hear from Hanabusa or Ruka whenever they disagreed on something or ridiculed each other's ideas.
"Foolish." He shook his head from left to right.
She frowned. "Don't you ever wonder about the what if's?" She tore her gaze from the calming mood to look at the hunter.
"No."
His reply was short and sharp. Imaging how his life could been differently and happily if he were not cursed by Shizuka... It would only make his current circumstances souring.
"Well, I think we would have become friends." She offered a smile.
"Friends?" he scoffed.
She nodded adamantly.
"...No."
"No?" She frowned.
"Not all humans are friends, so just because or, hypothetically speaking, if you were human, that doesn't mean I have to be friends with you," he flatly pointed out.
"Hm," she drummed her fingers against the handrail. "Hypothetically speaking, if I were human... Then would vampires still exist? Without vampires, there would be no academy... Then I wouldn't even get to meet you..."
He wanted to run a hand across his face and maybe perhaps through his hair as well. This girl was weird.
"Now that would be a bit technical..." She continued.
"A bit?"
"Okay, maybe a lot, but that is not my point. I think we would be friends."
"Best of friends?"
"Besties as the Day Class calls it."
The way she then smiled made him feel a little warmth inside him. A comfortable feeling, no longer strong distaste. It almost made him believe that she was human with how she wore the smile so naturally on her face. Different than the other vampires who he viewed as cold and stuck-up.
A smile soon tugged the corner of his lip, amusement at the term she used.
Her smile almost faltered at his reaction. She had never seen him give a genuine smile to her. It was her first time to see this. "You should smile more, it suits you better than your signature scowl."
Friends.
Could that be possible?
Have a relationship with her just like the way he had with Ruolan?
.
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Curling up into a ball on the cold bed, Yuuki shut her eyes and tried to ignore her hunger.
For a moment, it worked and the burning sensation in her throat toned down slightly before flaring up twice as hot.
She almost let out a cry of how painful it was but instead she tightened her grip on her blankets and buried herself deeper into the blankets.
"Yuuki."
A voice greeted her and she barely recognized who it belonged to.
She pretended to not hear it as she didn't want him to see her in such a state.
"Yuuki."
He called again. This time, he sat down on her bed and turned her towards him.
"Look at me," he gently requested.
It took a while before she opened her bright crimson eyes, revealing how insanely thirsty she was.
She felt herself slowly losing control as she stared at him, her hands began to tremble underneath the sheets.
"You need to drink," Kaname said, bringing a glass to her.
"N-no, I do not need it." She feebly pushed his hand away.
"You do." He tried again and this time, brought the cup closer to her.
"No, I don't!" She suddenly shouted, knocking the glass out of his hand. The glass was threw across the room and shattered.
Her eyes returned to their normal color when she realized what she did. Hanging her head low, she apologized.
"Please... Leave..." She said in a very quiet tone.
Not waiting for his reply, she turned her back against him and laid back on the bed.
He had a feeling that this would happen. She could be so stubborn at times.
Drawing his fangs out, he slowly brought his left hand to his mouth and bit hard on it. Streams of blood began to flow down his hand and dripped onto the bed's white sheets.
"Drink," he urged, bringing his bleeding hand to her mouth.
The fragrance of his blood was overwhelming, she dug her nails into her pillow to prevent from pouncing on him.
"N-no," she weakly refused.
He frowned at the second rejection. This was for her own good.
She shut her eyes tightly again and tried to block out the sweet scent from him.
Seconds soon ticked by and perhaps minutes. She thought she was safe from the bloodlust until she felt something soft pressed against her lips. More importantly, something wet and tasty was trickling down into her throat. She immediately recognized it was his blood and that he was feeding her by mouth.
Too dazed by hunger and emotions, she peeked one eye at him to see him hovering above her. It was no point to remain stubborn and continue to starve herself.
She needed this, she needed him.
She accepted his invitation by pulling him closer.
,
,
Kissing the small wound that she left on his neck, she thanked him.
"Are you feeling better?"
She nodded before laying her head on his chest. His heartbeat was beating slower than usual, a sign that she took too much blood from him.
"What about you?"
His hand reached out to rest on her head.
"I'll be fine," he reassured.
"...I'm sorry..." she finally said, hugging him. "I shouldn't have done that... So stupid of me. I-"
"You are forgiven."
She blinked.
"As long as you realize your mistake and won't do it again, then you are forgiven," he clarified. He sometimes wondered if he was being too soft towards her. If he had given her a punishment earlier, then this could have been prevented.
"I..." She paused. "How... Did you know?"
"Seiren".
Of course it would be her, his ninja bodyguard and secretary. Nothing could go unnoticed by her hawk eyes.
"Also, the symptoms were showing. You were losing control," he added.
"Oh."
"Starving yourself for more than two weeks is dangerous," he began to lecture her. "Controlling oneself is not easy, it takes decades of practice."
"I know, I deprived myself of our only food source, thinking it was a good punishment as nothing will hurt as much as that. I was foolish..." She said guilty.
He sighed inaudibly, his patience was slowly growing thin. He wasn't sure was it from the loss of blood he had suffered or that annoying headache pounding against his skull. Or the fact that he wouldn't be able to feed her in the future.
"Hey... Kaname, are you alright?" she caressed his face. His body felt very cold. "You look really pale, do you want me to get some blood tablets?" She began to untangle herself from him but he stopped her.
"I will be fine," he answered, pulling her closer and resting his head atop of hers.
.
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Sneak Preview of Future Chapter: Possessive
"Yuuki," he finally called out, hoping she had enough time of calming herself, so she could listen to his explanation.
She ignored him, pretending that she couldn't hear him as she continued to take long strides in hopes of reaching to her bedroom faster. At that moment, she wished he would just leave her alone, but knowing he had strong persistence in whatever he does, he would find a way to accomplish his goal.
"Yuuki," he repeated, still not earning any acknowledgment whatsoever. He began his pursuit after her, quickening his pace to match with hers. He managed to catch her small wrist as she used her powers to open her room's doors.
Twisting her wrist furiously, she struggled against him for a while before she was defeated when her back slammed the door shut. She tightened her lips into a thin line as she found herself trapped between him and the door. Pleading eyes meet fuming eyes; they stared at each other as if they were holding a staring contest.
"…You smell like her," she said in a very cold tone that was opposite of what she was feeling inside, an cauldron bubbling irately. She then looked away from his eyes that she once never got tired looking and getting lost into them, but at that moment, she was.
.
Author's Note: That concludes the end of the chapter. So... the cause of Yuuki's mysterious fainting? It is... starving herself. A silly punishment I would say. I know we didn't get to see much of Kaname's thoughts in this chapter, he seems to be in a conflict of being close to Yuuki and staying away. I'm thinking of focusing on him in the next chapter. Maria should grace her presence in the next chapter too and the plot will pick up it's pace. Any guesses on who is "she" that Yuuki is referring to in the sneak preview?
Reviews and constructive criticism are warmly welcome. Please do let me know what you thought of the chapter. Like I said in the beginning of the chapter, reviews motivates me in continuing this story
As for the big question of: When will be the next update? Half an year later? An year later?
Answer: I'll try my best to shorten the gaps between updates. I'm aiming within a few months. Ideally, I would love to update monthly but due to work and studying for my exam (it's next month and I think I already need to postpone it), it's going to be fairly difficult. Plus, with my well of inspiration drying up, it is getting harder to write. I also have to confess that words do not naturally come to me, it takes me quite a while to compose one scene. Sometimes, I can't believe I've written 21 chapters for this story. I never thought I would go this far, when I first started this story, I thought it was going end at chapter 20 but now look... I'm at chapter 21 and I still got lots to write. This is all thanks to you readers for the love and support. I'd let my imagination go wild in the last few chapters and you guys didn't complain about it.
Anyway, do not fear, I've the entire story planned out including the ending. It's the matter of transferring those thoughts onto paper. Who knows, I may get a sudden burst of inspirations and strong urge to write after this update. If I do, then the next chapter will come faster. Again, I'll do my very best in writing the future chapters. In return, I hope you readers will have faith in me. Thank you for understanding.
Take care, everybody!
April 11, 2016