Disclaimer- I don't own Vampire Knight

Chapter 26

Confrontations

Being engaged was apparently quite the mood improver for Reina who was constantly smiling, laughing and was more talkative than ever. Her mood lightened everyone's hearts even if they had no idea what was making her so jovial. For the time being it had been decided that it would be best to keep her engagement to Ichijo a secret, the only ones to know were those close to the two of them, in other words, Kaname, Aido, Kain, Shiki, and Rima. They were all keeping the news to themselves as they had been instructed by Reina and Ichijo.

Reina had continued to wear her ring on her right hand and rarely removed it. At the moment, however, it was in a black box on the nightstand next to her bed while she was wrapped in the strong arms of Ichijo, sleeping peacefully.

Ichijo was beginning to stir, but he was caught up enjoying the feel of Reina curled up against him, her back to his chest as she slept. He pulled her closer to himself, smiling when she moaned tiredly and rolled onto her back, resting the back of her hand on her forehead and peeking open one sapphire eye.

"Good morning," Ichijo greeted happily, kissing her on the cheek.

She grunted and rolled back over, pulling her blankets over her head to make herself seem like nothing more than a lump of fabric. "What's so good about it?" She grumbled as she burrowed deeper into the softness of her bed.

"We only have two more days of class before break."

"But that means we still have class tonight and tomorrow," Reina muttered grumpily.

"It's not like you ever do anything in them," Ichijo teased.

"Shhh, sleeping," Reina mumbled.

"I don't think so," Ichijo replied, reaching under her cave of blankets to tickle her.

She giggled, but she stifled it the best she good, saying, "Stop it," as threateningly as possible only to end up giggling even more when Ichijo didn't heed her threat.

"Are you going to wake up?"

"No," she laughed as his hands continued their assault.

"Then, no."

"Takuma," she whined through her laughs.

His hands stopped their assault on her and he pulled the blankets off of her only to laugh at the disgruntled glare he received. Reina was staring up at him, her hair in disarray under her, her cheeks red and the last vestiges of sleep clinging to her eyes.

"Good morning," he sung, grinning at the growl he got in response.

"Is there a reason why I'm awake?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I was lonely."

"Then go play with Shiki, he needs to learn some tricks anyway. Do cats do tricks?" she asked as an after thought.

"Shiki is still asleep and I don't really know, we'll have to find out," Ichijo replied thoughtfully.

"You go find out, I'll be here. Sleeping."

"You're no fun," Ichijo sighed.

"Sorry, but for some reason I'm really tired. Maybe it has something to do with my fiance insisting that I read the new volume of...what the hell was that anyway?"

"It was-hmm?"

There had been a knock on Reina's doors and both of their heads turned to the set of doors curiously. With a heavy sigh Reina shoved the blankets off of herself and slipped from the bed, Ichijo sat up tossing his legs over the bed as Reina made her way to the door. When she pulled one door open she was greeted by the smiling blond maid that did the majority of the work in the dorms. The woman was holding a silver tray in both hands that held a single envelope.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Reina-sama, but this just came for you," the young girl said, holding the tray up for her to take the envelope.

Reina just blinked at the cream colored folds of paper, the stationary and the writing were all familiar to her. The stationary she knew to be her father's, she could even smell a faint trace of his scent on it. The writing, however, belonged to Midori, the kind woman who had raised Reina and had been her personal attendant.

"Reina, is everything alright?" Ichijo asked, coming up behind her to put his hands on her shoulders when he noticed that she had yet to move and the maid was looking at her worriedly.

"Uh, yes, sorry," Reina replied, smiling as she took the envelope. "Thank you," she said before closing the door and making her way to her couch.

After she sat, all she could do was stare at the envelope, her eyes growing watery at the lingering scent that it held. She may not have known her parents well, but she had loved them, her father most of all, he had been so kind and loving.

"Reina?" Ichijo asked, sitting next to her and putting a hand on her back.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and wiped at her eyes absently. "It's my father's stationary, it smells like him."

"Oh, would you like me to leave you alone to read it?"

"No, please stay," she answered, slipping a finger under the seal to free the paper inside. Her eyes scanned the short message, her brows knitting together in confusion. "It appears that several servants survived the attack on the manor and they have been running things in my absence. Midori says that they would all really like to see me again and know that I am safe. She also says that there was something left for me by my father, but she doesn't say what."

"I know you didn't want to return home over break, but maybe it would be a good idea even if it's just for a day or two. We can always meet everyone at Aido's later," Ichijo suggested.

"We?"

"Of course, you didn't want to go alone and being that I am your fiance there shouldn't be a problem with me accompanying you."

Reina sighed, setting the note onto the table and leaning into Ichijo's chest, his arms wrapped around her and his chin rested on her head. "Well, I guess we're going home then."

"What are you doing out here?"

Reina ever so slightly twisted her neck to look at Zero as he walked up to her, his hands shoved in his pockets and his usual scowl in place. She was sitting on the edge of the wall surrounding the terrace, her feet dangling over the edge and her hands on either side of her body to support herself.

"Thinking about my parents," Reina answered. "Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to be out here, but I don't want to be in class right now."

Zero said nothing as he walked up beside her and turned so that he was leaning against the same wall she was sitting on, his hands crossing over his chest. They sat in silence, Reina staring off into the miles of dense trees and Zero closing his eyes to enjoy the quiet sounds of the night.

"Why are you here, Zero?" Reina inquired so softly that her voice almost didn't reach him.

His lavender eyes opened behind his silver hair, but his gaze never ventured to Reina, he looked straight ahead as he answered. "Did you want to be alone?"

Starting at the question Reina turned to eye Zero with confusion and curiosity. "I...no," she sighed truthfully, a hint of a smile lightening her features.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I guess there isn't one," she answered, shrugging a shoulder. "But I guess I should go back to class, I don't want to be a bother." She shifted her position, swinging her legs so that her feet were now hanging a few inches from the terrace floor.

"You're not bothering me," Zero said before she had the chance to jump down from her perch.

Reina looked at him oddly, she wasn't used to him being so nice, it was strange. "Well, that's a first isn't it?"

Pushing away from the wall Zero put his hands back in his pockets as he walked away from Reina with no explanation.

"Zero?" Reina questioned uncertainly.

He paused, looking at her from over his shoulder. "Are you coming or not?"

"Uh..."

"You don't want to go to class, but I can't just leave you here unattended. So, are you coming or not?" Zero asked.

"Where?"

"You'll see when we get there," he answered cryptically and Reina could have sworn there was a smirk on his face as he started walking away again.

"So it's a surprise?" Reina asked, appearing beside him and falling into step with him.

"We'll see, won't we?" he replied, smirking.

"Oh my god," Reina gasped.

"What?" Zero asked, finally looking at her.

"That was almost a smile."

Lifting an eyebrow at her, Zero sighed and shook his head. "I am capable of smiling."

"Really, prove it?" Reina challenged, smiling at him for encouragement.

His eyes cornered over to her before settling back on the path they were walking. "Why? I wouldn't mean it right now, just like you don't."

Her steps faltered and she blinked, her face going blank as she put her attention into walking instead of talking. She was disconcerted by Zero's behavior and she wasn't sure what to make of him actually willingly letting her accompany him anywhere.

"You look better when you smile for real, so don't force yourself to smile for others. Wait here, I'll be right back." Zero was gone before Reina even had a chance to look up and open her mouth.

"Aido, Kain," Kaname called from his spot against the wall beneath the window.

The cousins turned their heads to their dorm president, standing up and making their way to him when he simply lifted his eyes to meet their eyes briefly.

"Kaname-sama?" Aido asked when he and Kain were standing in front of the pureblood.

"I take it you have both noticed Reina's absence?"

They both nodded uncertainly, Aido glanced at Ichijo who was sitting at the desk right behind them. The blond raised his head from his book, giving his attention to Kaname.

"It doesn't bother me that she wasn't in class. I trust Reina, I know she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our positions here. She was on the terrace, alone, until a few moments ago. Someone has disturbed her and she is no longer within the building's confines," Kaname hadn't taken his eyes from the text of the leather bound book he had been reading as he spoke calmly.

"What would you like us to do, President Kuran?" Kain asked.

"I have already told you your duty," Kaname replied evenly.

"Eh, Kaname, maybe it would be best if I went," Ichijo interjected.

"You may go if you wish, Ichijo. Remind her of what I told her would happen if he touched her again."

Five minutes had past since Zero had left and Reina was beginning to grow nervous and fidgety underneath the dark foliage of the forest. She began to wonder if she should just go back to the Academy, but her curiosity kept her where she was. She leaned back against one of the trees and continued to wait for Zero to come back. Her mind kept turning over the last thing he had said to her.

"You look better when you smile for real, so don't force yourself to smile for others."

Reina sighed and closed her eyes tilting her head up into the few bright rays of the moon's glow that filtered through the canopy. It was a few moments later that she opened her eyes and looked into the shadows to her left, the same direction Zero had gone. She knew it was him, but there was a strong scent of horses as well. Stronger than it had been and she thought that he must have gone to check on the horses which would explain why she was left where she was. If she got too close the horses would have become frightened.

"Come on," Zero called to her, beckoning to her by jerking his head in the direction he had come from.

"But..."

"Just come on," Zero repeated.

At first she stayed where she was, uncertain, but when Zero turned and walked away she pushed herself upright and ran after him.

"Wait, Zero. What-" she stopped in her tracks when she finally caught up to him, her eyes widening in surprise.

Not ten feet in front of her stood a majestic light colored mare, Zero was beside her, stroking her neck in long, soothing strides. The horse snorted at Reina, its large, dark eyes assessing her and trying to determine whether she was a threat or not. The horse stomped one of her hooves, digging it into the dirt and humphing loudly.

"Are you going to stand there and stare? Or are you going to come over here and meet her? Her name is White Lily, she's the most ill-tempered horse in the stables, but- Hey, where are you going?" Zero snapped.

Reina had turned around and was walking away from the horse and Zero, but Zero wasn't having it. He jogged forward grabbing onto her wrist and making her stop her retreat.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to class," she answered matter of factly, even raising a hand to point towards the Academy.

"You're scared of Lily, aren't you?" he inquired blandly, his eyes hiding the amusement he felt.

"You just said she was the most ill-tempered horse in the stable and animals don't like our scent. Are you trying to get me stomped on?" She protested.

Zero sighed. "Come on," he started pulling her back to where he had tied White Lily.

"No, Zero. Jeez, you got stronger since drinking my blood," she grumbled as she tried to pull her wrist from his grasp only to have him tighten his hold.

"You didn't let me finish what I was saying. I raised Lily, she's more tolerant of things that most animals aren't, she's very intuitive. She can sense whether you're a danger to her and, unlike other horses, she won't freak out unless she senses something threatening."

"Like me."

"She's a horse, Reina, she's not going to eat you. She might chew a- Hey, I was joking," Zero said when Reina pulled out of his grip and turned around. "I was kidding, I'm sorry," he said as he grabbed her hand and she looked at him worriedly. "Lily is just a horse. You're a pureblood vampire, if it came down to it you'd be fine. You can move quicker than her and you're stronger, right?"

Reina eyed the large creature warily, they were standing about five feet away from Lily who was munching on the grass in front of her, not even paying them much attention.

"You'll be fine," Zero assured her. "I promise, ok?"

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me, Zero? And why on earth did you bring me out here to meet a horse, a very pretty, very large horse?"

"Because I wanted to," he shrugged.

"You're not going to answer the question, are you?" Reina sighed.

"You wanted to see a horse up close, didn't you? White Lily is probably the only one that will allow you near her, like I said she's smart and she can sense whether someone is good or not. So are you going to be a chicken and leave now that you're this close?" Zero asked.

"I am not a chicken," Reina snapped defensively.

Zero walked to Lily, petting her muzzle as she ate. She lifted her head from the grass and nudged Zero playfully. Her dark eyes wandered to Reina and regarded the pureblood curiously. Reina couldn't help but fidget under the scrutinizing dark eyes of the animal, she felt as if her soul were being looked into and it was a strange sensation for her. Her interest in Reina was short lived as she turned her attention back to Zero who was patting her neck.

Reina laughed lightly when Lily chomped down on Zero's hair and began munching lazily on it. Zero, however, didn't think this was all that funny and his face grew annoyed before he swatted the horse away from his head.

"What did I tell you about eating my hair? I'm gonna go bald if you keep it up," he shouted in aggravation.

Lily humphed when Zero finished his rant and ran a hand through his hair. The second he turned around to try and get Reina to come closer, Lily decided to munch on his hair again. Zero growled, but before he even had the chance to turn around Lily diverted her attention to looking in the other direction.

"Like I don't know it was you," Zero grumbled.

Soft, warm laughter filled the quiet of the forest as Reina enjoyed the scene in front of her. It was nice to see a different side to Zero, he was relaxed and not tense and cold like usual. She gasped when he suddenly grabbed her left hand in his right and quite literally dragged her so that she was standing face to muzzle with White Lily.

Reina swallowed, blinked, and then chuckled. "Uh, hi."

"Harumph."

"Try petting her. Let her sniff your hand first and be slow or you might frighten her," Zero said.

Hesitating at first Reina slowly lifted her right hand, holding it with her palm up as she brought it towards Lily. The horse simply sniffed at her hand before snorting and turning her head away as if disappointed. Raising her hand smoothly and carefully towards the horse's head Reina pulled it back a little to clench it into a fist for a moment and take a breath. She hadn't realized it, but her heart was pounding fiercely in her chest and her hand was shaking as she unclenched her fist and placed it lightly onto Lily's muzzle. Her lips parted and her eyes widened in wonder as she ran her hand along the length of Lily's long muzzle.

Zero watched the way her eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning as her small hand caressed Lily's nose. Her other hand was still folded in his, he wasn't sure if she noticed just how tightly she was holding it or if she even realized she was holding it. He knew she was tense and uncertain about being so close to an animal when she had never been able to get so close to any animal before. When Lily tossed her head Reina pulled her hand to her chest, afraid she had somehow upset her, Zero squeezed her hand reassuringly.

The unexpected pressure on her hand startled Reina and she looked to her hand that was holding his so tightly. She gasped, dropping his hand. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was..."

"Don't worry about it," Zero told her, he glanced behind them, toward the Academy. He didn't know how Reina hadn't sensed it yet, but there were three vampiric auras that were heading in their direction. "Do you want to try riding her?" He asked suddenly.

"What? You have to be kidding? She'll-" Reina began to protest, but Zero had agilely leapt on to Lily's back and was holding a hand out for her.

Lily sniffed impatiently, shifting around, excited by the prospect of a chance to stretch her legs and move away from the approaching auras. It was the same moment Reina realized that Ichijo wasn't that far from them, Aido and Kain with him. She knew they had to have been sent to retrieve her by Kaname and the thought angered her. She didn't want to run from Ichijo or give him any reason to doubt her, but she also didn't want to go back to the Academy. She looked back at Zero who was still holding his hand out to her as he tried to keep Lily calm. She grabbed his hand and let him help her make the jump onto Lily's back behind him.

As soon as she was up Zero took the reigns in both hands and they were off, flying through the darkness. Reina squeaked and wrapped her arms around Zero, she hadn't been expecting to take off like that and this was a whole new experience for her. At first she was frightened even though she knew nothing was going to happen to her. She buried her head into Zero's back, her hair flying out behind her wildly.

"Would you relax? You're going to crush me," Zero grumbled, knowing that her ears would still hear him.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly, loosening her grip on his torso.

"Didn't I promise you'd be fine, just trust me, alright?"

"You're so confusing," Reina mumbled.

"Why?"

"You don't even like me so why are you doing this for me?"

"I lied."

The words were barely above a whisper, but they stunned Reina into silence. After a few seconds she smiled softly as she lifted her head so that she could admire the scenery. They had left the more dense forest in exchange for hilly meadows that were lit by only the light of the moon. Her breath caught in her throat at the picturesque setting as a cool nighttime breeze kissed her cheeks and brought the scent of fresh grass and earth to her nose. The tall grass was swaying lazily making it appear as if they were running through a gentle sea.

"You've managed to put quite a distance between us, but they're still following," Reina said quietly when she looked behind them, her hair snaking over her face.

Zero ignored her and pushed Lily to go faster, he was too aware of Reina's presence behind him. Her body pressed into his and her legs, that were barely covered by her skirt, on either side of him. Many different feelings were coursing through his body, but the main one was a mixture of lust and thirst.

"Zero... Zero, stop," Reina pleaded, her voice had taken on an edge of panic for she had noticed something ahead of them, a dark aura that she had no desire to get any closer too. She could tell that Zero hadn't felt it, but Lily had and the horse was becoming uneasy as she ran. "Zero, stop!" Reina yelled over the wind.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Lily reared onto her back hooves pawing at the air and whinnying in agitation. Reina cried out in surprise as she was thrown off the horse to collide roughly with the ground. Zero too was thrown from Lily's back, he landed on his side, a little more gracefully than Reina had managed. Rid of her burdens Lily took off into the night.

"Lily!" Zero called after her as he jumped to his feet.

Reina was already up, her body rigid as she looked around the clearing they were in with narrowed eyes. Her face drew into a confused frown when she couldn't see anything, let alone sense the dark aura she was certain she had just felt.

"Are you alright?"

Frowning, Reina turned to Zero. "Didn't you feel it? Lily certainly did."

"Feel what?" Zero asked.

Reina shook her head and sighed as she looked down at the state of her mussed and dirty uniform. She brushed as much of the dirt from it as she could, but it was still quite dirty. "Michael," she said quietly.

"Michael? Isn't he-"

"My previous fiance? Yes and I could have sworn I just sensed him, but...there's nothing now. I don't understand what's going on, but I should go back," Reina said.

"Lets follow after Lily, she headed towards the stables," Zero replied.

Back in the forest Reina began to grow nervous, she felt as if she were being watched by the animals that were hiding in the dark boughs of the trees above them and even by the trees themselves. Not having much experience in the outdoors she wasn't sure if it was always this quiet, there wasn't a sound except for their footsteps on the soft earth as they walked. The air seemed heavy and too cold, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Here," Zero said, shrugging out of his dirt dusted jacket so that he stood before her in only his white shirt and black vest, holding his jacket to her.

"I'm fine," Reina declined, shaking her head and shivering again.

Zero regarded her skeptically before tossing the jacket at her and walking off. Reina caught the coat, her eyes widening at the thought of being left alone by Zero who was several yards from her already. She slipped the blazer on, it was too large for her and it fell to just below the hem of her skirt and the sleeves covered her hands.

"Thank you."

Zero grunted in response as she reappeared at his side. He was beginning to realize just how thirsty he was, he hadn't had a single drop of blood since he had bitten Reina and the blood tablets weren't doing him any good.

"You're thirsty, aren't you?" Reina asked.

He ground his teeth together, not wanting to answer the straight forward question, but he wound up sighing and nodding.

"Do you want my blood?"

It was such a blunt inquiry that Zero actually stopped walking to slowly spin around and meet Reina's placid gaze. She was quite the sight covered in smudges of dirt, her hair mussed slightly and wearing his coat that was too large on her small frame as she stared at him with her sparkling sapphire eyes.

"It's a simple question, Zero? Do you-"

"Yes." He admitted without hesitation, but there was a trace of disgust.

She smiled warmly. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to actually answer so truthfully. I know how much you hate what you are becoming and I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to make the feeling go away. I don't know what you want from me, Zero, other than my blood, but at the moment that's all I can offer you. So if you're thirsty, drink." Moving all of her hair so that it fell over her left shoulder, Reina exposed her neck to Zero.

"Won't Kuran be mad?"

"I don't care what Kaname feels. I already told you he betrayed me or did you think I meant someone else?"

"What exactly happened?"

"...I watched him murder Shizuka Hio and when he noticed my presence he accidentally took a piece of my shoulder off. He refrained from telling me that I was still engaged to Michael or about the fact that the contract between himself and I was still valid as well. In the end it worked out, I'm not engaged to either one of those bastards. He's lied, said things that should never have been said, and has tried to control me, should I continue?"

"No, I think I get it. If he's done all of that then why are you still always by his side like a puppet?"

"It's easier that way, he's planning something and I want to know what. I may not trust him, but that's all the more reason to stay close to him as much as I can't stand being near him. As long as he keeps his hands off of me I don't care that much and I can deal with it," Reina answered. "I'll always care about him, I can't help it, but never again will I trust him. We got off topic though, weren't you going to drink?"

His hands had clenched at his sides and he had torn his eyes from hers to glare at the ground. When he looked up to see her neck completely exposed under the paleness of the moon's glow his heart painfully skipped a beat. A hand flew to his chest, clenching at the material of his vest as his eyes began to glow the color of blood. The throb of her pulse was visible against the taught skin of her smooth neck, making Zero excruciatingly aware of the sound of her blood pumping throughout her body.

There was no waver in his step as moved from his spot and advanced on Reina. She didn't move as he neared her, only kept her eyes locked on his as her wrists were locked into his grasp. She let him press her body into the rough bark of a tree, lifting her hands above her head and pinning them there. Their gazes unlocked as Zero lowered his head, his hot breath, that was beginning to grow uneven, splashing against Reina's cheek and neck.

The hold on her wrists tightened, but was transferred to just one of Zero's hands. His now free hand moving down her arm slowly as his tongue flicked over her neck. Reina gasped, her eyes widening and her head falling back in response to the lustful gesture. She became overly aware of the hand that was tracing the curves of her body and her breathing heightened, her heart beat speeding up as she swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat.

Her hands clenched into fists and her eyes closed when Zero's fangs sunk into her skin. He released her wrists, placing both hands on her waist as he drank her blood. All Reina could do was wrap her arms loosely around his neck and let her eyes close while he sucked the precious blood from her veins.

"I lied."

Reina's eyes flew open, recalling the two words Zero had spoken in answer to her question about why he was being so kind to her when he didn't even like her.

"Z-Zero," she stuttered out when his hands left her waist, his body pressing into hers, nearly crushing her.

She took a shaky breath when she felt his hands moving up her body, he removed his fangs from her neck, licking the small amount of blood that leaked from the small wounds. As his hands made their way to her face, he lifted his head to look into her eyes. One of his hands entangled itself in her hair, the other cupped her cheek as he leaned closer. She didn't know what to do as his lips closed in on hers. She could feel her chest rising and falling rapidly and hear the blood rushing through her body, but she couldn't move.

Her senses returned to her in the split second before his lips could connect to hers, but it wasn't because of him that she regained them. She put her hands to Zero's chest, pushing him back and flipping their positions so that he was now against the tree, not her.

"You need to r-" she never got the chance to finish, a muffled whimper passed from her lips as her body arched, her shoulders and head curving back. Her fingers dug into Zero's chest before her head fell onto his shoulder.

Zero stared wide eyed down at her, he put his hands on her back only to pull them away when he felt a sticky wetness there. When he brought his hands up to look at them they were covered in red that was dripping from his fingertips.

A dark, mocking laugh filled the shadows that surrounded them, but it was impossible to tell where it was actually coming from.

"What a beautiful position to find you in, Reina love. I wonder what the Council would do to him if they knew? You too."

"Hello again, Michael dear."