Okay! Second-to-last chapter… Here we go! Anyways, please review, because I've got nothing to say right now…

Chapter 10: Darkness

I stared out the window of the car, bored to death as Ichijo spoke to my brother about him saving Kiryuu. I barely listened, and although my ears sometimes picked up snatches of their conversation, my brain didn't process it.

As we passed a stretch of forest, something called out to me. I sat up straight, and listened.

Come to me, my dear.

I shivered.

I am right here…

"No," I mumbled.

"Nani?" Aido asked. He was with us, because his powers could be useful to us when we went on our rescue mission. His cousin came along as well. We already had Kaname and Ichijo with us, as they originally planned to visit the 'Grandfather', and I was here as well. Seiren was running somewhere beside the car, moving so fast that none of us could catch her movements.

"Nothing," I sighed.

My brother squeezed my hand. I slipped it out of his grip, and watched the flashing scenery.

I didn't need my seer's eye to sense that something was going to go wrong. I just knew it. But what?

I turned my head and analyzed the other male vampires quickly, trying to see if they were injured in any way.

All of them merely met my gaze evenly. The pressure of this situation was getting to them, as well. Even Aido… this Yunoki Ariya must have some way of getting under everybody's skin. Maybe I can learn from her.

Deep in my mind, she stirred.

Something's wrong, I thought as she did. She didn't say anything, but I sensed her pain.

This girl's in deep pain. How long can she hold up?

I shivered in my coat, and Kaname asked the driver to turn up the heater. He must have noticed my quick movement, although I shivered because I was terrified for this girl. As if she were part of me.

In another part of my mind, something that looked like a verse, or a prophecy, popped up, and I read, Neither can live while the other dies. Kill one, and the other joins her in the afterlife.

I wondered where I've read that before. Maybe in some parts of my holey memory, I've seen it, and although I remembered my life, I didn't remember exactly when I did what I did.

Yunoki Ariya, stay safe. We're coming to save you.

--

"Ichio-sama, Kaname-sama, Ariya-sama, Takuma-sama, and their company wish to see you."

Both Aido and Akatsuki flanked me, as if I were so fragile I might shatter under the gaze of the vampire I was older than. I found it insanely insulting.

"Send them in," Ichio said gruffly.

He stood as we entered.

"Kaname-sama, I didn't dare wish I would see you again this soon. And you brought your sister as well." He bowed to me, and, amazingly, I found that he was mocking me. "Good evening, Ariya-sama."

I nodded my head graciously. "I hear you're the leader for the Council of Ancients."

"And Takuma is my darling grandson," he confirmed, not smiling. His gaze went to Ichijo, who stiffened. "And where is my ward?"

Ichijo licked his dry lips. "I do not know. She may be wandering somewhere in the Academy, or she could be with Ruka."

I raised one eyebrow. Was Rima-san his ward, then? I heard that when she wanted to hang out with girls, she chose Ruka over everyone else. I found it rather entertaining, because it meant that Ichijo and Rima were practically related… in a way.

Ichio nodded.

"I see. And she doesn't have the grace to come visit me?"

"No, Ojii-san. She's extremely busy."

Sure, with Shiki. I wondered if I should mention it, but decided against it. Learning that his ward was in love with the monotonous guy wasn't what every guardian wanted.

As soon as that thought entered my head, it felt as if it were going to explode. I gasped. A killer headache was coming on, and it gave me warning. An omen.

"What is she so busy doing?" Ichio pressed.

This time, Kaname took over. "What she is doing doesn't concern you anymore, Ichio. I came here to talk about Kiryuu Zero." The headache was getting worse.

I leaned over to Aido and whispered, "I need to go. I've got a headache."

Aido nodded, and stood. "I'll go with you, Ariya-sama." He turned to Ichio, bowed, muttering an apology before leading me out. I smiled at Ichio tiredly as an apology, and followed him. I felt four pairs of eyes on my back as we left.

Aido led me into the garden, and stayed in the shadows as I sat on the bench, squeezing my eyes shut in pain.

Unbidden, the future revealed itself to me.

Death. The smell of death hung in the air.

A young girl, unconscious, lay on the bloodstained stone table. Her face was pale, paler than the moon. She was shackled and chained to the table. Blood seeped from her wounds, and she was unable to heal. She was wearing a simple ivory nightgown, red with blood. Her lips moved quietly, forming a single word.

Takuma.

Her silvery eyes opened, and she stared right at me. Our gazes met, and I recognization sparked between us.


She was the girl whom I first saw in my return to this world.


And then, it was dark.

My eyes fluttered open.

Aido was seated next to me, his icy blue eyes on mine. "Daijobu, Ariya-sama?"

"I'm fine," I answered in a quiet voice. "Just tired."

Aido nodded, not pointing out the fact that I've been asleep before we came here. I was glad for that.

"Ne, Aido-san?"

"Yes?"

"Why does Seiren hate me so much? And Ichijo-san, he acts really weird around me." I touched my neck, remembering that he had taken blood from me. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but I felt guilty, because I knew that Kaname wasn't very happy with my 'blood donations'. Well, singular. Donation. Whatever.

"Seiren was real close with Yunoki-sama," Aido answered in a lazy voice. I noted that even though his tone was casual, his stance was not. His eyes roamed the place for anything that would harm me. I felt safer and flattered, but also a little insulted. Couldn't I take care of myself? "And Vice President grew up with her. He loved her."

I blinked. "Ichio's ward is Yunoki-san? I thought it was Rima-chan."

Aido grinned. "Nah. She still has her parents. Yunoki-sama didn't. She was found… I think Ichijo told me that she was found on a snow bank, a large crystal in her hands. She was swathed in thick, bloodstained cloth, and she was sleeping. Honestly, that girl's really upside down." Aido sniffed.

I smiled.

"Anyways, Ichio took her in, and brought her up, and she came to Cross Academy, and blah, blah, blah." He waved his hand dismissively in a playful way. I laughed, and ruffled his hair. Although he was taller than me, I was most definitely older than him. And it felt right.

He gave me a surprised look.

"H-hey!" Slowly, a red blush flooded his cheeks.

"Nani?" I asked teasingly. He was so cute, but in a younger brother sort of way.

He pouted. "Aren't Kurans supposed to be all sophisticated and all that? I mean, shouldn't you be sitting straight and being boring? No offense to your brother."

"None taken," I answered. "And not all Kurans are like that." I paused. "Well, I wasn't. Maybe because I was kept inside most of the time… my parents thought it was dangerous for me, although I didn't know why."

Aido sniffed, and winced.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, glancing around.

"Your scent," he explained. "It's sweeter than anything I've come across… Speaking of which, who drank from you lately?"

I jumped. Uh-oh. "Um, no one. Why?"

"We smelled your blood last night. And it drove most of us crazy…" Aido trailed off at my death look. "Um, never mind."

I grinned, and sighed. "I just cut myself, okay? It's no big deal. I healed right away after that."

Aido accepted my answer, although reluctantly, and we were silent for the rest of the time.

--

Ichijo looked a little pumped up. Maybe he was just happy we were going to go fetch his lover. He couldn't stop fidgeting. His green eyes flicked from one window to the other. He jiggled his leg. He tapped his fingers against the window.

The rest of us watched him in complete silence. Our expressions were calm, but our bodies were tensed. My head thudded in time with my heart.

Da-dump. Da-dump. Da-dump.

"Where are we going?" I finally burst out, breaking the eerie silence. It was too scary to consider what each one of us could be thinking. We could lose one of our friends. Seiren's eyes met mine through the opposite window, and she nodded before disappearing again.

Huh. Maybe there's hope for us after all.

My brother looked at me as all eyes turned on him.

"To the place where she was born. The Yunoki Estate. Her parents lie there."

I shivered, and Ichijo continued his fidgeting.

Aido broke the silence this time. "Ichijo-san, can you stop that? It's getting on my nerves."

Kain nudged him. "Let him be. He's scared."

Ichijo didn't agree or disagree, but I could sense that he was more than scared.

He was terrified.

I knew just what he was thinking.

What if she's not alive by the time we get there?

"We're here," my brother announced abruptly. The silence was broken for the third time as the car pulled into the rusted, iron gates of the Yunoki Estate. The house was dark and growing darker, as if a shadow was being cast over it. As if the last surviving person of the Yunoki line was dying with it. The tall tower next to the house reminded me vaguely of something, but I didn't know what.

And a series of visions flashed through my mind.

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