I'm sorry this was late.

Even though it's summer, I'm still working my butt off ._.;

I'm hoping to increase the word count for this story but I don't know.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy :D

-Anii

Chapter 36: Aidou

Moonlight bounced off the silver coin as Aidou tossed it repeatedly, his focus drifting far from reality. The coin slapped against his pale palm before being bathed once again in moonlight.

Headmaster had made sure to inform Aidou what had transpired with the twins. Why? Aidou felt agitation ripple in his chest. When the hell had he become friends with those damned girls?

Saya's face popped into his head and Aidou snatched the coin out of mid-air, clutching it tightly in his hand. That's right…Saya was a friend. He flashed a pathetic smile as he brought his knuckle to his bottom lip.

He didn't know why or what he liked about Saya, but he liked her. Diva was rather cold but whenever she glanced at her sister, Diva's eyes lit up with pure happiness and that interested him. A little bit, he pouted. She's tolerable.

Aidou let out a long sigh and bowed his head, letting another smile crack his lips apart. What the hell am I doing sitting here? He turned his face from the window, his smile vanishing as his thoughts turned to darker subjects. Physically, he knew both girls would be okay but supposedly, something had happened to Saya. The Headmaster refused to be specific, however.

Aidou slipped from the window ledge and rushed out in to the hallway, excited by his newfound friendship. He bopped down the stairs, mindful of the slippery wooden floors at the bottom of the staircase. The doors opened and he was about to plow through them when he bumped into someone's shoulder. He lifted his head and sucked in a gulp of air. "Kaname?"

Kaname smiled down at Aidou but there wasn't a hint of warmth behind it. "Hello, Aidou."

Aidou's eyes widened. "If you're here…"

A thin girl strode through the open doorway, the raging storm outside making her chocolate-brown hair and clothing flutter wildly. She tilted her head up, giving Aidou a full view of her small and pale face. Dull red eyes; a perfectly straight nose; soft, pink lips. "Yuuki." Aidou whispered breathlessly.

Her head drooped to the side, her eyes sparking with scorching hatred. "Do you know me?"

Aidoud quickly ducked into a bow. "Hanabusa Aidou. You don't remember me?"

Yuuki's nose scrunched with disgust and she glided on over to Kaname's side, her face softening. "Do I really have to introduce myself to them all?"

Kaname's fingers ran down from her temple to just under her jaw line. "Not now."

Yuuki's face lit up and she exploded into a fit of sultry giggles. It was only when they drifted up to the bedroom area that Aidou realized his entire body had been turned to stone.

He shook out his aching limbs, trying to regain feeling in his stiff body. Alright. That was strange.

Aidou ran a hand through his golden hair, puzzled by Yuuki's crude behavior. Aidou allowed another smile to part his beautiful lips. My, my. Looks like life isn't going to be so boring anymore.

••••••••

Aidou stared down at Saya, her body unmoving even as her wide eyes stared into the dancing fire before her. "What happened?"

Diva let out a frustrated sigh. "Everyone keeps asking. Am I psychologist?"

Aidou flashed a harsh glare at the temperamental twin. "You're her sister."

Diva adverted her gaze. "I don't know what's wrong."

Aidou sighed, immediately feeling guilty for being rude to the girl, even if she was rude to him all the time. "Why don't you go sleep or something?"

Diva's icy stare smashed into him once more. "I don't need sleep."

"I said 'or something', didn't I?" Aidou teased, his tone light.

"I'm not leaving her with you." Diva stubbornly insisted.

Aidou batted his eyelashes at her. "Give me a shot?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Request denied." Diva stood, her scathing glare never leaving Aidou's face. "I don't trust you."

"I've never given you a reason not to." The comment was intended to be playfully serious but Diva stumbled back as if Aidou had shot an arrow through her chest.

Her blue eyes were wide as she turned away from him and towards the fire. "Fine."

The single word was so soft, Aidou barely heard it. He didn't know why such a simple statement had made Diva suddenly malleable but he wasn't going to question it. Diva stepped out of the room without uttering another word and Aidou dropped down onto his knees in front of Saya, blocking her unnerving staring contest with the crackling fire.

"Is there a reason you're being so lazy?" Aidou teased, shaking Saya's shoulder gently.

The girl's eyes flicked up to meet his but her lips didn't even twitch with movement. Okay, so the playful banter wouldn't work here. Aidou assumed that everyone had babied Saya when she was in this state so he tried a different tactic.

"How long are you planning to behave like this?" Aidou rose up onto his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, sending a stern look her way. "This isn't the time to behave like a little kid."

Again, Saya didn't even blink. Of course the "bad cop" attitude had already been used on her, Zero would have made sure of that. Aidou let out a dramatic sigh and plopped down before the Queen. He brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"I don't want to talk." Saya rolled over.

"Now that I know you're vocal cords are fine," Aidou forcibly rolled her back to face him. "tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want to."

"I don't care." Aidou said a little impulsively. "I'm not hear to listen to what you want to tell me. I'm hear to listen to what you need to tell me."

"Why should I tell you?"

Aidou smirked confidently. "Because you need me."

Saya snorted. "Why?"

"Because you feel like you have to be perfect in front of Diva. Also, you don't want Zero to see you as weak since he also looks to you for guidance." Aidou tilted his head to the side, his smug smile never fading. "Everyone you could talk to are the people you need to be strong in front of. And since your faithful puppy dog isn't here, I'm assuming that this has something to do with him?"

"Are you sure you aren't the psychologist?" Saya muttered.

"Ah, so you were listening." Aidou winked and waved a hand at her. "Come on, sit up and tell me properly."

Saya let out a quivering sigh as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Won't you see me as weak too?"

"It's a matter of the heart, right?"

Saya nodded weakly.

"Then I'll be the last person to judge you." Aidou dropped down on the couch beside her. "Was I right? Is it about your puppy dog?"

Saya's hands clenched in her lap. "A little bit."

Aidou pretended not to notice and pressed further. "Then what's really bothering you?"

"My parents."

Aidou leaned back comfortably. "I thought you said this is a matter of the heart?"

"Isn't it?" A ghost of a smile appeared on Saya's face. "My heart feels so heavy. I feel like a fraud."

"Ah." Aidou tipped back his head, letting out a playful chuckle. "It's a matter of identity."

"Call it whatever you want." Saya's head dropped into her hands. "My parents…" She choked on her words.

"What about them?" Aidou prodded.

"They were terrible." Saya lifted her head and Aidou saw a fresh trail of tears of streaming down her cheeks. "The whole family was messed up. My aunt is a nightmare from hell who slaughtered for fun and my mother watched her do it without lifting a finger. My father - oh God - my father helped her."

"That's how most vampires are." Aidou felt slightly annoyed that this was the cause of such a dramatic display.

Saya went on to explain the "Lost War" as best she could, giving details when Aidou asked for them. She described her feelings of anger and resentment towards her parents, her emotions fluctuating maddeningly. Other than chirping up a few times, Aidou didn't interrupt her. When she finished, she looked at him expectantly and when he didn't speak, she sighed.

"You don't understand." Saya moaned miserably, her head falling into her hands again.

Aidou's hand immediately shot out but he caught himself before he touched her. His fingertips hovered a hair length's away from her smooth back momentarily before he pulled them back. "Then help me understand."

"I woke up believing I was a human. It took me nearly two years to come to terms with being a Chiropteran." Saya whispered.

"Not everyone's a hero, Saya."

Her head lifted and her tearful eyes met his. "W-what?"

"I think I know why you're upset." Aidou bent forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "You're mad at your parents because they didn't stop your aunt."

"W-well, yes." Saya stammered.

"You were expecting them to fight the bad guys. You feel like they betrayed your kind. You feel like they were monsters and, if they were monsters, what does that make you?" Aidou stated, watching her expression intently. "You're basing your self-image on your lineage."

Saya adverted her gaze and Aidou nudged her gently with his shoulder. "I'm assuming that your puppy dog tried to say something similar and you flat-out shot him down."

Saya dashed away several fresh tears. "I blew up on him. I didn't even get to say sorry."

"What's stopping you from saying sorry?" Aidou questioned, his voice soft.

"He's not here." Saya hiccupped pathetically and Aidou stopped himself from laughing.

"That just means you have time to come up with a good apology. My suggestion, keep it simple." Aidou shoulder bumped her again. "Are you done playing dead?"

Saya nodded like a child and Aidou couldn't stop himself. He slid an arm around her and rested his cheek on her head. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Just because your parents were monsters doesn't mean that you are and it doesn't mean you have to hate them."

Saya opened her mouth to argue but Aidou cut her off, sensing her rising anger. Sheesh, how could that obedient little puppy ever bring up this subject? "You never knew them or the situation. You don't know their feelings. You have a knack for turning people around but they never met you. So don't blame them for the way they turned out."

Saya let out a defeated sigh and Aidou smirked in victory just as Diva stepped back into the room. Aidou threw his hands up innocently as the girl's chilling gaze stabbed through his body. "I was just leaving."

••••••••

Parents. Aidou snorted with contempt.

He pressed his forehead against his bedroom window, watching the silvery moon fade as the sun peeked just over the horizon. He glared momentarily at the rising sun, slightly pissed that its rays always burned him. Maybe I killed some emperor in a past life. He teased (Anii Note: I was just playing on the fact that Aidou seems to like mythology [since it's "romantic"] and in some mythology, an emperor was considered a descendant of the sun/ the actual sun. So by doing something to an emperor in a past life, he's now cursed by the sun.)

Aidou moved to hop off of the window's ledge just as the door to his room opened. "Oh, Yuuki, what are you doing here?" One eyebrow rose on Aidou's face as he yanked the heavy curtains in place. "Do you need something?"

She reached a delicate hand up and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "Don't move."

A chill swept up his entire body, starting from his toes all the way up to the hair on his head. He tried to take a step back but he was frozen in place. He couldn't even move a single, miniscule facial muscle. He battled with his sudden immobility and didn't realize Yuuki's sudden movement.

Aidou barely had time to inhale before she was standing right in front of him, her slender body pressed up against him. She rose up on her tip-toes until they were eye-to-eye. Her palms ran over his chest slowly as she licked her lips invitingly. "I really like you. You must be great in bed."

Embarrassment - a rare emotion for Hanabusa Aidou - flooded his system and blood rushed to light up his cheeks. He begged his lips to move and allow him to say something, anything, to stop Yuuki's humiliating torture on his body.

Normally, he'd be all for a chick throwing herself at him and using her body to taunt him without mercy but something was wrong. Very wrong. The sensation made his skin crawl. The Yuuki he had known wasn't like this and even if she was, he'd never find out because she was Kaname's.

Shit. Kaname.

If he walked in right now, all hell would break loose and heads would roll - well, Aidou's head to be exact. Yuuki's lips brushed up Aidou's exposed neck and she devilishly coiled her fingers around the waist of his pants. "Your blood smells sweet. Like strawberries."

Aidou barely had time to register her words before he felt her sharp fangs pierce through his pale skin. His heartbeat thundered in his ears and a garbled cry rose in his throat. She yanked his hips against her using her grip on pants. Her other hand was pressed flat against his back as she drank greedily from Aidou's body.

"Yuuki."

Aidou begged his body to work and shove Yuuki away as Kaname strode through Aidou's doorway. Aidou could only helplessly stand there as Yuuki nearly sucked him dry with her lover standing a mere ten feet away.

Panic gripped Aidou's pounding heart, giving it a nice squeeze as Kaname crossed his arms over his chest. However, instead of rage flaring up in Kaname's eyes, there was only sympathy.

"You need to behave more like Yuuki." Kaname sighed woefully, not moving a muscle to help Aidou.

Yuuki stepped back, a fat drop of crimson blood curling over her pouting bottom lip. "But Yuuki's no fun."

"If you want Him, you have to do better." Kaname smiled, speaking calmly and playfully as if he were arguing with a child.

"Fine. He's worth more than this blonde brat." Yuuki's face twisted with disgust as her gaze roamed Aidou's unmoving body.

She turned her back and, like a sack of rocks, Aidou fell to the floor, his hand instantly flying to his bloody neck. He felt as if even his organs were trembling as he watched Yuuki through bleary eyes. He clamped his eyes shut as the world swayed before him. He heard his bedroom door close and he slapped a hand down on the surface of his bed. He pushed himself up on wobbly legs, glaring at his now closed bedroom door.

Yuuki *shudders* bleck. Oh, yeah, I spell her name like that, just a heads up xD-Anii