Here we are ya'll new chapter! Sorry about the long wait between, but just remember, if you kill me, there are no more updates ever.
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Kaien walked slowly away from the gym where Zero and Seiren were. Part of him wanted to run, but he couldn't seem to summon the energy to do it. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much that Yuuki and Kaname were having sex, but it did. He had noticed that there was a closeness between them lately that there had never been before, but he had assumed that it was because Yuuki finally knew the truth and they were reconnecting as siblings.
Surprisingly their blood connection wasn't what upset him about the situation. He had known that there was love between them for years—even if Yuuki tried to claim that it was just respect—and had done nothing to discourage it, despite knowing the truth of their blood relationship because even though humans frowned on incest, Yuuki and Kaname were not human. Though that had gotten harder for Kaien to remember over the years.
It was easy for him to remember that Zero was 'borrowed goods' so to speak. The boy's distant attitude helped to remind him and the tattoo on his neck was a glaring sign that no matter how human he looked, he was not. But Yuuki . . . she never showed any sign of being more than she appeared, other than her lack of disquiet when among vampires. And as the years passed, the fact that she was actually a pureblood vampire who would one day return to that world slowly faded as well. Even now, after he had seen sign after sign of her power, it was hard for Kaien to remember that she was now Yuuki Kuran, not Yuuki Cross, and that she was never really his.
Maybe that was what was really bothering him. This was just one more action that showed the distance that her change had put between them. Even though all teenagers say their parents can't understand what they are going though, with Yuuk, it was true. She was going through all kinds of changes that he really couldn't help her with, even though Kaname could. But this . . . this was something he understood. And even though he wasn't sure how much right he had to do it, he intended to speak with both of them about this. He was fairly certain he would survive the ordeal.
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Yuuki narrowed her eyes as she focused on the dummy across the clearing. Kaname watched her face, and fought the urge to laugh at the intense look of concentration there. He had to admit, despite the funny faces she made, she had made amazing progress that day. She now had a basic grasp of her powers and was experimenting with the different facets of them. Unlike the lesser nobles, purebloods had the ability to manifest and use any element they chose, but eventually one would call to them and they would work more with it than any other. For Kaname, though he could still manifest other elements if he chose, the call had come from the psychokinetic side of things.
Yuuki had so far managed to manifest many of the elements, but she was still hesitant with some of them, and flat out refused to attempt to control blood. When Kaname had brought it up, her smile—which only seconds before had been bright with the exhilaration of being able to control her powers—fell and her eyes lost their focus.
"I can't," she had said in a lifeless voice. Even though he suspected that she could he hadn't pressed the matter any further, since he knew that the problem was her recent encounters with Rido and "Sara." She would try when she was ready.
Kaname watched as the dummy she had been focusing on was frozen to where it's knees would be and then simultaneously burst into flames and exploded scattering flaming bits of stuffing across the clearing, which Yuuki promptly extinguished before she turned to him with a pleased smile on her face.
Despite himself he started laughing and grabbed a nearby tree limb to steady himself. Her smile fell a little at his reaction to her attack. She had been wondering if she could control more than one power at the same time, and was pleased with herself that she had done it, and here he was laughing at her efforts.
"Did I do it wrong?" Yuuki asked in a small voice that sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
At her tone, Kaname stopped laughing and looked at her levelly, though he couldn't hide the mirth in his eyes. "No, my dear girl, you did fantastically. But don't you think that was a little bit of overkill? Explosion will destroy most things, as will immolation, but together, they are a little much, wouldn't you agree?"
"I suppose so," she replied bitterly, taking his statement as criticism of her skills.
"Yuuki," he said, his eyes finally losing the mirth as he caught her mood. "You have made extraordinary progress today. Most purebloods take years to learn that they can control more than one burst of power at the same time, if they ever do."
"Really?" she asked, a small smile gracing her face at his praise.
"Would I lie to you?" he asked with a smile. Feeling mischievous, she replied with a slight shrug. Sensing the change in her mercurial moods, Kaname's smile became decidedly predatory.
"Is that really all the more faith you have in me?" he asked beginning to stalk towards her.
"Now, I never said that," Yuuki said, backing away from him and holding her hands out like she was attempting to pacify him, though the look in her eyes clearly said that was the last thing she wanted to do to him.
"I assure you," he replied, his voice little more than a purr, "your intentions were quite clear."
"Really?" she asked slightly tilting her head to the side, her eyes wide with feigned innocence, but smoldering with desire. "And what exactly are my intentions?"
The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes did ungodly things to Kaname and he let out what was somewhere between a groan and a moan before he closed the distance between them and pressed her up against a tree, using his arms and body to effectively cage her in. He heard her let out a little noise of pleasure before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "You know exactly what you are doing to me," he breathed against her ear causing the skin around it to goosebumb.
Yuuki shook her head, teasing him. She was somewhat intrigued by this version of Kaname. While it was true that their other rendezvous had had passion, gentleness had been his main attribute so far. This time there was a more wild edge to it, and she was at the same time aroused and terrified by it.
At her head shake, Kaname felt himself laugh. He knew what she was up to and was more than happy to play along, he had heard that banter as foreplay could be fun. "Is that so?" he whispered. "You mean you can't feel it?"
"I feel something," she replied with a smirk, "but I don't know what it means. You'll have to explain it. Aren't we here for you to help me learn things?"
"Somehow," he replied his eyes practically burning with barely contained lust, "I feel that this is more of an object lesson than a theoretical one."
"Then show me," she whispered in his ear feeling surprisingly bold.
"As you wish," he said stepping back slightly and removing his shirt.
"It doesn't look any different than usual," she purred reaching forward to stroke the pale skin he revealed. "From what you've shown me so far, I can't see that I'm having any affect on you."
"I assure you that you are," he said huskily before slowly undoing his pants and allowing them to fall to the ground at his feet. He watched the smile slowly spread across her face as she looked him over. He was especially amused at the fact that despite all the forward talk she had just engaged in, she was blushing slightly at the sight of him fully nude.
"Now I see," she said. Her blush deepened as she asked "So what do you intend to do with it?" Her heart raced as the words left her mouth and she fought the urge to clamp her hand over it. She couldn't believe that she had just said that. Kaname looked equally as shocked, but soon the shock faded from his crimson eyes and was replaced once more with passion.
He closed the space between them and looked straight into her eyes and said levelly, "I intend to take you, right here," before kissing her again and grabbing the hem of her blouse. Her hands joined his and they only broke the kiss long enough for the piece of cloth to pass between them before resuming it and removing her pants and underwear. Once they were both naked, Kaname pressed her against the tree and kissed down the side of her neck on his way to her left breast.
She panted as he gently bit her and tangled her fingers in his hair. As she closed her eyes at the feeling and arched her back to give him better access the bark of the tree behind her scraped her back, drawing blood. With her eyes closed, the sting of the scrape brought back memories that she didn't really want to relive. She had thought she was over what Rido had done to her, but she was wrong. The brief sting of pain, coupled with the gentle yet insistent way Kaname was touching her caused her to panic. She opened her eyes hoping that the sight of her lover would calm her, but all she could see was the top of his head. She nudged him, hoping that he would look at her and his eyes would do the trick, but when he looked up, his hair fell over his right eye. It was more than she could handle.
Kaname heard her noise of pleasure as he took her breast into his mouth, then the air had filled with the smell of her blood and driven his already rampant lust to new heights. He had returned to planting fierce kisses across her skin and caressing her and heard her breathing speed up. He was pleased that he was able to bring her pleasure. When she nudged him with her hand, he glanced up at her, expecting her to give him some kind of instruction, since that had almost been the game they had been playing. He had a moment to register the sheer panic on her face before she shoved him away, both physically and psychically.
He stood slowly, brushing his hair out of his eyes. His lust had disappeared under his shock and anger. "Yuuki, what's the matter with you?" he asked anger seeping into his tone. "Why did you do that?" He looked at her, halfway expecting to see her standing there with a smirk on her face. Instead she was curled up in a ball under the tree, crying. When he saw her crying, his anger evaporated and he approached her slowly, both because he wasn't sure what she would do and because he didn't want to upset her more.
"Yuuki?" he asked gently, stopping a few feet from her. "Are you alright?" At his gentle words, he sobbing increased. He cautiously moved closer and knelt down beside her. "Yuuki," he tried again. "Will you tell me what upset you? I'm sorry if I did something wrong."
She looked at him from under her arm. "It's not you," she wailed. "It's me! I'm just ridiculous! I know that he's dead, but I just can't get him out of my head!"
Kaname let out a sigh as he realized what had happened. He didn't need her to explain anything else. "It's completely understandable," he said trying to keep the pain he felt for her out of his voice. "There is a certain familial resemblance between us."
"Not really," she said stubbornly, though she knew that it was true. Anyone who saw any of the Kurans together would know that they were related, they all looked somewhat alike. . . but that was not enough of an excuse for her reaction, or so she thought. "And even if it is true," she continued, "I know that he is dead. There is no reason for me to react like that to you."
"Yuuki," Kaname sighed. "You are being too hard on yourself. As you reminded me this morning, you have been through too many things in too short of a time. It makes sense that you would have problems associated with them." He wanted to comfort her, but was still unsure if his touch would be welcome, so instead he retrieved his pants and shirt and began redressing himself.
Yuuki felt her eyes fill with tears at the confusion and pain in Kaname's eyes and hated that she was the cause of it. She hated the distance she felt between them as he handed her clothing to her, careful not to even let their fingers brush in the process. She felt his silence like a physical weight as he turned away to give her a little privacy to dress. She understood that is why he had done it, but it hurt her that he would think that was what she needed from him. She didn't need space, she needed him.
"Kaname?" she asked her voice little more than a whisper, which she knew he would hear. He made a small noise in reply, but didn't turn to face her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I can't get a handle on this. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I promise I don't hate you, but I could understand if you've come to hate me."
Forgetting why he had turned away in the first place at her anguish, he turned to face his lover and hated himself for what he saw there. "I do not hate you," he replied, surprised at the emotion in his own voice. "I love you, but I don't know how to help you with this and I hate myself for being useless while you suffer."
"You're not useless," she said. "You are one of the only things in my life right now that have stayed even remotely the same. True, some things about you have changed, but the things that make you you haven't. I need that stability. And I need you to be there for me, ok?" At her words some of his self-directed anger dissipated and he gave her the first smile she had seen since she put an abrupt end to their encounter earlier. True, it was a small, sad smile, but it was a smile all the same.
He nodded his head, silently agreeing to be there for her, and then said," Come, finish redressing and we can return to the house to prepare for the meeting with the nobles." She was a little frustrated at the distance that was still present in his voice, but figure that after rejecting him it was probably what she deserved. Then her heart lifted as his eyes lit with mischief as he added, "Besides, I think you owe me a game of chess."
She laughed a little before she pulled on her shirt and took the hand he extended to help her up. "If I must," she sighed, looking for all the world like she had just been told that she was going to have to walk to her own execution.
"It won't be that bad," he said ruffling her already mussed hair with a laugh. "I promise."
"I hate it when you say that," Yuuki replied, her tone light but her eyes serious. "That is the only thing that you ever get completely wrong."
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Seiren stalked angrly through the forest. She couldn't believe that he would do that! She had always known that he was rude and abrupt and callous, but she figured that he would have more regard for the people that cared about him. She had watched him interact with Yuuki for years—since Kaname was watching Yuuki and she was watching Kaname—and even though Zero had been a little distant at times, he had never been cruel. When she though back to the things he had just said, she felt the urge to cry.
Why should I, she thought savagely. He has no idea what he's talking about. I'm far too old to be this upset by what one stupid man thinks. Besides I haven't been involved with him that long. This experiment was a bad idea anyway. Why should I care if it's over? If I arrange things correctly, I will never have to see him or speak to him again."
Despite what she thought, she did care, very much so. The idea of never speaking to Zero hurt, and that worried her. She may look like a teenager, but she was not. She felt some of her anger leave her as she realized that even if she was older than she looked, he was not. He really was a teenager, a moody, hormonal male teenager at that. Who was trying so hard to distance himself from everyone so that he didn't hurt them.
She felt a small smile cross her face at the stupidity of his plan of hurting people to push them away so that he didn't hurt them. If she didn't know he was still young, that line of reasoning would prove it. Once she realized that part of his anger probably came from the same kind of anxiety she had about how fast they had bonded, she actually laughed. As much as she hated to admit it, they had much in common. He kept people at bay through fear of his anger, and she through fear of her mysteriousness.
That didn't mean that he was going to get a free pass for his cruelty towards her, but it did mean that he would be forgiven . . . eventually. She felt an almost cruel smile twist her face as she formulated a plan.
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Zero had no idea how long he had stayed in the same position, but when he eventually decided that he would go for a walk to try to figure out what to do his muscles had stiffened a little from holding the same posture. Without really paying attention to where his feet were going, he eventually found himself at the stables. The warm smell of the animals calmed him. It was nice to be around warmth and life that didn't make him want to take that warmth and life from it. He walked over to one of the horses and buried his face in her mane.
"I'm such an idiot," he told her. "I had a great thing going and I had to go and ruin it in one stupid conversation." His mind kept replaying the shock and hurt on both Kaien and Seiren's faces as he made an ass of himself again.
"I don't know how to fix it," he said grabbing a brush and running it along the horse's shoulder. "I don't even know if I can fix it. And Yuuki's going to kill me . . . if her brother doesn't do it first. It actually might be the most humane thing he has ever done to me. Everyone who gives a damn about me either is or is about to be pissed at me. I really fucked up this time." The horse nickered softly in response as though she was trying to either agree with him or console him and he laughed humorlessly in response. "And now I'm out here talking to a horse since no one else wants to hear it."
He spent about an hour brushing the horse until she shone and there wasn't a tangle left in her mane or tail before he rubbed her nose and sighed. "Well I suppose I have to face them eventually," he said returning the brushes to their places and heading back to the headmaster's house at a slow pace twilight falling around him. He was in no hurry to see the looks of anger and betrayal that he was sure would greet him.
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Here we are ya'll a new chapter. Sorry this one took so long, it was really hard for me to write. . . so much pain and anguish here. Don't worry though, things are about to pick up and people won't have time to wallow in self-pity much longer. . . whether that is a good or bad thing, I'm not sure of yet.
I hope you enjoyed it! I look forward to reading your reviews :)
Stickdonkeys
God of all: thank you, as always and it wasn't soon but here's a new chapter :)
Queen of magicians: See? More!
Bookwormmissy: You're welcome and I'm glad you liked that.
Sparta306:I will try to fit a little more of that in, I was just worried that too much would get dull. . . and we'll see what I can do about that :)
Cosmiclover: now I never promised a happy ending. . . you'll just have to keep reading to see what plan b is. (muhahahaha) That is what I was trying to go for with the sewing, I can't imagine him doing it either, but he would have to know how so. . . and all couples need a good spat every now and then, it's how they grow.
Guest: sometimes that's how life seems to go. . . admittedly these do tend to suck more than the problems most of us face.