DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own Vampire Knight or any of its characters. All rights belong solely to Matsuri Hino.

A / N:

I'm so sorry I'm late and I missed the 6th-year anniversary for Heterochromia! I had intended to update that very day, but everything in December has been hustle-bustle and so all my intended time put aside for writing got eliminated, basically. But nonetheless, I can't believe we've reached this point:

Happy belated 6th-year anniversary, Heterochromia!

I feel like every year, I say something very cheesy and whatnot. It's not that I've run out of ways to thank everyone, or that I think this year means anything less than the previous ones. It's not at all less meaningful; if anything, it might mean more. But I feel like people are tired of hearing me repeat myself in paragraphs, so just to keep it short and sweet: to everyone who has supported me, whether it has been just a few days ago, a few months ago, a few years ago, from the very start, thank you, thank you, thank you. Words can't express how grateful I am for your support.

This also means the new year, 2018, is coming fast and I am very unprepared and not ready ( someone please save me LOL ) Any resolutions you guys want to share? (x

As a sidenote, I'm still trying to bring my page for my original works into fruition, so if my originals may be an interest of yours, please check last chapter's note, or my profile! ( Sorry for the plug guys )

As another sidenote, I wonder how many of you guys will recognize who this extra is centered around?

Either way, read on, m'loves, read on!


Heterochromia.

EXTRA;

"Winters"


[ MIYAMOTO . CHIKA ]


SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS AFTER THE NIGHT OF COLOUR

He was like moonlight.

From the tips of the silver threads that sat atop his head, down to that ethereal luminosity that were his lavender eyes, across the flawless pale skin that stretched across his features, trailing the embedded ink that crafted his abstract tattoo... He was like moonlight.

Impossible to catch, slipping through the faintest cracks of fingers, no matter how many times you reached up to the sky and tried.

And trust me, I tried.

I tried really, really hard.

It was like a blessing that he'd come to lecture today. My heart had sped up immediately when I turned to see who'd come into the lecture hall at the very last moment, only to see that it was actually him. I always wanted it to be, and I always tried not to get my hopes up—more often than not, it was just a panting latecomer and I'd be left with guilty disappointment. But, today, it had been him, and I had to try my best not to squawk like a disgruntled parrot.

"Chi," my childhood friend, Kei, whispered from beside me. "You're staring too hard."

"Huh? What—no, no, I'm not," I protested, immediately snapping my head back to the front. She stifled her laugh, giving me a don't-lie-to-me-you-lovestruck-fool look. I elbowed her in the side as a reply, ducking my head down so that even my shoulder-length hair could get in the way between us. I pretended to take notes on what the professor was saying so that she wouldn't comment on anything else.

But honestly, I was just trying as best as I could not to turn around to glance at him again, because I wasn't sure when I'd see him again.

I wasn't sure when my eyes started to follow him, started to look for him wherever I went. It just kinda… happened, and by the time I realized it, I'd already started to know certain things about him. Things like how he always, always sat at the very back of the class, how his tie always looked just a little weird, how he always had a notebook out and a pen in his hand, but never seemed to take any notes. He didn't come to all lectures—on the other hand, he skipped out on them pretty often, but he didn't look unwell. I didn't know if that meant he was a rebel or anything like that, but it's not that big of a deal.

Especially because I knew he was very kind.

When I thought back on it, as cliché and cheesy as it sounded, I probably fell for him the first time I saw him. It had been the first day of lecture for the current class we were in; I'd been running late because like the idiot I was, I'd mixed my schedules up, and had been so lost. I'd literally bumped into him when I rounded the corner in a flurry, and he'd helped me pick up everything that I'd dropped. I'd been so stunned by him. He was so, so attractive, almost like some kinda walking angel. Being within his presence was… magnetic. Somehow, with a lot of stuttering, I'd managed to ask him if he knew where the building was, and he'd taken me to class.

He'd disappeared before I'd gotten his name.

I still didn't know it.

Maybe it was just the way he seemed so unapproachable, so untouchable. He gave off a charismatic aura, and yet it was one that was too heavy, too powerful, for people to get close to. It wasn't that he was unfriendly or rude. There were many times I'd caught him picking up things that had dropped and handing it to their owners, or opening the door for someone that was just as fast as he was to leave the class. It was just that he was so quiet, not much of a talker. It was like he lived in his own little world, or like he was detached from this one someway or another. Half in, half out.

There were whispers and rumours going around that his surname was Kiriyuu, that someone had gathered enough courage to ask, and that was what he'd replied with. But it was all speculation, and other than that, nobody else knew anything about him.

This man, Hikage-kun, was a complete and utter mystery.

My friends always asked why I called him that, but I found it so suitable. He was always in the shade, in the shadows. As if the light was too bright for him. It was like how the sun and the moon never collided, how their rays never touched one another. He seemed to be the type to favour the night, the stillness and quietness that it could bring, as opposed to the day, where everyone was hustling and bustling around. Besides, he seemed to want to be part of the shadows, as if he only ever wanted to spectate. He seemed content to simply watch in silence, to stay hidden.

Maybe for others, that would deter them. But for me, all of that stuff just made me really, really want to know him even more.

Was I just being an idiot? Was I just completely romanticizing this idea of him?

Sometimes I tried talking to him whenever I caught him on the rare occasion that he attended lecture, but he never spoke much. He didn't ignore me, and he seemed to recognize me clearly, but he never asked for my name, and he never referred to me as anything, either. During the conversations I'd struck up with him, he'd either nod or shake his head as responses, or give a simple yes or no. Every now and again, he'd ask a question, like "why?" or "and?" and that was enough for silly little me.

Because it meant that despite his impassive, aloof aura, he cared enough to listen.

The thought of that made my heart nearly burst.

Even though I really liked calling him Hikage-kun, both to his face and in my head, almost like it was a special nickname, I couldn't help but wonder what his real name was. How it would sound if I said it.

I wondered how my name would sound if he said it.

"Hey, Chi, get a hold of yourself!" Kei murmured furiously as my face planted into my notebook, my cheeks feeling like they were on fire.

Hikage-kun never talked in class, and I hadn't seen him around in awhile, but I could still remember the sound of his voice so clearly. I remembered how quietly he spoke, how deep his voice was, how smooth. His pronunciation was precise, but it didn't sound sharp or cutting, like his words were slightly rounded. It was a voice that had made my heart race in my chest, made my blood rush through my veins in tingles. It was a voice that sent my stomach into knots.

I wanted to get to know him.

I really, really wanted to get to know him.

This incredible urge was new to me. It wasn't as if I'd never had a crush before, or a boyfriend—I'd dated back in middle school, but we'd broken up before we got into high school, and during those teenage years, I'd just… never found anyone. To be honest, the guys that I had known were just like regular guys. None of them stood out to me the way they did for other girls, and the ones that did stand out were far too intimidating to approach. There were never any opportunities to get to know them anyway, because they were always in another class from me, with little to zero mutual friends. In any case, none of these crushes or infatuations evoked the same kind of feeling I had when it came to Hikage-kun.

… Maybe it was the beginning of love.

Oh, god. I was feeling warm and embarrassed just thinking about it.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that the lecture ended without me writing down even half the notes I was supposed to. When I realized that everyone was packing up, my head automatically snapped over to where he usually sat, my heart pumping with the idea of catching him on his way home, but I knew.

He was already gone.

Damnit. A dejected sigh left me.

I guessed that if I kept daydreaming about him the way that I did, it was kinda inevitable that I'd get too wrapped up in them and lose my chance. It was so frustrating though. Of course I would fantasize about him—the man was like a phantom here, and yet even so, these imaginations would never match up to even a fleeting second of reality with him.

I wasn't even sure if I was still making sense when it came to him—and I wasn't even angry at how he messed with my thoughts so easily without even knowing it. I was just… just somehow giddy.

Was this what it was like to potentially be in love with someone? Because Jesus, I wasn't sure if my heart was capable of handling all this squeezing and these palpitations.

"You really should just talk to him properly," Kei said, watching me as I packed up my belongings, handing me her notebook so that I could copy down her notes.

"I try to," I reminded her, sighing softly. "He's hard to get close to."

"Of all the guys you could've fallen in love with," she agreed, shaking her head. A smirk pulled at her mouth as she continued, "Although, I mean, I don't blame you. The man's gorgeous. I think he's got every girl in class swooning over him left and right. Sometimes I hear the guys talking about how cool he seems, too."

I laughed, slinging my bag over my shoulder. I was surprised that the guys weren't muttering and being envious. It happened way too often back at my high school, where the popular guys didn't always get along well with the other guys in the class just because they were popular. I was happy to know that Hikage-kun wasn't being hated on without any real reason. "I wonder if he'd come to any of our little house gatherings."

"You shouldn't try to invite him to those," the taller girl chided. "You should be trying to get him to go to somewhere one-on-one with you."

Cold air hit us in the face the moment we left the building, and both of us huddled in closer like we were some lonely penguins. We stuffed our hands into our coats as deeply as they would go and buried our faces in our scarves, our hair blowing in the big sweeps of wind. November was nearly over already, meaning the crazy festive month of December was almost here.

"I wonder if he has someone to spend Christmas with," I mumbled, my voice slightly muffled by wool. I wonder if he'd spend it with me.

"He doesn't seem to have a girlfriend," Kei pointed out, blinking her hazel eyes at me.

"No, but at the same time, he doesn't seem like he's looking for love."

"You don't know until you ask." She paused for a moment here, tilting her head back to stare at the greying skies. The sun rarely showed its face nowadays. The days were getting incredibly cold and short, a gloomy atmosphere settling over the places we went to. It always looked like it was going to rain, even though it never did. I was sure that the first snowfall was going to come soon. "I wonder what kind of lover he is."

My eyes slid over to look at her, and my eyebrows furrowed. Involuntarily, I felt my cheeks heat up. Naughty thoughts, begone! "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she began, the smirk on her face telling me she didn't miss my flush, "I can't imagine him being the type to be super affectionate with his girlfriend, you know? Like he doesn't seem to like touchy people or people that act too familiar with him… but then again, he might be the type to be secretly harbouring a desire for warmth because he's a tragic soul." She ignored the way I half-laughed, half-snorted at her dramatization. "Oh shut up. To sum it up, I just wonder if he's the type to act kind of cold towards her."

For a second, I contemplated that thought, but then I was shaking my head before I even knew it. "I don't think so. He seems too kind-hearted for that."

Teasingly, she said, "Look at you, already getting all defensive over him."

"I'm not!" I protested. "It's just… I mean, if you watch him, you'll know what I mean. I think he'd just make her feel… special? The kind of guy who only shows his real side to the one he loves."

"Yes, yes," she nearly deadpanned. When I shot her a little glare out of the side of my eyes, she giggled, and said, "You really like him, don't you? Good luck, Chi. I'm seriously rooting for you."

My blush deepened, and I nuzzled my face a little deeper into my scarf to try and hide it. I nodded. "Thanks, Kei. I'll give it my best."

We walked down along campus together in silence, passing by a mass of other bodies. Some were rushing to get to their next lecture, while others were taking the same route as us towards the train station. One of the great things about this campus was that, although it was far from the neighbouring town, it had a train station only ten minutes away from it. It made getting everywhere easier, and was very convenient for students that didn't live in dorms. The path to the train station was really pretty, too—in the spring, it was lined with cherry blossoms, and in the winter, the thick rows of trees made it seem like a secret wonderland. It was something beautiful to start and end the day with.

As we were waiting for the train to come, Kei turned to me and asked suddenly, "You're coming to the dinner with everyone next week, right?"

"Yeah!" I grinned brightly. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Good," she sighed in relief. "I realized I forgot to make sure you were going. I wouldn't have fun without you."

I gave her one of those looks. "The whole point of this is to get closer to our classmates, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but…" A shrug. "You're like my anchor. Having you there makes it easier for me to relax, you know?"

"... Yeah," I agreed softly, feeling so much affection for her well up inside of me. I smiled into my muffler. "I know."


It had to be fate.

After all, what were the chances that we'd bump into him on a Saturday night in this large, busy town? Of all days, of all places, of all times—out of all the chances, I'd hit jackpot with everything. He hadn't shown up to lectures for several days, meaning I hadn't been able to talk with him at all, but perhaps that was all leading up to this. Though I didn't really believe in things like fate and destiny and that sorta stuff, this still had to mean something, didn't it?

He was dressed in a white dress shirt with a dark teal sweater over it, and the black tie was a bit messy around the collars, peeking out from underneath his lengthy black scarf. He seemed to be wearing a black blazer over his sweater, and an onyx trench coat fell all the way down to his mid-calf. Dark pants covered his long, long legs, and were tucked into equally dark boots that looked slightly too scuffed to be new. A suitcase was tucked under one of his arms, hands in his pockets, and he seemed to be heading somewhere specific in mind, rather than wandering aimlessly.

People were glancing at him left and right, but he didn't seem to pay them any attention.

"You should ask him to come with us," Megumi, a pretty and cheerful girl, urged. When I looked at her, she made a motion with her hands, her dark brown eyes wide. "Hurry, or else you'll miss him!"

"You gotta act fast; the guy's like the wind," Takeo, another classmate, added.

"But—"

"We don't mind," Megumi insisted, reading my mind, and the rest of the group agreed wholeheartedly.

"What if he thinks I'm some kinda stalker or something?!" I objected, feeling uncharacteristically hesitant. It was one thing to find him on the way to a shared lecture. It was another thing to pop up suddenly in his private life and stuck my nose in it.

"Why would he? Things like this happen from time to time. Hurry, go!" Kei insisted, already beginning to shove me in his direction.

The decision only took me a second.

"OK, I'm going!" I exclaimed, giving a small fist-pump and a little bow to them. I heard them telling me good luck as I raced after his tall form. It was hard to lose him in the crowd because of his height, and I was closing the distance between us fast. I vaguely realized my friends and classmates were tailing us, but I didn't even care too much. "Hikage-kun!"

The moment he heard my nickname for him, he stopped in his tracks. He turned to face me just as I got to him, panting a bit. I was slightly out of shape, clearly. But seeing him in front of me, so close that I could touch, with the various lights already decorating the streets reflecting off his hair, into his eyes, I felt like he was what stole my ability to breathe.

My heart was beating rapidly as I forced out, "I'm so glad I caught up to you."

He didn't say anything, he just looked at me with those mesmerizing eyes of his.

What came out of my mouth unintentionally was, "Sorry to stop you! If you need to go somewhere, if it's OK, I'll walk with you?"

And I realized that I really wanted to walk with him to wherever he needed to go. Somehow, it would give me some insight into his character, would let me know something about him. Maybe it was where he got his coffee if he drank any, or where he shopped for his clothes. Maybe he was going to pick up some takeout for the night, or maybe he was going home. It didn't really matter where he was going or what he was going to do—I just wanted to know.

Did that make me really creepy? Oh, god.

Hikage-kun's lips parted, as if he wanted to say something, but his eyes darted around, and then he closed his mouth. Something had flashed in his eyes, but I didn't know what. He asked, "Are you heading northeast?"

The sound of his voice was enough to send warmth surging throughout my body. I almost forgot that it was already December, because I felt hot from the top of my head down to my toes. I lied, "Yes."

He stared at me for a little longer, those eyes of his almost seeming to look right through me. And then he turned away, facing the direction he'd been going in. Taking this as a sign that he was going to let me walk with him, I fell just a step or two behind him, my eyes taking in his tall, broad frame and basking in that incredible aura of his. It took me a moment to realize that I'd only been staring, that I hadn't even asked or said anything even though I'd been the one to call out to him, and I felt a rush of stupidity and embarrassment wash over me.

Quickly, I asked, "Are you going home right now?"

"No," was his quiet reply.

"Have you eaten already?" was my next question.

He shook his head just slightly, his hair following the motion. I had to stop myself from asking if his hair was naturally that colour, from asking if I could touch it.

Instead, I gave him a veiled, nervous invitation. "If you aren't busy, a few of us from the lecture plan to have dinner together. Would you like to come with us? It'll be a great way to get to know everyone better!"

From the corner of his eyes, he looked at me. There was a solemnity in them that I hadn't noticed until now, and it somehow made him look all the more gentle, all the more mysterious. He said, "Sorry, I've got something to do."

Even though I already knew that the chances of him saying yes were practically zero, that didn't make hearing it any less dejecting. I felt it sinking into my heart, replacing the warmth there with something darker and uglier. I tried my best to smile as I said, "No, it's OK, I—"

A cell-phone ringing interrupted what I was going to say.

When he made no move to pick it up, clearly out of politeness, I gestured for him to do so. "Please answer it."

"... Excuse me," he murmured, pulling the device out. He glanced at it quickly before pressing the phone to his ear. "What is it?"

The other end was so quiet or the volume was so low that I couldn't hear what was being said, but from the muffled sounds I could pick up, it didn't seem to be a woman. For some reason, that sent a touch of relief down my spine, and even though I knew eavesdropping was rude, I couldn't help but try to strain my ears just a little to see if I could pick up on anything.

We were getting close to the main plaza of the town now, where an enormous Christmas tree had already been set up. It was fully decked out in large ornaments of all shapes and colours, wrapped in tinsel and bows, dressed in lights that blinked and ones that didn't. I hadn't seen it yet this year, but everyone said that it was even more beautiful than the previous years—something about how the star this year really seemed to shine like it was real.

I wanted to see that with him.

"What do you mean?" was his reply to something, and his eyebrows furrowed. There had been a note of irritation or confusion or something else in his voice that I didn't usually hear, his lips pulling into a small frown. He listened intently to the other side, and then all of a sudden, his features relaxed, and he closed his eyes. "Ah…" A pause, and I watched with wide eyes as, for a second, he almost looked as though he was going to smile slightly. "I can't say I'm surprised. This is the third time already, isn't it? Seems like she's giving us a run for our money."

She?

I blinked at him for a moment before turning my eyes to my feet. I wondered who that was, what they were talking about. The people that were in his life that I didn't know about—surely, they must matter a lot to him, if they were able to make him lose that nonchalant expression that was usually on his face.

"I know," he said, and then after a pause, shook his head slightly. "No. I'll be taking the next one on the list… Mm… I know." He sighed here, and then said, "This isn't like you." A pause, and then he answered with, "Yeah, yeah. Thanks. Goodnight." When he slipped the phone back into his pocket, he looked over to meet my eyes as he apologized with a simple, "Sorry."

Shaking my head, I smiled up at him. Curiosity was burning in my veins. "Was that family?"

It took him longer than it should've to reply, as if he was wondering what the answer was. Eventually, he nodded once, just a small, quick motion. His answer didn't really make me feel any better, because if that person on the line had been family, did that also mean the girl they mentioned also was? Or was she someone that they just both knew? Had that been a relative, or was it a brother?

I wanted to know. I wanted to ask him so many things about himself.

"Um, Hikage-kun—" We'd just rounded the corner that brought us to the main plaza and taken a few steps into it when he'd abruptly stopped. I bumped into his back lightly, saying an apology under my breath, my heart jumping at the sudden contact that I'd been so unprepared for, but he didn't even seem to hear it.

Confused and a bit worried, I stepped up and around him a bit, trying to read his face. I was a little bit stunned at his expression, because he looked… It was a bit hard to describe. Like he was beyond surprised, and yet it was the best and worst surprise that could've happened to him. As if he wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real, and yet the dreamy reality of it was painful.

I followed his gaze, my eyes temporarily blinded by the onslaught of bright lights and the glittering of tinsel. My eyes took in the breathtaking sight of the large Christmas tree there, standing tall and majestically in the middle of the square. It was enormous, towering over everyone and everything, nearly as tall as some of the buildings that surrounded it. Benches had been placed to circulate the tree, offering people places to sit and just enjoy the sight, and there was such a cheery, magical atmosphere to it all. There were a handful of couples that were loitering around the benches, some others just mingling around the trunk, and some others that were simply standing close by, just as awestruck as we were. Some seniors were watching their grandchildren running around the large square excitedly, like small fairies playing tag.

"... Hikage-kun?" I asked, reluctantly turning away from the Christmas tree to look at him. His expression had morphed into something else. This was much harder to read—I wasn't really sure… His eyes seemed to have narrowed a bit, and his jaw looked like it was clenched. It looked like he was fighting with himself about something, and I was beginning to get a bit worried. I reached out, grabbing onto the edge of his sleeve. "Hikage-kun, what's wrong?"

Turning my eyes back towards the tree, trying to see what he saw, I realized what I'd missed the first time around, and I wasn't sure how I'd done that.

She turned towards us just as my eyes pinpointed her, looking like she heard something curious, and I nearly felt my knees give out. Her curtain of hair was crafted from red-brown silk, falling in a strange, somehow uneven and yet completely uniform way, along her back and over her shoulders. The bangs that swept across her forehead and fell into her eyes did nothing to hide the way they were mismatched—one of them was a bright, almost impossible shade of gold, and the other was such a vivid shade of emerald, it was startling. They seemed to glow in the night, even brighter than the lights and ornaments around her. Rather than those eyes making her look unsightly or scary, they made her seem so unique, so utterly otherworldly. She had a small and high nose, and her small lips filled out perfectly to suit her face. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were flushed pink, a stark contrast to the creamy skin that stretched over her beautiful features. She gave off an elegant, and yet somehow welcoming, comforting aura. Something about her seemed so tragic, and yet at the same time, so unbelievably warm.

She wore what seemed to be a navy and white pinstripe dress shirt with a white bow tied at the collar. Her skirt was a dark magenta, sitting at her waist, emphasizing the shape of it, the material falling to the middle of her thighs, where a strip of skin was left exposed before long black socks covered the rest of her legs. She had something black wrapped around one of her knees, like a small brace, as if she'd hurt it, and dark brown oxfords clad her feet. She wore an oversized white blazer over everything, as if that was enough to keep her warm in this damn freezing weather.

The word "beautiful" would never be enough to describe her. She was a sight to behold, someone that looked like she'd been ripped out of your imagination's epitome of beauty and had been thrusted into the world. People were in awe around her, and I realized now that maybe it wasn't even the tree people were staring at, but her.

Mismatched eyes widened when they landed on us—on him—and for a moment, it was like everything stopped. I could've sworn that sound ceased to exist for a few heartbeats that could've lasted an eternity, could've sworn that none of us were even breathing. There was such an overwhelming atmosphere, a sense of stillness, that made it hard for me to breathe.

Wait… My mind was trying furiously to understand what was happening. Did they know each other, or was it just because they found each other attractive? I wouldn't blame either of them, to be honest, because wow they were both so beautiful, but—

And then his lips parted, and so quietly that I almost didn't hear, he breathed, "Ivy."

Oh. Something like dread was making its way down my throat and into my stomach, but I refused to let it take over just yet. Maybe they were classmates from another lecture, or maybe she was a family friend or a relative, or just someone else.

Anyone else, dear lord please.

She closed her eyes, as if hearing that was nearly too much for her, and when she opened them again, her eyes seemed so tender. She was staring at him with so much affection in her eyes, written along her features, that it was impossible to misinterpret. She smiled softly, and she murmured, her lovely voice barely reaching my ears, "Zero."

Zero. Was that his name? His given name?

It took him a moment, but neither of them moved, as if this distance was unbreakable. "... What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't resist coming," she began, laughing a little, her breath coming out in puffs of white air that swirled and got lost in the night. "The tree here is captivating."

He was staring at her with an expressionless face, and his voice was so quiet, so full of dark, hidden meaning, as he asked, "You aren't going to run this time?"

This young woman—Ivy, he'd called her—met his eyes straightforwardly for a moment before letting out another laugh. She shook her head just slightly, her hair moving with that motion like they were ribbons following the wind. When she smiled this time, I saw the dimple that sweetened the upward tilt of her lips, and her eyes were bright as she took a step closer, breaking that invisible barrier. Somehow it seemed so meaningful. "If these past years have taught me anything, it's that running from you never seems to work."

Past years? Did that mean she'd been away for a while? Had she just recently come back? There were so many questions whirling around in my brain, but before I even began to sort through them, he was already speaking.

It was like everything inside him strained against taking a step towards her. "Is that so?"

"Mhm," she replied, closing another portion of their distance. The movement seemed to cause her some pain or discomfort, because she winced just slightly. I saw Hika—Zero's eyes narrow for just a second, and then he let out the smallest of exhales. The tensed strings that had held him tightly in place broke, and his long legs took large strides that completely erased the gap between them. Automatically, I shifted as well, so that I could see the expressions on his face when he interacted with her.

I wasn't some kinda masochist, I swear. I just needed to know.

He'd been unwinding his scarf as he'd walked, and the moment he was close enough, he threw it around her neck, wrapping it around for her, ignoring her protest. He swatted her hands away easily, and when he was satisfied with what he'd done, he sighed, one of his hands coming up to tangle themselves in her long strands of hair.

When I caught the expression on his face, I was torn between smiling at how warm it made me feel, or crying with just how much it hurt.

Because he was looking at her with the most gentle, loving look in his eyes. I didn't know Zero very well, meaning that reading him properly was always so hard for me, but even a clueless outsider like me would be able to tell.

The way he looked at her was like he couldn't even believe she was real, like she was the one he held dearest to his heart. As if she could cast the stars into water, as if she could set a season of rebirth to a land of mess and decay.

He looked at her as if she was sunlight.

The thought made my heart ache painfully in my chest, feeling as if it was breaking. Because looking at her, she was like sunlight, and I realized that I'd been wrong about him.

All along, I'd thought that he was fine in the shadows. That he craved it, that he thrived in the darkness, but… Of course he longed for sunlight. Of course he wished for such a thing. Like how moths were nocturnal, and yet they couldn't help but be attracted to light.

Shadows couldn't really even exist without light, could they?

"Really," he muttered under his breath. "It's December."

"My jacket got a little… dirty earlier today," she explained, smiling impishly at him, her eyes sparkling like she was teasing him about something.

His eyes narrowed at her again, glinting with something. His lips tugged down into a frown. "You're an idiot."

She didn't say anything to that, just looked at him. Her hands came up, fingers lightly brushing along his scarf. Softly, worriedly, she said, "You'll get cold."

"I'm fine."

Her head tilted, and she took another step closer to him. It seemed to make him uncomfortable at first, but then I realized it was just because they were so aware of each other, like their senses were going into overdrive, and every little move they made was a shot to their nerves. She lifted her hand, slowly bringing it up to his face, where she gently cradled his cheek. Quietly, she murmured, her tone faintly reprimanding, "You're working yourself too hard again."

Was he? I'd always thought that he looked perfectly fine and well. He had bags under his eyes, yes, but I didn't know of anyone that didn't. He'd been pale since the first time I'd seen him, and he never seemed like he was unsteady on his feet.

I wondered how well they knew each other, how long they'd known each other. I wondered what kind of history they had, if they were able to read each other so well. A pang of jealousy hit me when I thought about it—about just how well they seemed to understand each other, as if they didn't really even need words.

Zero's eyelids fell three-quarters closed as he leaned a little into her touch. He let out a breath, and I couldn't tell if he did it intentionally or not, but he shifted slightly and it made his lips brush against her palm. His eyes had closed, but in a second, he was looking at her again as he said, "As are you."

"So that makes us two," she said, and then laughed a little again. The hand moved, shifted until her fingertips were brushing just underneath his eye, where his exhaustion took form in an eyebag. Her eyes followed her fingers, staring at those dark crescents, and she wasn't smiling when she met his gaze. Her eyebrows creased in worry, and though her words themselves could come off accusatory, with the way she said them, they just sounded torn between half-scolding and half-exasperated."You promised."

"Did I?" was the flat reply.

Or at least that was what it seemed like to me.

She must've heard something different though, seen something different. Something akin to mirth or entertainment, because she scrunched her features at him in a mock-scowl, betrayed easily by the smile that broke across her face afterwards. "You're going to give Aidou so many white hairs."

Something that almost, almost sounded like a chuckle left him. It was like the ghost of a sound, just barely tinged with amusement, of some kinda fond memory. "He kicked me out of his office. For a week."

She tried, and failed, to stifle her laughter, leaning into him as if needing his support to stay upright. Her head was bowed slightly, her forehead resting near his collarbones. One of his arms was wrapped around her naturally, his hand splayed along the small of her back. It was too intimate of a gesture to be taken for anything like they're just friends, and when their spare hands managed to find one another and intertwine, I felt something akin to heartbroken jealousy claw its way up my system.

I wanted to look away, wanted to run away so that I didn't have to watch this anymore, but I couldn't tear my eyes away.

It was like watching something as tragic as a car-wreck but this was so beautiful.

"Looks to me like he should've kicked you out longer," was what she managed to say after she finished laughing. Her eyes were sparkling a little as she added, "But I guess I owe him one for trying."

Something about what she said changed the air, made it more solemn. It was in the way he looked at her. Quietly, he started, "I am, t—"

"I know," she interrupted gently, the edges of her laugh leaving her in phantoms. "I just wish you didn't have to try so hard to not wreck yourself."

"Hypocrite," he muttered under his breath.

Musical laughter leaves her in a short song, but she doesn't say anything in reply to that. Instead, her mismatched eyes left him—reluctantly, I could tell—to settle on me. I felt myself tense instantly upon meeting her gaze, felt something like fear or apprehension shoot through me. I didn't want to admit it, but being around someone like her was intimidating. I knew I wasn't hideous to look at—except in the morning, right after I woke up—but I would have to be delusional to think I could match her in any way, shape, or form.

A part of me wanted to hide far, far away. Why had I even stayed?

It was such a crushing thought to know that you lost a competition before you even started it. I wasn't sure if that was worse or if the thought of shamelessly and humiliatingly trying to "compete" with her was. It would've been a sham; I would've lost in the blink of an eye anyway.

So either way, I'd never had a chance.

God, that's depressing to think about. I tried to push back the clog in my throat. I couldn't go down this slippery slope, because I'd heard enough stories about self-pitying maidens and how their self-worth was all decided by a man. That was not who I was, and not who I would ever become.

Her initial reaction upon seeing me had been surprise, followed closely by shyness. She tried to take a little step away to put more space between them, and he barely let her. Then he, too, looked over at me.

"Hello," she greeted, smiling apologetically through the delicate rosey-flush of her cheeks. "I'm sorry about that. It's nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Zero's?"

I had to remind herself that 1. I could breathe, and 2. I did speak the same language as her. I felt like a deer caught in headlights, thrust suddenly under the spotlight of her attention. On the other hand, his gaze had wandered back to her, and even though it was a bit irrational, I felt a bit hurt by how he couldn't seem to look away from her. I smiled a bit awkwardly. "U-Um… I think 'friend' is too strong of a word…"

I wanted to slap myself for stuttering.

Unexpectedly, she let out another laugh. She seemed to do that a lot. "That's true." She shot him a teasing look as she said, "Being friends with Zero is like trying to catch stars. He's a little difficult, isn't he?"

"Not really," I lied. He was so hard to be friends with!

She raised an eyebrow at me, and the gesture made me feel as if she just read my thoughts. "You don't need to spare his feelings."

"... Maybe just a little a lot," I mumbled my correction.

A grin. "What's your name?"

"Miyamoto. Miyamoto Chika. I share a lecture with—" I glanced over at him for a reason I couldn't pinpoint "—Zero-san."

His eyes could've cut my head off. I tried not to wince.

Wrong formality, I chided myself. Of course he wouldn't want someone he didn't even know to call him that name. It could be a nickname only people special and familiar to him used, or something like that. This moment made me regret not pestering him for his family name.

"Your name is so cute," she marvelled. She sounded so genuine, I couldn't even bring myself to be mad at her for it. "I think it suits you."

"Thanks," I managed to get out without stammering, feeling a bit shy after that compliment. My next words left me before I could take them back, and a part of me regretted it. "How about you? How do you two know each other?"

She bowed a little in courtesy—making me feel like an uncultured swine and horrible about myself—and then introduced with a upward tilt of her lips, "I go by Tashiro Ivy. Zero and I are…" A pause, like she wasn't sure. He looked down at her, clearly interested in her answer. "We're childhood friends."

That are also lovers, I added in my head. She didn't need to say it. I'd never seen non-relatives acting that way with one another unless they were a couple. I wasn't sure if she was just trying not to rub it in my face or if she was just naturally being modest.

My thoughts must've been plain on my face, because she began to shake her head, insisting, "It's true! I've known him since I was eight." A soft smile crossed her face as she reminisced, and she shook her head when he raised an eyebrow at her. "I was just thinking about how it was winter back then, too."

He didn't say anything for a while, but he tightened his hold on her hand. Before he could reply, something caught their attention. I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but immediately they both tensed as if a timer had gone off and they were the only ones who heard it. She looked over her shoulder, up along the rooftops and the dark, cloudless night sky, as if seeing something along the horizon, and his head tilted to follow her gaze.

When she turned back to him, her expression was remorseful. The light that had shone in her eyes ever since laying eyes on him dimmed to a low simmer. "I've got to go."

"... Yeah." The word seemed to be forced out of his throat, wrenched out with every ounce of fighting power he could muster. It was thrown out, as if the force he'd used to say it had been too strong because otherwise he wouldn't have said it at all.

Neither of them moved.

It was like they were having an entire conversation in their silences, in their eyes, and although I wasn't able to speak their language, anyone could tell the general gist of it: they didn't want to part.

Vaguely, this reminded me of a childhood fairytale I'd read, but I couldn't remember. It tickled the back of my mind, but I was too absorbed in this—in their—moment. It hurt to watch; every second that went by was another piece of my heartbreak that fell to the floor, but it was too late to look away.

Her hand came up to brush lightly along the fabric of his scarf. She made a move to unwind it, but he stopped it in a second. The smallest shake of his head. His quiet words came out as both a command and a request. "Keep it."

"But I—"

"Consider it a gift."

She shook her head. "I didn't get anything for you."

And he said, so quietly that I was fifty-percent sure I misheard the words, "You give me life."

It didn't seem to matter what he actually said though, because it was touching enough to make her eyes turn glassy with unshed sentiments. He reached up to his ear, and after a brief moment, pulled it away. He gestured for her hand, which she gave him hesitantly, and he dropped something silver and shiny into her open palm.

It was the ornate cuff that he wore on his ear.

Immediately, her eyes shot up to meet his. "Zero, I can't take this. You've had it for years and this—"

"I still have the other one." He shrugged a shoulder casually, closed his hand around hers so that her fingers curled around it. "I meant to give that to you two and a half years ago."

Recognition lit her eyes, and she blinked at him. "Are you sure?"

He closed his eyes, let out the ghost of a chuckle. "Merry Christmas, Ivy."

She laughed a bit, her breath coming out in white curls of vapour. "You're early, silly." She opened her palm and stared in awe at the small silver accessory he'd given her. She murmured earnestly, "I'll treasure this. Thank you so much, Zero."

Zero didn't say anything; he just opened his eyes and watched her with the most tender eyes.

Suddenly, they both tensed again for just a second, as if another timer had gone off. They both sighed at the same time, then shared a look. It was an exasperated look, and yet one that had undertones of deep, deep sadness.

She threw her arms around him, and as a reply, he snaked an arm around her waist, her shoulder-blades. They held each other so tight, looking as if they never wanted to let go—somehow, the entire scene seemed so heartbreaking that I felt it double the pain of my own.

Their embrace was broken reluctantly, achingly. Their limbs seemed to scream with every action bringing them apart. Her longer strands of red-brown waves slipped through his fingers like dandelion seeds as she stepped away. She dropped her eyes from his for a second, then looked back up and gave him a smile that spoke volumes about how she felt about him. Then, surprisingly, she turned to me.

Bowing at the waist, she said, "Thank you for taking care of him. I hope you'll continue to do so." And she straightened up, gave me an encouraging tilt of her lips, and turned away without waiting for a reply. She began to leave, her body stiff, and yet her movements still graceful. Her feet carried her swiftly through the crowds even despite her injury.

He didn't make any moves to make her stay. His amethyst eyes simply watched her as she left.

She never looked back.

He never looked away.

And me?

I knew I was seriously screwed when I still couldn't look away from him.

Damnit.


A / N:

And so that concludes the first of the extras that are coming! I hope you guys enjoyed this. For all of you who read Vampire Knight Memories, you may have recognized the girl I tried to characterize! I don't actually think Hino gave her a name or whatever, but honestly when I saw that small portion of her interactions with Zero, I had this incredible urge to base an extra on her, and this is how it came out; I hope y'all liked it!

Out of all the years they've been apart, I think this is the only stolen moment Zevy has together, and I just love it. I feel like I'm throwing it back so many years, but it hasn't even been that long since the Night of Colour years have ended, right? Man, I can't even tell anymore HNNG.

LOTS OF LOVE AND THANKS TO;

FlowerGirl21, spiralcats, Innocent Anime Girl, and kalmaegi!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, you guys, and I hope you enjoyed this latest update! (:

Also, thanks to everyone who favourited and alerted as well!

OK, RESPONSES, LEGGO!

To FlowerGirl21;

HAHAHA, thank you, thank you! I don't think I deserve all that praise, but I appreciate your thoughts nonetheless. I try my best to write something everyone will enjoy, and I'm happy to love this story so much HNNG.

( To be honest, I think a lot of Heterochromia fans like this more than the original so you're not alone; I know that I like it more than the original but I'm biased LOL )

Oh no, please don't feel like you have to try and support my original works! I really don't want anyone to spend the money unless they have enough of it to spare—it would be amazing, of course if you could, but please don't ever ever ever push yourself to do so. There are other ways to support, like just spreading the word! (:

Time is a scarce thing, but I will try my best with the stories I've got on FF right now! Between all those, my original works, school, job, and overall life, I think I'm a bit tied-up. I will definitely try my hardest though! And there's always the potential for a Heterochromia drabble series~ ;D

You're such a sweetheart; thank you. Honestly, I would love to see that someday soon, too. It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, so it would be amazing. To know that you hope the same for me, and believe that I can do it, is very encouraging and gives me so many tingles. So thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't express how your support makes me feel.

I hope you enjoyed this latest update by me, and I hope it made you smile, m'love! (:

To spiralcats;

Firstly, you are most definitely not creepy and you don't make me uncomfortable, so don't worry about it! Secondly, thank you! I used to hate my name ( and yes that is my actual name HAHAHA ) but I actually quite like it now—but I almost always go by Sam LOL. Thirdly, you're going to make me blush asdfgherlkbaw. That is me, but I'm bad with compliments HNNG and asdfghjkl thank you.

I'm glad you think that the little community this story has formed is because of my writing, but I think a lot of it just has to do with how great everyone reading is, too. The amount of love and fun and care and just overall kindness that everyone shows is what makes it so interactive and pleasant, so I think you guys also get lots of credit for that. In which case, I feel like I need to say thank you!

As for signing up and whatnot, please don't worry about it! I would never want to push anyone to do anything like that or make them feel pressured into it. It's not something that I want anyone to feel obligated to do; it's only if you truly feel like that dollar or those few dollars are worth giving up, and that you won't be strapped by finances and whatnot if you do. Life is hard, and it's complicated, and sometimes it sucks, so it's OK if you don't! Spreading the word is also a means of support, but even just knowing you're encouraging me and supporting me in spirit is enough. So for that too, I need to say thank you, you sweetheart! It's very reassuring and heartwarming (:

ASDFGHJKL, I'm so relieved you think she's as good as the other OCs! I worried about this a lot when I wrote the chapter. For some reason, writing her and writing about Satoshi in his own POV was so damn hard?! Like it was so fun, but it was very difficult, and Allaryce's characterization kept me up at night sometimes LOL. I'm happy people seem to like her! HNNG. ( Also those Zevy moments are what I live for HAHAHA )

As always, it's always an absolute pleasure to hear from you, and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others! Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your support, m'love! (:

To Innocent Anime Girl;

Oh god, no I can't believe it. It's kind of unreal. I mean, six years? Six. Years? That passed by in a flash, I still find it so hard to believe ASDFGHJKL. Thank you so much for being happy for me, and for your support over the many months it's taken me to reach this point!

HAHAH, Allaryce and Ivy are somewhat similar in many ways, and very different in many other ways. It was what made me worry over her characterization for a long time, but I'm glad that most people seem to like her!

Thank you for always supporting me and sharing with me your thoughts—I appreciate you, and I always look forward to hearing from you! I hope that like all the other chapters, you enjoyed this one! (:

To kalmaegi;

To be honest, I really wanted to have more Kaito and Satoshi moments in there, but I wasn't sure how to sneak them in. I tried a few times, but none of them felt natural and I didn't like that, so I only kept those sparse mentions. I'm glad you caught them and enjoyed them, though!

Writing how Satoshi's mind works is sooooo hard! I don't think I even managed to do it correctly, because Satoshi, as a musician, relates a lot of things to music. But I'm not particularly musical—I forgot everything I learned when I was young—and I didn't have the time to research it all ( or even have the skill to properly write about it, let's be real ) so there's something missing from his perspective that I'm acutely aware of. But I'm really glad you found it fascinating to read nonetheless! It makes me feel less bad and a bit less anxious about it HAHAHA.

The Tashiro's secret language ( and the snuck-in Zevy moment ) was one of my favourite things to be revealed in that chapter. I'm so happy you enjoyed that just as much as I did!

Just like you love the world building, the tiny details, and the little hints and slips in between words, I love how you're so supportive and so faithful. It's been six long, long years, and you've stuck with me since practically the very beginning, and I can't explain how much that means to me. So thank you, thank you, thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this latest update! (:

END OF RESPONSES

Hmm, and this time, here's a question to satisfy my own curiosity:

QUESTION: As a special / extra, would you rather see a Shitsuren x Heterochromia crossover scene, or would you rather have an all-human AU Heterochromia ( in a nutshell )?

Please, please let me know what you think, because I am very torn between the two, and I would love to have some idea of what you guys are leaning towards!

I CAN'T BELIEVE NEXT MONTH IS JANUARY AND THE START OF 2018 AHHHH! I hope all of you have an absolutely amazing start to the new year, and that it is one that has so much joy and success and warmth awaiting y'all!

It better treat you well, and I hope to hear about it when I see you in the next update!

Please take care of yourselves ( especially when it comes to partying for the new year, but also just health-wise in general )!

XOXO,
-EverlastingxSong-