Recap:

"Welcome back, Zero! We missed you!" they smiled and stayed like this, eventually falling asleep together in the barn with Lily. That is how Takuma, Kain, Shiki and Rima found them then left them alone. It seemed like the twins were lighter and happier now that they made up with the hunter. None of the vampires would have admitted that, but they were starting to miss the bubbly and happy set of twins, so they let it go and let the twins skip a few lessons. A few hours later, Seiren and Kaname carried the brothers back to their dorm room, seeing as lessons were finished and Kaname punished the four nobles lightly for not waking the twins up.

The twins were blissfully unaware of these events as well, being away in a dreamland far-far away.

Chapter 6

The twins slept until morning and after eating breakfast (each other's blood), they stepped out of their room in their sleepwear. They didn't know who dressed them, but they found it less disturbing not to think about it. They also saw a lot of vampires running around with excitement and nervousness. They wanted to ask one what was going on, but they were ignored and told to ask someone else.

Their saviour came in the form of Ichijou Takuma. He saw their lost faces and asked if he could help them. They nodded and asked what was going on in the Moon Dorm. Takuma told them that his grandfather is coming to visit the Moon Dorm and when they made a confused face he told them who his grandfather was. They went white as a freshly washed sheet and asked if they had to be there when he arrived. Takuma knew that as lower class vampires, the twins didn't want to do much with the political issues of the vampire world. That included meeting a figure like Ichijou Asato (A.K.A. the Ichiou). He told them they could wait it out until Ichiou left and come out of their room only if they were specifically requested to do otherwise. He told them that it was very unlikely, but they should put on semi-formal clothes if it did somehow happen.

Kaname came in time to see what was happening and asked why the twins looked as scared as they did. Takuma explained and Kaname told the brothers the same: "Don't come out unless you are requested to by me or Ichiou!" The siblings nodded and went back to their room. The blonde and brunet vampires looked at each other and decided not to mention the twins to Ichiou. They didn't know if he would be interested in them, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Kaname went to dress up and told Takuma to relay his order to the vampires of the Night Class: "No one talks about the vampire twins in details unless they are already discovered when Ichiou is asking about them! Breaking this order will bring severe punishment to the anyone disobeying."

The orders came and the vampires were curious as to why the existence of two lowly D Class was to be hidden but went with the order. Kaname himself didn't really know why he ordered something like that, but he wrote it off as protectiveness of precious chess pieces. Kaname's inner circle couldn't place the order anywhere either, but they gladly followed it since they cared about the two boys. They knew involvement with vampire politics brought only bad things for low class vampires, so they did as they were ordered out of loyalty and care.

-With the twins-

The guest arrived and conflicts occurred. The hiding boys heard a commotion but they wanted to avoid the attention of someone important desperately. They felt the strain in the air lighten and sighed. They prayed that the man would leave soon. Then the tension rose again.

-With most of the Night Class-

"In any case, I can smell some D Class vampires close-by. How come they didn't come to greet me, when everyone else did?" asked Ichiou in an inquiring tone. The vampires tensed but remembered the order beforehand. They twins weren't named yet, after all.

"I'm afraid they are not very social people. They don't like the attentions of vampires of higher ranks very much. I apologize if that offended you in any way, Ichiou!" said Kaname and bowed slightly. The "older" man nodded.

"I can understand that very much. I am not offended in any way. Yet, I would like to meet them. I heard that their sire has committed suicide not too long ago. I would like to offer my condolences to them." said the noble but none of the vampires thought he was telling the truth. However, they couldn't refuse a direct request, so they had to lead the two boys to the main hall.

"Very well! Takuma, please lead the brothers here. I'm sure they will appreciate the sympathy." Said the only pureblood, and Takuma took off to the room the twins were in.

-With the twins-

There was a knock on the door and the two boys hoped that the person in front of the door came with good news. They were however disappointed when they heard Takuma say that his grandfather requested their presence. They got up from the bed and followed the noble to the main hall. On the way Takuma told them not to let any unnecessary thing be known to the guest and the Inume twins nodded. They were silently preparing and revising all the etiquette they learnt from their sire. They wouldn't taint the name of their dear person's name in his death with their bad manner. They eventually got to the main hall, where every vampire waited for them. They looked at the two and prayed that the two D Class did know proper etiquette. They stood next to Kaname on each side of him and bowed.

"Good evening, sir! We are Inume Toshihiro and Yasuhiro! It's an honour to meet you!" said the older twin, as he was the one in charge by etiquette. They stood up straight, looking down slightly. A proud but not disrespectful stance by vampire standards.

The Night Class vampires were impressed by how natural the act looked, as if it was their second nature. Vampires had natural instincts to act properly around older and stronger vampires, but turned humans lacked these instincts. To be able to pull off an act so beautifully was a rarity with D Class vampires.

Ichiou was also impressed how the two low-class vampires seemed perfectly expressionless. They didn't give away anything about themselves besides the inevitable things. Their scents also grabbed his attention. They smelled very good compared to other D Classes. They could pass off as nobles in the aspect of smell.

"It's pleasure to meet you, Inume Toshihiro and Yasuhiro! I have heard about Lord Harukawa's unfortunate death and I wanted to offer my condolences to his Children* (See the meaning after the word count).He was truly an old and respected vampire among us." Said the noble with slight sadness. The twins twitched very slightly. No one but the inner circle and Kaname noticed it, but they did. They let out the smallest sigh possible and bowed again.

"We are very much grateful for you sympathy, sir. We are sure Lord Harukawa would be happy that he was respected enough for you talk to such low-class vampires as we are. We just wish that you didn't have a reason to express your sympathy, sir." said Toshihiro and stood up straight again.

"Yes, that's quite true." replied the noble. He was truly marvelled by the manners of the low-class vampires. He wondered if he should take them from this foolish place and tie them to himself as entertainment and food source. Their blood truly smelt divine. He sniffed the air to get a whiff of their scent again and the more attentive vampires noticed, just like the twins did. Those who noticed the motion stiffened. They wanted their blood for themselves. So much so that they would fight for it if push came to shove. Some eyes flashed at the thought of their preys getting away but they quickly went away.

"If you would excuse us, we would like to go back to our room. I am afraid we are not worthy of the company of such an important elder, like yourself, Ichiou-sama." Said Toshihiro with a little bow. Ichiou wanted to smell their sweet, but not overly sweet scent, but he didn't have a reason to have them near him, so he had to let them go. For now, that is.

"Very well, I won't stop you, even though your presence does not bother me in the slightest bit. I wish you a good evening!" he said and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. The twins nodded and wished a good evening for him too. They left the scene and went back to their room as quickly as they could. The inner circle of Kaname and the pureblood himself was proud of the twins holding up against the expectations of vampire society and decided to reward them for it later somehow.

Eventually, their guest left and the vampires didn't see the twins once after their encounter with Ichiou. Kaname looked around with his senses and felt them in their sanctuary garden. He walked to the nearest window where he could inspect them and hid his presence. The identical boys were laying on the grass and Hiro was on top of his brother, hugging Toshi's stomach. They looked like they were at peace. He then heard something he didn't think he would.

"Hey Toshi! I miss Lord Harukawa. Do you?" asked the younger in a shaky voice.

"I do, Hiro. I miss him every day as much as you do." answered the older softly and Kaname never thought he could sound so vulnerable, like this. Toshi built up a hard barrier around himself and he was extremely protective of his brother. The same could be said about Hiro, but he at least acted as if he was more open. However, Kaname noticed how Hiro never truly opened up to anyone but his sibling and maybe Zero a little bit. He reminded Kaname of himself a little in that aspect. He noticed a few stray tears on the Inume brothers' face and decided to leave them to their grieving. He also didn't fail to notice his inner circle around the close proximity of the garden.

The twins truly were wonderful at charming people by their indescribably charming personalities, Kaname concluded with amusement as he felt the worry the nobles emitted.

Word count (without recap): 1649 words

*Children: Humans who were turned by a pureblood and were taken care of by the pureblood. This means that not every D Class is considered as a Child in the vampire community!)

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-Yukina Fuichiro