We walked together in silence for a good while, neither of us saying much of anything—so close together our arms brushed up against each other with every step. The only sound that registered with me was a distant rumbling of thunder in the gray and purple sky along with the racing of my own heart. I could tell that it was going to rain soon. You could smell it on the air, see it in the ominous way the clouds rolled in. The wind was starting to pick up too.

That figures, that it would rain now after everything else that had happened today. A fitting way to end this already dreary day.

I kept thinking about that thing from before...that child creature. It had seemed so innocent when it had first approached me in town. It just seemed like it was lost, just looking for its way home or maybe for its mother. It seemed so helpless right up until the very second it grabbed my hand and bit me.

I looked down at my hand again. Thanks to Kaname, there would be no physical mark to remind me of that terrifying experience, but it had definitely left a deep mental impression on me, on my mind.

An involuntary shiver ran up my spine.

A Level E...it had so much more strength than I did, even though it was so small. It hunted me. After having a small taste of my blood it went rabid, wanting more of it. It was playing with me with a sort of childlike amusement while still being so monstrous. It was so scary. I really thought that I was going to die in that moment...

I still couldn't believe that that thing was a vampire. It was more like a wild animal than anything else.

I bit down on my lower lip, worrying it with my teeth. If it wasn't for Kaname showing up at exactly the right moment back there I would probably be dead right now. That thing probably would have drained all of my blood. Kaname's always protecting me like that, always seeming to know whenever I was in danger, whenever I needed him the most. It was almost as I'd we had a mental connection.

My skin still felt warm where Kaname had kissed it. Well...I guess he wasn't really kissing me so much as he was cleaning off the blood and closing the wound. I wonder what my blood had tasted like to him...I knew it was probably a really messed up thought to be having—especially right now—but, I wondered if he had liked it. There was no way I was going to ask him that though. It was way too embarrassing. I mean, what if he said no.

He seemed like he did like it, anyway. The way he closed his eyes and sighed against my hand... Shouldn't that scare me? It didn't. The idea that he may not have enjoyed the taste was far more terrifying to me.

I wish I could see into his heart, know what he was really thinking the way he always seemed to be able to do with me.

Then I remembered what Yori had said to me the other day when we were hanging out together, that I should 'try flirting with him a little bit'. I could try doing that. Now seemed like as good a time as any. I didn't really have anything to lose.

Why was I feeling so anxious about it though? We talk to each other all the time. We've known each other for so many years too. It shouldn't make me so nervous to talk to him now.

"Kaname?" my heart was still beating so fast. Being so close to him like this always made me feel a little bit nervous, aware of even the tiniest movements I made and every single word I tripped over. He was so achingly handsome it was difficult not being so nervous. I didn't want to come off as an idiot in front of him. I already probably seemed weak in his eyes, not just because I was a human.

"What is it, my dear?"

God, did he have any idea how easily he made me melt with just the gentle lull of his voice, his kind words? He was like the embodiment of sweetness, always seeming to fill up my heart with warmth whenever I was hating on myself.

"Would you hold my hand?" I asked, shyly, offering it to him. Even if it was a childish request, I wanted him to touch me more. I wanted people to see us holding hands and think that we were a couple. I knew I was blushing but I kept my face bravely turned up towards him. I wanted to see the expression he made at hearing my request, so I could tell if he was into it or not. I wanted to look into his beautiful eyes.

Kaname laced his long, elegant fingers through mine without any hesitation, smiling so tenderly down at me it made my heart skip a beat. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, too. My anxiety began to evaporate at his warm touch.

"Are you still feeling frightened, love?"

He hasn't called me that since I was a child...why now?

It was disarming, almost. I loved how Kaname lavished me with terms of endearment, always so gentle and kind. It made me feel like we were a real couple, like I was the only one in his world, the only person her cared about. Wishful thinking on my part, sure. But it left me wondering if he still thought of me as that little girl from ten years ago or if he finally saw me as a woman.

Am I really your love? That's really what I'd like to ask him right now. Sometimes I wondered if I was just a pet in his eyes, an obligation he had, since he had saved my life.

"No. You're with me, after all. What's there to be afraid of?" I smiled up at him in an attempt to prove that I really meant it. There was nothing for me to be afraid of as long as Kaname was at my side. It's always been that way.

It didn't seem possible, but I seemed to have rendered Kaname speechless. After a short moment, he smiled, recovering. But his smile seemed far away somehow. It couldn't touch the sadness that was sometimes looming in his burgundy eyes.

I looked up at the darkening, foreboding sky. More time had gone by than I originally thought. It looked like it was going to storm soon. I wondered if Zero had gone back to the Academy yet or if he was still wandering around the town. I didn't want him to get caught up in the rain, even if he was the one who took off first. I bet the Headmaster is worried, too.

"Do you think Zero is alright?" I couldn't help but voice my concerns out loud. Zero was the reason I had come into town to begin with. After our argument in front of the Moon Dormitory he had stormed off in a huff. I felt so guilty for upsetting him as much as I had. That was never my intention. I had to chase after him to apologize. I wanted things to be okay between us. I was only worried about him and his well-being. He's been so distant lately.

Kaname chuckled lightly. I thought he sounded a bit exasperated though. "I never thought the day would come when you would speak to me about other men...you're so cruel to me, Yuuki."

He dodged my question so easily, turning it back on me that I was caught completely off guard. But that was just like Kaname. He was always a bit curt when it came to Zero.

"Sorry." I dropped my gaze down to stare at my feet, embarrassed for even bringing it up. And for being admonished by him for it. I knew better. But being worried about Zero came so naturally to me. "It just looks like it might storm is all..." I made an attempt at changing the subject. Zero didn't like Kaname either. I shouldn't find it so awkward that Kaname doesn't give any sort of care in the world towards him.

Was he really being jealous about it right now? That definitely wasn't like Kaname at all. I've never seen him get jealous over anything.

Kaname glanced up at the forboding sky, taking in the approaching clouds. "No, you have nothing to apologize for. My Yuuki with anything other than a heart full of love wouldn't be mine. I just want you to be yourself around me."

His.

He said it again, so easily, so casually too—as if it were the truth, as if it were the most natural, obvious thing. And every time he did my heart would race just as fast as it did the very first time I had heard him address me as such.

I felt a blush creeping its way back up my neck, burning in my cheeks, my ears. In a way, hearing him be honest like that was making me really shy. It made me feel self-conscious.

"Ah—"

The sky chose that exact moment to open up and unleash its wrath down upon the world below. Rain pelted down on us in thick, heavy droplets, soaking us both almost instantly. A bright bolt of lightning cut across the sky in a haphazard trail, igniting the sky in a pale, violet color.

Thunder followed immediately afterwards, piercing the air with a resounding crash that seemed to shake the earth under our feet.

I knew it was coming. The lightning was a dead giveaway that there would be thunder. But it still made me jump out of my skin. It was a reflex, surely.

Kaname pulled me closer against his solid body, wrapping an arm protectively around my shoulders in an attempt to shield me from the wind and the incessant rain that showered down upon us both. His long, heavy jacket drapped warmly over both of our shoulders. That, coupled with the encompassing heat from his body, was enough to keep me from shivering against the chill of the sudden storm.

Shyly, I wrapped an arm around him in turn, taking advantage of the situation, of his closeness. It wasn't just because he was so warm and the rain was so relentlessly cold. I just used that as an excuse to hold him closer against me. Kaname squeezed my shoulders in response. I took that as encouragement.

We took shelter from the rain underneath the eve of a nearby building, both of us staring up at the sky.

Kaname sighed. It was a really quiet sound, and I'm sure he wasn't annoyed with me but I immediately felt guilty about this entire situation. I felt responsible for getting him involved.

"Let's go inside here, at least until the weather lets up."

This is all really sudden...