"Kiryu, I wasn't expecting you this quickly." Rido greeted Zero as he walked into the mansion. He could already see the Zero was upset about something to with his proposal.
"We need to talk." Zero growled. Rido lead Zero to his study. He took a seat at his desk and gestured for Zero to sit but he didn't.
"What do you need to talk about?" Rido asked.
"You want Aina to move in with you." Zero snapped.
"And you."
"That's what I don't understand."
"What don't you understand?" Rido asked, curious about Zero's objections.
"You are alright with Aina having a relationship with me and you will pretend to be in one with her for the public. What do you get out of this?" Zero was very suspicious of Rido.
"Aina's happiness. I can't have her love like you have. But given your likeness to Ichiru, are you sure it is true love?" Rido tried to make him think about it. He truly wanted Aina happy but he wanted her to be happy with the right man.
"We love each other. I want to know that no matter what happens between Aina and me, you will not use anything against her. I want you to promise you will never ask anything of her that she is not comfortable with, in public or otherwise. I want you to swear on your life that you will not hurt her, physically or mentally. You will not ask for more than simple affection in public. You will not ask for any sexual favours. She is mine for as long as she wants to be mine and I will protect her until then and forever after." Zero told him, affectively ordering Rido to the terms he was giving.
"I promise that on affection of a couple will be shown in public. I promise to never hurt Aina in any shape or form. I will never do anything that Aina doesn't want. She can refuse me at any time. She can end this deal at anytime without any consequences." Rido told him. "I swear on my life that I will never cause any harm to Aina. I will keep her safe and protect her to the end. If I don't, you are more than welcome to shot me." He then added.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a gun." Zero responded.
"Kaname told me, Aina tried to deny it, mostly likely to keep me from walking away. But when I walked in on you about to kiss Aina, you reached for it unconsciously." Rido told him. "Are we in agreement yet?" He asked. "Are you moving in with us and keeping your relationship with Aina?"
"I will help Aina pack and we will be moving in within the next few weeks." Zero answered and walked out. Rido smiled to himself.
As Zero neared their home, he spotted Kaname, he was coming from the direction of the townhouse. He just have tried to visit Aina while he knew Zero was away. After being threatened with the gun, Kaname hadn't dared to show his face. Zero knew that at any moment Aina was alone, Kaname would pounce. But one thing Zero couldn't work out was why. Kaname was going to be King, he already had a bride, he had everything he could want or need. So what was his interest in Aina for? It had to be more than Rido's presence to cause this. He knew Aina and Kaname had a past, they grew up together but it didn't feel like he was being a big brother to her. More like he wanted something from her. Once Kaname was gone, Zero rushed home to check Aina.
When Zero got back, he found Aina sat by the window next to the front door. "Has Kaname been by?" He asked before Aina could speak.
"Yes, how did you know?" She asked confused.
"I saw him. What happened?" He was worried that he may have forced his way in. It was starting to look like a good idea to move in with Rido. If Zero was there then Rido would most likely be, or at least his staff. She would never been home alone for Kaname to target. At the moment, Rido was the lesser of two evils.
"I didn't let him in. I opened the window and he started on about Rido. I told him we were moving in with him. He asked me to reconsider and I said no. Then he started on you." She started.
"And what is wrong with me?" Zero grumbled.
"The gun you flashed him. But he then suggested you would us it on me." Zero growled and his fists clenched.
"How dare he?!" Aina held reached out for him.
"Calm down sweetheart." She told him as she held his fists. "He won't sway my mind." She reassured him. "He then claimed I was around the wrong sort of people. I had enough by that point and shut the window."
"I swear I will kill that man!" Zero snapped. Aina stood up and held onto his fists.
"How about we do something to take your mind off it?" She whispered as she leaned up towards his neck.
"Aina..." He sighed, he wasn't in the mood, his blood was boiling.
"Please, I want to have some fun." She pulled him towards the stairs. But Zero resisted. "Please don't make me beg." She leaned against him, running her hands down his chest. Zero smirked.
"Maybe I want you to beg." His voice was lower than normal.
"Oh, you want to be my master?" She hinted and he growled again and Aina giggle, running up the stairs with Zero close behind her.
Over the next few days, Aina sorted out what she wanted to take with her to Rido's and what could stay at the townhouse. It wasn't like she was losing her property by moving into Rido's but she properly wouldn't be back very often. By the end of the week, the pair had moved into Rido's.
Aina was sat reading a book in the library while Zero plaited her hair ready for bed. Rido walked in, they still had things to iron out. He sat down opposite them and waited for Aina to notice him. He watched as Zero gave her nudge and made her realise that Rido was there. She smiled at him and apologised for not noticing earlier.
"It's quite alright." He reassured her. "We need to talk some more about our arrangement." He then told her. Zero tensed up, he was expected Rido to go back on his word and then threaten Aina into staying with him.
"Is something wrong?" Aina asked concerned.
"No, nothing." He told her. "I just wanted to discuss what we need to do in regards to unexpected guests and balls at our home." He told her.
"Zero and I will separate as we normally do. I will then go straight to your side in the event of a guest. Would that be suitable?" She asked.
"That is fine. I just wanted to introduce a code if we don't have much time to prepare. If I suddenly appear and say, 'I just couldn't resist', it means someone is nearby or we suspect someone to by spying." Rido told them, he really didn't want a slip up like Zero had done in front of him.
"We?" Aina asked.
"You, myself, Zero or the staff. If we feel someone presence or suspect it, we should be cautious." Rido explained.
"Understood." She responded.
"As for balls at our home, Zero will have to be very discreet." Rido answered.
"You can always have some time yourself on those nights." Aina suggested as she looked over her shoulder at him. Giving him the hint that he could freely hunt on those nights. Zero grunted in response but didn't look up from the plait he was doing. "I'll take that as a yes then?" He grunted again and Aina sighed.
"That's great then because we will need to host a ball to officially announce our relationship." Rido drop on them.
"That's why you want to talk about discretion." Aina stated and Rido nodded.
"Your family will most likely attend and so will mine." He then hinted.
"Not Shizuka!" Aina growled. "If she steps on foot in here, I will kill her." She warned.
"Kaname better not come either." Zero finally spoke up.
"I can keep Shizuka from coming, given our previous relationship." Rido calmed her. "Kaname, not so much. His parents will attend and they will bring the two brats no matter what. The royal family has to keep up appearances." He added and Zero glared at him. "You will become apart of the royal family Aina. There are some things that you and I will have to put up with." Aina sighed and leaned back.
"I'm not leaving Aina here with Kaname around." Zero snapped, his hand on her shoulder.
"She will be safe with me, I can promise that." Rido tried to reassure him.
"No."
"Zero, I will be fine. There will be a number of people around and I will not leave Rido's side. He will not be able to do anything." Aina told him as she turned to face him.
"I still don't like it." Zero grumbled.
"It's one night and I will be safe." She reassured him. Zero just grunted and looked away. "When will it happen?" Ania asked, turning to Rido.
"In three nights, I had already started planning when you confirmed your move." Rido explained and stood up. "I'll leave you two to it." He left the room.
"You should be nicer to him." Aina told Zero.
"Why?"
"Because he could have outed us." She snapped back at him and stood up.
"I still think he's up to something." Zero stated and walked up to her, putting his hand on her neck. "I will find out what it is." He then added before walking away. Aina groaned annoyed before going to bed. She was use to going to bed on her own and waking up on her own. But it was starting to get old.