Over the next couple of days, Akari struggled to be close with Kaname, despite all of his attempts. Kaname sighed as he watched her sit on the window ledge of the only open window in the classroom. He was annoyed at himself for pushing her too much but he was also annoyed at her lack of an attempt to be with him. She was just pushing him away; he didn't know what he could do anymore.
Senri had also noticed the behaviour of the pair of them. He was worried about how it would continue. Would Kaname continue to wait, would he simply tell her she needed to go or worse, force he into the role of his lover? He had to come up with a plan.
Once they got back to the dormitory, he put his new plan into action. He arranged for a florist several miles away to deliver a ten red roses. He then pushed a note under Akari's door to explain his new plan. He was going to pretend to be sending her roses, one on the first day, two on the second, three on the third and so on. He would write a hand written card, signed with his name, Rido. If he signed it with Senri's he would probably lose his place at the school and cause his son to be labelled a creep, but he wasn't too worry about that. He told Akari in his note to play along and say it had been happening for four days when he planned to have Takuma be told by Senri that he was worried about Akari. He smiled to himself and waited for the next night.
Senri managed to slip out of class a little early by complaining to Akari about being tired. Akari played her part well, pretending to be so annoyed by his complaining that she had to send him away. Kaname frowned as he watched Senri leave, yawning a little too dramatically. Takuma had also found it strange, Senri had slept through the day or so he thought with all the loud snoring.
Senri quickly set the stage, so to speak. He met the florist at the dormitory just in time. He knew it must have seemed strange to have flowers delivered at night and from so far when there were plenty of florists closer. He quickly took the roses up to Akari's room and took the already hand written cards from his pockets. The first one was simple, it said 'I miss you. Rido.'. The second, 'Come back to me. Please. Rido.'. The third, 'I need you; I love you. I'll forgive you. Rido'. And finally, the fourth, 'I love you, come back to me now. I beg you; I forgive you for letting Kaname have more of you. Rido.'. He knew each one would look increasingly worrying and creepy.
Once it was all set up, he rushed back to his room and waited. He knew Kaname would soon send Takuma to check on him. And right on cue, Takuma arrived.
"I see you aren't tired, like I already guessed." Takuma spoke as he entered to room. Senri had taken off his jacket, waistcoat and tie, undoing a couple on buttons. He looked up at Takuma, foreign worry as he did. Takuma's sharp glare towards Senri dropped. "What's wrong? Is it your mother?" He questioned, sharing the worried on Senri's face. Senri sighed and Ran his fingers through his hair.
"It's Akari and there's nothing I can do. She's sworn me to keep it secret." Senri told him.
"Keep what?" Takuma questioned him.
"I can't tell you; she'll know. She seems to know everything." Senri stated with a sigh.
"Can you show me then?" Senri's eyes lit up at Takuma's suggestion.
"Well technically she only told me not to tell anyone, so I guess showing is still OK." He spoke up happily and led Takuma to Akari's room. He opened the door and pointed over to the roses he had set up along Akari's windowsill. Takuma looked at each one, reading the cards and looking increasingly concerned at each one.
"How long has this been going on for?" Takuma questioned.
"How many roses are in the last vase?" Senri asked.
"Four. Why…" Takuma started. "Oh, so four days?" He finished once he caught on. Senri nodded and looked over his shoulder.
"We better make a move." Senri then spoke up, allowing Takuma to slip past him before closing the door.
"I will inform Lord Kaname." Takuma told him once they arrived at their room. Senri nodded and sat down, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It'll be OK Senri. I promise. I'm sure Akari thinks she can handle it herself but Kaname needs to know. It does explain her sudden distance from everyone. She even seemed off with you." He added, sitting down next to Senri, putting his arm around his shoulders to comfort him. Senri nodded. "I won't be long, just try not to worry." He then told Senri, standing up and going to the door. Senri just nodded again and let him go.
"Lord Kaname, I would like to speak to you in private if I may?" Takuma spoke up as Kaname entered the dormitory. Kaname was quite surprised but led Takuma to his office before anyone could notice anything unusual.
"What is the matter?" Kaname asked once the office door was shut.
"Senri has brought something worrying to my attention." Takuma started. "Akari has been receiving roses and messages from Rido." He went onto explain.
"Messages? What type of messages?" Kaname asked, concerned. He was now worried that she would leave him for Rido.
"Messages that suggest he's close by and watching her. The last on mentioned something you and Akari shared, privately." Takuma told him, blushing a little at the end. He never wanted to bring that up but he had to make himself clear.
"Why didn't she tell me?" Kaname asked himself more than he asking Takuma.
"Senri led me to believe that she thought she could deal with it herself, trying not to worry you." Takuma stated and Kaname nodded.
"She thinks she's protecting me?" Kaname wondered and Takuma nodded. "How long has this been going on?" He then asked and Takuma explained it had been four days, an extra rose for each day that had passed. Kaname sighed and went straight to Akari's room before Takuma could say anything else. Takuma sighed to himself and went to check on Senri. He wasn't sure how Akari would react to Kaname knowing now or how she would punish Senri.
Kaname knocked on Akaris' door and waited for her to answer.
"Kaname, how can I help you?" Akari greeted him as she opened the door just enough to see him. He tried to look over her but couldn't see much through the small opening.
"I know about the roses." He told her, not beating around the bush.
"What roses?" Akari asked, pretending not to know. Kaname glared at her, a warning to her.
"Let me in Akari." He ordered, pushing the door with his hand. Akari sighed and moved a side for him. Kaname stepped inside. He zeroed in on the roses and inspected them closely before reading the cards. Akari sat on her bed, waiting for him to shout at her. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her.
"You don't need to worry about. He's only trying to trick me." Akari told him. Kaname sighed and sat down next to her.
"But he's close by Akari and if he's able to get these roses in your room without anyone knowing, it means he could get to you." Kaname reasoned with her. "He's clearly obsessed with you. He's watching us, watching you. He's waiting for his chance to strike." He added pulling her into his side.
"He's only using me to get to you." She told him with a sigh. "I was just trying to stop you from worrying. I don't want you getting hurt." She added, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about me. Rido has made it clear that you are his target at the moment."
"Did Senri tell you about this?" She asked him curiously.
"Takuma, Senri confided in him I think or it was most likely dragged out of him by Takuma." Kaname told her, hoping she wouldn't be too harsh on Senri. As much as he didn't like Senri, he proved himself to be a very good bodyguard for Akari. Kaname would never openly admit this to Senri. "Don't punish Senri for telling us, He's only doing his job." He then added after a short silence.
"Now look who's going soft." She joked lightly and Kaname smiled. He was glad she was settling around him again.
"I'm not going soft; I just think you shouldn't punish someone doing their job. Even if you disagree with how they do it." He told her before kissing the top on her head. Akari smiled and snuggled into him. "Now we need to find out how Rido is getting into the school and alert Cross." He then added, getting serious. Akari sighed and nodded. He slowly let her go and stood up. "Get some rest, you haven't been sleeping well because of this, have you?" He then asked, he had noticed she seemed sort of away with the fairy's and generally sluggish.
"Yeah, it's hard to sleep thinking that he could just turn up. That one day I would wake up and he'd be here with me." She told him as she took off her jacket and untied her hair to brush it free of tangles.
"He won't get you while I'm around, I promise to protect you." He told her before leaving the room, allowing her to change.
Akari sighed to herself and looked at the roses. She smiled a little, noticing how the thorns had been cut already for her. Rido may have done this to make Kaname more protective of her and fall deeper down the rabbit hole, but he still wanted her to enjoy the roses.
Akari still wondered if the day class girl, the other guardian, was Yuki. It still puzzled her how she was human and look like a grown-up version of Yuki. May be Zero would talk to her about it. She had noticed that it was always Zero who stayed by the class. She wondered if it had something to do with Yuki's lack of skill. Then again, she doubted Zero would tell her anything, after all, he hated vampires. He hated her and Kaname most of all. And yet, she and Zero seemed to have some sort of respect for each other, a sort of mutual agreement to keep a distance and help each other if needed and only for the good of humans. Akari had also learned that Zero was a Level-E. It was a shame to her, he seemed like a good person to have around, skilled, quiet, strong and doesn't take crap from anyone. She doubted he would consider becoming a full vampire due to his distain of them, it would certainly be a shame to lose a fighter like him. She settled herself in her bed and closed her eyes. She wished this was all over.