A/N: Please enjoy probably the most wanted chapter yet – how Yuuki finally meets Kaname...

"talking"

"thinking"

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Bloody nurse

Chapter 4

Yuuki's heart rate accelerated. She felt like her heart was placed inside her head. It was rapidly beating against her eardrums. And sudden waves of shivers ran down her spine.

The moment she opened the door, she felt for the first time that her visit might not be such a great idea. She wanted to help Kaname very much. But the feeling of this once familiar room was suddenly ominous. Danger, it screamed at her. But she dismissed that thought. This was Kaname-sama's room after all…

Yuuki was leaning against the door through which she came in, her hands behind her back. She was waiting for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness of the room. No lights were on, no candle was lit and even though the curtains were drawn apart, hanging helplessly by the windows, not much light was coming through the glass. Clouds were blocking out the moonlight.

The air in the room felt heavy, as if no one opened the windows for a long time. There was also a strange smell in the air but Yuuki couldn't tell what it was.

Everything was completely still and quiet…except for Yuuki's heart…

The silence felt uncomfortable. All of her resolve from before was gone. She had no idea what to say, how to begin. She even felt the beginning of fear creeping up on her. She has never seen Ichijou getting punished by Kaname before. And the way he has submitted himself to the punishment, with such calm. As if he knew it was coming. As if he thought he deserved it… Yuuki swallowed with difficulty when she realized that Kaname being angry and Ichijou getting hurt was all her fault.

Her fault…yes, that's why she was there. She wanted to undo her mistake. Whatever it was that she did wrong.

She squinted in the general direction of Kaname's sofa, where it always stood. She could only make out its silhouette against the faint light coming through the window behind it. She imagined Kaname lying there on his back. She could feel that he was somewhere close to her…

It was clear that he won't start any conversation. He had no desire to talk to anyone after all. So Yuuki gathered all of her courage she had left and took a deep but shaky breath.

"Good evening, Kaname-sempai," said Yuuki quietly. She was sure he'd have no trouble hearing her.

Everything was still and Kaname remained silent.

So it was going to be a monolog, then…

Yuuki desperately looked around the pitch black room for some kind of inspiration. Of course the darkness didn't help her. That was exactly how she felt: in the dark about so many things…

"Um," she began uneasily. "Well, first of all, I'd like to say how – how I appreciate that you've decided to see me. I don't mean to pry or anything, it's just that I – I was worried. I couldn't help but notice that your absence began right after our…our encounter on Monday. And the other members of the Night class made me feel that I was responsible for-"

"Are you afraid, Yuuki?"

Kaname's sudden low and even voice made Yuuki gasp quietly. She didn't expect him to interrupt her. She didn't expect him to speak at all.

"Are you scared of me now?"

Yuuki assumed correctly his position on the sofa. His voice was coming directly from it. After a few seconds, she realized that he was probably waiting for a reply to those strange questions.

"N-No, I'm not," she answered, taken aback.

"Then tell me, why does your heart sound like the wings of a hummingbird?"

Yuuki didn't have an answer to that. She wasn't entirely sure herself.

After a short pause, Kaname continued: "Is it because I tore through Ichijou's shoulder?"

Yuuki's breath hitched after that. The way he said it, with amusement in his tone… Kaname never felt amused by inflicting pain on anyone. Let alone one of his friends.

"But I had every right to do that, Yuuki. I gave an order. He didn't obey." He was speaking in a very cold tone. "Of course, it is partly your fault as well, persuading him to disobey me."

Yuuki suddenly dreaded the outcome of this conversation. Ichijou was right. The man in front of her was not himself. If he decided to punish her too, there would be no way of stopping it. She wanted to say something. She wanted to defend Ichijou and herself. She wanted to apologize, thank him again and leave. She wanted to say something. Anything. But her lips wouldn't form any words. And she was also afraid that interrupting him might not be such a good idea either.

"You have that effect on those around you, Yuuki. When you unleash the power of your eyes on someone, they can hardly resist you. And when your eyes fill with tears…so cruel of you, Yuuki."

Yuuki audibly gulped. There was something in his tone that she's never heard before. Like the calm before the storm, something sinister lurking in the dark.

"And you sneaking away to see me… did you think that my rules don't apply to you?"

Before Yuuki could even take a breath, he answered his own question: "Especially to you, dear Yuuki. Yet you are the one who breaks them the most."

And at that moment, the clouds covering the moon moved and Yuuki could see her surroundings for the first time that night. Kaname was indeed lying on the sofa, one leg bent at the knee and one arm over his eyes, his feet bare, wearing black pants and a black silken long-sleeved shirt, all the buttons, except for one in the middle, undone. Empty wine glasses were strewn around him on the floor, also covering the surface of the coffee table beside the sofa. There were many dark stains on the carpet too but Yuuki didn't want to think about those.

She lifted her gaze back up and concentrated on Kaname. It was still dark in the room but she could see better. Yet Kaname remained in the darkest place – in the shadow of the sofa's backrest.

"Come here, Yuuki," he suddenly said. She didn't even see his lips move.

As petrified as she was, she didn't dare to disobey this time. Everything was screaming at her to stay away but she found herself moving away from the door anyway.

She gingerly made her way through the glasses, stepping over the dark stains in the carpet. She stopped right in front of the sofa, looking down at Kaname, waiting for him to say something.

He turned his head slightly in her direction, keeping his arm over his eyes. "Am I truly that frightening to you, Yuuki?" he said in a pained voice.

That shocked Yuuki. He spoke so differently. His voice nearly cracked with emotion and she could hear his pain and strain through it. She realized that whatever was wrong, it was causing him pain. And suddenly, she was overcome with urge to comfort him.

She moved closer to him, kneeling on the floor, closer to where his head was resting on the armrest. She lifted her hand and gently placed it over his, which was lying idly by his side.

"You're not frightening me, Kaname-sama," whispered Yuuki.

Kaname sighed. And at that moment, the clouds moved back over the moon, covering the room in darkness again.

Yuuki couldn't see anything. She kept her eyes on the spot where Kaname's face was just a few seconds before.

"Well," he began and Yuuki heard the soft rustle of silk against silk. "I should." And he opened his eyes.

All that Yuuki saw where two blood red half-lidded eyes staring back at her in the darkness.

Yuuki yelped and quickly got to her feet. She stumbled backwards, knocking some of the empty glasses over in the process. She kept her eyes locked with his, being able to see nothing else.

Kaname sat up. She could tell by the rustle of fabric and the way his eyes moved higher and more to the center of the sofa.

Yuuki's heart was beating against her eardrums again.

After about a minute of this staring contest, while the only sound in the room was Yuuki's painfully beating heart, Kaname stood up and began to slowly walk towards her. For every step he took, Yuuki took one step back. She could only see his tall silhouette and those eyes.

Yuuki racked her brains, looking for something that might distract him…or at least make him talk again.

Inspiration came quickly. With one of his steps, Kaname crushed one of the glasses under his foot. It seemed he didn't even notice.

"K-Kaname-sama, did the blood tablets stop working?" she squeaked out, not being able to control her voice at that moment.

As an answer, Kaname only tilted his head to the side.

"I-Is that the problem? The tablets don't work?" Yuuki wanted him to say something. She didn't know why but she wanted to hear his voice.

But he still didn't answer.

So she tried again: "But the others, Ichijou-sempai, Aidou-sempai, Kain-sempai, they all seemed perfectly fine. Ah!" and her back hit something solid. She felt around with her hands and found out that she hit the door. She was trapped.

Kaname took the few remaining steps and stood right in front of her. Yuuki had to lean her head back to be able to look into his eyes. They still were that deep shade of red. Quite similar to Zero's when he was hungry for blood.

Yuuki gulped again. And that brought Kaname's attention to her throat.

Yuuki's eyes widened as he slowly lowered his face to the same level as hers.

"The tablets…won't work on me," he said almost lazily, bending his head to the right side of her neck. He touched his nose to her skin there and inhaled deeply. He held the air in for a few seconds and then let it out through his mouth, making Yuuki shiver delicately.

And then he moaned against the side of her neck.

Yuuki only stared off into the darkness, her eyes wide, her breathing uneven. She never heard him moan before. The sound seemed so vulnerable.

She felt him place his hands against the door, caging her in.

"Nothing works on me now," he said in a deep rumbling voice, right into her ear. "No amount of Ruka's, Aidou's or Ichijou's blood helped me from my agony."

Yuuki flinched at that last word.

"The taste of their blood revolting on my tongue, rising like bile in my throat…"

He pressed his lips to the pulse on her neck and Yuuki heard a quiet click as the door locked itself.

"Your blood would be the only relief from my suffering…" and he ran his tongue along the length of the side of her neck.

There. Yuuki had her answers. That's why it was her fault that Kaname suffered. That's why they all hated her. She was unconsciously causing him pain. For a moment, she was actually relieved to finally know the truth. But then she realized what situation she was in. Same like last Monday. Kaname's lips on her pulse, she rooted to the spot. Only this time Zero won't be coming to her rescue. "Zero," she thought with regret. Zero told her before: he didn't want the same fate for her, too…

But what other choice did she have? She wanted to save Kaname. She owed him her life for saving her ten years ago… No, he OWNED her life. Whatever he demanded, she would gladly give him.

Kaname took his right hand off the door where it rested and he started to play with a strand of Yuuki's hair. By then, Yuuki was decided.

She took that hand in hers and gently kissed his knuckles.

Kaname froze, his lips going still on her skin.

Yuuki pressed one more kiss to the last knuckle and she turned his hand over, kissing his palm once. And she waited.

When Kaname got over the shock of her actions, he slowly placed that hand over her left cheek.

Yuuki covered his hand with hers and leaned into the touch, her eyes closing in the process. That small movement exposed her neck further and she heard a small whimper escape Kaname's lips.

That was her way of surrendering…and apparently, Kaname knew that, too…

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A/N: Bringing out Kaname's animalistic side is fun!

Take care,

Matylda