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Bloody nurse
Chapter 11
The next afternoon, it rained. It was pouring. It seemed as if buckets of water were being constantly emptied against the tall windows of the Chairman's living room. Even though it was still mid afternoon, several lamps had to be lit around the room to make up for the light deficiency, as the sun was buried behind a thick layer of dark grey clouds ever since that morning.
The afternoon PE classes were cancelled that day, for obvious reasons, and Yuuki made use of the extra time. She was kneeling on a flat cushion beside the windows, a low ironing boar spread in front of her, carefully ironing a handkerchief. The only sounds in the room were made by the rain drilling against the panes of glass, the low rumbling of thunder, the occasional puff of hot air released from the smoothing iron, and the soft rustle of paper whenever the Chairman turned over a page of the newspaper he was reading.
After a while, the Chairman exclaimed: "The world is certainly going to pieces!" He folded the newspaper in half and placed it on the couch beside him. "I don't even know why I read this anymore, it only makes me angry," he sighed and rubbed his temples. Leaning his head against the backrest he said: "From now on, I'll only read the funny pages."
Yuuki giggled. "They're not that funny, dad," she warned.
The Chairman sighed again. "I know, but I'd rather read about a bird mechanic telling a bird customer to wing it, as his car cannot be repaired, rather than about a war here, a crisis there and a heated argument somewhere else."
Yuuki giggled again. "That was a good one, I admit."
The Chairman absentmindedly ran his hand through his ponytail and looked at his daughter. "Apropos, Yuuki, you've been ironing the same handkerchief for a good half an hour. That can't be very entertaining, either."
Yuuki smiled softly, never taking her eyes off the task in front of her. "I don't mind, it's something important to me."
The Chairman took off his glasses to wipe away a smudge from one lens with the hem of his robe and said: "Well, don't burn a hole in it if it's that important."
"I won't," said Yuuki brightly. "It's almost done." And she proceeded to carefully fold it into a perfect square.
The Chairman put his glasses back on and looked out of the window, or at least attempted to. One couldn't see much past the rain. "Incredible," he remarked after a particularly violent splash. "If this keeps up, you'll be relieved of your duties tonight as well. I just don't see anyone sneaking around in this weather."
Yuuki pressed the iron onto a folded strip to flatten it properly. "I wouldn't be so sure, dad. Some of the fan girls are really persistent."
The Chairman snorted lightly. "Somehow I envy them," he said and dramatically threw his arms up towards the ceiling. "Ah, to be young and in unrequited love!"
Finally satisfied with her work, Yuuki reached over to unplug the smoothing iron.
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Walking down the familiar hall leading to their old bedrooms, Yuuki ran her thumbs over the now clean and smooth handkerchief. Her effort did pay off. It was as good as new.
Without knocking, she opened Zero's door and entered the dark empty room. She knew that Zero wouldn't be there, the Chairman told her that he's gone to the stables to keep the horses calm during the thunderstorm and that he'd probably wait it out there. He didn't even turn up for dinner.
Yuuki slowly crossed the room and stopped by Zero's bed. She ran her thumbs over the soft material one more time and then she slowly placed the handkerchief on the night table. She wanted to return it to him personally, but in the end she decided that this would most likely be the less embarrassing method…for the both of them.
She was about to turn around and leave when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning back, she leaned over the night table to look out of the window that was right behind it. Night was quickly approaching and with the thick clouds and heavy rain still falling relentlessly, there wasn't much left to actually see. However she could swear she caught a glimpse of something moving under the trees…
Yuuki gasped.
A hand dressed in a white uniform sleeve slowly wrapped around the trunk of one tree from behind, shortly followed by a head sporting a shock of blond wet hair, stealthily looking off into the depths of the forest.
"What the… Aidou-sempai?" murmured Yuuki to herself.
At that moment, Aidou's head snapped up towards her direction as if he heard her and he fixed his ice blue eyes on her. Seconds ticked by as they steadily stared at each other, Yuuki's expression being that of surprise, Aidou's of mischief.
All of a sudden he smirked, stuck his tongue out at her, and disappeared into the darkening forest.
Yuuki blinked, then groaned. "No, please, not tonight." She gestured wildly towards the outside. "Not when it's… ARG!"
She spun around and dashed out of the room.
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Kaname and Ichijou walked side by side down the main stairs of the Moon dormitory, Kaname dressed casually, Ichijou in his school uniform.
"Notify the rest of them of my decision and send a message to the Chairman," said Kaname authoritatively.
"Right away," smiled Ichijou and hurried back up the stairs.
Kaname calmly walked down the rest of the stairs and turned to look at the small group of Night class students sitting on the sofas of the entrance hall, already dressed in white school uniforms.
Ruka was the first one to stand up. "Is something the matter, Kaname-sama?" she asked.
"No," answered Kaname, gesturing at the others to remain seated even in his presence. "I only came to inform you that the classes are cancelled for tonight."
At this, Senri leaned back against the sofa's backrest and yawned. "Could have stayed in bed," he mumbled.
"My words exactly," sighed Rima, laying her head against his shoulder.
"Quiet, you two," hissed Ruka, crossing her arms. "Don't be disrespectful. I'm sure Kaname-sama has his reasons."
Kaname smiled softly for himself and turned his head towards the entrance door. "Indeed," he said almost wistfully. "The weather is truly unpleasant." Saying this he looked back at the vampires, all of them now sporting mildly surprised expressions on their faces. "You may go back to sleep if you wish." Then he turned around and headed for the stairs again, leaving a very puzzled group behind.
When their beloved leader finally disappeared within the entrails of the building, four pairs of wide bewildered eyes turned to look at each other.
Ruka, remaining on her feet, whispered quietly: "Did he just say…the weather?" And she turned her head to look at Kain quizzically.
Kain only shrugged.
When the others continued discussing it in hushed voices, he turned his gaze to the rain outside and frowned.
What are you thinking, Hanabusa?
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Yuuki made it out of the house through the back door, quickly shutting it behind her. The rain instantly matted her hair and trickled down her neck, soaking the collar of her shirt. She shivered at the feeling and darted into the woods, seeking at least some shelter under the leafage of the trees.
She had no idea where to go from there but for some reason, she was sure he'd make himself known. She ran a bit further to the tree where she saw him earlier from Zero's window, and waited.
Though the rain wasn't falling as heavily under the trees, it seemed as if the small raindrops clustered into bigger ones, making Yuuki wipe the water out of her eyes whenever such an enhanced raindrop splattered against her forehead. Her uniform quickly became wet, making it cling to her skin uncomfortably. She gritted her teeth against all discomfort and waited.
And Aidou didn't make her wait very long. He stepped out from behind a tree not too far away from her, his light uniform making it easy to spot him in the dimness.
Yuuki braced herself for the chase. She knew the drill.
His lazy smile taunted her as he seemed completely unfazed by the weather conditions.
Yuuki wiped the wet tresses of her bangs from her eyes and asked in a normal voice, knowing he'd have no trouble hearing her over the downpour: "Couldn't you've picked a different day for this?"
Aidou's smile widened, showing his pearl white teeth, and shook his head, sending droplets of water flying.
Yuuki sighed and slumped against the nearest tree. "You are so getting punished…"
She could see that he said something, as his lips formed words, but she couldn't hear anything. Right after that he saluted her and leisurely jogged off between the trees.
And Yuuki gave chase.
As she almost caught up with him, Aidou effortlessly sped up, quickly changing directions, darting around trees, always letting her almost grab the back of his uniform, only to move away from her hand at the last moment. He graciously jumped over bigger puddles, used branches as swinging posts, all the time looking flawless and as if without a care in the world.
Yuuki on the other hand has had it. She was slightly out of breath, her clothes were soaked through, her shoes were full of water, and both of her hands and ears were becoming numb with the cold. This needed to end, fast.
But in one unobserved moment, and one misplaced step, the slippery ground gave way beneath her foot and she went sprawling in the mud, face down.
She remained still for several seconds, partly from the sudden shock and partly to asses any possible damages. Finding none, she slowly lifted her head and a pair of surprisingly polished shoes came into her view.
A second later, the owner of those shoes doubled over with laughter.
"AHAHAHAHA!" Aidou laughed. "AHAHA, man, what a- HAHAHA!"
Yuuki ground her teeth in suppressed anger and pushed herself to her knees with a groan.
"Your face! AHAHA! Is that a new way of getting a facial mask? AHAHA!"
Yuuki wiped her face with an already sullied sleeve of her uniform, spitting some of the mud out of her mouth.
Aidou was obviously enjoying himself, hitting his knee repeatedly for good measure, howling with laughter at her expense.
And Yuuki's had enough.
Aidou's laughter came to an abrupt halt when a ball of wet mud splattered against his chest, dirtying his until then pristine clothes. He looked at the goo slowly running down his front with a horrified expression, and then looked back at Yuuki, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Y-You!" he stammered, looking back down at himself. "You threw this…this…"
"I did," replied Yuuki evenly. "Though I admit, I was aiming at your face."
His head snapped up at her calm admission. "But that's…YUCK!" he exclaimed, childishly stomping his foot, only to accidentally send more mud flying and spattering his white pant leg. "ARG! Not the pants, too!"
His hopelessness was so amusing that Yuuki couldn't help it. She giggled.
What a grave mistake.
The second he heard the sound, his complaints stopped, his back straightened, and he looked down at her with cold narrowed eyes. "You laughed," he said in a dangerous voice.
Yuuki snorted. "You laughed first," she reminded him.
"Nobody laughs at me."
Yuuki regarded him strangely. "Excuse me, Your Highness, I had no idea it was forbidden," she said, getting to her feet, trying to wipe off some of the mud that clung to her uniform.
Aidou took a step closer to her. "Are you mocking me?"
Bracing a hand against the trunk of the nearest tree, Yuuki bent down and took off one of her shoes to pour the water out of it, completely ignoring his attitude. "You think?" she mumbled.
Aidou closed his eyes in exasperation and ran a hand through his dripping hair. "I've planned this differently, it shouldn't have been such a bother," he said under his breath.
But Yuuki heard anyway. "Planned? You're actually following a plan?" She laughed again. "What exactly were you up to? Trying to get me ill? Cause that plan might still work out, you know," she said, taking off her other shoe.
Aidou took another step closer to her. "I will not be mocked," he hissed.
Yuuki sighed. "Look, Aidou-sempai," she said in a resigned voice. "Whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, it'll have to wait for another day. I'm drenched, dirty, and cold, so I'm just going to ask you to kindly return - "
"You're not cold enough," was all he said as he took one more step towards her which brought him right in front of her.
Yuuki blinked up at him in confusion. "Wha-" but she stopped short, suddenly hearing a strange crackling noise. She looked down to where the sound was coming from and gasped, quickly yanking her hand away from the tree, as a thick layer of ice was eerily crawling up its trunk.
She took several steps back, watching Aidou carefully. "Aidou-sempai…"
"You've ruined my uniform," he said in a detached voice, slowly advancing towards her.
"Hey, that's not fair! Look at me!" she retorted, gesturing at her ruined clothes.
"You dare to order me around."
"I've never - "
"And you have the nerve to mock me."
Yuuki gave up on reasoning with him and said in a small voice: "It's kind of hard not to."
Aidou's eyes flashed dangerously and his hands fisted at his sides.
"Aw, come on," said Yuuki defensively, "You're like an epitome of double standards!" She waved a hand in his direction, refusing to acknowledge that the ground around him was covered in a sturdy layer of ice. "How come you're allowed to laugh and I'm not?"
Aidou tilted his head to the side. "You don't like double standards? Fine," he said, putting one foot behind him, as if preparing for a race. "You've chased after me…" he trailed off and left the sentence hanging.
Something in Yuuki's mind clicked into place. "Oh."
She spun around and ran for it at the same time as long strips of ice sprang after her.
She ran as fast as her legs and wet clothing would let her, zigzagging between trees and bushes. She winced when a considerably large spear of ice smashed against a tree she ran past only a second before. Never pausing in her mad dash deeper into the school grounds forest, she ignored the fact that the raindrops falling around her were slowly turning into snowflakes.
The rows of trees suddenly gave way to a small clearing and she skidded to a stop in the middle of it, for on the other side stood Aidou, hands behind his back and a smirk in place.
Yuuki breathed heavily, eyeing him warily.
"Out of breath so soon, Yuuki-chan?" he asked innocently.
Yuuki said nothing.
"I've hoped we could go on a bit longer, but everything has to end at some point, I guess," he smiled.
Yuuki saw the ice coming. She wanted to duck back under the protection of the trees to her left but it was not to be. Her footing failed her for the second time that day, and she was met with the hard cold reality of the muddy ground again. Not wasting any time, she wanted to scramble to her feet quickly; however she soon realized she was stuck. Looking down her body, she saw that one of her legs was covered in ice up to the knee.
She heard laughter behind her.
"Let me go!" she said angrily, trying to free her leg in vain.
He was upon her in a second, whispering right into her ear. "In a moment, just give it some time."
Time? What time? She was about to ask him just that but suddenly a very strong wind started blowing, making her burrow her face into her folded arms under her, in order to protect her eyes. It was over in few seconds.
She instantly realized that Aidou's weight upon her was gone. Gingerly lifting her head, she looked down at her leg again, seeing the ice was gone as well.
Slowly turning her head to the other side, she gasped.
Aidou was being pinned to a tree by a hand that was tightly wrapped around his neck. The person to whom the hand belonged had his back turned to her, but she had no problem identifying her saviour.
"Kaname…sempai…"
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A/N: *sigh* I'm such a bad bad writer. My updates are so sporadic…
I was actually playing the sounds of the rainforest as background music for writing this chapter. It was fun.
As always, let me know if you find any mistakes.
Other that that, let me know if you've liked it ^_^
Take care,
Matylda