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Bloody nurse

Chapter 12

Yuuki dared not move. She stayed on the cold soggy ground, rain falling all around her, its sound being the only audible thing in the clearing. She stared open-mouthed at the two vampires not too far from her, pressed closely together against a tree.

Aidou hung limply from Kaname's hand; as if he weighted nothing, Kaname pushed him up the tree trunk, so that his feet hung above the ground. Aidou's face was calm, though Yuuki strongly believed that position must have been very uncomfortable, but the only sign of any resistance on his part was his own hand which was loosely wrapped around Kaname's wrist. It seemed as if they were having a silent conversation. Or at least, as if Kaname was conveying some unpronounced threat.

Suddenly Yuuki remembered how easily Kaname had torn through Ichijou's shoulder, and all he did was escort her to his chambers. What would become of Aidou? A wave of fear ran over her at the thought. He might have been an idiot but he certainly didn't deserve to die.

"Kaname-sempai," Yuuki spoke up, her voice panicky. "Please don't."

She had definitely caught his attention, for he turned his head slightly in her direction. This spurred her on.

"Don't hurt him. It was just a game. A stupid one, I admit, but we often do this, right Aidou-sempai?" She laughed uneasily.

At this, Aidou only rolled his eyes.

"It's to keep us in shape. Well, me at least. Though we usually pick a better day-"

"Yuuki," Kaname interrupted her rant.

"Yes?" said Yuuki in a small voice.

Kaname turned his head to her fully and opened his yet again bright blood-red eyes. "Be quiet."

Yuuki swallowed thickly. She gazed through the rain into the twin pools of deep red, her breath hitched. She had seen those eyes before, as well as similar eyes of many others. A slideshow of many such pairs of eyes ran through her mind. With a quiet gasp, she severed their connection and let her eyes fall to the wet ground before her. "Y-Yes," she answered in the smallest of voices.

Kaname slowly turned his head back around, fixing Aidou with a cold stare. He tightened the hand around his neck for emphasis and spoke in a chilling voice: "I will deal with you later." Releasing his hold on him, Aidou slid down to the ground into a well practised position on one knee, his head bent down, showing his total submission.

"You're dismissed."

And Aidou disappeared with a short blast of cold air.

Yuuki sat there with bated breath, completely at a loss what to do. He was angry. He was blood-red angry. And she was tired, cold, drenched, and dare she admit it – scared. For the first time in so long, she felt very out of her element. And for once, she just wanted to go home…

She was startled when an expensive looking pair of black leather shoes stepped into a puddle right in front of her. She fixed her eyes on them, refusing to look up. They were a nice pair. Didn't he realize they were probably filling up with water by now? What a way to ruin them.

She heard a sigh somewhere above her head and suddenly, Kaname was crouching down in front of her. She quickly averted her eyes to the side with a slight blush colouring her cheeks because his sudden change of pose brought her gaze to a very inappropriate place to be looking at.

She heard the sigh again and felt a coat-clad arm sneaking around her back and under her knees. At this her head snapped up so fast, she almost hit Kaname in the chin.

"W-What are you doing?" she squeaked, pulling away a little, slightly mollified seeing that his eyes returned to their beautiful burgundy colour.

"What I must do," was his only reply. Without further ado, he picked Yuuki off the ground, cradling her to his chest bridal-style, and stood up. He looked down at her and gently said: "Close your eyes."

Yuuki was confused. "But-"

"Yuuki," he insisted.

She regarded him quizzically for a moment, but he only stared back at her with an impassive expression. After a while, she shrugged and did as he asked. More like ordered.

The strong wind from before was back, whipping the wet strands of her hair against her face, making her shiver with cold.

When it stopped before she could even express her slight discomfort, she slowly opened her eyes and was met with a strange sight. A glass door, covered with deep coloured heavy curtains from the other side. Confused, she turned her head and her gaze fell on a tiled floor, a white banister, and finally – a dark horizon.

"We're on one of the balconies," Kaname answered her unasked question.

"The Moon Dorm?" Yuuki almost whispered.

"My chambers, to be exact," he said and proceeded to push open the glass door with his foot.

They entered, finally getting out of the rain, Kaname still holding Yuuki in his arms. The room was dark; Yuuki could barely make out various shapes of what she guessed to be furniture.

Kaname stopped as soon as they were inside and, again using his foot, closed the glass door behind them. He skilfully toed his leather shoes off and leaving those by the door, carried Yuuki further into the room.

Yuuki was about to ask to be put down on her own two feet, however she quickly forgot her thoughts and gasped in surprise instead. As they moved through the room, every single candle they've passed seemed to flicker to life on its own, casting a low glow about their surroundings. Yuuki finally had a chance to look around. She indeed found herself once again in Kaname's chambers and she couldn't help but look at the carpeted floor, checking for deep stains in the plush material. Seeing none, she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Not paying much attention to where they were headed, she was surprised to find Kaname opening a simple door which she had never even noticed before. He carried her inside the still dark room and stopped after taking several steps. After a slight pause, he bent down at the waist and lowered the arm that supported the weight of Yuuki's legs, letting her gently slide back to her own feet.

Yuuki stood nervously fidgeting in the dark, as she felt Kaname move away from her, back in the direction of the door they came through.

A gentle click was heard and the room was flooded with bright sharp light. Yuuki hissed at the sudden change, her eyes used to the dark. She squinted in the light, being able to see nothing at all. When her eyes finally started to adjust, she tried to focus on what she was actually seeing: pale tiles. Tiles?

She lifted her eyes from the strange floor and was met with a beautiful sight. Kaname was leaning against a similarly tiled wall right across from her, his eyes boring into hers. His hair was wet, sticking in thin strands to his forehead and pale cheeks, framing his deep eyes. He was still wearing the long coat, now slightly smudged with mud on the front and the bottom hem. His feet were bare, a pale contrast against the black pant legs.

Kaname stared at her with an unreadable expression. After a while, making Yuuki more and more nervous by the second, he closed his eyes and slowly shook his head as if not believing what he was seeing. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and pushed away from the wall. With his long sure strides, Kaname brushed past Yuuki. Taking a deep breath, Yuuki turned her head after him, to find him leaning over an enormous corner bathtub, turning the knobs on and checking the temperature of the flowing water.

The room was suddenly filled with the roar of the flowing water quickly filling the tub and a burst of warmth from the rising steam. Yuuki suddenly realized just how cold and uncomfortable she felt in her soaked through clothes. She was so going to get ill…

Satisfied with the temperature, Kaname quickly added some oil and salts under the stream and fluffy foam started to form on the surface. Turning around, he saw Yuuki standing in the middle of the bathroom, her slight frame shivering, arms wrapped around herself, her school uniform dirty and ripped beyond recognition, both hair and face smeared with mud, looking at him wonderingly.

Yuuki watched with wide eyes as he approached her and stopped right in front of her, with a frown marring his face. All of a sudden he kneeled down in front of her and started to unlace her dirty muddy shoes. Yuuki's eyes widened even further. Locked in place, she didn't dare to move.

Finished with unlacing and loosening a shoe, Kaname took a gentle hold of Yuuki's calf with one hand and slowly pulled the shoe off with the other, proceeding to do the same with the other shoe.

Yuuki watched in amazement and profound embarrassment as he left the shoes where they fell and straightened back up, looking down at her. As if not to startle her, he slowly took hold of her wrists and loosened her arms from around her midsection. When he reached for the buttons of her uniform jacket and began undoing them, Yuuki's throat went dry. She blushed hotly, preparing to finally speak up, but before she could gather her thoughts, Kaname had already finished with the buttons and slid his hands under the jacket at the shoulders, in order to slide it down her arms, and he let it drop to the floor with a slight wet splat.

Afraid he would continue even further, Yuuki tried to form a sentence in her parched throat. "Kaname-sempai…"

"Wait here," was all he said before disappearing like only vampires could.

Yuuki stood there in the middle of the foreign bathroom, shivering, completely at a loss what to think. The water still roared away, happily filling up the tub with sweet smelling warmth.

With Kaname gone, Yuuki finally dared to look around the spacious room. Both the floor and the walls were covered in pale creamy tiles. The tub, huge as it was, took up almost one third of the room. In the opposite corner was a shower cubicle, surrounded by two glass walls, with no shower base visible. The third corner held the washstand made in a similar style as the tub, and above this was a wide rectangle mirror, now completely steamed up. In the last corner stood a bare wooden bench.

The whole bathroom seemed very sterile to Yuuki. Everything was simple, very pale in colour, almost too clean. There were no rugs on the tiled floor, no cabinets to hold towels or other necessities. Except for a couple of bottles on the edge of the tub, there was nothing to make the room look lived in.

Yuuki jumped in surprise as Kaname suddenly reappeared beside her, letting out a tiny squeak.

"Forgive me," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Yuuki shook her head. "No, it's fine, I just…" Her voice trailed off because Kaname turned away from her towards the bench and placed something on it. He must have taken his coat off at some point, she realized.

Kaname turned back around to face her. "I've brought you some towels and a change of clothes."

"Oh," was the only thing Yuuki could bring herself to say.

"Although I'm not currently in possession of any women's clothing, so you'll have to do with mine," he said as he approached her.

"N-No, that's fine," she said again. "It's just that…"

He reached her at that point, standing right in front of her, looking down at her. "Just what?" he asked in a deep quiet timbre, reaching for one of her wrists.

Her heartbeat quickened. "Y-You don't have to do this," she said in a strangled voice.

"Yes, I do," he countered calmly, slowly pushing the ornate cuff links of her shirt through the holes. Reaching for her other hand, he set her second wrist free from the restraining confines of a drenched and dirty cuff.

Yuuki was starting to panic. "No, I mean, I could just go home." She tried to speak with a firmer persuasive voice, she really did, but it just wouldn't obey her with him being so close.

Kaname stopped all his movement and just looked into her wide eyes.

For a little while, Yuuki thought she must have gotten her point across, though she doubted that she herself even understood what point she was trying to make, confused as she felt. They were both silent, immobile, staring into each other's eyes.

Yuuki cleared her throat. "Um, Kaname-sempai?"

Without breaking their eye contact, Kaname began lowering himself to one knee. "I can't let you do that, Yuuki."

Yuuki only gaped at him. What the hell does that mean?

She gasped. Kaname suddenly grabbed the back of one of her knees, which were still clad in her formerly black over-knees socks.

"I won't let you go back until I take proper care of you."

Yuuki blushed. "T-That's really not-"

"Do not argue with me, Yuuki," he cut her off.

Yuuki fell silent immediately.

Finally breaking their eye contact, Kaname looked down at her knee. "I'm at the end of my patience."

And with that he took hold of her wet muddy sock with both hands and began to gently lower it over the knee.

Yuuki hissed in precisely the same moment as Kaname did, for the skin on her knee was apparently grazed. She hadn't even noticed until then, the pain reminding her that she had indeed fallen down a couple of times that very evening.

Kaname seemed transfixed with the shallow wound. He had paused, leaving the sock only half way down. His thumb tenderly smoothed over the skin right next to the grazed area.

Yuuki held her breath, not really knowing what to expect. Her knee was bleeding slightly right in front of him, after all.

Kaname took a deep breath and stood up elegantly. "You need to clean it properly," he told her gravely.

She certainly didn't expect that.

"I will…" She bit her lip out of a nervous habit. He was still standing too close to her.

Very slowly, his long pale fingers took hold of one of the loose ends of the red ribbon tied beneath the collar of her white shirt and – still very slowly – pulled, causing the bow to unravel.

"Use the shower first," he spoke up, still watching the movement of the ribbon, letting it fall to their feet. He looked up at her face and using the same hand, reached for a sodden strand of hair that was plastered to her cheek. Rubbing it between his fingers, he continued: "Wash all the mud from your skin and hair there."

He tucked the strand behind her ear.

"Use the bathwater to warm up and relax. It should be ready by the time you're done showering."

With that said, he turned and headed for the door, Yuuki following his movement with her eyes.

Grabbing the door handle, he looked back at her one more time. "And leave all your clothes on the floor; I'll have them dealt with later."

Yuuki watched as he closed the door and she was once again left alone. She felt as if her brain stopped working. A part of her was somewhat glad for that. She didn't really want to think. None of this made any sense.

She stood there frozen on the spot for another minute or two, and then finally she lifted her shaky hands to start unbuttoning her shirt that still clung to her uncomfortably. She looked at the door one more time, contemplating locking it, but then she remembered that night and the fact that he can lock and unlock doors with just the power of thought.

Yuuki shrugged.

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Carefully getting out of the tub, Yuuki felt infinitely better. She was warm, clean, and her hair smelt like shampoo again. Crossing over to the wooden bench, she picked up a large white fluffy towel and began drying herself. Once she was dry enough, she picked up a fresh towel and wrapped it around her head.

Looking at the clothes Kaname laid out for her, she hesitated. The idea of wearing something of his was somewhat unnerving. It felt as if she was invading his privacy. Turning her head towards the filthy pile of clothes that used to be her uniform, she sighed. There's no way she could wear that. Her cheeks coloured when her eyes caught sight of one of her bra straps peeking out from under her skirt on the floor. Yes, the underwear had to go, too. At that realization, she felt both like crying and killing Aidou personally.

Turning her head back, she sighed again. She was mortified at the idea that someone will be ordered to come and clean it up. Perhaps she could ask someone for a plastic bag and do it herself back at home?

She shook her head. Kaname wouldn't hear of it, she was sure.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up a burgundy coloured shirt. It felt like the softest of silks in her hands…which it probably was. She pulled her arms through the sleeves and quickly did up all the buttons. Lifting up a black pair of cotton rich slacks, she saw something dark fall to the ground.

Surprised, Yuuki bent down to retrieve the fallen object. Straightening back up, she froze. Her brain jammed. Her cheeks burnt. Her humiliation was complete.

There was one thing worse than not having your underwear to wear.

And she was holding that in her hands.

Wha-? He can't be serious.

She hung her head in defeat, blushing like crazy.

Kill me now, please! She thought, quickly putting the nice black pair of boxer shorts on, instantly reaching for the slacks to cover that part of her humiliation up as fast as possible.

Yuuki groaned. This was so not a good day. Grabbing the towel around her head, she angrily rubbed it against her scalp. Once it started being slightly painful, she stopped and dropped the towel around her shoulders, to keep her wet hair away from the shirt.

She looked down at herself and finally realized just how tiny she must be compared to Kaname. The shirt hung to her knees, her hands and feet completely disappearing in the clothes.

I still look like a child, she thought, recalling a very similar image from her childhood, when Kaname lent her one of his coats.

She sighed once more and headed to the door, not knowing what to expect. Taking hold of the door handle, she took a deep calming breath, turned the lights off, and exited the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

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A/N: Anyone else would be humiliated like Yuuki, holding such an object?

Should you encounter any mistakes, please let me know.

Thank you for still reading this. I truly appreciate it.

Take care,

Matylda