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Bloody Nurse

Chapter 18

"Come in," called the Chairman, looking up from the documents messily scattered across his desk.

Zero walked in and closed the door behind him. He stood there, silent, eyes boring into the bespectacled man.

The older man waited patiently for Zero to speak. When seconds passed, timed precisely by the incessant ticking of the clock in the room, the Chairman sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Yuuki's doing great and she's well on her way to a speedy recovery. Kaname called to let me know; the fever is gone, nothing else seems to be amiss. He'll make sure she eats properly to regain her strength and that she gets plenty of rest. So, all is well. Will that remove the scowl from your face?"

Zero said nothing.

"Apparently not," the Chairman muttered, returning his gaze to the papers in front of him.

He waited for the youth to acknowledge his words. The only answer he received was the creaking of the door and a sharp click as it was shut, followed by retreating footsteps.

Kaien Cross sighed again. Removing his glasses, he rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He was not looking forward to the day that seemed to be drawing ever closer. He was afraid. Not just for the wellbeing of his adoptive daughter, but he dreaded Zero's reaction just as well.

The boy's foul mood these past few days was indication enough.

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Zero walked down the corridor with hands in his pockets. He couldn't calm down.

He was glad. Indeed he did feel the tight coil in his chest loosen a bit at the headmaster's words. If Kuran's words were to be trusted, she was getting better. He was relieved to hear that. But still…

He would not calm down until she came back. Until he could see her. See her smile. See that she's…

His fist tightened around the handkerchief he still carried around in his pocket.

He stopped walking as soon as he exited the building.

He couldn't understand the Chairman. There was no reason not to bring her home now. Why wasn't he doing more? No matter what the Chairman's thoughts were on the tentative peace between the two species, leaving his own daughter in their hands felt just plain wrong. Vampires could not be trusted. He should know. He could not, would not, understand.

Zero was about to walk down the path to begin his patrol when he suddenly heard his name being called from the woods.

"Kiryuu Zero," a teasing voice said, as Aidou emerged from behind a tree.

Zero regarded him silently for a couple of seconds, then he turned away and began walking.

"H-hey, wait!" Aidou got out indignantly. "I want to speak to you!"

"And I don't." Zero kept walking.

Aidou took two steps after him. "I'm sure I can change your mind. It's about your precious Yuuki."

Zero's stride slowed to a stop, keeping his back turned to the blond vampire. "That reminds me," he said flatly. "How did your punishment go?"

Aidou folded his arms and scowled. "I didn't come here to talk about that. I want to ask you something."

Zero resumed his stride again. "I don't care."

"You should care," Aidou called after him. "Even you must realize that the connection between them isn't normal."

Zero kept walking. Yuuki's connection to Kuran was something he questioned since the day he saw them together for the first time. He never understood it. Yuuki's childhood infatuation and the gratitude she carried around in her heart were one thing, but he could not even begin to grasp the reasoning behind the pureblood's actions.

"What did your instincts tell you the day Kaname-sama stopped attending classes?" Aidou asked suddenly.

"I can handle vampires, you know I can."

"True, but I don't want you to handle it this time. It might be more than you've bargained for."

His conversation with Yuuki flashed through Zero's mind. His steps slowed once more.

"No matter what my personal opinion of you is, I know you're not stupid," Aidou went on. "You've undergone hunter training, and on top of that, you now share some of our…attributes too. I'm not sure about the extent of the hunters' knowledge of our private ways, nor do I wish to divulge our secrets, but tell me. Are you aware of what caused Kaname-sama's… affliction?"

Zero slowly turned around and faced the blond, regarding him silently for a while with grave eyes.

Aidou took two steps towards a tree and leaned against its trunk, arms still folded. "You do know, don't you. I can't imagine you know a lot, as the workings behind it remain a kind of a rare mystery even to us, but there we are. Maybe we know so little about it because of its rarity." Aidou shifted so that his left shoulder and the side of his head were leaning against the tree, facing Zero fully. "Isn't it odd? Of all the people and vampires he's ever met, what were the odds it would be the one human child he doted on all this time? And what's worse, he continues to resist, denies himself the pleasure of fulfilling that calling over and over again."

Zero clenched his fists tighter and frowned. "What are you getting at, Aidou-sempai?" he got out through clenched teeth.

Aidou smirked. "You know Yuuki Cross well. And you've recently acquired access to some of her more…private thoughts, too," he trailed off, pushing away from the tree and walking slowly in Zero's direction. "I want to know the extent of their connection. And so, Kiryuu, my question is – what do you know about it?" He stopped in front of him.

Zero seemed unperturbed, only the tight clenching of his jaw gave away the emotions whirling inside of him. He blinked and slowly shook his head. "I'd hate to have anything in common with you but I have to admit it's something I never fully understood."

Aidou's self-assured smirk slid off his face. "You…can't you tell me anything about her past at least?"

"Yuuki can't tell you anything about her past either. She only remembers Kuran saving her from another vampire."

Aidou frowned. "But…how did he find her then? Did he just come across her alone and scared in a clearing? Where did they meet?"

Zero shrugged. "Isn't that something you should be asking your Kaname-sama instead?" With that, hands still in his pockets, Zero turned around and began walking once more, leaving the upset and visibly confused noble behind him.

There were many things he wanted to ask the pureblood himself.

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It was very probable that Yuuki's cheeks would never return to their former pale state. At least, that's what her burning face felt like. She did not want to even imagine what she looked like. And as it so happened, she didn't have much room for such thoughts in her befuddled brain.

Her head emptied and filled, emptied and filled with various notions and ideas and images, like waves, making her feel like everything was spinning and that she weighed nothing and a ton at the same time.

She clutched Kaname's shoulders in a vicelike grip, torn between pulling him closer and pushing him away, finding acute reasons for doing both, but forgetting them with the next wave of head emptying ebb and flow.

His lips were warm, soft, gentle, and they felt like…

Home.

The kiss grew gentler and softer the longer it lasted, until Kaname pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. Keeping one hand buried in Yuuki's hair, he slid the other along her cheek and brushed his thumb over her lips.

Yuuki opened her eyes at the touch and found him watching the movement of his finger as if in trance.

He swallowed audibly and took a deep breath. "You have no idea…" he breathed out.

Yuuki blinked and swallowed nervously. A dream, one she never dared admit even to herself, just came true. And there were no words to describe it. She was stunned. Elated. And terrified.

Terrified because she just made one of the best memories of her entire life and she didn't know what to do with it. Terrified because she might never again find anything that would beat this moment. Terrified because…his eyes, she noted, looked so sad, as if he was saying goodbye.

Kaname tore his gaze away from her lips and looked up into her eyes. He lifted his hand from her face, leaned back a little and smoothed her still damp hair away from her cheek. He stared at her for a while and then one corner of his mouth lifted in amusement, the sad look disappearing from his eyes.

"You look…surprised," he said gently.

Yuuki kept staring at him, wide-eyed.

"Are you…angry with me? For kissing you?" he almost whispered.

Yuuki shook her head jerkily.

Kaname sighed. "What atrocities I must have committed for you to be this surprised, after all I've told you…" He leaned forward and brushed his nose along her ear and down her throat. "You must know, surely you must know I do not see you as a child, Yuuki. I do feel protective of you, to a fault. I am guilty of that. I'm also guilty of entertaining such thoughts for which, should I ever discover them in the minds of others, the rightful punishment would be a beheading by my own hand."

Yuuki gasped. What normally would have been brushed away as an idle threat, she knew for a fact that Kaname's words could very well be meant literally.

He pulled away a little. "I'm sorry if that scares you. But you have no idea what I'd be willing to sacrifice for you." He ran his fingers through the ends of her hair and frowned. "You haven't said anything… Are you alright?"

Yuuki looked away from his worried gaze and noticed her hands still rested on his shoulders. As she lowered them slowly to her sides, she noticed the greasy stains her fingers left behind on the material of his slightly rumpled shirt.

"…why," Yuuki got out, quietly.

"Why what?"

"Why me?"

"Yuuki – "

"Why go to all this trouble for me? Why cancel your classes for me to stay out of the rain? Why keep me here when I could have been recovering at home? Why keep me in the dark about so many things?" With every question, her voice grew stronger. "Why? It makes no sense."

As if Kaname sensed her pulling away from him, he secured his hands around her waist again. "All I ever wanted was to keep you safe. With that, everything I do makes perfect sense to me."

Yuuki shook her head and laughed tiredly. "There are things even you cannot keep me safe from, apparently." She looked up at him and seeing his puzzled expression, she added almost in a whisper, "Heartbreak."

Kaname sat still as a statue. Yuuki could have sworn he wasn't even breathing. This preternatural stillness reminded her yet again of the differences between them. And it seemed she reached her limit for the day.

Remembering her current position, she tried scooting back away from his still frame, but his arms around her middle were as immovable as steel. She brought her hands behind her, ready to pry his grip off her, or at least try, but before she could attempt that futile feat, Kaname spoke.

"Yuuki…I'm not sure you understand the connotations of a kiss."

Yuuki whipped her head up in surprise.

"You do understand that it conveys certain…feelings, don't you?" His gaze was almost guarded.

Yuuki stammered, "Well, y-yes, but…"

"But?"

She bit her lip. "I can't allow myself to think about that," she admitted. "Because the moment I do… We are too different. From two different worlds. And I – "

"Why do you live under the impression that we'll part ways if I let you leave this bedroom?"

Yuuki gaped at him. "If you let me leave this bedroom? What do you mean if?"

"Do not change the subject, Yuuki."

"No, I think I'm rightfully stuck on that one. If?"

"I told you just a moment ago, nothing changes for me come Monday. My feelings for you won't disappear when you leave my chambers."

"Don't you mean if?"

Kaname simply gazed at her, a sad frown marring his face.

Yuuki went quiet, the fire within her dying a little noticing his expression.

"Earlier," Kaname began hesitantly, "in the bathtub, you insisted you're not afraid me, not repulsed by what I am."

Yuuki swallowed. "I'm not," she said weakly.

"Are you certain?" he asked, lifting one of his hands to trail his fingers down the side of her throat, following the movement with his eyes.

Yuuki regarded him closely, thinking that his question somehow went beyond the concern for himself, as if he wasn't questioning just her opinion of him. Her heart performed a strange twitch at the thought.

She grasped his forearms gently and said, "I am not afraid of you, nor could I ever be repulsed by you. How can you even ask that, after all these years?"

Kaname brushed his fingers down her neck again, this time dipping slightly below the collar of her borrowed shirt. "Your opinion of me changed throughout the years. You are a grown woman now, surely you no longer cling to the idolized image of me you created in your childhood. You always knew what I was but when you finally witnessed the repercussions of such an existence, your world grew darker around you. You began pulling away from me…"

"I did," Yuuki said quietly, "but not because of fear or disgust. I came to understand the differences between us, the gap that cannot be bridged. I…I wanted to admire you from afar, at least."

"Differences," Kaname muttered almost absentmindedly, his thumb brushing against the hollow of her throat.

"Yes," Yuuki affirmed breathily, her heartbeat speeding up.

Kaname's lips parted slightly and the next time he blinked slowly, his eyes shone bright red.

Yuuki's breath hitched.

Kaname leaned his head closer to her, lifting his gaze from the collar of her shirt and looked into her eyes. "If I told you those differences could be erased, would you still pull away?"

She was struck silent. What was he asking?

"If there were no differences standing between us, would you accept my feelings?"

Yuuki gulped, her grip on him tightening. "What…what are you asking?"

Kaname pulled her closer to his body, still staring into her eyes. "Would you willingly join me in my perpetual night and walk down the endless path of blood by my side?"

Yuuki again braced her hands against his shoulders, her heart pounding in her ears. "Are…are you asking me if…if I want to…t-to become…"

"Like me," Kaname breathed into her ear.

Yuuki shivered at the sensation, her throat suddenly parched. Strange. All these years, she never imagined herself becoming a vampire, not even after Zero lost the battle with his other side. And yet, this past week, she kept wondering what it would be like. Strange. Frightening perhaps…

She pulled away from him slightly and looked at his face closely again, resting her palms against his cheeks.

It wasn't so much about becoming a vampire that she craved, was it. He was what she secretly wanted all this time, never allowing herself to hope, but… What if he could be hers? What if…?

Yuuki slid her fingertips down his face, trailing them along his neck towards his shoulders. She leaned forward and placed a petal soft kiss beneath his jaw. Turning her head to the side slightly, she drew the open collar of his shirt to the side and touched her lips to the soft spot where his neck and shoulder met. She heard the soft gasp that escaped his lips.

Pulling back an inch, she said softly, "You would have to teach me." She kissed the spot again. "Everything."

"Everything," he echoed somewhere above her head.

"And you would't be allowed to leave me behind." A kiss.

"Never, Yuuki." He wound his arms around her again.

"And, no more secrets, no more protecting me from unknown threats, no more refusing my help." This time, she bit the skin gently with her blunt teeth.

Kaname hissed and buried his face in the side of her neck. "Do I take that to mean yes?" he practically groaned.

Yuuki shivered delicately, her heartbeat speeding up further. "Yes," she whispered against his skin.

For several long seconds, they both remained immobile, wrapped around each other. Yuuki waited with bated breath, her cheeks warm, hands cold from nervousness and anticipation.

Just when she began to think he hadn't heard her and was about to pull away, Kaname sighed, almost as if in relief, and whispered, "Thank you."

And then, he pulled back, looked down at her, and Yuuki noticed his eyes were back to normal. Moreover, his lips were stretched in a gentle crooked smile, the same one she witnessed when they were both brushing their teeth not too long ago.

Yuuki blinked. "Um…"

One corner of his mouth pulled higher. "Did you expect me to lunge this very instant?"

"Well…yes?" Yuuki hedged.

He let out a soft chuckle and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Some preparations are in order first, I believe."

Yuuki frowned. "So I'll really be signing some papers?"

One of his elegant eyebrows shot up. "Papers?"

"N-nothing, forget it," she stammered quickly.

"It gives me great pleasure to know you are so eager, Yuuki. You made me very happy today."

Yuuki blushed. Come to think of it, she couldn't believe some of her bolder actions. She didn't regret her decision, but the way she acted just then…

"Come, let us rest," Kaname said and slid her hips to the side, off his legs. He moved to the edge of the bed, stood up and took hold of the forgotten tray.

She stared after him. "Rest?" She wasn't sure she could rest now.

He left the bedroom only briefly to deposit the tray somewhere in the other room, then came back and closed the door behind him again. "Yes, Yuuki, rest. You are still recovering your strength." He climbed onto the bed, reached for her waist and pulled her to him. He laid her on her side, pressing his chest to her back, and kept one arm securely around her. "Besides, I am quite tired myself," he said into her hair, the light in the room extinguished the moment he uttered the last word.

Yuuki bit her lip, still unused to his close proximity. "Kaname-sama…"

An incoherent sleepy sound was her only answer.

"I still want to go back on Monday. I'm a guardian and I take that job very seriously, so… There is no if about it."

Kaname was so silent and still behind her that she thought he was already asleep. After a couple seconds passed, she received another muffled sound as an answer.

Yuuki stared ahead into the darkness, listening to his even, quiet breathing.

She agreed to becoming a vampire. And Kaname had…feelings for her. She didn't know which was more mindboggling.

Or which would be easier to convey to others.

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A/N: A very very very chatty chapter.

I am in awe of how much traffic this story gets, despite the sporadic updates. Thank you, truly I thank you, for giving this story a chance.

Take care,

Matylda