Akane relished the warmth of the water as it ran down her body, caressing her skin. Again, she noted, the difference in sensation from her Human memories, though, noted that it didn't differ by much. More than anything, her perception of temperature felt altered. She searched her memories to recall a similar sensation but found none. Analysing her senses, she thought about how to describe this new feeling.
The heat of the water was like being wrapped in a warm blanket, with a drink of hot tea, filling her insides with warmth. The heat seemed to seep into her bones, sinking deep into her muscles, relaxing and easing her tension. She relished the feeling, sighing, content, but her calm was tinged with the same regret when she'd discover something new which differed from her Human memories of the same experience.
She shouldn't feel the heat this deeply. Water pouring over her head shouldn't feel like a gentle massage on her scalp and shoulders. She sighed, shaking her unhealthy thoughts away. Her situation was what it was, she chose to live, this was the consequence. She needed to stop feeling guilty for it.
Could've been worse, Akane reasoned as she scrubbed at the accumulated dirt and grime from the last three days. If they'd been Werewolves, I'd have had to deal with turning into a monster with little to no control on every full Moon. Or Zombies… gross! Vampires aren't the worst mythical creatures that could've been lurking in the school. Her musings stopped. A frown followed by a shake of her head and a humourless chuckle at her idiotic trail of thought, but it had succeeded in derailing her more turbulent thoughts.
With her mood, somewhat improved, Akane finished rinsing the expensive shampoo from her hair and stood for just a moment to enjoy the feeling of calm. She was going to be ok. Aido, for all his teasing and unfathomable reasoning, had vowed to help and guide her. Ichijo had offered his friendship, and if she bit the bullet, there was always Kaien Cross, who was still her headmaster and still an authority she could go to. She doubted she'd ever feel comfortable enough to ask anything of Kaname.
She was still Akane Nakamura, still a schoolgirl, and she still had a life waiting for her. The road may have changed direction, but it was still there, beneath her feet. The alternative had been a literal dead end. She just had to learn, listen, and accept her new body, the new rules she would have to follow as a Night Class student, and be mindful of her limits.
With a resolute nod, patting herself metaphorically on the back for the mini pep-talk, which made her feel a little more like herself. She had a path to follow, a task, and a destination to work towards. She'll learn to understand this new thirst and how to control it, to combat it and subdue it to the best of her ability. Aido had been able to control himself, so she would too! She just needed time to get used to all their scents, like Aido had gotten used to hers. It won't always burn like this, even with him on the other side of the door, she knew, she just had to learn. Right?
Knock, knock, knock!
"Nakamura! If you stay in there much longer, I'm afraid you'll start to dissolve!" Aido taunted, amusement clear in his tone, entertained by his own wit. Akane's eyes rolled but couldn't stop the slight grin that quirked her lips. The water was turned off and Akane stepped from the shower cubicle, into the chilly bathroom air.
Condensation clung to the tiles, mirrors and windows as steam floated lazily about the room. She grabbed one of the fluffy, white towels from the rail and wiped at the water droplets that clung to her skin. Throwing her head forward, she furiously towel-dried her hair, before wrapping herself in the towel, patting herself dry, then gathered her clothes to dress.
Aido was leant against the door to the female, communal bathroom, listening as Akane dried and dressed behind him. Despite his light-hearted tone, his face wore a frown. He'd succeeded in getting her out of her room, getting her washed and dressed. He put her fears to rest, somewhat, with regards to her friend and her new label as a Vampire, though he knew he still had a lot of work to do in that regard. But, what about himself? There were things he felt he needed to say, apologies he didn't know how to offer, but wanted to give.
With a sigh, he dragged his fingers through his hair and resigned himself to think about his wrongdoings some other time. Something else, a more unpleasant thought had been bothering him, truths Kaname had forbidden him to reveal.
The Moon Dorm President had ordered Aido to speak with him in his room on Tuesday night, before they were due to leave for school. The conversation had irritated, concerned, and confused Aido. In short, Kaname had told him to keep Akane's Unfortunate status to himself. Aido had voiced his aversion to keeping such information from her, but Kaname had assured him that Akane would be told, in time.
Though the Pureblood said Akane would know eventually, he hadn't revealed when 'eventually' would arrive. Aido understood that telling Akane about this now, with everything still so raw, could cause her already, low view of Vampires to dip even further. Especially as Kaname pointed out, word would spread that an Unfortunate had been turned by the last Kuran. Aido knew, if she were to find out about Unfortunates from these outside sources, it wouldn't take long for her meagre trust in him to shatter.
Tilting the facts only slightly could easily make the whole thing seem orchestrated. Aido meeting Akane on the roof and in town, building her hopes up. Her father 'slipping,' miraculously into a school inhabited by high-level Vampires and surrounded by a town, guarded by Hunters. Only for the most revered Pureblood to turn her and gain control of her. Aido just knew, if she were to find out the truth about Unfortunates this way, it would quickly escalate with her clever mind, and their currently unstable relationship would crumble all too easily, if he were to let her fears run rampant.
Aido was annoyed that he was, effectively, being asked to lie to Akane about her lineage. Of course, he understood the knowledge would be difficult to accept, especially given the circumstances of her parents' attack. The memory of her sobbing into his chest, as they'd sat on his unmade bed the night she woke, was the only thing keeping his mouth shut at this point. He knew however, he couldn't keep quiet for long. She should know. We don't have a right to keep this from her. It'll give her a reason for everything that had happened. She'd want to know, and Akane would expect me to tell her.
He was pulled from his thoughts when the lock on the bathroom door clicked. He stepped away and waited as Akane came out, a sheepish blush coupled with a scowl directed at his happy, smiling face.
"All, done?" he asked, to which Akane replied with a sarcastic glance down her clothed body, before trailing her green eyes back up to meet his. Aido only grinned wider at her annoyance before turning and leading the way back to her room.
He'd briefly slipped away, once he'd heard the shower running, to ask the staff about the raspberry pie and vanilla cream. He'd also collected the first lot of history books he intended to school Akane on from his room and dropped them off at hers. Then, he'd gone back to wait outside the bathroom, standing guard like a disgruntled hound.
Aido was thankful for the silence as they wandered back to her room. His mind was still filled with disquiet over the commands from his Pureblood Lord. He'd been told to continue to research Unfortunates and their origins by following Akane's maternal bloodline, a line of Hunters. That revelation still dumbfounded Aido.
Hunters, as he'd explained to Akane, were Humans given the means to defend themselves during the Pureblood Wars. But, not just by utilizing the weapons created with the molten iron their saviour had thrown her heart into, but also from the blood she'd given them. If he were to follow her bloodline, would he find a dead end at that Vampire or would he find Unfortunates from before the rise of Hunters? He didn't know, not that it mattered, because he had no idea where to start in the first place.
There were thousands of bloodlines within the Hunters, many, branching off one another, and many more had been lost over the ages. He doubted they'd just give him access to their family archives to check either. What he needed was a name, but knew, Akane wouldn't willingly offer up her dead mother's full name without a full explanation in return, just because he asked. Which brought his thought loop back to the Unfortunate issue again.
Aido held the door for the new Vampire as they reached her room, closing it as Akane placed her bag back in the wardrobe and dropped the ruined nightgown into the laundry hamper inside. He collected the history textbooks and new notebooks he'd brought and carried them to the bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress and waited for her to settle in her chair at the dressing table before explaining the topic they'd be covering.
"We're starting with History." He ignored her groan. "It's important you know and understand Vampiric History, because History has been purposefully, and inadvertently, altered to explain away our influence." With a shake of her head to mentally prepare for her worst subject, Akane forced her unhappier thoughts away and did what she knew how to, and used Aido's lesson as a distraction, diving in, headfirst.
Time dragged painfully as Akane attempted to remain as focused on the subject matter as demanded by this suddenly more mature, no-nonsense attitude Aido possessed. It was a side she would not have imagined he'd have been capable of, if she'd been asked even a few hours ago.
Aido tutored her much more thoroughly on the origin of Vampires, The Hunter's history, and the Pureblood Wars for a solid three hours. They'd had a welcome break when a knock on the door signalled the arrival of the raspberry pie, but no sooner had Akane finished her final fork-full, rapt by the flavour and texture or the freshly made treat, Aido was back at work, reeling off information Akane was expected to write down and memorise.
"This suits you," Akane muttered conversationally sometime later, causing Aido to stop in his teaching to eye her questioningly.
"What does?"
"This, teaching. You're strict," she explained, remembering his scolding during their first hour for getting distracted and doodling in the corner of her page. He'd ripped the offending page from her book unceremoniously and told her to write it out again. "But you explain everything, making sure I understand before moving on, and you're surprisingly patient, except when I space out."
Aido had taken to walking around the room for the last half hour. So, he was thankful he could turn away from her praise, as her first genuine smile, in over a week (he realised), lit up her face.
"We'll see if I'm any good at teaching when I quiz you on this tomorrow." The book he'd been reading aloud from closed with a snap. Akane was surprised by Aido's abrupt change of pace but wasn't about to question the end of a rather gruelling study session.
She tidied away her new notebook and accepted the textbooks Aido offered with a poorly suppressed yawn. Remorse bubbled in her chest at the sight, and not just for keeping him up much later than usual. She frowned at the anger she'd felt towards him. Grimaced at brushing away his help and then lashing out, only to completely breakdown in his arms, causing him to have to hold her like a child.
During her solitude, Ichijo's words and her logical thinking had plenty of time to roll around in her head. Aido had been worried about her. She'd, inadvertently, made him responsible for her. He was the only one she'd talked to about her past. The only person at the academy who had any idea what had happened to her. If nothing else, he deserved an apology for the worry she'd caused him.
"Umm, Aido?" she called as he bid her goodnight and made to leave. He stopped and turned to face her from the door. His eyes were weary, and his expression was curious but exhausted. Has he slept? "I just… thanks, and… I'm sorry." Akane stood with light, cherried cheeks and a sincere expression, looking him resolutely in the eye before her gaze dropped to the floor at his silence. Corn-blue eyes had widened briefly but Aido quickly schooled his features as her blush spread over her pale face.
He didn't trust his voice to reply, so waited for her forest-like gaze, to peek up at him to nod his acceptance of her apology before exiting the room. He leant against the closed door, willing his heart to calm the sudden leaps it was doing in his chest and hurriedly fished out his blood tablets from his pant pocket. He threw his head back and swallowed two tablets, sighing in relief as his thirst was chased back into its' cage.
He didn't linger at Akane's door and hurried back to his room, drained but pleased with the day. Akane had been much more like the girl he remembered after the hours of study they'd done, and he was confident she would quickly become more comfortable with herself, but his concerns about Kaname's orders endured.