Disclaimer : Of course like the rest of the authors out there, I do not own Vampire Knight. All credit is aimed toward Matsuri Hino.

2. Reverie

In the far back corridors of the Moon dormitory, located in the upper chambers of the vast building, sat a lone figure. The stranger fidgeted restlessly in his seat as he tried for the umpteenth time to find a comfortable position in the too-small couch. Murmuring incoherently beneath his breath, the form struggled against the lounge cushion for a moment longer before finally finding a tolerable position.

With his legs clutched tightly to his chest, he drew his hands up to rest on his knees, then fell quiet, brooding silently with dark cobalt eyes the other figure laying on the bed across from him. In any other situation the figure's eyes would have twinkled a vibrant and mischievous blue. In any other situation he would have responded with impish smiles and quick-witted jests at his comrade's response, if she were awake.

In any other situation Aidou Hanasuba would have been much livelier than this, instead of the gloomy and unhappy character who sat mulling over the situation in front of him.

For two days straight, Mitsuki, who on arrival had thrown herself into such a state of emotional despair that it had left her unconscious, had not stirred once on the bed, her deep and even breathing the only thing reassuring Aidou she was still alive. A feeling he was rare to succumb to, Mitsuki's traumatic event had left Aidou concerned over her condition, leaving her to rest while Aidou kept a careful eye on her.

Aidou had not left her side since then, only chancing to remove himself from the room to relieve himself of natural causes and snatch some pills from the shelves to wane his continuous hunger. Then he would dash down the hall –actually, glide very swiftly, for vampires were not capable of such an ungainly gait –only to find her in the same position he had left her in.

Neither Kaname nor Ichijou had appeared since then. Aidou figured Ichijou was busy, although he found the expanse of time the noble blood left Mitsuki unattended an odd occurrence. From what he could remember of their childhood, Aidou was aware that even at a young age, Ichijou had rarely left Mitsuki by herself. The reason for his absence must have been important.

Kaname's lack of presence, although more understandable, was a slight shock to Aidou as well. After all, the room they were currently in belonged to his Dorm Leader. Purebloods, even of Kaname's standard, had to rest some time of the day, right? Aidou chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully before turning to look at Mitsuki. He started to narrow his eyes, trying intently for a moment to concentrate, but instead found himself yawning loudly.

Although he found it little hassle to watch Mitsuki, the past days had been draining for Aidou. The two days of non-stop, ever watchful shifts left him physically exhausted, despite a vampire's enhanced characteristic to stay up and more vigorously roused than humans. Multiple times Aidou noticed himself dozing off, his head nodding to some untimed beat, then he would jerk awake violently, blue eyes snapping open in the darkly penetrated room.

The ideal was quite tiresome.

Besides the idea of keeping watch over Mitsuki, Aidou's own personal troubles kept him conscious. Being an avid collector of miscellaneous items Aidou found it terribly difficult to restrain himself from launching from his chair and throwing himself into the items that surrounded him. And what was worse –they all belonged to his beloved Dorm Leader! Him –Kaname Kuran! Aidou squirmed anxiously in his chair, trying to ignore the temptations as he fought to keep his hands in his lap, though his fingers itched to reach out and touch the loose tassel that he had noticed for the last half hour dangle just inches away from him.

How had this happen?

After making the solid conclusion that he would take care of Mitsuki, Aidou, who was not a vampire fond of enclosed spaces, had thrown back the elegant curtains the minute he had entered and opened up the side windows, allowing a small breeze to pass through. Not the best of his ideas, for on a particular night a measurable sized gale had torn maddeningly about the room, throwing up loose sheets of papers and catapulting twigs and various sized stones at Aidou, who had later begrudgingly patted his hair back into place and cleaned up the debris with a spare brush and duster he had found in a side closet, all the while rubbing his temple where a stray pebble had smacked him with considerable force during the furious gust. After having tossed the mess out through the window, Aidou had looked up and spotted a stray burgundy colored piece of string that hung from one of Kaname's drapes. It had hovered in front of him, loosened from the strength of the receding storm. Like a child attracted to a shiny new toy, Aidou's eyes had never left that piece of string, always staring at it with avid fascination and intent determination.

He wanted that string, but what happened if Kaname caught him ogling at something so meaningless? So...stupid?

Noticing it now, Aidou buried his lips within his hands and closed his eyes. "No, no, no," he muttered to himself softly. "Kaname-sama will notice if I take it."

His little chant was cut short as something heavy suddenly rested on his shoulder. Aidou looked up, avoiding his gaze from the string with extreme care, and his eyes widened. "What will I notice?" Kaname's voice asked from the darkness, and his wine-red eyes seeped from the inky black room as the Pureblood drew into sight.

Aidou started in his chair at the Pureblood's close contact. "Kaname-sama!" What a surprise! He had not even noticed his Dorm Leader's presence till now. Still stunned by his leader's entrance, Aidou began to motion frantically about him, searching feverishly for a good excuse. "I was watching –Mitsuki, she's still asleep! But then there was a-!"

Kaname stood still beside him, listening in silence to Aidou's incessant blabbering. He watched with careful eyes, occasionally noticing the blond vampire point animatedly at the thread floating softly beside him. Ah, Kaname thought. Without speaking and now politely ignoring Aidou's rattle, Kaname moved toward a nearby desk, opening a drawer and retrieving out a pair of scissors.

" –wind blew in!" Aidou continued to exclaim, still oblivious to the fact that his Dorm Leader wasn't listening, and he flung his arms out suddenly, motioning wildly in the air. Kaname padded past Aidou, carefully maneuvering about the chair so as not to get hit, and stepped toward his drapes, while reaching out a hand. "And I'm so tired!" Aidou added with an exasperated sigh, allowing a bit of his crabbiness to leak through his voice.

At this the Pureblood glanced to the side, arms raised slightly toward the trimming. "Such over exaggeration…" Kaname murmured softly beneath his breath, as Aidou, finally seeing his Dorm Leader wasn't paying him any attention, watched Kaname snip the string from the fringe. Kaname swiveled to a trashcan beside him and over turned his hand to let the now useless piece of string glide gently into the bin, returning the scissors back into the side desk at the same time.

When he looked up his eyes went straight to Mitsuki asleep on the bed and he glided forth, settling on the edge of the large mattress. "Aidou," he said softly and leaned over the bed to stretch his long form above Mitsuki. Gently his fingers began to caress the line of her cheek, his nails skimming upward to touch her brow tenderly. When he didn't hear Aidou respond, Kaname craned his neck backward and searched for the noble blood who had become strangely quiet after his initial response to Kaname's arrival. His crystalline eyes were fixed keenly on something before him but the only thing Kaname could see was the trashcan placed at his feet. What was in there that held such interest for him? Kaname made sure daily to keep his room free of any unnecessary items; dust and trash were a nuisance to him, a hinder. Just recently he had cleaned his room, and nothing had entered his trash bin since.

The only possible thing in there was…the piece of string. Could it be…?

Kaname repeated himself once more, his voice impassive as he called toward his dazed classmate. Yes, it was the string, he concluded as he watched Aidou break free from his reverie, the haze in his eyes disappearing quickly. Kaname sat up from his position, his form sinking gently into the bed as he folded his arms close to his chest, eyes considering Mitsuki with mild curiosity.

Aidou, noticing with frightening realization that he had just ignored Kaname for a piece of string, only managed to suppress his gasp of surprise as he exclaimed the first thing that came to mind.

"Yes - string!" he automatically shouted, and then slapped a hand to his mouth. His eyes grew wide, extremely and unbelievably wide - had he just given himself away! With an even greater degree of panic, Aidou threw himself once more into a fitful exclamation.

"No wait! Did you call me? Did you say my name, Kaname-senpai?" He glanced frantically at Mitsuki. "Yes, Mitsuki! She's fine. She's great!"

Kaname's voice lowered, the slightest bite of impatience coating his smooth voice. "Aidou."

The noble blood immediately shut up.

Kaname wanted to rest the tips of his fingers against his forehead and sigh at Aidou's irrational behavior, but he managed to suppress his emotions. "Was she any trouble?" Kaname asked patiently, as he returned his gaze back to girl. "Did she wake up?"

Relieved, although slightly puzzled at Kaname's seemingly relaxed behavior, Aidou slumped in his seat, leaning an arm against the sofa as he cupped his chin thoughtfully within his fingers. Aidou watched Kaname closely as he began to speak, trying to make his voice sound as uninterested as possible. "She's been like that ever since she fell unconscious," he drawled slowly and Aidou's eyelids drooped in a sleepy fashion. He found it wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be; two day's of missed rest were starting to catch up to him and Aidou's form lost some of its rigidness as he sagged further, legs sprawling in front of him. "She did say something interesting, though..." he added tiredly, resisting the urge to close his eyes, as he remembered Mitsuki's frantic screaming from the first night she had arrived.

"Kaname-senpai! Kaname-senpai, don't! Don't tell them anything! Kaname-senpai!"

"Something...Something about a secret," Aidou mumbled, his voice soft and almost unclear. "She said your name and - "

Aidou was unable to finish. Kaname was on the bed one second, staring placidly at Mitsuki as he listened to Aidou answer. The next he was standing in front of Aidou, towering menacingly over his hunched figure. The first edge of his power began to leak from Kaname's form as an uncomfortable and prickling sensation danced across Aidou's skin, nipping sharply at his fingers and toes. His eyes had darkened almost to black as they stared cold and unemotional at his subordinate.

Kaname's voice was very quiet as he spoke, although Aidou knew very well of the danger he was in as he stared straight into a pair of eyes that burned with frightening intensity. The words were cold and harsh, and as Aidou listened he tried his best not to wince at their potency. "That is enough, Aidou. Say more and I will be tempted to hit you." Kaname stalked past Aidou, completely unaware of the unhealthy pallor that spread across his face, and pulled open the door. "You can leave now."

Aidou left the room, unspeaking, his face still containing its deathly white complexion, and the door shut quietly behind him.

It seemed like Kaname was just as sensitive to this tender subject as much as Mitsuki was.

[***]

After ousting Aidou from the room Kaname didn't move from the door for a long time, staring intently at the engravings in his door as if there was something else behind it; he even lifted a hand, starting to trace the patterns in the wood upholstery with the tips of his fingers. Then he hesitated, his hand lingering uncertainly over the panels, before drawing his touch completely away. Exhaling a long, tire-filled sigh, he stepped back and slid across to the bed.

His face unreadable, Kaname scrutinized the girl quietly resting on his bed with silent contemplation. Like Aidou and Ichijou before him, Kaname wondered why she had returned, why she was back. He also tried to remember when he had last seen her, his eyes roving up and down her body unconsciously.

He moved closer to Mitsuki, leaning down low enough to where he had to brace himself with one hand along the mattress, and inspected her wordlessly. Kaname took in Mitsuki's face with sharp perception, while the moon, sitting quietly outside his window in its milky white embrace, cast the girl in silver light, further increasing his spectacle of her. The detail was sharp and prominent in the ethereal glow that was lent to her.

Kaname traced her features quietly, taking in the slow curve of her lips and the paleness of her skin, as her even breathing that filled his ears compelled him to bend closer. Unconsciously the pureblood did, his face hovering just a breath away from hers.

Had she been awake, Mitsuki would have shifted nervously beneath him, avoiding eye contact as she murmured soft and low beneath her breath, saying how embarrassed she was while blush crept warmly to her cheeks. Kaname concentrated for a moment and like a quick flash he could see her eyelashes fluttering shyly, lips barely moving, voice just above a whisper, hands pushing against his chest, trying to deny his presence but failing. The thought almost made him smile, a tiny jerk starting in his mouth, but he fought it back down, his face suddenly closing over into its unreadable mask. At the same time he pushed back the memories, burying the reminiscent dream and, which had crawled up during his silent reverie, the emotions as well.

Without disrupting the atmosphere, Kaname slid off the side of the bed and retreated to a door at the opposite end of the room. It led to a spare room, something that had been given early to him during his arrival in Cross Academy. He had never found a use for it till now.

"Mitsuki," he murmured softly, smoothing his fingers over the handle and sweeping the door wide open. "What a mystery you have become…"

A/N : I made Mitsuki sound a bit Mary-Sueish at the end, describing how beautiful she was and everything. I'm trying to keep her away from that category, really trying! More of the original characters will appear soon in this continuing series, I just haven't got there yet. :D