His Only Princess: Chapter 4
The first thing that he noticed when he walked in was all the white. A white bed backed up into a corner, covered in several thick, white blankets with a very pale girl tucked snug underneath them. Her eyes were closed, face relaxed, and wild hair surrounding her head like a golden brown halo. She was the epitome of innocence, and resembled an angel.
"Poor little thing. The high fever caused her to pass out."
Cross Academy's nurse, a friendly looking and stout woman with rosy cheeks, replaced the cloth on her forehead, watching her with sad eyes.
"How long will she be like this?"
His eyes flickered over to the person who spoke; Chairman Cross. He hadn't even seen the man standing there, completely quiet with his hands folded in front of him. Without his boisterous attitude, he blended in to the background very well.
"I can't really say, Headmaster," she pulled a thermometer out of her pocket and forced it into Yori's tightly closed mouth. When she pulled it back out, she shook her head. "She could easily stay in this state until this fever goes down."
Chairman Cross nodded, his lips drawn in a thin line, before he turned to face the young man hovering in the doorway.
"Come on in, Zero."
He'd been on his way to...somewhere, he wasn't too sure of his destination, when the history teacher ran out of her room, Yori in her arms. Naomi had been behind her, but he stopped her, not letting her leave until she told him what had happened. And that was how he ended up in the infirmary, watching a sick, now sterile smelling Yori, take shallow breaths while trying to fight a high fever. Slowly, he sauntered into the room, taking his spot by Chairman Cross. If not for his clothes, he would've faded in with the backdrop of the room easily, his hair just a few shades darker than the pristine white surrounding them, but the black made him stick out like a sore thumb.
"What's her temperature now?"
"It's about thirty-eight degrees*. Just keep an eye on her and soak the cloth in that basin of ice water when it warms up. And please, if she were to worsen, come get me." Both men nodded to her before she went to another part of the infirmary to check on another patient. They could barely hear her basic questions of their well-being despite them both standing stock still and silent.
Chairman Cross broke the ice with a well-thought out statement. "Well, I suppose it's in order that I contact her parents, just in case she were to worsen. Would you be alright watching her while I do so?" He eyed Zero warily, not too sure what to think of the way he looked.
Zero nodded, never taking his eyes off of the girl's sleeping form. The older man sighed quietly and reached into his pocket, taking hold of Zero's own hand and pressing some small items in it.
"Chairman, I've been-,"
"It's for a 'just in case'," he smiled warmly and backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
A pregnant silence filled the room, and honestly, he didn't really know whether he trusted himself or not. They had completely sterilized her and the room, leaving behind a very pungent smell, but just under it was her scent. His hands and teeth clenched, a tactic he had so recently acquired, trying to quell the despicable urge. A simple wooden chair had been placed by her bed, so he took his place in it, having become her designated guardian for the time being. The devil watching an angel. He derided the thought. Reaching a hand out, he felt of the cloth laying against her face. It had very rapidly become warm-the nurse had just soaked it a few moments ago-so he removed it from her hot skin, replacing it with his hand. Unconsciously, the girl turned towards the new source of relief, nudging against his palm to press it closer to her. He felt a slight sense of discomfort at her easiness of being so near him, even in her fever-induced sleep, and he considered backing away from her, lifting his hand up briefly in indecision. But then she began to stir, tossing her head from agitation when her hair fell against her forehead, aggravating her skin, and from the uncomfortable heat that came in the absence of his hand. Slowly, her blurry eyes cracked open, but quickly screwed shut once more when they were met with the bright light above her.
A few minutes passed, and when she didn't open her eyes again, Zero figured the fever must have stolen her consciousness again, so he hesitantly laid his hand against her forehead once more, marveling at the way she moved towards it again. He noticed she felt the slightest bit hotter, but didn't think much of it, instead busying himself with moving the hair sticking against her clammy neck away with his other hand. She rasped out a sigh in her sleep, her warm breath feathering over his fingers, sending a chill up his spine. Her pale lips were parted, and her breath rattled and whistled, hinting that she was congested.
"Idiot," Zero whispered, brushing her bangs back gently. "I told you you would get sick."
An hour passed, and still there was no change in Yori's condition. In fact, she had seemingly gotten worse, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps that made her frail chest heave. Zero had tried to find the nurse, but he had no such luck, and he couldn't just leave her here by herself to go on a wild hunt for the spastic woman.
"How is she?"
He almost jumped at the sound of her voice, almost, but then he wanted to throttle her. Where had she been?!
"Worse," he stated simply, backing away from her wisely as the nurse barreled towards the girl's vulnerable figure, thermometer already in hand.
"Oh dear," she muttered, and before he could ask what was wrong, she rushed out of the room, running down the hall and shouting for Chairman Cross to come quickly. He stood there, stuck between going back to her side and going after the nurse, when she reappeared with Chairman Cross at her heels. He didn't acknowledge Zero still being there-or the fact that the girl did not, in fact, have any bite marks on her neck-wouldn't he be proud?-and fluttered worriedly over Yori.
"I called her father, but he was in a very important meeting and said he couldn't take the call." His words disgusted Zero. Her own father considered his work more important than his daughter's health, which was seemingly deteriorating fast. "What can we do?"
"We don't have any other option than taking her to the hospital. Parental permission or not, she needs medical assistance," the nurse was already tugging at Yori's arms, trying to get her up in a sitting position, but she groaned from being moved and began to thrash in her grip. "Come on, dear, you need to sit up."
"Let me handle her."
The two adults stopped their frantic movements and turned to face Zero, astounded looks on their faces'. He payed them no mind though and moved to her bedside, removed the nurse's hands from her, and wrapped a hand around her arm to hold her up long enough to situate her upper half against one of his arms, the other arm holding behind her knees. Her entire body was scorching hot, and she was fitful, trying to fight against being moved, but at the same time relieved by his slightly colder body temperature. Not even waiting for the others, he walked out of the room.
Chairman Cross was stupefied. He had never seen Zero show any care towards another, always remaining closed off and distant. And ever since a year ago, even more so. He had handled the ill girl with such care, though. Storing his questioning thoughts in a little corner to ask him later, he and the nurse hurriedly followed after him.
Doctors rushed in and out of rooms while patients clung to their IV poles, stumbling down the halls. Zero clung to Yori for dear life when one of them would get a little too close to her, not wanting her to contract whatever it may be that they had.
Chairman Cross waited semi-patiently for a nurse at the help desk, but when one never showed, he banged loudly on it, demanding someone help them this instant. A skittish looking woman of about twenty appeared, her eyes almost as wide as the round glasses perched on her nose with fright.
"May I-I help you, s-sir?" Her voice was shaky, as well as her whole being.
"We've got a very sick girl here!" he motioned behind him like a madman, and the nurse began to calm down as she approached Zero and Yori. Zero's grip on her tightened a fraction as she felt of her forehead and pulse.
"Are you her husband?" It was an innocent question directed towards him, only because of course she didn't know any better, but it made Zero falter.
"No, no, no," Chairman Cross supplied hastily in place of Zero's lost voice, causing the nurse to turn back towards him. "She's just a student. She's not married."
"Then, are you her father?"
The man seemed to deflate at the mention of being someone's father, but he kept himself together, knowing they were dealing with a very pressing matter.
"No, I am not. We tried to contact her father, but he was tied up. I am the Headmaster of Cross Academy, the school she attends. So, as of now, I am her guardian." He tapped his fingers against his forearm impatiently while the nurse pulled up some paperwork.
"What's her name?"
"Wakaba Sayori."
"Alright, and do you know how old she is?"
"Seventeen. She just turned seventeen last month."
The nurse shuffled through some more papers, all while nodding her head, finally pulling out what she needed. Instead of speaking to them again, she rushed off in the direction they had seen several doctors going, coming back with an elder looking gentleman who had graying hair and a stern face.
"What's the condition?"
"High fever, difficult pinpointing pulse, and difficulty breathing, Dr. Tsukishima."
The man, Dr. Tsukishima, approached Zero and ripped Yori out of his arms. She moaned and turned her head against him, nuzzling his starchy white coat. When Chairman Cross attempted to follow him, he halted him in his tracks.
"I need you all to wait out here. We'll run a few tests on her, and when we've got something figured out, we'll let you know." He gave them that ultimatum, which brooked no room for argument, and took Yori through a set of double doors.
"Well, I suppose that's all we can do, now. Wait," Chairman Cross took a seat in one of the plastic chairs lined along the wall, crossing his legs and thrumming his fingers along his calf.
"I'd best be getting back to the school, Headmaster." The nurse bowed respectfully as he nodded to her and took her leave so she could tend to the less ill students at the Academy. They didn't stay in silence, for there was too much beeping and wailing going on to make that statement. But they themselves didn't speak a word, one watching the doors while the other watched him in a curious silence.
It was a while before he spoke up. "Zero-kun?" Zero arched an eyebrow, refusing to look anywhere else besides those doors. "You're...acting different."
He suppressed a groan. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the way you treated Yori-chan just then. I've never seen you act that way."
"She's sick."
"I know, but still. It almost seems to me as though she's breaking you out of your old habits." He didn't mean any harm by his observation at all, but the young man took it in a completely different context.
"Look, I don't know what delusional ideas run through your and Takamiya's head, but I suggest you put an end to them. There's nothing going on with me and that girl, so why don't you all do yourselves and me a favor and stop this now." He stormed out of the hospital just as Dr. Tsukishima reappeared.
"Headmaster Cross, we have ran a few vital sign tests on her, as well as some blood work. We're still waiting for those results, but right now, it's looking as though she may have a rather severe case of pneumonia."
He could never seem to catch a break. First, Takamiya had come at him with absurd accusations, and now even Chairman Cross had seemed to join the fiendish game. It was almost as though they gained pleasure from trying to make him squirm. He refused to give them that satisfaction though, remaining cold and aloof.
"Ah, Kiryuu?"
Zero wished he had never even come outside when he heard that provoking, lilting voice.
"What are you doing here, Kaito?"
An impish grin spread on the young teacher's face.
"I heard about Wakaba fainting in class. I went to go check up on her, but the nurse told me she had been brought here. How is she doing?" He was mocking Zero, attempting to push him over the edge. Getting the stoic hunter all riled up was the only form of entertainment he had nowadays.
"That's none of your business. Besides, isn't it a little inappropriate for a male teacher to come check up on one of his female students?"
Takamiya seemed to think his words over, but then shook his head, chuckling. He punched Zero's shoulder in a friendly manner and walked through the entrance doors.
"Oh Zero. Sometimes you can be so naive."
Ready with a rebuttal, an agonizing scream ripped through the air, stopping his non-existent side of the argument and sending the expert hunter sprinting down the streets. All thoughts of Takamiya and the sick girl abandoned, he combed through every alleyway quickly and efficiently, coming up empty handed until he at last spotted his target. Unsheathing his Bloody Rose from the inside of his jacket, he cocked the gun, aiming it at the back of the things head. It turned its head to the side, giving him a glimpse of its gruesome face and burning red eyes.
"Back off," Zero threatened lowly, noticing the trembling girl pinned to the wall beneath the beast, pushing the barrel closer to its head. It finally turned to face him, and he determined the person, the man it once was couldn't have been much older than himself, but the crazed look in his eyes showed he had lost the battle to his bloodlust a long time ago. He was nothing more than a savage bloodsucker now. Not even hesitating, Zero knocked the Level E to the ground, held the Bloody Rose to its forehead and pulled the trigger, watching as it dissolved to ashes before him.
"Are you...," he trailed off when he turned his head to check on the girl who had almost become its victim, finding that she was no longer there, having fled when it was distracted. He tilted his head back, silvery fringe falling over his closed eyes, chilled at the images that flashed behind his eyelids, thinking of how close he had been, and he pinched the bridge of his nose to try and ward off the headache stabbing beneath the surface, when he remembered something.
He had stormed out of the hospital before they heard anything. He had left her there with Takamiya, a man who seemed to have an unhealthy interest in her, in close proximity. But, if he were to show back up, would that only make him and Chairman Cross even more curious, give them the go-ahead to continue questioning him about their absurd conclusions?
It didn't help that he also blamed himself for Yori falling ill. He hadn't forced her to stay outside, but he could have been more forceful in trying to get her to go back inside. She wasn't an illness-resistant vampire like him, and was way more susceptible to the cold than he ever would have been.
"Damn it," he cursed and stormed off back to the hospital, concealing his gun back inside of his jacket, and convincing himself all the while that he just refused to leave her in the care of Kaito Takamiya.
"Sir, you can't-sir! You can't go in there!"
Ignoring the meek nurse's order, he pulled the door to Yori's room open, calculating eyes scanning for any sign of the two nuisances. They were no where to be found. The nurse mumbled something incoherent and stomped off somewhere when he yanked the door closed. He hooked the leg of a nearby chair with his foot and dragged it over to the side of her bed, sitting on the edge and crossing his lanky legs. He looked over her sleeping figure slowly. She rested peacefully, no longer tossing in agitation, supposedly under the effects of sedatives to tame her fever. He took a deep breath with intention of exhaling, until he caught a whiff of something permeating the area directly around Yori. He stood up, the chair knocking over with his abrupt movements, and leaned as close to her as he dared without touching her. His spine straightened when he found where the scent was exactly. It was strongest near her face and neck, but it also spread scarcely over her arms and torso. He gingerly lifted her hand and brought it closer to him, noticing the smell was concentrated heavily there as well.
It wasn't so much where the smell was on her that made him go rigid, but what it belonged to. Or rather who. Kaito Takamiya. That man's scent was all over her.
Dun, dun, dun! Okay you all, I intended for this to be up yesterday, and this isn't the most exciting one (except Zero being all kick-ass), but my third semester also started yesterday, so I was buried knee-deep in coursework -_-" I'm sorry! I'll have the next two chapters up this weekend, though.
Thank you to my incredible, incredible reviewers', HYPERASSGIRL, Anon, Lakemet, and AHeartFullmetal (thank you so much for that amazing review! It really made my day. I'm glad I could bring you to the Zori side xD I hope this chapter has still managed to keep you interested) and thanks to all my readers' as well! Just seeing your all's reactions to the story makes me happy, and keeps my motivation up.
I received two answers to the question from last chapter's A/N so far, but we're still a little while away from it taking effect, so it's not too late to give your answer! :)
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Prepare yourselves for some unexpected twists to come.
Until Chapter 5!
-IdleScribe
& for those of you wondering, 38 degrees C is about 101 degrees F.