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Chapter 8

Seasons Past

The quiet sound of two engines could be heard in the distance, approaching the manor, but Reina never bothered to take her empty sapphire orbs from the landscape outside her window that was so bright with the little remaining snow still clinging to the plants and trees, but seemed so dull and dark to her. She had spent the last several hours sitting on the little cushioned bench beneath her window, ignoring every attempt that Midori or Ken made to try to get her to lay back down and rest or even to drink a glass of water and take a tablet. Instead she stared out the window as if waiting for something, but the look in her eyes clearly stated that she didn't expect what she was waiting for to ever come.

There were several more auras than there should have been, she had been told that just Hanabusa and Kain would be coming to stay with her, but instead she sensed five auras. Three of them she didn't recognize and it was this fact that finally made Reina rise from her seat and tear her eyes from her window. She didn't make a sound as she padded through the hall and stood at the top of the stairs, letting herself melt into the shadows as she watched the five people enter. Hanabusa and Kain were the first to come in, followed by Ruka and Rima and then a tired looking Shiki.

Realizing that Shiki, Rima, and Ruka were the owners of the foreign auras since she hadn't seen them the previous day at the school, she turned away and walked back to her room without bothering to acknowledge that she had guests. Midori could take care of them, she had no desire to be around anyone. All she wanted was to be left alone to her thoughts, as gloomy and hurtful as they were.

She was finding it hard to accept the idea of Takuma being dead. She didn't know if it was because she just didn't want to accept it as fact or if some part of her truly believed he was alive somewhere. Guilt was eating away at her, she kept thinking that if only she had gotten to his grandfather's sooner, or if she had found him first before going to the Academy. If he had known she was alive then maybe, just maybe he wouldn't have gone to challenge his grandfather knowing full well that he couldn't beat him and still keep his life. It was one or the other, he had to have known that. Kaname had to have known it too and why he would leave Takuma there alone was beyond her, but she figured it had to do with letting Takuma fight his own battles. She also figured that Takuma would have wanted to finally show his grandfather he could do as he pleased and not as he was told, regardless of the price since he thought her to be dead and wouldn't have cared if he died. In the end she figured that was what he would have wanted from the fight, to die, so he could join her.

"Fool," she mumbled, resting her forehead against the cool glass of her window and putting a hand on her stomach, closing her her eyes to keep the tears that were filling her eyes from falling.

There was a soft tap on her door, but she didn't move or answer in anyway, hoping that her lack of response would make Aido go away since that was who was standing outside her door, fidgeting nervously judging by the soft creaks of the flooring beneath him.

"Reina?" he called hesitantly, tapping on the door again before slowly turning the knob and poking his head around the thick wooden door.

Reina let out a small breath and opened her eyes, turning to look at the blond that was staring at her worriedly, she simply asked, "What is it, Hanabusa?"

"Uh..I just..Are you alright?" He inquired hesitantly, stepping inside her room and closing the door behind himself.

A small downhearted smile lifted her lips just a fraction and her eyes softened. "Fine," she lied.

Aido frowned, he obviously didn't believe her, not after being told that there was a good chance Takuma was dead and that Kaname had left with Yuuki the night before while she had still been asleep. She was probably everything but fine. "You're lying," he replied, a hint of his usual stubbornness slipping into his worried tone.

Not having expected him to actually challenge her, Reina dropped the fake smile that had softened her face to simply stare at him for a moment before looking down at her hands with a small forlorn chuckle. "Yes, I suppose I am," she said quietly as she stared at the diamond ring on her left hand.

"Please don't do that, Reina," Aido told her softly, walking across the room so that he could take a seat on the bench beside her and take her hands in his. "I heard about Ichijo, you don't need to pretend for me. Please don't lie and act as if you're alright when I know you're not."

Reina made no attempt to answer him in anyway, she merely laid her head on his shoulder and let him wrap his arms around her as silent tears slowly slid down her cheeks.

The days passed and turned to weeks. Reina's birthday came and went and the weather began to change. The snow melted and disappeared, soaking into the earth and allowing the landscape to become a bright, vibrant green once again as winter became spring. Spring eventually grew into summer, the sun brightened, the temperature rose and the cool summer breeze brought a light, fresh airy scent through the house.

Though the scenery changed as the seasons came and went, Reina did not. She spent most of her time sitting on the bench beneath her window, staring blankly out into the world. News would come occasionally, letters from Kaname and even a few from Cross and Yagari, but it was hard to tell if Reina really cared or ever listened to what they had to say.

After Kaname had left, they had all been fairly surprised by the positive response from the vast majority of the vampire community. He was supported by many of their kind and while not all of their race agreed with his methods, many agreed that getting rid of the Council had been necessary and were willing to accept Kaname as their pureblood king. That did not however mean that the other purebloods would or that the Hunters would stop looking for him, he had murdered the Council of Ancients, the governing body of the vampires after all.

The Hunters were currently without any solid leadership since Kaien had been forced to eliminate the association's president due to the simple fact that the gaudy woman had taken the blood of a pureblood under the impression it would make her stronger. This had caused a problem for Kaname, with no one to give orders, the Hunter's Association was a bit of a mess and many of the Hunters were doing as they pleased or trying to prove themselves by going after he and Yuuki with the help of the vampire families that had supported the Council or that just didn't agree with Kaname trying to retake the throne of their kind.

There had been many instances where young aristocrats who had helped the Council had acted of their own volition and attacked other vampire families for no reason other than they hadn't supported the Council. These uprisings were beginning to occur less frequently with the help of the Aido family and several other highly respected aristocratic families that hadn't supported the Council's actions. Kaname had been corresponding with several of these families and over the past several months order had begun to slowly return to the vampire community, he ruled quietly from the shadows, but he remained in hiding with Yuuki until it would be safe to do otherwise and he was using that time to build stronger relationships with the high ranked families throughout the world.

The Hunter's Association was also beginning to get itself back to a state that resembled order. Cross, who had been detained following the attack on the school and his 'murder' of the Association's president, had recently been released. He and Yagari had been able to prove that several of the higher ups were corrupt and had been working closely with the Vampire Council of Ancients to put Rido on the throne to rule over the vampires. Many of the accused had outright denied any involvement and many others had killed themselves instead of facing a trial that was now only days away. If Cross could prove that the Association had been corrupted then there was a chance that it could begin to purge itself of those members and begin to rebuild itself.

Zero had disappeared for awhile following the attack on the school. If the rumors were correct he was with Yagari and Cross, but that was all that had been heard about the human turned vampire boy that had killed Rido Kuran.

The Takamora family had by now heard of Reina's survival as well as the fact that it was Ken that had been the one to make it all possible. To say the least, they were in an uproar, but as of yet hadn't made an attempt to attack either one. It was inevitable that they would, it was just the type of family that they were, but at the moment they were too preoccupied with trying to gain as much control in the vampire world as they could, it wasn't going well for them.

Reina had spent almost every single moment throughout the trying months sitting on the little bench beneath her window. Her sapphire eyes watching every single change that the land around the manor was going through, but not really noticing the flowers that were beginning to bloom or the leaves that had grown on the trees. Not once had she smiled or laughed or shown any real emotion since she had let silent tears slip from her eyes in Aido's arms what felt to her like several years ago.

Aido and the others were growing more and more worried for her. She barely ate or drank anything and she only did when reminded that it wasn't just her that needed the nourishment, but the child she carried. Her lack of emotion was frightening, she didn't cry, she didn't laugh or smile or show interest in anything but the scenery outside of her window that her eyes seemed to look right through.

It was on that bench that she currently sat, staring at the moon drenched landscape outside when Aido came into see her with a glass of water. The small black tin that held her blood tablets was where he had left it earlier, on the small table that had been placed by the bench so that she would have somewhere to set things down since she rarely moved.

"Reina?" he questioned quietly when the girl didn't turn to look at him upon his entry into her room.

With a small jolt, Reina blinked and took in a deep breath, turning to Aido with a look of confusion that melted away quickly when she saw the glass in his hand. She blinked again and looked out of her window, frowning when she saw that it was now late evening, she didn't remember watching the sun sink beneath the tree line or even seeing the moon rise so high in the velvety darkness of the sky.

"I brought you some water," Aido told her, setting the glass down on the small table beside her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, staring at the glass before sighing and laying a hand over her slightly round stomach. It was obvious now that she was pregnant though she didn't look to be the seven months along that she was.

"You're welcome," Aido sighed, he was used to her spacing out and her short responses by now, but it didn't mean that he liked them anymore than he had to begin with.

Reina dropped several tablets in the water that had been brought to her before raising the glass to her lips and taking a small sip. When she pulled the glass away, she let out a surprised cry, dropping the glass to the floor and spilling its contents everywhere. Her hands flew to her stomach and she hunched forward slightly.

"Reina!" Aido shouted worriedly, putting a hand on her back and kneeling in front of her.

Having heard Reina's cry and Aido's worried shout, Ken and Midori had rushed to the room. The latter pushed the blond out of the way, ignoring the scowl she received and leaned down beside Reina. Kain, Ruka, Rima and Shiki stood in the hall, grouped together and staring in at the hunched over pureblood worriedly. The worry was soon replaced by confusion when a quiet, melodic laugh reached their ears.

Everyone exchanged uncertain glances before turning their full attention back to Reina whose shoulders had begun to shake.

"Reina-sama?" Midori asked in concern.

When Reina raised her head, there were tears in her eyes, but everyone highly doubted they were from pain when they noticed the small smile that had graced her pale face.

"Reina?" Aido inquired, none of them had seen her display any sort of emotion in such a long time that no one was sure what to think.

A small chuckle escaped Reina's lips as she grabbed Aido's hand and placed it over her stomach, holding it firmly there with her hands resting atop his. At first Aido tried to pull away, but then he felt what had made her cry out a grin broke out over his face as Reina smiled teary eyed up at him.

"The baby's kicking," he explained to everyone who were all still quite confused.

"That's the first time she's moved, she's been so quiet until now. I was beginning to think she'd be more like me than Takuma, but I think I may have changed my mind," Reina laughed, the tears that had been in her eyes finally pouring down her cheeks at the mention of the man she loved and the father of the child inside of her.

"What makes you say the baby's a she?" Aido asked, hoping to steer the subject away from Takuma.

"I don't know really," Reina replied absently, looking down at her stomach and resting her hand on the small bulge. "I just have this feeling. Would you all stop staring at me?" she snapped suddenly, making everyone jump a little, she hadn't raised her voice and hardly spoken in months, but it seemed that had all just changed.

Midori who was still by Reina's side, placed a hand on Reina's stomach, she smiled up at her young mistress who in turn smiled back at her. "She's quite energetic, isn't she?"

Reina nodded happily. "Well, come on," she called, looking up at the others who were still standing in the hall and waving them into her room.

When no one moved, but only exchanged looks, Aido glared at them and gestured for them to come in with a look that clearly said that if they made the smile on her face waver for even an instant, he'd make them regret it.

Ruka was the first to step forward surprisingly enough since she and Reina hadn't ever spoken much. She walked up to Reina who beamed up at her and let the girl put her small, dainty hand on her stomach. Ruka's eyes widened when she felt a small jolt to her hand that was followed by another and yet another. Kain came into the room to stand behind Ruka, but he had no intention of touching Reina, at least not until Ruka turned to him and put his hand on her stomach.

The fiery haired boy turned bright red and looked at Reina, but all she did was continue to smile.

"Rima, come here," Ruka called to her pig tailed friend who was still in the hall with Shiki.

Rima lifted an eyebrow and looked at Shiki who yawned widely. Rolling her eyes, Rima grabbed Shiki by the elbow and dragged him along with her into the room. Taking one of Shiki's hands, Rima put the boy's hand on Reina's stomach as well as one of her own. At first they didn't feel anything, but then there was a sudden movement that made even Shiki's usually emotionless face brighten up a little bit. After all the child Reina carried was the child of one of his best friends who was now gone from their lives.

"You too, Ken, come here," Reina said to the brown haired man who had stood back and watched the entire scene with a small smile.

He didn't argue with her, he just lowered himself in front of her and put a hand gently onto her stomach. He received a much more powerful hello from the child that actually made Reina wince and Ken move his hand from her stomach to her shoulder in concern.

"Ugh, really now, was that necessary?" she said, looking sternly down at her stomach only to frown when her statement was answered with another hearty kick and a small rumble that she could have sworn was the baby laughing at her. "Brat," she mumbled, looking up at Ken with a reassuring smile to tell him she was fine.

Silence descended on the room, no one knew what to do or say and were just sort of standing there looking lost. Reina hadn't realized this at first, she was too busy smiling at her stomach. When she did, she blinked up at everyone blankly for a second before recovering herself.

"Is there a reason why you're all standing around looking like lost puppies?" she inquired casually. "Go play and let me clean up, will you?" She said, waving everyone off. "Midori, stay please."

"Yes, my lady," the older woman replied with a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Help me get cleaned up and dressed. I'd like to have dinner with everyone tonight," Reina said when everyone else had vacated the room.

"I'm sure they would all like that, Reina-sama," Midori replied before walking to Reina's bathroom to start the bath water.

Reina slowly stood up, her muscles groaned a little in protest since she had been sitting in one position for such a long time. Placing her hands on her belly, she smiled almost sadly before looking back out her window and pulling the curtains shut, turning on her heel to go to her bathroom and the hot bath that was waiting for her. Though she didn't appear to have gained much weight during her pregnancy, Reina could tell that she had indeed gained quite a bit and it threw her off. She had spent so much time sitting down that she wasn't used to the added weight and it made her wobble slightly as she walked into the bathroom.

"Reina-sama?" Midori said worriedly, rushing to the young woman's side to help steady her.

"I'm fine, just...kind of unbalanced," Reina replied with a small laugh as she patted her belly. "I'll be out in just a little while. Don't tell them I'm coming down, I'd like to surprise everyone. I think I've made them worry enough."

"Are you really alright, Reina-sama?" Midori asked seriously.

Reina sighed, her shoulders rising ever so slightly as she stared into the hot bath water that smelled of cherry blossoms and something like almonds. "I wouldn't say I'm alright, Midori. I just remembered that though Takuma may not be here, he's not very far either. I will protect this child, his child, and raise her to read too much manga and laugh as much as possible."

Midori smiled sadly at the white haired woman whose eyes had filled with tears. "I'll leave you be now, mi'lady, if you need anything, just call."

"Thank you, Midori," Reina whispered, waiting until the woman left the bathroom to slip her robe off and let it fall to the floor, followed by the fabric of her nightgown.

When Reina emerged from her bathroom nearly an hour later she was dressed in a dark blue dress that barely brushed against her knees as she walked. The dress had long sleeves and a v-neck, there was a strip of thick, shiny silver ribbon that wrapped around the front of the dress just beneath her chest and tied in the back. It was meant to show off the bump that announced she was pregnant. Her hair was left down, she had no desire to do anything with it and her feet remained bare, as they usually did when she was at home.

She made her way out of her room and down the hall to the stairs, she quietly padded her way down them before turning towards the parlor where she could sense and hear everyone talking. When she pushed the door open, Ken was the first to actually notice her and the fact that she wasn't wearing a nightgown for the first time in months. When everyone noticed he had gone quiet, they all followed his gaze to the woman in the doorway.

"Reina?" Aido said surprise, jumping up from his seat on one of the couches.

"Hello, Hana. I hope you don't mind the interruption, but I thought I'd join everyone for dinner tonight," she replied, walking to where Aido stood openly gaping at her.

"Really?" he asked hopefully, his face brightening instantly.

She nodded before gesturing for him to sit back down, once he was seated, she took a seat beside him, resting against his shoulder and pulling her legs on to the couch. Aido giggled happily, smiling proudly as he put his cheek against her head.

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