Disclaimer- I don't own Vampire Knight.

Chapter 13

Haunted

"He's awake."

The blond woman that stood staring out an open window, the lace curtains caressing her skin as she stared into the cloudy night, barely acknowledged the statement, but a slight twisting of her pale pink lips showed she was pleased by the news. "After one week he's finally awakened, how interesting this game will be..."

Reina sat in a wooden rocking chair in the nursery, a bundle of green and blue blankets in her arms as she slowly rocked the chair with the tips of her toes. Her daughter had long ago fallen asleep, but Reina didn't want to release the beautiful girl. She wanted to hold her as long as she could and cherish every moment of it. The moon was low in the cloud riddled sky outside, she could barely see it over the tops of the trees, but it was there. Casting a pale and ghostly light on everything it touched.

Her mind wandered as she rocked her sleeping daughter, as she found it often did when she was alone with her while she slept. It had only been a week, but every night had been the same for Reina. She would wake up from her own slumber and without changing from her nightgown, she would hold Emiko, rocking her until she fell asleep in her arms and then she would stare blankly outside while her daughter napped. And every night she would see the same face, though the scenarios weren't always the same.

Tonight she wasn't in the manor, but back in the Academy, in the large hall that was used for dances and other social activities. It was brightly decorated and dimly lit, girls danced and talked, showing off the dresses that they were wearing to the boys who had all remained in their school uniforms. The large glass doors that lined one side of the room were all open, allowing the cool night air to flow through the room and cool the flushed faces of the Day and Night students who were getting a chance to interact together for once.

She was dancing with Takuma, smiling up at him in his pristine white uniform as she ignored the jealous glares that half of the Day class girls were sending her way. She could feel the warmth of the hand on her waist, feel the safety that was provided by simply being so close to him as he tenderly looked into her eyes as they went through the steps of the dance, barely even hearing the music that was playing in the background. It wasn't the music that mattered, but the happiness and sense of belonging that mattered and made her sapphire eyes fill with salty tears that went unnoticed until something softly brushed against her cheek.

"Kaname?" She questioned in confusion, blinking up at the crimson eyed man that had just wiped one of her tears from her cheek.

"Emiko is sleeping, Reina. Why not leave her be for now and join the rest of us for dinner."

Looking down at the cherubic face of her daughter, Reina nodded and slowly raised herself from the rocking chair to gently lower the girl into her crib. "He never even knew... that he was going to be a father. He wasn't given a chance to know her, to see her and she will never know him. It's not fair," she said softly, tears once again filling her eyes as she smoothed the feathery hair on the baby's head.

"I think he would have been happy and knowing Ichijo, that's likely an understatement," Kaname replied with a small chuckle.

With a final glance at Emiko, Reina left her daughter's side and walked past Kaname without much thought or a glance in his direction. A spark of anger flickered through her when he followed her out of the room and down the hall to her own, she had tried to shut the door behind herself, but it wasn't difficult for Kaname to block the door and walk in after her.

"What do you want, Kaname?" She asked, not bothering to turn and face him or otherwise acknowledge his presence as she went into her closet to change.

"To know how long you're going to keep me at a distance," he answered, leaning into one of the thick posts of her delicately crafted bed.

She didn't immediately answer his question, instead she finished getting dressed before walking out of her closet in pale gray slacks and a deep blue blouse. Running a brush through her hair, Reina stared at Kaname critically. "You've only been here a week and you're already wanting to know that? I wouldn't have thought that it would bother you so much, me not wanting anything to do with you. You expected this, didn't you?"

"You're right, I did, but I was hoping that I was wrong. That you would forgive me this time, just like you always have."

Letting their gazes stay locked for a moment longer, Reina sighed and shook her head. "This time is different. I don't want to forgive you like I used to, even if that means going against what those I loved wanted," she looked away as she finished, gazing out the window as she twisted her hair into a slightly sloppy bun and used a few pins she had been holding to secure it.

"I see," Kaname replied, taking a few steps towards her and slipping something from his pocket. Stepping behind her, he slid something into her hair before letting his fingers graze her shoulders. "Forgive me for bothering you, I'll see you downstairs." Bowing to her, Kaname elegantly strode from the room, quietly shutting Reina into the solitude of the darkened space.

Sighing again, Reina turned to stare out of her window, catching a glimpse of the object that had been slipped into her hair in the window. It was the black diamond encrusted comb that Kaname had given to her as an early birthday gift but had been lost in her struggle with Ichio and Daiki Takamora. For a moment she thought of removing the comb, but in the end decided to leave it in her hair. Running her fingers over the black diamond necklace that Takuma had given her the same night she had received the hair comb, she sighed and closed her eyes. "Would you be angry at me I wonder, if you were here, Takuma? No... You weren't one to get angry, you would probably smile that tired smile of yours and tell me that it was much simpler for you when Kaname and I got along. We caused so much trouble for you, didn't we..."

A musical, girlish giggle echoed off of the walls of the stone encased room, the only sound aside from the hushed burning of the candles that glowed throughout the room.

"Welcome back, dear. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

There was an annoyed, brutish grunt in reply as the blond that had been laying on the platform lifted the hand that had been covering his gray tinted green eyes so he could turn his gaze to the beautiful blond woman beside him.

"Couldn't you have chosen a different body?" He asked gruffly.

"I suppose, but then our game wouldn't be as much fun," she replied with a deviously coy smile.

The man chuckled once and began to slowly push himself upright, swinging his long legs over the edge of the platform and holding himself up with his arms. "I guess this body will suffice, at the very least it should prove to be quite entertaining in the future."

Reina yawned, crinkling her nose and shaking her head in an effort to try and stay awake. Emiko was playing on the floor at her feet, her tiny hands grasping at a plush blue and white cat shaped rattle that Aido had given her. Several other items lay around her, completely ignored as the girl shook and turned the cat in her little hands around again and again. Stroking her daughter's dusting of silky blond hair, Reina repressed another yawn and glanced out the nearest window to see that the sun was already a good way up in the sky.

"You're just like your father, you know that?" Reina sighed, resting her head against the padding of the rocking chair and keeping her eyes on Emiko. "He didn't seem to realize that vampires are nocturnal and prefer to sleep while the sun is up. It seems you're going to be the same way." Emiko giggled up at her and Reina sighed again. "Of course you think it's funny that your mother hasn't slept in days and is talking to herself yet again."

She went back to watching Emiko, blocking out everything else as she focused on her daughter. She glanced to the door of the nursery as it opened and Kaname walked in, he was dressed casually in a pair of loose, but slim fitting dark jeans and a black button up. Other than glancing at him as he walked into the room, Reina ignored his presence.

"You should rest, you haven't slept in almost two days, Reina," Kaname said, running the backs of his fingers over her cheek.

Turning her head away from his touch, Reina looked up at the man that was standing over her. "Did you need something, Kaname?"

"Go and get some rest. Let Midori and the maids look after Emiko."

"She's my daughter I have no intention of passing her off to someone else."

"I'm not telling you to pass her off to someone else Reina. As much as you'd like to, you can't do this alone and no one thinks badly of you for that. Let us help you, you need to take care of yourself too, not just Emiko," Kaname replied.

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Reina," he countered.

Reina ignored him, she had no intention of arguing with him at the moment, not while Emiko was only a few feet away from her. Kaname understood this and remained silent as well. It was a moment later when the door opened, revealing Midori and another woman, Setsuka, who would be like Midori was to Reina. The only difference would be that while Midori had been the main person responsible for raising Reina, Reina would actually partake in her daughter's life much more than her parents had partaken in hers.

The two women bowed to Reina and Kaname, Reina nodded and wordlessly stood from the rocking chair, content to leave Emiko in the care of the two women for the time being. Brushing past Kaname, she gracefully strode from the room, her bare feet making little noise as she walked down the hall to her bedroom. Being that she was in navy blue slacks and a white and silver striped tank top, she went directly to her closet to change into a pair of silky pink drawstring bottoms and a plain white tank top.

As she had expected, Kaname followed her into her room and waited for her to change, taking a seat on the velvety armchair that Reina had had placed in her room since there was no place to sit aside from the small bench beneath her window and she had a feeling the chair would come in useful. When she walked out of her closet, she pulled the few pins that had been holding her hair into a rather sloppy bun from her hair and set them on her nightstand. Pulling back her sheets, she took a seat on the edge of her bed, her back to Kaname as she removed her engagement ring and the black diamond necklace she wore and set them both into a red velvet lined box in the top drawer of her nightstand. She then laid down and pulled the sheets over herself, she had every intention of ignoring Kaname for as long as possible.

She could feel the crimson eyes watching her, roaming over her slim shape beneath her bedding and hear his even breathing, it was his breathing that ended up lolling her into a peaceful sleep. He would be gone when she awoke several hours later, but she would find a single black rose lying atop her nightstand.

"It's been one year, since that day," Reina said with a sigh as she stared out the window of the parlor. "So much has changed in that time, it's almost unreal."

Ken was sitting on the couch, a book in his lap that was ignored as he too looked out the window at the dreary, rainy weather. "The events of that day itself were all unreal. Rido was killed, as was the Council and the former Hunter's Association president."

"And Takuma," Reina added softly.

"And Takuma," Ken repeated quietly with a small nod and regretful smile.

Reina was silent for several moments before heaving a wistful sigh and turning away from the window and taking a seat on the couch opposite Ken.

"It seems Kaname has a meeting set up with the Hunter's Association next week to try and begin the process of coexisting peacefully with humans. There is still technically no official leader for the Association to look up to, but it seems that for the time being Cross is acting as a sort of stand in and oddly enough, if the rumors are correct, Zero may be considered as a potential candidate for the future president. Either way it would be a bit ironic if either one of those two, Cross or Zero, actually became the president of the Association. Zero is a former human vampire and there's a reason why Cross has the nickname of the vampire without fangs as well."

The door to the parlor opened and Kaname strode elegantly into the room, Reina glanced at him briefly before choosing to ignore his presence and continue her conversation.

"Anyways, things may actually become less tense soon and when that happens I'm hoping to be able to go back to living my peaceful and boring life alone with Emiko."

"You make it sound as if we're annoyances to you," Ken observed.

"You're not an annoyance at all," she replied evenly, a slight emphasis on 'you're'.

"But I am, aren't I?" Kaname spoke up as he took a seat beside Reina.

"No," Reina replied blandly, standing up from her spot. "In order for someone to annoy another person there needs to be some sort of relationship between them, and we have none." With nothing further to say, she walked from the room, leaving the two men in a state of silence.

"Give her time, she'll come around. Regardless of what she says, she cares very much about you," Ken said to the brown haired man across from him.

"I'm glad you think so, but I know her quite well and if she's determined to hate me, then she will," Kaname replied, picking up a section of the newspaper that was on the table between the couches. "That does not mean, however, that I plan on giving up."

Ken smirked at Kaname, nodding his head in understanding. "I don't blame you."

"You want me to go with you?" Reina asked incredulously, giving Kaname a look that clearly stated how ridiculous she thought his request was.

"I would like it if you did, yes. There will be many of the Association's members present, it would be nice to have several of our own race present. As the representative of the entire vampire race I would like to have others who share my hopes with me so that the Hunters will know I'm serious."

"Then take Aido, Kain, Ruka, Shiki, Rima or even Yuuki. I have no desire to go anywhere with you."

"Yuuki is still very sensitive around humans, she's unused to her own heightened senses and abilities. As for the others, Aido and Kain will be joining me, as will Seiren of course, but it would be nice to have another pureblood-"

"Then ask Ken," she cut in abruptly, folding her arms over her chest and leaning into the soft cushions of the chair across from the desk in the office.

Entwining his fingers and resting his chin across the steeple they made as he rested his elbows on the desk, Kaname sighed and took a moment to look over Reina. She was dressed rather plainly today in a pair of black slacks and a simple, fitted gray t-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a bun and secured with several hidden pins and decorated with the black diamond encrusted comb he had given her. The gesture though it may seem simple since the comb was quite expensive and beautiful was enough to tell him that despite the cold and harsh front she was portraying while around him, she didn't hate him as much as she wanted him to believe.

"Ken isn't as popular as you are. You are the heir to the Tsukina name and your parents' good deeds are well known in both the human and vampire worlds. The Takamora's have never been known for doing anything that didn't benefit them," he paused to hold up a hand to silence Reina who looked about to object on Ken's behalf, she glared at him before turning her head to stare out the window. "That isn't to say that Ken is like the rest of his family, but he is still a Takamora and there is nothing that can change that fact. He may not be anything like his family, but in his current situation he is unable to change the way his family is run and because of that he would do no good coming with me. The Association would never believe that he could change the Takamora family while his father is still alive."

"So you would like to use me as a tool to make you look better?"

"No, my intention isn't to use you, Reina, but to ask for your help in creating a peaceful world that Emiko can grow up in without worry. All I am asking is that you accompany me to meet with the Association and provide any opinions that you feel are necessary. I know how much you want there to be peace between our races, I would have thought that you would have wanted to come."

Grinding her teeth together in response to the mention of Emiko, Reina continued to deliberately avoid looking at Kaname. "Fine," she finally said, standing swiftly from her seat and gliding towards the door, pausing as she twisted the bronzed knob to look over her shoulder. "I'll go along with you, but my reasons have nothing to do with you. Takuma wanted peace and he would want me to go. He would want to be there as well, but since he can't, then I'll have to do. Don't expect much from me, I certainly won't be coming to your rescue should things turn sour."

Kaname smiled lightly at her. "That's alright, I wouldn't want you to, nor would I ever expect you to."

Clenching her fists at her sides, she pulled the door open and left the room quickly. Leaving Kaname thinking that perhaps her indifference towards him wouldn't last as long as he had originally thought. She was offended that he didn't want her to help him if things did indeed turn sour, she would step in and they both knew it, regardless of what she might say.

Reina ran the backs of her fingers over the soft cheeks of her sleeping daughter, smiling at the way the small infant tossed her head and fidgeted. "I'll be back in a few days, be a good girl for Ken and Yuuki," she uttered quietly before taking one last lingering look at her child and walking from the room. "Hana, what are you doing up here? Isn't everyone already outside?"

Standing upright from where he had slouched against the wall near the staircase, the blond boy smiled warmly at her and held his arm out to her. Shaking her head, Reina stepped forward and wrapped her arm around his.

"You didn't have to come up here and wait for me," she told him as they descended the stairs.

"I wanted to. You've never had to leave Emi before and I thought that you could use a friend."

"Thank you, Hanabusa."

Beaming at her and blushing, he giggled boyishly and continued leading her outside and to the waiting cars. The winter wind whipped through her loose waves and made her white and black plaid wool coat flutter around her knees. Her black slacks clung to her legs as her stylish black heels clicked against the stones of the walkway leading to the cars. Kaname was waiting outside of one of the immaculate old fashioned black limos, his long brown trench like coat hugging his slender frame as his hair swam around his face haphazardly. He smiled to Reina and offered her his hand which she ignored without a hint of care as she lowered her head and stepped into the car, taking the seat across from the silent Seiren, who she had a tendency to forget was always around.

"How long is the drive expected to take?" Reina asked once Hanabusa and Kaname had both seated themselves with Hanabusa beside her and Kaname beside Seiren.

"It's about a seven hour drive just to the manor that we have been given permission to use as our residence while we're in talks with the Association. From there it's only a short walk to the Headquarters," Kaname answered.

"Whose manor is it that we're using? No noble would buy a home so close to the Association," Reina pointed out monotonously.

"It's a manor that Cross acquired sometime ago."

Reina snorted, shaking her head in disdain. "For a simple Hunter, he has acquired some very interesting things," she stated mockingly.

"Well, Cross never was simple," Kaname spoke up with a small chuckle that made Reina want to gag at the implied innocence he was projecting.

"Yes, I'm aware," Reina muttered .

Being that she hadn't been getting as much rest in the recent months since having Emiko, Reina was lulled to sleep by the quiet hum of the car engine and the thrum of the tires against the pavement. She had leaned into Hanabusa's side, curled up against him with her legs tucked beneath her. Not being all that tired, Hanabusa stared out the window rather boredly and watched the scenery pass by them. One of his arms was around Reina's slender shoulders and his other was propped up against the window, supporting his chin as he stared outside.

With the length of the ride being so long, it had been decided that they would stop to eat in a well-known upscale restaurant in one of the more wealthy towns that they would be passing through. When they pulled into the restaurant's beautifully landscaped driveway, Reina had still not awoken and she looked so peaceful that Hanabusa didn't want to wake her, he would have been content to stay in the car with her had he not skipped breakfast that morning in order to sleep in just a little while longer and wasn't so hungry. He chuckled as his stomach growled and looked back down at Reina's sleeping form, frowning since he didn't want to move and wake her, but he wanted eat and he couldn't just leave her in the car alone.

"It's alright, Aido, I'll stay with her. I'm not hungry anyways, go and join the others," Kaname spoke up, startling the blond who was lost in his own indecisiveness.

"Ehh..." He blubbered, looking up at Kaname who was smiling in a very reassuring way at him and then back to Reina. He was no fool, he knew that Reina would not want him to leave her with Kaname, but he couldn't exactly deny Kaname. It was quite the dilemma for the blue eyed boy, either risk Reina's wrath later or have Kaname think he didn't trust him or respect him.

Seeing the boy's obvious unease at having to choose between eating and leaving Reina with him knowing that she'd likely be unhappy or staying and not eating though he was hungry and possibly annoy himself, Kaname chuckled. "Don't worry, Aido, she won't be mad at you. I promise, but if you'd rather stay with her then that's fine, I can always bring something for you to eat on the way."

Terrified by the idea of making the pureblood king of their race do anything for him, a humble nobleman, was a bit too much for Aido and he relented, hanging his head in despair at the thought of what Reina would do to him later. "Uh, n-no, I'll go in and eat with everyone else."

"Good, enjoy your meal," Kaname replied, smiling and making Aido shiver, it was too weird to see Kaname smile and it freaked him out a little.

Carefully removing his arm from around Reina and gently holding her body up so that he could slip from his seat and let Kaname take it, Hanabusa took a final look at the two purebloods and left the car, hoping that Reina wouldn't wake up before he could get back and switch places with Kaname. Though he wasn't really sure the pureblood would let him...

"What's the matter with you?" Kain asked his unusually mopey cousin as they walked to the restaurant entrance.

"Reina's gonna kill me. Kaname-sama smiled at me. I'm scared," he mumbled morosely as he slouched his way into the plain yet lavishly decorated restaurant with its darkly tinted windows that encased the entire building so that the patrons could look out across the exquisite gardens and koi ponds surrounding the property.

Kain blinked after his sulky cousin, not quite sure what to make out of his mumbled words. After a moment, he simply shrugged and walked into the restaurant figuring it was just another of his strange tantrums.

Soft, light caresses against her cheek made her flutter her eyes open and look up at the smiling face of the green eyed man whose lap she had fallen asleep on. The man was lovingly looking down at her, his beautifully clear green eyes showing the honest and deep affection he had for the woman that smiled back, lifting a hand from her side to place it on one of the handsome man's cheeks and run her thumb over it to feel the familiar smoothness of the skin beneath her fingertips.

"It's about time you woke up, sleepy head," he said to her cheerily, tapping her on the nose as if to scold her.

"Oh shut up, Takuma. You're the one who never lets me sleep anymore," Reina replied poking him on the forehead as she glared teasingly up at him before laughing when he pouted cutely.

"I'm sorry, but you weren't exactly complaining at the time," he countered indignantly.

"Why would I?" She asked, letting her hand glide through his silky blond hair and pulling his head down to hers so that their lips could meet in a sweet kiss.

"Apparently because you're not getting enough sleep," he joked with a snicker as he pulled his lips from hers and rested his cool forehead against hers.

"Maybe I wouldn't need so much sleep if I didn't have such an overactive husband and a daughter who is just like him. Keeping up with the trouble the two of you cause isn't a walk in the park, you know." Tickling his sides, Reina sat up when Takuma giggled and tried to fold in on himself and hide from her probing fingers. "I swear the two of you have enough energy to power an entire country and I most certainly do not."

Trying to pout, though he was still red in the face from her attack on his sides, Takuma attempted to give her an apologetic smile. "It's not like we do it on purpose."

Lifting a brow incredulously and turning to her lover, she asked, "Are you serious? You're telling me that last week you and Emi didn't purposely decide to keep me up until well after the sun had risen just to watch the Ouran High rerun marathon and eat every flavor of pocky imaginable? Or that last month when the two of you decided that we needed a family vacation to the beach of all places, it wasn't just so you could see me get angry at the fact that I wanted to sleep during the day but was instead dragged to an overly sunny beach. We're vampires, Takuma and I don't like being in the sun. It makes me grumpy."

"You sound like Aido," Takuma chuckled.

Reina rolled her eyes and made to stand up, but was halted from doing so by a tug on her left hand that was captured in Takuma's strong grasp. With a small squeak, she fell into his lap and glared at him despite the warm, innocent smirk he was giving her.

"We just like spending time with you and-"

"Seeing me suffer," she cut in.

Acting as if her words had offended him, Takuma feigned a look of surprise and gave her a serious look. "We would never want to see you suffer."

"Unless you thought it would provide the two of you with entertainment."

"How could you imply such a thing? It's really not very nice."

"Then maybe you should stop smiling, you fool," Reina retorted, slapping him on the shoulder playfully.

"But you look so cute when you're angry," he tittered.

Reina sighed and shook her head. "Really. You two are absolutely troublesome. Why can't the two of you just behave yourselves and let me have a moment or two of peace now and then?"

"Because we love you too much," Takuma beamed, nuzzling his nose against her neck.

"I love you too, but you owe me for all the trouble you've caused."

"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder how I should make it up to you..."

"Well, you could start by kissing me," she told him softly.

"I guess I could do that," he said, lowering his head and letting their noses touch lightly before catching her lips in his and letting his tongue flick against her bottom lip.

Smiling against his lips, Reina parted her own and tilted her head, wrapping her arms around him as their tongues began a slow and hungry dance. When his lips left hers and trailed warm kisses along her jaw and up to her ear, Reina sighed contentedly and couldn't help but smile and think that her lips would never again be able to do anything else but that.

Until Takuma's lips reached her ear and his breath tickled the sensitive skin of her neck as he nipped at her ear lobe and uttered words she never thought she'd hear from his lips. "I'll kill you and our daughter, just you wait and see."

Sucking in a deep breath, her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright in her seat a hand clutching at her chest and the silky fabric of her red scoop neck top, the sleeves of which were long and reached her thin wrists, but were made in such a way so that they were open, slit from her shoulders to her wrists. Her chest heaved beneath the shirt, rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to take in a deep breath, she could feel the warm, salty water of tears building up in her eyes and with a small, shaky whimper they slid down her cheeks.

Strong arms were wrapped around her, holding her to a hard chest while a calming hand stroked her hair and put her head upon their shoulder. Not even realizing, nor caring at the moment who the person was, Reina let them comfort her and huddled against the warmth of their body. The hands that held her were so gentle and careful she couldn't help but to feel at ease and the person holding her was emanating such a comforting yet strong aura that she felt protected and wanted to grasp on to that feeling and never let it go. Instead she grasped onto the man holding her, burying her head in their neck and clutching to the fabric of their black collared tunic like shirt that left part of their chest exposed.

As she calmed down and her senses slowly began to come back to her, she realized that there was no way that the person she was clutching onto was Hanabusa. Though she hadn't originally cared who had been holding her in such a protective and caring way, she did now and as she took one last deep breath to calm her nerves, she inhaled the masculine scent of none other than Kaname. Her fingers flexed unconsciously in her silent anger, her nails biting into the flesh beneath the man's shirt and her teeth smashing together.

Pushing herself away from the other pureblood, Reina tossed her head and refused to look at him as she increased the distance between them and glared heatedly out the window. "Thank you," she said stiffly through her clenched teeth.

"You're welcome, but just what happened, Reina? You were sleeping so peacefully," Kaname told her, reaching a hand towards her to let his fingers glide through her hair.

She snapped around, swatting his hand away from her and ignoring the depth of loneliness that was in his eyes as he looked at her. "It's none of your business."

Kaname moved towards her, his face expressionless as her eyes narrowed and her aura became full of anger and spite. "How many times must I tell you," he began quietly, raising a hand towards her cheek.

Hissing, Reina attempted to slap the hand away from her, but her wrist was caught in a crushing grasp, she tried to use her other hand to push him away but that hand too was caught and pinned above her head against the curtained window of the car. Holding both of her hands in one of his, Kaname let his free hand glide down to her cheek

"We both know that you won't hurt me, regardless of how you act and what you say, you love me and I will patiently wait for you to realize that," he stated before leaning forward to kiss away the remnants of the tears she had shed. He released her hands, letting them fall into her lap limply as she stared at him.

At first, she wasn't sure how to respond, a part of her wanted to reach out for her childhood friend and smooth the lines of worry from his forehead, but another part of her wanted to prove that she wasn't the same little girl he had always known and had always loved. Without much thought, her right hand lashed out and harshly collided with the surface of Kaname's left cheek, all signs of anything that could be construed as uncertainty or remorse vanished from her face and was replaced by a look of absolute coldness. She raised her chin in the air and straightened her shoulders as Kaname stared at her wordlessly, but clearly surprised as he raised a hand to his cheek and gathered up a small amount of the warm liquid he could feel spilling from a thin cut that one of Reina's nails had inflicted upon him.

He studied the liquid on his fingers for a moment and then looked back up at Reina and the overly prideful way she was holding herself. "It seems I was wrong, I'm sorry for having disturbed you. I'll ride in the other car for the remainder of the drive."

Watching Kaname's lithe body move as he gathered his coat and opened the car door to step elegantly from the vehicle, Reina could show no emotion aside from a pride filled anger. It wasn't until the car door was shut, leaving her alone in the confines of the back of the spacious limo that had all of the curtains of the windows in the back drawn and the tinted glass that separated the driver from his wealthy employers up that her head fell into her chest as if she could no longer muster the strength to hold it up. Her hands fisted in her lap and tears filled her eyes, dripping down her face to dampen her pale hands and the fabric of her black slacks.

And the timeskipping has began.

At this point Emiko's three months old and a whole year has passed since the incident at the Academy. I hope this chapter was satisfactory, I've been caught up between writing this, reading Ouran High School Host Club and writing bits and pieces of future chapters that have been stuck in my head. I know everyone wanted some romance and there was a tiny bit in there, but there will be more soon, promise.

Please review!