Preview Line: Aido's world shattered. His memories came flooding back and so did all of the pain. He remembered.

The Stained Marble

Chapter Fifteen

The Undiscovered Truth

"Close your eyes, Hanabusa. I'll wipe away your tears. I'll take away your pain... because you belong to me. You always have."

...One month later...

"Aido! Where are you?" Yuuki called.

Aido stirred but didn't open his eyes. Lately, he had no motivation to get up in the evenings. Something was bothering him and he didn't even know what. His chest felt heavy like some part of him was missing.

It annoyed him more than anything, and so he found himself trying to sleep it off. He hoped dreaming would give him answers, but his dreams were always empty or out of his reach.

Yet, he still remembered bits and pieces of his time spent at Cross Academy with Kaname and Yuuki. However, that had been over a month ago, and now the three of them had settled in the Kuran mansion together. Kaname had been kind enough to give Aido his own room, which was enormous compared to his last room at the Academy.

The room was painted in shades of blood red and gold. It had a small window and even an attached bathroom. Aido didn't even need to leave the room if he didn't want to. He could curl up in bed and stay in that room for the remainder of his life, but for some particular reason, he always found himself worried about Yuuki's wellbeing.

He just wanted to sleep, but he couldn't. Even with those restless emotions boiling inside of him and even when his chest continually ached, he still found himself getting out of bed to check on Yuuki. He didn't even know why and that was extremely bothersome.

If anything, he should be in love with Kaname. He was sure he'd felt that way about the elite pureblood once, but over the last month, he'd spent more time with Yuuki than Kaname. He could tell it pissed Kaname off, yet he couldn't stop himself. It was as if he wanted to protect her.

Yuuki, on the other hand, seemed delighted by Aido's presence and by their budding friendship. Their recent closeness was also the reason that Yuuki was now running around the mansion calling Aido's name and, inadvertently, waking him up. These last few days he could tell the girl was becoming more and more concerned for him. She knew there was something upsetting him.

Aido forced his eyes open, sighed, and rolled back the sheets. He pulled his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Just as he stood up, someone knocked on his door. He smelled that unique blood and knew it was Yuuki.

"Come in," Aido said.

He was still in his silk pajamas—provided by Kaname—but he didn't mind. Yuuki had become like a little sister to him in less than a month. He would do anything to keep her safe. It was weird thinking such things, considering how he felt about Kaname. But Aido was sure his love for Kaname was more a deep level of respect and devotion than unconditional love.

As the young Kuran entered his room, he realized that his undying loyalty to the Kuran bloodline was probably what bound him eternally to Kaname and Yuuki. But then again, there was that tight squeeze inside of his chest, which made him doubt everything.

Yuuki closed the door behind her and strode towards Aido. His eyes widened at the sight of her. She was stunningly beautiful and her flowing chestnut hair looked wild, almost fiery in the dim light of the evening sun. She wore a light blue evening gown, which accentuated her pale flesh. But it was her large brown eyes, which normally looked innocent and human-like that had changed. They were sharp, piercing, and they eerily reminded Aido of Kaname's eyes. The noble stumbled backwards a step and flopped back onto the bed.

"Y-yuuki?" Aido mumbled, confused.

She smiled, but that smile did not reach her eyes. Aido trembled. The brunette imitated Kaname's mannerisms, but she was terrifying in a completely different way. The kind girl, whom Aido had come to love, had actually turned into a pureblooded monster. It was horrifying. The look didn't suit her gentle face.

But confidently, Yuuki crossed the room and sat next to Aido. She lightly took his hand in hers and stroked it as if to calm his nerves. Strangely, as if she'd placed a spell over him, he found his body unwinding, even though her dark gaze still sliced through his soul, searching for something.

"Aido," Yuuki whispered, and her tone was comforting as well.

He couldn't help it. His shoulders sagged and his body melted into her touch.

"Tell me. What's been bothering you? Why do you seem so sad?" she asked, her eyes inquisitive.

Aido didn't understand her question at first. He wasn't sad... was he? He didn't think so. He couldn't figure out what she meant, so he furrowed his eyebrows at her in confusion.

A knowing smile crossed her sweet lips and her small hand reached out, pressing one tiny fingertip into the middle of his forehead.

Aido's world shattered. His memories came flooding back and so did all of the pain. He remembered. He remembered... Zero! Oh god, it hurt! And how could he have forgotten? But the last memory explained that he had done this to himself. He'd asked Kaname to erase Zero from his memories.

Tears poured down his cheeks and loud sobs escaped his lips in terrible wheezes. He couldn't breathe past the suffocating pain, and he clutched his burning chest, trying to hold himself together. But as he did, he felt himself falling, falling, and he didn't know if he'd ever get up again. Yet, soft, gentle arms caught him and wrapped around his head. His face was suddenly pressed against a warm, small chest.

Yuuki smelled like a mixture of Kaname and fragranced roses. Aido pressed his face harder into that comforting scent and blinding warmth and wept.

"Shh. Aido, it's okay, it's okay," she soothed sweetly.

The noble's body shook, and all he could do for several minutes was bury his face against her chest and cry. He let it all out. He let the pain come pouring out of him; the pain he should've allowed himself to feel for an entire month. But there was way too much pain, too much to remember, too much hurt, and too much loss. The tears wouldn't stop, and he regretted so much. He regretted so much

He wanted to cry out his pain, his frustration, and all of his stupidity. This pain was real. And even if he wanted to burn it away, even if he wanted to hide from this horrible pain, he never, ever wanted to forget Zero again. Just after one month, it was like no time had passed at all. Aido still desperately loved Zero all the same. His heart still yearned for Zero. No amount of time would change that.

Aido sniffled. His tears had slowed. His head hurt, and he realized he could cry no more. He had no tears left. His body ached from exhaustion, and slowly, Yuuki lifted his head from her chest. He moved back and looked up at her with puffy eyes. She lifted one hand and petted his golden locks.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I knew Kaname had done something similar like repressing your memories. He did it to me as well, but the repression won't hold if the person starts to remember their past. It can drive them insane simply because you can't remember, or you are on the brink of remembering. I could see you were struggling just like I had, and I couldn't let that continue," Yuuki said, almost shyly.

Aido was baffled. He couldn't believe Kaname had let him continue to suffer for days like that. Kaname had obviously seen him struggling. So why hadn't Kaname just broken his hypnosis? Did he really think Aido just wanted to go on forgetting? He would've eventually gone insane, right?

But before he could think more on it, Yuuki started to speak again. "Aido, over the last month, you and I have become really close. I consider us friends."

"As do I!" Aido chimed in.

Yuuki giggled at his enthusiasm and his heart lightened to see her usual self. "Good. That makes me happy. Will you tell me what you saw that made you so sad?" she asked.

Aido blinked and felt his cheeks go red. He cared about Yuuki, but he remembered that Zero and Yuuki also cared for one another. She'd never once mentioned Zero's name in the past month while he'd been under Kaname's hypnosis. He wondered what would've happened if she had. Would he have given her a blank stare and asked her who Zero was, or would he have had a slight recognition at the mention of Zero's name? But perhaps, Yuuki hadn't mentioned Zero for a reason. Perhaps, Kaname had warned her against doing so.

Still, he just couldn't bring himself to talk with her about Zero. For one, the memories were still too painful for him, and two, the only reason he'd given up on Zero was because of Yuuki, because Zero couldn't stop loving her. Those memories were still like fresh, bloody wounds on Aido's heart, and as much as he cared for Yuuki, he couldn't discuss it with her.

Yuuki frowned, fully aware of his decision to remain silent. "I see. I thought we'd become closer than that," she said. "You leave me no choice, then."

Before Aido could question what she meant, she lifted both of her hands, and in a blink of eye, the young Kuran was on him. Her small body weight pressed against his and both her hands gripped his shoulders. She held him motionless with her pureblood strength and Aido hated it, but he didn't squirm, realizing it would be pointless. It wasn't the strength in those tiny arms that stopped his movements anyway. It was her dark glare and its heated power that froze his entire body.

Her deep brown eyes turned almost black like Kaname's, and they bore deep into Aido's soul. They ripped into him, searching for answers, and he knew he'd bend to their will.

"Tell me," she said. "Tell me why you cried."

Aido tried to resist. He tried to bite his own tongue, anything to stop his damn mouth from opening and answering her. But it was no use. His will was no longer his own, and he found his mouth popping open, words forcing their way up his throat.

"I-I... Because I love Zero," Aido said, wanting to look away from her shocked expression.

But surprisingly, Yuuki's pupils only widened somewhat like she half-expected his answer. She didn't even release his shoulders and her eyes stayed focused on his. She continued her relentless interrogation.

"Then why did you leave Cross Academy and join Kaname and myself? Why did you leave Zero?" she asked.

Her last question stung like a dull knife repeatedly stabbing him over and over. Aido didn't want to be reminded of that awful pain, but his mouth was already opening against his will to answer her question.

"I thought it was for the best. Zero still loved you. We wouldn't be happy together," Aido said, trying to shut his eyes, but for some reason, he couldn't even look away from Yuuki's dark gaze.

She didn't even flinch at the words, "Zero still loved you." She didn't even look sorry. Aido wanted to hate her, but her eyes were narrowing at him suspiciously as if she were contemplating something. Perhaps, he'd said something funny.

"That still doesn't answer why you decided to come with Kaname," she said, excluding herself this time.

This time Aido returned her suspicious look. Yuuki was clearly skeptical of his motives for coming with the two of them. It was suddenly very apparent that she never really considered him a true friend, which hurt. He felt betrayed, and he wondered what she possibly thought his "true" motives were. But like a light bulb going off, he realized Yuuki was worried he'd only joined the two of them in order to be with Kaname. She was jealous of Aido...?

He wanted to reassure her that he wasn't after Kaname, that he hadn't joined the two of them with ulterior motives, but the brunette's hard glare was making it impossible for him to say anything.

She was still waiting for Aido to answer his question, but he was too scared to say anything. Plus, she hadn't directly ordered him to answer a question, so he remained silent. But he knew with such a vehement stare, she would force him to answer one way or another.

Predictably, Yuuki roughly grabbed his chin and yanked his face forward. Their eyes were merely inches from one another.

"Aido, tell me," she commanded. "Tell me why you came here with Kaname."

Immediately, the words tumbled from his lips. "To protect Yuuki for Zero's sake," he said.

"What?" Yuuki yelled, releasing him and almost falling off the bed as she moved backwards.

Aido almost fell off the bed as well, but he managed to catch himself at the last second. At the same moment, his door burst open and he heard a swoosh of air as Kaname blurred past him and into Yuuki's arms.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Kaname asked, looking frantically from Yuuki to Aido.

Yuuki's eyes were wide as she stared at Aido, but finally, she glanced up at Kaname. Without a single word, she grabbed Kaname's wrist and dragged him out of Aido's room, leaving the noble to stare after them in stunned silence.

What the hell? What did all that mean? What was Yuuki planning? And... oh god, Zero... it hurt just to remember.

But he didn't have time to think about it as he heard hushed whispers from outside his door. He got up swiftly and went to listen. It was Kaname and Yuuki. They sounded like they were arguing.

"You erased his memory, didn't you?" That was Yuuki's voice.

"Is that what he told you?" Kaname asked nonchalantly.

"He didn't need to, brother. Remember, I've seen all your memories now. I have also gained abilities. But the one thing I wanted was to be able to protect humans and weaker vampires from being manipulated by mind control like I was. So that was the first power I sought," Yuuki said and her voice sounded a bit contemptuous.

Kaname chuckled. "Very well, my love." And then Aido heard a deep sigh. "But please call me Kaname."

There was a brief pause, but Kaname continued. "So, tell me what else did Hanabusa tell you."

Aido could hear the change in Kaname's voice. He'd turned on his seductive charm, and Aido knew Yuuki didn't stand a chance in hell against that devilish playboy.

"H-he started to cry and I asked him why. H-he said because... he loves Zero," Yuuki said, sounding flustered.

"Oh, did he now?" Kaname said as if he were actually intrigued.

Aido heard heavy breathing and he was tempted to walk away from the door, but he kept listening. He hoped Yuuki wouldn't say that last sentence. He prayed the girl wouldn't spit out those last words and tell Kaname the real reason he'd come to the Kuran mansion. Aido wasn't sure why, but deep in his heart, he feared that more than anything he'd ever feared before.

And oddly enough, in that instant he was reminded of a dream he'd had about a month ago when he'd been with Zero. It had been a devastating dream; a dream about the marble Kaname had given him. In the dream, his turquoise marble had been stained black, and at the end of the dream, he'd felt a sense of impending doom.

As he stared at the door, he felt that same sense of doom again. And he realized finally what it all meant. And all the horrible mistakes he'd made... all too late.

Aido's bottom lip quivered as fear gripped his body, but he heard Yuuki's breathless words nonetheless.

"Yes, and h-he... said the only reason... h-he's here is to... protect me for Zero's sake."

Aido pressed his ear harder into to the door, waiting for Kaname's outburst, but it was silent. He didn't hear anything. It was dead silent for several minutes. He shivered, too scared to move.

And then he almost jumped when Kaname's voice came too close to his door.

"I see," the pureblood said. "Yuuki, I must speak with Hanabusa. Will you please excuse me for a minute?"

Aido retreated hastily from the door, not waiting to listen for Yuuki's reply. His heart thundered in his chest. Kaname hadn't sounded angry, but the pureblood always acted calm and collected at first and then lashed out violently when you least expected it.

Aido backed up onto the bed and sat down. He wanted to crawl underneath the sheets and hide, but he knew that wouldn't hide him from Kaname. If that elite vampire were angry enough with him, he'd find Aido no matter what. And the young noble would have to take Kaname's punishment no matter what. He realized it the moment he'd remembered the dream. Kaname had every right to be angry with him.

The doorknob turned and the pureblood entered his room. Those chocolate eyes glittered darkly in the fading sunlight.

"Hanabusa," Kaname said as a dark, menacing power emanated from him.

Aido flinched at the mere utterance of his name. The urge to run itched within his legs, but he knew there was no escape. And the next words that fell from Kaname's lips were the harsh truth.

"You betrayed me."