*Note to Readers* This chapter features semi strong language and a little bit of suggestive material. It's still PG 13 but I don't want to get reported or anything like that because some might think it's too "inappropriate" for the rating.
P.S. It might have some mistakes in it that I didn't catch because I corrected this really fast.
This is where it ends. This is how I die. There is no one here to save me...
A soft clinging noise crossed my ears and my eyes shoot open. All the Level Es had disappeared and the air was oddly clear. Soon the clinging was accompanied by footsteps. I tried to get up and run towards the footsteps but my body was paralyzed with fatigue and shock. I yelled out for help as loud as I could. The clinging faded away but the footsteps kept coming closer then they stopped. A silhouette of a man kneeled in front of me and pulled me into his arms.
"Who is this man?" I think. The arms around me weren't Zero's or Headmaster's. The arms around me were unfamiliar but familiar at the same time. They were warm and comforting and I lost myself in them like I've been yearning for them for a very long time.
A certain person comes to mind but I shake it away quickly. "No," I think. "It couldn't be. These arms couldn't belong to…Kaname Kuran." The thought spend chills up my spine. Was it really him, holding me in the middle of an alleyway?
"Everything will be okay now." The deep, silky voice entered my voice and I was frozen in awe. It really is Kaname. No doubt about it.
One of his hands moved from my back to my head and cradled my face to his chest. Then a sort of bizarre and airy feeling washed over me. I could feel my mind and body tingling. It was a good kind of tingling; the kind of tingling that make you feel light and fluffy. For a second all my problems melt away and I feel rejuvenated.
Kaname stood up with me in his arms and we whisked away into the sky. The sunlight gave me the perfect view or his perfect face and for a second his cinnamon eyes met mine.
"Yuuki!" someone far away called out.
"Yuuki!" the voice got closer.
"Yuuki! Are you listening?" A hand started shaking my shoulder. And with a crash I came back to Earth. Far away from Kaname; far away from those warm, comforting arms.
I opened my eyes slowly. Crystal blue water was the first thing I saw. I was back. I was back where I left off, in the middle of downtown in front of the fountain.
"Did I ever leave this spot?" I wonder. "Have I been standing here the whole time? Was me seeing Kaname just an illusion?
"Stop spacing out," Yori commanded.
"Oh…I'm sorry Yori."
"Are you okay?" she asked reading the emotions on my face like a book.
My head fell to the ground and then rose back up with the hugest smile I could muster. "I'm fine."
She stared at me for a long while and I looked away quickly before she noticed my cracking facial expression.
"Hey," I yelled, changing the subject. "I think there will be a concert at the part in about a half an hour. You want to go?"
She looks at me for a second longer. "Yeah…I guess we can go check it out."
After the concert was over it was just before twilight and we were heading back to the school. I thought that listening to some music would clear my mind of what happened to me but it just made things worst. They were the typical J-rock band who only sang songs about failed loves and broken dreams.
"Where are you going?" Yori asked. We were at the front gate now and I started walking in the opposite direction than her.
"I'm going to the Headmaster's house," I said still walking away.
"Are you sure that's the best thing to do right now? Zero could be there."
I froze.
No, I wasn't sure this was the best thing to do. I wasn't sure if this was the best thing to do for me or Zero. I wasn't sure of anything.
"I have to," I say before running off down the pathway.
"I have to," was the only reason I could come up with.
"Hello?" I call out as I opened the front door. The hallway was darkened and the whole house had an empty aura to it.
"Hello?" I hang my jacket up and walk into the kitchen. "Headmaster? Zero?"
I sat my bags on the counter. That's when I see a note taped to the surface.
Dear beloved Son and Daughter,
I am sorry for the sudden change of events, but I've been called in by the Vampire Council to help them out with a few things. It won't take me long so don't worry about me. I'll be back Monday morning. There is shrimp stir fry in the fridge. Stay safe and be careful.
Sincerely,
Daddy!
I smile at the note briefly and then head for the stairs. I go to Zero's room and knock on the door. When there is no answer I enter. There is no sigh of him.
Without taking a breath, I search the house frantically. I check the living room, the kitchen again, all the bedrooms and bathrooms, the attic and the basement. And checked it one more time to make sure and still couldn't find him.
But I don't lose hope yet. I head straight for the Boys' Sun Dormitory. I ran up the steps as fast as I could and swung open the door without knocking. I look over the room hysterically, wishing that's he's there.
He wasn't.
As I walk back to the House I feel a gigantic knot forming in the pit of my stomach. I tried to ignore it and swallow it down but it kept growing and growing. Then it began hard to breath and I had to push myself just to make it in the front door. I flop down on the couch and close my eyes.
"What is this?" I whisper to myself.
I've never felt something so painful before. My heart burned with all sorts of emotions and my eyes were begging to let out the over dominant fit of tears.
"What is this?" I repeated.
An image materializes in my head. It's a person… a man…that looks like Zero. I open my eyes and sigh.
"Where is he?"
As time passes, a swarm of thoughts enter my mind and I can't shake them. What if he ran away from home? What if he doesn't ever come back? Then they became more extreme. What if he's in trouble? What if he's attacked by a bunch of Level Es? What if he can't fight them off? What if…What if he's dead?
If something happens to him I can't help feeling somewhat responsible. If we hadn't had that fight yesterday he would be here. We would be here watching a movie together or making out. But because of what I said, what I did, he's gone.
I turned on the TV and watched it senselessly until sleepiness infiltrated me. I looked at the clock. It was just after one o'clock. "He's not coming home," I think before turning off all the lights and heading upstairs to bed.
A loud booming sound enters my ears and I jolt out of slumber. I sit up and look around the room. I hear the sound again and I walk over to the door and peak my head into the hallway. The first thing that comes to mind is that a Level E is breaking in. As clumsy as I am, I probably didn't lock the doors or forgot to close an open window.
I grab Artemis Rod off the nightstand and disappear down the stairs. I heard the booming sound a third time as I approach the last step. I rounded the corner cautiously and swing Artemis without even looking.
"Y-Yuuki…" a voice calls out. It's a familiar voice but seems slightly altered. I pull back the swing and turn on the light. There he is huddled over at the doorway; Zero Kiryu.
The Artemis Rod slips out of my hand and hits the floor with an echoing cling. I stare at him for a second or two trying to absorb the horrifying sight. His uniform is ripped to shreds. Blood is covering every inch of his body. Any person in their right mind would look away.
But I didn't.
"Zero!" I cry out.
I run over to him and take his bruised face in my shaky hands. "Zero! Zero! Can you hear me? Zero!"
There was a long moment of anxious silence and my heart nearly stops.
Then a moan escapes his lips and I see his lavender eyes open. "Yuu…ki." His voice was weak and raspy.
A feeling of relief washes over me. "He's alive," I think before I wrap his arm around my shoulder and literally drag him to the bathroom. I sit him in front of the bathtub.
The first thing I do is rip the shards of clothing off his chest. His right arm and the left side were dripping blood all over the floor. I run over to the sink and wet two towels and used them to soak up as much blood as I could. When the blood-lose stopped a little I got a few bandages from the cabinet and wrapped up the wounds.
I could see the color in his face turn from extremely pale to moderately pale but his eyes were blinking obsessively as if he was about to pass out.
I grab a wash cloth and went to work on his face. Most of the bruises and scratches had healed already, but the blood was still lingering. Once everything was cleaned off he looked radiant and angelic again.
When all of his injures were taken care of I sat on the cold tiled floor staring at his unconscious body. Never have I ever seen him this beat up. Who could've done such a thing to him? Was it a Level E? Or maybe a dozen of them?
Time passes on and I'm sure it's the early morning by now. I feel exhaustion creep up on me and when I can't stand to keep my eyes open any longer I splashed cold water on my face and made me some tea. As I sipped on my cup I hear a moan slip past him lips.
"I love her…Yuuki," he murmurs bobbing his head side to side. "Damn bastard…I don't regret what I did."
He moans again and his eyes move violently under his lids like he's having a nightmare. "You abandoned her…you left her alone…I hate you…you son of a bitch."
I thought about waking him up but I was too distracted by his words. Who is he talking to when he says that he loves me? It could've been a Level E. And the bastard part, well, the only people he calls bastards are vampires. Vampires at the Academy. And the vampire he hates the most is…Kaname Kuran. Could he be talking to Kaname? He's always calling Kaname a bastard. Does this mean he did this to Kaname?
I shook my head to clear the horrifying thought. No he couldn't do such a thing like this, right?
Zero let out a sign and I slowly drifted back to reality.
"Zero," I call out cupping my hands on his cheeks. "Zero wake up."
His head jolts forward and his eyes snap open. He chokes out my name and searches the room hysterically. Once he realizes that I'm right in front of him her relaxes a bit. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and give him a big hug, but I too was afraid that I would reopen his wounds if I did that.
I go to the cabinet and get out some pain relief pills and shove them in his face along with the other cup of tea I made.
"Here, take these."
He doesn't object swallowing them down quickly. I observe his chest and see that his bandages are soaked in red. I take them off and put on fresh ones. The bleeding had almost stopped completely.
Thank God for his vampire healing.
When all his injures were taken care of (for the 2nd time) I lean back against the wall across from the incoherent Zero. The worn out part of me came back. The last time I checked the time it was around 5am and that's when I made that cup of tea. It's probably 6am now.
I close my eyes for only a second when Zero's voice floats into my ears. "Go to bed Yuuki."
I shake my head, my eyes still closed. "No."
"Yuuki…Go to bed and…get to sleep…I'll be fine…here."
"No, I won't leave you." He couldn't even make out a completely sentence. There's no way I'm leave him here alone.
He gave up, leaning back again the tub and closing his eyes sighing loudly. I stared at him and his body and his bandages. I couldn't shake all the questions I wanted to ask him. I bit my tongue; but not hard enough.
"What happened to you?" I blurt out.
He doesn't do anything for a while. Then he opens his eyes and slowly turns towards me.
"You probably already know what happened, don't you."
I did know. I put it together a while ago. But I'm afraid to say it out loud. I'm afraid that it was true. I'm afraid how of I will react when he tells me the full story.
My head falls to my lap.
He turns his head upward. "That son of a bitch attacked me out of nowhere. I didn't even sense him coming." His voice was cruel and raspy. "I'm glad I put two bullets in that little bastard's chest before he ran off. But I bet that asshole healed already."
There was a long silence as I processed everything. Just as I thought, Kaname did do this to Zero.
"But…why," I ask. "Why did he do it?"
"Because I had sex with you."
"What?!"
His words took me aback. I mean, I didn't forget it happen or anything. It's just that when we did have, you know, sex we never actually talked about it. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. But I wouldn't regret or deny it. That night was one of the best nights of my life.
"He told me he saved you from a crowd of Level Es and that he read your mind. I guess he doesn't believe in privacy."
Now I get why I felt all weird when he put his hand on my head. He was reading my mind and thoughts. A part of me burned in anger knowing this.
He continues. "Apparently he was furious that I was the one who "stole your innocence" or something stupid like that. The look on his face…" He was now smirking. "It was priceless."
So all of this was over who got in my pants first. I don't know if I should be honored or completely disgusted.
"Is that why he wounded your side?"
"No. He scratched out my arm for that. But when he found out I actually love you; that pushed him over the edge. He drove his hand right into my stomach. It wasn't a fair fight though. A real man announces his arrival. That wuss."
The fact that he loved me set him over the edge. Does that mean he loves me back? Or maybe it just means that he's jealous that Zero was there for me and he wasn't? If he read our minds, he must know how much pain I suffered in his absence. Does he feel guilty about it?
"I'm sorry."
It slipped out before I could even think about why I said it. I just had this strong urge that I needed to apologize to Zero.
"For what?" he questioned.
"…I'm sorry for everything." I know that it was the vaguest reason ever, but it was true. I really was sorry for everything.
"I'm sorry...for…what Kaname did to you."
You don't have to feel sorry for me. I'll be fine."
"No, you're not fine. I feel like this is my fault. If I didn't go chasing after those stupid Level Es downtown, Kaname wouldn't have found me and if he wouldn't have found me, he wouldn't have hurt you."
"That bastard would have found us no matter what you did."
"But I feel like I was egging him on…I keep making all these stupid decisions that cause others nothing but pain in the end."
Just then I knew exactly what I was sorry for and I knew exactly what I wanted. I was giving all these half answers to everyone and going around like I had no control over anything. Well, starting now I will take control of my life and let go of the past.
And this time, I mean it.
"I love you," I announce proudly. "I love you so much. I know I said it before, but this time I love you with all my heart. There's no one else in my life beside you Zero. You are my one and o_"
I was cut off by Zero's lips on mine. His kiss is hot and passionate and he put every emotion he was feeling into it. I freeze, afraid that if I kiss back I will hurt him. He moves forward deepening the kiss. I feel him flinch but I ignore it not wanting to let go of his touch. As he goes south to my neck he flinches again and lets out a painful groan. Now, I have to push him away.
"I don't want you to reopen your wounds," I explain.
He leans against the tub and sighs. "Yuuki…I love you but…I…I don't want you to say you love me because…that bastard attacked me." His voice is deep and slow and I think he's out of breath from the kissing.
I take a second to gather my thoughts. This, right here, is the moment where I usually lose my resolve and start to doubt myself.
Well, not today.
"When you didn't come home last night, my heart dropped. I thought that you ran away or died fighting Level Es. And if something happened to you, if I wasn't able to see you again…The thought of that made it hard for me to breath."
"And what if I didn't get hurt…would your feeling still be the same?"
"Yes. Yes a million times." Say for instance Zero was at the house and we talked. I would have told him right then and there how stupid I was being earlier and that I love him.
I was being stupid. How could I still have feeling for someone who comes and goes all the time? Zero has always been there for me unlike Kaname who swoops in, saves me, and then leaves without another word. I can't love someone who does things like that. Zero is my one and only.
So Yuuki finally knows what she wants. Well, it's a about dang time LOL All this back and forth stuff was hard to keep up with and a pain to write so I decided to just end it. Zero is her one and only true love now.
See you next time xD