Grey Flower

"Tears are the words the heart can't express."

Chapter Thirteen

"Good morning, Senri! Are you skipping school today, you naughty child?" Mother smiled brightly. At least she knew who I was... I sighed, trying to stand, remembering that I was bound only when I fell back pathetically.

I shook my head. "No, Mother. It's... it's Saturday night. School is over for the week."

"Oh..." She dropped her head to think, then came to my side, taking my face in her hands. "What a gorgeous child... Just like his father. Don't you agree, Seirin?"

Seirin didn't make much of a response, but it was enough to satisfy my mother, who began to fumble with a lock of her own tangled hair. After a moment, she noticed the anti-vampire ropes that bound my ankles and reached out to take one in her hand. I think she was so out of her mind that day that she didn't notice the pain that it would normally inflict on someone who touched it; but I guess it was for the better. "Silly Senri, you're not very good at tying your shoes, are you," I heard her mumble into my pant. "You've got it all tangled around your legs, silly, silly boy."

"Yeah, I guess I must've forgotten." I shook my legs free of the newly untied ropes, then turned, allowing her to see my hands. She scolded me lightly, untying them for me, and I thanked her. She smiled, but after a moment it faded.

She leaned forward to embrace me, exhaling a long, warm breath across my shoulder. I shuddered slightly underneath her touch and she held me closer. "Rido..." she whispered, grazing her lips against my neck. Instantly, I thought of Takuma, and jolted — I couldn't let her do this. I pushed her away from me abruptly, and we both looked hurt. "Rido! Why?"

I stared at her as she broke down in tears, collapsing on the floor. I felt terrible for making my own mother cry like this, but I couldn't allow it to go on any more. A week ago, Takuma and I had fought about this; I knew he wasn't comfortable with me allowing my mother to inflict such an action upon me, and I understood why. So... I couldn't do it. Even though it hurt her, I risked losing Takuma to this... And it would never be the same. I just wouldn't be able to live with only my mother and my modelling for the rest of my life. I needed Takuma. Of course... The rest of my life might only be another half hour, so was this really worth it? Better not risk it just to find out I'm wrong.

I looked up at Seirin who turned away abruptly. What was her problem, anyway? It's called 'socializing'. People do it to make this little thing called 'friends', which happen to be really great assets in this thing called 'life', which she obviously didn't have. I wanted to tell her that; but decided against it. If I only had a half hour to live, I'd rather not end it prematurely... Yeah.

Eventually, Mother stopped crying, and returned to her normal self, seemingly forgetting about the little incident only minutes before. I was given a cold sponge bath — the most embarassing thing I had ever had done to me — and redressed in beautiful blood red and black silks, with only my abdomin exposed to the air. My hands were bound again, and Seirin dragged me to my feet, out into the cold snow and icy mountain air. Where were they taking me? As we travelled ahead slowly, I kept my head low, noticing in my silence an absence of the workers that I could once hear just outside the mobile office. I could guess that wherever I was going, they would probably be there. All of them... Kaname, Takuma, Sara, maybe even the others from the Night Class... All gathering to see the rise of Shiki Kuronue. And when he rose, I would be there dressed like this, barefooted, with my middle section exposed and feeling rediculous. Actually, what I didn't understand was why I was dressed up this way and the others weren't; why I was being dragged to the Rising bound and with escorts when I would be more than happy to rush to the scene and fight for front row seats. And... why I had been sedated so that I could be locked up in that mobile office, closer for them to keep an eye on me; where they could fix me up like this and I could attend this once-in-a-lifetime event in... well... style. Really, what was going on here?

"When we arrive," Seirin hissed, her voice just above a whisper. Her grip tightened on my bindings, now just normal rope to make it easy for me to be forced along the snow-covered path, my feet numbing from the cold and feeling heavy beneath me. It was already becoming difficult to pick my legs up, and I was shaking hard as my body attempted to raise my internal temperature. "You will be taken for further preparations by order of Kaname-sama. The ceremony is to take place precisely at midnight."

I pretty much acted as if I were ignoring her, which, really, I was. I was aware of the fact that Kaname would want to see me again for inspection. If something wasn't completely up to his standards, it was considered a failure by him and everyone else suffered for it. I wondered if he would act like that in front of my Pureblood ancestor — apparently mine his as well — because I knew that he had a tendancy to just kind of cover it up and make it look like he was just being a strong, silent leader. Unfortunately for him, I was his cousin and I knew that his so-called 'strong, silent leader' attitude was actually just him having an internal fit because he wasn't getting his own way. Kaname was kind of a princess like that, and so was I; so I would believe it.

It wasn't long after Seirin's little announcement that we reached the excavation site. Construction equipment was parked off to the sides of a large hole in the earth, surrounded by mountains of frozen, snow-dusted dirt. The sides of the hole were reinforced with thick, steel beams, and a make-shift elevator brought the workers and who I recognized as the New Senate, along with their children, the Night Class, down to the floor where a spectacular stage sort of get-up was built completely of stone. The way it was set up — and this made me cock my head slightly — almost looked like a sacrificial table...

What is Kaname planning?

Speak of the Devil, as soon as we hit bottom, he stepped from the shadows, Zero and Yuuki at his sides, and relieved Seirin from duty. My mother kissed my cheek, then Kaname's, commenting on how much we looked alike before stumbling off in search of one of the Shiki Household maids, Karin, who took care of her the most when I was away. I tried to focus on the sympathy I felt for my mother as the other three lead me away; but it hardly mattered. All I could really think of was that sacrificial table. If they planned on using a sacrifice's blood to revive Shiki Kuronue, then wouldn't they need mostly pure... Shiki... blood...

Now I knew what Kaname was doing.