Chapter 2: It's not your fault
Chapter 2: It's not your fault.
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The first time in his life, Zero did feel sorry for his superficial thinking. When he thought that this Tsubasa pureblood and Kaname Kuran are similar to each other then he was wrong, definitely wrong.
This bastard was worse than Kaname a hundred times!
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It all began when Zero and Tsubasa's car stopped in front of the big gates leading to the house where they will start living together. Although Zero had prepared his mind in advance but he still couldn't help himself to avoid feeling discomfort at the luxury sight in front of him, which was the high-priced furniture, expensive wallpapers decorated with large paintings hung along the corridor and some big-sized flower vases placed in different spots in the house.
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God, was showing off the basic particular trait of every pureblood?
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With his gaze swept over the living room, Zero sighed, he'd already accepted Cross's request, guess he just had to endure this whole thing ,which is so unendurable, as long as the freaking peace agreement soon comes to an end, then he'd like to come back to the academy and kill that stupid principal.
Yeah, Zero had thought so and had tried to calm himself like that, in the silver haired prefect's mind soon had set a timetable named "Ignoring the so-called housemate pureblood" right from the time he'd entered the mansion's campus, which were waking up early to go to school and not coming back to the house until dark, on the holidays he would wandering around the streets alone or staying in his locked room to read books with Bloody Rose always ready to fire etc..
Yeah, he was so careful and had prepared everything perfectly, yet, with just one saying from Mr-oh-so-worthy- Hamasaki Tsubasa had made all of Zero's efforts smashed into nothing.
"Ah, I forgot to tell you, Kiryuu, during the time we live together, you will have to take me to go to some funny places and play with me neh~"
"What?" Zero's left eye twitched – definitely not a good sign.
"Well, I didn't come here fully for that peace thing between the vampire and human, it's boring, in fact, I wanted to go out and visit the city, and you living together with me is a facilities available to me now, I won't have to spend the hiring of some guides anymore ." Said Tsubasa, waving his hand with such an ignorant face.
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Then the people in the surrounding areas heard some shooting sounds of bullets echoed around the big mansion...Nearby, Cross suddenly felt a chill ran along his spine to the point of dropping the book he was holding, turned around to look toward the direction where Zero and Tsubasa had just driven away, he quietly prayed :
"Please, Zero, please just restrain yourself and spare me my utterly miserable life..."
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Zero was frustrated, very frustrated with the noisy sight in front of him. A bunch of girls surrounding a certain black haired man with a friendly smiling face, screaming and shoving each other while that bastard just continued standing in the middle of that horrible school-girl circle with a satisfied and content face. Like it or not, this scene made Zero remember something he'd rather forget. Thinking so, Zero grumbled:
"Come on, Hamasaki, you attracted too much attention."
"But Zero-chan, if I leave now then these pretty girls will be so upset" - Tsubasa replied with a sad face but in fact was so excited.
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Each Day class female gradually stepped back after hearing that familiar sound, the scene suddenly being covered by a darkly murderous aura emitted from Zero, who is now busy pointing Bloody Rose at the head of the pureblood in front of him.
"What-Did-You-Say?" Zero growled and emphasized every single word, trying to keep himself from making some bullet holes on the fucking bastard who was grinning from ear to ear with such an ignorant attitude.
"There, I've just called you Zero-chan, didn't you hear it, or did you not like it? Then how about another way? Zerorin? Is that ok?" Tsubasa continued to tease Zero, ignoring the murderous air look which was increasing more pronounced on the Day class's prefect face and the gasps from the girls who are worried about his life.
"I warn you...If you continue to call me by any freaking similar names like that then I swear, peace or not, this time Bloody Rose absolutely won't miss its target!" Zero clasped his hand, grinding his teeth in anger, that was it, don't think dragging out that rubbish agreement can threaten him.
"Huh, why is that Zero? A, may be you think it was not fair, ok, from now on, I'll allow you to call me Tsu-chan neh?" The dark haired man said with a wink and quietly leaned over to avoid the silver bullet came from the gun Zero was holding. Angry that Tsubasa had managed to dodge his attack. Zero started attacks in a row but before the bullets was fired off his hand was trapped by Tsubasa and Zero's Bloody Rose was stripped away in a flash. Being very frustrated, Zero threw his famous glance to Tsubasa but it was no use, the pureblood continued to grip his hand as his smiling face still remained:
"Aw, come on, don't be like that, you'll scare all those lovely girls"
"Don't lie to me, vampire, they had ran away already!" Zero cut off Tsubasa's word, trying to escape from him.
"What vampire eh? You're really hurting me with that, can't you call me Tsu-chan or at least Hamasaki-kun? After all, we're at the same age." Tsubasa raised his hand and rub his left chest, pretending to look upset but at the same time he finally let go of Zero to avoid angering the short-tempered boy any more.
"Only in terms of appearance, and I also don't want to appear to be close with you!" Zero laughed scornfully while fondling his wrinkled sleeve. Then he held out his hand, looking at the pureblood with a grimace.
"Now give Bloody Rose back to me!"
"No!"
"You have a death wish?"
"You can not kill me, and if you don't allow me to call you Zero then I won't hand your gun back to you!" Replied Tsubasa stubbornly.
"Damn it, was not annoying me took away your vampire appetite or what?" This time Zero can't bear it any longer, he screamed.
"I didn't mean to anger you, just wanting to be on more friendly term with you, after all, the two of us living together is because of the peace agreement set out by the Vampire council, and with that uncooperative attitude of yours then everything will forever go to nowhere.
Zero then became quiet, though he was still very upset but he has to admit that this vampire was right, but forcing him to be friends with the pureblood is impossible, that's why Zero just continued to stare at Tsubasa. The black haired man sighed.
"It's not something out of your capability, all you have to do is calling me by my name and let me do the same, then we will have a pretty good evidence for the council to see, except for that thing , I promise not to intrude upon your privacy as well as making any difficulties for you anymore, all right?
Carefully thinking in his mind, Zero felt this proposal is quite reasonable, the more he make the Vampire council believe that he didn't hate the pureblood the sooner he'll be released from this whole crazy thing, besides, he won't have to loose anything, calling Tsubasa by his first name or last name for him is not much difference...
"Now, do you want to take back your gun? Zero?" Realizing Zero had somewhat cooled down, Tsubasa asked again.
"All right, now give my gun back." Finally, Zero exhaled and answered.
"And that means...?"
"I agree, as long as you keep your promise, Tsubasa."
Hearing his name called, Tsubasa grinned, giving Bloody Rose back to Zero immediately as he clapped the hunter's shoulder.
"There, isn't it better?"
But Zero soon slapped Tsubasa's hand away and quickly left, not forget to turn his head and said:
"It didn't mean you have any right to touch me, don't be so dreamy!"
After hearing Zero's word, the pureblood still remained at the same spot, watching Zero's back which was fading. Another smile appeared on his lips.
"Heh, it's ok, the first step like that is good enough,"
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"Hamasaki-sama, please, I'm begging you, with things continue to be like this I would have to die because of a heart attack someday!" Cross bent down his head on the table, his voice choked out with tears as if he's about to cry, today after the incident between Zero and Tsubasa occurred on the school's campus , there were some students came to the office to report to him. After hearing about that he had seemed to faint there, as if it wasn't bad enough, Tsubasa had to come to his office, grinning excitedly and told him about his plan of provoking Zero further in the future...
"Huh, why not? I think it's funny" Pretending not to notice the suffering face of headmaster Cross, Tsubasa asked innocently.
"The problem here is not about funny or not, but do you want this peace agreement to fail so quickly? You better know that Zero's hatred for vampires is not normal!" Cross screamed in desperation.
"I've already known that, basically , Zero's popularity after the incident related to all four purebloods Shikzuka Hiou and the Kurans was the reason why I had chosen him to be my partner for this agreement..." Tsubasa calmly replied, unable to hide an excitement on his face.
"But...Hamasaki-sama..." Cross stood up to discourage but was soon interrupted.
"You don't have to worry, my playing always has its own limit... By the way, I've heard that the Kuran brothers will come back to the Academy?"
"Yeah, you also know about that?" Cross lowered his voice.
"Of course, I had told you that I was interested in Zero and everything related to him, hadn't I?" The corner of Tsubasa's mouth curved up. "But for what reason?"
"I will tell you, but don't reveal it to anybody, ok?" Cross whispered with a serious face.
"Uh huh" Tsubasa nodded his assent with apathy while Cross continued his word.
"That is...my sweetheart Yuuki wanted to visit her dear daddy!" After finishing his sentence, Cross began to grin, putting his hands on his face and shouting happily while whirling around his desk.
"Yeah, congratulations, well, will there be a 'welcome-back' party?"
"That's right, how can I not prepare a perfect banquet for my lovely princess and her brother?" Cross replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Heh, sounds like fun, can I go to the party on that day? Tsubasa's face sudenly brightened up with interest.
"Of course, it will be my honor to introduce you to Kaname-kun and Yuuki."
"Ok, I'll come, surely will come" Tsubasa gradually lowered his voice, hand rubbing his chin as a shady smile appeared on his face..." How can I ignore such a funny thing like that."
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"Go to hell"
"Aw, Zero, you're hurting me again, a pureblood is inviting you to a party, you should know that there are many people want to be like you but were incapable neh" Tsubasa sighed, his face seemed to be disappointed.
"Are you crazy? Telling me to go to that bastard's party to celebrate his return? Keep dreaming!" Zero shouted angrily, after hearing about Kaname and Yuuki coming back to the academy he has been extremely unhappy, now Tsubasa is adding fuel to the fire by inviting him to go to that stupid party
"But on the contrary, you can meet Yuuki again, didn't you always miss her?" Tsubasa tilted his head, looking at Zero intently like a student waiting to hear the answer from his teacher.
Zero became silent, his amethyst pupils showed a transient gleam of desperation , closing his eyes, he whispered
"Never, I hate her!"
Tsubasa was surprised, though he had heard about the promiscuous and triangle relationship between the pureblood princess and the hunter but he didn't think it's bad enough to make the Zero who always scowling and not caring about anything become so despairing like this. Feeling a little guilty, Tsubasa bowed his head.
"Zero, though I didn't know what had happened between you and Yuuki Kuran, but as a friend and her adopted brother for four years, I think you should come."
Zero's eyes widen in surprise, he stared at Tsubasa before turning away, growling:
"It's not your business. Besides, what did you know about that?"
"No, it's my business, Zero, because it's you who will be my partner in the upcoming peace agreement, so I have the right to know about you, including your past with Shizuka Hiou, of course I had studied carefully on your profile before coming here."
Sighing, Zero replied, still didn't turn around.
"Yeah, you knew about me, so what? If you want to feel pity for me then I don't need it!"
"Eh? Why would I do that? Tsubasa suddenly asked in a voice of surprise, this made Zero turn his head, looking straight into Tsubasa's eyes with no less surprise.
"What? So why did you study about my past? Isn't it for your sarcasms and pretending to pity me?"
"I didn't have time to do that useless thing, I've told you already, it's because you will cooperate with me so I must know about the person who I will live with". Tsubasa shrugged ' And also, because I'm interested in you' he thought, but didn't speak out, of course, he doesn't want to die so soon.
" Moreover, I don't think I have any right to pity or tease you about it, everyone has their own pain, no one resemble another, how can I pity you when I couldn't understand about the pain you had had to endure, besides, if the one who got hurt was me, I doubt whether I could be strong as you. So how can I dare to act all high and mighty and trifle with you, if I were you, I might be dead a long time ago, not living up until now like this!" Tsubasa said casually with a joking voice but in fact there was a little comfort lied in his word.
Stunned, Zero silently looked at the guy in front of him, trying to find out if there was any lie hidden in the ignorance on Tsubasa's face as if he cared about nothing, but to his expectation, there wasn't any attitude of irony or malice on Tsubasa's face at all. It seemed that he was really telling the truth, not trying to pretend to understand Zero or looking so confused and uneasy like the others, who had also heard about his traumatic past.
Seeing the confusion on the hunter's face, Tsubasa just waved his hand
"Don't look at me like that, I'm telling you the truth, besides, after all, everything was because of you, why do you have to torment yourself like that. Zero, didn't you know, up until now, it was just you who had created the darkness yourself?"
This time, Zero felt like some weird bitterness filled in his throat, the first time, the first time in his life there was a person who didn't say some meaningless comforts, not trying to be understanding and say 'Hey, it's ok, it was not your fault' without caring about the fact that he always feeling guilty all the time. The first time someone knew about his past but didn't advocate him, but scolded him instead, saying that it was his fault because he always hides in his own shell, refuses to accept the fact, that no one lays a charge against him, only him who was the one blaming himself. And above all those things, that person was a pureblood vampire, the species he hated with a passion.
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Realizing the unusual silent in the room, Tsubasa looked up at Zero and soon came to panic when he saw the silver haired boy's watery eyes, he began to be perlexed because he thought that may be he had said too much that made Zero shed his tears.
"Eh, was you crying, please don't cry, I'm sorry, I was wrong, ok? Please don't cry, I really hate tears the most, if you cry now I surely won't know what to do"
"Who's crying, idiot, it's just dirt gets in my eyes!" Raising his hand to wipe off tears, Zero grumbled, but his voice didn't contain any anger in it, only a little discomfort and embarrassment. After all, he had almost revealed his weakness to a vampire.
"Heh, is that so? Making me so afraid, if you were angry with me then I would have no way to invite you to the party anymore." Tsubasa sighed in relief even though he knew that Zero's earlier word were just a clumsy excuse to avoid being embarassed in front of him.
"Do you even know how to be 'afraid'?" Zero said ironically after gradually regaining his composure.
"Are you provoking me? Of course I have something to fear, I'm a pureblood, not a saint...for example...like now..." Tsubasa squinted, leaving the sentence unfinished.
"Now what?" Zero raised one eyebrow.
"Now I'm really afraid that you will refuse to go to the party with me neh~"Tsubasa lengthen his voice which seemed to be begging.
Zero couldn't help but smiled, so that was what this idiot has been worrying about, even though Zero had thought that somehow he was a profound person, turned out it was a mistake, in the end the pureblood is just a big guy who had a childish character.
"Come on Zero, if I go alone then I will have no one to talk, besides, you had promised to be my guide already" Tsubasa begged pitifully, trying to create the face of an old wolf under a sheep's fur
"Come on, come on, after that I will do whatever you want"
"All right" Zero sighed; he knew that if he doesn't accept then this pureblood will have to cry all night not giving his ears any moment of peace. Moreover, after the last conversation with Tsubasa, Zero suddenly thought that may be meeting Yuuki and Kuran won't be so bad, it's just like Tsubasa said, he didn't have to avoid them. After all, he didn't have to be sorry about anything, they were the ones who still owe him an apology, then he will go to the party openly, he has his own rights to do that.
"Really?" Tsubasa's eyes brightened up at Zero's answer, he immediately turned around to leave the room, not forget to tell Zero about his next act which made the silver haired prefect grimace fretfully.
"I'm going to report to Headmaster Cross now, he will surely be happy about this"
The the room door closed again, leaving Zero alone in the empty space. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and walked back to his room, totally relaxed to think about the upcoming party. Placing his hand on the bedroom's doorknob, Zero smiled softly when he suddenly realized that he was wrong for the second time...
Tsubasa Hamasaki, that idiot was not so hateful as he had thought at all.
TBC
A/N : So how was that? Bet Tsubasa's character turned out to be the most unexpected right =). Btw, this chapter was written by me, like I said, this fic was a round robin with 3 authors; I'm just the one doing the translation :") So what did you think? As always, reviews are love~
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And Happy New Year everyone, Akemashite Omedetou Gonzaimatsu.