A/N: If you didn't read the latest chapter of Fireplace, I'll update you real quick. Things have been crazy and I haven't been writing. Period. I am sorry. The timeline is a little off, but I figure there was some time in between losing Rido and losing her mind for Ms. Shiki. Now, onto the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight, and I make no profit at all from this.
Rima was 11 when she decided to run away.
She packed some blood tablets, sunscreen in case she couldn't find a place to hide in the day, and her favorite stuffed animal, her bunny.
As she was walking out the door, she heard her parentals fighting for the third time that night, something that had become a staple, a constant. She walked down the street, unafraid, just wanting to get away from the screaming. She made it four blocks over before someone caught her.
"Little girls shouldn't be out during the night." The words were the kind Rima would've expected from some perverted old bastard, but the voice was that of a boy, young, maybe her age. She raised a palm, ready to use her electric shock power if the need arose. Still, she took a guess.
"Neither should little boys." She took a stab in the dark and turned to look, to see if she had gotten it right. She had, the boy was 11 or 12, guessing by his height and weight. He had blood red hair, ice blue eyes, and a paled expression, like all his emotions had been washed out.
"What's your name?" The doll-like boy asked, looking at her strangely. "And why are you alone?"
"Rima Touya." Rima stood straight, trying to look like a lady, though her short stature and her now-limp pigtails did little for that. "What's yours?"
"Senri Shiki..." The boy looked like he might run, and he kept glancing down the street.
"Do you have somewhere you need to be?" Rima tipped her head to the side, only succeeding in looking less mature. "I won't keep you, Senri."
The boy's ears reddened. "My Mother is shooting a scene down the street, she just told me not to go far, that's all."
Rima nodded; unfazed by the fact that Senri's mother was an actress. "I'll walk you back if you want, I'm running away after all."
"Hm." Senri raised an eyebrow. "You're running away? Why?"
"My parents are always fighting." Rima heaved a sigh. "I'm sick of their yelling and I wish they'd just get a divorce already."
"You shouldn't wish that." Senri shook his head. "My parents separated as soon as my Mom found out she was pregnant with me, and I wish I had a Dad."
Rima studied him for a moment, feeling bad for the kid who had never had a family. "Fine, maybe I won't run away. But I want to come hang out with you."
Senri's lips twitched at the corners, like he wanted to smile. "Fine." He repeated, and beckoned her closer. "Come here."
Rima blinked in confusion, then walked over to him. Then it was Senri's turn to look confused as Rima stopped so close to him that their noses were touching.
"Did you think I'd be afraid?" Rima murmured; she could read him like a book. "Because, honestly, you're not the least bit scary."
"If you knew me, you would be scared." Senri whispered.
"I really doubt that. I'm not scared of anything." Rima bounced up on her toes and smirked at him. But instead of asserting her power over him, she fell forward, knocking them both onto the sidewalk.
"Klutz." Senri laughed, and that sudden jolt of emotion shocked Rima. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Rima sat off to Senri's side. "But you're bleeding."
Senri examined his hand, which was, indeed, scraped and bloody. His eyes widened as a thread of blood escaped, turning into the blood whip he had inherited from his father, and wrapped around the two of them, binding them together.
"Let me guess," Rima mumbled from where she was pressed into his shirt. She was pretending to be annoyed, but secretly, in her 11-year-old way, she was enjoying it. Senri Shiki smelled like soap and grass, which as far as she could tell had to be the best combination ever. "Your noble power?"
"Yeah..." Senri scowled at the blood whip that bound them together. "I don't have a handle on it yet."
Rima gave in, no longer feigning annoyance. "It's ok. It's kind of nice to be this close to someone."
Senri's lips twitched again, but this time they stayed up. "When I figure out how to get rid of this blood rope, want me to walk you home?"
"No." Rima squirmed against the blood rope. "I want to hang out with you, I don't want to go home yet."
"Well, I think we're going to be here a while." Senri tugged on his palm from whence the blood whip had come, but it was no use.
"Senri!" a female voice called. Senri turned in time to see his Mother running down the sidewalk.
"Sorry, Mom, I'm a little tied up here..." Senri muttered.
"Literally." Rima added with a tiny giggle.
"Here..." Senri's Mother tapped Senri's palm by the scrape, and the blood whip sucked back into Senri's palm. "Now, who's your friend, Senri?"
"This is Rima Touya, Mom." Senri smiled at Rima, who smiled back. "She wants to run away because her parents won't stop fighting. Will you talk to them?"
"Of course." Ms. Shiki looked to Rima, who was repeatedly mouthing; I will kill you to Senri. "Sweetheart, where do you live?"
"A few blocks over, you don't have to Ms. Shiki." Rima tried for nonchalant, what came out was please don't do this.
"No child should have to live in conditions where they want to run away." Ms. Shiki smiled at Rima. "Come on, show me where."
A reluctant Rima led Senri and his mother to her home, where the screaming could still be heard. Senri held Rima's hand as the three of them walked inside.
"Will you two stop fighting?" Ms. Shiki yelled overtop of the Touya parents.
Rima initiated a deathgrip on Senri's hand, but Senri didn't care.
"Now, before you turn on me, listen." Ms. Shiki added. "Your child tried to run away, she thinks it's so horrible here. If you two love each other enough to have such a beautiful little daughter, and to raise her enough to be as kind as she is, then you can work things out in a civil manner."
Rima moved closer to Senri, so they were hip to hip.
"Screaming is not appropriate when you're making life horrible for a child. A child. This girl is your responsibility, and she doesn't want to be here."
Senri slipped his arm around Rima's shoulders as she started to shake.
"I suggest you work it out on a lower tone and a domestic level." Ms. Shiki concluded, but she didn't leave.
The Touya parents were staring in shock, not at Ms. Shiki, but at their perfect doll daughter sobbing uncontrollably in Senri's arms. They knew they had done it now, because Rima hadn't cried since infanthood.
"Sweetie... I-" Mrs. Touya began.
"I don't want to hear it!" Rima scrubbed her eyes with her sleeve and dragged Senri up to her room, leaving the parents to talk.
"Don't cry Rima," Senri whispered as he tucked her in. "It'll all be ok. My Mom will make everything ok with your parents again." He lay on top of the blankets next to her.
Rima snuggled close to him, breathing in his scent. "I'm trusting you."
"Good." Senri whispered.
They fell asleep like that, cuddled close together, and Rima has trusted Senri ever since.
Author Note: Yes, it does end up longer if I have an idea to start with (For reference see Don't Tell of Fireplace). Anyway, I still have my other one-shot collection to do, the Suika one, and then Second Chances, so I'll be answering reviews; drop me a review if you want to. Thank you for reading.