AN: Y'all want sexy, so... Here we go. My crappy attempt.

Aidou was precisely on time when she met him the next night behind the stables. As usual, his uniform was pristine, his hair styled, and his shoes polished. She wondered if the Night Dorm also provided servants to attend on the students. The smile and wave he directed at her as he approached seemed friendly and easy, but as she reminded herself, this evening was strictly business, and they weren't friends. If anything, she should regard him as a casual enemy.

"I hope you weren't waiting long," he said when he was beside her.

"No. I arrived just before you." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling inadequate beside his immaculate appearance. Even if she ironed her uniforms nightly, they still wouldn't be as free of wrinkles as his...

"Let's walk along the horse trails," he suggested. "It's evening and no one will be out on them right now."

"Remember, this isn't a date," Yori reminded the upperclassman as she indicated her agreement and they began to work their way down one of forested trails behind the stables.

"Alright, yes," he agreed impatiently.

"Just so we're clear."

The blond regarded her sourly for a moment as they passed beyond the tree line. "Anyway, what are you doing in the library every night?"

"Researching vampires," she admitted. Then, "Hold on, how do you know I'm in the library every night?" Was he spying on her? Stalking her? She wouldn't put it past him.

"I have my ways. You won't find anything there, though," he informed her. "The Night Dorm is the only place where you will find any information like that. And if you went there, you might as well approach Kaname-sama and ask him directly. Which, by the way, I don't recommend." A strange, almost fearful look passed through his eyes.

"But..." Her face fell. So she was wasting her time, after all.

"I don't mind telling you some things, Yori-chan, but I can't tell you everything. I can't change that."

Frowning, she nodded. The words tasted bitter in her mouth. "I guess I'll have to live with that."

"On a different note, what do you like to eat?" he inquired with absolutely no transition.

"Excuse me?" she asked, at a temporary loss. "I don't know..."

"Everyone has a favorite food," he reasoned.

"Normal things, I guess."

Aidou rolled his eyes. "If your family takes you somewhere fancy, like for your birthday, where is it?"

"I guess Italian?" She stared at him in bewilderment. "My mom likes Indian, but I like everything."

"When is your birthday, by the way?"

"I fail to see how this is relevant, but September 14th," she answered. "Should I ask when yours is?"

"If you want. It's October 24th," he replied easily. "And I know your favorite color is green."

"How did you-wait." She stopped, glaring with sudden revelation. "You're turning this into a date."

"What...? I have no idea what you're talking about," he said innocently.

"You don't need to get to know me, senpai. Tell me about Zero-kun."

Face rearranging into a pout, he sighed. "Such impatience." He paused, then, "I'll start at the beginning."

"That would be best," she agreed.

"Basically, there are different levels of vampires. As vampires breed with humans, the blood becomes diluted. Do you follow me?"

"Yes." This was starting out far more scientific than she had assumed it would.

"The pureblooded vampires are called just that: purebloods. And if they bite a human, that human will become a vampire."

"Simple enough." She chewed her lip, mind already making assumptions about the direction of this conversation.

"Kiryuu was bitten by a pureblood, making him the very lowest type of vampire. We call them Level E. Level E have a much greater hunger for blood than any other vampire. They have to receive blood from the pureblood who bit them to raise to a Level D, or in other words an ex-human vampire. In that case their hunger stabilizes and they are able to lead normal lives. If they are unable to obtain that pureblood, however...they go mad." He was watching her carefully now.

Yori sucked in a soft breath. Go mad? Then, Zero...? Suddenly, the conversation she'd overhead yesterday made all too much sense. Quietly, she questioned, "So Zero-kun didn't get that blood...?"

"No," Aidou affirmed.

Her brain was churning over this new information, regurgitating the same frenetic thoughts. "Is there nothing that can be done?"

"There is a possibility that someone else could help him, but it's complicated, and I can't tell you anything about that." The upperclassman appeared apologetic.

"How...how long does he have?"

"I'm not sure. Weeks? Months? A year, maybe? Still time to save him, if it's possible." He offered her a tight smile.

A seed of relief planted itself in her heart. It wasn't the end for Zero. There was still a chance, however fleeting it might be. But, if she couldn't know anything about the potential solution, how could she help him? Yori didn't like to be helpless in dire situations, although this time she had no choice but to be exactly that.

"And you?" she thought to ask, unable to contain her curiosity. "What kind of vampire are you?"

A roguish smile this time. He raised a finger, waving it back and forth in chastisement. "Nope. This arrangement was about Kiryuu. If you want to know about me, that's another day."

"I'm sorry senpai, but your personal details aren't a priority compared to Zero-kun or the presence of dozens of vampires at the academy." She shrugged callously.

A tick of irritation appeared on his brow. "Suit yourself, but I won't answer any questions tonight that don't revolve around your stinky friend."

"Stinky?!" She giggled despite herself.

"Kiryuu smells gross," he muttered. "And then Yuki smells like him, too, and prances around the Night Dorms... Blech."

"What does he smell like to you?" she asked, still giggling.

"Garbage!" he exclaimed, then spun around, planting his hands on her shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. "For the sake of the entire Night Class, I beg you, don't touch Kiryuu too much!" The melodramatic expression on his face dissolved her into a fit laughter again.

"I'll give him a big hug from you," she teased.

The look of horror that shot across his face was too much. "Please, no," he begged desperately. "If I can't smell you anymore...if I have to smell that awful stench...I think I'll actually cry."

"It can't be that bad," she disagreed.

The blond wrung his hands, releasing her. "I will buy you an entire Italian restaurant just for your promise not to touch him if you don't have to."

"Well, that's a little extreme," she commented wryly, amused.

"Not to me," he grumbled.

"If I hug Zero-kun, will you go harass a different girl?" she queried semi-hopefully.

"I'll toss you in the pond."

Yori shook her head. "Wouldn't it be easier to just find someone else?"

"Maybe," he allowed, "but someone else wouldn't be you, so what's the point?"

She hated the blush that rose to claim her cheeks. She reminded herself that Hanabusa Aidou was a manipulative, arrogant, annoying vampire, and that the only reason she was here was to learn more about Zero. Most likely, the upperclassman was only complimenting her so that she'd be more free with her blood. His ulterior motivations were probably the driving force behind at least half of what he said or did.

"You're the first girl I've liked who wasn't of a certain type..."

Yori felt the flow of her thoughts grind to a halt with the echo of that candid, unexpected confession. She had to shut down her brain. Where was the power off switch? Either she had to immunize herself to his remarks, or she had to quickly end their little session tonight. Knowing the former option was futile, she opted for the second.

"On that note, I assume you still want my blood?" It was more of a rhetorical question than anything. She already knew the answer.

"You assume correctly." He grinned.

"We're in the middle of nowhere so, here?" She half-expected him to reprimand her for choosing another unaccommodating location. But...she didn't want to get too comfortable and let her guard down. It was best to be on-edge, wary. A vampire was a natural predator of humans after all, wasn't it?

He blinked, hesitated, and then one shoulder lifted and fell in casual acquiescence. "Okay."

Her hands started moving to tug off her jacket when he stopped her, fingers gliding around her wrist to pull her towards him. "There's no need for that today," he informed her, slowly rolling up the sleeve of her jacket and shirt until they were bunched at her elbow. Winking mischievously, he teased, "I'm going to claim other parts of you than just your neck."

Yori couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes, even as his arm slid around her waist, bringing her body against his as his fingers twined through hers around the back of her left hand. Raising her hand to his lips, his vibrant blue eyes locked intensely with hers as he kissed her palm and languidly, wickedly traced the lines he found there with his tongue. Mortified and flushed, she flinched, attempting to step back, but his arm held her securely in place. The corner of his mouth twitched up with sadistic pleasure as that tongue flicked over the faint criss-cross of veins coloring her wrist, causing her breath to hitch involuntarily. Gradually, against her gaze, those sapphire orbs shifted to the burgundy of wine, and she felt the scrape of elongated fangs against her flesh.

Abruptly, a chill sped down the back of her neck, and the familiar caress of fear touched over her heart. She couldn't keep the quiver from her voice as she asked, "W-won't you bite too deep, there?"

"Not at all," he thrummed against her hand. "Watch," he bid her, voice husky and eyes seductive as his thumb and tongue stroked against her skin in unison.

Finally breaking eye contact, the vampire turned his attention to her wrist. His mouth opened, and she felt the rush of warm air against her before his fangs settled against her flesh, poised and waiting. She was helpless to do anything but what he had commanded her, and she sucked in a breath, eyes widening as his fangs sunk a centimeter or two into her wrist. The fingers of her free hand gripped against the back of his jacket as they had before with that first instant of inevitable, fiery pain that lanced through her arm. She felt him shudder, but to her surprise he did not deepen the bite. Instead, he retracted his fangs immediately, mouth pressed against her wrist to drink in every drop of the ruby liquid that flowed freely from the twin puncture wounds.

His lips firmly fastened against her flesh, his eyes found hers again, entrapping her more effectively than the arm around her waist. The sight of the blond imbibing her blood, paired with the sweet build of numbing warmth that curled through her veins now, and the soothing circular movement of his thumb against her hip, was undeniably erotic. Her knees weakened, and she let the upperclassman take her weight, her head resting on his chest where she could hear the beat of his heart against her ear. It wasn't fair, not at all, the way he was manipulating her emotions so entirely. She didn't want to admit that he was attractive, though it was an undeniable fact, or that the slow, purposeful movement of his tongue against her wrist as he caught each drop of blood was sexy...but it was.

Stop, she thought feebly as her mind crept through dark, dusty, nearly unused corridors, taunting her with questions she didn't want answered. Like, how his tongue would feel against her own, or what her blood tasted like. His words were there, lingering in those forgotten passages of her brain, whispering, "Don't look at me like that, Yori-chan, or I might want more than just your blood." And the reciprocating thought came as a frightened revelation, 'Don't look at me like that, either...' But she couldn't banish or escape the hypnotic red of his gaze.

Yori almost sighed with relief as his mouth left her wrist, licking away the single thread of blood that wormed its way down her arm. She hadn't seen the bite mark he'd left on her neck until she'd changed the bandage, but this one was fresh. To her surprise, however, it appeared that a very thin layer of skin had already stretched over the marks, and she frowned. They looked the same as the wounds on her neck, but these hadn't been left overnight.

Sensing her thoughts, he explained, "Vampires have a rather unique venom, one with regenerative properties. I'm sure you felt it after I bit you..." Ah, so that was why... She nodded and he smiled, voice dropping to a deep purr as he clarified, "That's what makes the experience so...pleasurable."

Blanching, she knew he was right. More to the point, he must have known the effect his bite would have on her. He knew she wasn't immune to him. It was injustice, once again, because her mind told her to loathe him, but her body bid her to draw him closer. Even now, her body was still inebriated with the sensation, and it was with enormous effort that she untangled her fingers from his jacket and raised her head from his chest. She wasn't sure she had the strength just yet to stand on her own.

Releasing her hand, he brushed his fingertips over her lips, warning her, "Your expression is leading me on again, Yori-chan."

Flushing, she moved away from him then, ignoring the residual warmth that flooded through her lips from his touch. Her legs were still a little unsteady, but she already felt stronger. Unfortunately, she was affronted with the knowledge that her temporary weakness stemmed from Aidou himself and not blood loss, as he'd taken even less than the time before. He was, if nothing else, extremely cautious and considerate when it came to how much he took from her.

"It wasn't intentional, so don't get your hopes up," she managed with the semblance of unaffected normalcy.

"Too late." The grin he shot her was almost rueful. As before, he withdrew a bandage from his pocket, unwrapping it as he added, "Let me hang out with you this weekend, at least. I don't like that all of our interactions are revolving around blood drinking."

It was her turn to be surprised. "Excuse me?" she asked, holding out her wrist as he carefully placed it over the bite mark.

"Yori-chan is cruel," he pouted. "I confessed to you I liked you, didn't I? Do you think I'm going to be happy with just your blood? I'd prefer to spend some time with you, even if it's just as friends."

"This is sounding suspiciously like you're asking me out on a date," she observed, flexing her fingers and finding the movement was easy and painless.

"No," he refuted. "Listen, there's that classroom with the projector. I could reserve it for this weekend and rent a film." At her dubious expression, he qualified, "I wouldn't mention blood or vampires, nor try anything inappropriate. It would be strictly as friends." A pause. "This time."

"I don't know," she evaded, though internally she wanted nothing better than to accept his offer. After all, she felt the same deep down, despite her constant denials. She would prefer to see him once without having to think about blood or vampires... Their rendezvous always ended with the extreme physicality of Aidou's bite, and she realized she knew almost nothing about him apart from the general information that circulated the school: that he was extraordinarily bright, handsome, popular, and had a reputation as a playboy. In spite of her misgivings, she was just a little curious about him...

The upperclassman took no pains to disguise his immediate sulk. "Come on, I won't touch you at all, not even your pinky finger for heaven's sake... I'll even wake up early so you won't be in any rush to get back to the dorms on time..." The disgruntled, sullen downward curve of his lips was oddly adorable.

"I'm sorry, this weekend I'm just too busy...," she trailed off unapologetically. Something akin to anger mingled with disappointment flashed over his face, and she thought he was at the edge of a minor tantrum when she added, "Unless we do it on Saturday."

No. Wait. She hadn't meant to say that.

He glared. "You really like stringing me out like this."

I'm in over my head, aren't I? she asked herself dryly. I just keep agreeing to these things against my better judgment...

"Take it or leave it. 7:00 at that classroom you mentioned." She crossed her arms, attempting a stern expression.

"Of course I'll be there," he retorted with the lingering trace of a sulk. Then he angled himself back along the path in the direction they had come and, abruptly brightening, asked, "So, what kind of movies do you like?"

She had forgotten they would have to walk back.

AN: Review!

Also I have a few chapters planned out, but as you know I liked the library suggestion, so I'll work it into the fic. If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to share! Suggestions/requests make fics fun, plus you know...less planning for me! Haha.