Hello my dear readers!

The following chapter is very important and cost me a lot of time (-)

It will explain about the dimension and a very very tiny bit about Zero and Takumi's friendship.
This chapter is a dialogue between Takumi Usui and Takuma Ichijou.
I hope their names won't be confusing while reading, hehe.

Also this chapter now has the piece at the end added...(it's 3wordpageslong)
*being mysterious* (~=w=)~

ENJOY!

Zero Gaiden Chapter 11: Can't read him like a book

A while after Takumi Usui's confrontation with Hanabusa Aidou, both sides of the upper deck seem to have calmed down. The ones asleep where left asleep and the ones awake kept to themselves. This silence was somehow copied by the people downstairs, who might not have followed the conversation but seem to have understood through the intonation that it wasn't a pleasant chitchat. Somehow this silence broke when the bus started wobbling and gasps and 'wow's' could be heard from below the upper deck.

"What's going on Usui-kun?" Takuma Ichijou, apparently the only one who's accepted to talk by Zero's friends, asks the boy sitting quietly next to him. Ichijou sat next to Usui since he wished Zero a happy birthday, but Usui didn't even look at him once, not even to see the face of the person who sits next to you like any person would. Usui didn't say much either, he only told the vampire his name. Ichijou didn't expect a whole conversation about tea and cookies with the angered boy, but it does make him feel a little uncomfortable.
"We're on the sea, heading for the WorldGate." Usui answers still looking outside. He finally said something Ichijou thinks. But what is he saying?
"WorldGate?"
Usui sits up straight and turns his head to look at Ichijou.
"You have never heard about the portals and gates before?" Usui looks at Ichijou, slightly surprised, making Ichijou think he missed out on something at school.
"Eh, no I guess. C-Could you explain me what that is?"
"Sure. It's actually pretty important to know about this since you're going to Sorajima."

Ichijou noticed the bus wasn't wobbling that much anymore.
"We're on a calm part of the seas and the transformation of the bus is complete."
"So this bus is a boat too?"
"Yes. Logan-sama's invention can ride any surface under any weather circumstance."
"I see." Ichijou looks at Usui. "Where is this Gate you were talking about?"

Nobody seems interested in the only conversation in the upper deck. The nightclass was mostly sleeping or trying to sleep, Train was occupied with Zero's kitten, Itsuki was reading Tokyo Ghoul and Zero was writing in a red notebook while listening to some music.

"So do you even know that there are more worlds?" Usui asks.
"You mean like a total new universe?" Ichijou asks back.
"Hmm… More like different versions of Earth."
"Nnno, I did not… but you are really trying to tell me that there are more worlds?"
"Yes. There are around eight worlds. Four of them are on this Earth."
"Huh? Oh, I guess this is where the Gate-thing comes in, right?"
"Yep." Usui says with a little smile. "I'm glad you are taking me serious. As I said there are eight worlds. You can enter these worlds through WorldGates. There are four worlds on this side of Earth and four are on the other side. To get to the other side of Earth you need to go through the Portal that is located somewhere on one of the four worlds.

Ichijou Takuma frowns a little.
"It's a bit confusing the way I explained it right?" Usui Takumi says and tries to think of a better way to explain it to Ichijou.
"Hmm, no. I think I understand. There are four worlds that are connected through WorldGates. One of them also has a Portal that leads to another four worlds with WorldGates. Right?"
"Yeah that's right. At my old Sorajiman school they taught us an easy way to remember it." Takumi shows his hands to Takuma.
"Hands?"
"Yes. The pinky, ring finger, middle finger and the pointing finger are the eight worlds and the thumbs which point at each other are the Portal."
"A-ha! That's a good way to remember." Takuma smiles. "So Sorajima is in another world on this side of the earth or do we also have to go through the portal?"
"Ehh…" Takumi says. "Actually I forgot to tell you something."
"What Usui-kun?"

Takumi shows Takuma his hands again.
"You see, the thumbs connected are the Portal, the other fingers are worlds with the hand palms as the WorldGates…"

Takumi places the tips of this pointing fingers together and does the same with his middle fingers, ring fingers and pinkies. "… each of these are SoulGates. They all connect to one place; Sorajima."
"SoulGates…"
"Yeah, SoulGate sounds pretty awesome but don't think too fancy. It works just like a WorldGate."
"Oh I see. I was already wondering how my soul would travel without my body, haha."
"Don't worry about that. I went through it today to surprise Zero and I'm alive and well."
Ichijou smiles. "You are a really good friend of his aren't you?"
"Yeah, quite." Usui smiles back. "You are a good friend of Kaname-kun, right?"
"Well. Yes I am. I have always been the closest to him since our childhood."
"Oh really? You and Kaname-kun are quite similar to me and Zero."
"I'm not so sure about that." Ichijou says. "You see I have supported Kaname in everything even in the hardest moments of his life."

He thinks back to that night. That night Kaname's face was dark and full of hate. His parents died and he was all alone. Kaname barely showed the sadness that was behind his face, the oceans of tears his friend wanted to cry. He carried Kaname through all that. And Zero? Zero was brought into chairman Cross's house after the death of his parents. Usui didn't see his friend crumble down, he didn't have to stay strong. There is no way that their friendship is the same.

Ichijou realizes, looking at Usui's now worried face that his facial expression turned very serious when he thought about Kaname's loss. He changes his face to a more neutral expression and Usui gives him a little smile as if he understood what Ichijou was thinking about.
"See, we're no different." He says. Ichijou looks surprised at Takumi's response.

"I have supported Zero in everything he did and went through. I am the only one he trusts enough to tell things to and I know the most about him.
"I am Kaname's most important man when it comes to any kind of dilemma, from attacks to political issues." Ichijou says trying to make Takumi understand that their level of friendship is not equal. "Me and the Nightclass would do anything for Kaname. We follow all his orders and would even lay down our lives for him."
"Same here. Only Zero doesn't like to order around." Takumi responds.
" Zero-kun is merely Kaname's dog. The one that does the dirty work." Ichijou is surprised by his own words. He respects Zero but to make Usui understands he went this far…

Usui looks at him. He is definitely offended by Ichijou's words and doesn't hide it but a certain calm reigns over his face. "Really?" He says. "Aren't you all just pawns? He only cares for his love and the rest of the world can just disappear if you ask him. It is only because it's the girl's will that he stays in this reality and pretends to care about you all."
"How can you possibly know?" Ichijou asks him. "You know nothing about Kaname."
"What? You think your friend is complicated and mysterious? Wanna know what I'm really good at Ichijou-kun? I can read people, not like books. People aren't that complicated for me. Your Kaname? I read him like a picture.

Usui looks at Zero who listens to his music quietly. "There is only one person I can't understand, let alone 'read'. Do you know who I'm talking about Ichijou-kun?"

Deep inside Ichijou knew who Usui meant. He just couldn't believe that Zero is more complicated and tougher to understand than Kaname. What about special about Zero would be so hard to understand that he is not predictable for someone like Usui? It makes him curious but also angry. Ichijou was trying to have a peaceful conversation with the boy who newly entered the battle of the upper deck, but he ended up provoked and mixed in the conflict with him.

"Look Usui-kun, I'm not trying to pick a fi-…" Before Ichijou could finish his sentence Usui interrupted him; "I have read you too you know. I must say I had to check twice because of that almost flawless fake smile of yours."
"W-What?" Ichijou asks him.
"You are an egoistic sadist. You love Zero's pain but you envy him too because Kaname uses him. You are jealous of everyone Kaname uses. You'd rather be his only pawn, right? Isn't that why you feel responsible for trying to create peace here? To get a little praise for it."

Ichijou went quiet and stared at Usui for a brief second, his description, it was spot on. Absolutely correct. His shocked face had turned into an admitting shy smirk. Maybe he had underestimated Usui bit. But with that his unanswered question became an even bigger mystery to him.

"I admit, you are good. You read me really well Usui-kun. But please do tell me; what makes it so hard to read Zero-kun? I mean you saw through me and Kaname and you were spot on, though we're not really easy to read like that, not even for a more intelligent than average person."

Takumi opens his mouth to answers but closes it again. The blonde vampire looked at him with a slight confused expression. Takumi knew that the Nightclass wasn't really asleep, they knew this travel would happen during the day. And he had mentioned Kaname in his conversation and probably put him into bad position in it. Next to that he put Zero above Kaname, making him sound a sort of better than Kaname through their eyes. No way they would really be asleep, he insulted their 'Kaname-sama' and they are definitely going to get information out of him to demolish the vampire hunter. After analyzing what really was going on Usui decides to answer:

"Lemme see, how should I put it? Zero can be exactly like you, genuinely. A second later though he can genuinely be like Kaname. First I suspected he had a multiple personality disorder, but I was proven wrong several times. Sometimes I think he has the ability to really change himself and sometimes it looks like he hides his true feelings and his memories so deep that even he can't recall them. It seems to happen unconsciously sometimes but I'm not sure about that."
"So, that's what Zero is really like?" Ichijou asks, still trying to figure it out.
"No."
"But you were telling me what Zero is truly like."
"I was telling you why it is so hard to read him."
"Ah, yes I mean that."
Takumi smiles. "I explained what I know about him, but that's not the way to describe who he is. That's actually a mystery for everyone on these busses."
Ichijou isn't sure whether Usui was telling the truth or if he was just messing around with him. He didn't know what else to ask or how to end his conversation with the other boy.

"Zero and I only had each other in the big world when we were little, until we met Itsuki and Train of course." Usui tells Ichijou, "We were a team and nothing would come between us. Our friendship was always so strong that we never needed words to understand each other, I guess that's why I was never 'that' interested in Zero's cognitive mystery."

Ichijou did not say anything, he understood what Usui said. It came from his heart.

-Thunk!- -Thunk!-

"What is that?" Ichijou asks at the sudden sound outside the bus.
"A 'Bakami', like Usui." Itsuki says to the vampire.
"Bakami? What is that? Is that a demon?" Ichijou was nervous scared curious and confused at the same time. Itsuki couldn't help but think it's funny.
"I know you've learnt a lot of supernatural things just now, but 'Bakami' is 'Baka' (idiot) and 'Usui' together. We call the gulls over here that because they seem to think that they can fly thought everything."
"…oh." Ichijou utters. He calmed down in an instant. "…but why would gulls even think that?"
"Most of the gulls in this area flew through the WorldGate while they expected a collision with it. I think that's why they're acting so weird."

Train turns around on his seat in front of Ichijou to face him.
"I got something very important and interesting to tell you and your Nightclass before this chapter ends, unlike Ikki."
Itsuki pouts and leans on his sleeping girlfriend.
"And what might that be Train-kun?"
"Well, the fact that there are gulls bumping into our bus… boat means we're close to the South Sorajiman beach. I want you to know, before we get there, that in Sorajima everyone is equal to each other. Zero knows that so he won't hate any single vampire there, I hope you can make all the Nightclass students understand the way we, and whole Sorajima works and put their hate aside too. At least in Sorajima."
Takuma gives a smile Train, "Sure, I can do that, besides not everyone in the Nightclass hates him."
Train smiles back at Takuma, "Grea-toh!", and gets tackled on from his seat to the one next to it by Itsuki.
"Oww…"
Ichijou took a second to realize what happened, looking at Itsuki's smiling face at the place where Train's smiling face was just a little moment before.
"Now I got something EQUALLY important to tell you Ichijou-kun." Itsuki says while pushing Train down.
"Eumh, go ahead?"
"Well, if I remember it well, then vampires from your area aren't hurt by Sorajima's sunlight. So you should all be able to roam around freely."
"What?"
"Yea, it's true! One old friend of ours was a vampire from your area. He was able to walk in the sun without any problems."
"Ehm. Alright." Ichijou wasn't sure whether he could really believe what Itsuki said. Not only that about the sunlight, but have they really been friends with a vampire, and that too where he came from. If that was true then Zero wouldn't have been so hostile to vampires, right? Or does his hostility have to do with the death of his parents?

Takuma Ichijou smiles at Itsuki. "Aren't you choking your friend Itsuki-kun?"
"Eh?" Itsuki looks besides him. "AH! TRAINYOUR'EBLUE!"

And with that everyone in the bus… boat was wide awake.

I hope you liked the chapter! If you have questions I always try to answer them ^^
Reviews are always appreciated! They're my fuel to write on :D

SPOILER/HINT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: There will be three screaming girls, some demonic aura, a Kaname, a village and a challenge?

I do not own Vampire Knight, Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, Air Gear, Black Cat nor Tokyo Ghoul.