I was running down the halls of the school, trying to get back to the main ballroom. I noticed the Bloody Rose lying on the floor beside an unconscious Zero, his head cradled on Yuki's lap. There was blood everywhere. The army must have gone through here already, overwhelming the two people that comprised the Disciplinary Committee. I grabbed it and ran. "I'm taking this!" If Yuki answered I didn't hear.

I burst into the ballroom, heart pounding. Aido was standing a few feet from the door, and Aika more toward the middle of the room. I pulled Aido behind me by the sleeve. I noted with relief that Aido looked relatively unscathed, if only a bit ruffled by the night's events. His golden hair looked like he had run his hands through it several times, probably due to stress. "Stay behind me." I told him. "I'll protect you."

"How?!" Aika asked incredulously, her face contorting into a hideous expression, and froze when she saw I was pointing Zero's Bloody Rose gun at her.

"Like this." I said firmly, pushing Aido back a little more with my other hand. He didn't go, and stayed very close to me.

"She needs me to do research for her." Aido told me. "If she orders me to do anything, I'll have to obey. She's a pureblood."

"I know." I replied. "A couple of us realized part way through the evening that the reason for all the unchecked vampires running around the soirée was a pureblood vampire. It wasn't hard to narrow down who it was. And," I added, "she can't order me to do anything."

"Step away, little girl." Aika glowered. "My plans are far bigger than you now."

My legs shook but held me up, and the Bloody Rose rattled in my trembling hands. "I don't care what your plans are," I announced, far braver than I felt, "you take one step, you make one move, and I shoot."

Aika laughed, seeming genuinely amused. She wiped a trail of blood from her mouth, and then wiped her hand on a torn shred of her dress. "You think a single shot from an anti-vampire weapon will stop a pureblood?"

"I think, even if you're a pureblood, that emptying the clip of an anti-vampire weapon into your head will at least slow you down, don't you?" I replied in a carefully measured tone. "You say Aido's name, you make any sudden moves, I feel my ears ring, and this empties into your brain." I had a feeling that if Aika tried, she could overpower me easily. She was humoring me now. My only real hope was to protect Aido from being ordered to do anything until someone else got here who could face Aika properly.

"You're a brave girl." Aika nodded pensively. She glanced behind me at Aido. I followed her head with the Bloody Rose, and she resumed her previous position. "Why are you doing this, anyway? Protecting him. You don't owe him anything. He's created this entire situation you're in. He's the reason you suffer day after day."

I didn't deny her claims, and I felt Aido stiffen behind me. I turned my head slightly to whisper to him, not taking my eyes off of Aika. "It's okay." I smiled. "She's right, but I don't blame you."

I could see from the corner of my eye that Aido's eyes widened, and I noticed he was subtly shaking trying to control himself. I imagined it must be hard with all the blood Aika had already spilled. He could probably smell all of it, and he hadn't drank my blood in almost two whole days. Did thirst cause vampires pain?

I noticed Aika even had some dried blood crusted in her hair, which was done in an updo that was half falling down.

"I could make him kill you." Aika said easily. "With his bare hands. Every vampire beneath a pureblood must listen to them, you know... But it looks like he's considering that already due to bloodlust." Aika raised an eyebrow.

I felt Aido being fidgety behind me, and his breathing was becoming shallow. The hole in my chest started ripping wider.

"If he chose it I wouldn't fight it." I said shakily. "I know it would be because he couldn't stop himself. Aido isn't a bad person." My arms were starting to burn from holding the gun out for so long, but I didn't put it down.

"Ah, but there's another reason. Care to share it with the class?" Aika mocked, clearly enjoying herself.

Delaying Aika was getting harder and harder for me to do. It became clear to me that if I wanted to keep her talking I would go along with what she was saying, even if it humiliated me. I decided that at this moment, if I didn't say something, Aika would. And I wanted Aido to hear it from me instead of somebody else.

"I love him." I said, and my voice broke. "With all of my heart. I tried not to but it happened and I'm sorry, but I love him and I'll protect him from you until I die or he kills me himself."

Aido was quiet then, and I felt him shift backward slightly, to Aika's delight. He said nothing, and I didn't dare take my gaze away from Aika to read his facial expression. A few tears fell from my eyes and I let them run down my cheeks unchecked. I took Aido's gesture as my answer. The despair that engulfed me then was dark and heavy. My chest felt like it was torn to shreds, my heart clenching painfully. My breathing hitched and broke, and for a long minute nobody moved. I was just trying to remain standing when everything in me wanted to crumble to the floor.

I'd never imagined that my first love confession would be followed by me apologizing for my feelings. I thought of Akane and Rei, and hoped that I still had their arms to collapse into after this. Everything in me hoped that they were alright. They were all I had left.

I heard a door open from somewhere in the building. By the crash it sounded like somebody had kicked it off the hinges. Somebody was coming.

At this point I didn't care who it was. Another student, a member of the Night Class, Headmaster Cross, Kaname Kuran. I didn't want to take the chance that it could be an innocent person, and Aika would no doubt kill them when they entered this room. Hopefully whoever it was could help me, but in case it wasn't Aika would hopefully be slowed down enough that we could get away.

Aika noticed she no longer had my full attention and took her chance. She glanced around me again. "Aido-"

I let loose, letting the bullets fly from the Bloody Rose. One or two may have missed, but I clicked the trigger of the gun over and over again until it was empty.