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Darkness greeted Ruka as soon as she stepped a foot inside the studio .It didn't take long for her eyes to get accustomed to the dim light of the place , however , which had a blue-lilac undertone to it , reminding her of indigo . Somehow , it generally gave off a reddish feel .
Not knowing whether that particular detail had been intentional or not , Ruka made her way to the center of the room where a certain pureblood seemed to think it was ideal to lie down .
Deciding it was highly possible for the color choice to be on purpose , the noble took another step closer and stood still , the sound of her heels providing a certain warmth , filling the void as she waited and watched .
Yuki must have noticed her presence ,in the back of her mind at least , even if being nonchalant shaped most of her state at the moment .
Ruka could understand that . She might have done the same , after all , if their roles were reversed .
Silence reigned the atmosphere until she heard the distinct voice of Yuki echoe in the room .
Now he's gone , I dunno why .
Yuki paused after letting that out , as if she was doubting the credibility of what she'd just claimed . She knew why .
Her words hung in the air , heavily , making Ruka frown for a brief moment until she realized something .
A song ?
And till this day I sometimes cry .
Something inside her broke hearing that . It gave meaning and emotional depth to the previous line . Ruka felt a cold chill run up her spine at that , the kind she'd long gotten used to whenever she thought of whom she truly loved .
He didn't even say goodbye .
Her eyebrows furrowed at the half-hearted manner Yuki sang with .
It reminded her of someone drunk , but oh not on alcohol .
The fact Yuki believed there was no longer a chance of Kiryuu waking up made Ruka feel immense displeasure .She knew such were the lyrics of the song and only that , but it felt as if Yuki firmly believed whatever she sang .
He didn't take the time to lie .
Emphasizing 'time ' , Yuki shook her head and finished the sentence with a broken whisper .
Once more , silence crept about the room , almost suffocating its occupants . As much as she wanted to , Ruka didn't feel brave enough to interrupt such quality .
Luckily , she didn't have to stay in that dilemma for long .
It was yuki that broke the ice .
" You know .. Three months ago I had once contemplated choosing Zero over Kaname because of time .. When my brother awakened me , I knew the luxury of time has been and would always be something out of Zero's reach , a stark contrast to my and Kaname's case . If life had been simple .. If I could just go to Kaname and tell him of my decision without hurting his feelings , I would have . Too bad that's not how it works .. Imagine if I told him something along the lines of how I have no words to describe how much I care for and selfishly want both of them .. Zero could die any moment without ever knowing what happiness feels like , what being loved is . But now that I think of it , if both of them had the curse of immortality , I would have still been torn between the two of them . It seems like such would be the outcome no matter what .. If I still had a human life span though , would it have been any different ? I wonder .. Too often , I wish I was never born . "
Ruka bit her lips , eventually letting out a prolonged sigh , before she felt her legs lead her next to the pureblood where she sat down and stayed quiet , but not for long .
" I remember a time I would have agreed with you .. "
'Not anymore' went by unspoken but very clear .
And that was all she needed to say for Yuki to burst into tears .
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He was in no condition to be able to tell apart the different sounds or scents surrounding him but that didn't make them nonexistent .
Every single sound or voice he heard , every scent , every cold breeze passing by , had - together - formed an incoherent mess in his subconscious mind - memories , dreams , and whatever lies in between - .
" Wish ..could..what ..are .. misplaced.."
A series of disjointed words that , alone , gave no comprehensible meaning .
" Why ..you .. Zero ? "
" Escape ? "
" Yuki..something.. Right ?
I ..you'd..even though..said.. weren't .."
The ..darker the Lipstick ..
"I'm not a guest , Zero . "
That line in particular seemed to have triggered something in his brain , breathing life into it .
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Maria has always dreamt of the day she'd be sleeping next to Ichiru and waking up beside him . But the fact such dream came with a price , a heavy one , did very little to make her feel genuinely satisfied .
She brushed a hand on his delicate features , skin touching skin and strands of gold in its lightest shade . The morning sunlight of a new day gave his figure a warm amber hue and something else she couldn't remember finding whenever she studied him , peaceful serenity .
Thinking back , he wasn't to blame for that . Life barely gave him a break .
He'd been put to test ever since birth .. And well , with what had happened months ago , the pain he'd patched up all those years came undone in a matter of seconds .
He may have become more powerful than his childhood days but the fact remained he was but a mortal .
The trauma he ended up experiencing the moment he heard the news and saw it with his very own eyes had damaged more than she or anyone could fix .
That's when she realized , heartbreak and immunity were so much alike .
People who are so careful not to catch diseases or get infected are the most prone to have weak immunity , as unthinkable as it may sound .
When you think of it , the same applies to emotional pain . A person that has never been through disappointment or heartbreak doesn't fare well as compared to someone who endured it multiple times .
Maria's hand stilled .
Ichiru's health was deteriorating , again .
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Yuki rushed her way through the hallway of the hospital , feeling her heartbeat accelerate and wobble with anxiety the closer she got to her destination .
She'd been blissfully unaware of anything , deep asleep after having exhausted herself the night before just thinking of her emotions and the future , when the telephone rang , startling her awake .
It had been Kaname on the other line , giving her a massive shock early in the morning . She didn't bother to get changed and before she knew it , she was already seated in the first cab she caught a glimpse of .
She could feel the sound of her steps throbbing in her head like a hammer the same way she was almost certain her heart would stop right then and there . Adrenaline was such a cruel thing . Still , she tried to regulate her breath and heartbeat as much as she could .
But even after her efforts to stay calm , everything stopped for her the moment she swayed the door open and landed her gaze on him .
Confused so as to what exactly she felt upon confirming Kaname's words , Yuki walked inside in slow hesitant steps that spoke volumes of relief hiding under layers of doubt . She truly couldn't believe her eyes .
" Zero ! "
Exclaiming , Yuki rushed to the bed and sat on it , wasting no time to hold his hands in hers , eyes moistening and lips curling into a grateful smile .
" I was so worried ! I thought… I thought you were never going to wake up . " Her words came out muffled , for she couldn't utter anything without sniffing . God ! She dearly hoped no flood of tears intended to follow suit .
Crying was not on her list that morning , but how could she not ?
Zero had finally came back ! Nothing could describe how elated she felt at that .
" How are you fee- "
A chuckle , so out of place and uncharacteristic , escaped Zero's mouth , halting Yuki before she could finish her sentence .
It didn't sound like that of joy ..
Yuki blinked a couple of times , trying to decipher what he meant ..
It almost felt like .. Like how you would laugh at a silly joke . Which made no sense ..
What.. ?
A gut feeling told her something was wrong , terribly so .
Flustered and on the verge of panicking , she loosened her hold on his hands and furrowed her eyebrows , head moving to the left and above so she could meet her brother's gaze , probably waiting for an explanation of sorts .
What she didn't expect was him locking eye-contact for a moment before tearing his gaze away , as if he'd known such thing would happen and feared it .
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