Chapter 8

Her saucer eyes danced across the various spectacles to show among the ballroom and suddenly Yuki felt as if she were back in the dance that he had shared last year with both her beloved Kaname and Zero Kiryu. Though she was dressed in her usual fashion with her long hair down to dangle and her white uniform buttoned up right, only she knew that was was wearing her version of a gown underneath. The secret caused her face to blush and she wondered why she had decided to wear a dress at all, for she had promised her father with a pinky swear that she would monitoring the students throughout the entire business and wouldn't succumb to any funny business. "You look rather cheerful tonight," she heard the strong voice that she recognized all too well coming from behind her. She slowly turned, sighing out a deep breath before faking a bright smile and closing her eyes as she squeaked, "Yes, Kaname-senpai." The smile was almost cheesy enough to reveal the tips of her small fangs but she didn't bother to adjust it, for it was only her and Kaname that stood in the ballroom. "Why are you so early tonight?" She asked, "I didn't even know if you were going to come or not. I didn't hear you mention it." Yuki's voice drifted off and her mind was suddenly back in the blur that she had been facing only a few nights previous, before her intimate encounter with Zero. She had tried desperately to earn the attention of Kaname but with his lack of response to her advances, she figured that the romantic spark had dulled. Her hope on having a date to the ball had vanished and that's why she felt no problem with taking the job that Kaien had offered her back for the year. "How funny that you ask," Kaname grinned. His voice was soft yet strong. "I'll be joining you and the Kiryu boy tonight." He winked at her and added, "We need to keep those day class students in line, don't we?"

The vibe was painfully awkward as students began to filter in and Yuki was left standing side to side with her dear brother. Kaname never said a word and allowed the brunette to do all the work, ushering and herding school girls as they hurled themselves mercilessly as the students dressed in their all white costumes. There was a bubble of anger that popped within Yuki and began to simmer as she realized she was the only one taking the job seriously. She wouldn't dare open her mouth and was left to gasp as she heard to her left somebody say, "What's the point of offering your help if you aren't going to do any work?" She peered over her brother's shoulder to see Zero approaching. He was decked out in his usual uniform, the only thing out of place being the cheap flower that she knew her father had probably pinned onto the front of his vest. He sneered in Kaname's direction and before the pureblood man could respond, Zero turned to Yuki and said in an even tone, "Nice dress."

Yuki's cheeks flushed brightly and she hardly noticed that the lace trim of her dress was poking out from underneath the edge of her uniform skirt. She was just about to ask how he knew before Zero said with a slight smirk, "You're not wearing your tall socks and you ditched the boots for your fancy flats. I'd recognize them anywhere." The girl smiled gleefully and instinctively turned to look up to her brother, who was doing anything but. His eyes read something along the lines as 'why didn't I know?' but instead he said in a gruff tone, "Well, let's see it." The noise of the ballroom seemed to fade into the background and all the vampire could focus on was the two boys that towered above her, and oh how she wanted to impress them both now so deeply. She wasn't used to feeling this way towards Zero but somehow, it was growing. "Well, I-" she began before gasping as her older brother yanked open the front of her uniform. Both her and Zero stared at him with pure shock, the white haired vampire's expression quickly turning to disgust and clear anger. Underneath the uniform, Kaname had exposed the most beautiful dress he had ever seen his dear Yuki in. The gown was nothing like what she wore last year, for the trim stopped right above the knee and the form of her sleeves hugged against her arms. Her curves were shown off delicately by the black fabric that held against it, a gentle design of lace swirling up the edges. As the uniform was ripped off, only Zero could see that her brown locks had been parted to show off the bare back that was only protected by strips of lace. Though the outfit was sexy, it was still beautiful in the most innocent way to Zero. "We are leaving," Kaname said suddenly as he grabbed the girl by her arm. Zero started to protest but Yuki quickly hushed him, staring at him with pleading eyes as the man dragged her by her upper arm from the entrance to the ballroom and out of sight.

The usual quiet vampire boy found it hard to stay in one place and finally abandoned his precious duties to scour off and search for his blood sucking lover. "Curse that Kaname Kuran," he growled under his breath as he shoved his way through the familiar night class students without another look and forced himself outside the door. It took only fifteen minutes of looking to find what he was looking for. Yuki was sitting along the entrance gates, her gorgeous dress now covered up by what he recognized to be Kaname's uniform jacket, and was weeping into her palms. She was quiet but he could always tell when she cried, for her breathing was uneven and she would randomly hiccup into her closed hands that covered what he knew underneath to be blotchy, red and tear soaked face. "Yuki," he said softly. He slowly sank down beside the girl and willingly plopped down onto his behind to sit down at her level, wrapping one arm around her slim shoulders and pulling her in by her frame to force her head down onto his broad shoulder. A small cry left the brunettes lips and she quickly hiccuped to cover it up, only revealing her tear swollen face once she could control her breathing. The look of her made him want to cry.

"I didn't want to show him," she said as she attempted to form a clear breath. "Ruka leant it to me and told me it'd be rude if I didn't wear the borrowed dress. 'I spent a lot on that, just for you' she said." Yuki turned to face away from Zero and instead looked off somewhere into the darkness of the trees as his arm created a protective embrace for her to slide into. "I know she didn't buy it for me," she said in a small voice. "I saw her wearing it this summer." There was a long pause before Yuki found the nerve to continue speaking and she finally said, "They were lovers, her and Kaname. She told me herself and when I asked, he simply shook it off and said it meant nothing. How could being so intimate with someone just 'mean nothing'?" She turned again until her dark eyes matched up with Zero's icy ones. His features had completely softened and he knew what she meant. Nothing that close could mean nothing. Zero slowly leaned in and pressed his mouth onto her tender lips, engulfing her words into a passionate kiss. She received it willingly and allowed herself to get lost in the grasp of Zero Kiryu.