-SoKawaii

ACT III
Temporary Distractions

My lavender eyes shifted from the nervous brunette beside me, then back at the matching man who smiled invitingly. "I am your what?" I narrowed me eyes at the man who paid little to no attention to me whatsoever, fully occupied with the girl whom he hovered over. There was no mistaking it. I heard him say 'love rival.'

"Matsuri is very particular—her taste is impeccable." Kaname mused thoughtlessly whilst cupping the girl's cheek with a larger palm, staring down into Yuuki's wide glossy eyes that nearly mirrored his. However, her eyes were averted towards me with curiousness. It was obvious his statement was directed towards me, but he smiled down at the small woman with a softer admiration and adoration. "Though I feel obliged to ask that we save all hostiles for the camera?" Sharp crimson eyes snapped towards me with a slim and amused smile.

"Kaname, don't joke around so much!" Yuuki jokingly scolded with a nervous chuckle, shrugging out of his softer embrace. She cleared her throat behind a slim curled fist pressed against her glossy parted lips, only to thrust it out towards me with a bashful smile. "I'm Yuuki!"

I stared down at her infected hand, shoving my hands the slightest deeper into my pockets in fear of infecting myself, and possibly Ichiru. "Zero." My eyes migrated from her contaminated hand-finally meeting her confused and hurt eyes.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Zero." She quickly pulled her hand to her side and bowed to me slightly—only to show respect. I did not replicate the action, but rather watched the man standing close behind the girl. He still smiled, though I could tell it was false. His eyes were too… keen.

"Same to you, Misses Kuran. See you on the set." I shrugged, walking away from the stunned girl who chocked on her petty smile with a thickening red blush. If the large diamond ring on her finger was not enough of a statement to back off, I don't know what is. 'I don't see what's special about her, but there must be something if pretty boy, Ka-na-me is so protective of her.' I mentally mocked while I blindly went to find myself a glass of water and some painkillers. I had a splitting headache.

"Aaah! He's here!"

I nearly covered my ears hearing three high-pitched squeals of excitement, though I let the pain slowly crawl down my spine with tingles that made the hair on my neck stand at end. I glared back at the two girls and Chiyo, the strange boy who tried to apply makeup, though he didn't get that far. Chiyo gave me a snide look before returning to his hidden excitement with the three other girls who hid behind a clothing rack filled with white costumes.

"I'm home!"

The door opened forcefully with a slam, only after being kicked open by a bashful man with blond hair who put himself on display after cockily pulling at his hat and throwing it at a girl who caught it, clutching it close to her chest with a small adoring sigh. His blonde hair was messy, and blonde lashes framed the most unusual teal eyes. He wore a school uniform much like mine, but white in color.

"Hanabusa… you broke the door." A man, possibly taller than anyone else in the room with fiery orange hair sighed with his hand gipping his sore neck. He also wore a white school uniform. He calmly walked past the stunned man who stared helplessly at the doors broken hinge in disbelief. However, Hanabusa's shocked and lost expression quickly faded into pride and vigor, strutting towards Matsuri who furrowed her brows the slightest with her arms crossed of her chest.

"Aidou, please," Matsuri's dark eyes grew soft with a pleading tone, almost as if she were about to cry. I turned my back, almost recognizing the name… Aidou? However, I was too surprised to think of anything seeing Matsuri's smile after the boy kissed both of her cheeks, and she replicated the action—more than a cordial greeting.

'Matsuri seems to know all of her employees on a personal level…'

"Please don't ruin your uniform again!" She gripped the lapels on his jacket tightly, shaking the poor boy who nodded his head vigorously whilst chewing bright blue gum that stained his lips the slightest. "This is the fourth one, don't ruin it, or I'll ruin you!"

"I know, I know! No more wine, coffee, cake, and no more blood!" Aidou sighed sadly, as teal eyes dipped into a tinge of childish pouting. Matsuri exhaled, patting out her elegant button up blouse and pencil skirt, somewhat relieved to hear Aidou at least acknowledge that he couldn't be so careless with such an expensive uniform.

"Oh, Ruka, you look so beautiful!" Matsuri completely abandoned Aidou who stared in shock. Matsuri nearly ran over to Ruka who just entered the door, too wearing a uniform. Matsuri was clearly enamored with the bored and unamused girl who stared with narrowed yet lovely eyes of chocolate annoyance.

"My agent said I look pasty in white." Ruka objected with hands on her hips, still reluctant to listen to Matsuri's excited words of praise. However, I thought I saw a small smile twist the corner of her lips.

"Ruka, you're beautiful, don't be so hard on yourself! Kain, help me here—Tell Ruka she looks beautiful!" Matsuri called over her shoulder to the man who stiffened instantly, rubbing his neck tightly and nervously with a weary trapped smile.

"What does he know about style! He's can't even dress himself properly!" Veins sprung to the surface of Ruka's forehead.

"Well, Kain obviously has good taste if he's interested in you." Matsuri chuckled to herself seeing both of their faces instantly alight a bright tinge of red. Both Ruka and Kain quickly looked away from each other. Kain then smacked the back of Aidou's head, wiping the smirk from Aidou's face as he calmly walked past.

"Oh, look! Rima and Shiki!" Matsuri leapt from Ruka's side and at the two redheads, cutting off Aidou of any angered shrill. "I'm so glad you're early, even though I called last minute! You both look perfect by the way for such short notice!" Matsuri smiled from ear to ear, practically beaming like the sun itself on such a hot fall day.

"Hey, who's this guy?" Aidou pointed over his shoulder and back at me with his thumb.

Matsuri froze, staring at me for a moment. "Speaking of everyone…" Matsuri hurried to my side, reaching for my hand though I instinctively pulled it away—surprised by my own actions. However, she did think anything of it, but instead grabbed my arm, tugging me closer to the group of cast members who stared back at me with eyes of confusion.

"Everyone, I want to introduce you to Zero Kiryuu! He's taken the place of our last prefect vampire hunter!" Matsuri proudly announced to the room of cast, directors, cameramen, and so forth.

"He has no color." Ruka mumbled behind her hand, somewhat surprised.

"I'm glad someone replaced that jerk, but I've never heard of anyone by the name of Zero," Aidou questioned skeptically with hands in his mouth, obviously fiddling with something. However, it soon became apparent he was attaching veneer fangs, which were bold yet elegantly slim and upon smiling. "Is that a business nickname, or something like that?"

"Zero color." Ruka snorted softly, middles to me as well as Matsuri's furrowed brows. Matsuri knew this would happen, though she also knew I wouldn't tolerate it.

"I was nicknamed Zero after my parents were murdered." I thoughtlessly and emotionlessly stared back at Ruka's surprised and unnerved eyes of chocolate, shrugging slightly. Everyone who heard was instantly silenced, just as I assumed they would be.

"I'm so sorry to hear of your loss." Matsuri went to place her hand on my shoulder, though she knew better. Instead she shifted the subject all together. "Since everyone is here, today we'll be shooting for the opening of Vampire Knight! I'm honored to have you all as my cast, and I hope we can achieve a great success with this series. Starting next week we will move location and film on the actual campus of Cross Academy! Then we will shoot the first half of the series before taking a small break foe the holidays before finishing the rest of the series."

"Move location?" I questioned with a snap of my teeth. I was signing up for far more than I'd agreed to, and Matsuri made sure to leave out all of the details.

"You're kidding right?" Aidou scoffed, though his snide grunt was directed toward Matsuri. "Did Matsuri hire you off the street or something?" Aidou cocked a brow at Matsuri who stared back at him with narrowed eyes.

"Be kind Aidou, I wasn't informed either…" Green eyes emerged behind the group of other cast members. The blonde man also wore a white uniform, but he held himself differently than the rest... He appeared formal, even for a casual cast meeting.

"Oh, Ichijou…" Matsuri nervously smiled. "I thought your grandfather, Takuma, would have told you?" Matsuri's tone was pending and confused, yet somehow Ichijou's lost expression caused Matsuri to turn to a slighter panic. "Your grandfather offered to open one of his personal residences for filming. He even funded to turn the monastery into a campus for the time being, though he's been actually considering creating an actual school for the elite if the series is as successful as planned." Matsuri explained, though Ichijou was apparently baffled. He exhaled finally, looking up at everyone else with a half-smile.

"If I had known we would be filming back in my home country... I wouldn't have made such an attempt to root myself here. I guess I shouldn't have expected my grandfather to let me out of his sights just yet." Ichijou shrugged with a small smile though I could tell Matsuri's expression was somewhat saddened.

'A foreign country… How the hell am I going to explain this to Ichiru?'

"Excuse me, Matsuri…" An older man appeared with a large camera slung over his shoulder. "It's time to start the cover shoot. If we don't start soon, we may not finish filming the opening by the end of the day." He nervously warned.

"Oh, Satsune, is it that time already?" Matsuri looked down at her watch, sighing with a sudden bright smile. "Okay everyone, five minuets until we start the photo shoot!" Matsuri's loud clear and bold tone was evident above all other bustle, causing a temporary halt, all before it started back up. However, everyone seemed to know where they were going though I stood still, confused as to what was happening.

"Zero, go find Yuuki. You two will be taking separate cover shots over there," She pointed eastward. "If you need me I'll be over with the Night class, don't hesitate to come find me, okay?" She smiled over her shoulder with a wink, all before bustling past two girls, scolding them for giving Aidou their chocolate cookies.

'Yuuki Kuran.' I sighed, scanning the room for the girl who was nowhere to be found. 'Where the hell is she?' My eyes grew heavy with annoyance. The last thing I wanted to do was go searching for a girl who was uncomfortable with her own fiancé, let alone with a man she doesn't even know.

"Zero, you okay?"

I glanced over my shoulder, simply staring down into smiling eyes of crystal russet. "Matsuri said I should find you." I turned back to the girl, waiting for her to direct me to wherever the hell we were supposed to go in this crowded, busy, and loud place.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to keep you waiting, it's almost impossible to get past the new makeup artist… I'm sure you know how that goes?" She smiled lightly. Mentally I agreed with a tinge of humor, though an annoyed sigh slipped through my lips thinking back to that boy, Chiyo. "Anyway, I shouldn't keep you waiting anymore." Yuuki quickly stiffened, not once looking back at me as she shuffled forwards. It seemed like she thought my annoyance was directed towards her… maybe it was. I followed, watching her back, though I spotted something interesting. She brought her dainty hand to brush her hair behind her ear, and this time the large diamond ring was nowhere to be seen.

I could tell Yuuki was trying to be cheerful, though I could sense some underlying nervousness. I now understood why… As she had brushed her hair behind her ear her short hair parted over her neck, flashing a recent pleasantly red mark. 'Matsuri's really likes her actors as real to life as possible… Looks like Kaname's a vampire.' I mentally scoffed, recognizing the reddened love bite that marred the porcelain skin of the nape of her neck.

"There you two are, my, don't you just look lovely, Yuuki!" The busty young woman with a camera bounced excitedly. She was a nice distraction, though I still felt uninterested in spite of all the many distractions around me.

"Oh, thanks…" It was clear Yuuki didn't recognize this woman who took her hand and directed her toward the green backdrop.

"Okay, turn around and look at me!" The overzealous cute blonde snapped several pictures despite Yuuki's clear blush that tinged her cheeks a softer pink as blood rushed quickly. "Give me a sad—no, serious look! Okay, now turn around again. Stay right there—got it! Now, look over there." It was as if I could see right through the exterior, watching Yuuki's heart beating a mile per minute. "Okay, now stand with your back against Yuuki's!" The woman beckoned me with a bright and girlish grin, flashing all perfect white pearly teeth. "Yoo-hoo… Mr. Prefect…" She snapped at me, "Okay good! Give me that look again, but over here." She giggled, pointing over at Yuuki.

I complied, though grudgingly so. I was near blinded with the flash of the camera, which aided in the growing headache. As time passed though, I paid little attention to the flashes. They were of little importance when she kept staring at me like that.

Yuuki zoned out at me, and she held herself shyly as the busty blonde flew around us snapping picture after picture. Yuuki was, what I assumed to be an experienced actor, so why did she harbor such a troubled expression. She wouldn't say it, but I could tell she was not comfortable with the flashing pictures… I couldn't say I enjoyed any of this either.

Even so, her eyes were vacant, staring at me plainly with a hidden emotion I couldn't detect. It was as if russet eyes harbored much more than masked annoyance and clear self-consciousness. However, just as I thought I understood her troubled expression she quickly looked away with a nervous chuckle. She finally realized she'd been staring straight back at me unknowingly for several minuets.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." She quickly explained, once again scratching the back of her head with a simple smile, returning to the attention of the woman who continued to take thoughtless photos. However, Yuuki now smiled to the fullest, even jokingly posing—laughing with the photographer. It was all a distraction on Yuuki's part. I couldn't tell if she were trying to distract herself or me.

The photographer dazed me once more with a quick shot, leaving me blind as the bright flash drilled through my lighter pupils. However, as my eyes finally adjusted I had noticed Yuuki was pulled aside and told to take more serious photos. She nodded and did as told without hesitation.

She changed on the drop of a dime.

Forbidden Act

"Hey there…"

I didn't need to turn and see the girl. Her voice was enough to pull me away from Ichiru's text message—dinner was on the counter and waiting for me. I finally did turn back to her after shoving my phone in my pocket. She smiled up at me hesitantly with a half-smile. We were done with shooting the opening scene for Vampire Knight and we'd finished the cover shoots Matsuri set up. I was more than eager to return home. It wasn't as if the work were physically strenuous, but mentally strenuous.

"You looked great today! I'm sure Matsuri will be pleased with the photos we took." Yuuki spoke earnestly with a more confident smile. Her confident smile was somewhat shattered as I turned back to grab the rest of the scripts, mindless to her. I didn't feel like making friends with a woman who was engaged.

I knew better than that.

"Hey, a bunch of us have decided to meet for drinks not to far from here later tonight." She swallowed her nervousness, speaking with boldness that confused me all the more. "I think it would be great if you came, too! The first one's on me!"

"Are you buying me a drink, Mrs. Kuran?" I couldn't hold down the slick smirk that twisted my lips. What was she playing at?

"N-Not like—Well… I guess I am, but only if that means you'll come and loosen up a bit!" She laughed, finally finding humor in the awkward situation. It was apparent she hadn't been engaged for long. "From what I've seen, I think Matsuri made the right choice in hiring you. You never complain, but you look like you could use a drink!" Yuuki smiled, sweeping her hair from her face to reveal a bright eager smile. "So what do you say? It can't hurt to at least get to know each other since we'll be working together, right!"

"I can't."

"Wh-Why not?" She laughed it off, but I could tell she was startled by my swift thoughtless reply. "If not tonight, maybe sometime other time?" She followed me towards the door. My headache was slowly returning.

"Someone's already waiting for me." I turned back to her all too quickly, causing her to flinch the slightest in surprise. I stepped back from her, distancing myself. I didn't intend to hurt her, but it was apparent I'd scared her to some extent.

"Wait!" She snagged the doorknob before I could grab it, blocking me from leaving. "You can bring your girlfriend, too! It'll be fun, and I'll by the first round for everyone!" She smiled, though I could tell she wasn't trying to flash wealth, not like she didn't already do that with the large ring she wore, but I could tell she was determined. "If you don't want to go out for drinks, then maybe something else?"

"Girlfriend?" I scoffed down at the girl who stood in front of the door, not letting up. Her eyes were just as confused. I sighed, stepping away from the door with an evident annoyance. She wasn't about to let this go.

"Well… isn't someone waiting for you?" She questioned hesitantly, finger pressed beneath her softer frozen lips.

"I doubt they'd wait this long for me." I spoke rigidly. My tone caused her to instantly shift away from the door with an added apology. It was obvious I was done with this interrogation.

"Maybe we can all find something we agree on some other time, and you can bring whoever you want!" Russet eyes implored beneath painfully furrowed sculpted brows, trying to gain my attention though I was too far distracted with the thought of Ichiru.

"Good night, Mrs. Kuran." I spoke sternly, increasingly annoyed with the arm that grabbed my sleeve, tugging me back inside the building. She knew all too well I had to be somewhere. It was as if her dainty fist locked too firmly around my forearm, unwilling to let go.

She honestly wanted to meet outside of work… but why?

Author's Note: Forgive me for late update! Was it worth waiting for? (haha) I know, what a disappointment.
This chapter is more of a build up for the next few chapters, which will hopefully be much more interesting!