I slid the sliding door shut behind me and pulled a chair from underneath the unkept table. I let out a sigh of relief as I fluffed off the fine layer of snow, finally, it was done. It has been four days since Aiko's partial revival and I had to clean up the Senate's mess.

I looked around the basement lab, medical machinery making plipping noises to her unsteady heartbeat. I stood up and walked towards the bed, her arms resting on top of the crisp white sheet, tubing attached to the back of her right hand, an oxygen mask fastened to her face. I stroked the hair that framed her face. She looked unnaturally tranquil.

I didn't turn when the sliding door opened and closed again.

"Takashi, you're early."

The chair scraped as he sat himself down in the chair that I just left. But his words were ignored when my hands shifted her hair away from her face, showing off the crude black rose that left its mark from where I bit her. But there wasn't just one rose anymore, there were a string of them.

"Doctor Akiyama, what is going on with Aiko." I shifted her hair back over the mark.

The doctor wheeled the chair over to the table with his folders and microscope. He picked up the one on the top and started flicking through the pages.

"Her blood is deficient in a coagulating agent. The amount of this agent is barely keeping the contents of her blood together, however, she needs more to keep her stable."

I watched as his golden eyes peered over the top of the file between the strands of his brown hair, unwavering and sincere.

"I believe that the source of this deficiency is when she was bitten by pureblood Shizuka Hio, 4 years ago. With a human body, Shizuka, unaware of the consequences of taking her blood began the awakening sequence of Aiko. However, since Shizuka was not the intended person for the revival of Kuran Aiko, she caused minor changes in Aiko's pureblood blood components. As a human, it had no or little effect on Kiryu Tsuki, but as Kuran Aiko, the consequences are greater than imagined."

He placed the file back on the table and stood up. He lifted her hair and showed the roses again.

"I don't know the origin of this, but as each day passes, another rose appears. Based on the path that the roses are creating, it originates at the point that you bit her for her revival and begins to circulate around her neck. Tomorrow, the rose will appear above the vertebra in her neck. I predict it will be 16 days until it circulates around her neck."

I gritted my teeth as he used his finger to trace around his neck. His research was thorough, as expected.

"And after 16 days?"

He shrugged before plopping down in the chair, it wheezing at his weight.

"I've never seen this phenomena before."

I leaned on the wall. For a human doctor, he was definitely impressive.

Doctor Mitoko Akiyama, in the past, a Vampire Hunter and researcher, currently an independent researcher with ties to the Kuran family. His sister, shortly after retiring from being a Vampire Hunter was turned into a vampire and quickly fell to Level E. She began to attack people and nearly preyed on her own three year old daughter. He took her down before she could.

From destroying her before she could destroy everything she cherished, Akiyama saw the damage to those who cared for the Level E vampire. At Level E, all reason is lost, but their passion and love still linger and they turn on them subconsciously. The reason that kept them away from their loved ones, to protect them from their selves is taken away as they lose the will to resist and try to become close with them once again.

Angered that all that Vampire Hunters did was kill and bring tragedy to their families and friends, he left the Association to begin his research in trying to find a cure for those who become victims of a war they didn't know existed. The Kurans, after hearing from Cross, offered funds and blood samples to support his research.

"What she needs is blood, Shizuka's blood." He picked up his bottle of water from in front of a photo frame. "This will return her blood to its original state and she will stabilise."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Shizuka was gone. The blood that Kaname and I took had already had broken down and became our own.

My train of thought was broken when the doctor returned the bottle to the table. It was then that I noticed the contents of the photos. There were two photos, one that containing a couple with their young daughter and a second containing three young girls in the Cross Academy uniform, the daughter all grown up and happy, with Yuki with her bright smile slinging her arm over her shoulders and Aiko making the peace sign. Their friendship was strong, and the connections, ironic. In order to keep their smiles, Sayori Wakaba must not die.

"There were no samples of Shizuka Hio's blood sent to me for analysis, so the only help that I can provide is monitoring her condition and letting you know if anything goes wrong. Zero should continue to take those pills that I gave him. Fortunately, the percentage of Aiko's blood in Zero is a low percentage, so the drugs that I've developed should keep him stable."

I nodded in response, "He is doing fine for the moment. Cross is keeping an eye on him to make sure nothing unexpected happens. It's a good thing that the winter holidays started already."

I headed back towards the door, I still had a goal to complete before joining the others at the Aido summer house. As I walked through the doorway, I paused and looked back. He had begun smoking a cigarette.

"Thanks Doctor."

XxXxXxXxX

There was only one source of Shizuka's blood left. From what the doctor said, a pint of blood would suffice for the balancing of Aiko's blood again.

Flowers in hand, I walked towards the small grave for Shizuka below the cherry blossom tree. As I approached, buds and blossoms began sprouting on the branches of the tree. Shizuka's powers were beautiful, the tree reflecting the strength and vitality that she had.

I lay the flowers down by her makeshift grave. The grave only had a small marker, and the ground just below had been disturbed. Judging from the size, Ichiru must have collected some of her dust and buried it in a box. From behind me, I could hear the clear ring of a small bell. He was here.

I quickly dodged his attack as he continue to parry blows with his sword. He then took a step back, the snarl on his face never leaving his face.

"Why are you here? Stay away from her."

"I need your help."

Ichiru sneered. "A pureblood needing my help? How hilarious."

My eyes narrowed, his mind hadn't completely calmed.

"Let me rephrase. Kiryu Tsuki needs your help."