AN: I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I was planning to write another chapter between the last one and this one, but no matter how I wrote it, it always came out super short and I didn't know what to put there...so I just skipped to this. With only Rima and Shiki narrating, it really limits what I can write about, because Rima doesn't know what's going on and Shiki is kind of out of it... And if I write more of Rima watching Shiki and thinking it just feels repetitive (and short)...
I'm really unhappy with how this chapter turned out but...well...I don't want to make you guys wait any more! So here it is... -sweatdrop- Hope you can forgive me.
Days passed, melted into weeks, chilled into November. Before long, the entire semester would pass her by in an agonizing blur. To Rima, it felt as though her feet were shackled in irons that she dragged heavily behind her. The drudgery continued: class, modeling, protecting the tiny, obnoxious prefect; those three things were a rotation of chores that she grew to hate. And while she became increasingly certain that Shiki was under pureblood compulsion, she grew increasingly uncertain as to who it could be or how to end it. It was not like her to be so thoroughly defeated, but the only idea she'd had was to directly confront whoever was in Shiki's body, and she wondered what good that would do. If anything, judging from how desperately Ichijou tried to keep them apart, it could put her in danger.
When she had tried cornering the vice president into answering her questions, he'd gone pale and stiffened up and only said, "Now isn't the time, Rima-chan. I'm sorry." And then he'd pushed past her and walked away, leaving all her questions unanswered.
There was no way out. Nothing that she could do. She hated to admit it, but life hadn't felt the same, lately, as though the colors and textures had faded to the same shade of grey that Shiki's eyes had once been. Something hollow clenched in her chest and she realized that she would rather see that old, bleached out grey than the mismatched, foreign eyes that marked his face now. It would be better to forget Senri Shiki and return to the peaceful existence she'd had before she met him, but she didn't know if she could. What she did know was that she couldn't abandon him. If he was trapped somewhere within himself, she would have to find him there.
If only she knew how...
Tonight, the Night Dorm was eerily silent. Rima lay face up in bed, arm flung haphazard across her brow, staring up at the ceiling and wishing the seconds would stop passing at such a terribly slow speed. Her head was muddled and she could feel that she was tired, that she should try to sleep despite the early hour, but there was a restlessness growing within her and she simply couldn't relax enough to slip into unconsciousness.
That was when she smelled it.
She sat straight up in her bed. She knew that scent. It was the scent of fresh blood. She stood and threw open the window. It was cold, so cold that it had started to snow, and the smell of blood wafted through the open air. She inhaled deeply, finding the aroma familiar. She knew that blood. Yuki's blood. Even from this distance, Rima could smell it. It smelled...different. As the moments passed, that scent grew stronger, clearer, until she finally realized that overly sweet perfume for what it was: pureblood.
Impossible. It should have been impossible. Yet, she couldn't deny what her senses clearly told her. Lately the entire academy was in a state of tension, a string bent so far back that it was at the point of snapping at any moment, and Rima... Rima felt that something was going to happen. She knew that something was happening overhead on the academy roof, yet her feet steered her in the opposite direction, down the hall and out of the dorm.
Perhaps she should have been concerned about what the new, pureblood scent of Yuki's blood meant. Curious. Cautious, even. Instead, she only felt an intense resolve to confront the person in Shiki's body. Perhaps it was dangerous, but with the scent of that familiar and yet unfamiliar pureblood thickening the air, her inhibitions vanished one by one. Shiki and Ichijou weren't hard to find, anyway, not with her keen sense of smell to track them down. They weren't far away either, standing on the path between the dorm and the academic buildings, facing the direction of the academy. Instead of approaching, however, she lingered overhead, atop the wall that ran the length of the path, hidden behind interlacing branches of an adjacent tree. She remained very still, listening intently to the pair below.
"Your face tells me that you are dissatisfied," Shiki was saying, a smirk marring his face. "Is it because I want to make Yuki my prey, or is it because you betrayed Kaname? Or, is it because I'm using Senri's body as a hostage?" A hand reached up, wrapping around the model's slender throat with crushing force. Rima felt every muscle in her body tighten, poised to intervene if necessary.
"Please, stop!" Ichijou exclaimed, prying loose the offending hand. Rima relaxed, letting out a small breath of relief. At least, Shiki had confirmed her suspicion. It was not really Shiki in that body...but someone else. The question was, who?
She didn't have much time to ponder over it, however. "Hey, don't just sit there, come here." Mismatched eyes flicked up to her hiding place. She held her breath, flinching. "Rima."
Her slight movement must have given her away. It was okay, she assured herself. She was going to confront them anyway. Now was as good a time as any. "Hey you..." She narrowed her eyes, examining those unknown ones closely. "You aren't Shiki-kun, right? Who are you?"
A laugh. Without warning, something red and sharp sped across the distance between them, lashing across the tender flesh of her stomach. Her instincts kicked in and she vaulted back, arm compressing defensively around her middle. When she pulled her fingers away from where they pressed against her side, they were stained red with blood. Her eyes widened. This person had attacked her... Attacked her with Shiki's own power... She felt her fangs lengthening with rage. How dare this person! How dare he use her friend's hand for such a thing!
She grit her teeth. "Hurting a model's body, you're the worst! And in a sudden attack, too! At times like this, it feels good to be a vampire." Already, the wound was closing up, flesh knitting back together where the whip of blood had slashed through it. She leapt lithely down to where the two stood, gaze honed in on the stranger who had possession of her coworker's body. In particular, his hands. The next time he tried to attack her, she'd be ready.
Ichijou immediately moved between them, turning his face towards her as he murmured, "That wound is quite deep, don't force yourself."
"Ichijou-kun..." She flexed her fingers, feeling tense and relieved at the same time. At least it was evident that Ichijou was doing his best to protect both her and Shiki's body. Certainly there was nothing he could do about the possession, either...
"Now is not the time to use Shiki-kun's hands to do such a thing," the blond addressed the person inside the mahogany-haired vampire's body now.
"What if I say that sooner or later I will remove all of the anti-councils just like Ichiou hoped? And anti-monarchies, as well..." Those sinister eyes were focusing on her again, the smirk back in place and subtly deepening in threat.
"Rido-sama..." Ichijou's tone was a warning.
Rido?! She forced herself to take a deep, slow breath to calm her nerves. Then...her first assumption was true! She had thought it impossible, just as she'd thought that Yuki being a pureblood was impossible. Yet, who else could so easily commandeer the model's body? She wasn't sure how the pureblood had survived all this time, but right now it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was kicking Rido Kuran out of Shiki's body. She didn't know how, but she knew she had to try. She wouldn't let the pureblood defile his son's body any longer.
She'd had enough. "You're pissing me off." Her anger and disbelief burnt her alive, coursing lightning to her fingertips. From that fire came her words, "Using Shiki-kun's face and voice and saying something so vulgar to me. I will kick the person inside Shiki-kun's body out. Just put that in mind!"
"Hmph." Rido chuckled in amusement. "It's not that easy."
Lightning sparked from her fingers, flying towards her coworker's body. If Rido wouldn't leave of his own volition, she would shock him out. Tear him out of the body by force. The pureblood might say that it wouldn't be easy, but Rima knew Shiki was in there somewhere, listening. If she could only reach him, perhaps... Perhaps he could awaken.
The thought was short-lived. Rido easily sidestepped her attack and, without warning, intense pain abruptly burst through her chest. She stumbled, the world distorting and morphing together in a blur of indecipherable colors and sounds. Somewhere through the fog she heard Ichijou cry, "Rima-chan!" It was distant. For a long moment, she felt as though she was falling without ever reaching the ground. And then, sluggishly, she registered an arm anchoring her, and she leaned against a body she slowly recognized as her friend's. Her chest burned, pulsed hotly. There was blood...a lot of blood...and a ringing in her ears. But gradually, gradually, her grainy vision was coming back into focus.
"Hm...wrong side?" she thought she heard Rido mutter.
"Rido-sama!" Ichijou's grip around her tightened. For the first time in her life, maybe, she thought that the blond sounded angry. Furious, even. His arm was trembling, but she couldn't see his face. She didn't have the energy to lift her head to look.
The ringing was growing louder. She coughed, and felt something warm fleck across her lips. Blood? Her strength was fading, but still she managed to admonish in a whisper of equal parts grief and rage, "Shi...ki... Idiot..! Letting someone else do what he pleases, you should take care of yourself more!"
Something stiffened in the model's face. He took a lurching step, and for a moment, a short, dizzying moment, she thought the second, brown-red eye flickered with blue. "Don't...fight...back. Senri," Rido growled in her coworker's voice.
Then the ringing swallowed her whole.
Don't fight me, Rido snarled in his mind, and Senri pushed back. Pushed back harder than he had when he'd misdirected his hand, piercing Rima through the lung rather than the heart. If he had struck her through the heart...
A shudder ran through him.
It had almost been his own hand that had ended her life. If he didn't do something, the next time he moved under his father's compulsion, he might actually end it.
He could see her there through the haze of Rido's mind, supported limply in Ichijou's arms, blood-stained and unconscious, and he didn't know what he was doing. He just pushed. Pushed and pushed and struggled against the weight of his father's mind. Vaguely, he could hear Rido cursing, commanding him to be quiet again, but the image of Rima broken and bloody was burned into his brain. It was a sight he knew he'd never forget for the rest of his life. And it was his fault. His alone.
He had let his father harm her... He had stood witness while Rido nearly killed her... The words echoed emptily through his mind, not for the first time. "How contemptible." The memory was stuck on replay, forcing him to watch his own power, his own whip of blood, stab through Rima's chest as though it were made of nothing more than paper, over and over again.
It was his own thought that resounded most loudly now: Get out.
He pushed harder. Pushed until something gave and lifted from him. A weight. A conscious. He wasn't sure what to name it. In the aftermath, he felt a moment of giddy relief, saw Ichijou staring at him in shock, and saw rather than felt himself hit the ground.
He was free.
Free, but everything was black.
AN: Yeah, I know, it sucks. Sorry... I'll go back and fix it when I get inspired... :X Also I know this makes Rima seem weak compared to Shiki, but the scene in the manga is...well...kinda like that. She doesn't fight back at all. I know in the anime she does but I guess in the manga she doesn't want to hurt Shiki? Idk.