AN: Hey I'm back! Sorry for the wait! This one is a longer chapter, so I hope that helps to make up a little for the last one... Also, I mentioned this as a note at the end of My Scarlet Letters, but initially some of this chapter came from another oneshot fic that I took down because I wanted to make a longer Shima fic (and obviously I did!). So, if you read that old crappy oneshot, some of this may seem a little familiar. However, I remastered, rearranged, and added on a bit to it, so maybe you won't recognize it. And hopefully the quality here is a little better than before. Anyway, on to the chapter~

Senri woke up curled into the center of the bed, lungs shut tight, heart bleeding through his chest. He struggled to press it down, to staunch the flow of misery and grief, and instead tightened his fingers around his throat, remembering the vile taste of stolen blood, remembering the life he had nearly torn from an innocent's body. Remembering the flow of power through his fingertips, barely misdirected from ending Rima's life...

Barely...

A panicked breath stole across his lungs, drawing in with it the smell of blood. He sat up with a jolt, eyes immediately falling upon Ichijou's familiar outline. Dust was billowing from the vice president's hands, coating the dresser that Senri vaguely recognized as his own. They were back at the dorm, then. Takuma Ichijou had killed a vampire in their dorm room...

"Ichijou-kun? What are you doing?" His voice came out strained and thin. His head hurt, pulsating with red and black tendrils of pain. He pressed his fingers to his temple, as though that simple touch could soothe it.

The blond blinked, looking back at him. When his green gaze met Senri's blue, something like relief etched itself over his features. "Something happened. A weird vampire showed up and attacked you guys when you were asleep."

Ichijou had stayed behind to protect them, then... Senri frowned, glancing out the window. Nearby, something was happening. The presence of dozens of vampires pressed down around them, and there was so much pureblood that the air was thick with it, heavy and sticky-sweet. It rattled down his throat, burned with memory through his veins. His father... His father had taken hold of him...

The model shook his head, pushing the thought away for the moment. "Other than this, don't you have somewhere you wanted to go? I'm okay now, so..."

Ichijou sheathed his katana and nodded once. "I see. I will leave Rima-chan to you, then." With a small smile, he left the room.

Senri looked back at the bed then to the sleeping form beside him. "Rima..."

His pulse jumped with apprehension and remorse. She seemed so fragile, her breathing slight and labored, her skin nearly translucent. As if she were a porcelain doll that might fracture at any given moment. And the worst part was that she was in that state because of him. It had been his hand that had nearly ended her life. His hand.

His.

It was tearing him apart.

He had only lived as his mother had wanted. Had only obeyed her wish. "Senri, if you want Mom to calm down, then just be quiet and live like a puppet." He had done that, but...but...

The flash of electricity across furious fingertips. "Shiki! You should love yourself more!"

Even if it meant breaking every promise he'd made to his mother, he couldn't hurt Rima again. Not ever, ever again. He would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for this. A thousand years. Ten thousand. He was sickened with shame, horrified of himself and the decision he'd made. He'd nearly killed...nearly...

"...Sorry..." he whispered hoarsely, wrapping his arms tightly around her sleeping form. "I'm sorry." Those words would never be enough.

Another presence entered the room, and Senri sat up, lifting his head to take in the unfamiliar man before him. A vampire, that was obvious, but one the model didn't recognize. Another like the one Ichijou had killed, then?

The stranger glanced around the room with mild curiosity. "I just came to check on something... Oh, aren't you Rido-sama's puppet?"

"No. The puppet can move by its own conscious now." The corner of his mouth twitched, his fingernails sliced through the skin of his palm, and within moments his dresser was coated with a second layer of ashy dust.

Rima opened her eyes to a hazy blur of colors. The room was spinning. Her lungs felt pinched and tight, each breath burning down her throat. Somewhere in the midst of it, she grounded herself on the scent of dusky rain and the steady pulse of a heartbeat against her shoulder.

A tired but familiar voice was muttering, "Sorry, it's too dangerous to stay here. I'll have to carry you out."

She struggled to wake, to speak, to move, but instead she felt as though she was being pulled down by heavy weights. Her quick inhalation of breath, a futile attempt to say something, sounded like a faint rattle. It was enough, however, to draw the attention of the person holding her.

"Ah! Rima...it's me, Shiki. Sorry, we have to hurry right now. We'll move a bit and then exit through the window."

Shiki? Yes...that was...the scent of rain. She couldn't focus. Her throat was dry and her limbs felt disconnected from her body. The words tumbled out thoughtlessly, a croak. "Okay... I'm hungry... Give me some blood later."

"Sure."

Sure... Already the word was falling away, into nothing. They were moving. Cold air hit her skin, and she felt more than saw Shiki leap down out of the window, the jolt of the landing enough to spike a web of pain across her chest.

And then, before her vision faded and slurred into unconsciousness once more, she saw them. Two mismatched eyes, one glowing bloody red, the other a smooth but manic blue, that bore directly into her skull.

Rido..!

That was her last thought before her eyes shut of their own accord and dragged her down with them into sleep once more.

Senri was exhausted. So very, very exhausted. Just killing the stray vampire that had wandered into his room had been enough to drain what little energy he'd recuperated, but then he'd had to carry Rima through the middle of an expansive fight between Rido's followers and the vampires and hunters of the academy... His father's mismatched eyes had seemed to follow him every step of the way, bloody and mocking. He didn't know how the fight had ended, or if it even had. Nor did he know how he was able to carry Rima out of the academy, into town, and up three flights of stairs to a hotel room, the only safe place he could think of. All he knew was that there was nowhere else to go and he had to get her somewhere safe, somewhere warm. It was all that mattered. Because Rima was the only important thing in the entire world, and everything else was a pale ghost beside her.

A wave of fatigue had him staggering on his feet. He was barely able to set Rima down before he fell onto the mattress, welcoming the relief that sleep would give him from his tired body and tormented thoughts. Vaguely, through a fog, he thought that he should stay awake, just in case someone had followed them. But before the thought could finish, everything plunged into darkness.

Rima opened her eyes slowly, letting sleep fade. Faint light pricked at her eyelids, and she shut them quickly, even those slight rays causing her irritation. Her mind felt bleary, blurring in and out of focus, and she had a hard time forming a coherent thought. She did register, however, someone's arms around her, holding her close and warm. She snuggled closer, sighing softly and beginning to fall back to sleep.

No.

Her eyes snapped open suddenly and she froze in horror. Where was she? She struggled to remember what had happened, and sluggishly, previous events came back to her. The possession. The fight. Ichijou intervening, failing to stop Rido from inevitably hurting her. She had been trying to bring Shiki back to himself. Had been trying, and then had passed out from her wound. The wound that had been inflicted on her by Shiki's own hand. But before she had lost consciousness, she had seen the awareness flood back into his eyes for a brief instant. It had been fleeting, a brief flash of blue before she'd been overcome by the black static of unconsciousness, but there all the same. That was where her memory faded.

Shiki…!

She had to find him. She had to kick that disgusting creature out of his body, by whatever means necessary. She would not allow anyone to defile him like that! And then her thoughts ceased quite abruptly as she realized where she was. That warmth… The arms around her, holding her close… The soft, rhythmic breathing against her hair… The legs tangled with hers were…

Shiki…

She closed her eyes, inhaling his scent deeply. Her whole body relaxed as she pressed even closer to him. A thrum of contentment rose in her chest, and she began to wind her arms around him-and stopped quite suddenly. What was she doing?! She jerked away abruptly, aggravated and anxious. How did she know that the person lying there was Shiki and not his father? She scrambled to sit up, disentangling herself from him to stare down at his sleeping form. His eyes were closed, and her brow furrowed in vexation. How could she know the difference?

But she did know. No one would have left her in a bed with someone who would most likely attempt to murder her while she slept. Which meant that the one lying there had to be Shiki.

She took a deep breath of relief and closed her eyes slowly, attempting to subdue her pounding heart. When she opened them again, she found herself gazing down at him, his sleeping face completely unguarded and vulnerable. Her heart twisted in her chest. She had begun to think, during the weeks before, that he might never be himself again. Carelessly, she touched his hair, letting her fingers slide through the silky strands, and then brushed her fingertips across his cheek, unconsciously smiling to herself. But, under even so light a touch, his eyes fluttered open.

She snatched her hand away quickly, suspicion lingering as she observed him critically. His left eye had now reverted back to its usual clear, tranquil blue. If she'd had any remaining doubts as to who was before her, they were swept away now. He blinked, shaking his head in mild confusion before sitting up, his expression bewildered as he took in the unfamiliar room. He looked at her as if in supplication, begging for explanation at the surroundings, and she was helpless under the plea of those eyes. The ones she'd worried might never be untarnished blue again. The inexplicable urge to touch him, to wrap her arms around him, flooded over her. In a strange, sporadic compulsion, she leaned forward instead and kissed his cheek softly, eliciting a tentative return smile from him.

And then rapidly, awareness filled his eyes. She could see his mind clicking into action, registering where he was, why he was there, and what had just occurred. For a moment, he only stared back at her, perhaps unable to do anything more. Then, in a blur of motion, she felt his arms close around her, the force propelling her backwards against the bed so that she had to twist to one side to avoid falling off. Despite his impulsive action, however, he managed to keep from landing against her roughly. Even his sporadic decisions were graceful.

His face was hidden against the pillow, his arms wrapped around her tightly, trembling slightly. His voice was the barest whisper as he repeated, over and over again, "I'm sorry."

There was a pause, and then she gradually moved her arms up, returning the embrace. His whispers gradually drifted into silence, and the only noise to break it was the barely audible sound of their breathing. She stared up at the ceiling, felt him close his eyes, and neither of them moved for what seemed an eternity.

And then, he sat up carefully, eyes searching her face with concern as he asked, "Are you alright? I didn't…I…." He trailed off, a haunted look passing across his features momentarily.

The events that had left her at the brink of death came crashing back down on her with vivid clarity. "Idiot!" She shot back up into a sitting position, glaring at him accusingly. "Why did you let him do that to you?" Why? It was the question that had been plaguing her for weeks.

His eyes fumbled down to the bed, concentrating with rapt attention at a random fold in the blankets.

"Why?" she demanded angrily. Her eyes were blazing crimson with irritation now, fangs fully withdrawn.

"I'm sorry…," he whispered, the pain in his eyes more than obvious as his expression contorted in agony.

"Don't ever, ever let anyone do that again." She didn't think she could bear it if he did. Even a century from now, even a thousand years...

His gaze remained fixated on the crease.

"Look at me." She grabbed his face in her hands, forcing it up so that his agonized eyes met hers. "No one is allowed to touch you but me," she declared fiercely.

Shiki was utterly still for a long moment. Not moving, not speaking, not even breathing. But then he moved his hands up, over hers against his face, and inclined his head forward so that their foreheads touched lightly. He smiled slightly, her favorite smile that crinkled one corner of his mouth, and all of her thoughts immediately tumbled from her head.

"Yeah…," his voice was low, but she heard the words clearly. "You're right. You're the only one allowed to touch me."

She wasn't sure if she'd heard correctly. She had definitely said way too much, but for him to agree..! At the same time, she became aware of something entirely different, something that had been dormant while her body had slowly woken up. Sharp, insistent pain wrenched through her, and she shot away from him, hand flying to her chest. She gasped, nearly convulsing as that pain speared out, lashing through her brutally. Her fangs remained extended, unable to recede, and she was aware that her eyes must be glowing vivid, bloody red.

Having suffered serious injury from the whip of blood that had narrowly avoided her heart, she reasoned that it had taken quite a bit of her energy to recover. Not only that, but she hadn't fed since the last time she had been awake, and she had no idea when that had been. That was, if she counted consuming tablets as feeding. And to make matters even worse, the one sitting so close to her was Senri Shiki, the vampire whose blood she'd been desperately craving for months now. It had been impossible not to long for it even when she was well fed with blood tablets, but now that she was starving, in a flustered state, and in a rather small room with him…she didn't know how she was going to be able to resist. The rainy, agar scent that rose off his skin was utterly irresistible. She bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood as her body shook with effort.

Despite her apparent need, she refused to ask him for what she most certainly needed. He had offered it to her before, but that offer had been made under different circumstances, and after all that he'd been through just recently, she knew it would be wrong to ask it of him now... More than wrong. Cruel.

"Rima…," he said softly, stretching a hand to her. It almost looked like an invitation.

She shook her head back and forth vehemently, managing to choke out, "In my purse..."

He smirked ruefully. "Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get that."

"Don't you-" She broke off as another spasm ripped through her.

"Rima," his tone was firmer now, a touch adamant. "You already asked for my blood…remember? And I already told you that you could have it."

What? She struggled desperately to recall that, scowling to herself. When had she asked such an indecent thing? There was something nagging at the edges of her brain, and she could vaguely remember being cradled in someone's arms…someone telling her that they were taking her to safety… That was when..? But the memory slipped away from her like sand.

"I wasn't myself, I didn't know what I was asking," she hissed.

He sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes, and then he was suddenly pulling her back with him as he leaned against the headboard, tugging her onto his lap. She gave a muffled squeak of indignation as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her against him so tightly that she could feel every inch of him with sudden, blazing awareness.

"Really…," he spoke with a slightly exasperated tone. "You've always got to be so difficult about everything."

Being pressed so tightly against his body, her pain constricted breaths pushing her against him sharply with each inhalation, and her blood lust starting to make her dizzy, she knew there was no way she was going to be able to resist drinking his blood. So she exerted an iron grip on herself, determined to make this as painless as possible for him.

"Thank you," she murmured, a little shyly, twining her arms around his neck.

"Anytime," he muttered, but she could see he was smiling faintly.

Forcing herself to stay calm, she leaned her head against his shoulder, pressing her lips against his collarbone delicately and thrilling over the taste of his skin. It was lucky for them both, she thought distantly, that he had worn one of his lower cut shirts, as anything else would have risked being stained with blood. She didn't want to have to explain such a thing to any humans...

Her heart was racing as she kissed the side of his throat. She felt his body grow taut, perhaps expecting her to bite him then. She was surprised at herself as well; her thirst was only growing stronger by the moment, but nevertheless she couldn't stop herself from first sliding her lips down the side of his neck and raising her left hand to caress his throat from his chin to the hollow at his throat. She heard his breath catch, and this time she ran her tongue over the perfect, smooth flesh. His chest hitched, and she did it again, loving the taste of his cool skin.

Inevitably, the pain wracked her body once more, searing through her veins like fire in fierce demand, and she could not prolong the moment any longer. Cupping the other side of his neck with her left hand, her fangs broke the pale surface of his skin, sinking down into his veins with precision. She shuddered, right hand moving to twine through his hair as the blood she had been lusting for finally filled her mouth.

Her first taste was of rain. Soft, evening rain that gently coated the leaves of the trees and the flowers. The rain taste was chased by a flavor similar to the first brush of twilight, blended with traces of agar. It was addictive and mellow, tinged with deeper flavors that she couldn't name. It was absolutely amazing. No, it was better than that. To actually taste this blood… She pulled deeply from his veins, relishing every mouthful. It was so much more incredible than she had ever imagined. Shutting her eyes in ecstasy, she focused only on that beautifully sweet flavor.

His arms loosened now that she was doing as he wished, one hand rubbing her back in slow, warm circles to soothe her, the other around her waist. She felt him sigh, although she wasn't sure what the cause of that was. Was it her imagination, or was his heart beating a bit irregularly, as well? Certainly he wasn't enjoying her drinking his blood..? But her overwhelming hunger and the taste of his blood was driving away all thought. It was the only thing she could grasp just then. With a vague sense of irony, she realized that their situations were reversed from the time at the dance when he'd drunk her blood...

Such thoughts were distant, however, and for a while time stood still. She wasn't sure how many seconds had passed. The only thing she knew was that she was being held in Shiki's arms while she drank his blood. It was something she had only fantasized about before, as loathe as she was to admit that she'd been fantasizing about it at all. And it was as warm and comfortable as she'd hoped it would be. No...with the saccharine taste of evening agar on her tongue, it was better...

Her thirst slowly died down to a manageable level, and while there was a part of her wanted to linger, she also didn't want to take too much from the already-exhausted mahogany-haired model. So she swallowed one last mouthful and quickly pressed her tongue against the bite marks, sealing them shut. At the same time, she caught the stray droplets before they had traveled even an inch away from her lips. Rima had always been very tidy with her feeding, and this time was no exception. Her tongue cleaned the wounds with dainty, measured strokes, and then ran across her lips to ensure that every trace of blood was removed.

She knew that she should sit up now, pull away, but something compelled her to remain as she was, head against his shoulder, arms around him. She was intoxicated with his blood, her body feeling warmer than she could ever remember it being, and she idly brushed her fingers against the two identical, healing marks on his neck. To her surprise, he didn't move. Instead, he shifted her closer, further into the circle of his arms, and she didn't resist. As if in a dream, she kissed his neck again, tenderly, allowing her lips to linger over the wounds this time. He turned his head, his face only centimeters from hers, and her breath left her in a rush, mouth forming a surprised circle at his action. She'd never thought he'd look at her like this, but at that moment his eyes were liquid and intent on hers in a way that was making everything inside her melt.

Somehow, she found words. "Shiki-kun...I said this before...but please love yourself a little more..." His eyebrows tensed, drawing closer together, but he didn't answer and she decided to try again. "The only person that should define you is yourself. No one else," she murmured. Those eyebrows ticked together a millimeter further, but still he said nothing.

He was so close. Close enough that she could pull the words from his lips if she wanted. So close, and the grey in his eyes was flickering, flickering to ten thousand shades of blue on the verge of combustion. She had to break through the grey. Had to shatter it and reveal the colors beneath. She wasn't always good with words, but she wanted to paint the blue over his lips, wanted to know all the places the grey pooled and dragged him down so that she could drain it away.

Leaning forward, her lips brushed against his, and color erupted from that gentle touch. His mouth tasted like sweet rain and dusk, sweeter even than the flavor of his blood, and she painted a poem there against it, her lips moving with his in a rhythm that neither could hear, but Rima felt in her bones. She tasted unspoken apologies that dissolved on her tongue. She kissed him, and her mouth became the color of his mouth. She kissed him, and suddenly everything clicked into place.

Love yourself more, she thought desperately, even if it can't be as much as I care about you...

When the thought finished, realization bloomed, a pastel-petaled flower, inside her chest. There were still so many things that she didn't know, didn't understand about Senri Shiki. And yet, in spite of those things...still...

Still...

She was falling in love with him anyway.

Her kiss jolted him. Fired thousands of volts directly into his heart, stirring it from dreary slumber, singeing his veins and igniting his skin. Her untamed, wild electricity coursed through him, and although his chest seized with sudden, violent emotion, he didn't want the kiss to end. Didn't want to lose the soft warmth of her lips against his, didn't want to slip back to sleep. Unfamiliar longing was dancing across his flesh, and for a disconcerting, reeling moment he was pulling her closer, teeth catching against on her lower lip, demanding more of the lightning strike of her kisses. The wires of his self-imposed cage were falling down around him, torn away by that unexpected contact of her mouth against his. Like vapor he was helplessly drawn in by her lips.

Rima made a soft sound in the back of her throat, and perhaps it was that, or perhaps it was the feeling of her fingertips trailing aching sensations down his skin and sliding along his spine like honey, but quite abruptly he felt a dull thirst of his own crawling up his throat. He could not drink from her now... Not now, when she was weak from an injury that had nearly taken her life. With regret, he separated his lips from hers, sucking in a ragged breath, and when his eyes met hers, the thought rippled through him:

For your sake, I'll try to care for myself a little more...

When the kiss ended and Shiki's eyes met hers, they were startling, effervescent blue etched with silver. She shivered, entranced, and only registered his voice when she saw his lips moving. "Hey, Rima... Do you remember, that day in the agency..? Why didn't you let go of my hand at that time?"

Even from such a vague mention, she knew the day he was talking about. That day, he'd held her hand and promised to go into acting with her. That day, it seemed that he'd reached directly into her chest and touched her heart. She took a moment to organize her thoughts. Then, "I just thought...even if I couldn't remain in anyone's memories, surely I would remain in the memories of the person who held onto my hand..." She didn't know how to explain it, but years from now when the memory of her and of her career was faded and forgotten, as it should be... Or centuries from now when there was no one to remember she had ever lived in this town...she wanted him alone to remember her...

Her coworker gave her a puzzled look. "I wouldn't forget you..."

"I know. That's why I'll forgive you for calling me Rima." She narrowed her eyes at him. He probably thought she hadn't noticed!

He laughed, and the sound sent a peculiar, new warmth suffusing across her heart. "You were always Rima to me...Rima"

A smile nudged at her lips. "How annoying."

"Ha."

She felt drained now, her energy sinking at an alarming pace as fatigue hurried to blossom through her body. She yawned sleepily, and heard an echoing yawn from him.

"Hey…Shiki-kun," she mumbled.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go to sleep now, 'kay?"

"'Kay," he murmured back, releasing her.

She laid down, burrowing her head against the pillow. Shiki was beside her a moment later, settling the blankets around them before pulling her against him again. She snuggled up to him wordlessly, leaning her head against his shoulder and tucking her arm around his waist. His arms were returning the embrace an instant later, and as an afterthought he shifted his head to her pillow, taking the other one to cover their heads from the now painful sunlight that slanted into the room.

"Thanks," she said quietly, eyes closing as her vision blurred.

There was a pause. Then, drowsily, "Rima..?"

"Hm?"

"When are you going to call me Senri?"

"Mm...maybe tomorrow."

And once again she was asleep.

AN: One more chapter to go-should be another long one!