Blood Ties,
Chapter 24
Vampire Knight © Matsuri Hino
He took her hand and led her away from their current location, down the concrete stairs that led into the overly large back garden and continued down. Too wrapped up in their thoughts and anticipations of what was about to happen, the setting of the dull sun that would normally cause a dull ache for their eyes didn't effect them at all. They didn't hear the sounds of their footsteps as they crunched against the snow covered grass, or see the random group of snowmen that their fellow school friends had made last night. Their eyes were set dead ahead, just waiting for the moment that Kaname would change direction and announce their arrival to wherever their destination was- Yuki had no idea.
After what seemed like an eternity of walking, although it couldn't have been more than ten minutes, Kaname stopped, tugging at the hand of the shorter female and led them towards a seating area she never even knew existed. It was a perfect setting, the flowered archway offered them the perfect coverage from the still setting sun, but also gave them the warmth from it, too. The antique benches looked so perfect in their positions, one would have thought they were built on those particular spots. However, as the brunette male gestured for her to take a seat, Yuki remembered the reason why they were here, and felt her stomach sinking the same time that her body did as she lowered herself onto the bench. He sat far away enough from her that she could feel the physical space that he was giving her, but close enough that he could still reach out and grasp her hand again, looking down at their entwined fingers with a pained expression that almost made her willing to forget everything and declare for them to go back up to the house and act like nothing had happened. For things to go back to normal. She needed this though, she needed the answers and the closure that would come from this conversation. How she would feel and what would change afterwards, she had no idea, but she knew that they could never move forwards with this shadow over their heads. It wasn't going to be easy, she knew that for sure, but she also knew that they could get past this. Kaname had always over exaggerated things in his mind in the past, thought that they were much worse than what they really were and managed to convince himself that every little thing was going to make her run away from him but she knew that this was more extreme than anything they had ever faced before though.
The awkward silence that stretched between them in the next minutes seemed to be its own entity, creating an almost physical gap in the space between them that left them unable to meet each others eyes. The circles that Kaname rubbed on the back of her hand using his thumb did little to soothe Yuki like it usually did. In fact, she found each motion feeling like a stabbing sensation in her skin, each one adding to the anticipation she felt in her stomach as she waited for him to speak.
He didn't speak, however.. Instead, he twisted his body so that he was facing towards her, never letting go of her hand, and finally looked at her in the eyes, offering her a small smile that pulled at her heart strings once again. He motioned for her to come closer, and she followed his silent instructions without a word, only stopping when the bare skin of her knee rubbed against the fabric of his leg and pleaded with him using her eyes, reminding him of how much she needed this. How the ignorance she had was slowly tearing her apart inside and as if they were having a verbal conversation and he understood eveything she was saying, he nodded his head as a reply and used his free hand to pull down the collar of his shirt, offering his neck to her.
"The memories are still fuzzy," he finally spoke, causing Yuki to jump at the sudden sound, "Drink until you understand,"
••••••••••
For the teenage vampires, it was rather shocking to see such a serious and mourning expression on the usually ecstatic Pureblood. The usual laughter and happiness that filled a room when Jurri Kuran was an occupant seemed to be completely vacant as they entered. Rather than dancing or teasing her Husband, the young looking woman was merely sitting in a motionless pose on the armchair opposite to her Husband's which instantly gave the young Noble's the hint that something was not of the norm.
"Excuse me, Jurri-Sama," Aidou, outspoken as always, interrupted the pair's silent musings, "But is everything alright?"
"No, my dear," She replied after a moment of collecting her bearings, "Quite the opposite, nothing will ever be the same,"
Afraid to know the answer, the teenagers failed to ask anymore questions and each silently took their own seats and added their own contribution towards the tension in the room.
Several hours of fruitless attempts of making conversation seemed to pass painfully slowly. At some point, Jurri had abandoned her position in the armchair and made her way to sit in her Husbands lap, holding herself close in hopes of gaining some comfort from the embrace. Kain, feeling the growing concern in his cousin, had reached out towards Ruka and pulled her towards his side, holding her equally tight, but offering comfort rather than seeking it. Eventually, the sound of one of the garden doors opening and closing made each member of the room jump in turn and look towards the open door of the sitting room just before the form of Kaname Kuran walking past the door holding the apparent sleeping form of his fiance in his arms. He didn't bother to make eye contact with anyone in the room, didn't even seem to be aware of their presence, he just continued on in the direction towards the stares, leaving the others to merely look at each other with concerned expressions.
••••••••••
She awoke in her own bed, she knew that without even opening her eyes, she could feel the silkiness of the sheets, recognized the distinct scent that was purely hers with the mix of Kaname's and for a moment found herself unable to find the strength to open her eyes. After being subjected to the memories that she had just been, she found it necessary to spend a few minutes collecting her thoughts and trying to sift through her feelings to create a conclusion.
With a sigh, she finally allowed her orbs to flicker open and heaved herself up into a sitting position and scanned the room. Of course, he was sitting in the armchair in the corner of her room, probably watching her sleep as he usually did. She was grateful for the distance, however. Even when she was asleep, she was always aware of his presence and the physical distance enabled her to think more clearly. She met his eyes and knew that she should feel angry. He had lied to her since she was a child and pretended to be a completely different person. However, the only thing she could feel was compassion for his suffering and guilt for her ignorance over the years. The first words that crept out of her mouth were the only thing that made sense to her,
"I love you..."
A/N; After what seems like a million years, I am back with a new chapter. Short, I know, but as always, I don't have much time to do anything lately. Exams are coming up, too, stress is huge. I have no idea how I've managed to even produce this. I'm preety much a zombie at the moment.
So, make a zombie smile and send some reviews? Let me know if you have any ideas on what could improve the story (other than quicker updates, I'm trying to work on that!) or if there is anything in particular that you would like to see. It will be nice to hear from you all again! You have no idea how inspiring some the reviews and messages that I receive are. I love you all, I actually couldn't ask for a better audience. I just hope that you will remain patient with me whilst I sort through my real life issues. Ciao! 3