CHAPTER SIX

All that Sparks and Crackles

When I was holed up in my room, cocooned in darkness for the morning after the incident, I didn't expect a knock on the door. I wasn't the type of person people checked up on – rather the type of person forgotten about or assumed to be constantly be there. But when I opened the door with the blankets huddled around me, I didn't see a person. Instead, I saw a box.

Curiously, I folded the blanket between my arms and freed up space at my hands to take the package as I suppressed a grin. Don't get your hopes up, Kaede! If the shape of the box wasn't a dead giveaway, the tag was -

I blinked and rubbed my eyes. What the hell?

Aidou Hanabusa.

I seriously thought about leaving it out there and hoping that someone would walk by and return it in the mail or whatever, make it clear that I had not opened it or even received it. But I was being bratty and spoiled and...well, playing hard to get which I knew from movies that it only made the chase much more enticing. I didn't want to play games.

I took the package inside and took great care opening it. I didn't know why, but from the way Aidou (it felt strange giving the guy a name, but oh well) spoke, the way he carried himself – he seemed very privileged. Whole other class sort of privileged. I expected another pricy, flashy telescope until I remembered that there was no reason for him to go such lengths for me. Who was I, after all, but a failing student?

Yet I still had this idea of a cold, shiny gift in my mind so when I opened it and saw the shockingly familiar telescope – a new one, but the same nonetheless: same brand, same model - I had to bite down on a smile, I failed. As soon as I saw the bubble wrap and the light tube rimmed in black, with the smooth, matte knobs, I laughed. And squealed.

It was perfect.

My hands ran down the length of the telescope, admiring how unblemished it was but familiar in my hands. I easily assemble everything together in record time and the grin on my face made realize that yes, cheeks could be quite sore. I took a stepped back and admired the handiwork, aimed directly out the window. It was dark enough that you could see tiny flickers of light out, and I was sure that if I were to go outside the stars would reveal itself in the way I had grown attached too after so many years of looking up at the night skies. And because this telescope was new - everything would be sharper, clearer. I could imagine how clear the skies would look over the brand new glass lens -

I stopped.

Wait.

I threw a glance at the telescope I was keeping a constant hand on, as if it was a dream that may disappear if I let it go - and flinched.

I shouldn't be accepting this. Aidou's gift was completely unnecessary. I remembered the way he called out his name, how distant and forlorn it sounded – there was no reason he should be giving me this, and I didn't deserve to accept it. I groaned, messing up my hair. I knew I would eventually go with my conscious so even though I was keeping up a string of profanity, I was already packing it away. "Stupid, fucking conscience...can't let me a selfish bastard for once in my life, stupid parents raising me right..." I muttered as I placed everything back in its compartment before sealing up the tab.

I was pouting by the time I threw on clothing, but I didn't let myself procrastinate returning because soon my will power would crumble and I would succumb to it...when I really knew I shouldn't. It took me less than five minutes between my decision to give it back to Aidou and walking out the door with a sweatshirt thrown over my pajama bottoms.

"Now, how the hell am I supposed to return this..."

xx-x-xx

"Is he coming to class today?" Souen Ruka asked, crossing her arms with a frown on her lovely face as she threw a disdainful glance at her cousin's door. Akatsuki sighed, his hands through his windswept bronze hair as his lighter eyes lingered over his room. He didn't know what exactly happened last night after Hanabusa stormed off the path into the forest, but whatever it was either pissed him off or frustrated him because he refused to come to class and instead, went the opposite way back to the dorms.

That morning when he returned, he found his blond haired, volatile cousin still in his now crumpled up uniform on his bed, looking at his fingers that were playing on something that looked like a part of a monocle. But when he asked him what that – and the pile of junk at the corner was – Hanabusa simply turned to face the wall and continued his brooding. By the condition of it, he assumed it was just another piece of junk that Kaname destroyed. It wasn't until early in the morning when the sun was at its worse that he suddenly whipped up and started to work on something, some repair work and Akatsuki didn't pay him too much attention – just smothering his head with pillows to block out the noise.

"Probably not, we shouldn't wait up," he said as he slipped his hands into his pockets and faced Shiki and Rima's blank blue gazes. They nodded at each other before leaving the darkness of their Dorm to the warm orange light outside.

Back inside his room, the abandoned job was still strewn about. Hanabusa had discarded his white uniform jacket and vest, but his black dress shirt and tie was still loosely hanging down his neck. Several hours ago, he gave up his attempt of straightening out the dented tube and instead called up one of his father's servant to buy the exact copy and have it sent to Miss Misane Kaede. He wasn't sure that she had received it yet – although with the tip, she should have – and it frustrated him to no end.

After all how dare she snap at him? What gave her the right to be mad at him – when he had done nothing wrong but offer her help? The gift would show her who was the bad guy, and then she would feel so guilty and he would be right all along. His ego would be fine, and then he could put the entire encounter behind him. He didn't want to see those hazel eyes staring at him as if he had just broken her heart.

Because he didn't. For once, Aidou Hanabusa had not broken a girl's heart and she did not have the right to look as if he did.

His fingers curled up and tightened, nails digging into his palm as his photographic memory brought back the image of a girl with mahogany hair, and hazel eyes, soft features that weren't striking nor captivating – but completely average. But when she talked about stars, her entire face lit up and there was beauty in that. But it was worse when the light went out of her eyes, and that little sound she made when she saw the messed up telescope.

He groaned, messing up his hair.

He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about Kaede. He slumped on his desk, the side of his face pressed up against the wooden desk as he now stared at the lens – no more than a piece of rimmed glass, really. He flipped it over and under his fingers, the light catching and diverging it accordingly. He sighed.

"You are an enigma, Kaede," he muttered quietly. He flinched when he remembered her scold of referring her to her given name, but Hanabusa had always felt that that Japanese rule was beneath him, and the only thing that stopped him from referring to other girls like that was because it meant something to them. But he only wanted to call this girl Kaede, because it felt right the way it rolled off his tongue, the way it sounded to his ears.

Somehow, hours passed. That tended to happen. Time slipped by fast when presented the opportunity of near immortality – of vampirism – and of being a genius. His thoughts ran wild and before he even realized it, it took the reflection of the lens to realize his eyes were beginning to glow red. He felt a gentle prod on his lower lip, surprised to feel his fang skim over it. He sat up straighter until his mind started catching up with his senses.

He smelled her.

Like cold air, outdoors and...and coffee.

He whipped around, waiting for a knock on the door – but instead, a pebble hit his window and he shot up, throwing the wide, arched windows open. "What the -"

"You!" she called out, her eyes wide and bright as she pointed towards him accusatory, one hand cupped around her mouth. "Take your...your gift back!"

"What?" he called back out, although he could fair well hear her. He saw the way her eye twitched in annoyance before she looked around – probably for a bigger rock to throw right at him. "Wait!" he said, "I'm coming down!"

He saw a flutter of panic flashed across her face and the way she opened her mouth to protest – but it was already too late. He slipped the glass into his back pocket, shoved up his sleeves to his elbow and jumped over the window sill – and didn't even bother with the pretence of climbing down. He landed silently on his feet with a gentle bent of his knee before he turned to face a frozen girl.

"What the hell are you?" she asked in disbelief. "A cat?"

It was strange. The idea that he was a vampire had never even crossed his mind until now. She didn't make him feel like another race, like an aristocrat – or even like an Aidou. He was simply Hanabusa, even if she didn't acknowledge him as so. "What were you saying before?" he asked, diverting her attention. She still seemed skeptic but instead, she fumbled as she bent over to shove a box into his waiting hands.

Distractedly, he noticed that she was wearing flannel pants.

With polar bears on them.

When his cyan eyes flashed up to her more greenish ones, her outfit made a little more sense. "Nice pants," he commented, not taking the box but she pressed it closer to him.

"Take it!" she said quickly. "I'm not -"

"How did you get past through the gate?"

"Don't worry about it -"

"Are you some sort of -"

"Stop being such a pain and take back your goddamn -"

"It's yours. I owe it to you."

"No, you don't," she said and seeing he was about to retaliate, she actually covered his mouth. With her own hands. He was sure that never in his life, anyone ever touched him that way – and feeling her soft, warm hands against his lips made his fangs protrude, and it took every ounce of self control to shrink them back, to manage the sudden thirst. But even stronger than that was the shock that ran down his spine, around his knees. His eyes widened and his breathing hitched but she didn't realize any of this – the touch didn't affect her at all.

"Can you let me finish?" she said impatiently. "It wasn't you that did anything. I should say sorry for snapping, okay? So just take this back. I don't want it. Thank you, but no." And then she drew back her hand hesitantly and finally realized the way his eyes were slightly too wide, staring too hard. She bent down to pick up the large, bulky package and shifted it towards him.

Seeing that he was now firmly holding it, she allowed herself one last sigh before she waved at him and left, wondering why he wouldn't say anything. He probably wasn't used to gifts being handed back, she suspected. He seemed like the heart breaker type that would be the one returning little trinkets back, not the other way around.

And it was staring at the retreating figure of this human girl, barely accepted among the commoners, that Hanabusa realized something.

Firstly, she was pretty. And not in the way Ruka was beautiful and willowy or Rima was lovely and dainty, but in the way that grew on him, the way that he was constantly discovering little bits of her appearance. The sort of pretty you notice gradually, until it was scarred into your mind.

And secondly, he realized that he was hungry. Starving. Lusting for blood – and only hers.

So I at last acknowledge the fact that Hanabusa is in fact, a vampire. A bit late with that - but oh well!

Thank you so much everyone for reading this! The idea is starting to grow on me, and so is Kaede's character so I do hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews would be lovely :)