A/N: Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews so far. They're my motivation and inspiration!

This chapter was a nightmare. The file got corrupted and I spent hours trying to rewrite it. Then, I discovered an amazing program that was able to restore the lost document. Thank you, God. I still had to repair it further (none of the grammar marks were there), but hey, it works, and I'm so grateful. So if you see a missing period or quotation mark, I don't want to hear it. I tried my best to make it perfect again.

On a more cheerful note, I discovered how many 7's it takes to go across the whole screen. WOO!

I keep forgetting to do this, but:

Disclaimer: I do not own VK. If I did, Kaname would safely be married to Sara, Zeki babies would be running around everywhere, Shima would be confirmed, Luca and Kain would be on their honeymoon, and Ichijou would have a lovely pairing with some girl who was not an abusive torturer or a stoic and hardly-ever-seen, hardly-known-about bodyguard. =D

--o--[Chapter Start]--o--

Aidou hated her. He officially hated her. How could one small girl have the capacity to completely ruin his life? Ever since his last visit, he had been plagued by autumn and lavender. It was the taste he craved, and at the same time, abhorred. It was all her fault. He needed to get her scent out of his head.

And of course, since fate despised him as much as he despised Sayori Wakaba, it had started pouring down rain right as he was arriving at the academy. Naturally, he didn't have an umbrella, and so now he was standing outside the dreaded dorm room, soaking wet and dripping water in a vast lake around his feet. The letter, he had saved with a saintly act, stuffing it under his shirt while he hurried through the rain. It, unlike him, was mostly dry. He glowered at it accusingly.

Why did Yuuki have to suddenly develop an academic zest? This past test had been on physics, and like the tests before, she had squeaked a satisfactory grade. He didn't know how she was doing it. Magic? Some pureblood power that he knew nothing about? Whatever the reason, here he was yet again, stuck in his role as private postman.

At least Kaname was pleased with his bride-to-be's obvious academic improvement. The pureblood monarch had asked how Aidou had accomplished this feat, to which he had answered, 'I just got her motivated.' But he would never utter a word of what that motivation truly happened to be. Not if he valued his life.

The door swung open, filling with Yori's petite form. Upon seeing him, her eyebrows rose a good inch, and then she gestured for him to come in, biting her lip as he dripped into her room.

Somehow, in a way that he would never have imagined, all his anger simply fell away upon seeing her. The autumn and lavender wafted gently to his nose, and he inhaled deeply, letting the strange combination fill his lungs like a drug. Instantly, the tight pain around his chest and throat lessened, as if he had been in withdrawal and now, having had a sweet relapse, was finally able to feel whole again. Seeing her clear brown eyes calmed him. He felt grounded for the first time in the two weeks since he'd last seen her. Amazing what such a short amount of time could do.

"Hello, Aidou-senpai," she greeted him a bit dryly, eyeing the puddle that was forming on her floor.

"Hello," he returned, unsure of exactly what to say. Looking at her more closely, he had to wonder. Had she always been so beautiful? Even when she didn't smile, the curves of her face held a beauty he hadn't noticed before. Or had he?

"Sorry, I'm a bit wet," he told her seriously.

"I noticed that," Yori replied blandly, and he felt suddenly stupid. Of course he was wet. Duh. Anyone would have seen that. "While your observation is quite astounding, I'm afraid I can't let you turn my bedroom into a swimming pool. Could you wait here for just a second?"

"Yeah," he muttered, wishing for a moment that he could sink into the floor and disappear.

But why should he feel like that? He was the one suffering, not her. Here he was, wet and feeling like an idiot, and all on some pointless and trivial errand. Hanabusa Aidou should never feel like vanishing. In fact, she should be so grateful that she'd kiss the floor at his feet. Her and Yuuki both-

At this point, Yori had come back into the room, two fluffy white towels slung over one arm. She shut the door behind her quietly, and immediately his train of thought was cut off. Instead, his mind was rather blank. How could he not have noticed the way the lamplight brought out the highlights of her hair?

Still clutching the letter, he stood there dumbly as she set one of the towels on the first bed and took a step toward him with the other, shaking it out. He offered the envelope to her, but she shook her head.

"Just hold it for a minute," she commanded.

"Okay," he dropped his hand to his side. What was with all these one worded answers today? He was a genius, for crying out loud. He should be able to talk circles around her, on a bad day. Polygons, on a good one.

He felt something drop onto his head, and blinked in surprise as the world, quite abruptly, turned a rather dim white. Then the white was pulled back so that he could see, and he realized it was the towel. She was actually going to dry off his hair? He scowled at the thought of his curls being messed up, but she was doing it gently, so as not to muss up his look too badly. It was rather nice, he thought vaguely, that she was doing this.

"It's raining," he said by way of explanation.

"I know," she replied, ducking her head for a beat to hide a smile.

Brilliant, Hanabusa. Really, you are a winner. I'm sure you'd like to comment on the fact that rain is wet, as well? he thought morosely.

"I can do that," he told her, catching her wrist with his free hand.

"Alright. I just thought I'd help," she shrugged lightly, letting go with her other hand.

"That's nice of you," he struggled for words. Why was it that with her, he had nothing good to say?

"Aidou-senpai," her voice called to his attention.

"What?"

"Can you let go of my hand?" she glanced at her wrist pointedly.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled, releasing her.

"It's okay," she replied.

At a loss, he resorted to occupying himself with getting dry. Yori plucked the envelope from his hand and settled herself down to read it, as usual. When he was at least decently dry, he placed the towel on the floor to soak up some of the water, and spread the other one over the bed to sit on.

From there, he contented himself with watching her read the letter. It seemed almost to have become a ritual. He came in, acted like a moron, and then settled down to watch her. He sighed to himself. He was doing just great, just wonderful. He was assuredly making the entire vampire race proud with his extraordinary people skills.

Yoris eyebrows shot up again, and she tore her gaze away from the letter, staring right at him. His brow furrowed, aggravation sweeping through him. What had Yuuki said about him now?

"If you're hungry, I strongly recommend the crackers. They're under the table," she gestured to the same piece of furniture that held her paper.

"Hungry?" he was put out for a moment, and then realization hit him. "Oh. That was only because I was careless last time. I took extra tablets before I came."

"I see," she lapsed into silence for a moment, then, "What do they taste like?"

"The tablets?" he'd never been asked that before. Then again, he didn't regularly speak with humans who knew about vampires at all. "Horrible. The worst." He made a face. "They taste like something between rotting chalk and motor oil, depending on how you take them."

"Nice. So why do you take them at all, then?" she wrinkled her nose.

"How else do you suppose we'd get our daily nutrition? Should we go around preying on innocent humans, then?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, I guess not," she agreed.

She returned to reading the letter, and he stared at his hands, unsure of what to do. Idly, he retrieved the box of crackers, opening a package and hating the amount of crinkling noise the plastic made. He removed a cracker, nibbling it lazily. It was salty and dry, but at least it provided him with a distraction.

"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked, to fill the empty silence that had settled around them.

She shook her head, "No. I'm an only child."

"What do your parents do?" he set the box down beside him, frowning as he read the words, 'New, Fresh Taste.' Yeah, right.

"My father is a doctor, and my mother is a lawyer. It's interesting that the book she always read to me is titled Pride and Prejudice."

"Fitting," he licked the edge of the cracker, wrinkling his nose. What did humans find appetizing about these things? He replaced the box and cracker under the desk, determined to never get himself into a situation where his sanity would depend upon the repulsive food.

"What about you, Aidou-senpai?" she asked curiously.

"Me?" He hadn't expected that she would ask about his family, though he knew he should have. It was a logical question. "I have three elder sisters. My father is a business man and my mom has stayed at home for as long as I can remember. She runs the house, for the most part."

It was odd to talk about himself. In the vampire world, his family was common knowledge. The Aidous were powerful, respected, and well known. His father, especially. The Aidou's business conquests had made them both wealthy and influential.

"You have exams soon, right?" he inquired, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Would you...would it be helpful if I brought you some of my notes to study beforehand?" What was he asking now? Idiot. Why was he trying to be nice all of a sudden?

She smiled, and he felt his heart stop for a moment before he mentally shook himself. What the hell was with this behavior, today? Maybe he really was sick...

"Aidou-senpai, I don't think that's quite allowed," she chuckled.

"Why not?" he glared.

"It's rather like cheating, in a way. I wouldn't feel right about accepting the notes. And I'm sure I'll do just fine on my tests," she added with a touch of confidence.

"Suit yourself," he muttered, miffed at the rejection.

"Though, it's very kind of you to offer," she said quietly.

He chose not to answer this, half wondering if she was serious. Was she using the word 'kind' to describe something he'd done? Instead, he frowned bleakly. He wasn't feeling so wet, anymore, but still a bit soggy and uncomfortable. His clothes were sticking to him and he was sure his hair wasn't in the best of shape. In short, he could sum it up like this: he looked and felt like shit. Not that it especially mattered. He had to wait for Yori to finish her response.

Still, this wasn't as bad as he supposed it could be. The constricting pain was gone, and he was feeling rather peaceful. If it hadn't rained, the night could have even gone rather smoothly, he thought. Maybe...

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Yori subtly watched Aidou as she wrote her response to Yuuki. Was this the same person who'd threatened to throw the letter at her feet? It didn't seem possible. Today, he seemed almost lost. As if he didn't quite know where or what he was doing, and was struggling to get his bearings. Furthermore, he was actually speaking to her normally and had even made a kind gesture by offering his notes. That seemed drastically out of character for him.

She was a bit worried about what had happened after his last visit, but this time, at any rate, he seemed perfectly fine. There was no telltale trace of crimson to his eyes. No, now they were blue; a cool, ocean blue like the glittering waves of a summer beach... She jerked her gaze back to the paper, her own eyes widening slightly. What was that, just now? Her lips pressed together, a small frown pulling down their edges.

She focused on the letter. Yuuki was desperate for news on Zero, but Yori had nothing good to tell her. And she would break Yuuki's heart if she told her how he had responded to those letters. No, she would definitely avoid answering the question.

Zero is his same old cranky self, she wrote, a pang of guilt stabbing her even as she knew she had to do it. And, as usual, he fell asleep in class yesterday. Even without being a prefect, he still manages to continue his old habits. He was rewarded with yet another detention.

Her attention wandered back to the damp figure sitting on the bed across from hers. For some reason, it was difficult to concentrate on the letter with him sitting there. Maybe it was the way his eyes had pulled her in unconsciously, or maybe the way his features had arranged themselves into a cute sulking face--

Cute? Where had that come from? But, of course, it couldn't be denied that Hanabusa Aidou had been the class idol, and for good reason. She could admit, sensibly, that he was rather attractive. However, she had never been attracted to him. His playboy attitude had always left her feeling rather disgusted. But, was that the way he truly was, or just the front he put up?

Shaking her head at herself, she forced the pencil back onto the paper and continued. As to what happened with Aidou, I don't think you should be overly concerned. I think it was just an oversight on his part. He seems fine, now. In fact, he even offered me his notes for studying. Maybe you should check him for a fever, after all?

"I nearly forgot," Aidou murmured, half to himself. She looked up in surprise. "The Christmas Dance is coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Yes," she nodded, puzzled.

He smirked, and a warning bell went off in her mind. What was he plotting? If she had learned one thing, an expression like that from him was never a good sign.

"And I suppose you'll be wearing that green dress from last year, right?" he asked.

Her eyebrows shot up, "Yes." How was it that he could remember something like that? Especially about someone like herself; someone who, she was positive, had never shown up as even the smallest and most fleeting blip on his radar.

He grinned wolfishly, and her eyes narrowed. But all he said was, "Good."

"Aidou-senpai, what is this about?" she regarded him cautiously.

"Just wondering," he dismissed the question, but her suspicion was only raised.

"I see," she replied, though in fact she did not see. Not at all.

Finishing the letter was, undoubtedly, the most difficult thing that she'd had to do all day. Not only was she preoccupied with trying to decipher what he'd intended by asking those questions, but she was distracted by his presence. And a nagging thought had wiggled into the back of her mind. The longer that she took to write the letter, the longer he would have to stay. She couldn't understand it, but a part of her was reluctant to see him go so soon.

Taking a small breath, she announced, "Finished."

He blinked, then stood slowly, "Alright."

She slipped the letter for Zero into her desk and removed an envelope, sliding her own letter into it. Then she held it out to him. His fingers closed around the paper, but for a moment that seemed to stretch out vastly between them, he didn't take it from her, nor did she release her hold on it. There seemed to be something vital hanging in the balance of that pause.

Her eyes drifted to his, and the room narrowed, present only through the blue of his eyes. She could hear her heart beating, far too loudly in the huge, resounding quiet. She was certain that he could hear it, too, and wished fervently in the back of her mind for it to quiet. But she was incapable of moving, mesmerized by the blue.

And then, suddenly, he broke away from her, the letter gone from her grasp. He seemed a little shaky as he turned to her from the door and said, "Good night."

"Good night," she swallowed, hoping her voice didn't betray the tremor she felt in her hands.

He nodded, and then the door was clicking shut behind him, leaving her alone.

Aidou may have been a vampire with the power to control ice, but she couldn't help but think that the room seemed a bit colder when he wasn't there. Colder, and far more empty. She squeezed her eyes shut, picturing Yuuki's smiling face.

"Yuuki," she whispered, an unbidden tear trailing down her cheek, "I'm lonely."

--o--[Chapter End]--o--

A/N: Please review? Pretty please? I almost lost this forever, so a little review would make me feel about 50 zillion times better.