A/N: Thank you to everyone who voted on the sister issue. I'll change it soon, but I can't promise that it'll be done anytime soon. This is a fairly short chapter and fairly crappy, so I'm sorry. Uni is keeping me really busy. As I said before, Zeki will slowly be growing throughout these next chapters. And yes, there will be Aidori mixed in, too. Don't panic! Breathe! Lol, anyway so:

Disclaimer: I really don't own VK. Trust me, if I did, things would be different.

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

A small rectangle fluttered to the ground from the closet. A pale hand, reaching for a coat from the rack, paused and knelt to pick up this flimsy shape. Zero's fingers closed around it, bringing it towards his face so that he might identify it. His breath came sharply, flying into and out of his chest with a velocity so fast that his lungs were stabbed with sudden pain. His violet eyes widened, expression twisting from calm to enraged within that single breath. His fingers curled violently, trembling as he restrained himself from crushing the object that he held.

Yuuki's innocent, lovely brown eyes stared back at him, smiling blissfully in total joy, and completely oblivious to his emotional turmoil. It was only fitting that it would be like this now. Her, looking at him with absolute trust and faith, and him, looking back at her with barely contained, raw emotion. His fangs slid downwards, lengthening, his teeth barred and dangerous. And yet, he could not bring himself to cast aside the photograph, to crumple or damage it in any way, or even to simply set it back in the closet. He was bound where he stood as if chained. There was no escape from that chocolate gaze.

His fangs sliced into his lower lip, and he jerked away from the picture as if stricken. Blood welled up and trickled down his chin, dripping onto the floor, but he ignored it, finally able to release his delicate grip and watch as the photograph slowly drifted to the floor. He noticed himself in the background now as well, watching from behind Yuuki with solemn eyes. It was always the same... She was always ahead and he was always behind. It was a repeating pattern that he seemed unable to break. Passing a hand before his eyes, he wrenched himself away, taking the coat and leaving the room swiftly. If he were to linger, he might be pulled back again by her magnetic eyes.

Wiping the blood from his face with a harsh gesture, he paused in the doorway, his mind flashing to the small pile of letters in the corner. There were three of them now, a collection of words and thoughts that he yearned for and yet refused. His hand twitched, imagining what it would be like to pick up one of those slightly crinkled envelopes and--

He shut the door decisively. No. He would not read those letters. A spasm of pain flitted through his body, but he brushed it aside callously, exiting the front door and locking it firmly. He couldn't afford to consider the possibility of reading them, not even for a moment, because a moment would be all he needed to lose his resolve.

He started down the street towards the academy.

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"Kaname-sama is coming home?"

Yuuki felt as if the air had been forcibly removed from her lungs. A thrill of heat and fear swirled through her, and she felt her pulse quicken. Kaname inspired a confusion of feelings within her that she didn't understand. Part of her longed for him, for his touch, for his blood, for his love. Another part feared him above all else. She dared not imagine what would happen if he discovered her letters. Yet another part hated him, despised everything he had done by caging her, by keeping her from the world; while at the same time, an equal and opposite part adored him. He had saved her life, done countless things for her. And still, she felt more. Guilt, because she could never give him her heart the way he wanted her to; revulsion, because he was her brother and lover; and even sorrow, because he seemed so lonely and because she could never be with him the way that he deserved. The mix of sensations she felt upon hearing this news was overwhelming.

"Yes, so you'd better keep up with your studies," Aidou admonished. "I've noticed that your daily quiz grades have been dropping."

"It's not like you to be concerned about my grades," she shot him an impudent glare. "I thought you hated being a mailman."

"I do," he answered quickly, defensively, and she narrowed her eyes. He sounded oddly suspicious...

"If there's anything you want to tell me--"

"There's nothing I want to tell you!" he snapped, eyes flaring crimson.

This action was one among many that she'd noticed, increasing in frequency as time passed. Lately, Aidou had been prone to sudden moments of intense hunger, during which not even the tablets had provided satisfactory nourishment. He'd seemed more irritable, and strangely, far quieter than he had ever been before. She'd caught him staring out into space one day, and when she had aked for an explanation, he'd only responded with anger. It was troubling, and Yuuki was concerned for his health. Vampires didn't get sick, apparently, as Aidou had explained to her recently, but she could think of no other reason to justify why he was acting this way.

"It's only because Kaname-sama will be arriving," he continued. "Or did you want him to see your grades slipping? What a wonderful Christmas present."

Christmas. It was impossible to distinguish this usually merry season from any other, here in the mansion. When she'd been at the academy, this time of the year would have been a wondrous one. The snow would have begun to gently layer the ground, the students would be cheerfully singing carols and buying gifts, and the whole school would have been preparing for the annual dance. It would have been a time of candy canes and snowmen, not endless, empty halls and dusty, lonely rooms so long unused that not even the servants could recall them.

"They're not slipping," she protested. "Just...shrinking a little."

"Shrinking? Maybe our next unit should be on vocabulary and when to use it," he muttered. "Just try to boost your grades a little for this test, okay? All you have to do is get an eighty. It's not like I'm asking you to move a mountain."

"Actually-" she nibbled on her lip, debating her word choice.

"It's literature. I thought you were decent at that. Just because you think you're better at a subject doesn't mean you don't need to study." He shoved a finger at her open textbook, "So get back to work."

"Fine," she grumbled sourly, turning deflated eyes back to the page, where the words jumbled together in an incoherent heap.

"If it helps your motivation any, I'll even carry a freaking gift this time around, since it's Christmas. I'm the god of charity. Be grateful."

Her eyes lit up, "Really? You'd take her a gift from me, too? Thank you!"

"Don't thank me until you get an eighty. And don't think this full postal service is a continuing thing. This is a one time offer only," he glowered, to which she beamed and nodded.

"I'll definitely do my best!" she turned the page with sudden conviction, and Aidou rolled his eyes.

"Okay, whatever. Knock yourself out. I'll be back later with a quiz," he stood, yawning, and moved towards the door.

"Um...Aidou-senpai?" she asked, turning to face him, brow furrowed.

"What?" he sighed.

"Are you sure that everything is alright?"

"Yes, I'm freaking positive!" he threw up his hands in exasperation. "I'm just peachy, okay?! Stop asking me that!"

The door slammed shut behind him, and she regarded it worriedly for a moment before returning to her book. Her eyes fell on the already opened envelope sitting on the desk and her shoulders slumped a little. Yori had deftly avoided responding to the questions that Yuuki had needed answered so badly.

Why...? What could have happened that Yori would not share with her?

But Yuuki didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think about the possibility that Zero hadn't recieved her letters well.

She needed him to accept them. Because if he hadn't, everything she had built her fragile hopes on was shattered...

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A shadow fell over her, darkening the text in the novel that she was reading. Yori glanced up, surprised, and felt that surprise double when she realized who was standing before her. Her eyebrows lifted visibly, climbing up her forehead as her hands clasped over the top of her book.

Zero shifted, alternately frowning and attempting to smooth his angry expression. He seemed to be internally debating something, and after a long moment, he met her eyes and spoke, the words coming individually and hard, yet betraying something uncertain and vulnerable within.

"Wakaba-san. I need to talk to you. Behind the school tomorrow evening. It's...," the silence stretched out, and then he pressed on, completed the sentence.

"It's about Yuuki."

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

A/N: As usual, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!