A/N: The free internet here is free. And crap. But free… Guessing I should get real internet, cuz it takes forever to up/download ANYTHING. Anyway though… XD VK!

Disclaimer: Don't own VK.

Before he even stepped through the door, Yuuki knew. As soon as she detected his scent back in the manor, she noticed something was different. She had wrinkled her nose in concentration, tasting the air, weighing his scent. It was imbalanced, too heavily infused with autumn and lavender…and…

Blood.

Her legs had snapped to attention, firing her upwards in sudden shock as the realization crashed down on her. For a moment, the world was swirling far too quickly around her, and she couldn't place where the floor or the walls were. Aidou had…he had…

Her head snapped towards the door as it opened, fingers curled against her fists. Was she hurt, was she okay…? She had known Aidou's current level of thirst was comparable to her own, a constant struggle that often left her feeling sick and desperate for relief. Still, she had never really believed that he would… She bit her lip hard.

He walked through the door grinning like a fool, eyes unfocused and dreamy. The words Yuuki had been prepared to throw at him died on her lips. If he was acting like this, Yori was at least okay, if nothing else. But then...why was he so happy? Yori couldn't possibly have chosen to give him her blood. She was far too sensible for that.

Aidou noticed the pureblood then, and froze for a moment. Then, gradually, the stupid smile crept its way back over his features, and he withdrew the familiar shape of the envelope from his coat, tossing it to Yuuki. She caught it on reflex.

"What—" she began, eyes flashing.

He cut her off, "Wait. Before you say anything, it's probably in the letter," he told her, a touch breathlessly, and then retreated quickly, presumably to his room.

Yuuki didn't bother to even glance at the first half of the letter. It could wait. In a rush, she tore off the envelope and skipped to the last page, eyes scanning furiously. She needed Yori to explain. She needed to know what had happened.

Her eyes collided with the words.

In answer to your question, other than the teachers, your dad, or zero, which other male do I see all the time? It should be easy to figure out. I thought you were doing better in school?

WHAT?! No way! Yuuki jerked the paper, knocking it against her nose. She had been staring at it so fiercely that she hadn't noticed how closely she'd brought it to her face. She blinked a little in surprise, and then stared again at the paper. How was this even possible?! There was no way Yori liked Hanabusa Aidou. It went against the laws of physics! Yori was smart, and calm, and rational, and Aidou was… She pictured his silly smiling and shook her head. Aidou was Aidou.

There was only one way that Yori would ever, ever like someone like Aidou. Her voice was a half-horrified whisper, "Aidou-senpai somehow broke Yori-chan down to get her to love him…" Actually, that was kind of amazing in itself.

Less hurriedly, she scanned further down. There, finally, Yori mentioned what had happened.

I'm sure you already know what happened. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm a little too tired to explain right now but I'm okay. Don't be mad at Aidou-kun, okay? It was my choice, and one I don't regret. I'll talk to you soon!

"Why leave off there?!" she shook the paper in frustration. There was no real explanation. Yori had chosen it? That was completely unlike her! There was no logic to it!

She sat down heavily, then leapt back up again, rushing away to Aidou's room. Flinging the door open, she felt the door recoil back at her with a loud thunk, followed by a muffled shout that sounded suspiciously like, "Ow!" Ignoring that, she forced her way into the room to confront the blond-haired vampire, who was rubbing the back of his head and glaring at her.

"What did I tell you about eating my friends?!" she demanded, hands on hips.

Exasperation passed through his eyes. "Did you read the letter?"

"It doesn't tell me anything! How did you manage to get Yori to like you?!"

That dumb grin was back. "Well, technically, I didn't eat her. I drank her"

She smacked his arm then. "This isn't okay, Aidou-senpai! You can't just drink Yori-chan's blood, whether she offered it to you or not!"

He brushed her off irritably, voice an accusation, "How is it any different than you and Kiryuu?"

His words stuck in her ears, stopping her mouth. The days at the academy rushed back to her, painful memories of all that she had lost. Painful memories of the silver days she'd once led, blissfully unaware of everything. Memories of Zero, memories of their night watches and classes, but also…memories of his body pressed hard against hers, drinking all of her in when his thirst was too great. And even though the first bite always hurt, after that…after that she always felt herself slipping away in the silver and forgetting everything else.

She hesitated. Then, "You…really care for her…right? You're not just using her?" Her limbs had suddenly lost their energy, limp with uncertainty.

"You didn't really think I was going crazy with thirst for nothing, did you?" he muttered. Then, softening a little, "Yeah." He shifted a little, as if a bit uncomfortable with admitting it aloud.

Yuuki's face brightened, though her eyes narrowed as she said, "You better take good care of her. If you ever hurt her-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," he interrupted, taking her arm and steering her towards the door.

"Hey, wait a minute. I'm not-"

He deposited her outside in the hall and quickly shut the door. She could hear it lock. "Don't forget, the ball is coming up in 2 weeks, so don't slack in your lessons. We'll have one last test next week on vocabulary. Bye now."

After a moment, it hit her. She banged loudly on the door, "Wait, it was different with Zero! He was falling to level E!"

Silence.

"It really was different!" she repeated loudly. Still nothing.

With a sigh, she went back to finish reading the letter.

"Don't come any closer," Zero growled, barely sparing her a glance from his usual spot in the stable. "It's disgusting."

"What is disgusting?" Yori asked, though she was for once grateful for his response. She already had her body angled away from him to hide the glaringly obvious Band-Aid now decorating her neck. "Other than your class attendance record, that is."

"The stink," he slid further away from her, attention focused on the horse.

"Oh, really? I think he smells nice," she replied, unruffled.

His eyes shot to her, infinitely dark, infinitely burning with anger. For a moment, she held completely still, afraid he might notice. But no, his eyes were not looking at her. Not really. She felt suddenly sad, for both him and Yuuki. Those eyes were only for Yuuki. Without her, they saw nothing.

"Hurry up and do what you came to do," he turned his face away again, perhaps to keep his nose as far from her as possible.

Well, at least he wasn't fighting her over the letter this time. She tossed it into him with a shrug. "Good day, Zero-kun. Oh, and, the teacher says you need to turn in your homework." That said, she retreated out of the stables, off to her next class.

Once back outside on the path, she relaxed, fingers moving up now to touch the Band-Aid clinging to her skin. Yori smiled, feeling the remembrance of the warmth from the night before creep back along her skin. If Yuuki were still here, they could have been twins, with matching school uniforms and bandages. For once, though, even Yuuki's absence couldn't remind her of even a trace of loneliness. Not with the Band-Aid cradling the marks of that bite against her neck.

She shivered, though not from the cold. She wasn't sure how exactly it had happened last night, that somehow Aidou had known the feelings she hadn't even fully accepted herself. She had been too addled after losing so much blood. What she was sure of, however, was how happy she felt now, and how she'd liked the gentle pressure of his lips against her own. There had been nothing in those kisses, or in his eyes, to make her believe that he wasn't in earnest.

The faint flush had returned to her cheeks. For the first time in a long time, Yori felt at peace.

A/N: I know we didn't have too much progress in this chapter, but the ball is around the corner. Dun dun, DUNNNNNNN.