A/N: So the last chapter, plus the next 2 (next one is written btw, so I'll post it tomorrow) borrow heavily from the manga. I wanted the story to mirror closely with the real one, but alter it, so that is why. However, things are different, and I've added in scenes and such. The real differences will start in the next chapter, though.
So, with that in mind…
Disclaimer: DON'T OWN VK.
"Well then, shall we start?" Luca's voice snapped Yuuki out of her reveries.
Yuuki huddled a little further into the corner, pointedly ignoring the noble vampire. Now that the day of the ball was finally here, she felt dread boiling in the pit of her stomach. She felt terribly uncertain. All of the things Kaname-sama had informed her of, all the things he had warned her of…all of them fed together into a single, solid knot of anxiety.
"Hey, come on," the noble repeated, a touch impatiently.
"Luca-san," she said miserably. "I'm not sure about this after all. It might be dangerous. I'm worrying about it more and more… I'm really nervous…"
Luca glanced back and forth from the maids to the pureblood in exasperation. "Please stop that! The maids from the Aidou family can hear you!" She turned to them now. "Don't mind that. You can proceed."
The maids rushed forward at the words, pouncing on Yuuki with no reservation. Yuuki's clothes were whisked off as they began to dress her. Squirming under their hands with sudden embarrassment, she cried, "I can do it myself! I can do it myself!"
A moment later, Yuuki was fully dressed in her ball gown and the maids had stepped back. Abashed, Yuuki smoothed down the folds of her dress. She knew that she should begin to get used to this type of treatment, as Kaname-sama's fiancé and a pureblood, but she still felt uncomfortable with the idea of having maids at all, let alone having them dress her.
"Well then," Luca stepped forward, taking the brunette's hands in her own. "Let's start with a manicure. I'll do your nails for you so that they're just right." She blinked and stared down at Yuuki's hands, eyebrows raising ever so slightly. "Huh…? It seems you suddenly are able to do your own nails, much better than before. They're so well done that we can leave them as they are…"
Yuuki blushed, remembering the circumstances of how she'd had her nails done.
"Oh, I see," Luca narrowed her eyes, all her amazement vanished in an instant. "Kaname-sama himself did your nails for you, didn't he?"
"I told him there was no need for it and he could stop, but…"
Actually, Yuuki had been a little creeped out by just how well he had been able to do her nails. It was as if he'd practiced such a thing many, many times before. His hands had been careful but sure as they'd slowly worked her nails to perfection.
"Oh, I'm not stopping," he smiled as he said it. "This is far too much fun. I just can't stop now, no matter what you say of it…"
The more she thought back to his words, the stranger it seemed. She had never thought her brother's pastimes would have included…doing his nails… It was definitely weird.
"He was so amazing at it," she continued, still in disbelief. "Actually, I'm not sure to think of him being skilled at manicures, or what the purpose of learning them could be… What job could he want to do in the future that would use that skill…?" The regal Kaname-sama, leader of the purebloods…a manicure specialist? The thought made her giggle a little.
"Tell me about it," Luca shook her head. "He's completely hopeless, isn't he? But, well, I'm glad you two are getting along better." It seemed she was being sincere.
"Luca-san…" Yuuki knew how strongly Luca's feelings for Kaname-sama ran. For the noble to say such a thing was a testament to how maturely she was handling the current situation.
Yuuki's thoughts ran back to her manicure session. Her brother had said many things during that time, trying to prepare her for the ball. He'd warned her that she would be, more than a pureblood, the desired prey of every vampire there and must guard herself carefully. But, beyond that…
"Yuuki…Kiryuu-kun will be attending the ball, as well, although he will be there on behalf of his work," he told her, not even a full day before the ball.
For a moment, it took all of her strength to keep breathing normally. Zero would be there… She fought desperately to keep her suddenly tumultuous emotions from reaching her face: the longing, the thirst, the fear, the anticipation. When she mastered herself, the feeling that surfaced most strongly was not the longing or the thirst, but rather the hurt. Kaname-sama had knowingly kept this knowledge from her, and now he was throwing it at her last minute, along with all the rest. Was he trying to unbalance her? Or was it merely that he didn't want to give her a chance to worry?
Seeing something in her expression, he asked, "Are you uneasy with that? Are you afraid he might pull out his gun on us there?"
His gun? That was the last thing Yuuki feared. She knew Zero would never do such thing at an event where duty required his cooperation. No, what she was afraid of was not him or his gun. She was afraid of herself. When she saw him, how would she react? Would she be able to hold herself back?
She forced the thoughts down to answer him. "No. The Zero I know is a dutiful person. If he's there for his work, then he won't do that while he's working."
"I think the same," he reassured her.
He continued speaking to her, filling her in on all of the information that she would need the most at the ball. She barely processed it. All she could see, in her mind, were those violet, burning eyes. He would be so close at the ball. Close enough to see, close enough to touch. But she could never touch him again. She had chosen this life, and this future. She was bound to Kaname-sama now. The red that gleamed on her ring finger reminded her of that every day. There was no going back, now.
Kaname was speaking of her parents. What would they have advised her, she wondered, in her current situation? Could she truly be happy, binding every moment to the man in front of her now, when so much of her heart yearned desperately for the other..? How much of her heart was truly devoted to Kaname-sama, and how much was attached to Zero? But no, she knew there was no real choice. Zero was beyond her reach, forever. Even her letters seemed to have barely reached him. A tear slipped down her cheek, unbidden.
She felt Kaname's hand against the side of her face, gentle but always, always poisonous. "Sorry, please don't cry. Haruka and Juri would be so proud of you if they could see you now."
She gave him a shaky smile. She could not tell him that her tears were not for her parents. They were for the lost, ruined love that crippled her still.
"At the ball, you might happen to see various people you knew from before," Luca's voice grounded her in the present once again, oddly echoing her thoughts. "You might feel nostalgic because of that, but please don't forget to remain ladylike, okay?"
"I will be careful," Yuuki answered.
"There. I think you are ready," Luca straightened a last strand of the pureblood's hair, then stood back and nodded her approval.
A knock on the door interrupted them, "Yuuki may I enter?" She recognized her brother's voice instantly.
"Onii-sama," she greeted him as he stepped into the room.
"That won't do," he gave her a tender look. "You had promised that you would spend the night calling me simply 'Kaname,' hadn't you?" When she nodded shyly, he held out his hand, "Well, Yuuki, let's go."
"Is this some kind of joke?" Yori appraised the teacher humorlessly.
"No, not at all." Somehow, Kaito's eyes still managed to sparkle with amusement.
"It's a giant suitcase."
When Yori had expressed her intention to take him up on his offer and attend the ball, she had never expected to be packed into a suitcase and shipped there. Granted, it was bigger than any suitcase she'd ever seen before, but it still was just that: a suitcase. She wasn't exactly dressed to be packed off somewhere, either. She was wearing her green dress, along with the necklace Aidou had given her, and she wasn't sure the dress would survive the trip unwrinkled.
"Indeed," he said merely.
"How long did you say it would take to get there?"
"I didn't. But, about an hour."
She sighed. An hour stuffed inside a giant box. If there was a test of her resolve to get there, this was it.
"It does have air holes, right?" She didn't really plan to suffocate on her way there.
"It's quite safe. I give you my word."
She wasn't sure how much she should really trust his word, or him, but she had already come this far. She wasn't about to pass up the chance to see Yuuki. Perhaps, even Aidou, as well… That made her wonder, would he be there? Would she even be able to talk to either of them?
It didn't matter. She wanted to see Yuuki, and it was unlikely that she'd ever get a chance like this again. With a frown, she climbed into the suitcase.
When Kaname entered the room, Zero felt the hatred surge through him. His fingers itched to reach for the cool, familiar grip of his pistol and pull the trigger. One shot to wipe that smug, lofty expression from his face. But he could not. The rules of the Hunter Association bound him as effectively as chains. Until Kaname made a threatening move, he had no choice but to endure his presence. He turned away in disgust.
"Zero," he heard Kaito speak his name. He looked at him guardedly. "From the way you're looking at that pureblood, it's obvious you just want to kill him on the spot. I hate them, too. Purebloods can turn humans into vampires on a whim if they want, so…"
"Kaito, you…when you showed up at the academy, I thought you had come to kill me the way you killed your older brother." Zero could still remember clearly, how Kaito's older brother had been changed into a vampire. The only way to save his sanity had been to kill him.
"Oh, believe me, Zero. If you get violent and I think you might harm me, I'll definitely kill you," Kaito shot him a sweet smile.
The crowd was descending on Kaname, the noise rising into a dull roar. Zero scowled. He hated their voices. He hated all of them. The scent of vampire was strong enough to make him feel sick. His hand was twitching at his side insistently, urging him to kill, to cleanse the room of their stink. He held himself still. Duty came first.
"Well, well, it's time for the boring surveillance job," Kaito commented as more vampires arrived. Behind them, a few men from the Hunter Association were rolling up a rather large suitcase.
"Here's the luggage you had left with us earlier, sir," they announced, leaving it before him.
"Ah, thanks," he waved them off and began to unlock it.
"What the hell…," Zero mumbled. As usual, everyone around him was doing weird things. If it wasn't the Chairman singing loudly to his flowers, it was something else, like Kaito lugging a giant suitcase to a vampire ball.
"Your patience has paid off. You can come out now," Kaito opened the suitcase, and autumn and lavender spilled out into the air. Wakaba stood a little stiffly, looking around her curiously.
Zero couldn't believe it. What kind of a fool was Kaito, to bring a human girl here?! He hadn't thought the hunter capable of such obvious stupidity. Furious, he leapt forward to grab his old comrade by the collar, all but shouting, "Hey, Kaito, what the-"
"Relax," the other man broke his hold, stepping back to straighten his collar. "I can protect a single human, no problem. How about you watch over her, too, if you're so worried?" He turned to Wakaba, "Alright, Wakaba-kun, go ahead and look for that friend of yours. The only condition is that you remain where I can see you."
"Yes," she nodded, and inserted herself into the crowd.
"And now we have a little lamb joining the party," Kaito seemed entertained. "Take a look, Zero. Do you see the blood-suckers eyes changing color as she passes?"
Shaking with fury, Zero demanded quietly, "You became a teacher, Kaito. What class do you teach?"
"Ethics," he smiled. "Why do you ask?"
Zero stared at him. Ethics, right. What was ethical about the current situation?
Kaito went on, "If by any chance one of those vampires makes a move to harm Wakaba, you'll have right there a perfectly legal reason to make your move and kill that vampire."
Zero clamped his mouth shut. There wasn't anything he could do about it now. He didn't mention to the hunter that, if a vampire did attack Wakaba, there was a distinct possibility that they wouldn't make it in time to save her. He didn't think Kaito particularly cared about that, though. What was important to him was setting the bait. It was somehow ironic that Kaito had become a teacher of ethics.
And then, the room changed. The scent there was hauntingly familiar, yet subtly changed. His heart beat once, roughly, in his chest. He hadn't felt the actual beat of his heart for what seemed an eternity. Every sense was acutely heightened, drawn to that scent. The scent of a specter, a memory… Yet when he looked across the room and saw her there, she was far too real.
Yuuki… The anguished name nearly escaped from his lips. He was held hostage there, unable to move. The blackness was clawing all around him. She was there, she was in the room… She was dead. He had to believe that. He had seen her die, as the vampire in her awoke.
Zero, are you well?
What would it be like, to hear her voice again? Would it still be the same? Or would it be tinged with blood? He could see her speaking to some of the other vampires, exchanging pleasantries, but he couldn't hear her voice amidst the roar.
She looked older, now. More mature, more…graceful, beautiful… She seemed so far away, even now. He missed the cute, energetic girl beside him. This version of her was delicate, refined, and completely Kaname's. Even so, he could feel the thirst within him, and the memory of that girl… He felt frozen, captured by her presence so entirely that for a moment he forgot the hatred that burned within him. Had she always been so striking? So luminous? Her eyes were just as he remembered them: soft pools of chocolate that shone warmly in the light. He could smell sunshine radiating off her skin, caressing the air between them. His throat was aching.
Their eyes met across the room.
A/N: Review? XD Just a warning, by the way, but the next chapter is pretty long. Longer than this one.