A/N: Okay, so I'm not returning to this story quite yet, but I wanted to write the chapter I had outlined for ya'll and get it out there for ya'll in the meantime and this is that chapter. Thank you to everyone who has responded to this story and I hope it continues to live up to your expectations. I promise what makes this a femZero story will begin to come out as the story develops further, if you had any concerns about that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)
Amaya made sure to attend class that night, her seat directly next to her uneasy mate.
Neither of them spoke to one another, each of them unsure of the other though they made sure to keep their awkwardness from being revealed to the rest of their classmates, though Amaya knew that at least the Inner Circle was aware of their situation.
She paid Yagari little mind as he lectured them on the climate change though she made sure to face the board even as she thought of other things.
Like how much her mate must not trust her to leave her in the dark like this or how exactly she had been awakened after so long.
Halfway through the first class of the night her attention snapped to Kaname as he stood up from his seat and left the room abruptly- his aura tense and agitated.
The rest of the class clearly sensed his irritation and were unsurprised by his departure- he must make a habit of leaving early.
Amaya remained in her seat, merely crossing her legs at the knee and dropping her hands to her lap as the minutes ticked by.
Not ten minutes later a knock came at the door and a delicate Noble made her way into the room, her form slim and slight as she approached the teacher's desk with all the grace of a prima ballerina.
Yagari took her papers and signed them, waving her on to introduce herself.
"Hello," She said, "I am Kurenai Maria."
She cocked her head to the side as she scanned them all and Amaya could tell the lower class students grew uncomfortable as her aura swept over them, lashing out with a critical intangible hand.
The aura was far too vast to belong to a Noble and Amaya smirked softly.
A pureblood wearing the face of a Noble? How fascinating.
Amaya snapped out her own aura, her power of compulsion over the mind whipping the rest of those present to unconsciousness, leaving her with a startled possessed Noble.
She hadn't noticed me? Odd.
Maria stilled, and for a moment looked like a terrified baby deer, like the genuine owner of Shizuka's host had awakened briefly.
"Come now, Shizuka-san. Are you so weak in your host that you cannot sense when you are in the presence of another pureblood? Or perhaps you know and thought you could slip by me?"
Amaya clicked her tongue, "What do you hope to accomplish? I wonder…"
"Who are you?" The grey haired Noble asked and Amaya smiled.
"A watcher of sorts- a queen once upon a time… But you may call me Amaya."
She stood and approached the smaller vampiress, leaning in to her ear as she passed.
"I hope we can be friends, Shizuka-san."
Shizuka's host's mouth curled into a wry smile, "As do I."
Despite the easiness of their replies, distrust still hung in the air between them and Amaya once again keenly felt just how changed she was since awakening.
She would have never been so forward before- no before she had been soft spoken and weak and she found herself grateful for the change even if it did concern her.
Why had she become so different from before?
What had caused this?
She left the classroom for the Moon Dorms, not failing to note the lack of her mate's presence in the dormitory as she curled up in their bed to think.
Shizuka had petitioned Kaname to stay at the Old Moon Dorms and he had allowed it, so Amaya took to visiting her in the older building, determined to get to know the other pureblood, though even Amaya was unsure why she felt the need to do so.
But she was never one to ignore her intuition and it paid off a week into their rough friendship when Shizuka revealed Ichiru to her.
She had been shocked to come across the youngest Kiryu, assuming him to be dead.
Before, she had thought that the Kiryu line's end had been the catalyst to her awakening, but if Kiryu Ichiru was still alive how was it that she had been awakened?
His older brother's death had been the catalyst for her awakening, but why?
She had to be bonded with Kiryu Zero more than she had previously thought if that were true and she was left with more questions than answers.
She didn't reveal her intimate knowledge of the elder Kiryu twin's life to Shizuka, but she felt a pull to confess it to Ichiru who shadowed she and Shizuka's meetings, never involved in the conversations himself, instead hanging onto the fringes of the room like a sliver of moonlight peeking through dark clouds.
She had revealed very little of herself to Shizuka and she knew the vampiress was growing irritated because of it- she admitted that she was mated to Kaname and that they had been mated for sometime but left out virtually everything else.
Shizuka had been patient with her at first, revealing much more about herself than she'd needed to, all in the hopes that it would get Amaya to open up.
She didn't however- Amaya didn't know Shizuka well enough quite yet to decide whether she should.
But on the rare occasion Ichiru would leave them alone she would express her interest to get to know him, passing it off as wanting to know why a hunter child would willingly kill off his parents and almost do the same to his twin for a pureblood.
Shizuka clearly saw the opportunity to use Ichiru as a spy, and the madly blooming princess began to have Ichiru escort Amaya back and forth between the New and Old Night Dorms, allowing them time to develop a friendship apart from her with the knowledge that Ichiru would tell her everything he learned.
Amaya was quite aware of her schemes, but it was completely within her telepathic gifts to manipulate how much Ichiru would willingly share with his vampire master.
The relationship began with teasing comments and a snarky back and forth and Amaya would often end their discussions with subtle remarks meant to garner sympathy or his interest, leaving the comments hanging in the air with a hum if they seemed dark or too personal, shrugging them off as they parted ways.
It was enough to get the younger Kiryu twin to begin to open up, but she knew it would take quite some time before he would trust her properly and she was not about to risk anything by compelling his trust and loyalty- no, she would win him over without the use of her power and because of that she would win him over in truth.
It was at the end of one of her walks with him as sunrise approached that she found Kaname waiting for her on the steps of the Moon Dorms, his aura dark and irritated but his expression flat.
Amaya sighed, "It would appear I am in trouble, Ichiru-kun."
Ichiru's lips quirked as if to smile beneath his mask.
"It would appear so." He drawled and Amaya kissed his cheek lightly.
"Till tomorrow night, then."
She felt her mate's aura snap at her in jealousy even if Kaname did not move even an inch from where he stood at the door.
Oh, now he's jealous?
She hummed and left Ichiru's side to flit inside the Dorms, Kaname following her as she made her way to their shared room.
The door slammed shut as soon as they were both inside and he cornered her against the back of the door, his warm scent comforting her even as his aura told her just how agitated he was with her.
"What are you doing with Hio Shizuka?" He asked, his tone near frigid as he spoke.
She shrugged, cocking a brow at him in response.
"I'll tell you everything the minute you show me the same kindness."
She could taste his inner turmoil on the tip of her tongue but didn't press him any further.
She craved his trust above all else, yearned for the comforting feeling of him returning her love for him even though she knew it was a long way off.
He didn't remember them- could barely remember his old self- and she wondered if he ever would.
Would she be doomed to live a half life of never having her love returned and yet not being allowed to love anyone else because of the bond?
She crossed the distance between them briefly, kissing him gently.
Would he even return it?
She stilled when she felt his hands wrap around her neck to toy with her hair as he pulled her closer, surprising the vampiress when he pushed it further.
Of course she wants him- no needs him, the bond demands it and her legs quiver with it every time they come close- but she can't shake the feeling that it would do nothing more than slake a temporary desire.
Still, she finds herself responding to his touch just as easily as she had before they'd been separated so long ago.
Kaname laid in bed beside Amaya as she slept, his fingers toying with her hair as she curled into his chest for warmth, blissfully unaware of his turmoil as she dreamed.
He kept finding himself drawn back to his promise to wait to confess everything to her- it would make his life so much easier if he did so, but still he would recall the danger he might be putting Yuki in if she found out that he had promised himself to her.
As it stood now, Amaya was already jealous of Yuki and he could only imagine that jealousy escalating when she discovered that Yuki was a sealed pureblood.
Yuki in her human form was already viewed by Amaya as a threat to their bond- how much worse would it get when Yuki was awakened?
He couldn't blame Amaya for being possessive or jealous of Yuki- he was just as possessive of her, just as jealous even if he didn't allow himself the indulgence of killing the males she surrounded herself with.
It was a primal urge within mated vampires to behave in such a way, made stronger in purebloods than their lower class counterparts.
But his mind was drawn back to the promise he had made to Yuki that he would mate with her when they were grown.
That wasn't a valid option any more, though.
Yet he knew Yuki wouldn't let it go when she remembered it- anyone at the school who wasn't completely oblivious could see how much she adored him and up until a few weeks ago he would have returned her feelings without question.
But now…
Now Amaya was here and his option to mate with Yuki was gone and even though he knew he should be infuriated at that thought, he wasn't and his romantic feelings for Yuki were fading more with each passing night as the weight of the mating bond pulled him away from her and towards the female who now lay in his arms.
He couldn't be too sure if it was just the mating bond that pulled him to her though- even now he began to desire her once more, renewed in his energy by her proximity as her naked skin lit a fire in him as it touched his.
He sighed in the darkness of their bedroom, releasing her hair and closing his eyes to sleep.
She lay in bed beside her mate in their palatial bed chamber, partially keeling over the bedside as painful cramps made it difficult for her to breathe. Kaname rushed to her side, calling for a healer as her face paled and she moaned in pain, tears glistening in her normally bright eyes.
The scent of blood cloys in the air of the room and tears begin to roll down her face as she releases a sob, clutching her barely-there belly.
"Kaname, I'm losing another…"
He tried to comfort her, taking her in his arms again as she clenched at his chest for help he couldn't offer her.
The healer arrived minutes later, but they already knew the diagnosis.
A/N: Questions for this chapter- What do you think of the mating bond? Any predictions about the relationship between Amaya and Ichiru or the relationship with Amaya and Kaito? What do you think of the last scene? It wasn't a dream, it was a memory, I'll tell you that. Anyway, please tell me what you think below and thanks for reading! :)