Zero Kiryu stood and looked at the small white cottage in front of him. He took a deep breath, biding his time to really consider his next move. He couldn't pinpoint it precisely but something deep in his gut told him that if he did decide to knock on that door, it could mean some serious changes in his life. Possibly something that he could never go back from. His instincts warned him that he needed to be cautious. At the same time they also seemed to hint at the slight possibility that those changes might not necessarily be bad- at the possibility of something good yet to come. Zero could definitely use a stroke of positivity in his life right now.
He took a moment to reflect on the last few months of his life, sighing in exhaustion as he thought about it. Everything had changed for him once Yuki had been revealed as a pure blood vampire and had made the choice to leave with her brother Kaname and the rest of the Night Class students. A part of Zero still ached whenever he thought about the choice she had made for herself even despite knowing how Zero felt about her. After she had left, the Night School campus closed and since then only Day School classes were still held. Zero was still attending Cross Academy as a student but he'd been taking on more and more missions as a Vampire Hunter. Lately he'd been doing most of those missions with a partner- Rei Shihoin an old colleague from back in his training days with the Association. Zero ran his fingers stiffly through his hair. Rei was the reason he was here today, anxiously waiting outside of this cottage, nervously plotting his next steps.
Rei had been a good friend to him. Things had been rocky between them when they had trained together many years ago, but since partnering recently they had become really close. Like really close. When it had been revealed that Rido hadn't actually been destroyed and it was believed that he was still out there gathering his energy and preparing for his next strike, it had been Rei that had helped comfort Zero when he got down on his self for his failure. Rei had also been the one that had urged him to mend his relationship with Yuki and erase his foolish vendetta and oath to hunt her down.
In truth, between their shared history, and the ease of communication and understanding between them, Rei had become his closest friend and was nothing less than invaluable to Zero. But recently…Zero bristled with anger as he thought back to their encounter with Kaname during Zero's recent attempt to reconcile with Yuki. Things had gone badly when Kaname interfered, and Rei had to intervene- and then….Zero shook his head brusquely. He didn't want to relive that moment again. It had been painful and it had uncovered a lot of truths that might not have otherwise come to light. He groaned inwardly. The bottom line was that he now knew that Rei was in love with him, and he was left to decide what to do with an expression of feelings that he couldn't possibly return.
Zero's feelings for Yuki had caused him immeasurable suffering and he still hadn't managed to fully deal with them yet. As his friend, Rei was fully aware of it and had always been supportive. Zero worried that this new revelation would ruin the one healthy relationship that he had in his life. He had already been miserable over Yuki for months and now he didn't know how to handle Rei, causing him to be consumed by additional anxiety for the past couple of days. After the incident, Rei had taken time off from the Hunter's Association and vanished. She had been completely unreachable for the last couple of days and no one had heard from her until just today when Zero received a message with coordinates asking him to come meet her. Alone.
He was here now. But still…the sense of worry told him meeting with her was going to be heavy and that he wasn't at all ready for it. He could always turn back. He could tell Kaien where she was, send him to fetch her, and stay out of it himself. But he knew there was no way he would do that. He really did care for her and he would never betray her.
So he guessed that was his answer then. Like it or not, he was going to the cottage and he'd listen to what she had to say. Even if he couldn't return her feelings, he could still work to be as good of a friend to her as she'd been to him.
Zero squared back his shoulders and went to the cottage door. He knocked firmly on the door and then waited…