Aidou's positivity and enthusiasm was an infectious force, Yuuki found.

She had thought, having discovered her unique ability, that learning to wield it would be easier. With a more concrete focus, and one successful occurrence under her belt, doing it a second time would be easier. Like learning any new skill, constant practice and determination would eventually see results.

That was not the case for Yuuki where magic was concerned.

With each, increasingly unintended failure, the Pureblood felt convinced that she would never learn to control her teleportation in time. She had had absolutely no successes since accidentally summoning her brother.

Of course, they weren't practicing with Kaname as the target. One accidental vanishment was forgivable, partly because her brother was already on friendly terms with Isaya Shoto.

Instead, Aidou had her try with him.

And yet, despite abject failure—she had set the carpet ablaze, smashed a decorative vase against the wall, lodged a candlestick in the ceiling, and a dozen other feats that where nowhere close to what she had been trying to achieve, moving Aidou from his position across the room to her side—Yuuki persisted.

Kaname needed her to master her special power to see his dream come to fruition. Mad as Yuuki was at her brother, she wanted his plans to restructure vampiric society to succeed. Everything now hinged on her defeating Shirabuki in combat.

The fact that the fate of her brother's vision now rested on Yuuki and her lack of magical talent was daunting.

She couldn't escape feeling like she was letting him down with each new failure.

If not for Aidou's persistent optimism, she likely would have shattered every window in the mansion from her frustration.

In a roundabout way, it was the aristocrat's boundless energy that lead to her first partial success.

Yuuki thought she was being patient. It had been five days since the discovery of her unique power, and thus five days of all kinds of displays of magic that had nothing to do with teleportation. She had argued that it might be easier if Aidou and Akatsuki would try to let her teleport herself. She displayed an instinctual grasp on magic when it pertained to herself, and the ultimate goal was self-teleportation that she could use in a combat setting.

Both vampires had firmly put their foot down, citing her unborn children as the final nail in the coffin. While Yuuki believed she would have better success using herself, she wasn't going to put the twins at risk.

She knew Aidou meant well, and it certainly wasn't his fault that she was practically incapable of using magic, so she tried to take his optimism in the spirit of good cheer that he intended to bolster her confidence and not sink further into dejection with every platitude that left his mouth.

Which lead to her current situation.

"I'm so sorry, Aidou!" she wailed, holding a fleshly, limp ear between her fingertips.

Said vampire covered his remaining ear. "Not so loud, please, Yuuki-sama."

"Sorry," she apologized for the umpteenth time.

Yuuki had only wished that the aristrocrat could hear himself so he could understand why his encouragements weren't working, and suddenly found herself plucking the rounded lobe of ear as it fell out of the air in front of her.

Her first thought, upon gazing down at it, was how fitting it was that Aidou possessed a rounded ear lobe. Loyal. Kind. Dedicated. Aidou had gone out of his way for her time and again, even before Yuuki had been revealed to be a hidden Pureblood. He had stepped in when she was just the human that his lord adored and hadn't left her side since.

Her second thought was the more appropriate, knee-jerk reaction of "Gross! Oh ancestors, I'm holding your ear! It's not attached to your head! Why isn't it attached? How do I fix this?"

Aidou had laughed, loudly and brightly. "No need to panic, my lady. A little blood and I'll be good as new."

"Right, of course." Yuuki didn't hesitate to return the appendage, deliberately turning her wrist up in offering. It felt good to turn the tables, to be the one offering to aid him for a change. He had born with her massive blood cravings admirably; it was only fair that she returned the favor.

Aidou's ice blue eyes had blown wide at the implication. "Yuuki-sama, I can't—"

She cut off his protests. "Please, Aidou. I'm the one who ripped your ear off. The least I can do is see it reattached. I know you don't need my blood for that," she went on when he tried to protest again, "but you'll heal faster with it."

"But, Lord Kaname wouldn't approve."

Aidou wilted under her gaze at it sharpened with determination. "Nii-sama doesn't need to approve. He's not here. He wasn't involved." Yuuki exhaled sharply, releasing some of the residual anger for her absent brother. "I won't force you to drink, but I want to fix my mistake."

"Mistake?" Aidou parroted. "You managed to teleport my ear. I'd call that a success."

Yuuki stared at her friend, concernedly. Had she also removed his brain somehow? How was accidentally ripping off his ear in any manner considered a success? Her objective had been to move him across the room. In one piece, preferably.

"I took off your ear," she reiterated.

He shrugged, an action which looked odd when all she could focus on was the hole on the side of his head where the ear she still held belonged. "Just an ear. And funnily enough, it still works even though it's not attached. That might come in handy."

Yuuki felt queasy, suddenly bombarded with images of a dismembered hand moving about on its own. She pressed the still warm appendage into Aidou's hands and fled the drawing room that had been set aside for the purpose of her practicing magic. It was too dangerous to be practicing her teleportation ability on a living person. How lucky she must have been to have not left behind anything of her brother's when she had done it to him. She could have removed Aidou's whole head, not just an ear. He had accelerated as an aristocrat, but it would do him no good if she magically decapitated him.

She reached her bedroom, locking the door and barricading it for good measure. She couldn't . . . wouldn't . . . use her teleportation ability again. Yuuki didn't care how beneficial it would be in her upcoming decisive battle. She wasn't going to kill one of her closest friends trying to get it under control.

The brunette was unaware of how long she had secluded herself in her room. Lost in her spiraling thoughts of how she was a danger to those she cared about, she lost all track of time. It could have been two hours or two weeks.

"My love?"

Yuuki stirred at the sound of her brother's voice, if only to grumble at him to leave her alone. He had done so thus far, so it wouldn't be any hardship to continue to ignore her in favor of his grand plan.

"Hanabusa informed me of what happened today."

She groaned softly. Of course, she had. Not that she expected otherwise. Aidou might have been obligated to report to Kaname when her brother asked it of him, but the ice-wielding vampire didn't need him to. He would have mentioned the incident out of genuine concern for her, seeing as Yuuki had literally ran from him earlier that day.

Or was it yesterday now? Several hours must have passed if her brother was finally home.

Yuuki envisioned Aidou waylaying her brother as soon as he stepped through the door, torn between gushing about what he deemed a success and his worry that she had not left her room in several hours. For her mental state, primarily. After her harrowing experience with Sara's dungeon, every room she frequented in the manor was stocked with fresh blood.

Besides, her stomach was still revolting against her. Or it was possibly one of the babies kicking it. All Yuuki knew was she didn't feel hungry or thirsty, and she definitely didn't want to talk to her brother.

If her resentment was still too overpowering, she might take his ear off next, and frustrated as she was by the circumstances and his decisions, the last thing Yuuki wanted was to harm him, deliberate or otherwise.

The brunette rolled over, flopping on her back to gaze disinterestedly at the ceiling. "Then you know it's too dangerous for me to continue attempting to hone my power."

Yuuki frowned to herself when there was no response. It was unlike her brother to retreat from an argument. Especially considering they hadn't actually reached the arguing part. Where were his honeyed words about her strength and how she could achieve anything she put her mind to? Why hadn't he bothered trying to convince her that he believed in her and that was all she needed to succeed?

Had he really come home to discover his partner putting a huge roadblock in the way of his plans and decided that was okay?

Maybe Kaname never truly expected her to master her teleportation.

The idea caused Yuuki to feel pained. She had never had much confidence in herself, but Kaname stood besides her. Solid. Strong. Stalwart. His belief was enough.

And she had lost even that. Not trustworthy enough to confide to. Not strong enough to stand by his side and support him. Not good enough to fulfill her role in his plans. She had failed to prove herself his equal. Failed to even be useful to him. His entire plan hinged on her victory and what did she do? Get herself pregnant, kidnapped, and coerced into going through with a tradition she knew nothing about, which led to her foolishly choosing to match a Pureblood stronger than her in a battle of strength.

Only to give up at the first sign of failure.

Sara would make a terrible queen, but Yuuki didn't feel as if she deserved it either. What did it matter that she had been born a Pureblood? Technically, she was the elite of the elite, but everyone knew she wasn't really a Pureblood. The ten years she had spent as a human had ruined her in the eyes of the vampire nation. Labeled her as an outsider, no matter the truth, and nothing she could do would make up for that.

She wouldn't considered herself qualified by any means to rule over a hidden vampire nation. Hell, she didn't even want to be queen! She was only doing it to support Kaname.

But he no longer seemed to need her, if his leaving without trying to change her mind was any indication.

What if Kaname had just been pretending to love her because he needed her for his plans to succeed? He couldn't truly care for her if Yuuki was no use to him.

At that point, Yuuki's thoughts became muddled. If asked, she wouldn't have been able to give voice to the anxieties running through her head, but it would have been something along the line of wondering what her purpose was if she couldn't measure up to Kaname, couldn't be the queen her brother needed. Every doubt she had ever had—about herself, her ability, her impending motherhood, whether Aidou and Akatsuki were truly her friends or only cared about her because their liege lord said so, and a thousand others—wrapped about her throat like a vice grip and threatened to steal every last ounce of air from her lungs.

In her panic, Yuuki hadn't noticed her brother's appearance by her side, and was startled nearly out of her skin when he drew her into his arms.

"If it were at all possible, I would take them away from you, all your fears and anxieties."

"Kaname," she managed to choke out, disbelieving that the other Pureblood was there with her. "How . . .?" Chocolate eyes took in the still blocked door, certain he had not entered that way.

"I'm sorry I took this so far," he said in lieu of an answer. "If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, we can come up with a new plan. Together this time."

Yuuki's lips parted in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"We can put off training until the twins are born—"

"But that's three months away!" Yuuki protested immediately. She was already so far behind the other Pureblood in terms of skills, so Yuuki couldn't afford to waste what little time had before she gave birth and every waking hour became dedicated to caring for two tiny life forms.

"Or find another method," he finished.

She stared at her brother, flabbergasted. Where was this coming from? Kaname's plan to revive the monarchy had been ten years in the making, and now that he was on the cusp of seeing it come to fruition, he was going to throw it all out the window? And for what? Because Yuuki had panicked over accidentally dismembering Aidou?

He would never have another chance if he took a step back. The nobility would lose all respect for him.

"Yuuki, I love you more than anything. Nothing matters to me more than your happiness."

Kaname had proclaimed similar sentiments before, when she was facing scrutiny as his supposedly human lover, but it hit her harder this time. Something to do with the resolve lurking in his eyes. Yuuki was familiar with that look. Come hell or high water, her brother was preparing to tear the world apart and remake it to better suit her.

"Don't be foolish, nii-sama," she said wetly. "It took you ten years to reach this point. You know this is the best method. I'm just being dramatic."

"I will find another way, one that doesn't put undue stress upon you."

"You can't just reset the board when your strategy begins to fail." Yuuki found herself reverting to Kaname's preferred game analogy. "You have to finish the round or forfeit."

After everything Sara had done, there would be no forfeiting. Yuuki was going to crush the other Pureblood vampire like a nasty bug beneath her shoe for forcibly turning her best friend, and then incinerate her and use her ashes to make a polish to keep the Kuran family heirloom silver tea set sparkling and gleaming as payment for risking her children's lives.

Yuuki reeled back, at least as far as her lover's grip would allow, surprised at her incredibly descriptive and violent thoughts.

She personally wanted to make Sara pay for her transgressions, and there was no better way than to turn her trap back on her and use it to take her down. Yuuki would prove herself superior and utterly destroy the other woman's pride.

Kami, this desire for vengeance was unlike her. Maybe she could blame it on pregnancy brain. It had worked for every other emotional outburst Yuuki had had.

"Thank you, Kaname-nii-sama." Yuuki assured her brother that she was fine now, that the mix of stress and hormones had gotten to her once more and no, she had not had a minor meltdown. He tousled her hair in response, telling her that he accepted her excuses but knew the truth, and switched the topic to organizing a late dinner, since neither of them had eaten yet.

She set about trying to fix her hair into a semblance of tame while her brother removed the tall standing dresser she had used to block the door. Yuuki blinked, suddenly reminded that she hadn't moved that particular piece of furniture to allow her brother entry, so how had he gained admission to the room?

Kaname's laugh was rich and vibrant when she voiced her question. Yuuki let him tug her arm until it rested in the crook of his elbow, thinking that he would explain on the way to the dining room.

Instead they went from their bedroom to their preferred informal dining room faster than her brain could process.

She sank into her seat, pouting across the table at her brother. "Completely unfair. How did you manage to get so good at teleportation? That's my ability."

"Ten thousand years of practice, my love."

Yuuki narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, knowing that he had slept more of those ten thousand years than he was awake. Kaname was lucky, and supernaturally talented.

"Will you help me? When you have the time, of course."

"Anything for you, my love."

Yuuki snuggled close in her lover's arms that night, bolstered by the conversation she had shared with him. She knew how he felt, of course, but she needed the reassurance of hearing it—directly from his mouth.

Kaname obviously loved her. He had spent ten years watching over her as a human when she remembered nothing about him and had generated this elaborate plan to reunite her with him and make sure nothing would take Yuuki from his side again.

That was what it truly boiled down to.

Kaname was removing obstacles to their being together, trying to prevent every having another Rido situation.

Still, it was comforting to hear him say he loved her, that Yuuki mattered more than anything else and he was willing to spend a second decade fighting to keep her by his side.

The one downside of being restricted solely to practicing magic was that Yuuki had a lot of time to think. And while, yes, the siblings had initially settled their grievances in the aftermath of her staged kidnapping, Yuuki's mind was continually drawn back to the wall of secrets between her and her brother that was growing larger when it should be slowly tumbling down.

Secrets, Yuuki could deal with. She didn't like that he held them from her but understood her brother would always have a few secrets. So long as he shared the ones that pertained to her or them, she could live with secrets.

He was making an effort, which was all she asked.

Well, that and help controlling her teleportation ability. It truly was unfair that he was more fluent with it than she was.

Kaname smiled softly at the top of his sister's head as she pressed closer against him. She still hadn't picked up on how he feigned sleep, waiting for her to succumb first. It was a minor thing but holding her sleeping form in his arms reminded him that it was not a dream. His plans were progressing precisely according to plan.

He had full faith that Yuuki would trounce Shirabuki in four months time. His sister was naturally talented when it came to fighting, loathe as she was to the act, and held four distinct advantages. First, was Artemis, as no other vampire alive could even lay a finger on the anti-vampire weapon. Second, obviously, was her newly discovered teleportation ability. It was a game changer in terms of controlling the fight. If Yuuki could get fast enough at it, Shirabuki wouldn't even be able to leave a bruise on his mate's skin.

This third was also obvious, but Sara was likely overlooking it. Yuuki frequently drank his blood, and the effects of sharing blood was well known. Kaname was considered a formidable Pureblood, a prodigy never before seen. Shirabuki would be watchful for any of his favorite tricks, but she could never predict the true breadth of his ability because she was unaware of his true nature. By the end of Yuuki's pregnancy, any magic he was capable of performing would be hers for the picking.

The last advantage was less of an advantage and more of a failsafe.

Kaname had teased, when Yuuki expressed concerns about her ability to defeat Sara, that the fate of the match lay in his hands because he was the judge.

And while he was absolutely biased and one hundred percent willing to throw tradition out the window and name her the victor even if she lost, Kaname knew he wouldn't need to.

Yuuki was guaranteed to win. By her own talent, assuredly.

But, if needed to, Kaname was prepared to step in with his special brand of memory magic and make remember that Yuuki Kuran had unilaterally proven herself the victor.