-- Chapter 5 All souls day - part 3--

In the bathroom, Zero stripped off his clothes, dropping them carelessly onto the floor beside Yuuki’s. She’d half-heartedly tried to hide her underwear in the folds of her jacket but he could still see one bra strap and part of a lacy cup… It made him remember how sweet she’d tasted when he unexpectedly found his tongue resting on the soft, soft skin of the upper curve of her breast, heaving slightly as she’d gasped in surprise... If she hadn’t yanked his head away then, he didn’t think he’d have been able to do it by himself…

He swallowed then shook his head hard to clear his thoughts before entering the shower cubicle and twisting the hot water tap, wondering absently if he should be using cold water instead.

Zero didn’t linger over his shower as he wanted to check on Yuuki’s temperature again. He toweled himself briskly and wrapped the bath sized towel around his waist before stepping out of the bathroom. Yuuki’s breathing sounded shallow in the silence of the hotel room and Zero knew with a sinking feeling she was burning up with fever even before he placed a hand on her forehead.

He debated for about half a minute on what to do while he sponged her forehead and hands with cool water before getting dressed again in his jeans, grimacing slightly as he shoved his legs through the still wet material. After slipping on a clean T-shirt and tucking the Bloody Rose gun into his back pocket, he shrugged on his long black jacket. He sponged Yuuki’s forehead once more before he pocketed the key card and left the room, closing the door behind him. Exiting the hotel, he walked swiftly to the nearest convenience store, purchasing soluble fever and pain tablets, bread rolls and canned drinks.

There was an alleyway behind the convenience store that Zero knew would take him back to the hotel faster. After he’d gone a few steps into it however, his vampire sense started to tingle. He slowed down, straining his ears. Faint footsteps told him he was not alone this time... not now, he groaned to himself.

He glanced at the ground to see elongated shadows behind him move up and merge with his own. Taking a deep breath, Zero turned around. Four thugs faced him - two of them were holding up knives and one waved a pistol menacingly. He was unable to see their faces as the streetlamp was behind them but he knew they could see his as own due to the yellow light that spilled squarely onto him.

Well, if he couldn’t see their faces, he could definitely smell them, and the unsavory scent of unwashed bodies and clothes was overpowering to his vampire senses as they neared him, almost making him gag. He eyed them warily, his gaze swinging from one to another, wondering what was the best way of getting out of this confrontation while drawing little or no attention from anyone else. Which meant using his Bloody Rose gun was out of the question.

“Hey, freak” taunted the heavily built thug with the pistol, whom Zero took to be the leader of the pack. Zero knew his silver hair was a magnet to trouble and he berated himself for not noticing this was a rather deserted alleyway to be in, despite the fact he was a vampire with enhanced swiftness and strength.

He dropped the plastic bag of food and medicine by his feet then held up both hands slowly, hating to waste time trying to talk sense into them but knowing it was imperative he got back safely to Yuuki, who was alone in the hotel room… “Look guys, if it’s money you need...” he slowly lowered one hand, meaning to retrieve his wallet from his trouser pocket when they rushed him together, at a prearranged signal.

Zero could take on two or even three of them easily, even with their weapons drawn. With four of them, and a part of his mind still worrying about Yuuki suffering from high fever, he was overwhelmed for a moment, falling onto his knees and grunting in pain as punches and kicks landed on him from all directions. He swung out with his fists, giving as good as he got, and for a moment, he thought there was actually a chance he might be able to get away in one piece.

A sudden white hot flash of pain bloomed in his right thigh and drove all other thoughts away. Zero gasped, looking down to see the handle of a knife protruding from his outer thigh. He stared at it, somewhat surprised, a distant part of his mind thankful that his prized jacket was still intact, having swung open as he landed a punch, just before the knife plunged in. The knife was then wrenched out brutally, causing Zero to cry out in pain. A rough hand dug its way into his pocket and wrested out his wallet. He suffered a few more kicks to his ribs and back before running footsteps told him he’d been abandoned.

Zero lay on the ground for a few minutes, cheek against the ground, sweating and shaking from the pain. He inhaled deeply, fighting nausea and dizziness, smelling the stench of rubbish from the bins nearby, the cement beneath him as well as his own blood as it flowed from the gash in his thigh to soak into his ripped jeans. He pulled himself together. Got... to... get back... to... Yuuki... he thought over and over again, forcing himself up on his hands and knees, then gritting his teeth and clinging onto the brick wall beside him to pull himself up. He leant down to pick up the plastic bag which had been kicked aside in the fight with a trembling hand, almost passing out in the process as the movement caused another white hot flare of pain to explode in his thigh. Zero staggered to the other end of the alley, relieved to see streetlights and two or three cars passing by.

He took a deep breath before limping to the hotel, praying his long jacket would hide the fact that blood was soaking into the right side of his jeans. Luckily, he managed to get to his room without encountering anyone, the lobby deserted of guests as it was already dinner time.

He limped out of the lift towards their room and thankfully slid the key card into the slot. Slowly, he pushed open the door, hoping he hadn’t left a trail of blood on the carpeted corridor. He cast a quick look at Yuuki; she was sleeping.

Before he could attend to her, however, he had to get himself cleaned up. Zero shrugged out of his jacket, letting it fall to the carpet. He went to the bathroom again and removed his ruined jeans, bundling it up and shoving it into the waste basket underneath the washbasin, his sense of smell full of the scent of his own blood. It held no appeal whatsoever to him.

Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, he surveyed the deep wound in his thigh grimly, then ran hot water in the sink and wet a washcloth with it. Steeling himself, he cleaned up the wound as best as he could, gritting his teeth as waves of pain shot through his leg again. By the time he’d finished, sweat had plastered the fine strands of silver hair to his forehead as well as dripped past his eyebrows to sting his eyes. Fighting a wave of dizziness, he let the bloodstained washcloth drop to the floor and lowered his head between his opened legs after that, breathing deeply and putting the rather queasy feeling down to the fact that he’d not eaten dinner yet.

Zero then reached for Yuuki’s still wet shirt on the floor with a trembling hand, using his teeth to rip half the shirt into strips. He bandaged up his wound grimly, making a mental note to buy Yuuki another shirt as replacement. If they both lived through this mess, that is.

After washing his hands and wetting a clean washcloth with cool water, he walked slowly back to the bedroom, ignoring the shooting pain in his leg as well as the fact that he was now only clad in his shirt and briefs.

He bathed Yuuki’s forehead and hands again then dissolved two tablets in half a glass of water. Lowering himself onto the bed and suppressing a groan, he lifted Yuuki against his chest and cradling her head in the crook of his arm, spooned the liquid down her throat. Some of it dribbled out the side of her lips and down her chin but finally she’d taken enough, protesting feebly and tearfully all the while at being disturbed. He spoke to her softly to calm her down, then lowered her back onto the pillows and placed the wet folded washcloth on her forehead. He was hungry for blood now due to blood loss from his wound and he knew his eyes were slowly turning crimson but he grimly ignored his hunger.

If Zero had thought rationally about it, perhaps taking more blood from Yuuki could be more or less justified by the fact that he’d be fully recovered and in a much better position to look after her than the rather sorry figure he was now. But knowing he was the cause of her getting soaked in the rain, knowing he’d already drunk from her that afternoon... no, he couldn’t. He just couldn’t take any more from her now especially when she was delirious with fever. He wasn’t that much of a monster... yet...

Zero ate some of the bread he’d bought. He knew while Yuuki was having a fever, it was no point getting her to eat anything. She tossed and turned restlessly throughout the night and her fever shot alarmingly high twice. Zero didn’t sleep a wink as he repeatedly bathed her forehead and hands with cool water and gave her more medicine to bring down the fever, all the time berating himself for letting her come along with him, for getting her wet in the rain while she comforted him, for drinking her blood again and trying hard to ignore all the while the increasingly uncomfortable symptoms of bloodlust within him.

All in all, it was one of the worst nights of Zero’s young but eventful life.

Finally, just before dawn, Yuuki’s fever broke and she started perspiring heavily. Within minutes, her pyjama shirt was soaked. Zero went over to his bag and pulled out his pyjama shirt. Beyond caring about niceties, proprieties and should or should not’s at this time, Zero stripped off her wet shirt, his deep fatigue and sleep deprived brain making him almost oblivious to her nudity. Well, almost oblivious...

As he ran the cool washcloth over pale creamy soft skin and sweetly curving flesh, one still functioning part of his brain was busily storing up enchanting images to be retrieved and viewed at with secretive pleasure at a later date, another part was screaming at him to hurry up, just in case Yuuki woke up and the third and largest part was trying hard to ignore the tempting curve of her slender neck, which he deliberately chose to sponge last, with the pulse beating under the twin wounds that were just starting to heal, beckoning to him. Luckily, his bone deep fatigue helped to blur the normally acute ache of his bloodlust.

Zero found himself staring at her breasts again until she stirred, murmuring faintly. He tore his gaze away with a visible effort. Grabbing his pyjama shirt from the bed, he lifted Yuuki once more against his chest to slide her limp arms through the sleeves before reaching in front of her to button up the shirt. It was the only clean shirt he had left and the same part of his brain that was still appreciative of her earlier partial nudity was now feeling guilty pleasure at seeing her clad in his shirt. It was much too large for her slender frame however, and he rolled back each sleeve several time before her hands could be seen. Swaying with fatigue, he then threw himself down beside her and was soundly asleep in seconds.

When Zero next awoke, it was an hour to noon. Yuuki was still sleeping but she stirred and opened her eyes a second later, seeming disoriented to find herself in an unfamiliar room. She sat up, glanced around and saw Zero looking at her silently.

“Zero? Where are we?” she asked, looking around her in bewilderment. Zero raised himself on his elbow, still staring at her. “We’re staying at a hotel, remember?”

She frowned for a moment then her eyes widened as everything came back to her. “We – we went... to your parents’ graves, right?” she asked, the casual question causing Zero to pause for a moment. Had it really only been yesterday?

“Yeah” he murmured, reaching over to check her forehead once more. It was cool to his touch and he breathed a sigh of relief. Yuuki looked at him in surprise.

“Why, was I ill?”

Zero didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her question – boy, had she ever been ill... But he was spared thinking of an answer as Yuuki suddenly looked down, surprised again to find herself clad in Zero’s pyjama shirt.

“Zero? Why am I wearing your shirt? Where’s mine?”

Zero hesitated, thinking her previous question would’ve been much easier to handle. Again, he was spared having to answer this question as Yuuki suddenly gasped, hands reaching up to tightly grip the opening of the shirt at her neck.

“Who took off... who changed...?” Large brown eyes stared at him in alarm, causing Zero’s cheeks to grow warm. Of all the three questions she’d asked, he now knew which was the one he didn’t want to answer.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to return her look. “I did. Your shirt was wet when your fever broke, Yuuki” he said evenly. Then, as she gasped again, he scowled. “Look, I didn’t do anything, if that’s what you’re thinking...” He turned away to swing both legs to the floor and stood up, forgetting his wounded leg and almost collapsing to the carpeted floor in pain.

Yuuki’s eyes got wider as she noted his state of undress but forgot about it a second later as she spied the ragged strips of white cloth wound tightly around his right thigh, a small circle of fresh red blood slowly spreading over the dried blood on the cloth.

“Zero! What happened to your leg?”

He hesitated, wishing he’d taken the precaution of wearing his pyjama pants earlier. Ignoring her now, he snatched another pair of jeans he’d thrown into his bag at the last minute and limped to the bathroom. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub again and started pulling on his jeans.

“Zero?” he looked up startled, as Yuuki appeared in the bathroom door, looking surprisingly good with rumpled hair, her slender form practically swallowed up in his pyjama shirt. It reached halfway down to her knees, and he couldn’t help wondering how she’d look wearing his shirt and nothing else.

“It’s nothing...” he said, looking at the floor as he stood up slowly, weight on his good leg before pulling the waistband of his jeans over lean hips, breath hissing sharply through his teeth as he accidentally brushed his wound. He froze and bent over, clutching at the marbled vanity top nearby, breathing hard. As Yuuki stared at him, biting her lip, he pulled up the hem of the front of his shirt, tucked it under his chin and attempted to pull up the zip of his jeans but his fingers were trembling from the pain and he only managed to yank it up a couple of inches. He paused, shaky, frustrated and embarrassed.

“Here, let me...” Yuuki couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward, not caring if he wanted her help or not. She reached out slender fingers to pull the zipper up and work the brass button through the buttonhole as Zero stood there staring down at her nimble fingers. Great - as if he needed any help adding to his fevered fantasies when it came to her...

When she’d finished and stepped back, Yuuki’s cheeks were enchantingly flushed with color. “What happened to your leg, Zero?” Thankfully, she’d appeared to have forgotten about her other questions in light of his injury.

He sighed as he put the toilet seat cover down and sank gratefully onto the white plastic surface. “Four thugs robbed me last night as I went out to get medicine for your fever...” Then, as her eyes widened again, he added quickly “I’m fine, Yuuki, it’s just a scratch”

She snorted rather disbelievingly at that but Zero didn’t give her a chance to probe further. “Pack your stuff, we have to check out now” he ordered, giving her a gentle push towards the sink. Standing up slowly and stifling a groan of pain, Zero left the bathroom. He threw all their clothes into their respective bags while waiting for Yuuki, stuffing a bread roll into his mouth at the same time. When Yuuki came out of the bathroom clutching her toiletry bag, he went in to brush his teeth, giving her time to change into her own clothes.

As soon as he’d come out of the bathroom, she tried again. “Zero, your leg’s hurting, right?”

Instead of answering, he tossed her the bag of leftover bread rolls. “Are you hungry? Sorry it’s not much, but we haven’t time..."

Yuuki ate a piece of bread silently and washed it down with a mouthful of water, her expression clearly determined to bring up the subject again as soon as she’d done eating. She didn’t even blink an eye as Zero scooped up her underwear and stuffed them into her bag rather haphazardly.

“Zero...”

He forestalled her again by tossing her an unopened water bottle. “Take this with you. It’s late, we have to go check out...”

Yuuki sighed. “But first of all, you need blood...” her fingers started fumbling at the neck of her T-shirt.

Zero swung around to glare at her. “No, I don’t!”

Yuuki stared at him. “Zero, your eyes..." she said.

Zero swung around, catching sight of his reddened irises in the mirror above the writing desk that doubled as a vanity table. Damn.

“I’m fine” he said again, fishing for his sunglasses in a side pocket of his bag and slipping them onto his nose, causing Yuuki’s heartbeat to stop for a moment – he looked so damn good in it. She blinked suddenly as Zero’s brusque voice broke into her thoughts.

“Let’s go” He all but hustled her out the door.

In the lift, he belatedly remembered he didn’t have his wallet anymore. Thank goodness, he’d paid for the room in advance but they still needed to call a cab to get to the train station. “Yuuki, do you have any money on you?” he asked urgently. Yuuki’s eyebrows shot up then she fumbled in her trouser pocket. “Yes, I have...” she triumphantly pulled out a roll of notes, causing Zero to sag against the lift wall in palpable relief.

Yuuki was starting to look a little frightened at Zero’s pallor. He pulled himself together with an enormous effort. “I’m fine...” Great - on top of everything else, he was also starting to sound like a broken recorder…

“Uh huh”

They got to the train station with minutes to spare and Zero finally collapsed onto the train seat with a heartfelt groan of relief, Yuuki having pulled him up the train steps with all her strength. He clutched his thigh, bending over as pain knifed through his leg again, heedless of what Yuuki might have thought. She made as if to roll up his trouser leg and Zero stopped her. He wiped off the sweat on his forehead with his shirtsleeves, then leaned back and closed his eyes.

Yuuki had one fist pressed to her mouth, her eyes mirroring concern and frustration at his stubbornness. “Zero? Why won’t you let me... you know...” she pleaded. Zero took off his sunglasses, slanting a weary glance at her. “Haven’t I already taken enough from you, Yuuki?” he asked evenly, looking directly into her eyes.

She looked away for a moment then back at him, tears filling her eyes. “As many times as you need to” she whispered before reaching up to place both hands on either side of his face. “Zero, you idiot...! Don’t you know that?”

Zero closed his eyes. She was so close to him, maddening him with her soft sweet scent and he jerked his face away. “Don’t come near me...” he gasped out, then closed his eyes against the compassion in Yuuki’s too bright eyes.

A second later, Zero had swung to her again. Grasping her upper arms, bent forward to touch his forehead to hers – her fever had gone up again. Alarmingly so. He fumbled in his trouser pocket before remembering he’d downed the rest of the tablets to dull his own pain. Could things get any worse? he wondered.

Yuuki was only half conscious when the cab finally dropped them at the imposing gates of Cross Academy a couple of hours later. It was already evening and Zero couldn’t even remember how he’d gotten both of them out of the train and into a cab. Now, faced with the daunting task of actually walking up the hill to the main building with Yuuki a deadweight in his arms, he almost collapsed in despair. As there was no one around now, he slipped off his sunglasses and stuffed it carelessly into his jacket pocket.

Calling on all his strength, he shouldered both their bags on his shoulder and with a smothered groan, lifted Yuuki into his arms, a most enjoyable and effortless task that suddenly seemed as insurmountable as climbing a mountain with the state he was in at this very moment.

-- To Be Continued --