The Ninth Bite

Cross Academy was like an abandoned graveyard, the wind whipped through as random strangers would, visiting memories that once was – of happiness. After the last incident, which resulted in the erasing, or 'resetting' of all student's memories, but one, Cross took extensive measures to ensure the safety of his students. He dismissed the entire student body under the impression that the academy would undergo a significant renovation, fixing the previous buildings that were damaged by 'unfortunate circumstances. Such circumstances elaborated about the weather, poorly built structures and the list went on. The hand full of people who were allowed to keep their memories in tact knew that that was a lie.

The dismissal was abrupt, raising a few questions from the more curious people, even Yori didn't expect it. This added to her suspicion that something was going to happen soon, an itchy feeling that had been tugging at her mind strings since Kaname's sudden appearance two months ago. This and the sudden influx of rain and storms as well as the return of a grey haired vampire. She had a strong feeling something was going to happen, she just didn't know what it was. Her waiting was about to pay off.

The dorms were now empty which carried a ghostly wind, whistling and whispering through the curtains, doors and rooms. Yori had little purpose during times like these, waiting for someone to make a move, for the door to creak open just a little bit. She would go about her day in a half awake daze, like a computer on autopilot. Her father, the chairman of the school board insisted that she remain on campus despite Cross's insistent conviction that she leave for her own safety. Although she wanted an escape from reality, she couldn't fight it, every inkling of the world conspired to keep her on a tight leash at the Academy. At this point she didn't even care, she was but a shell of a body that was once so bright.

Her eyes focused back to her surroundings, simultaneously shutting down the autopilot that was taking control of her body. She turned another corner and then another until she stopped at a large door. The halls were empty and dead silent. She knocked twice, hearing the echo pass through the corridors.

The door creaked open and she took a modest step in, giving herself a second to adjust to the sudden array of light attacking her pupils. The room was lit in a golden yellow from the grand faux candles that hung on the side of the walls.

"Sayori, thanks for coming here on such short notice" Cross began, "as you may know, many of the students have been dismissed for the renovations, leaving only a handful of people on campus."

She nodded timidly, standing awkwardly across the desk where he sat cross legged.

"Your dorm is all the way in the west quarters of the Academy and I think its dangerous for you to travel such a distance to the dining halls, on top of the fact you are now alone in that giant building."

He looked at her, studying her eyes, searching for a sign of life or consciousness but to no avail.

"I've decided that you will move into a room in this quarter so that your safety can be ensured," He said evenly as he reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a golden key that matched with the golden lights "Here are your keys."

Her eyes looked beyond his hands though, straight at the large window that sat behind him, looking straight to the Midnight dorms only a courtyard away. It sent an unknowing shiver down her spine. She suddenly focused back on Cross and his hands.

"You'll find the room around the corner." He said as she took the key out of his hand and turned for the door.

She made her way down the familiar hallways, mimicking the same ones as every other building at Cross Academy, only one or two things distinguished the differences. This building had more golden coloured objects, it was for a more grand taste. She looked at each passing door as she continued her way down, she felt a presence in each room. She paused for a millisecond in front of a door, staring at it as if it was see through. She shook the feeling and continued to the door that had a gold encrusted number 13. She unlocked the door with a soft click and walked into the room lit by a large window on the opposite wall. Her hand wandered against the wall next to the door searching for a switch. The lights shot on with a click and she dropped her keys.

"The old man has a sick sense of humour," She said aloud.

She wished she didn't remember this room she used to spend so much time in, sitting on the floor doing homework, writing notes, or just chatting. All the time she would waste in this room. It even smelt like her for God's sake. A year, and the damned room continued to reek of Yuuki, the walls screamed her name, the bed, the doors, the carpet, the chairs – they were all hers. Yori felt like foreign in the room.

She let out a sigh and bent down to pick up the keys, tossing it on a nearby desk. She started for the bed and collapsed on to it. Her mind began to plague with thoughts again. 'If this was Yuuki's old room, Zero's must be around here somewhere' she thought to herself. She had felt presences behind each door when she walked down the hallway, 'was he in one of them?'

She knew he was back from his missions, she knew he was back on campus as well. She saw the sliver of silver in the corner of her eye a month ago when she was walking to the lake. She knew he stalked the hallways often, met with Cross upon demand for checkups, pointless chats and serious ones. She also knew Kaito had returned as well. Cross had given her free pass to venture to the local town now that she was technically not under the Academy's care. She would walk down the eerie half empty streets through the alleys to a second hand bookstore, which was next to a local tavern. He was always there; she could feel his uncomfortable presence every time he was near. She could still feel his eyes on her as she walked past the faded windows. It was the same sensation she felt as she walked down the hallway.

A knock on the door pulled her away from her apparent slumber. 'When did I fall asleep?' she thought to herself. The lights were still on, but outside was now dusk, the sky painted with a red. She looked to the clock on the wall, she was asleep for an hour. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she made her way to the door, opening it an inch to see who was there. A breath was caught in her throat.

"What do you want?" She asked in a hard voice.

He didn't reply, simply pushed his way through the door and sat down on a lounge chair by the coffee table.

"Get out" She said, her head still in a groggy state.

He gestured for her to sit on the lounge across his, his eyes unreadable as always. He was dressed in his usual gear, his hair messy and his face looked tired. She stared at him, trying to read him like a book, only to be met with blank pages.

"I won't bite," He finally settled.

She cautiously sat on the chair across his, her eyes never leaving his in a tug-o-war of stares.

"What do you want, Kaito."

"To talk," He said in a lazy voice, "how have you been –"

"- Get straight to the point, I don't have time for your games."

He was almost caught off guard at her sudden change, she was in control of this conversation, and he was merely her pawn.

"Its about Yuuki,"

He saw a sudden spark in her eyes at the mention of that name. He knew he caught her full-undivided attention and interest.

"She – no – they, Kaname and Yuuki have both come out of hiding" He paused, "they plan to hold a ball to celebrate Yuuki's return to the world as a pureblood."

"They plan to invite every prestigious vampire family from around the world, and they will all be at the one place at the one time."

Yori's eyes shot up to meet Kaito's. Her brain began putting the pieces together, suddenly, everything made sense. Kaname's sudden appearance at the Midnight dorms followed by the dismissal of the students as well as the return of Kaito and Zero.

"They're going to have it here," She breathed in a disbelieving tone

He nodded

"Yes, they came to the Hunter's Association about a month ago telling us they wanted to hold it at the Midnight dorms because it was a symbol of where it all began."

"And you said yes to this?" She argued,

"Of course we did."

"But –"

" – We only said yes under once condition. That the Hunter Association would chaperone them."

She felt a tornado of thoughts whirl through her head at the thought of Yuuki, Kaname and Zero being in such close proximity. They would all be under the same roof after not seeing each other for almost a year. Under the same roof after trying to kill each other for so long. 'Just a courtyard away' she thought as she looked out the window to the Midnight dorms.

"Why are you telling me this?"

He smirked his devilish smile as he leaned forward, his face merely an arms length away from hers.

"I am in debt to you, yes?"

She glared at him as his hand grasped her cheek, caressing it with his thumb in a disgusting manner. She felt her stomach churn uncomfortably at the sensation.

"I will sneak you into the ball."

He could hear the murmurs through walls, like cardboard. He felt her pause in front his door, studying the room as if she could feel his presence in the room. Maybe she already knew he was in there. The bond was still in tact as much as they both denied its existence, even after months and months away from each other; the bond was as strong as the first day it was formed. He felt a hunger take its place in his stomach again, he could smell her scent, even in the millisecond she spent in front of his door, it was enough to get him into an aggravated mood. He fell back onto his bed staring at the white of his roof. He was talking to her. He couldn't make out their exact words, but he could hear the somber tone of Kaito's voice and the uneasiness in Yori's words. They talked for almost an hour until he heard the door open then close, indicating Yori was finally alone. He felt her walk around the next room, exploring or re-exploring. She opened the window with a small tap and the breeze snuck under her door and through to his, carrying the faint scent of her with it.

She smelt delicious.

He let a low growl from the back of his throat at a sudden thought that flew through his mind. He quickly stood up and walked to his bathroom, turning the water to scorching, he stripped himself of his clothes.

He made his way to Cross's office, his hair still wet from the shower, dampening his white t-shirt. He walked through the doors without a knock and sat himself down across the desk. Cross peered through and saw Zero sitting down.

"What brings you here at such a late hour, Zero?" He asked, shifting his glasses higher up his nose

"What is Yori doing here?"

"What do you mean? She's at the Academy because her father –"

" – No, I mean what is she doing here, on this side of the campus, in her room." He glared up at the older man

Cross held his ground against Zero's glare before softening his expression.

"Its dangerous for her to be alone in the girls dormitory all the way across campus, so I let her stay here, where there are more people to keep an eye out for her."

"Did it have to be her room though?"

"It doesn't make a difference as to which room she stays in. A room is a room, regardless of its predecessors."

"But it still her room, Yuuki's room!" He rasped, as he stood up from his chair and slammed his fists onto the table "I know you know about Yori and I, and you send her like a meal, putting her in a room next to mine, in her damn room!"

Cross maintained a neutral composed expression.

"Stop trying to turn Yori into her!"

The room drowned in a pregnant pause. Zero held his head low, his hair sheltering him from whatever look Cross was shooting at him. Silence lingered through the room. It poured itself into each of the men. It was deafening.

"Zero, I'm not trying to turn Yori into Yuuki."

Zero looked up, his seething crimson eyes locked with Cross's pale ones.

"You are."

Yori heard yelling echo from down the hallway, she guessed it came from Cross's office judging from the direction. She laid her head down on the pillow, flicking off the table lamp and closed her eyes. She tried to think of anything but Kaito's words continued to replay through the faucets of her mind. She only dreamed of an opportunity like this, never had she believed it would happen. Questions began to plague her mind like a disease. Would Yuuki even want to talk to Yori? Would Yuuki even care?

She heard a sudden door slam shut around the corner of her room causing her to jump slightly at the loud noise.

She took a step out of the bed and walked towards her door, opening it ever so slightly to look down the empty hallway, only a few lights illuminated it. She turned her head from left to right then back left, no one. She left her door slightly ajar and began walking to where she heard the door slam, her curiosity peaking.

"Was Cross okay?" She thought to herself "What if he's hurt?"

She continued around the hallway, genuinely worried about Cross. She walked around the last corner to his office and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She saw a body on the floor, his back against the wall next to the shut office doors, his head hung low, his hair draped, covering his face. It was too late, her footsteps were already echoing down the hallway and would have already reached his ears. Her heart raced to no end.

He slowly lifted his head up, his red eyes poured itself into hers.

"Yori."

So, I'm very aware of what month this is. To be fair I did post a Zero/Yori story to sort of quench the thirst, but apparently no one enjoyed that. The only review I got was simply 'Cool but when are you gonna update your multi-chap'. So here is it sir fjhvck.

Check my profile regularly for updates and progress on Bite Me. As always, take care.

(Side note, unbeta-ed and will have many grammatical errors.)

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