Disclaimer: The Vampire Knight series is a wonderful creation of Matsuri Hino. I'm merely borrowing her characters for a couple of pages.

In addition, the story originates from "The Vampire Guardian" by Obsessiveness. I merely expanded it a bit. Written with permission.

The Two Minute Rule

With hair the colour of hand-spun gold, a pair of inquisitive sky blue eyes and that impetuous little grin glued permanently on his face, the long-awaited son of the Aidou clan was everything their family could have hoped for and more. He was intelligent, charming, and the perfect little boy in front of the guests. At the age of two, he was able to read most university-level textbooks. At the age of four, he had already mastered five languages, four instruments and could out-debate anyone on almost every political issues. At the age of six, he received an award from the World Science Academy for one of his many discoveries. And at the age of seven, he was already helping out in his father's company.

Hanabusa Aidou would, without a doubt, one day lead the Aidou clan with a pair of steady hands.

But for now, on that particular bright moon-lit night in the backyard of the Aidou family estate, he was just Hanabusa, a regular child with mischief up his sleeves.

"I propose we play a game." He declared to his two cousins, Akatsuki Kain and Ruka Souen. The two of them were in the middle of constructing a sandcastle. Both stopped what they were doing, looked up and stared at him with wary eyes.

As soon as those words came out of Hanabusa's mouth, Akatsuki knew something was going to go wrong. Very wrong. Hanabusa's idea of "fun" was usually crazy, not very well thought-out and ended with someone getting hurt.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Akatsuki asked, afraid to find out the answer.

"Oh come on," the blonde boy sniffed in indignation as he glowered at the two of them. He had expected his announcement to be met with a little more enthusiasm. Everyone else adored him. Why couldn't these two be more like them? "It's a great idea."

Ruka frowned. "The last time you said that, your cat refused to come down from the tree; you made Akatsuki climb up to get it; he fell from a height equivalent to a two-storey building and ended up with a cast on his leg for two days. Two days!"

"Well," Hanabusa's face flushed with embarrassment. He didn't like being reminded of his mistakes. "That was dif–"

"I'm not finished," Ruka interrupted him. "Your parents came running out; fell into the muddy pit you convinced us to dig up; their $10,000 designer gown and suit were ruined; all the vegetation surrounding the pit died – a problem that the gardeners couldn't fix; and somehow, you managed to convince your parents it was all Akatsuki's fault. So excuse us if we don't find your 'great ideas' to be strokes of genius."

"Hey, hey, hey," Hanabusa pointed a finger at his cousin. "If it wasn't for that great idea, we would never have had this sandbox."

All three of them stared at the said sandbox. Hanabusa's parents had it installed when the gardeners couldn't get any plants to survive on that patch of land for longer than twenty-four hours.

Akatsuki sighed. "Well, he does have a point," he said to Ruka.

"See?" Hanabusa crowed in victory.

"Yeah, yeah," Ruka muttered as she kicked the bucket she had been using just a moment ago. "Okay, let's hear it, what did you have in mind."

"We're going to practice kissing."

"Huh?" Identical expressions of pure horror shone on Akatsuki and Ruka's faces.

"No way," Akatsuki decided immediately.

"That's disgusting," Ruka scrunched up her face.

"No, it's not," Hanabusa argued. "Think about it, adults do it all the time. My parents. Your parents."

"My parents don't," Ruka muttered quietly. Akatsuki glanced at her with concern.

"And they do it in movies, on TV." Hanabusa continued. "Besides, we're cousins. Cousins kiss. That's how the phrase 'kissing cousins' came about."

"Uh, I don't think that's what it means, Hanabusa." Akatsuki commented.

"Plus, shouldn't you do it with someone you love?" Ruka wondered out loud.

"Yeah," Hanabusa rolled his expressive blue eyes with exasperation. "And say you meet the love of your life, how are you planning to kiss him if you don't know how."

Unable to come up with a good argument, Ruka fell silent.

"So, it's decided," Hanabusa declared. "Okay, Ruka, I'll need you to stand over here." Grabbing her hand, Hanabusa yanked the little girl forward until she was standing right in front of him.

"Hanabusa," Akatsuki growled, concerned about how this plan was turning out. He clenched his fists in an attempt to control the rate that was building inside of his chest. He'd never felt this angry before.

"Why does it have to be me?" Ruka asked, her hazel eyes held a small hint of fear.

"You're the only girl here," Hanabusa pointed it out. "I can't exactly go kissing Akatsuki over there now, can I?"

Ruka remained unconvinced as to why she had to be the sacrificial lamb, but she didn't say a word. Accepting her fate, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed it didn't hurt.

"Okay," Hanabusa grinned at her, not noticing his other cousin had fallen awfully silent. "Hold still. Now," he slowly leaned forward with pursed lips.

But just before his face made contact with Ruka's, he was suddenly jerked back away from her by a strong arm. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Akatsuki's right fist coming up to meet his –

Wham!

"Akatsuki?" Little Ruka gasped in horror. "I think you broke his no–"

"My nose!" Hanabusa howled as he clutched his face with both hands. "That's it!" Without a second thought, he launched himself as his former best friend.

The two of them went down in a tangle. Rolling around on the grass, each one tried to gain the upper hand. Fists flew, legs kicked. It was all a crazy mess. Hanabusa managed to land a couple of blows on Akatsuki's jaw. His redhead cousin got him back by punching him in the right eye.

"Damn it, you two, cut it out!" Ruka yelled.

Her words fell on deaf ears.

Furious beyond words, all Akatsuki could see in his mind was Hanabusa's head inching closer and closer to Ruka's. Why. Did. His. Cousin. Always. Do. Stupid. Things. Snarling, Akatsuki punctuated each word with a blow to his cousin's face.

"I give up!" With that, Ruka stormed off.

Paying her no mind, the two of them continued to grapple at each other. A punch here. An elbow jab there. Both lost track of time as they, for the lack of a better term, punched the stuffing out of each other.

Splash!

Both of them froze as icy cold water suddenly drenched them from head to toe. Looking up, they were met with a pair of furious hazel eyes.

"Now," Ruka said calmly as she set the empty bucket down on the ground. "If you two idiots are done, I'm going to go and see if Tsukiko-senpai will let me play with her dolls." With that, she turned around and flounced her way back into the house.

"I hate you," still clutching his sore nose, Hanabusa glared at him. His blonde cousin was sporting black and blue bruises all over his face and on both of his arms.

Akatsuki growled, his hand was itching to punch his cousin again. Shocked at what he was capable of, he focused hard on controlling his temper. Unable to even look at his cousin without being reminded of what almost happened, Akatsuki headed back to the house as well.

Akatsuki was right after all. Whenever Hanabusa came up with his crazy ideas, someone always ended up getting hurt.

...

A week passed and the two cousins still refused to talk to each other.

Until Akatsuki's mother got fed up at having a sullen son moping around the house.

"For goodness sake," she said in exasperation as she bundled her redhead son into his jacket and forced him out the door. "Just go over there and make peace with him already. You guys never fight. What has gotten into you two?"

It was different, Akatsuki thought as he was frogmarched to the front door of the Aidou estate. This was a huge matter. It wasn't just a quarrel over a book or a toy, this was Ruka they were talking about. If Hanabusa ever touched her again... At the thought, his hands curled up into fists again.

"Ah, welcome," Hanabusa's mother smiled as she opened the door and let Akatsuki and his father into the house. "I'm so glad you two are here. Hanabusa's been acting weird all week. I'm beginning to worry about that boy."

Deciding they needed to settle this once and for all, Akatsuki bowed politely to Mrs Aidou. "Is he out in the backyard?"

"Yeah, try and cheer him up, okay?" Mrs Aidou smiled down at him.

"I'll try." With another bow, he turned and started making his way to the back of the house.

Sure enough, Hanabusa was in the sandbox, playing by himself. Gone was the usual sparkle in his persona. Hanabusa looked more like his cousin – grave and sullen.

"Hey." Akatsuki greeted him.

"Hey." Hanabusa grunted.

The two of them stared each other for a few minutes. Both were still a little resentful over what happened a week ago.

"Ruka's somewhere in the house," Hanabusa sniffed, turning his head away. "Why don't you go hang out with her if you like her so much."

Akatsuki sighed as he walked over and sat down in the sand. Hanabusa was definitely not making this easy for him. "I'm sorry for punching you in the face."

"It hurt." Hanabusa sniffed again.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

They fell silent once more. Both unsure how to proceed.

"We need to talk about this," Akatsuki started.

"How about we come to some sort of agreement?" Hanabusa suggested.

Akatsuki thought about it. It was probably the only sane idea Hanabusa has ever come up with. "What sort of agreement are we talking about?" He asked, still a bit wary.

"Don't look at me like that," Hanabusa glared at him, hurt that his cousin still didn't trust him. "I promise you I'll back off from Ruka if you are willing to do something for me in return."

"What did you have in mind?"

"How about," Hanabusa thought about it. "Every time we get in trouble, you take the blame."

"Deal." Akatsuki decided quickly. Sure, judging by Hanabusa's track record, he'll probably be scolded at frequently. But if it meant Hanabusa would stay away from Ruka. It was all worth it.

Hanabusa frowned at the fact his cousin agreed to the deal so quickly. Maybe he should have asked for a bigger compromise. Oh well, a done deal is a done deal.

"But I'll have to touch her some time." Hanabusa mused out loud.

"Excuse me?" Akatasuki asked, his tone and gaze were as cold as a glacier.

"Look," scared at being punched again (the last time was really painful), Hanabusa hurriedly explained. "Wouldn't our parents find it weird if I don't touch her. Ever? Say they asked me to dance with her? Or take her coat? I can't possibly refuse, can I?"

"Fine..." Now that he mentioned it, Akatsuki guessed it would be weird if Hanabusa stayed away from Ruka. He sighed. "But if you do touch her, it would have to be brief."

Having established the base of their agreement, the two cousins put their heads together and began to hash out the details. They both agreed that if Hanabusa ever got into trouble, Akatsuki would take up the blame. But only under certain circumstances. For instance, he would only take the blame if there were no witnesses to claim otherwise. Or if the mess was reparable and he got a chance to try and rectify it first before taking the fall.

In return, Hanabusa would not touch Ruka whenever practical. But under duress, he was allowed to touch her for a brief period of time.

"Two minutes." Akatsuki decided.

"Yeah, I guess two minutes is okay," Hanabusa thought about it. "But say she fell over the edge of a building, and I was holding onto her to –"

"Two minutes," Akatsuki growled, his amber eyes flashed with sparks of anger.

"Okay, okay. Two minutes." Hanabusa hurriedly appeased him. "If it ever happens, after two minutes, I'll just let go and watch her fall to her death."

"Hanabusa," Akatsuki warned him. Unconsciously, his fists curled up into fists again.

This time, Hanabusa noticed it. "Okay, okay," he threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Two minutes."

Standing up, Akatsuki dusted himself off and headed back to the house. Having made up with his cousin, a sense of calm came over him.

The fiery boy was composed once more.

...

Content to be by himself for a moment, Akatsuki climbed up to the second floor. Whenever he was in one of his contemplative moods, he liked to go up there and just look out the window at the sky.

"Hey," Ruka said softly as she touched his shirt sleeve. "Are you guys okay now?"

Glancing to his left, Akatsuki found Ruka was also there. Seeing her, with that caramel-coloured hair and big hazel eyes, his heart fluttered. Without meaning to, a small smile crept over his face. "Yeah," Akatsuki told her. "We're good."

"That's good. The way you two fought was scary."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm glad you two are better now." Ruka said, smiling up at him.

"Me too." Now that Hanabusa agreed to stay away from Ruka, things were good.

"I looked up the words 'kissing cousin,'" Ruka told him, her solemn eyes looked up to meet his. "I made it part of my homework."

"Yeah?" Akatsuki's lips twitched again. It sounded just like something Ruka would do. She was so determined to be on par with both him and Hanabusa, as if she had something to prove to her parents. What was it about this girl that made him want to smile so much?

"Hanabusa is an idiot," she said. "We're first-degree cousins. It's too close."

"Yeah," Akatsuki murmured in agreement.

"But we're different," Ruka went on.

"Huh?" Akatsuki blinked. Where was this conversation going?

"Well, we're both first-degree cousins to Hanabusa, but to each other, we're barely related at all," Ruka frowned a little as she thought about it. "In fact, we're barely cousins."

Does that mean she didn't consider him to be a cousin? Disappointment welled up inside his chest. Unable to look at Ruka, Akatsuki fixed his gaze firmly on the wooden floor.

"So..." Ruka reached up and grabbed his face with both hands. She quickly darted up on tiptoes and pecked his lips with hers.

It was soft and quick. For some, it probably wouldn't have been considered a kiss, merely a brief brushing of lips. But for Akatsuki, it was as if he'd been jolted by lightening. Stunned speechless, he opened his mouth to say something. But coming up with nothing, he closed them again. Then opened. Then closed. He probably resembled a gaping fish.

"There. We're kissing cousins." Ruka blushed, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink.

Kissing cousins.

He could live with that.

...

From that day onwards, the two boys got on famously. Like two peas in a pod, whenever one went, the other was usually there too. And whenever Hanabusa got them in a mess, Akatsuki usually stayed quiet and took the blame. And in return, Hanabusa was sure never to touch Ruka for more than two minutes.

It was a childish rule, but neither went back on their words. Until that one fateful night.

But that's a story for another time.

Author's Note: And for that story, check out Obsessiveness' "The Vampire Guardian." ;P Trust me, you won't regret it!

It is such a welcome relief to spent a couple of hours writing something fun and fluffy and not as all serious and mentally draining as my other story. -_-

Witless Fool