Kaname and Zero were both freshly scrubbed, dressed and ignoring one another studiously by the time the others arrived. Kaname had wanted to avoid meeting anyone in their room and so he and Zero had taken a таблица in the hotel's sleepy little bar and grill, which was adjacent to the lobby and allowed them to see when familiar faces appeared.
The Chairman and Yuki arrived first. Kaname was his usual, collected self as he greeted them, rising and pulling out a chair for Yuki at the end of the table, Далее to where he was sitting. He smiled, commenting softly and sincerely that he was glad to see her looking better than when they'd parted.
Yuki, who was indeed looking much еще like her usual self again after having recovered from the worst of her earlier gas exposure, smiled at Kaname and Zero as she took the сиденье, место, сиденья offered her. She was deeply relieved to see that both her Друзья were still in one piece. She and her father had watched the newscast from the Назад night and she'd been deeply worried ever since. Kaname and Zero had both looked so bloodied and beat up on camera. The Chairman repeatedly assured her that they would be fine, but only now, seeing for herself that they were well, could she truly relax.
Truthfully... the danger they had faced aside, she'd also been somewhat concerned about the two of them attempting to work together without killing each other. It pleased her to see the pureblood and the hunter sitting peaceably together like they had been when Kaname had flagged her and the Chairman into the small restaurant. She'd always wished that the two most important people in her life could get along with one another.
Zero couldn't quite muster Kaname's level of nonchalance. The instant he saw Yuki walk into the room, his сердце sank like a stone. It had been so easy a little while ago, to allow the spell that the pureblood seemed to weave over him to completely облако his reason – to live in whatever weird, distorted reality it was that he and Kaname had found themselves in and simply pretend that it had nothing to do with the rest of his life. Seeing Yuki quickly brought him crashing back to reality.
His insides knotted and he sipped intently at the soft drink he'd been nursing since coming in here to wait. The cold drink curdled uneasily in his stomach, but it gave him something to do other than meet Yuki's gaze until he'd tamped his feelings down hard enough to be able to look up and briefly return her smile of greeting.
Yuki's gaze lingered on him in concern and Zero felt like squirming. She knew him much too well. He knew she was just worried about him, but his own conscience made him feel like she must be able to see right through him and somehow just know. It wasn't bad enough that he was in Любовь with her and sleeping with someone else... no, to вверх it off he was doing it with her almost-boyfriend. He knew how Yuki felt about Kaname, he'd known for years. He felt like a complete heel.
Kaname could clearly sense the discomfort and guilt rolling off the boy beside him as he retook his сиденье, место, сиденья at the table. It was quite distracting, although his expression and demeanor didn't falter или Показать any outward change. But Zero's feelings echoed across their bond and unsettled him. He hadn't really felt guilty before this moment. Embarrassed, yes, confused, definitely... but adding a new layer of guilt to the mix was not pleasant. Those were Zero's feelings, not his, he should just ignore them... but he couldn't help feeling a little stab of his own as he looked at Yuki with Zero's human viewpoint echoing in the back of his consciousness.
She wasn't like him. She was human. Like Zero used to be. Would she feel as Zero did, if she knew? It was one of the hard Вопросы he'd not let himself contemplate over the past 24 hours или so. In his mind, what he felt for Yuki and what he felt for Zero were completely separate entities that did not affect one another. Realistically, he knew he couldn't expect her to understand that, even though for some reason, he expected Zero to. Now though, a sick little twist nagged in his gut. He still wasn't sure how she was dealing with finding out his connection to her past, to add this on top... Would she hate him? Kaname had no idea how he would deal with that. He cared very little what most people thought of him – not at all in fact. But Yuki... he had come to depend on her affection ever since she was a baby. For years, she had been his only Источник of unconditional kindness. To lose that...
The thought was much too painful, so Kaname quickly swept it away. There was no reason she needed to know. It had nothing to do with her, despite what Zero obviously thought, and what the funny ache he was ignoring in the back of his own сердце said. She should be protected from things that would cause pain after all. Surely, Kiriyu would understand that too...
"You two made all the news channels," the Chairman's for once delightful obliviousness was a welcome distraction as he too took a seat, across from Kaname. пересекать, крест nodded towards the pureblood. "Your little rooftop interview is all anyone's talking about. Rido's gone into hiding. The Hunter's association has called off its orders for your detention. The Council is scrambling to do damage control. There's been no official word yet, but I don't doubt that when they realize they can stall no longer, they will drop their investigation against Ты in the face of overwhelming public outrage." пересекать, крест smiled ironically. He was an idealist, but he also understood the practical realities of politics quite well, which for now were once again working in their favor.
Kaname returned a small, mirthless smile of satisfaction. It was as he'd expected. At least something was going to plan.
"What's this? You're еще famous than Ты already were?" Ichijo's voice made them look up as he, Kain, Aido and Ruka made their way over towards the table. Kaname was still masking his presence, but they'd picked up on his scent in the lobby and followed it in here. The four were casually dressed, no longer looking much like prison escapees.
Kaname had known they were approaching, but he still looked up, gaze quickly taking them all in, lingering momentarily on Kain and Ruka. Kain was still pale and bruised, leaning with attempted casualness on his cousin's shoulder. Ruka was wearing a stylish scarf wrapped around her head and neck, but it couldn't completely hide the still healing burns. Kaname knew they had suffered because of their loyalty to him. It bothered him еще than he wanted to admit. He gestured for the new arrivals to take a seat.
Ichijo pushed the nearest таблица over to create еще room and Zero scooted quickly aside so that the vampire could push that таблица up against their own, creating one long таблица suitable for seating all of them. He used the excuse to Переместить across the таблица from Kaname, putting a little еще distance between them as the other four took their seats. Ichijo dragged a chair over Далее to Kaname, Ruka sat beside him, Kain took the end of the таблица and Aido dropped down into the chair beside Zero remarking on how starved he was.
Ichijo sniffed slightly, reflexively. Something in Kaname's scent as he sat down Далее to him was... off... somehow.
"Dare I hope this means we're not all fugitives anymore?" Kain asked wryly. Acute hearing made it easy for them to keep their conversation private without straining to hear one another.
"I would think so, soon at least," the Chairman сказал(-а) with an amused smile.
"But we will still need to be careful," Kaname cautioned. "Rido's plans have been twice thwarted. His position will only get worse if the Council is forced to denounce him as a renegade and a murderer, which they most certainly will have to do sooner или later. He still has all of Ichijo's resources at his command right now, and he will no doubt try to strike back before that situation has a chance to change."
Ichijo tried not to flinch inwardly at the sound of his own family name. He wanted to ask Kaname what had happened with his grandfather... but he didn't. He looked down at his hands where they rested on the table, feeling somewhat awkwardly out of place suddenly.
Kaname's fingers touched his arm, making the aristocrat almost jerk as he quickly looked over, realizing that he'd zoned out slightly. He saw immediately in the pureblood's eyes that Kaname knew exactly what he'd just been thinking. They'd known each other too long. Long enough that just the quiet look in Kaname's gaze told Ichijo that no one here held his family's actions against him.
"Asato's dead, Takuma," the pureblood сказал(-а) quietly. "For your sake, I'm sorry."
Ichijo simply nodded, swallowing quickly. Somehow, he'd already known. "I'm not," he murmured back, eyes holding Kaname's fiercely for a moment before the pureblood gave a small return nod and directed his attention back to the others.
Ichijo's gaze lingered for a moment on Kaname. There it was again, that odd scent. He'd grown up with Kaname, so he of all people was very accustomed to the pureblood's particular scent. Today it was different. There was an oddly... human smell about him. Actually, the funny thing was that he kind of, almost smelled a bit like Zero. Ichijo's gaze flittered briefly in the ex-human's direction. The hunter was slouched in his chair and hadn't spoken since they'd arrived, but that was hardly unusual.
"You're right, of course," Chairman пересекать, крест agreed with Kaname's earlier assessment. "Rido is going to be trying his hardest to find Ты swiftly. I trust you've stashed anything that could be located at a безопасно, сейф distance?" he inquired, somewhat as an afterthought. He knew Kaname was almost certainly already way ahead of him.
Kaname nodded. Of course he had. Anti-vampire weapons like Zero's gun were made of special alloys that could make them easy to locate if someone had the resources and the right kind of scanning equipment. Of course, Ты had to have a budget that could afford those resources, but with Ichijo's money, Rido currently did.
Kaname tried to keep from glancing towards Zero. He could almost sense Ichijo's subtle scrutiny, but was trying not to read anything into it.
"Kiriyu and I stashed all our gear and weapons in a bus locker downtown," Kaname patted the key in his рубашка pocket. Ridding themselves of their backpacks, equipment and rappelling gear had only been prudent. With the investigation into the Ichijo break-in still ongoing, it wasn't wise to be toting all that around with them, especially if they wanted to keep a low profile.
The waitress came over to take their orders. Once she left, Aido, who was sitting Далее to Zero, leaned over and gave the other's hair a curious sniff. Zero shot him an odd look, raising one eyebrow and leaning away slightly as if he thought the blonde vampire's sanity might be wanting.
Aido was unconcerned, merely giving another small sniff. He was naturally curious and prone to saying whatever went through his head. "Hey, Kiriyu, Ты smell funny," he remarked. "Not bad though. Kind of good actually. Ты smell like K-"
"I think we should remain here, at the hotel tonight, perhaps tomorrow as well. It's an acceptable neutral location while we wait for the Council to make up their minds," Kaname interrupted smoothly, cutting Aido off quickly.
Strangers would never have noticed a thing different about the two of them, but these particular Вампиры were apparently much too familiar with both he and Zero for comfort.
Strangers would never have noticed a thing different about the two of them, but these particular Вампиры were apparently much too familiar with both he and Zero for comfort.
"Shouldn't we be trying to find Rido?" Aido inquired, easily distracted. He was used to having Kaname ignore the fact that he'd been speaking, although he was still puzzled and slightly amused by the oddity of having Zero actually smelllike a real vampire. It just didn't fit him somehow.
Ichijo saw the dodge for what it was and what had a moment назад been a passing curiosity became a much еще solid confusion.
"Yes and no," Kaname replied, finishing what was left of the ruby colored слива wine in his glass. Kaname liked dissolving his blood tablets in wine; it made the chalky flavor slightly еще agreeable. The waitress had not carded him when he ordered. They almost never did, despite his youthful looks – something about him discouraged disagreement.
Zero was glaring intently down at his soft drink, swirling the ice with his straw. Ichijo noticed with a small start that the tips of his ears were pink. He was flushing and trying desperately to hide it. Why...?
No one else besides Yuki seemed to notice. The other Вампиры usually didn't pay Kiriyu much attention if he wasn't threatening them. Yuki, however, shifted uneasily in her сиденье, место, сиденья as she glanced towards Zero. She knew that Aido and Kaname knew Zero was a vampire, but the others didn't. She thought this was what Aido was teasing Zero about and what was making Zero uncomfortable. She glared quietly at the blonde vampire seated Далее to her friend, although he remained oblivious of her displeasure.
"Finding the body in which Rido's consciousness currently rests is a waste of effort. That Rido will find us, soon enough," Kaname was still speaking. He was contemplating kicking Zero under the таблица if he could get away with it without the others noticing. Did the boy have to look so damn guilty? Even Yuki was noticing something was wrong. He settled for giving Zero a little invisible push instead, just enough to get his attention without moving him.
Zero felt like someone had kicked him in the chest and his dark gaze snapped up quickly towards the pureblood. Somehow he just knew who was responsible, and the fleeting, annoyed look that Kaname settled upon him confirmed it. The ex-human's gaze snapped ire for a moment before he quickly looked away again. This was hard enough; couldn't the damn pureblood leave him alone? Didn't he realize that any contact from him just made it all the harder for Zero to keep his composure?
"As long as Rido is using Shiki's body, direct confrontation will do us very little good. We can kill Shiki if we have to, but Rido will merely flee back to his original form and then no doubt take a new host." Mentioning the possibility of killing his cousin was intentional, if perhaps a bit cruel. Kaname actually wanted to avoid having to harm Shiki unnecessarily, but he was trying to distract Ichijo, who appeared to be observing way too much. Kaname knew how fond Takuma was of Shiki.
It worked, but only partially. Takuma's fingers tightened around the napkin with which he had been toying absently a moment ago. His сердце clenched silently. He hated thinking of Shiki trapped in the middle of all this. He couldn't stand the idea of seeing him get hurt any further. But... he also couldn't shake the funny little feeling that Kaname was actually trying to rattle him. He wasn't imagining it, there was something definitely going on. He dare not entirely let himself think what he was tempted to think, but he shot a puzzled look between Zero and Yuki, perhaps wondering for a moment what exactly it was that seemed to attract his pureblood friend to humans like these.
"We need to find where Rido's hiding his true body," Ruka quickly caught Kaname's drift. "That's what needs to be destroyed."
"But isn't it possible that he could transfer completely to Shiki if that happened?" Kain inquired. "And then we'd never be able to separate them?"
Aido shook his head. "I don't think Shiki's body would be able to handle it. He's not a pureblood and Rido is or... was. He'd probably –" he stopped himself from continuing, feeling Takuma's silently anguished gaze on him. "Um... well it's possible that it wouldn't work and Rido would simply disappear, right?" he сказал(-а) instead, presenting a slightly еще hopeful option and glancing towards the others for support.
"It's possible," Kaname сказал(-а) slowly. "But not probable. Rido has possessed Shiki too long. He will not let go easily, even if it means killing his own son." Kaname wasn't trying to be cruel this time; it was simply the unfortunate facts. His uncle was ruthless and cared about no one but himself. "Since they are father and son, it's quite possible that he may be able to completely transfer, although Aido's right, a non-pureblood body will not support Rido indefinitely."
"In theory though, if we do not get rid of both his host and his original body at the same time, then if he plays his cards right, Rido could conceivably keep hopping from host to host whenever his Назад one wears out, so long as he doesn't run out of relatives. If we want to save Shiki and get rid of Rido permanently then we have to be coordinated about this. Rido has to be enticed или forced to release Shiki's body at еще или less the same time that someone is in place to deal with his original frame," пересекать, крест put in thoughtfully. His many years experience as a former hunter, and his long association with Вампиры lent him ample knowledge on this subject.
Kaname nodded his agreement. That was the same conclusion that he had reached as well.
"But the only way to get him to release Shiki is to make him at least think that Shiki's body is going to die, isn't it?" Zero pointed out, finally contributing to the conversation.
"He doesn't really have to actually die though, I mean, we could trick Rido, couldn't we?" Yuki added quickly, not really liking this whole discussion, but also noticing that Ichijo was remaining intensely quiet and withdrawn, expressive eyes Показ hurt every time Shiki was mentioned.
Kaname fixed her with a gentle look. "That's what we will definitely try to do, Yuki," he promised, although it was as much for Ichijo as for her. He honestly wasn't certain they would be able to accomplish that end, but he would certainly try to plan it all out towards that goal if at all possible. "First, however, we have to establish where Rido has his original body hidden."
"That's not going to be easy," Zero pointed out. "If it's so important to him, he's going to be keeping it well hidden."
"Zero's right," пересекать, крест agreed. "But he's also going to be compelled to keep it somewhere close to him for the same reason. He can't risk being too far away in case anything happens."
Their Еда arrived and the conversation quickly dropped off while their waitress was within earshot.
Kaname felt too tense to have much appetite, but he ate anyway. Zero did the same, resisting the urge to just push his Еда around his plate with his fork while wishing he could escape.
It was going to be a long night.
Kain emerged from the shower, still toweling off his hair. He was barefoot, but wearing trousers in deference to the fact that Ruka was in the room.
After eating they had all трещина, сплит up on different missions for a long night's work of information gathering. Now, a few hours before dawn, the Вампиры were getting ready to settle down for the day. In deference to the fact that the human world worked on a different schedule than theirs, they probably weren't going to get еще than a few hours sleep before they needed to be up and about again in order to track leads that required human businesses and contacts to be awake. Sometimes trying to accommodate the human world was a real pain. Aido had remarked еще than once that he didn't know why they couldn't conduct business at night like civilized people.
Technically Kain and Aido were sharing a room, Ichijo was in Chairman Cross's room and Ruka and Yuki, as the only two women, were together. Kaname had made the arrangements for them before they arrived. But with work done and not quite yet ready go to go bed, Kain, Aido and Ruka had naturally gravitated quickly into the same room. Ichijo had joined them, although he was unusually quiet and withdrawn.
He wondered where Kaname was right now. He expected that the pureblood had a room by himself – Kaname was a very private person. But... he couldn't help noting that no additional provisions had been made for Kiriyu, who could have easily been fitted in with either Kain and Aido или himself and the Chairman.
"Ah... finally got the scent of your blood off me, Aido. I swear I thought it was going to make me sick all through dinner..." Kain teased his cousin, tossing the towel carelessly in Aido's direction. Aido dodged and the towel hit the wall. Kain's bruises were fading and he was beginning to look much better. Ruka was as well.
Aido shot Kain a wry glare. "Nah, that was Kiriyu Ты were smelling, I'm sure," he retorted. "Hey Ichijo, I feel sorry for you. Ты got stuck with him and the Chairman, huh?"
Ichijo just shrugged, not confirming или denying.
Kain made an odd face. "Is he? I didn't know Ты had Kiriyu in there too. Well, you're welcome to come in here with us, if Ты want to," he offered.
"Thanks, but that's okay," Takuma smiled slightly despite himself. There was a time the cousins would have ignored him completely if Kaname wasn't around... and visa-versa. Time and circumstances changed many things, apparently. Perhaps some еще than others...
Ruka sniffed a bit disdainfully. "I wish I could stay with you. I'm stuck with the пересекать, крест girl."
"I'll trade with you!" Aido offered a little too quickly, although he was mostly joking.
"Right, like Ты could keep your fangs off her all night, I doubt it!" Kain snorted. "Oh no, if Ты want to get Kaname to kill you, do it sometime when I am far away, или I just know that somehow it'll wind up being my fault too."
Ruka looked amused and gave a long suffering sigh. "Oh well, as long as I don't end up reeking of her. Did Ты smell Kaname? One день with that Kiriyu boy and I swear he actually smelled like him. It was very disturbing," she сказал(-а) with a theatrically sympathetic shudder.
"You just say that because you'd like to give him a nice sponge bath to clean it all away, wouldn't you, Ruka?" Aido taunted, well aware of how звезда struck with Kaname the female vampire had been since they were kids.
Kain shot Ichijo an amused look and carefully side-stepped to be out of the line of огонь as Ruka predictably pounced on Aido like an enraged feline. Sometimes he wasn't so sure any of them had really grown up that much.
"You noticed that too, huh?" Kain сказал(-а) with a raised eyebrow, watching unconcernedly as Ruka elicited a few yelps from Aido as she cornered him against the Стена and pounded him briefly but viciously with her elbows.
"Ow! Ow! Hey, cut it out, can't Ты take a joke?" Aido protected his head with his arms, waiting a moment until he had the opportunity to catch hold of Ruka's shoulders and shove her away from him. He sent her sprawling backward onto the nearest bed, but he didn't hit back. He'd been raised in a household of doting sisters. Ты could tease them mercilessly, but Ты never raised a hand to them.
"Thought I was imagining things," Kain continued talking as if nothing unusual was happening. "Aido сказал(-а) that Zero smelled like Kaname too. Kinda odd, isn't it? For that to have happened in so short a time?"
Aido rubbed his sharply smarting lip as Ruka bounced up gracefully and easily from the bed, straightening her mussed, silky blonde hair with a small huff. She and Aido both snarled, hissing softly and baring their fangs at each other, but they did not reinitiate the conflict.
Ruka flounced to the other side of the room and sat down primly on the постель, кровати near Kain, pointedly ignoring Aido.
Ichijo didn't like the way the conversation was turning. "It's nothing, I'm sure," he deflected a trifle too quickly. "We're not around humans that much on a regular basis, that's all."
"Hey, I'm bleeding..." Aido groused as he pulled his hand away from his lip, shooting a glare towards Ruka. Kain and Ichijo continued to ignore him. Ruka smiled wickedly and leaned her head oh-so-sweetly against Kain's side. Kain's arm slid instinctively around her shoulders.
"Ichijo, we go to school with them." Kain raised his eyebrows. "I know we're not physically around the день class that much when we're there, but still... for it to rub off like that on someone like Kaname? And they were Актёрское искусство kind of weird when we ate too."
Aido pouted at being ignored. He scowled darkly at Ruka and wiped his hand off on his pants.
"Oh, so what, Kain?" he сказал(-а) in disgruntled distraction. "Stop making such a big deal out of it. Kaname probably just let Kiriyu drink his blood again and didn't want to let on," Aido muttered with protective disapproval.
With a sudden, cold chill, Aido caught his slip. Too late. He clapped his hands to his mouth, but the cat was out of the bag and the weight of the other three's shocked stares bored into him. The room fell dead silent. Aido wanted suddenly to be somewhere else. Oh crap... he hadn't meant to spill Kaname's secret, или Zero's for that matter. It was an accidental slip of the tongue around people with whom he was way too comfortable, but now he couldn't take it back. "Um, I mean... uh..."
"Kiriyu's a vampire?" Ichijo echoed, somehow not as surprised as he should have been. So many things suddenly made sense. It must have been Shizuka... Ichijo knew as well as the others what she'd done to the Kiriyu family. He just hadn't realized how far she'd gone. No wonder Zero had killed her. Actually... it now surprised him that Kiriyu had been able to killer her considering what he'd just learned. For an ex-human to kill his master... that took an unheard of amount of strength and willpower.
"And Kaname-sama has let that... that ex-human drink his blood?" Ruka seethed quietly, her fists clenching tightly in her lap. Ironically, her anger was directed at Zero, not Kaname. "How dare he touch a pureblood like that? How could Kaname suffer such a thing?"
"You've been holding out on us, Idol." Kain whistled, eyebrows going up as he regarded his cousin, but as he processed these new bits of information he looked distinctly less surprised. "It was that first time we smelled Kaname's blood in the dorms, wasn't it? Ты went in to check on him. He must have done it to keep Kiriyu sane." Kain's brows creased down again in disapproval that matched Aido's, but he didn't quite share Ruka's level of outrage. What Kaname chose to do was Kaname's business. So long as the ex-human didn't get any ideas about taking advantage of this unheard of gift. Kain glanced towards Ruka. He was acutely aware of the kind of vulnerability that letting someone drink your blood could cause. But Kaname was a pureblood after all, not like the rest of them... maybe he wasn't affected by things like that.
"Yes..." Aido admitted slowly, looking quite distressed. Kaname was going to kill him if he found out he'd told. "Look... I wasn't supposed to say anything, please don't –"
"But wait... why would Kiriyu need to drink Kaname's blood? Surely he drank Shizuka's when he killed her... would that not have set him free from the danger of becoming a Level E?" Kain queried astutely, blissfully ignoring his cousin's predicament.
Aido's face paled a few shades lighter. He knew the answer to that one too... knew that it hadn't been Zero at all. But wild Лошади weren't about to drag that out of him. "I don't know, I don't think Kiriyu did. His twin brother was there and he didn't have a chance или – или something I think..." he deflected miserably, trying to keep the others from jumping too easily to the correct conclusions. "Come on Ты guys, Ты have to promise me Ты won't –"
"You know, you're awfully knowledgeable about all these things, Idol. I wonder what else you've been keeping from us?" Kain was teasing, but he was also еще than half serious. He poked the shorter vampire lightly in the chest, encroaching on Aido's personal Космос and making his cousin back up a pace.
Aido slapped his cousin's hand away with a scowl. "Oh, cut it out, Wild. It's not my fault if you're as observant as a stone. Seriously, remind me why I saved your life?"
"Oh, so let's bring that up, shall we? You're going to be getting millage out of that for years, aren't you?" Kain groused.
"You better believe it," Aido returned. "You would have died without me. D-E-A-D."
Ruka watched the cousins bicker with distracted disinterest. They weren't really arguing, they were just being... them. Whenever they started calling each other by their school nicknames it was a sure tip-off that they were full of it. Her attention was still focused on what she'd just learned. She was still considerably upset about the news and the fact that the others didn't seem to be taking it seriously. She understood and admired Kaname's goals and ideals in fostering coexistence. But she would never understand why the pureblood involved himself so needlessly with all these humans and their problems. Ex-humans were even worse than ordinary ones. Letting someone so unworthy drink his blood... Ruka rubbed the ache at the base of her neck fiercely, swallowing around the tenseness in her throat. It was simply galling. If she didn't respect Kaname so much she would have despised him. But she couldn't ever do that. So she just... ached.
Ichijo kept silent, staying out of Kain and Aido's conversation and avoiding meeting Ruka's stormy eyes. Maybe Aido was right. Maybe he'd read the whole situation wrong. Perhaps the fact that Zero was a vampire and had been drinking Kaname's blood was what they were trying to hide, and why they плавить, корюшка like one another. That was actually an easier story to глотать, ласточка than his own suspicions, although... his own suspicions refused to leave him completely. He wasn't about to mention them, however. He didn't wish Kaname the grief, или the scandal, that airing his baseless suppositions would cause.
"I'm going to turn in. I'll catch Ты all tomorrow," Takuma excused himself quietly, momentarily interrupting the cousins' quarrel as he slid quickly and silently out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
The Chairman and Yuki arrived first. Kaname was his usual, collected self as he greeted them, rising and pulling out a chair for Yuki at the end of the table, Далее to where he was sitting. He smiled, commenting softly and sincerely that he was glad to see her looking better than when they'd parted.
Yuki, who was indeed looking much еще like her usual self again after having recovered from the worst of her earlier gas exposure, smiled at Kaname and Zero as she took the сиденье, место, сиденья offered her. She was deeply relieved to see that both her Друзья were still in one piece. She and her father had watched the newscast from the Назад night and she'd been deeply worried ever since. Kaname and Zero had both looked so bloodied and beat up on camera. The Chairman repeatedly assured her that they would be fine, but only now, seeing for herself that they were well, could she truly relax.
Truthfully... the danger they had faced aside, she'd also been somewhat concerned about the two of them attempting to work together without killing each other. It pleased her to see the pureblood and the hunter sitting peaceably together like they had been when Kaname had flagged her and the Chairman into the small restaurant. She'd always wished that the two most important people in her life could get along with one another.
Zero couldn't quite muster Kaname's level of nonchalance. The instant he saw Yuki walk into the room, his сердце sank like a stone. It had been so easy a little while ago, to allow the spell that the pureblood seemed to weave over him to completely облако his reason – to live in whatever weird, distorted reality it was that he and Kaname had found themselves in and simply pretend that it had nothing to do with the rest of his life. Seeing Yuki quickly brought him crashing back to reality.
His insides knotted and he sipped intently at the soft drink he'd been nursing since coming in here to wait. The cold drink curdled uneasily in his stomach, but it gave him something to do other than meet Yuki's gaze until he'd tamped his feelings down hard enough to be able to look up and briefly return her smile of greeting.
Yuki's gaze lingered on him in concern and Zero felt like squirming. She knew him much too well. He knew she was just worried about him, but his own conscience made him feel like she must be able to see right through him and somehow just know. It wasn't bad enough that he was in Любовь with her and sleeping with someone else... no, to вверх it off he was doing it with her almost-boyfriend. He knew how Yuki felt about Kaname, he'd known for years. He felt like a complete heel.
Kaname could clearly sense the discomfort and guilt rolling off the boy beside him as he retook his сиденье, место, сиденья at the table. It was quite distracting, although his expression and demeanor didn't falter или Показать any outward change. But Zero's feelings echoed across their bond and unsettled him. He hadn't really felt guilty before this moment. Embarrassed, yes, confused, definitely... but adding a new layer of guilt to the mix was not pleasant. Those were Zero's feelings, not his, he should just ignore them... but he couldn't help feeling a little stab of his own as he looked at Yuki with Zero's human viewpoint echoing in the back of his consciousness.
She wasn't like him. She was human. Like Zero used to be. Would she feel as Zero did, if she knew? It was one of the hard Вопросы he'd not let himself contemplate over the past 24 hours или so. In his mind, what he felt for Yuki and what he felt for Zero were completely separate entities that did not affect one another. Realistically, he knew he couldn't expect her to understand that, even though for some reason, he expected Zero to. Now though, a sick little twist nagged in his gut. He still wasn't sure how she was dealing with finding out his connection to her past, to add this on top... Would she hate him? Kaname had no idea how he would deal with that. He cared very little what most people thought of him – not at all in fact. But Yuki... he had come to depend on her affection ever since she was a baby. For years, she had been his only Источник of unconditional kindness. To lose that...
The thought was much too painful, so Kaname quickly swept it away. There was no reason she needed to know. It had nothing to do with her, despite what Zero obviously thought, and what the funny ache he was ignoring in the back of his own сердце said. She should be protected from things that would cause pain after all. Surely, Kiriyu would understand that too...
"You two made all the news channels," the Chairman's for once delightful obliviousness was a welcome distraction as he too took a seat, across from Kaname. пересекать, крест nodded towards the pureblood. "Your little rooftop interview is all anyone's talking about. Rido's gone into hiding. The Hunter's association has called off its orders for your detention. The Council is scrambling to do damage control. There's been no official word yet, but I don't doubt that when they realize they can stall no longer, they will drop their investigation against Ты in the face of overwhelming public outrage." пересекать, крест smiled ironically. He was an idealist, but he also understood the practical realities of politics quite well, which for now were once again working in their favor.
Kaname returned a small, mirthless smile of satisfaction. It was as he'd expected. At least something was going to plan.
"What's this? You're еще famous than Ты already were?" Ichijo's voice made them look up as he, Kain, Aido and Ruka made their way over towards the table. Kaname was still masking his presence, but they'd picked up on his scent in the lobby and followed it in here. The four were casually dressed, no longer looking much like prison escapees.
Kaname had known they were approaching, but he still looked up, gaze quickly taking them all in, lingering momentarily on Kain and Ruka. Kain was still pale and bruised, leaning with attempted casualness on his cousin's shoulder. Ruka was wearing a stylish scarf wrapped around her head and neck, but it couldn't completely hide the still healing burns. Kaname knew they had suffered because of their loyalty to him. It bothered him еще than he wanted to admit. He gestured for the new arrivals to take a seat.
Ichijo pushed the nearest таблица over to create еще room and Zero scooted quickly aside so that the vampire could push that таблица up against their own, creating one long таблица suitable for seating all of them. He used the excuse to Переместить across the таблица from Kaname, putting a little еще distance between them as the other four took their seats. Ichijo dragged a chair over Далее to Kaname, Ruka sat beside him, Kain took the end of the таблица and Aido dropped down into the chair beside Zero remarking on how starved he was.
Ichijo sniffed slightly, reflexively. Something in Kaname's scent as he sat down Далее to him was... off... somehow.
"Dare I hope this means we're not all fugitives anymore?" Kain asked wryly. Acute hearing made it easy for them to keep their conversation private without straining to hear one another.
"I would think so, soon at least," the Chairman сказал(-а) with an amused smile.
"But we will still need to be careful," Kaname cautioned. "Rido's plans have been twice thwarted. His position will only get worse if the Council is forced to denounce him as a renegade and a murderer, which they most certainly will have to do sooner или later. He still has all of Ichijo's resources at his command right now, and he will no doubt try to strike back before that situation has a chance to change."
Ichijo tried not to flinch inwardly at the sound of his own family name. He wanted to ask Kaname what had happened with his grandfather... but he didn't. He looked down at his hands where they rested on the table, feeling somewhat awkwardly out of place suddenly.
Kaname's fingers touched his arm, making the aristocrat almost jerk as he quickly looked over, realizing that he'd zoned out slightly. He saw immediately in the pureblood's eyes that Kaname knew exactly what he'd just been thinking. They'd known each other too long. Long enough that just the quiet look in Kaname's gaze told Ichijo that no one here held his family's actions against him.
"Asato's dead, Takuma," the pureblood сказал(-а) quietly. "For your sake, I'm sorry."
Ichijo simply nodded, swallowing quickly. Somehow, he'd already known. "I'm not," he murmured back, eyes holding Kaname's fiercely for a moment before the pureblood gave a small return nod and directed his attention back to the others.
Ichijo's gaze lingered for a moment on Kaname. There it was again, that odd scent. He'd grown up with Kaname, so he of all people was very accustomed to the pureblood's particular scent. Today it was different. There was an oddly... human smell about him. Actually, the funny thing was that he kind of, almost smelled a bit like Zero. Ichijo's gaze flittered briefly in the ex-human's direction. The hunter was slouched in his chair and hadn't spoken since they'd arrived, but that was hardly unusual.
"You're right, of course," Chairman пересекать, крест agreed with Kaname's earlier assessment. "Rido is going to be trying his hardest to find Ты swiftly. I trust you've stashed anything that could be located at a безопасно, сейф distance?" he inquired, somewhat as an afterthought. He knew Kaname was almost certainly already way ahead of him.
Kaname nodded. Of course he had. Anti-vampire weapons like Zero's gun were made of special alloys that could make them easy to locate if someone had the resources and the right kind of scanning equipment. Of course, Ты had to have a budget that could afford those resources, but with Ichijo's money, Rido currently did.
Kaname tried to keep from glancing towards Zero. He could almost sense Ichijo's subtle scrutiny, but was trying not to read anything into it.
"Kiriyu and I stashed all our gear and weapons in a bus locker downtown," Kaname patted the key in his рубашка pocket. Ridding themselves of their backpacks, equipment and rappelling gear had only been prudent. With the investigation into the Ichijo break-in still ongoing, it wasn't wise to be toting all that around with them, especially if they wanted to keep a low profile.
The waitress came over to take their orders. Once she left, Aido, who was sitting Далее to Zero, leaned over and gave the other's hair a curious sniff. Zero shot him an odd look, raising one eyebrow and leaning away slightly as if he thought the blonde vampire's sanity might be wanting.
Aido was unconcerned, merely giving another small sniff. He was naturally curious and prone to saying whatever went through his head. "Hey, Kiriyu, Ты smell funny," he remarked. "Not bad though. Kind of good actually. Ты smell like K-"
"I think we should remain here, at the hotel tonight, perhaps tomorrow as well. It's an acceptable neutral location while we wait for the Council to make up their minds," Kaname interrupted smoothly, cutting Aido off quickly.
Strangers would never have noticed a thing different about the two of them, but these particular Вампиры were apparently much too familiar with both he and Zero for comfort.
Strangers would never have noticed a thing different about the two of them, but these particular Вампиры were apparently much too familiar with both he and Zero for comfort.
"Shouldn't we be trying to find Rido?" Aido inquired, easily distracted. He was used to having Kaname ignore the fact that he'd been speaking, although he was still puzzled and slightly amused by the oddity of having Zero actually smelllike a real vampire. It just didn't fit him somehow.
Ichijo saw the dodge for what it was and what had a moment назад been a passing curiosity became a much еще solid confusion.
"Yes and no," Kaname replied, finishing what was left of the ruby colored слива wine in his glass. Kaname liked dissolving his blood tablets in wine; it made the chalky flavor slightly еще agreeable. The waitress had not carded him when he ordered. They almost never did, despite his youthful looks – something about him discouraged disagreement.
Zero was glaring intently down at his soft drink, swirling the ice with his straw. Ichijo noticed with a small start that the tips of his ears were pink. He was flushing and trying desperately to hide it. Why...?
No one else besides Yuki seemed to notice. The other Вампиры usually didn't pay Kiriyu much attention if he wasn't threatening them. Yuki, however, shifted uneasily in her сиденье, место, сиденья as she glanced towards Zero. She knew that Aido and Kaname knew Zero was a vampire, but the others didn't. She thought this was what Aido was teasing Zero about and what was making Zero uncomfortable. She glared quietly at the blonde vampire seated Далее to her friend, although he remained oblivious of her displeasure.
"Finding the body in which Rido's consciousness currently rests is a waste of effort. That Rido will find us, soon enough," Kaname was still speaking. He was contemplating kicking Zero under the таблица if he could get away with it without the others noticing. Did the boy have to look so damn guilty? Even Yuki was noticing something was wrong. He settled for giving Zero a little invisible push instead, just enough to get his attention without moving him.
Zero felt like someone had kicked him in the chest and his dark gaze snapped up quickly towards the pureblood. Somehow he just knew who was responsible, and the fleeting, annoyed look that Kaname settled upon him confirmed it. The ex-human's gaze snapped ire for a moment before he quickly looked away again. This was hard enough; couldn't the damn pureblood leave him alone? Didn't he realize that any contact from him just made it all the harder for Zero to keep his composure?
"As long as Rido is using Shiki's body, direct confrontation will do us very little good. We can kill Shiki if we have to, but Rido will merely flee back to his original form and then no doubt take a new host." Mentioning the possibility of killing his cousin was intentional, if perhaps a bit cruel. Kaname actually wanted to avoid having to harm Shiki unnecessarily, but he was trying to distract Ichijo, who appeared to be observing way too much. Kaname knew how fond Takuma was of Shiki.
It worked, but only partially. Takuma's fingers tightened around the napkin with which he had been toying absently a moment ago. His сердце clenched silently. He hated thinking of Shiki trapped in the middle of all this. He couldn't stand the idea of seeing him get hurt any further. But... he also couldn't shake the funny little feeling that Kaname was actually trying to rattle him. He wasn't imagining it, there was something definitely going on. He dare not entirely let himself think what he was tempted to think, but he shot a puzzled look between Zero and Yuki, perhaps wondering for a moment what exactly it was that seemed to attract his pureblood friend to humans like these.
"We need to find where Rido's hiding his true body," Ruka quickly caught Kaname's drift. "That's what needs to be destroyed."
"But isn't it possible that he could transfer completely to Shiki if that happened?" Kain inquired. "And then we'd never be able to separate them?"
Aido shook his head. "I don't think Shiki's body would be able to handle it. He's not a pureblood and Rido is or... was. He'd probably –" he stopped himself from continuing, feeling Takuma's silently anguished gaze on him. "Um... well it's possible that it wouldn't work and Rido would simply disappear, right?" he сказал(-а) instead, presenting a slightly еще hopeful option and glancing towards the others for support.
"It's possible," Kaname сказал(-а) slowly. "But not probable. Rido has possessed Shiki too long. He will not let go easily, even if it means killing his own son." Kaname wasn't trying to be cruel this time; it was simply the unfortunate facts. His uncle was ruthless and cared about no one but himself. "Since they are father and son, it's quite possible that he may be able to completely transfer, although Aido's right, a non-pureblood body will not support Rido indefinitely."
"In theory though, if we do not get rid of both his host and his original body at the same time, then if he plays his cards right, Rido could conceivably keep hopping from host to host whenever his Назад one wears out, so long as he doesn't run out of relatives. If we want to save Shiki and get rid of Rido permanently then we have to be coordinated about this. Rido has to be enticed или forced to release Shiki's body at еще или less the same time that someone is in place to deal with his original frame," пересекать, крест put in thoughtfully. His many years experience as a former hunter, and his long association with Вампиры lent him ample knowledge on this subject.
Kaname nodded his agreement. That was the same conclusion that he had reached as well.
"But the only way to get him to release Shiki is to make him at least think that Shiki's body is going to die, isn't it?" Zero pointed out, finally contributing to the conversation.
"He doesn't really have to actually die though, I mean, we could trick Rido, couldn't we?" Yuki added quickly, not really liking this whole discussion, but also noticing that Ichijo was remaining intensely quiet and withdrawn, expressive eyes Показ hurt every time Shiki was mentioned.
Kaname fixed her with a gentle look. "That's what we will definitely try to do, Yuki," he promised, although it was as much for Ichijo as for her. He honestly wasn't certain they would be able to accomplish that end, but he would certainly try to plan it all out towards that goal if at all possible. "First, however, we have to establish where Rido has his original body hidden."
"That's not going to be easy," Zero pointed out. "If it's so important to him, he's going to be keeping it well hidden."
"Zero's right," пересекать, крест agreed. "But he's also going to be compelled to keep it somewhere close to him for the same reason. He can't risk being too far away in case anything happens."
Their Еда arrived and the conversation quickly dropped off while their waitress was within earshot.
Kaname felt too tense to have much appetite, but he ate anyway. Zero did the same, resisting the urge to just push his Еда around his plate with his fork while wishing he could escape.
It was going to be a long night.
Kain emerged from the shower, still toweling off his hair. He was barefoot, but wearing trousers in deference to the fact that Ruka was in the room.
After eating they had all трещина, сплит up on different missions for a long night's work of information gathering. Now, a few hours before dawn, the Вампиры were getting ready to settle down for the day. In deference to the fact that the human world worked on a different schedule than theirs, they probably weren't going to get еще than a few hours sleep before they needed to be up and about again in order to track leads that required human businesses and contacts to be awake. Sometimes trying to accommodate the human world was a real pain. Aido had remarked еще than once that he didn't know why they couldn't conduct business at night like civilized people.
Technically Kain and Aido were sharing a room, Ichijo was in Chairman Cross's room and Ruka and Yuki, as the only two women, were together. Kaname had made the arrangements for them before they arrived. But with work done and not quite yet ready go to go bed, Kain, Aido and Ruka had naturally gravitated quickly into the same room. Ichijo had joined them, although he was unusually quiet and withdrawn.
He wondered where Kaname was right now. He expected that the pureblood had a room by himself – Kaname was a very private person. But... he couldn't help noting that no additional provisions had been made for Kiriyu, who could have easily been fitted in with either Kain and Aido или himself and the Chairman.
"Ah... finally got the scent of your blood off me, Aido. I swear I thought it was going to make me sick all through dinner..." Kain teased his cousin, tossing the towel carelessly in Aido's direction. Aido dodged and the towel hit the wall. Kain's bruises were fading and he was beginning to look much better. Ruka was as well.
Aido shot Kain a wry glare. "Nah, that was Kiriyu Ты were smelling, I'm sure," he retorted. "Hey Ichijo, I feel sorry for you. Ты got stuck with him and the Chairman, huh?"
Ichijo just shrugged, not confirming или denying.
Kain made an odd face. "Is he? I didn't know Ты had Kiriyu in there too. Well, you're welcome to come in here with us, if Ты want to," he offered.
"Thanks, but that's okay," Takuma smiled slightly despite himself. There was a time the cousins would have ignored him completely if Kaname wasn't around... and visa-versa. Time and circumstances changed many things, apparently. Perhaps some еще than others...
Ruka sniffed a bit disdainfully. "I wish I could stay with you. I'm stuck with the пересекать, крест girl."
"I'll trade with you!" Aido offered a little too quickly, although he was mostly joking.
"Right, like Ты could keep your fangs off her all night, I doubt it!" Kain snorted. "Oh no, if Ты want to get Kaname to kill you, do it sometime when I am far away, или I just know that somehow it'll wind up being my fault too."
Ruka looked amused and gave a long suffering sigh. "Oh well, as long as I don't end up reeking of her. Did Ты smell Kaname? One день with that Kiriyu boy and I swear he actually smelled like him. It was very disturbing," she сказал(-а) with a theatrically sympathetic shudder.
"You just say that because you'd like to give him a nice sponge bath to clean it all away, wouldn't you, Ruka?" Aido taunted, well aware of how звезда struck with Kaname the female vampire had been since they were kids.
Kain shot Ichijo an amused look and carefully side-stepped to be out of the line of огонь as Ruka predictably pounced on Aido like an enraged feline. Sometimes he wasn't so sure any of them had really grown up that much.
"You noticed that too, huh?" Kain сказал(-а) with a raised eyebrow, watching unconcernedly as Ruka elicited a few yelps from Aido as she cornered him against the Стена and pounded him briefly but viciously with her elbows.
"Ow! Ow! Hey, cut it out, can't Ты take a joke?" Aido protected his head with his arms, waiting a moment until he had the opportunity to catch hold of Ruka's shoulders and shove her away from him. He sent her sprawling backward onto the nearest bed, but he didn't hit back. He'd been raised in a household of doting sisters. Ты could tease them mercilessly, but Ты never raised a hand to them.
"Thought I was imagining things," Kain continued talking as if nothing unusual was happening. "Aido сказал(-а) that Zero smelled like Kaname too. Kinda odd, isn't it? For that to have happened in so short a time?"
Aido rubbed his sharply smarting lip as Ruka bounced up gracefully and easily from the bed, straightening her mussed, silky blonde hair with a small huff. She and Aido both snarled, hissing softly and baring their fangs at each other, but they did not reinitiate the conflict.
Ruka flounced to the other side of the room and sat down primly on the постель, кровати near Kain, pointedly ignoring Aido.
Ichijo didn't like the way the conversation was turning. "It's nothing, I'm sure," he deflected a trifle too quickly. "We're not around humans that much on a regular basis, that's all."
"Hey, I'm bleeding..." Aido groused as he pulled his hand away from his lip, shooting a glare towards Ruka. Kain and Ichijo continued to ignore him. Ruka smiled wickedly and leaned her head oh-so-sweetly against Kain's side. Kain's arm slid instinctively around her shoulders.
"Ichijo, we go to school with them." Kain raised his eyebrows. "I know we're not physically around the день class that much when we're there, but still... for it to rub off like that on someone like Kaname? And they were Актёрское искусство kind of weird when we ate too."
Aido pouted at being ignored. He scowled darkly at Ruka and wiped his hand off on his pants.
"Oh, so what, Kain?" he сказал(-а) in disgruntled distraction. "Stop making such a big deal out of it. Kaname probably just let Kiriyu drink his blood again and didn't want to let on," Aido muttered with protective disapproval.
With a sudden, cold chill, Aido caught his slip. Too late. He clapped his hands to his mouth, but the cat was out of the bag and the weight of the other three's shocked stares bored into him. The room fell dead silent. Aido wanted suddenly to be somewhere else. Oh crap... he hadn't meant to spill Kaname's secret, или Zero's for that matter. It was an accidental slip of the tongue around people with whom he was way too comfortable, but now he couldn't take it back. "Um, I mean... uh..."
"Kiriyu's a vampire?" Ichijo echoed, somehow not as surprised as he should have been. So many things suddenly made sense. It must have been Shizuka... Ichijo knew as well as the others what she'd done to the Kiriyu family. He just hadn't realized how far she'd gone. No wonder Zero had killed her. Actually... it now surprised him that Kiriyu had been able to killer her considering what he'd just learned. For an ex-human to kill his master... that took an unheard of amount of strength and willpower.
"And Kaname-sama has let that... that ex-human drink his blood?" Ruka seethed quietly, her fists clenching tightly in her lap. Ironically, her anger was directed at Zero, not Kaname. "How dare he touch a pureblood like that? How could Kaname suffer such a thing?"
"You've been holding out on us, Idol." Kain whistled, eyebrows going up as he regarded his cousin, but as he processed these new bits of information he looked distinctly less surprised. "It was that first time we smelled Kaname's blood in the dorms, wasn't it? Ты went in to check on him. He must have done it to keep Kiriyu sane." Kain's brows creased down again in disapproval that matched Aido's, but he didn't quite share Ruka's level of outrage. What Kaname chose to do was Kaname's business. So long as the ex-human didn't get any ideas about taking advantage of this unheard of gift. Kain glanced towards Ruka. He was acutely aware of the kind of vulnerability that letting someone drink your blood could cause. But Kaname was a pureblood after all, not like the rest of them... maybe he wasn't affected by things like that.
"Yes..." Aido admitted slowly, looking quite distressed. Kaname was going to kill him if he found out he'd told. "Look... I wasn't supposed to say anything, please don't –"
"But wait... why would Kiriyu need to drink Kaname's blood? Surely he drank Shizuka's when he killed her... would that not have set him free from the danger of becoming a Level E?" Kain queried astutely, blissfully ignoring his cousin's predicament.
Aido's face paled a few shades lighter. He knew the answer to that one too... knew that it hadn't been Zero at all. But wild Лошади weren't about to drag that out of him. "I don't know, I don't think Kiriyu did. His twin brother was there and he didn't have a chance или – или something I think..." he deflected miserably, trying to keep the others from jumping too easily to the correct conclusions. "Come on Ты guys, Ты have to promise me Ты won't –"
"You know, you're awfully knowledgeable about all these things, Idol. I wonder what else you've been keeping from us?" Kain was teasing, but he was also еще than half serious. He poked the shorter vampire lightly in the chest, encroaching on Aido's personal Космос and making his cousin back up a pace.
Aido slapped his cousin's hand away with a scowl. "Oh, cut it out, Wild. It's not my fault if you're as observant as a stone. Seriously, remind me why I saved your life?"
"Oh, so let's bring that up, shall we? You're going to be getting millage out of that for years, aren't you?" Kain groused.
"You better believe it," Aido returned. "You would have died without me. D-E-A-D."
Ruka watched the cousins bicker with distracted disinterest. They weren't really arguing, they were just being... them. Whenever they started calling each other by their school nicknames it was a sure tip-off that they were full of it. Her attention was still focused on what she'd just learned. She was still considerably upset about the news and the fact that the others didn't seem to be taking it seriously. She understood and admired Kaname's goals and ideals in fostering coexistence. But she would never understand why the pureblood involved himself so needlessly with all these humans and their problems. Ex-humans were even worse than ordinary ones. Letting someone so unworthy drink his blood... Ruka rubbed the ache at the base of her neck fiercely, swallowing around the tenseness in her throat. It was simply galling. If she didn't respect Kaname so much she would have despised him. But she couldn't ever do that. So she just... ached.
Ichijo kept silent, staying out of Kain and Aido's conversation and avoiding meeting Ruka's stormy eyes. Maybe Aido was right. Maybe he'd read the whole situation wrong. Perhaps the fact that Zero was a vampire and had been drinking Kaname's blood was what they were trying to hide, and why they плавить, корюшка like one another. That was actually an easier story to глотать, ласточка than his own suspicions, although... his own suspicions refused to leave him completely. He wasn't about to mention them, however. He didn't wish Kaname the grief, или the scandal, that airing his baseless suppositions would cause.
"I'm going to turn in. I'll catch Ты all tomorrow," Takuma excused himself quietly, momentarily interrupting the cousins' quarrel as he slid quickly and silently out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.