AN:It was supposed to be just a little interlude, you know, but – trust me – if something can grow out of all proportion – it will. So – sorry for those who's waiting for a continuation of the main plot-line – that would follow in the next chapter, while this one is but a wholesale, undiluted AidOri flashback. It's a little tempestuous, but I hope that I haven't wandered too far OOC, and I hope you still like it and review it even if I have.

Many thanks to wonderful YenGirl for beta-ing, I appreciate your help very much!

And – the answers for the reviews to the previous chapter can be found in the forum thread, which could be found on my profile page etc. etc.

And – I still own nothing. What news!

Sayori stood watching the two sleeping forms for awhile. The teacher didn't seem too comfortable propped as he was – half-sitting, with his head hanging… and he sure needed that tea… and yet – she knew that if she woke him now – he would probably not go back to sleep easily – but rather would find something else to do, something else to fuss about…

She smiled at her choice of words – Yagari would have probably just snorted derisively if told he was fussing… but it was the truth – he did… actually she was still reeling a bit at how concerned and tender the older man acted towards Kaname – in a way she would never expected from him… but she guessed now was the time when everybody acted somewhat out of character – which maybe meant only deeper in character – as the emergency brought out the hidden depths in people around her… and she wondered if she herself looked equally changed…

… because you feel like you are…

And the memories slid a bit closer to the surface – now that they knew she was free to remember and to think and to muse…

… no, damn, not…

Now that the teacher slept the room felt almost as abandoned and empty as when she saw it the first time, and Sayori found it unnerving…

With Yagari-sensei awake – he seemed to fill the tiny cabin so completely – there wasn't a place for her memories in there… with his low commanding voice, with the sheer immediacy of his orders that forced her to concentrate and be there, be right in this moment – even when they both disappeared into the bathroom she sat there listening to the soft sounds from within, ready to come to action, ready to do what he would ask…

…feeling useful… for once…

She wandered around the room searching for something else she could do now… anything… picking up the discarded coats and hanging them onto the pegs by the door… looking inside the fridge and cupboards to check the meager supplies she could use to prepare some food for them when they awoke… setting out the kettle and tea to brew some more of it later…

Cleaning the bathroom occupied her for some time – as she sorted through the various items of discarded, partly wet clothing… washing them perfunctorily in only half-warm water… the teacher didn't have any washing powder anyway… so she just worked the things a little with simple soap, paying extra attention to remove the fresh blood stain from the hem of Yagari's jeans, hanging the clothes on any available surface that faced the heater – to dry…

All of that could take only that much time, you know…

…and she felt tired too…

And as she sat herself into the recliner and closed her eyes sipping from the cup of by now almost cold tea – the memories came – unbidden – as they threatened since the moment that she had opened that door again…

She was sitting like this – quietly – enjoying the sudden warmth within the cabin, but the young vampire kept walking – pacing the room diagonally from end to end – over and over and over again, and it was… distracting… annoying even… to the point she couldn't bear it any more… nervous as she already felt…

"Eeh… Aidou-senpai… can't you sit as well?"

He almost jerked, stopping abruptly, looking at her quizzically as if it was her who was a sudden, almost forgotten annoyance…

"Ah? What?"

…and it made Sayori unaccountably angry… it hurt, you know, when people tended to forget about her presence… as it had happened all too many times in the past…

"Can't you sit?" She answered, letting her irritation show. "You'll wear the grove into the floor-boards if you continue like this…"

She was instantly ashamed of herself when the vampire looked almost sheepish – in the cute little-boy kind of way – as if he had been completely unaware of his own constant moving right now…

"Uh… sorry…" He shook his head to clear it from whatever thoughts and worries were churning inside. "It is… necessary, I guess… I feel too… sleepy… Never was good at staying awake during the daytime…" It was muttered under his breath, clearly not meant for her to hear… but she did, and it filled her with sudden warmth – seeing this slight imperfection to his usually all too perfectly tailored image – the playboy, the brat, the incorrigible prankster – the imperfection that none of his fangirls would be allowed to see.

Nor these faint dark circles of tiredness below his eyes… I wonder if he sleeps with cucumber slices on - as these silly girls do – the way he never shows as anything as demigod when he struts out of those gates…

"Sit," she almost ordered, feeling somewhat superior to him in her fully woken state, "I'll go check if they have some coffee stacked in the kitchen – to help keep you awake…"

Frankly – she never expected him to comply so easily… never even turned to see if he was complying – as she went into the kitchen area…

…and it didn't take all that long to establish that there was no coffee… yet, when she returned to ask if a cup of tea would do instead – he was sitting in almost exactly the spot Yagari occupied now – perked gingerly on the very edge of the bed, head resting against the wall… dead to the world…

Just like now – she wandered around the room for a bit – looking for something to do… but naturally there was even less that she could – back then… and then settled half-lying on the same bed – as far as she could from the sleeping vampire but in his direct view when he woke – out of some sentimental notion of him not feeling so bad for falling asleep if he could see her alive and well instantly…

… was it the warmth, or the regular breathing of another person within the room… but somehow – she slipped into a little light nap herself, prompted awake by a distinct awareness of someone watching her intently – and from really close quarters too…

Actually, as she discovered once her eyes were open - Aidou was kneeling right in front of her on the bed, glaring at her in an almost Zero-fashion – the brow under the tousled golden mane creased by a deep frown, lips pursed and sky-blue eyes he kept trained on her face reflecting a mixed emotion that she could only interpret as anger mixed with… whatever.

"Are you stupid, or what?" He blurted immediately when he saw that she was awake, the tone and the non-too-polite wording making her stammer in shock:

"W-w-what?.. W-why?"

"I'm a vampire, remember?" He sounded almost desperate at her lack of understanding. "Weren't you listening to what I told you on our way here? What possessed you to lie to sleep so close to me? Weren't you afraid?"

Ah, so that's what he was speaking about… She guessed she was afraid a little bit – now, with him so towering over her on the bed, obviously angry at her… but previously… she actually felt safer in his proximity – maybe because he had already saved her once, maybe because…

"No, I wasn't…" She answered truthfully. "That vampire you killed down there – he was scary. But I do not fear you, nor others of the Night Class… I guess… Somehow I do not feel you would harm me… you wouldn't, right?" She finished – suddenly not too sure in view of obvious distress so clearly reflected on the young vampire's face.

"Wrong!" He moved so abruptly she hardly noticed the movement itself – just that in barely a second his face came very close, teeth bared so that she could distinctly see the elongated canines, eyes shining bright crimson – all his countenance turning completely into something dark and sinister, even his voice slightly hissing into her ear – devoid of its usual sunny chirpiness. "You should fear us, Sayori-san… us of the Night Class… and moreover – the other vampires, God forbid you ever meet another one…you catch us off-guard, we can suck you dry before we even are aware that it were you…"

If his aim was to scare her – he succeeded. She was scared now. No, she was terrified. Her whole body pressed into the mattress as if trying to distance itself from a looming figure, trying to slide away… only finding his other arm, firm and unyielding behind her back – caging her in. Sayori felt her breath hitching in her throat, preparing to rip through her closed lips in the wail of pure terror…

And then he was gone…

Once again – his movement was too quick for her to notice properly - one moment he was propped right over her and another he was already sitting on the far side of the bed, his shoulders hunched, one hand mercilessly raking the golden locks, the other gripping his own knee tightly, his whole frame slightly rocking with inner tension... Silent…

Sayori too felt shaken beyond the ability to speak… though her conscious mind – now awakened after a moment of total scare - was plying her with a stream of seemingly endless questions: What had just happened? Did he really want to bite her or was he teaching her a lesson now? Was it necessary?

"Yes, it was," the vampire's voice sounded lifeless and bleak… and she realized that she had asked the last question aloud.

He rose then with a sigh and walked to the window, staying there – his back to the room, the finger drawing abstract frost-pictures on the glass absently… and it seemed a whole minute has passed before he continued quietly without turning and looking at her.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I am – really. But it is best you remember what you have just witnessed… It's best you stay away from us – altogether… Even though Yuuki-sama is your friend… because vampires are…"

He shook his head exasperated at not finding the right words to explain, but when he turned with a soft chuckle – she saw that something of his bright-and-easygoing self was returning slowly – much to Sayori's relief.

"I'd much rather you don't get yourself hurt, Yori-chan… both Yuuki-sama and Kaname-sama would be wa-a-ay furious if you do".

It seemed such an "Aidou-thing" to say that Sayori found herself smiling – just as he smiled back at her in his usual dazzlingly playboy-ish way… until she noticed that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes… and she was puzzled at the expression that she saw in them… Was he… wistful? Idol-senpai? C'mon, grow up, girl… and yet she felt herself blushing softly under his silent scrutiny… and this unfamiliar feeling made her ask – because she needed to be absolutely sure – even if she could bring herself to look at him as she spoke:

"Eh… Aidou-senpai…" she started timidly. "Just to make sure I did understand correctly… if you knew it was me – would you still want to drink my blood?"

She heard a sharp intake of breath, a muffled "what?" - but when she looked up it seemed that if the vampire had been shocked by her question – he had already recovered, since he was smiling nonchalantly on her with his usual brattish charm, one of his finely curved brows lifting teasingly, letting her wonder what kind of answer he'd come with... yet when he spoke it was surely not any answer she could've expected:

"Uh… Yori-chan? And would you have mad violent sex with me right now?"

"W-what…" she stammered. "What kind of question is that?"

"And what kind of question was yours?"

That made her pause. Was the blood-drinking as intimate a matter for vampires, perhaps? Did she overstep some borders without knowing that there were any? She felt like she was floundering in completely unchartered waters… Should she maybe just back out of the whole discussion? No, it would look silly. So she tried to answer his question as truthfully as she could instead:

"I… I don't think I know you enough to consider this… eh… possibility yet, Aidou-senpai".

She knew she was blushing furiously and still looked stubbornly into his eyes – to be surprised by a serious and almost admiring glow appearing in them as a reward for her candid answer.

"Name is Hanabusa, you know?" He teased softly, coming closer to sit on the recliner that stood across from the bed.

"Hanabusa," she obediently repeated, but it was apparent even to herself that she wasn't comfortable calling him so…

…even though he calls you by given name like it is something natural… and you like it too…

"About your question…" The vampire began a little uncertainly. "There are two answers – just as for the one that I asked – and you answered only one part of it… but I am not pressing," he added hastily. "And to answer your question in the same way – I do know you too much already. It would be very impolite to drink the blood of someone you know without it being expressly offered… but if you asked me to promise that I would never do it… when a vampire is stressed or starved or injured – the body can just take over… before the mind has a chance to kick in… That's why I had to teach you that lesson, Yori-chan…"

They sat in companionable silence for awhile after this confession – mutual understanding hanging around them as a gentle mist, but she knew him enough already to notice the moment when his thoughts strayed back - to the friends he had left on the main Academy grounds. Was something happening there?

She wondered at her own strange indifference – after all – Yuuki, and Zero, and Chairman Cross, and her class-mates were there as well? Just maybe – in her heart of hearts she still didn't believe that situation could quite suddenly turn so deadly serious… Even with a vampire class there – Cross Academy had always been such a peaceful place…

"It is almost six in the evening…" She told musingly. "Maybe – whatever you were keeping me safe from… has already… finished? Maybe it is alright for us to return?"

The young vampire stood up and went to the window, where the reddish light of early winter sunset sifted into the room through the grated shutters. She wondered if anything but the clearing where the cabin stood could be seen through the grating, but Aidou… no, Hanabusa… had another purpose in mind, which only became apparent to her when he opened one frame and deeply inhaled the crisp and cold air… and she could see his anguish in how his fingers clasped unconsciously on the edge of the sill.

"They are fighting… there is the scent of ash and blood in the air… smells like tons of ashes, and… I know some of this blood…"

It took her a moment to understand the last phrase, and she paled when she did… it was such a vampire way to say it though – that some of his friends and class-mates were injured… she didn't want to think – dead…

While we were talking so peacefully here…

She knew he was probably having the same kind of thoughts right now – aching to be with his friends, worried for them as she was worried for Yuuki… angry for the unfairness of being stuck here guarding such a useless person as herself… she was actually prepared for him to complain about it, as he'd done on their way to the hut…

Yet when he turned to her his face – if anything – seemed only set and calm.

"I'm afraid I'm not fit to stay inside with you – after this… these smells – unsettle me… and I do not have any blood tablets here… so… for your own safety… I will guard you from outside…"

There must've been a question written all too clearly on her face, because he paused momentarily on his way to the door and smiled reassuringly:

"Don't worry, Yori-chan, Yuuki-sama is unharmed as of now…"

And it was just that last straw that made her come to a firm decision of her own.

"Aidou-senpai… Hanabusa!.." She ran after him as he stood in the doorframe scanning the clearing. "You can go there, you really can… Nothing will happen to me… I will bolt the door, and if nobody had wandered here in all this time – there is a fair chance nobody will… and if Kaname-senpai is mad with you – you can tell him I had sent you there because I was worried for Yuuki…"

She put her hand on his shoulder urging him forward lightly – to where he longed to be, only to make him spin around, catching her hand – the conflicting loyalties fighting again in the depth of troubled eyes for the decision his consciousness could accept as a right one…

"You will close the door… all the bolts… alright?"

"Yes"

"And do not turn on the light. This place is practically invisible from below there – but the light would be a sure beacon – for who knows what…"

"I know"

"And do not open to anyone… not to anyone… I will come for you myself when everything is really finished"

"Alright"

"Well, then…"

He let go of her hand then and took even a few tentative steps down the path, but turned right back – opening his mouth to talk as if he had just remembered to tell her something… She waited, but he seemed just to stand there looking on her - his face so serious and his eyes unfathomable in the gathering twilight.

"Yori-chan…" he whispered finally. "I want you to promise me something… just on the off-chance… it's not gonna happen… not really… but if neither me, nor anyone of my closest friends comes for you before midday tomorrow… promise me that you will not go to the Academy… if nobody comes for you by noon – just leave the grounds, there is a small gate right behind the cabin… leave the grounds and go directly to town… and stay in some crowded place…"

The implications of what he said were painfully clear… and she felt scared suddenly – both for herself and for him – as the real seriousness of the situation became something palpable in her mind – for the first time in this whole day…

… because one doesn't say this kind of words as a silly joke…

She felt so stupid for dismissing it all as almost a game – all this hours…

So damnably stupid… an ignorant human – that's what he must think about you…

All she could do now was nod, and be grateful that it seemed to satisfy the vampire boy.

"There is no one around – but I want you to close the door… before I leave…" He raked the hand through his tousled locks in a gesture that was by now all too familiar. "Well… I'll see you around, I guess… Yori-chan…"

The strange lump was stuck somewhere inside her windpipe – making her words nothing but barely audible whisper.

"Take care… Aid… Hanabusa."

And of course she rushed to the window as soon as the door was bolted – but the little clearing and what could be seen of the path were already empty… and she sighed and settled into the recliner to wait for his return…