Bloody Petals

Chapter 21

Zero opened his eyes with a groan. The light from the morning sun did nothing but annoy his mood and irritate his eyes. As usual, he forgot to close the open window it seemed. Or so he thought since he was so sure he closed that last night, just like many other nights. But in the end, he just shrugged the thought as something trivial.

He thought of ditching class since he could pass all the tests without studying anyway. He was home-schooled before he became a hunter so most of the topics at school were already taught to him and also to the other hunters. But the mere thought of Yuzuru and Yuuki's combined nagging about attendance and proper student conduct somehow made him decide otherwise.

He sighed as he got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. It's been a week since he last saw Kaname and to say that he was thirsty for the pureblood's luscious blood was an understatement. Only he could continue torturing himself with those blood pills without getting tired. He leaned onto the sink and brushed his teeth before he looked at his reflection on the small mirror in front of him. He hadn't seen Kaname ever since that night. And he had yet to apologize too... His pride was preventing him from actually going to the Moon Dorm to talk to the pureblood so he was reduced to patrolling every night in case he'd see the brunette. But still, to no avail.

Lately though, all he could see was Aido shadowing him. Sometimes he'd sense Takuma nearby even though he couldn't see the guy. But that was that. He somehow knew something was up the moment the two blondes wouldn't leave their eyes off him. Did Kaname somehow tell them to follow him or something...? He's not an idiot. He's a hunter even if he's actually a vampire. And he could feel it if someone was following him for days, especially if vampires were following him for days now.

"Zero-kun...?" He heard Yuuki's voice from the door and he knew he's running late... again.

"I'm awake." He called as he dressed up for school. "Tell Yuzuru you two can leave me if you want." He added grumpily. He started hating Mondays the moment he became a student.

"Nah, we'll wait." Yuuki's overly enthusiastic voice made the hunter arch an eyebrow but he didn't put much thought into it. Maybe her date with Yuzuru yesterday went well. The two spent their whole Sunday outside the school doing Kami-knows-what. He hasn't experienced dating anyone so he wasn't really sure what they could have done.

He went out of his room and out of the dorm only to wish that he'd stayed in bed instead. He didn't remember that today was the day of the School Festival. He hated festivities as much as he hated Valentine's Day. And especially now that he has a pretty good reason for doing so.

"I can't wait to perform later!! And nii-sama said he and the others are coming to watch too!! I'm getting nervous!!" Yuuki exclaimed excitedly while hugging Yuzuru's arms. The act only made the older male laugh while it only added to Zero's grumpiness. That's exactly the reason why he hated this day... that hellish performance...

All in all, many students were running around the school in a hurry of some sort. Some were squealing in excitement over something or another while others were so excited to go to some booths or buy some stuff. The lively atmosphere, not to mention the crowded grounds, busy and excited students, and the fact that the sun was particularly hot today did nothing to improve the hunter's mood at all.

"Zero, are you alright?" Yuzuru asked when he noticed his kouhai's discomfort. "It's pretty hot today. Are you hurting or something?"

"No, I just need some shade I guess." Zero sighed. Yuuki and Yuzuru smiled at him before they all decided to just explore the booths inside the classrooms instead of the booths in the open field.

The hunter's mood didn't improve at all, especially since he was being harassed by females in every corner he turned to, starting from the maids who wanted him to at least take a look at their café. They couldn't move an inch near Yuzuru since Yuuki's devilish face – jealous face actually – was scaring them. And so, every booth and every fangirl wanted to at least have a chat with the silver-haired male, seeing that his senpai was no longer available. Zero only glared at them all and didn't even stop walking to check out their offers. Who knew what fate awaited him inside those classrooms?