Bloody Petals

Chapter 35

"Contribution...?" Zero's eyebrows furrowed at that.

"I told you Rido was obsessed with oto-san, right?" Ichiru asked as he gritted his teeth. His eyes almost flared as he waited for his older brother's answer. When Zero nodded, eyebrows still creased in confusion, the younger twin continued speaking. "Rido investigated oto-san's death. I didn't think he would start investigating about it too but I guess sorrow and grief had caused him to at least try to find out what really happened. He must have... tried to investigate things in order to find out if there was a chance... that oto-san was still alive..." His eyes had turned sorrowful for a short while before rage filled his whole expression again. "But what he found out... was worse than we could ever imagine..."

"What do you mean?" Zero asked, feeling dread at the way his twin was speaking.

Ichiru gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists tightly. His eyes had turned glowing crimson in rage too, much to Zero's surprise. Now the older twin didn't know if he still wanted to hear it. "...He found out that oto-san did die because of my power. But I wasn't the one at fault. Oto-san and oka-san, that night, would still have died even if my power did not go out of control."

"What... did you say..?" Zero's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief as he stared at his younger twin. He didn't even know he had stood up from his seat.

"I already told you, didn't I? There's no way my power was enough to kill them both." Ichiru voiced as he tried his best to contain his anger. Meanwhile, Zero was starting to grasp the situation. His own anger was also starting to rise up. It was planned... It was a trap... And he wasn't even surprised anymore when he heard Ichiru's next words.

"It was the Association, nii-san. The Association set up a meticulous trap just for the two of them... in much the same way they set up a trap for you. Oto-san and oka-san were already severely wounded when they returned home that night. Rido said it was even a miracle that they managed to reach our house without dying on the road. He said..." Ichiru closed his eyes as he sighed deeply, most likely trying to prevent himself from shedding any unnecessary tear. "He said that it was because they loved us too much. They didn't want to just disappear from the world without seeing us first... because they promised they would be back that night. And so they did."

Zero closed his eyes again, trying his best to suppress the darkness which threatened to overwhelm his heart and mind. Instead, he tried to call out for his lover through their bond. He was surprised to find Kaname's location quite near the room where he was in... quite near indeed. Not to mention he was with two others who were really good at hiding their presence too. "Kaname, Kaien-san, Yuzuru..." He opened his eyes as he looked behind his shoulder, towards where the door was. "You should just come inside instead of eavesdropping over there."

Ichiru's eyes widened when he realized that there were indeed three people outside the room. The two of them must have been too engrossed in their conversation to notice the others' presence like that.

The room was quiet for a while and nothing indicated that there really were people on the other side of the door. However, the doorknob slowly rattled before the door opened on its own, revealing Kaname with his cool expression, Kaien looking quite sheepish for being caught eavesdropping, and Yuzuru who looked really curious for his own good.

"I see." Ichiru glared at them all in much the same way Zero always did. It made Yuzuru hide a grin. They were twins alright.

"Sorry about that." Kaien chuckled as he approached the twins. "I was just passing by when I saw Kuran-kun here leaning by the doorway."

Kaname looked surprised enough to glare at the Chairman. To think Kaien would just sell him out so easily...

"I know." Ichiru smirked just before his glare worsened. "He must be too worried about his lover. He thought I would do something awful to my own older brother."