Hate That I Love You {Zero Kiryu } Vampire Knight

{4} Ren Cross

"Kaname-sama, please forgive me," Aido quietly pleads as he walks behind the authoritative and intimidating vampire leader.

The vampire leader does not say a word as he keeps his focus straight ahead, ignoring the blonde vampire. Just before them, were the gates of the Night Class dormitory and the creepy elderly gatekeeper who silently greeted the brown-haired vampire. Kaname acknowledges the elder with a nod. Aido completely ignores the gatekeeper, afraid to remove his sight from his frightful leader. Kaname Kuran enters through the doors of the Night Class dormitory still without saying a word. Aido remains behind him, his eyes on the back of Kaname's head as giant knots form in the pit of his stomach.

The air is immediately filled with intensity as six other vampire students who sat in the decorative living area takes notice of the grim vampire. Immediately, one of them stands on their feet, taking a step towards Kaname Kuran. It was Ruka, a beautiful Aristocratic vampire, with wavy waist-length toffee-colored hair and messy bangs framing her forehead on both sides. Her large coffee-bean brown eyes intently stared at Kaname, as if she were waiting for him to call on her. The others remained seated, waiting patiently for their leader to speak.

Not bearing the silence from the brunette vampire, Aido decides he will speak first. He opens his mouth to speak but before he knew it, he is met with a harsh slap against his fair-skinned face. He then places his hand on the side of his face to hide the mark Kaname left, his striking blue eyes wide in utter shock.

"Aido," Kaname says, "The reckless stunt you committed earlier - what desire did you have to touch the girl?"

"Kaname-sama, I beg for your forgiveness as I do admit it was everything about her that captivated me. Her aroma, her blood, her beauty...I've never laid eyes on a human girl like her..." Aido murmurs.

The head vampire eyes intently at the blonde and lets out a heavy sigh, running his fingers within his hair in a stressful manner. Finally, he responds, "The girl is off limits. She is not to be touched. No questions about it as it is my command for you all to follow. Ren Cross is a significant being for me. More than you can imagine."

The vampires were all stunned to speak. Just who is Ren Cross? Why and how was she a significant being for the grand vampire leader? Nevertheless, it was a command, and it was to be followed. All but Aido nod in agreement. They were in no position to deny a command from Kaname Kuran. They then shift their gazes from the brown-haired leader to the blonde, waiting for his decision. Aido, feeling their eyes on him, an immense feeling of shame comes over him, causing him to lower his head. He nods and bows. "Your command will be met, my Lord.

Without saying a further word, Kaname retreats to the grand staircase that led to the dormitories upstairs. All eyes are on him until he can no longer be seen. A loud slam can be heard, causing for Aido to wince. He nervously runs his fingers through his blonde locks and furrow his brows. His eyes quickly glance over at his classmates who were all staring in disbelief at the blonde.

He bares his teeth and hisses in annoyance, "All of you, quit staring at me."

"What have you done now to have made him this upset? Why are you so intolerant?" Ruka scolds as she flips her wavy toffee-colored hair over her shoulder.

"Mind yourself, Ruka. This doesn't concern you," Aido mutters under his breath.

Ruka rolls her large brown eyes and scoffs, "But Kaname does concern me. And what upsets him, upsets me."

"Give it a rest, Ruka."

Ruka turns her attention to where the voice came from. Sitting on the lavish white couch, was Kain Akatsuki – Aido's cousin. He was a tall, slim-fit male vampire with brownish-orange wavy short hair. His burnt-orange-colored eyes were on Ruka, waiting for a response or reaction. The stunning beauty shoots him a look and she then resentfully sit by him on the couch and crosses her legs, folding her arms across her chest. Aido sluggishly walks pass them and sits down in an empty armrest chair and takes a glance at two other vampires standing by dark wooden bookcases. One was a short, slender female – Rima Toya. Rima has a creamy-pale complexion that goes well with her pin straight light orange hair in which she had in two pigtails tied with black ribbons. She also had bangs that fell right above her eyes, the perfect length to see her blue cerulean eyes and long, dark lashes. The other vampire was a male – Senri Shiki. Like the other vampires, Senri possessed immense beauty and a pale complexion. But what makes the young vampire stand out is his wild, mahogany hair and lightly tinted blue eyes that went perfectly well with one another. Aido scoffs when he sees the two vampires shaking their heads in disappointment, their eyes on him. He then blows a raspberry at the pair and crosses his arm across his chest.

This group of vampires has always been tight knit with one another since their early childhoods. They all knew each other's likes, dislikes, flaws and have never been more different than ever. But there was one thing they all had in common: their respect towards the Pureblooded vampire, Kaname Kuran.

To break the silence that fell upon them, Kain Akatsuki clears his throat and shrugs, "Who is Ren Cross?"

With a twinkle in his blue eyes and sly grin, Aido replies, "My new muse."

"We have been ordered by our leader to protect Ren Cross, whoever she may be. Our duty is to protect her from all harm, even from you, Hanabusa," Kain sighs.

"How can we protect her if we don't know how she looks like?" Ruka questions, annoyance in her voice.

"That's easy to figure out as she is hard to miss," Aido chuckles. He closes his eyes as he pictures the human girl and continues, "Ren Cross is incredibly beautiful. She possesses a fair complexion with long, straight raven black hair with pieces framing her face. She also has bangs, but they are at a perfect length where they don't hinder her eyes. That's my favorite part of her. They're a stunning shade of purple. They remind me of two amethyst diamonds that can captivate any man's heart...even my own."

Aido opens his eyes to see his classmates intently staring at him, intrigued by his telling of Ren Cross. He chuckles, "Did you know, amethyst comes from the Koine Greek "amethystos?" It is a reference to the belief that the amethyst protected its owner from drunkenness. Ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved drinking vessels from it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication."

He then stands on his feet and then slyly smirks, "The Ancient Greeks were wrong. She is far from being a prevention of intoxication with her aroma. It's enough to intoxicate any vampire near and far. But that's not the best part."

"There's more?" Rima mutters, rolling her eyes.

"Her blood. It is the most succulent that I have ever tasted," the blonde states, "And according to Kaname's command, she has become my forbidden fruit."

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