An Unavoidable Encounter (Zero x reader)

Chapter 14

(Y/n)'s POV

I woke up and saw someone next to me. I was too tired to look at their face but the first thing I noticed was white hair. Shizuka? I immediately pushed 'her' off. 'She' hit the ground with a thump.

"Geez (Y/n), you push really hard," Zero commented.
"Huh? It's only you...sorry."
"It's alright but why did you push me off?"
"I...thought you were her." He sighed and got up.
"Where am I?"
"My room," he replied.
"I'm sorry for causing you the trouble to-"
"Don't worry about it." A little bird landed on his window sill. I opened the window and held out my finger.
"Hello there, little bird." It chirped at my greeting and jumped onto my finger.
"You must be living a meaningful life..." It looked at me with wide eyes then it turned its head towards Zero.
"Don't worry, he's nice to some people. Zero, come here." He came over and stood next to me without arguing.
"Here, gently okay? Don't be so harsh all the time." I held out the little bird. He hesitantly held out his finger. The bird hopped onto his. I smiled.
"There you go, not everything comes out of being feared." He looked at me with wide eyes.
"What?"
"N-nothing," he replied while looking away. I stroked the bird's feathers. It chirped then flew away.
"How do you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?"
"Tame animals."
"I don't know, I guess it's a natural instinct." Someone knocked on the door.
"You better go hang out with Yuki for a while. Well, I'll be off now, see you around."
"Wait (Y/n)."
"Yes?"
"I l- nevermind. Just go."

I jumped out the window before Yuki came in. I went back to the Night Dorms only to find that Ichijou had come back with Shiki. But something was different about him.

"Miss (Y/n)," Shiki said and bowed. This wasn't Shiki. He never did this before.
"Who are you?"
"I'm surprised you don't remember me." Those eyes...they remind me of... My eyes widened in surprise.
"F-father?!" He just smiled.
"Lord Rido, you must get some rest," Ichijou insisted.

But wait...wasn't he Shiki's father as well? Although we had different mothers. This was adding more to my stress. 'Shiki' hugged me. I was trying to process what was happening. My father had come back. I thought I lost him a few years ago.

Shizuka treated me as if I was trash but he was always there for me, loving me like a real father. Only, he came in the body of others. Even though he did bad things, I could've never survived without him.

"How have they been treating my daughter, Ichijou?"
"Y-your daughter?! I mean, we-"
"I've had a pleasant stay here, father."
"That's good to hear."
"But please do not use Shiki's body..." It felt as if Shiki was gonna feel guilty for feeding off those poor human girls...
"Don't worry, the time will come for me to resurrect." I could tell that Ichijou was standing there with an open mouth, trying to take everything in.
"Ichijou, it's alright. You may leave, I'll look after him."
"Yes, Miss (Y/n)." Ichijou looked at me with a half-worried expression before leaving. I took Shiki to his room.
"Thanks (Y/n)," Rido said.
"You're welcome, call me if you need anything...after all, you did do a lot for me." He just smiled then closed the door. *sigh*

~Some time later~

I was walking along a path until I noticed Rima with Rido and Ichijou. They looked like they were about to fight. I ran over to them and blocked Rima's attack.

"Please refrain from fighting, Rima."
"Sorry, Miss (Y/n) but please let me talk to Shiki. He can't just let his body be used like that! Shiki, why don't you love yourself enough to let someone take over your body?!" She looked extremely angered and upset. I healed the wound that was near her chest.
"Thank you but you did not have to do that for me," she exclaimed.
"That would be rude of me, I have no intention of letting you die. Anyway, I know you have a deep affection for Shiki but please do not act without thinking."
"I understand, Miss (Y/n)."
"Ichijou, please take Shiki back to his room."
"Yes, Miss (Y/n)." Rido smiled at me and left with Ichijou.
"Rima, come with me." She followed me to some quiet garden. I sat down in a shaded area.
"Don't be so tense around me, please sit." She hesitantly sat down.
"I'm sorry I had to do that, Rima-"
"Please don't apologise."
"About Shiki..."

I explained to her some of the little details but not all of it. I didn't want to give away too much of the information in case it spread. The leaves - on the ground - rustled.

"Who's-"

I covered Rima's mouth and put a finger over my lips. She nodded. I jumped onto a tree and motioned for Rima to follow me. We hid in the leaves and waited for whoever or whatever it was to come.

Soon enough, someone came. I jumped down and delivered a force strong enough to make him forcefully bump into a tree.

"Zero?! Oh, please excuse me for that." Rima jumped down next to me.
"You may leave now." She bowed then went off.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just walking around, something wrong?" he asked, annoyed.
"Nothing at all." He looked like he had something to say.
"What? Something you wanna say?"
"It's nothing."
"Have you abandoned your mission?" He looked hesitant to answer.
"Yeah..." he replied.
"Why?"
"You saved me, I cannot accept that nor do I want to kill someone to repay them for helping me."
"Nice answer."
"Tch." I just smiled. Then Aido came.