-Yawn- Uh huh... (Yukai&&Chewy)

[ChiChu Aikou]

It was late, though not by all standards. It certainly was, however, and odd time for Chu to be sitting in the halls of her dorm, scribbling almost randomly in her blood red colored journal, headphones on and blaring songs from her MP3. She'd already changed into her pajamas; a black silk tank top and matching baggy silk pants. The dorm was usually kept quite cold, which made her choice very unusual, like many of the things about her. Most of the girls walking around were bundled in flannel and crossing their arms in hopes of a little more warmth.

Chu, on the other hand, looked as though it was 90 degrees and climbing. It was just one of those things about being a vampire, she supposed. Her body temperature was much lower that a humans, usually staying room temperature. Her insignia, which always burned her, was the warmest part of her body (It was fairly close to regular body temperature).

She was always stared at for dressing lightly when it was cold, but most had gotten used to the sight, except for the new students and freshman. But that was ok, by then, to Chu. She'd learned early on to ignore the stares and whispers of those not used to her differences. It was... normal.

But there was only so much that one girl could take.

Despite her headphones being fairly loud (Not to mention sound canceling) her hearing, annoyingly improved by her vampireness, was good enough to catch her name being mumbled among a few freshman. She hissed a sigh, slamming her journal shut and yanking out her headphones, turning her MP3 off in the process. She stood in one fluid motion and strode to her room, slamming the door behind her.

She closed her eyes and leaned against her door, a sigh hissing from her lips.

"Yu?" She whispered to her roommate, trying to control her breathing. "Help me out here. Anger issues flaring. Desire to kill freshman growing..."

[Yukai Hisou]

Yukai's favourite time of day was often when the day faded away. There was something about dusk and night that soothed her, made her feel comfortable. Yukai was one of those lucky people who could go with minimal sleep and still function properly. Some people mumbled that she used her abilties to cheat and use emotional 'pick me ups', but she didn't. She just simply didn't need as much sleep. A few hours was enough. So she often spent many of her nights up on the roof, staring up at the stars. Watching them glitter and twinkle, like jewels in a black velvet box.

Not tonight though.

No tonight, Yukai had climbed into her pyjama's, and retreated to her room. She was stretched out across her bed, flicking idly through a novel. The blue flannel nightwear was doing an excellent job of keeping the chill away, and she felt suprisingly comfortable. It was rare that Yukai experianced such moments of pure comfort, and the doubting part of her subconcious whispered that it wouldn't last long.

It was right.

Yukai jumped as the door slammed heavily, but as the extent of Chu's feelings reached her, she gasped and her body convulsed as if she was in pain. The blood drained from an allready pale face, but the blonde staggered unsteadily to her feet. She crossed the room, hands outstretched towards Chu. Teeth clamped down upon her lower lip, stoping it trembling. Yukai pulled Chu into her hold, wrapping the vampire in her arms. Risky, but it was easier if they were touching.

It took a few heartbeats, but soon enough Yukai eased away Chu's rage, draining it carefully from her room-mate. She took away the wrath, the desire to kill, instead cloaking her friend in a blanket of serenity and contentment. It was hard, but Yukai suceeded in the end.

"Better?"

She whispered, her body trembling ever so slightly as her mind did it's best to deal with the sudden invasion of rage and bloodlust.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Chu cringed away from Yukai's touch, at first, fearing the desire would flare out and attack her friend. She was saved that, though, as the anger seemed to melt away, hidden for the time being.

"Much." She sighed, relaxing in her friend's arms. "What would I do without you, Yuyu?"

She chuckled darkly, shaking her head sadly before backing out of Yukai's arms and pulling them both to her friends bed, where Chu knew would probably be more comfortable for Yukai.

[Yukai Hisou]

"Well, the freshman population would be way down for one thing."

Yukai responded, keeping her tones as light as she could, all things considered. She allowed herself to be lead easily over to the bed, letting Chu take a fair portion of her weight. It wouldn't bother the vampire to support Yukai's delicate mass, but it was a relief to Yukai to not have to carry herself.

She collapsed gratefully onto the duvet, laying still for a moment before pulling herself into a ditting position, shuffling up to make sure there was plenty of room for Chu on the bedspread.

"So, what happened?"

She asked, hugging her knees to her chest and looking at Chewy with mild curiosity. She was careful to keep the other girl carefully enclosed in the bubble of serenity she'd only recently created.

[ChiChu Aikou]

"Well..." Chu's face scrunched up as she thought about what had upset her. As usual, it seemed silly, by the time Yukai had calmed her. "I was out there, writing and listening to my music... and thinking about... things... and, of course, I can never turn my MP3 up loud enough to drown out the freshman..." She winced where she sat on Yukai's bed, then went on. "I heard them talking about me... and Eiji. And then... I just lost it."

She looked up at Yukai, her brows furrowing. "I know. It shouldn't bother me. I just... I can't take it." A small tremble passed through the vampire but soon was gone, silenced by Yukai's calm-bubble.

[Yukai Hisou]

Yukai sat very still as she listened to the explanation offered up for such violent outburst. She knew that a reaction to such a thing often seemed silly to Chu, but Yukai didn't share those thoughts. She had seen how hard it was to be among living, warm-blooded people. The fact that Chu had run to her room instead of lunging for the freshman's throats proved how well the vampire was actually coping. It may not take much to trigger the vampire's anger, but it took a lot to control it. The way Chu did her utmost to keep that control made Yukai proud. However, as she heard Eiji's name, the female sighed.

"I wish you'd tell him how you feel."

She said simply, smoothing over the other comments with her bubble. There wasn't much she could say in response. It was hard, and Yukai helped the best she could, but she couldn't be everywhere at once. So she diverted the attention to a subject easier to tackle.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Chu wrinkled her nose, looking down guiltily.

"You know I can't do that," She said, greatful that there wasn't enough blood in her body for a blush to be noticeable. Though, she knew, Yukai could probably sense her embarrassment. "It's dangerous. I don't know if I could handle that. And... I don't even know if he likes me back. I mean, it could easily end our friendship. Unless... you know something I don't...?"

She looked up at Yukai suspiciously. It hadn't really occured to Chu that Yukai might know whether Eiji liked her back, before. Ok, she had. But she was too embarrassed to ask. Until now.

[Yukai Hisou]

"You handle his friendship well."

Yukai pointed out, though she could see where the difficulties could and would lie. In his blood. Blood that made Chu's throat burn with the primal desire. It was hard to control herself just sitting near people, but holding them was another matter. Like her name suggest, when she kissed them, she left them bleeding. Or was likely too.

Her expression was smooth as Chewy directed the final comment. She had been expecting it, and because of it she was prepared. She flicked her gaze over Chu's suspicious, yet hopeful expression and then shrugged her slim shoulders.

"Why are you asking me how he feels. He's the one you should be asking."

She did her best to deflect the question, but wasn't sure it would satiate her friends curiosity.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Chewy looked over at her friend, trying to keep the small glare out of her eyes.

"Yukai," She said. "I know when you're avoiding my questions." She took a breath, almost as if that would help her absorb the calm Yukai was radiating. Her voice was gentler when she spoke again. "I can't ask him. I just... can't. Not when I'm so unsure. But you... I know you know something..."

She thought over Yukai's words, for a moment. Yukai would never tell her to do something that would hurt her- quite obviously because that would make Yukai hurt, as well. And Yukai knew that it would hurt her more if she asked Eiji and he rejected her than if Yukai told Chu flat out that it was hopeless. Because then there would be embarrassment. And a ruined friendship.

So that could only mean one of two things;;

1) Yukai was a major masochist and wanted to hurt herself by hurting Chu

Or

2) Yukai knew Eiji liked Chu and was basically TELLING her thatit was ok.

Only one seemed to make any sense.

When she looked back up at Yukai, her brows (Which had knitted together) raised greatly as her eyes went wide.

"Yu..." She murmured, not completely trusting her voise to be calm. "Yu, he does... doesn't he...?" It wasn't completely a question. More like a verification.

[Yukai Hisou]

Yukai could almost hear the cogs turning in her friends head as she watched Chu think it out. The blonde felt bad, guilty. She couldn't help but know how Eiji felt about the vampire, but she'd never wanted to tell Chu. She was a firm believe in privacy, even if she couldn't give people any. She had thought at least she could wait for Eiji and Chu to figure out their feelings on their own, but by not saying anything... It seemed she had said all that needed to be heard.

She hadn't been able to hold onto his secret.

It was slipping through her fingers, and she was fighting to keep her hold, but some part of her knew it was fated to fall. Part of her wanted it to fall, she wanted her friends to be happy. She took in Chu's expression, those beautifuly hopeful wide eyes. She wanted to nod, to let her friend know exactly what Eiji felt, but she couldn't.

Instead she sighed heavily, and flopped backwards onto the bedspread, hair splaying around her head like a shimmeirng halo.

"Chu... I can't tell you. You're going to have to figure it out."

She whispered, peeking at the other girl from under her eyelashes. She really wanted Chu to understand that she wanted to tell her, but she couldn't.

"I promised."

She murmured softly, knowing that ChiChu would hear.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Chu's face twisted in frustration, again, as she watched her friend. It did hurt her when her friend hurt, or was this frustrated (Though tht was what Yukai did with everyone.).

"Yukai," She said, putting a hand on her friends arm. "I'm sorry. It's not fair for me to ask this stuff of you, it's just... I need to know. We can't keep balencing on this knifeblade... If he does, then, you know, yay! If not... I don't know. Maybe that Kuro guy'd actually talk to me, for once..."

[Yukai Hisou]

The touch on her arm, would have been cold if it touched her flesh. As it was, the flannel sleeve absorbed the chill. The light guesture suprised Yukai, and she opened her eyes to see her friend. A fresh wave of pain hit Yukai - her own. She didn't like to see her friends upset. Eiji had never made her swear not to tell, but she had promised herself. It didn't seem right to give away her friends emotions like a trinket. She'd give ChiChu all the bangles she owned if she thought it would help, but it wouldn't. There was only one thing she needed to know...

Slim fingers were raised to the girls throat, as Yukai toyed with the locket hanging on a delicate silver chain. It was small, and oval, and was often tucked down into her shirt. It stayed against her skin even when she slept; Yukai was loathe to remove it. She fidgeted absently, debating her actions.

"S'okay. I know you you feel. Literally."

She laughed weakly at her own words, before her eyebrows furrowed again.

"I guess I could give you a hint- Wait. Kuro? The scary senior? What's he got to do with this?"

Her attention caught once more, Yukai sat up, her gaze puzzled. Chu's emotions were all tangled up, she needed to rely on words to solve this problem.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Oops. Chu almost forgot that that was the ONE thing she'd never really talked to Yukai about. Sure, they'd discussed almost every aspect of everything Eiji had said in one day a few times, but never the odd glances of the stares she'd seen Kuro giving her. She supposed it was understandible that her friend would be confuzed.

"Um..." Was the brilliant thing she managed to say before looking down, obviously embarrassed. "Well... He looks at me, sometimes. Ok, whenever he's near me. It makes me nervous, I guess. But in an odd way... I don't know... Sometimes it just seems like he wants to talk to me, but he's afriad. And not in the normal way; not of me. Like... like he's afraid he'd hurt me, or something..."

She looked out a nearrby window, biting her lip. When she did, it was a wonder that the flesh of her lip didn''t split, her white teeth showing as sharp as razors.

[Yukai Hisou]

Yukai sat very still as her friend explained. Her body seemezed frozen in place, save for the gentle movement of her chest as she took in oxygen. Her pale eyes were fixed on Chu and she stayed silent. Just sat still, listening to every word untill her friend was done. Then she stayed silent, evalutating what she'd just been told and comparing it silenlty with the emotion's that had ebbed and flowed with the words. It wasn't making much sense to the blonde, and she frowned slightly.

"He...looks at you? Stares. But he's... He's afraid?"

She said softly, to herself rather than Chu, as she tried to puzzle it all out. She'd never been in close proximity to the senior, and she'd never got a clear feel of his emotions. She'd heard he was half-demon though, and had wondered if that would affect her gift. She'd never got close enough to him to test this theory - or his sister for that matter.

Now she was concerned though.

"That's... Unexpected. Confusing too. And wierd, don't forget wierd."

She said finally.

"Well... Um. How do you feel about him staring at you?"

[ChiChu Aikou]

"I- I don't know." She said with a sigh. "Confuzed, I guess. And... scared, for some reason. And... I don't know... Weird. Nobody really ever looked at me like that, before... Like something to protect, I guess. But... I don't need protecting. I'm stronger than most of the people here. None of it really makes sense but, even though he scares me... I think... I like it."

She looked up at Yukai, her frustration and confusion even clearer then the waves of it that were probably rolling off her.

"Does that make sense? I mean... I really don't know... You tell me!" She cried, flopping backward onto her back as her friend ad done moments before, only in the opposite direction.

"But..." She sighed, her face smoothing out, slightly. "I still like Eiji. A lot. And... I'm just so lost."

[Yukai Hisou]

Yukai sifted through thw ords and emotions coming from her friend. It was all very complicated and confusing; very difficult to sort out. Not to mention, she was still mantaining the calm atmosphere and absorbing all of Ch's violence. Her own emotions were still there, as were the emotions of those in other rooms. A girl was having a nightmare; Yukai could feel her fear.

"Oh."

Was all she managed to say, brow creased every so slighty.

"Well that's... complicated? I've never been in that situation before, so I'm not sure what advice I can really give... I can try and get close enough to Kuro to figure out what he's feeling about you when he's staring...?"

She shrugged her shoulders, feeling slightly helpless.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Chu sighed, picking herself up onto her elbows so she could see Yukai.

"That could work... but I'm not sure I want to know. I mean, if I do have a chance with Eiji then I don't want to know exactly what Kuro's feeling." She shook her head, sighing again. "This is all too confusing. You know what? Maybe I'll just talk to Eiji. ALone. Maybe we could go into town, or something..."

She shrugged, then curled up before fluidly rolling backwards, off the bed, into a standing position.

"Think that could work?" She asked, going over to sit lightly on her own bed.

[Yukai Hisou]

A part of Yukai regretted making that offer. She would do anything for ChiChu, anything to make life easier fior the other girl. However, Kuro terrified her. It didn't help that nearly the entire student body and most of the staff felt the same. It amplified her own fears to a point where Yukai froze the moment Kuro was in sight, and shrank back against the wall whenever he passed her. Getting close enough to read his emotions... Wasn't going to be easy.

However, she jsut nodded encourgingly at her friend, hiding her own fears. Chu was going through enough after all.

"Mhmm. Going into town sounds like a good plan."

She confirmed, nodding her head once more.

[ChiChu Aikou]

Chu nodded to herself, biting her lip so hard for a moment that it would have broken a human jaw in half. Finally she sigh, closing her eyes and relaxing.

"Ok; I'm going to talk to him." she said, sounding greatly relieved that she'd finally made the choice. She was going to do something she could control. She was going to take care of this herself. She was going to do the right, brave thing.

And she was as scared as hell.

[Yukai Hisou]

"Don't be scared ChuChu... It's Eiji. You talk to him all the time, you don't have to be afraid."

She spoke in soft, soothing tones. Her abilties reached out gently, wrapping around the dark haired girl like a safety blanket. She withdrew the sudden fear, smoothed it away as if it had never existed. A slight smile touched Yukai's face.

"It will be fine, perfectly fine. Trust me."

She reassured in those same soft tones, fitting those relaxed, and happy feelings tighter to her friends frame. She'd go and see Eiji at some point, to see how he was coping. They were both so silly, Yukai thought idly. They both cared so deeply for the other, and yet neither were brave enough to voice the feelings for the fear of rejection. Well, if they didn't get around to it soon, Yukai was going to have to start getting involved. She could only feel them suffering pointlessly for so long...