POV: KAIN AKATSUKI THE DEVA VU GIRL AND THE TROUBLESOME COUSIN

So. I hated writing this, and it isn't very long, but this is what I managed. Also, there's some swearing. It isn't serious but it's definitely there. I decided that since I finished it, I might as well post it.

Here you go. Kain is seriously done with all of this.

The first and second time that Kain Akatsuki sees Cross Yuuki, it's the same night, and he doesn't quite manage to understand what about her niggles at the back of his mind. The thoughts are there, but he doesn't quite acknowledge them until later.

The first time, he is walking through the temporary dorm with some of the noble vampires he'd been associating with ever since he'd first been presented to society. Souen Ruka and Aidou Hanabusa, his cousin, are among them, as well as Kuran's pet Level C who hadn't bothered to actually speak to any of them.

It'd been a small laugh at Hanabusa's expense that'd caught their attention. His cousin had been complaining and being bratty, as was usual, and he'd been half-heartedly trying to console him when the small snicker had sounded.

He'd been the first to stop followed by Hanabusa and Ruka, then Shiki had stopped as well, though he hadn't known the male at the time.

Cross had been tiny back then, her face all big eyes and her hair long and messy, sitting all curled on the stairs looking like a startled, small animal. The sense of familiarity had been present even then, the sense that he should recognize her, that he knew her but her appearance was shifted just slightly to the left of what he knows. But then they'd been moving again, leaving her behind, and he'd put her out of his mind.

Later, he'd followed Ruka to Kuran's rooms, found her giving herself to Kuran to feed from (and didn't that ache?) and spotted her leaving Kuran's rooms. He'd been startled and confused at the time, but in the moment he had almost thought she was Kuran, only shrunken.

Which had been sort of a trip.

Then Ruka had come stumbling out of Kuran's rooms with blood all down her front and irritation all across her features at the sight of him soon after, though, so he had to shelve those thoughts in favor of trying to convince her to just let him help her, dammit.

The next times he'd seen her, it'd usually been in passing, when they'd been escorted by her and that Zero guy- Kiryuu Zero, from vampire hunter family that'd been wiped out by Hiou Shizuka some time back. It wasn't usually for very long, but it had been enough to see that Kuran really did have something to do with her, connected to her in a way that nobody was really willing to question, or even really see.

Which was unsettling. Did nobody see it? Even Hanabusa, who had been obsessed with Kuran since they were kids, somehow didn't see it.

Or maybe they did see it and were just good at hiding it. Hanabusa definitely didn't- he'd have told him by now if he did, even if only accidentally.

Kuran favoured her very clearly, and treated her specially. And she looked almost exactly like him, except Cross has long hair. He'd written home carefully, called some people, and tried to get his hands on some older books that might have explained anything, but he was denied, and it wasn't as though the Kain family was as old as Kuran's, or as affluent as any other pureblood family. They hadn't had a pureblood in their family for a long time.

Anything he might have found probably wouldn't have answered any of his questions, anyway. So he settled down to avoid thinking about it too much, as there wasn't really anything he could do about it without getting erased from existence by Kuran for sticking his nose in it.

Then Hanabusa just had to put his entire foot in it.

Honestly.

Akatsuki went along with his cousin's whims too much, especially when he knew that his cousin was being bitter about what little he saw of Kuran's relationship with Cross, whatever it was. He probably wouldn't stop doing so, because Hanabusa wouldn't stop doing the things he did, and he needed some kind of back-up, but he should probably make more of an effort to convince him to stop doing such Stupid shit.

So, here he is, outside with Hanabusa and catching Cross' anti-vampire weapon in his palm instead of letting it clip his Stupid cousin across the face like he almost wants to. But Hanabusa would never let him hear the end of it. After all, Akatsuki had been training to fight for a long time, and his cousin always expected him to use what abilities he could to help him. Not that he ever really minded that before now.

There are two humans huddled behind the tiny girl, both of them staring with wide, awestruck eyes, but Akatsuki ignores them, wrenching his hand back as the weapon sears into the flesh of his palm, not quite damaging his skin but not any less painful for that. His nerves feel scorched in a very unpleasant and lingering way even as he subtly flexes his fingers. He can tell his hand is already trying to heal from the few seconds of contact and managing it badly. He tucks it into his pocket and watches the situation carefully as Hanabusa continues to speak, continues to dig himself a grave, and realizes almost too late exactly what Hanabusa is going to do.

Hauling his Stupid cousin back by the collar of his uniform, Akatsuki almsot literally snarls at Hanabusa. Is he even thinking?

There's a spray of blood following Hanabusa's fingers, the scent clogging all of his senses, and Akatsuki is so glad he's got better control than so many of the other Night Class students as well as his cousin, because getting close to Cross would definitely see him killed tonight. So would flashing his eyes at her, so he does his best to tone that down.

Kiryuu emerges from the bushes with a gun drawn seconds later, confirming that theory.

He's so busy watching the weapon and Kiryuu's figure that he actually almost doesn't hear Hanabusa spewing even more Stupid shit. Kiryuu moves actually almost too fast for him to react in time, dropping his cousin and ducking to the side out of reflex as the guardian fires his weapon and Cross hits it to deflect it right at his face.

He's 70% sure it's accidental, but that wouldn't have mattered after he'd died.

Kuran showing up is actually kind of a relief, after that, despite that the animal part of his brain insists that he's going to die.