Lady Vampire Knight (Vampire Knight Fanfiction)

Chapter 72: The 'Sonata'

Thud.

A pair of shorts landed in my wardrobe, closely followed by a shirt. I paused from where I was unpacking my luggage, plopping onto the armchair with a sigh.

Yagari had gone downstairs and was clanking about in the kitchen, making a tremendous din. Was he trying to cook or something? I honestly hope he didn't break anything, or burn the house down. Was Mum even able to sleep through it?

A smell rose to my nose, and as soon as I noticed it, I was up and running, out of the room and down the stairs. Vampire speed surprised me sometimes, so I was downstairs in a flash.

"What was that?" I burst into the kitchen. "I smelt-" The sight that greeted me was Yagari standing in front of the stove, desperately trying to quench a small flame that had erupted out of the pan he held.

"Some help maybe?" Yagari huffed, tossing a cup of water over the contents of the pan. Smoke flushed out of the blackened remains of whatever he was trying to cook, making my eyes sting, and throat sore.

"I thought you were the top-ranked hunter," I coughed, rubbing my eyes, trying to ease the stinging. "But you almost burnt the house down."

"i didn't," Yagari retorted, putting the pan back on the table. "I wasn't even close to burning the house down. Anyway, being a hunter doesn't mean I'm a chef."

"And you still tried to cook?" I stared at him disbelievingly. "I could hear you upstairs and it sounded like you were trying to make an orchestra out of the cooking utensils! And it didn't even sound distinctly like a sonata."

"Whatever," Yagari tried to shrug it off unsuccessfully. "I guess we'll just have to order take-away." He wandered over to the phone, beginning to dial. It was strange, how he almost seemed like Dad, trying to cook, even if he failed miserably. How often did he come here actually?

"Are you living with Mum now?" I asked suddenly. Okay. Maybe it was a little far-fetched, but seeing as Yagari has this grand idea of, 'I gotta help Shina 'cause she saved my life,' it was possible. I wonder how Mum was feeling about it.

"Shh," Yagari held up a finger as he began talking through the receiver. "Yes, can I order that fried, satay chicken...." I sat there in an impatient huff as he continued ordering a list of food to be delivered. By the time he was finished, I was lying on an armchair, my legs sticking up in the air, out of boredom.

"You were saying something?" Yagari put the phone down. I straightened up, sitting properly, swinging my legs.

"I was asking," I looked at him in the eye. "If you live here with Mum now."

I could have sworn I heard a pin drop. Yagari froze momentarily, before resuming his stroll back into the kitchen.

"What are you talking about?" He asked nonchalantly. Oh, he was good, but I was better.

"It's fine," I gave him a patronising smile. "Mum's pretty, and she is still kinda young and all. I don't mind in the-" Yagari gave me a withering look. If there were plants in this house, I'm pretty sure they would be all shrivelled up now.

"Least," I finished off weakly. Yagari's blue eye looked cold and ready to freeze me to hell. Bad move, Saki. Bad move. "Ha...ha..."

"And why would you ask that?" Yagari's voice was bittersweet, thinly veiling a core of anger beneath.

"Oh, no particular reason at all," I replied in the same tone, smiling cheerfully. "Only that you remind me a bit of my dad, especially when you try to cook, and -"

"Saki, don't annoy me as well," Mum walked into the kitchen. "Yagari's only trying to help. Obviously he doesn't have any feelings for me. Don't be childish." Childish was I?

"Hmph," was all I could say, as I crossed my arms and turned away with a sniff.

"Shina, you're awake," Yagari's relief was evident, to me at least. Mum didn't seem to notice.

"Of course I am," she replied, opening the fridge. "I had this horrible dream. It was like Beethoven decided he would compose a sonata based of cooking pans, and was performing it - actually, no, Beethoven would have made it sound much better than that horrible racket." Mum shuddered as she pulled out a bottle of juice.

I couldn't help but snigger quietly. If looks could kill, I would have died twenty times by now. Yagari's blue eye glared at me with such furiosity, I had to laugh.

"Is something wrong, Saki?" Mum looked at me worriedly. "You seem awfully cheerful. Did you take something?"

I shook my head furiously, still trying to stifle the laughs that threatened to overflow.

"N-nothing, M-mum," I managed, biting down on my fist. "I just feel a bit...optimistic now."

"I see," Mum twisted open the juice bottle. "It's good to see that you're smiling so much now. I worried about you, especially before you went to the academy. It was like you always kept this mask on your face that hid your emotions from the world. It was hard for me, your mum, to read you sometimes. Sometimes, I almost wish you were one of those kids you could read like an open book. Of course that wouldn't be much better. You are what you are."

"I'm sorry I make you worry sometimes," I apologised. I felt kind of bad. I mean, I really didn't want anyone getting upset or worrying over me if I could help it. It seemed too selfish and self-centred. 

Now you're being hypocritical.

"I ordered take-away." Yagari was telling Mum. He, wisely, left out his earlier attempt at cooking, but for good reason. I'm sure Mum wouldn't appreciate it if she found out he was the one who instigated her nightmare. "It should be here in about ten minutes."

"Thanks, Yagari," Mum smiled up at the other hunter. "Do you have any jobs tonight or are you free? You can stay here for dinner if you want."

"It's okay," Yagari shook his head. "I'm supposed to hunt down a pair of Level Es over in the next town. They've been causing a ruckus apparently, terrorising the neighbourhood and all. I'll be leaving in a minute."

"Okay," Mum nodded. "I'm taking a temporary leave on hunting duties tomorrow, since I wanted to spend some time with Saki."

"You'll probably need it," Yagari glanced at me. "She can be quite a handful." A smile twitched at my lips as I recalled Yagari's finer moments. Those ones were too good.

"Anyway, I'll be going now," he picked up his hat from the table, dropping it on his head. "See you soon."

"Take care," Mum handed him his rifle. "Don't let those vampires get the better of you."

"You know they won't," Yagari's eyes softened slightly as he glanced at Mum. "Good night." He left through the front door, his silhouette in the dark fading as he walked down the driveway.

"The take-away should be here any minute now," Mum closed the door. "I guess we can start watching a movie or something while we wait."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I reached for the cabinet holding all our movies. "What do you want to watch?"