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The Mad Winter Princess

Chapter 28: The Final Night

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“What are you doing, old man?” Kaien looked from the picture in his hands.

“Yagari?” he inquired, surprised. The younger man enters the bedroom. He scanned the practically empty room. There were a couple frames on the dresser and the closet was open that was still slightly filled with clothes.

“She didn’t take much did she?” Yagari questioned. Kaien gave a sad smile.

“She took what was important to her which was very few,” he replied. “Setsumi wasn’t one for material items,” the picture in his hand was of his three children. It was a silly picture and Setsumi managed to get Zero to play along. He let out a sigh as he glances at the other photos. There were a few missing and he believe they were mostly of her and Zero. Yagari stood next to the window and stared out it.

“Nice view,” he said to fill the silence. He glances at the forest before him.

“She said it had the best view of the stars when it snowed,” Kaien told him. “Setsumi loved to star gaze, it was peaceful for her,” he placed the picture in his hand into the box next to him. Kaien began to pack the rest of the picture frames into the box. He stood up from the bed and heads to the closet.

“Are you just going to wallow like this now that they’re gone?” Yagari asked him while watching him fold the clothes in the closet.

“No,” he replied. “They wouldn’t want me to wallow in my misery. Especially Setsumi, she always did worry about everyone besides herself.”

“I’m surprise she didn’t stay,” Yagari commented. “Though with how things turned out with Zero, I’m not entirely shocked.”

“Yes, but I believe it was more than that,” Kaien said.

“What do you mean?” Yagari questioned.

“She’s up to something and having Zero so nearby would cause her trouble,” Kaien explained as he places the clothes into the box.

“And what do you believe she’s up to?” He inquired.

“She left with a male that was exactly like Zero,” Kaien replied. Yagari turned to him with wide eyes.

“You think that could have been Ichiru?” he ran a hand through his hair. “But Zero said he drained Ichiru of the rest of his blood.”

“Yes, but he left Ichiru’s body alone and came back to an empty building,” Kaien stated. “I may not have been able to see the male’s face but he was wearing some of Zero’s clothes. He fit them perfectly.”

“You think she turned Ichiru,” Yagari said, “Why?”

“I have no idea but whatever she’s planning, we’ll never see it coming,” Kaien told him. “Where do you think Kaname learned it all from?”

“Freaking Purebloods,” Yagari grumbled. Kaien chuckled as he took off the bedding from the bed. Both men look down as something drops to the floor. The dark haired male bends down and picks up a small wrapped box. He smirks at the handwriting and name on the box.

“It’s for Zero from her ,” he tosses the box towards Kaien. He stares down at the silver and lavender wrapped box.

~o~

Zero stares at the box on his bed as he tosses his school bag onto the desk. He sat down on the bed and picked up the gift. He holds it in his hands for a few moments before carefully unwrapped it. Inside the box was the resin with snowflakes that Kuran had given to Setsumi.

“What?” Zero muttered as he gently took the item out. As he moves the item out of the box a piece of folded paper fell out. Zero placed the trinket back into the box then leaned down to pick the paper up. He unfolded the paper and began to read the contents.

‘My Dearest Zero,

I hope this has gotten to you safely. You see this item is very important to me and has been in my love ones care for the last ten years. I was given this for my tenth birthday. That same night my adopted mother, Juuri Kuran, turned my sister and I into humans to save us from my biological father, Rido Kuran.’ Zero’s eyes widen in shock.

‘You see, I’m two years older than Kaname. I was born during the harshest winter to Shizuka Hio and Rido Kuran, my light coloring helped my parents decide on what my name would be. Hence why I was called Setsumi, but the vampire world has also called me Sunōfurēku-Hime, the snowflake princess.’ He covers his mouth with a hand as he continues to read the letter.

‘I was given to Haruka and Juuri Kuran as payment for the murder of their first born, Kaname Kuran, by my father’s hand. Instead of killing me as was their right, they took me in and raised me as their own with Kaname.’

“If the real Kaname Kuran was killed by Rido, then who is the Kaname Kuran walking around now?” Zero wondered.

‘Though I remember my years as a vampire now, my ten years as a human I will always treasure dearly. The ten years I was able to truly smile, to be able to be free from the cursed fate of a Pureblood and to be able to fall so deeply in love with you, Zero. I know you probably don’t want to hear that from something like me and I don’t blame you. I don’t know when we’ll meet next or which side we’ll be on. But I’d like to ask you one last favor, Zero. Please take care of this item for me.’ Zero glances back at the snowflakes encased in resin.

‘You're probably wondering when or how to return this to me. You’ll know when the time comes, I promise you. Take care of yourself, Zero and listen to Otou-san, he really does think of you as his son.’ He bites his lip in frustration. Even without being here in person, she always knew what to tell him to get it through his head.

‘I hope to see you soon, Zero. Tell Otou-san and Baka-sensei that I’m alright and not to worry so much about me.

With all my love,

Setsumi Kuran.’ Zero presses a hand to his eyes trying to keep his breathing calm and not to crumple the letter in his hand. He places the letter into a box with a few pictures of Setsumi in it, along with the snowflake trinket.

“The day we see each other again, Setsumi is the day I’ll becoming to kill you,” he whispered into the empty room but somewhere deep down he knew it wasn’t true. He would never be able to kill the only woman he loved.