I stared into the blood streaked snow. There, two forms. Both moving, both alive.

I wiped the blood from my hand casually onto my pitch black coat. A few feet away from me the wild vampire gave one last groan before he disintegrated into dust. "I'm sorry you had to see that." I told the two. "Some of our kind are not exactly friendly, as you are no doubt well aware of by now."

I glanced at the ruin of their mansion, the twin piles of dust that were their parents. ...poor things. As purebloods they would no doubt be hunted like dogs by other vampires, simply for a taste of their blood. Unless I did something, they would be dead in a matter of hours.

The girl peered out from behind her brother. She was maybe four or five, and not only that, she was human. Her brother looked at least five years older then her and he had the distinctive reek of vampire about him. The mother must have given her life to turn her daughter human. It is possible, though extremely rare. And it made these two all the more interesting. The boy eyed me warily, not trusting me for a second. He was still shaken from the fight, and the murder of his parents and both of them were covered in blood.

The girl looked up at me with big red eyes, a remnant of her time as a vampire. "Did you kill the bad man?" she asked, her voice high and sweet. "I'm scared..."

I smiled and squatted down, holding out my arms to her. "Yes, the bad man is gone. He won't hurt you anymore."

The girl smiled at me and walked over, cuddling up to me as I picked her up and held her in my arms. "That's good." she whispered, leaning her head on my shoulder. In seconds she was asleep.

I looked at the boy, who had tensed the moment the girl had started towards me. "What do you want with us." he demanded, his eyes on the girl in my arms.

I stroked the girl's hair and stood. "I want nothing with you." I replied. "I came here on a whim. It was lucky for you that I arrived when I did."
"Thank you for helping us." the boy said, his voice carefully polite. No doubt he had been schooled in this. "But I can take her now." He held out his hands for the girl.

I stroked the girl's hair but made no move to give her to the boy. My hand strayed close to her throat where I could hear the blood rushing through her veins. Human blood... Sweet, wonderful salty blood... My own throat ached with longing and I bent a little closer.

The boy hissed, a cold sharp warning. In a moment he was beside me, pulling my hand away from the girl's exposed neck. "Don't touch her."

I pulled my hand away from him and breathed deeply of the crisp icy air, trying to get the aroma of her blood out of my nose. "Sorry," I muttered. "Her scent... It just caught me a bit off guard."

The boy held out his hands for the girl.

I shook my head and backed away from him a step. "If you take her where would you go? Since I'm assuming you want to keep her safe and she's not merely your next meal..."

"Of course not!" the boy snapped, stepping forward, keeping me and the girl within arms length. "I would never..."

"Good." I said, nodding my head approvingly. "Well then, if I give her to you where will you go? You can't stay here, every vampire within miles will have smelled this blood, and you can't take her to any other vampires, as most would only see her as a tasty little snack."

"They wouldn't dare." the boy said. "Not if I told them not too."

"They may obey you to your face but there will always be that one time when you turn your back. And who knows, maybe they'll be clever enough to disguise it as an accident. This girl will never be safe with vampires."

"I'll find somewhere else then, somewhere the others can't find us. I will keep her safe."

"You?" I asked incredulously. "The last heir to the Kurans? There's nowhere you can go that they won't find you. Your blood reeks of purebloods. A lone child pureblood will be too tempting if he goes wandering without protection. All vampires long for the blood of a Kuran. You'll be dead in a week."

"What about you then?" the boy demanded, meeting my eyes with a steady, measuring gaze."Why haven't you taken my blood yet? I'm alone, I just exhausted all my strength, I'm completely defenseless. So why haven't you killed me?"

"Let's just say I've had all the 'pureblood' I can take." I said, adjusting the girl's weight in my arms so I could more easily carry her. "Now, are you coming or not?"

"Coming where?"

I smiled. "To a friend of mine. He'll help you out." I started off across the snow, my black high heeled boots leaving elegant footprints behind me in the blood streaked snow.

The boy hurried after me. Obviously he wasn't going to let the girl out of his sight. "I'd like a little bit more information then that, if you don't mind."

I grinned and wagged my finger at him. "Ah ah, I'll tell you when we get there. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." He growled in irritation and I shook my head at him. "My, my, where are your manners? A pureblood never reveals their feelings to others. Are you the Kuran heir or what?"

The boy drew himself up. "I am Kaname Kuran. Last surviving male heir of the Kuran family. One of the few true purebloods still alive. And, as my father is now unable to fulfill his role, the leader of the vampires. Who are you to lecture me on manners?"

I smiled. "Oh, I'm no one. Absolutely no one. So this girl," I said, looking at the girl in my arms. "She's your sister, right? Please tell me she's not your fiancee." Marriage in pureblood families got a little weird, especially the Royal ones. Many purebloods were assigned partners from birth, and since purebloods had to marry purebloods it wasn't uncommon for cousins to marry, or even siblings.

"She's my sister."

"Does she have a name? Or should I just call her 'Kaname's sister'?"

"Yuuki." the boy, Kaname, said quietly. "It's Yuuki."

"Pretty name." I commented. "So, what happened? I saw the rogue attacking, but one rogue wouldn't stand a chance against a Kuran, even one as young as you."

Kaname didn't even bother trying to protest at my insult. "My Uncle... Rido... He did this. He killed my father... and my father killed him."

"So what happened to Yuuki?"

"My Mother." Kaname explained. "For a while it looked like Rido would get past my Father and I. So... She gave her life to change Yuuki. She thought she would be safe, if she didn't remember."

"Didn't remember?" I asked. "Oh, I see. Her vampire memories are locked away."

Kaname nodded.

"What about you? Can she remember you?"

He looked down. "No."

"I see. I'm sorry."

"There's no reason for you to be sorry." he said, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "There is nothing you could have done."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"So," Kaname said after a few moments of walking in silence. "What should I call you? You do have a name I take it?"

I smiled. "Yes, it's Karashi. Kara for short."

"And you are not going to tell me where you are taking my sister, are you, Kara?"

"No." I replied, stopping in front of a nice looking-ish house, exactly the same as all the other houses on this street. "Because I don't have too. We're there."

I opened the gate to the picket fence and walked down the small flower lined path to the front door. I rapped sharply, three times, then stepped back and waited. Inside we could hear crashes and bashed and the sound of someone yelling "Coming!"

"Who is this 'friend' of yours? How do you know he won't harm Yuuki?"

"Oh," I told Kaname, not taking my eyes off the door. "He won't hurt Yuuki. It's you and I who have to be careful."

The door was pulled open with a snap. Standing in the doorway was a scruffy looking man with long blond hair tied back in a pony tail wearing glasses and the most hideous pink apron I had ever seen.

"Oh, Lady Karashi." he said in surprise. "What are you doing here? And so late-"

I held up my hand, "Hi Kieron. I'm here because I have a favor to ask." I nodded towards the small bundle in my arms. The girl was still fast asleep.

Kieron looked at the girl with even more shock then he had when he'd seen me. "A human? My Lady, what are you doing with a human." His eyes shot to Kaname, quick as a snake. "And why is a vampire accompanying you here? You know how I feel about these things."

"This is Kaname." I told Kieron. "I thought he could help you with your newest... endeavor. And the girl is Yuuki. She needs a safe place to live for awhile."

"And you thought of me."

"Exactly. Kaname will be popping in from time to time to see how she is. There might be a few rouges coming after her, but I'll trust you to deal with those."

I handed him the girl. He cradled her carefully and nodded.

"Raise her as your own." I continued, turning away. "And keep her away from the society. Goodbye, Kieron Cross."

Kaname stared at Kieron as he nodded a silent goodbye and went back inside. "Cross?" he demanded turning on me. "Not the legendary Kieron Cross the vampire hunter?"

"The one and only." I agreed, leading Kaname back down the path as the boy hurried to keep up.

"You left my sister with a vampire hunter?"
"Why not? She's not a vampire, and Kieron can more then handle anything that comes after your sister. She'll be safe with him. And not only that, he's also a fantastic cook."

"You said I could visit?" Kaname demanded.

"Whenever you want. Just try not to too much, you don't want to draw undue attention to her." I stopped in front of a huge manor. "And here is where you'll be staying."

"No."

I turned to look at him. "What?"

"No." he repeated, his face set. "I won't stay here. I'm going back home."

My eyes softened. "Your parents are dead. There'll be no one to protect you if you go back to the vampire senate."

"I don't need protection." Kaname replied. "I can take care of myself. And without my father to rule the senate they might begin hunting humans again. I cannot allow that to happen."

I nodded. "Very well. It's your choice after all."

He turned and began walking away. I raised a hand in farewell, and we parted ways.