Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, Matsuri Hino does.

"Don't depend too much on others in this world because even your shadow leaves you when you're in darkness."

That was my mom's favorite thing to tell me when I was growing up.

I think it had something to do with my 'god damn bastard of an asshole father' leaving her shortly after I was born (mind you those are her words, not mine).

She blamed him for a lot of things; the first and foremost was for not being in my life, the second was because she was forced to quit hunting vampires in order to raise me (though she had never actually said that I knew it was true).

And yeah, you read that right.

Vampires.

They exist but don't worry, that's also why people like me exist.

My mother was a 5'1 ball of energy, raising me with an iron fist inside a velvet glove. She taught me everything she knew about hunting vampires as well as the world in general. She expected me to be the best I possibly could and there was no way I could fail with the faith she had in me.

I was top of my classes all the way through primary school as well as one of the most talented apprentice's at the Association. My weapon of choice was even identical to hers; a pair of black and silver karambit knives. I never even began training with a firearm until He came into her life.

I didn't like him to begin with; I thought he was arrogant and completely unworthy of her affections. I'm a possessive person, especially when it comes to those close to me. It took until my seventh birthday to finally realize that he was there to stay and I grudgingly welcomed him into my life.

He loved my mom and doted on me like I was his own daughter. He even took me shopping with him to help pick out the engagement ring he was going to present to her on the next St. Xocolatl's Day. I was on my way to having a proper family for the first time ever and couldn't be happier.

But as a wise man once said, all good things must come to an end.

I had just turned nine years old when my world was abruptly ripped from beneath my feet.

I had always been an inquisitive child. My mother never kept anything from me and encouraged me to question everything. So imagine my immense surprise when I was finishing up my bath one evening and came across a box of blood tablets in the medicine cabinet…

Turns out she was a vampire, a former human to be exact. I had no idea when she had been bit as she never returned from a hunt injured before. She was supposed to be invincible, the one that vampires warned their children about at night when they were tucked into bed.

I knew about Level D's, how they all eventually degenerate into Level E's and the only thing I could think about from that moment on was how much time we had left together.

Unfortunately it wasn't very long.

The very next day I opened the door to see a man with long blond hair tied back in a tail and glasses perched on his nose looking down at me solemnly and somehow I just knew. He told me that my mother had gone berserk (though he said it much more professionally than that) and attempted to take some students lives at the school where she had worked. She was killed by a hunter though he never specified who it was. I suppose that was to protect me.

I never saw the only man I would ever call 'Father' again. It was like he had dropped off the face of the earth when she died.

Was it any wonder why I found it hard to let people into my heart after that?

After her funeral and a few months had passed I finally asked my new guardian about her. Had the Association known she was a vampire? How long had she been a vampire? How did she manage to hold onto her sanity for so many years?

He would just smile sadly in response, rest a hand on my head and say, "Because of you, Hisa-kun. Everything Saya did was for you." Then he went and ruined the moment by asking me tearfully why I wouldn't address him as 'father'.

I remember long ago asking my mom about my real father. It was the first and last time I ever brought him up because I never wanted to see such a heartbreaking look on my mom's face again. She had smiled tiredly, hauling me onto her lap before sharing with me some words of wisdom;

"There will be some men in this world that you can't fall in love with Hisana. He will take you to museums, and parks, and monuments, and kiss you in every beautiful place so that you can never go back to them without tasting him like blood in your mouth. He will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible. And when he leaves you will finally understand why storms are named after people."

It would take me nearly twelve years until I finally realized what she had meant by that.

My name is Hisana Kaguya. I am a Vampire Hunter, and I have fallen for one of the very beasts I've sworn to kill.

Maybe I am truly cursed after all…

Revised 2/1/2019