Hey readers! Welcome to my first crossover fanfic: Bloody Kisses of a Forbidden Love! Oh, and Shimi-chan, sorry for beating around the bush for this one…heh heh heh. Anywho, let's start the story!

Vampires and humans. The history of each species is carved by a long bloody war that raged through the decades, taking much, and killing many. In that time many people, both human and vampire were killed, but while old legends died, new ones were born. One however, is quite unique, smelling of blood, and woven with the souls of those killed, one hunter made a deep mark into history with the blade of his blood stained sword. He was known as Hitokiri Battosai, all who faced him died, those who managed to flee the carnage with what little life they had left said that they had come face to face with death made flesh. Strangely, near the end of the great war, the Battosai mysteriously vanished. Some say that, by some miracle or curse that a vampire had been able to kill him, while others claimed he killed someone he didn't want to, people also gossiped that he had grown tired of killing. Whatever the reason, as the screams of the dying faded, and the bodies became dust, Battosai vanished, and was never to be heard from again….

Crack! The Level E screeched as its shoulder was dislocated, but still it came on, desperate for the blood that would give it sustenance, but only for a short while. Saliva dripped from its fangs, as it snarled and prepared for another attack on its assailant. The hunter stepped aside, and smiled when the former human went sprawling to the ground, main arm permanently damaged.

"You think you still have the chance to fight? With a useless arm, and a scrap of a mind?"

The vampire coughed, shaking and panting as it stood. Only one word came out of its cracked lips;

"Blood…"

It leapt again. That was the last move it ever made. No thought came through the hollow remains of its mind as the hunter's sword came down on the Level E's skull, crushing it like a fly. The corpse collapsed at his feet, turning into a fine silver dust that the wind would carry on to some unknown spot, where it would then sink into the earth, and traces of the vampire would forever become nonexistent. The hunter sheathed his sword, and wiped a hand across his forehead.

"What a fighter."

He said aloud to the empty alley. Sighing, he walked out of the alley, and stepped out into the bright sunlight. He savored its warm kiss on his skin. This was his advantage. He could traverse through both day and night, could walk into the sunlight and not be burned by the precious light of day.

"Himura!"

Kenshin Himura, turned at the sound of his name to see Yagari waving him over, across the street. Curious, he dropped his battle only death glare, put on his wandering hunter expression, and went over to see what the older hunter had to say.

"I don't get it. Been with you for a good eleven years now, and I still don't get your usage of the reversed blade sword. For me if it bleeds 'em a bit, maybe it'll teach 'em somethin.' "

Kenshin smiled.

"My vow is serious, Touga. If I broke I would not only be betraying Tomoe, I'd be betraying myself as well."

Yagari nodded, lighting up a cigarette, oblivious to Kenshin's distasteful glance at the acrid smoke that he exhaled.

"Yeah, but still…if those monsters made me kill my woman, I'd want to drown them in their own blood."

"And that my friend, is where we differ."

* * * * *

Glorious bands of saffron glimmered like ribbons in the pale azure sky. Cross Academy was a buzz of activity as students from the Day Class went about their normal schedules, going from class to class, and chatting with friends. In the Moon Dorms, it was the opposite. Vampires slept, dreaming peaceful dreams, ignoring that bright outside world, save for one. Kaname Kuran sat hunched over a desk, writing and going over Senate reports. Muttering to himself, and stifling a yawn, he closed his eyes, and tried to ban some of the gray fog from covering his consciousness. Sadly, closing his eyes, made him want to sleep even more. He shook himself a little, and turned to look at the latest report that documented an escaped Level E that had eluded capture. He sighed. Who would he send out to hunt? Takuma was a possibility, then there was Shiki and Rima…hmm, perhaps he could even send Aido, if he didn't get into trouble.

Kaname shook his head. No. He wanted to use someone new. The idea came to him in an instant: Kaoru Kamiya. The girl had an extraordinary skill with weapons any kind, and the telekinetic ability to sense the aura of a Level E. She would be a brilliant choice.

Finishing off his last report, the vampire prince, stood up, stretched, and crawled into bed, reminding himself that tomorrow would be a night off for the Night Class, before drifting off into an exhausted sleep.

* * * * *

"Kaaaoooorrruuuu-chaaaaaaaaaannnnn!"

Kaoru winced and quickened her pace, trying to get to her dorm as quick as possible without the intrusion of her stalker. Well, he wasn't necessarily a stalker, but he was as annoying as one. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing if she would have enough time to get to her room before hell had his arms around her. Crap! He was almost right behind her. Inwardly, Kaoru sighed, looked like there would be no peace for her, unconsciously, her hand strayed to her hip. Dammit! Her wooden sword, the one she used for smacking him was in her dorm! Groaning a bit, Kaoru turned around, praying that he wouldn't be up to his usual tricks with her.

"H-Hello…Aido…"

The aristocrat said half-heartedly. God why was he always everywhere she was? Didn't he have something better to do? Like annoy his cousin, rile his fans or brown nose Kaname-sama. Wait, on second thought, the third one might get him killed. Aido smiled.

"Hey Kaoru-chan! Anything interesting going on?"

"Not…Not really…you?"

"Same here. Oh!"

He casually put his arm around Kaoru's shoulders, it took all of her will not to shudder, or shove him off. With that stupid boyish grin on his face, he put his face close to Kaoru's.

"The entire Night Class has the night off tonight. Maybe we could do something. Just you and me. How 'bout it? A night on the town sound like fun?"

"Isn't leaving school grounds forbidden?"

Great, she shouldn't have asked that, now he wore that cheesy bad boy expression.

"Who cares. Stick with me kid, and we can have lots of fun and not get caught."

Great. If she said no then he'd never leave her alone, if she said yes, then he'd tell everybody, ultimately mortifying her. Each side of the thin line carried possibilities she didn't want to face.

"Uh…well…Aido I was actually thinking about…um you know…staying here and…."

She could see thoughts forming behind his eyes. Keep talking! Her mind urged her. Keep talking! He just might lose interest and look for someone else to annoy! Wishful thinking. Aido was like a dog with its favorite bone, once he sank his teeth in, he almost never let go.

"Kamiya-san."

Seiren. Hallelujah divine intervention! Aido let go of Kaoru as both turned to see the purple haired subordinate.

"Yes. What is it?"

"Kaname-sama would like to see you."

That could mean one of two things. 1: He was displeased about something….which was a bit confusing or 2: He had an assignment for her.

"Alright. Thank you Seiren. I'll meet with him immediately."

Seiren nodded and disappeared into thin air. Geez. Kaoru thought. It's called 'walking away' has she not heard of it? In their freshman year, both Seiren and Kaoru had shared a dorm, both girls got along fine and quickly became friends. After all, each shared an interest in the art of combat. Shrugging off the memories, Kaoru began walking down the hall to the pureblood's room. There was just one problem, and it was following her.

"Um…if it's a Level E maybe we can go hunting together."

"That's only if Kaname-sama thinks I need protection which is unlikely."

"I know a few spots-"

"Aido…I'm perfectly capable of handling an escaped Level E by myself. Okay? I'll let you know if I need help."

Aido backed off, but the look on his face reminded Kaoru of a child that was told he could have ice cream later if he was a good boy.

"Oh! Alright then! Bye Kaoru-chan!"

Kaoru tossed Aido a wave over her shoulder, and resumed her walk. What an annoyance. Along with Seiren, Aido had been one of Kaoru's first friends upon coming to Cross Academy. Although she would never admit it, even under the most dire of circumstances, she had harbored a small crush on him at first, but seeing how much attention he paid to his fans instead of her, she had soon left the boy high and dry. What made him change his tune and go from super inflated ego (which he still had) to becoming her shadow, the black haired aristocrat couldn't even begin to fathom.

She stopped outside Kaname's door, listening intently for anything on the other side of the threshold. Kaname-sama's room had an atmosphere all its own, it seemed to announce to her that a pureblood lived here. Of course the man was important, he left a mark wherever he went. Cautiously, she turned the door knob and stepped into the dorm president's room.

Kaname was looking out the bay window at the dying glory of the setting sun, he turned around and gave Kaoru one of his carefully constructed smiles.

"Hello Kaoru."

Kaoru bowed.

"Hello Kaname-sama. Seiren said that you had asked to see me. May I ask what for?"

Kaname motioned Kaoru into the room, the aristocrat shut the door and came to stand in the center of the room.

"There will be a Level E in town today. I am hereby giving you an order to hunt it down and kill it. It doesn't matter what method you use, just make sure it is disposed of."

Kaoru nodded. Finally, some action! Mentally, she was bouncing off the walls from sheer excitement, but her voice was as calm as a still pond.

"How quickly do you want it taken care of?"

"You could look for it right now, if it's no trouble at all."

Oh definitely no trouble! She loved the hunt, the pure animalistic nature of it. Kaoru bowed once more, thanking the pureblood, then retreated to her dorm room, went to her closet, and began going through her store of weapons. Hm…sword? No, too cliché. Double edged battle axe? Cool, but a bit too bulky and noticeable. Bow and arrows? No close combat was her style. Daggers, shurikens, metal whip? No. no and no. Finally when she thought that she was never going to find the right weapon, her eyes settled on the chain link scythe that sat curled up on he floor like a glittering metal cobra. Sleek and dangerous.

Her lips curled back over her fangs in a lupine smile. This would be fun!

* * * * *

A chilly autumn wind snaked around his ankles, driving the clouds across the moon, causing lunatic shadows to play on the sleeping town below. Kenshin wrapped his black coat around himself, relishing in the cool night air that always seemed to accompany him on every night hunt he did. Reports of an escaped Level E vampire had spread through the Hunter's Council like wildfire, each hunter trying to pounce on the opportunity like a starved cat on a fat mouse. Kenshin smiled. Young hunters didn't understand the war, nor did they understand that they weren't just dealing with your average run-of-the-mill vampire when out hunting; they were dealing with a vampire at its most basic form: a savage animal that killed in order to feed. A deadly parasite in a world of so many compatible hosts. Memories of those long, weary years came back to him. How on more than one occasion, the killing had turned into a struggle where every heartbeat meant the difference between life and death.

Kenshin took a long inhale of the air around him, it tasted like honey suckle and wine. Dimly, he wondered if any of the aristocrat and pureblood vampires regretted turning humans into vampires. Once the mind was worn away from the insatiable thirst for blood, there was really nothing left. Once bitten, you were no longer human, you had become a shell of who you were, now a monster damned to feed off the precious, and fragile lives of others. Vampires considered themselves immortal, they who lived for long periods if time, whilst humans, with lives only a short span of time. Merely motes in an eye; one blink and they were gone, was how some vampires viewed it. But no matter how strong you were, or how long your life expectancy could be, there were always ways to die. He had seen that enough times to know.

Life was like rice paper, whilst death was like stone. It takes years for a dead body to fully decay, like in that same way it takes stone hundreds of years to erode into dust. It takes only mere seconds to tear a sheet of rice paper clean in half. So no matter who thought what about being strong and living to near forever, they were wrong. Death was not something that only struck certain people, nor was it a shadow lurking behind a corner, but rather something each and every person carried with them. Death was constant.

The wind moaned, as if sensing his thoughts and agonizing over them. A rustling noise brought Kenshin's attention to a less traveled street. Shrugging his shoulders, the hunter walked onto the path less traveled. What the hell. I've lived a good life, I've no fear of death. A breeze hissed behind him…or was it a breeze? His hand went to the hilt of his sword, drawing it out, and hitting a former human broadside, sending it crashing into a stack of crates. He couldn't quite make out any distinctive features, but he could tell that any trace of the human it had once been had vanished. It stepped out into the moonlight. Standing opposite him was a woman, she appeared to be in her mid twenties, with sandy blond hair, and a decent figure. Kenshin found himself pitying this girl for who she was, and could have become.

She walked forward, her steps were broken and unsteady so desperate was her need to feed that her body could not even process the simple rhythm of walking correctly. Kenshin brought the blade up to his lips and kissed the dull edge. The Level E tensed, preparing to jump at him and drain him of his life blood.

"I'm sorry. You didn't ask for this."

She leapt for him, claws and fangs bared.

"And you didn't want this either."

He brought the blade across in a savage arc, but just before it came into contact with her ribcage, something metal came flying out of the dark, and cleanly sliced the Level E in half. There was no blood, not even a scream, only dust. Kenshin wasn't sure which unnerved him more. He stared down at the silver dust, thoughts swirled around his head with the speed of hurricane winds, but all he could manage was a sigh. He had been right. She hadn't deserved what Fate had given her. Putting his hands together, he sent a small prayer up to whatever gods were listening that she could at least find some rest.

"Do you always pray for the ones you kill?"

Out of the shadows stepped a girl, no a vampire, clad in a teal thigh length skirt and a black t-shirt. In her hands, she held the weapon that had done the Level E in: a chain link scythe. Her black hair was held back by a teal hair ribbon, her blue eyes glittered as she faced the hunter. There was something about her, Kenshin couldn't quite put his finger on what, but it was drawing him in, closer to the very thing he had sworn himself against. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Who are you?"