Vampire Knight is a product of Hino Matsuri.
From strangers to family to more than being friends, masks are removed before the undeniable truth between two pureblood step siblings: Yuuki & Kaname.
Pureblooded
º
Purebloods, the revered and rare creatures of vampire world are without doubt restricted to marry other purebloods in order to keep the blood and race pure. The remaining five percent of purebloods are now left to support each other but not all harbor the diligence or dedication to keep the blood pure through intermarriage. It's common to assume purebloods can obtain nearly anything in the world and unlike other vampire classes, the fight to find a pureblood mate was crucial to maintain the status.
Half of my life I've lived alone with my mother and for reasons unknown to me, it's commonly unappreciated for a widowed vampire to remarry. She is a dutiful woman who has supported me wonderfully. After thirteen years of being single, my mother met an exotic and charming pureblood and ever since then I haven't seen her smile as happily as she does around him. Within the first five minutes of our meeting I deduced the new man in my mother's life would remain long term in mine too.
Haruka set the sampled wine back on the table. In the privacy of the comfortable restaurant, the dim light skimmed over the guest's heads. The wine sparkled as I lifted my glass for a casual inspection.
"When I asked her she immediately told me it was up to you." Haruka said.
I smiled at my pleasant company who was in fact the sweetest and tenderhearted vampire on the planet. Haruka already meant too much to my dear mother. We had talked for three hours already about everything but the main excuse for why he asked me to dinner.
"I don't want to impose you in any way," He continued, "I adore your mother, she's a darling-" He hesitated and added shyly, "I don't often expose my feelings, you see."
"I know how much mother means to you." I replied, casting a knowing smile in return. "I'll get mother started on bridal shopping as early as next week."
His ruby eyes widened. "You're agreeing?"
"Unless you changed your mind in the last three seconds?"
Haruka chuckled, "Of course not, I just want to make sure you're okay with the wedding?"
I smiled at the endearing man. "I'm happy mother met someone as great as you, I know you'll keep her happy. She smiles in her sleep, and it's probably because of your visiting in her dreams."
He blushed at the remark. "Yuuki, I want to be a good father to you. It's been sometime after your father passed away. You aren't used to having a man around the house, and I want us to keep meeting for dinners and build our relationship comfortably. I want someday for you to confide in me like you would if your father were alive. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of replacing him. It's actually my first time having a daughter. You see I'd like to try my best while I still can." Leaning forward, Haruka secretly grinned, "I've always wanted a daughter."
I had complete trust in Haruka. He had the natural ability to make the crudest and callous individual smile from the bottom of his heart. It was no wonder my mother was drawn to him. I was relieved by how fortunate my mother had become by meeting this caring vampire who would be part of our family soon.
Although it's unusual for vampires to have memorials of deceased families and loved ones, mother and I visited the mausoleum beholding father's ashes before the wedding. We knelt on the marble and set flowers on his name. We shared hesitant smiles that came with tears and told him about the upcoming wedding, that the new series of events wouldn't remove him from our hearts or memories. We sat in silence for a long time and finally said goodbye.
They wedded in the summer. Bees, flowers and yellow sunshine enchanted the joyous occasion. Relatives and close friends attended from both parties.
Except for one essential guest.
Haruka's gaze raked the crowd and returned to Juuri's solemn ruby eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be distracted."
"It's okay." She smiled.
"He should've been here by now." Haruka examined his watch. "How can he forget such an important day? He knows how I feel about his coming today."
"Maybe he got busy?" Juuri implied with a shrug of her white shoulders.
"I hope he has a good reason or else I'll be disappointed." Haruka frowned.
Juuri tugged his sleeve, nodding at the flanked garden entrance by a row of steadfast nobles. Clamping his teeth, Haruka watched the group enter the sitting area and sequester themselves in available chairs. The red-carpeted aisle was filled by an elegant young man who steered directly toward the alter and stepped to the side in his respectful place.
Upon his entrance, guests buzzed curiously. "Who is he?"
"Where've I seen him before?"
Haruka regarded the individual intently. "Thank you for showing up."
Juuri smiled meaningfully in his direction. "Yes, this means a lot to both of us, Kaname."
The brunette lowered his head in a short nod after a pause.
One of the bridesmaids grabbed me from the back as the minister directed the ceremony. I blinked questionably at Yori as she geared her eyes on the transverse side of the alter in indication.
"Isn't that him?" She hissed in my ear. "The nonexistent proof of a stepbrother who hasn't the decency to introduce himself to his new family after how many years Haruka and Juuri-sama have been together?"
"Pipe down." I gritted, eyeing the watchful guests. "Everyone is looking."
She thrust her breasts and flipped her hair. "Even better! I didn't put on the corset for nothing." Yori nudged me persistently. "I have to say he is extremely good looking."
Baited like a fish on a hook, my gaze traversed across the alter toward the subject.
Slender jaw and piercing ruby eyes that merely held vague familiarity with Haruka's, his countenance wasn't however warm but guarded. Dark and long brunette locks clung to his cheeks, forehead and neck. The breeze flicked the locks out of his eyes, revealing two cryptic and shadowy eyes that stole across the distance and directly on me.
Yori's nails scraped the back of my elbow. "He looked at you." She mouthed.
It was strange how relationships formed. I lost my biological father at an early age and my mother fell in love with another pureblood a while later. Our two-person family shortly expanded to four people. According to the marriage certificate I now had a stepfather and stepbrother. Haruka was previously married and had divorced his wife. The stranger whom I've never met within the last two years of my mother dating Haruka and whose existence I wasn't told about until recently.
I now have a step-family.
The ceremony continued into a splendor of festivities deep into the night. Vampires had the innate characteristic to stay up until sunrise and so the party wore on for hours.
My mother clasped my hand, smiled and kissed my cheeks as I hugged her heartily. "Have a safe holiday." I bade my parents.
Haruka chuckled and squeezed me into a hug. "Thank you, Yuuki."
The car engine buzzed in the background. My mother stepped back one last time. "If you need anything call me!"
"Not happening, you're supposed to enjoy your honeymoon. I have Yori for emergencies." I tugged my gal pal closer who smirked confidently and winked.
"That's right, Juuri-sama, don't worry and enjoy yourself!" Yori waved vigorously. "Make it memorable and have fun! The yoga techniques should come in handy tonight." She grinned maliciously.
I hoped the others within vicinity weren't offended by the remark. "Anyway, take care. I'll see you soon." I waved.
Fireworks crackled across the sky as the vehicle drove off. I set my head on Yori's shoulder. She poked me in the ribs. "Want some more wine?"
"No." I eyed the ravenous party in the backyard of the mansion.
"Now you're like the rest of the boring population. You have two parents and a brother. A healthy, good looking family." Yori scoffed. "Congrats."
"I can feel the love already."
Yori wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "Cheer up. Are you worried your mom's gone?"
"No, she deserves a man in her life."
"Hey look." Yori pointed at the vehicle through the main gates. The group of nobles dispersed into the parking lot except for one dark colored figure. Yori squinted her eyes. "Isn't that the stranger you're related to?"
The vehicle smoothed into a halt and a chauffeur stepped out to salute him. He opened the passenger seat. Kaname disappeared inside of the darkness of the car.
"Coming late and leaving early." Yori tsked, "He didn't even say good bye to his father. What the hell is he?"
I didn't know who he was besides his father was now considered my father and in turn my mother was his legal mother. Today is the first time I caught a peek of my stepbrother. He didn't have the consideration or manners to introduce himself to his new family, our relatives or me. From how I look at the situation I doubt we'd get along anyway. He seemed to snub unknown and new company.
Xenophobic?
Yori nuzzled me. "Don't look so down. Wanna sleepover at my house if you don't mind opening the living room sofa?"
"I don't mind." I chuckled.
We came from different backgrounds. Yori wasn't the centerpiece of society like purebloods, she was a normal vampire whom I loved and cherished from the bottom of my heart and will continue to do so for eternities to come.
We aren't similar in any manner. Yori has enriched hazel brown eyes that had the tendency to reveal her inner thoughts and emotions as notoriously as her mouth. Her coppery gold-brown locks feathered her bare neck and under her ears only. She was a gorgeous creature in my eyes, slim but boisterous and tenderhearted, which often left our comrades questioning if they knew her well enough through the years.
I knew Yori though, if we didn't share physical attributes then we shared the pain of losing our fathers at an early age. She grew up with a single mother after her parent's divorced. Her home was her suitcase as her mother moved repeatedly due to the number of men that entered and left their lives. As much as she loved her mother she couldn't stand her standards in men. Through all of this turmoil, we never lost contact. I believe it was because of our common pain we dare not forget each other so I often called her to stay at my place.
After taking multiple jobs with a fair reason to obtain her own place, I carried Yori's boxes and helped her move in to her new home. We decorated the living room together and because of my mother's caring nature, she purchased a bed and kitchen utensils as a house warming gift.
Due to our ancestral significance in founding our city and society, we make up the top class of vampire hierarchy and have seldom deprivation in finance. I've been living in a mansion with servants but envy deeply for the life Yori leads alone in a quaint apartment in the city instead of a home that could be mistaken for a museum.
º