Author's Note – Okay. So…this is my first Vampire Knight fanfic. I've been watching the series for some time now, and I've read all of the manga that is available, so I think – or rather hope – that I know enough to write a decent fic. Just to let you know, I'm a Rido fan so this will be sort of centered around him. This chapter is just a dream/flashback thing (that's why it's all italicized) but it will all make sense in the next chapter, I promise. It deviates only a smidge from the original story but I hope you will like it. Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters or other properties of the original series. This was written solely for entertainment. No copyright infringement intended. Please enjoy.
Sitting in front of the vanity, with the maid desperately trying to keep her still, the young girl impatiently wiggled on the chair as the maid attempted to brush her unruly hair. It was dark outside, a pleasant summer evening in the country. Inside the wealthy home it was just a little too warm and the lamps burned cozily and lazily. The entire scene was a mixture of humor, comfort and agitation.
"Juuri-sama, please! Sit still! You're only going to make the knots worse!"
"No! Let me go! My hair always looks like its knots! It's too curly!" the young girl whined, wiggling again as the brush was ran through her locks.
"Your curls are lovely, Juuri-sama, now stay still! I don't want to yank your head."
"But I have to go! I have to go outside, Yoko-san!"
"You do not have to go outside. Waiting outside will not bring your father and the young master home any sooner than if you waited inside. Don't you want to look nice for them when you welcome them?"
"I don't care what I look like, I want to go!" Juuri whined again, kicking the legs of the chair.
"Now behave yourself, Juuri-sama! I'm almost finished."
"Yank my hair out, I don't care! Oww!"she groaned when the brush was tapped sharply on her skull. "I'll run out there right now."
"And the master will have my hide for letting you go with tabi socks and no shoes. No, just wait. I'll fetch your shoes."
"But-!"
"Juuri-sama, please, have as much patience as I am having with you," the maid sighed. Juuri pouted but tried her best to sit still.
After what seemed like an eternity to Juuri, Yoko finished brushing out the long chestnut hair and quickly left the room to fetch the wooden red and black shoes. The girl refrained from snatching them out of Yoko's hands and let her put them on for her. She was ten, a big girl, but her father said it was natural for lower vampires to do some things for her. She fiddled her fingers as she stood, letting the maid adjust the front of her red and blue kimono, trying to be patient while immensely impatient.
Yoko was just smoothing some tiny creases when Juuri's head snapped up and turned towards the door. Soon the sound of trotting horses echoed from down the road and her eyes brightened. Yoko stumbled back as Juuri turned away and dashed out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her, neglecting to close the door. She ran from room to room, than began galloping along the porch that wound to the front of the home, her shoes clomping against the wood. She passed her older brother, who called out for her as she ran. But she didn't stop, too focused on the sound of horses drawing up out front. As soon as she turned the corner and three familiar figures came into view, she began sprinting towards the youngest one, the one in the blue grey clothes and dismounting.
"…Remember, you must be wary of the Council."
"Hai, otou-sama."
"Onii-sama!" she called and the figure turned just in time to barely brace himself as she barreled into his arms. Juuri squeezed the young boy tightly with her face in his chest for a moment then beamed up at him as he lightly petted the top of her head.
"Good to see you, Juuri. I thought I'd die of boredom from meeting the Council before I got to see you again. Lucky me, ne?"
Juuri giggled, and squeezed him again before pouting. "Brother almost bored me to death too. All he wanted to do was read and write." She smiled. "But now you're back, we can play all kinds of fun outdoors stuff, right Onii-sama?"
"Hai, sure."
Juuri beamed up at her brother's face, happy to love someone like him. He smiled back, curly hair like hers trying to dangle in his face, and the mismatched eyes – one red and one blue – shining. Right then and there, she felt that nothing would ever change between her and Rido. Never.
oOo
"You bastard!"
The wind whipped at them, the three of them standing outside of the house, the snow falling rapidly from the dark hazy sky, and the lights from inside casting their yellow shadows out on the ground. They stood the woman and her husband with their backs to the mansion, and the other man facing them a few meters away. The curly wisps of the woman's hair danced in and out of her face, which bore the expression of utter outrage and accusation.
"You! Daring to spy on my child!" she screamed at him across the cold. The man said nothing, only stood there with semi-lazy eyes and a smirk, the wind playing his shirt and coat collar, whisking against his own strands of long dark hair. The husband looked at them both for a moment then turned to the woman.
"Juuri…" he began quietly as her eyes danced and her lips curled back.
"Damn you!" she screamed with sharp teeth, her eyes blazing red. There was some sort of disturbance in the atmosphere and the sound of torn flesh. A cut formed under the man's eye, bleeding shallowly. He hadn't even flinched. His smirk only grew and his eyes narrowed as Juuri glared at him, her teeth bared and gritted, her husband wrapping his arms around her before she could begin advancing. "Let go of me, Haruka," she hissed. "I swear, I'll-!"
"No, Juuri, stop! This isn't helping!" Haruka whispered in her ear as he held her back. But she wouldn't calm down. She thrashed in her husband's grasp, her eyes spitting hellfire at the other man, her voice beginning to growl. Haruka called for help and a lone guard came out, following quick instructions to take the mistress back into the house. "Go back inside. Calm down, we don't want to scare our little ones! Take care of them!"
"No! No more! I'm not letting another child fall into his bloody hands!'
"Go back inside, Juuri! I'll handle this!"
The man watched unblinkingly, his red and blue eyes locked on the woman as she was practically yanked back into the mansion. She wouldn't stop glaring back, trying to drag her feet in the snow. There was another disturbance and a tree limb snapped loudly in the frigid air. "I hate you!" she screeched as she drew close to the door. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!!"
He watched the guard wrap an arm around her and pull her through the door. It slammed shut ominously. Within that brief second before it shut, just through the slightest crack, he saw her eyes locked on his. Had he known that it was the last time he would see them ever again, perhaps he would have drunk them up and seeped them into his mind, angry and furious as they were. A phrase, murmured and only heard by him and the wind, slipped from his lips. "My little sister, my friend, my former bride, my unwanting lover…My Juuri. Alwaysmy Juuri." It was just fine if she hated him. Rido didn't care so much anymore. Just as long as she knew that he was there…
Author's Note – There you go. The first chapter. I hope it wasn't too bad, being so short and all. I tried to make it a little longer and put some feeling to it. And hopefully it wasn't too OOC. I'll update when I can, and Kaname and Yuuki will be in the next one (you'll see why). So please tell me what you think. The first part I know may not be historically accurate but I was too lazy to do research. Also, I apologize if my Japanese is really bad. I just put it in when I thought it was suitable and I don't study the language. Anyway, please leave reviews. I can't make it better if you don't tell me what's wrong.