Bunnicula

This is actually for Blackened Wing, who put this plot bunny in my head! A little thing for Halloween.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight

"Awwww, come on Zero," Yuuki half whined, "Put it on!"

"No!" Kiriyu Zero snapped, "I refuse to put on that… ugly hat thing!"

"Awwww, Kiriyu-kun! Do it for Yuuki!" the chairman exclaimed a little too enthusiastically.

Damn it! Zero thought. These idiots knew his weakness and were not afraid to use it against him. That stupid chairman knew he couldn't refuse Yuuki.

"Yes, Zero! Do it for me?" Yuuki asked, pouting, knowing that Zero couldn't refuse that face. And to no one's surprise, Zero snatched the 'ugly hat thing' out of Yuuki's hands. He gave a glare of deepest loathing in the chairman's direction, knowing that Kross was the one to set this up. But Kross seemed oblivious to Zero's sour mood.

"You can put this on too!" Kross said ecstatically, opening a closet door with a flourish. "I know that Bunnicula would suit you very well!" Kross said gleefully, either ignoring or not noticing the ex-human's malevolent aura.

Zero snapped, punching the stupid Kross in the face multiple times. In addition, he also threw the hat halfway across the room.

--

"Stupid ball, stupid chairman," Zero grumbled. Kross had set up a ball, like he had every year. Only this year, instead of a masquerade ball, it was a Halloween costume ball. Both Day and Night classes were able to attend, which meant that the prefect had to patrol. So that was what our favorite prefect was doing at the minute, unlike Yuuki, who had run off to dance with her precious Kaname-sama.

"Zero! Cheer up! You should dance too," Yuuki said cheerfully, popping out of no where and stuffing something on his head. Zero snatched it off to see that ugly hat thing. He swore; it was going to haunt him from now on. This is so damned creepy!

The hat, in Yuuki's terms, wasn't creepy. It was cute. It had two fluffy snow white bunny ears on it and two small beady red eyes. On the hat between the eyes was a black diamond shape that ran down to about the middle of the hat. The diamond was attached to a black patch on the back of the hat. It even had the bunny nose and mouth. The mouth was open to reveal two small cloth vampire teeth. In Yuuki's opinion, it fit snuggly on Zero's head.

Now, Zero had different ideas. That sorry excuse for a hat blended in well with his hair but clashed horribly with his Day class uniform. And it was creepy. Whoever heard of a vampire bunny?

"No buts!" Yuuki said sternly, stuffing the hat on Zero's head. "You have to wear it for the rest of the night if you're not dressing up! Even I dressed up!"

And she looks good in it too. Zero thought. Yuuki had put on a white dress, and had several white diamond jewels on her neck, wrists and ears. She had a small crown on her head. Obviously a princess.

"Hey Kiriyu, nice hat!" said a Day class member, chuckling. A deep glare of loathing cut through his laughter and the Day class member turned away, shivering from the chilly glower.

A certain pureblood walked over. He looked at Yuuki asking her a dance. Kaname had not dressed up in a costume in this occasion, but instead had worn a black suit. "May I have this dance, my princess?"

Yuuki blushed and looked at Zero. The ex-human shrugged and walked off to tell Aido off for asking for a Day class female their blood type. Typical vampire. Yuuki blushed when the pureblood kissed her hand and led her to the dance floor. There were a large amount of people that were dancing; vibrant colors flashing of female's dresses, males exchanging partners every now and then, keeping to the rhythm of the music. Zero turned away from the lights, his eyes stinging painfully from the glare.

Yuuki was lead out onto the dance floor. She curtsied and Kaname bowed. Kaname led her into the next dance gracefully stepping into rhythm.

Zero leaned backwards to the wall, closing his eyes letting out a slow sigh. He felt hungry, but not for food. He felt the familiar churn in his stomach from blood lust rising. But if he left now, Yuuki would be suspicious and try to follow him, which in turn would piss off Kaname. Or… Zero looked up looking at Kaname leading Yuuki across the dance floor. Maybe he could slip away…

He shifted to the door, planning on slipping out. But before he could slip out unnoticed, one of Yuuki's friends, Yori stuck a stalk of celery in front of his nose.

He looked at it, and then looked up at her, and then looked back at the stalk, thoroughly bewildered. What? If he remembered correctly, she was very perspective. Had she noticed that he was hungry and mistook his blood lust for food hungry? He already knew that she knew he was a vampire.

Without a word, she pushed the stalk into his hand. It was followed by a carrot. What the hell? Then she walked off.

Zero looked at the vegetables. What the hell?! What am I going to do with these?! He held up the very orange carrot. This is not going to satisfy my blood lust. Whatever... He jammed the two vegetables into his pocket. He looked back to the dance floor to see if Yuuki or Kaname had noticed him. They were entwined in a slow moving waltz, both seeming to be having a good time, seemingly not aware of the ex-human walking out the doors.

Zero turned, disgusted when Kuran brought her hand up for a kiss when the song ended. If he didn't leave now, then he wouldn't be able to leave tonight. He strode past the grand doors, snatching off his hat. She shouldn't pay attention to me. She loves Kuran more than me, so why does she pay attention to me? I don't deserve it; I've always been alone and that's how I like it, isn't it? But in his heart, he knew the answer. Secretly, he craved the companionship that Yuuki and Kuran had. He wanted to be loved, wanted the feeling that someone cared about him.

But he wasn't foolish enough to hold onto that idiotic dream. God knows he had been betrayed many times; his heart been torn apart and repaired over time. And he knew that he couldn't live through another heart-breaking incident.

But Zero also knew that he would be shunned in society; neither side truly accepting him. Vampires thought of him as a Level D ex-human hunter while hunter's thought of him as a dangerous vampire. He wasn't meant nor made to be loved. Tragedy over tragedy, his heart couldn't suffer any more. If Yuuki, the only person he had opened his heart to betrayed him, he would go mad. But in his heart, he knew that Yuuki would always choose Kaname over himself.

Zero walked through the old corridors of the Day building, opening his door. He stepped in and slammed the door shut behind him, sliding down to the floor, all the strength leaving him in a rush. God, will you allow me to cry tonight? Will you forgive me, a monster, if they cry like a human?

Unbidden tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall. Zero had not cried since the day Ichiru betrayed him. Fuck… Zero threw the hat to his desk. It landed neatly as he unsteadily wobbled to his feet, fighting back the tears. Maybe a shower would do him good… But before that… tablets.

Zero pulled out a small glass cup and filled it with water from the sink. He popped a tablet into his mouth, chugging down the water. The effect was immediate. Instantly he gagged, chocking on the water he was to swallow. He placed a hand over his mouth fighting the bile that was rising unpleasantly from his stomach. He coughed loudly into his hand and managed to fight back the nasty taste. He removed his hand to realize that he had coughed up blood.

Zero began washing his hand from his own blood. The color and smell wafted up, stinging into his eyes and nose. The smell of his own blood did not do anything for him, except that it worked against him. He coughed violently, gripping the sides of the sink, trying to fight down the red liquid. He failed.

Blood splattered all over the sink, followed by a semi-dissolved blood tablet. After gasping and catching his breath, he walked slowly to his own bed. No use again, and now it only made me hungrier. He collapsed on top of it reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief or napkin. He pulled out something orange and something green.

Zero made a face. He contemplated for a minute, before biting into the celery stick. Meh, not bad. He munched on it slowly, trying to get the taste of the blood tablet out of his mouth. Well, it distracted him from the nasty churning sensation in his stomach. He had lost plenty of blood and water from his body and he didn't feel like getting up for a drink of water. Besides if he got up, he was sure he was going to vomit again. What if I…?

Zero let his fangs elongate. He turned the celery stick and, unsure, sank his fangs into it. The sharp taste of celery hit his nose and he frowned, before taking a sip. Vegetables had a large amount of water in them, which made it the perfect thing for the ex-human to sink his fangs into. Of course, his vampiric side preferred humans over celery but Zero didn't really care. Biting vegetables was better than biting humans in his book.

He pulled out his fangs when he realized that he had absentmindedly drank too much of the water out of the poor celery stick. It was flaking under his touch. Whoops… Then he looked at the carrot. Oh well…

--

From then on, when Zero visited the cafeteria he always asked for a fruit or vegetable. Of course Yuuki would be worried about him needing blood, but he would shake his head as a 'no'. It puzzled her to no end about his sudden cravings for vegetables and the unneeded nourishment for blood. And although it worried her that Zero wasn't drinking her blood, she couldn't pretend that there wasn't a breath of relief. When Zero drank her blood, it always made her tired. Which resulted in a very energetic, happy Yuuki and a very confused Kaname.

Zero never told Kross or Yuuki, but he secretly kept the hat, stashing it somewhere deep in his closet.

--

A/N: Bunnicula is a vampire bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables. For more info go to Wikipedia.

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