Scattered Rose

Disclaimer:

Vampire Knight belongs to Hino Matsuri. This story deviates largely from manga canon as of Chapter 40, except for the part about Zero's new powers, and hence will be Semi-AU. There will also be some spoilers for Chapters 30 to 43; feel free to hit the back button if you do not with to be spoiled. I only own this plot. Thank you.

Full Summary:

[Sequel to 'Like Crystal Shards'– Semi-AU] [Part III of Twins Verse] It was all over. The enemy had been eradicated, peace was back in Cross Academy even when the Day Class had inevitably learnt the Night Class' secret. He was no longer needed here and the liveliness of the celebration was just making him feel all the more unwanted. So after tonight, he was going to atone for all of his sins… Once and for all.

It was over. Kuran Rido was dead and buried. The threat to the peace between humans and vampires had been eradicated… and Cross Academy had officially made known to the Day Class students that the Night Class was, indeed, a class comprising of vampires. Not that the Day Class hadn't already known before the announcement considering that the school had been attacked by hordes of bloodthirsty vampires and the only ones defending them were the Night Class, until the vampire hunters had arrived to join in.

But all had turned out well in the end, and the Day Class students had accepted their night counterparts with open arms. It wasn't all too hard, especially if they'd all just saved your lives selflessly. To celebrate this special, monumental occasion, Chairman Cross had thrown a big celebration ball, much like the annual dance party but far grander and done by professionals, barely a week after the attack on the Academy.

Kiryuu Zero stood alone in a corner of the hall. He had accomplished his purpose, and he hadn't even wanted to come to the celebration. He would very much rather be preparing to leave the school, as he had already informed Chairman Cross after his bloody duel with Rido. But for whatever reason, he hadn't been able to say no to the Chairman when he had personally requested for his presence at the ball. The Chairman who had taken a blow meant for him from Rido, and honestly, it was the subsequent rage that he felt that had allowed him to utterly rip the other vampire to shreds. But Zero would be disappointing the Chairman soon enough with his plan to leave the school and then proceed to die somewhere in relative peace, so this celebration, was really just the calm before the storm.

He watched impassively as vampires and humans mingled on the dance floor. He felt nothing. No feelings of displeasure. Nothing. The beast inside of him that had wanted to destroy and revel in vampire bloodshed had calmed down and was dormant after Rido's demise, leaving him feeling cold and empty. Even when he caught sight of Yuuki and Kaname dancing together, both lost in their own little world of each other, it had stirred up nothing. His heart was dead to such feelings of romantic love. They were gone the day Ichiru had died in his arms. The day he had murdered his own beloved twin so that he could become more powerful… become more of a freak than he already was. The only things he could clearly feel were bitterness and anger… perhaps even an occasional trace of madness when the beast stirred briefly within the confines of his mind… But even they were a rarity nowadays.

From the corners of his eyes, he suddenly spotted a bespectacled girl standing off to a corner of the hall alone, beside the drinks table. Zero recognized her. Shindou Nadeshiko, the girl he had first saved from certain injury after she fell off her classmate's shoulder in a bid to give her Valentine's gift to whichever Night Class student of her fancy, the girl he had rejected a thank-you gift from for that incident, the girl whom had wanted to dance with him at the annual dance party to which he had declined and also the girl whom he had snatched from Rido's jaws – literally. For some odd reason, Zero decided that he should do something for her (she had been nothing but genuinely grateful to him for saving her life). Since she had asked for a dance the last time, he could let her have it now. He wasn't entirely oblivious to the fact that she had a crush on him, just that at those times, he just hadn't had the time to deal with it. So he began a slow, casual walk to the corner of the hall where she stood.

"Shindou-san, may I have this dance with you?"

She was startled for a moment, but she replied with an affirmative and Zero proceeded to sweep her onto the dance floor, but still staying near the edges. He didn't like being the center of attraction much. Especially now that he knew he was still getting odd looks from both vampires and humans alike. Most of them had seen him fighting against the vampires that had attacked Cross Academy at one time or another, and most of those times… he hadn't only been using just the Bloody Rose. Those who hadn't seen him in action had probably heard about it from their friends in vivid detail. He had learnt early enough not to underestimate the abilities of the gossipers to spin farfetched tales. Lastly, there wasn't a single soul in the school who didn't know that he was the one who had ultimately killed Rido and had returned drenched in the vampire's blood, looking like a deranged monster himself.

As his musings faded from his conscious thoughts, he noticed that Shindou-san wasn't exactly looking at him although they were dancing together. Belatedly, he realized that it might not have been a good idea to dance with the girl. "…Are you… afraid of me?"

"Eh? No, I… Well… Kiryuu-kun has always been a little scary from the beginning…"

"I don't mean it in that sense. You saw me up close that day… Aren't you afraid of me?"

She hesitated for a long while, an uncomfortable flush coloring her cheeks. Just when he was about to tell her to forget it, she spoke, "It was… a shock that day, to see you with feral rage in your eyes and to learn that you're a vampire. Kiryuu-kun always had a rather scary aura around him, but… you've always had a kind side. Even now, I think that way… So I guess, I guess I'm not afraid of you…"

Zero kept silent for quite a while, pondering what his dance partner had just said. Even when he was so clearly a monster, one that was even more so than the normal vampire, there were still people who didn't think he was one? It was… nice, in a way, he supposed.

"I… I'm sure nobody is really afraid of you, Kiryuu-kun," she continued, "But it does take time to get used to all the revelations… I certainly didn't expect that Night Class students to be vampires when I entered Cross Academy. I honestly didn't understand why the prefects were so strict about not letting the Night and Day Classes meet, especially at night… but now I do. It just… takes some time, that's all, Kiryuu-kun."

"They don't have to worry about getting used to what I am… I'm leaving this place soon, anyway." Belatedly, Zero wondered why he actually had let that out when he had planned to make his departure as discreet as possible. But it didn't really matter. She could, and most likely would, just assume that he would be taking a holiday. It was perfectly reasonable for him to do so too, in most people's eyes. He had just defeated an extremely powerful and insane pureblood vampire. It would be normal to want to take a break.

"Are you going away to relax? For a long time?"

"…You could say that." Just that it's going to be for eternity. If Death will be kind enough.

"To visit your twin brother? I haven't seen him in awhile… Did he go somewhere?"

Zero hesitated, and then decided that there would be no harm in letting her know, "Yeah… To heaven, I hope."

She stared at him for a long, shocked moment, before the implications of his words sunk in. "Oh I… I'm so sorry, Kiryuu-kun… I… I…" she stuttered, becoming very flustered at her lack of tact.

"It's okay. Nobody else knows about Ichiru's death." Except Yagari-sensei, and by association, probably the Chairman too…

"Was it… was it that vampire who attacked the school?"

"…Indirectly."

"Indirectly?"

"Rido didn't land the killing blow." I did. "But he orchestrated everything that led to this whole mess… and I wasn't able to protect Ichiru from it…" From me.

There was silence once more as she seemed to be letting his words sink in and thinking through them. Perhaps that would be the end of their conversation, which was already a lot more than what he had thought would happen. She had struck him as the shy type, but then again, Zero didn't know her very well since he kept mostly to himself ever since that fateful incident four years ago, and first impressions could be misleading. Well, didn't he know that so very well by now?

"I'm glad that he's dead," she suddenly proclaimed with eyes blazing with conviction, startling Zero immensely. "Rido, that is. He almost caused a great disaster and… and disrupted all our lives, more for some than others… He deserved to die."

Zero didn't know what to say to that. It was a rather vehement outburst, and he was shocked that someone not directly involved in the mess started by Rido could feel so much emotion towards the now-dead vampire. But then he was forgetting the fact that Shindou-san had come really, really close to have been almost killed by Rido.

"I'm sure that Ichiru-kun doesn't blame you for his death," she added with a gentle smile, not knowing how true her statement really was. "You fought so hard to kill Rido to protect everyone. Ichiru-kun would definitely be proud of you. So, don't shoulder all those guilty feelings, Kiryuu-kun." She gave him a slightly hesitant, but still genuine smile.

Shindou-san was surprisingly perceptive. Then again, Zero didn't know her well and this was the first time that he had really spoken to her. Amazingly enough, he felt somewhat comforted by her words. No, he still hadn't let go of his guilt. He doubted that he ever would, but at least… at least there was someone who cared enough to try to make him feel better.

"Um… Kiryuu-kun?"

Zero realized that he had been staring quite intensely at his dance partner while he had an own internal monologue. She was blushing quite profusely now. "…Shindou-san, thank you," he said sincerely, a faint smile curling his lips.

If anything, she blushed even harder than before (quite a feat since Zero thought she was already really red in the face), averted her gaze and tried to change the subject. "Uh… so… So where will you be going, Kiryuu-kun?"

Their conversation continued on as Zero came up with a white lie to tell Shindou-san and hear her make suggestions for his supposed holiday. He knew where he would go after this night, but he did not want anyone to be able to chase after him – if there would even be anyone who would want to. Of course, there was a possibility that the Chairman and Yagari-sensei would figure out his real destination one day, considering that they knew his past pretty clearly. But by that time, there would be nothing left for them to do.

Before long, the song drew to a close and the dance ended. Zero had had his fill of the party, and it was time he started to leave while everyone was still preoccupied with the festivities. Right now, it was highly unlikely for anyone to notice his disappearance immediately.

"I'll still be able to dance with you next year… right Kiryuu-kun?"

Startled by the hopeful tone, Zero merely looked at the girl. Then he murmured softly as he didn't really want her to hear it, "I would rather you not…" There is no use in chasing after a monster. In a louder voice, he replied evasively, "Thank you for the dance, Shindou-san."

Then Zero turned his back on her, turned his back on the whole hall of students and exited the building. He never realized that she had heard what he'd said, all of what he had said.

"Zero! Where are you going?"

Jerking around, Zero realized with some surprise that Yuuki had come after him. Why had she? She didn't care anymore. Since that incident where Yuuki had proclaimed to be a different person altogether, Zero hadn't seen her since. Or rather, he had glimpsed her fleetingly as she fought alongside the rest of the Night Class against Rido's lackeys. But he hadn't seen her up close, much less spoken to her. It was as if their friendship had vaporized. Perhaps it had. So why was she here?

"You don't need to bother yourself with it… Yuuki-sama. Please go back to the hall and enjoy the celebration." This was the first time he had spoken to her since… and it felt like it had been years ago when they had last spoken.

Her eyes widened. "…Why… why do you call me that…? Why the honorific?"

"You're from the Kuran clan. A pureblood clan. I have to be polite." It was damn ironic. He never cared about vampire societal structures before… and truthfully he still didn't. He just didn't want to risk starting to feel something again. Yuuki had always been a wild card in this area. He wasn't entirely sure if Yuuki's hold on him had vanished. A week versus four years. Odds were that he still hadn't completely let go of their friendship. Only time would tell.

"Zero… you… you've changed."

"The only thing constant in this world is change. People change, things change… even vampires change."

Yuuki looked taken aback for a moment, as if shocked by his demeanor. "You still haven't answered my question."

"…Where do you think I'm going?"

"Away… into Death's hands."

"How direct."

"…It's true then. Why?"

"There's nothing left for me to do." Even so, Death has never been merciful to a monster like myself. I doubt I'll be able to go easily.

"What… do you mean?"

"Oh of course… he wouldn't have told you. You see, Yuuki-sama, from the moment Hiou Shizuka turned me into a vampire, I was destined to become a pawn for Kuran Kaname. This pawn has now fulfilled his purpose, it wouldn't matter if he disappeared for good."

"Onii-sama did… what?"

Zero wasn't at all surprised at Yuuki's reaction. She might've thought Kaname was a kind vampire, thought she knew him… But Kaname would never reveal the extent of his scheming mind to her, especially if it concerned how he had manipulated Zero. How he forced Zero to… "I'm not lying. My ultimate mission was to eliminate Kuran Rido, which I have already done so. My purpose has been fulfilled, and I think it's time for me to go."

"But… what about your friends?"

"Friends? Who?"

The expression of hurt on Yuuki's face almost made Zero laugh. Once upon a time, he wouldn't have wanted to hurt Yuuki… Now… it seemed that he just didn't care enough about anything anymore. He just wanted to leave Cross Academy. To find his place again if there was still one. He was tired – so extremely tired – of walking on the fine divide between the vampire and human world where a single misstep could be fatal. He was human, mostly, in mentality, but physiologically he was a vampire. Or he was at least. Now, he wasn't sure what he should be classified as. A hunter-vampire hybrid? It didn't matter though; he just didn't fit into any of the societies that existed in this world. Perhaps if Rido had managed to kill him at the same instance that he had crushed the pureblood under Bloody Rose's vines…

"I… What about Shindou-san?"

"Shindou-san? She's a nice girl, but I don't know her that well to consider her a friend."

"You were dancing with her."

"Most of the Night Class was dancing with the Day Class girls. Would you consider them to be friends with the Day Class girls?" he countered. "At the very most, they're just acquaintances."

"You talked to her," Yuuki persisted.

"And you would know because…?"

"Shindou-san told me you were acting weirdly, or rather you said some weird things to her… She asked me to check on you because… because I… I'd been close to you…"

Zero noted that the last part of her sentence had been spoken in an extremely subdued manner. Well, so she had noticed it too then. But it was too little, too late now. "She needn't have bothered. I don't have anyone close to me anymore. They're all dead. Please go away, Yuuki-sama. I'd like to be able to leave and then die in peace."

"Why are you acting like this Zero? Saying such hurtful things! Aren't I… Aren't I your friend anymore?"

"The Cross Yuuki I knew had been eaten up by a vampire. I don't know Kuran Yuuki-sama well enough to be considered a friend."

Yuuki flinched slightly, clearly remembering the words she'd said to him through the door. But she steeled herself to continue on, "Zero… what happened to you? Please, tell me."

"Is that an order, Yuuki-sama?"

She hesitated for a second, remembering how Zero hated to be ordered around. But in the end, the need to know what had happened to Zero over the past week was much too strong. "…Yes."

Normally, Zero would've refused such a direct order coming from a pureblood of all people. But now, he was just waiting for the chance to get it all out. He wanted to lash out at someone… someone who would show a reaction that would satisfy his sudden desire to be a sadist. Someone like Yuuki… and really, she had been part of it all. It was justifiable, even if it was cruel (but he wasn't feeling particularly merciful by now), for him to take it out on her.

"You happened, that's what. When you came to my room that day after reverting back to being a pureblood, I had been in turmoil with my emotions, probably why I brandished Bloody Rose at you. The next thing I knew, you were no longer my friend. That was when my world began to crumble. You wouldn't know, but shortly afterwards, the Hunter's Association ordered my imprisonment and I was locked in an underground prison in the Academy. Kuran Kaname visited me, and that was where I had been informed that I'd been his pawn to kill Kuran Rido all along. Everyone had been a chess piece in Kuran's game; he'd planned everything down to the very last detail. Everyone was involved, probably except you… Then Ichiru came to the cell where I was."

"Have you ever wondered what happened to him? When he didn't appear and wasn't accounted for even after the Academy started settling down again? Probably not, since he didn't matter to you. I thought he was going to kill me himself… he'd already shot me with the Bloody Rose. But no, I was wrong. He had come to let me take the last of his life as my own. Hunter twins have a curse, you know. They'd either be both born stillborn, or one twin would kill the other and consume it when they were still in their mother's womb and become the strongest hunter ever. That bloody curse decided to pick my family. However the process didn't complete itself in my case, leaving Ichiru with a weak body and ultimately turning him against the family. But in the end, he still wanted me to take his life, begged me to take his life… It was just like the sentiments he had already expressed when we were both young and together. About how it would've been better it he'd been born a part of me, instead of separately. That it would've been better if I had killed him right from the start. I doubt you'd understand how much it hurt to hear him say that, and continue to say that even as I literally sucked his life out of him."

Zero paused for a moment to compose himself and reign in his emotions that were starting to stir wildly. It was still hard for him to think about just how he'd killed Ichiru, even more so when he actually had to speak of it. He couldn't afford to lose his composure for the safety of the Day Class students; the beast tended to rouse when his control over his emotions weakened.

"I killed him in the end, and gained a new power. But the world that I knew and cherished had finally shattered. From that point onwards, I vowed that if I were to kill Rido, it would be on my own terms; it would be because of Ichiru. Because I had failed to protect him, especially from myself, I would kill Rido to atone for my sins. It had never been about you or obeying Kuran's orders regardless of what he thought. And after it all, if I still lived on… I swore that I would end my own life. There is simply nothing left for me to live for. I wouldn't advise you to try and stop me from leaving, Yuuki-sama. At this point, I have no qualms about hurting you. Other than gaining a new power from Ichiru's blood, I have the power granted to me by the blood of three purebloods flowing inside of me. There is a beast inside of me. It's currently calm from all the bloodshed it experienced when Rido met his end at my hands, but I don't know when it will awake and demand for more bloodshed. I could even kill you, if my control over it slips for even a second. I'm tired of all of this. So tired that if it weren't for Chairman Cross, I would've left the Academy already. If it weren't for the Chairman, I wouldn't have hesitated in letting the beast run wild and kill all the vampires… especially the purebloods."

Yuuki had been shocked speechless at his revelations, and he could see horrified tears streaming from her eyes. Once upon a time, he would've done anything to stop those tears. Once upon a time… That was a long, long time ago, it seemed, back when Yuuki wasn't a pureblood and he had something to live for. So perhaps he was really past feeling anything towards Yuuki, even if one part of him would never fully forget the extent of her kindness when he'd first came under Cross Kaien's care. The most he could do to repay that kindness extended to him when he had desperately needed it from a long time ago was to leave her alone from now on, less the beast acted up on a whim. Zero turned away, preparing to disappear like he had originally intended.

"Zero, please don't go! You… you don't have to bear it all alone! I'm… I'm so sorry, Zero. Please, let-"

"You can help if you really want to. Take Artemis and run me through. If not, let me go and I'll finish myself off."

Yuuki gasped in disbelief at what Zero intended her to do. "I can't… You know I can't! How… how can you be so selfish, Zero! To ask me to choose between those two options?"

"Me? Selfish?" Zero laughed bitterly. "How many times had I thought about ending my life, but not doing so because of you? How many times have I protected you even if I was risking my life? The times you wanted me to accompany you to find Kuran? I didn't want to be there. But you wanted me there, so I followed you. You don't know how often I wished I was just that bit more selfish so I could actually protect myself from being hurt. So can't I… Haven't I done enough to warrant being selfish for once? Must my decision to die be controlled by the whims of purebloods, like how the rest of my life has been? Must it?!"

"…No… I didn't mean-"

"Go back, Yuuki-sama," he interrupted calmly. He relaxed his right hand slightly, allowing silver, thorny vines to slide out of his entire arm, out of his body. It was still a strange sensation, having herbaceous, yet not, vines extend and retract from inside of him. The vines then curled partly around him automatically like a protective shield, and the Bloody Rose reformed, a solid and reassuring weight in his hand.

"Zero…"

Without waiting for her to finish, Zero turned to the offensive and used the vines to slam Yuuki harshly backwards towards the Academy buildings. He caught her off guard, sending her flying several meters back. In the time that Yuuki took to land on the ground properly in her evening gown and then regain her sense of orientation, Zero had disappeared to his room, grabbed his already packed bag and then vanished from the school grounds with vampire-enhanced speed.

Even though he had managed to escape from Yuuki, Zero had a gut feeling that this wasn't going to be the end of it. Yuuki was persistent; he knew that from personal experience. So when he sensed a familiar presence seconds before the other vampire appeared in front of his path in the grove, Zero hadn't been too surprised. Rather, he mused, he wasn't surprised at all.

"…Kuran Kaname…"

"Where are you going, Kiryuu?"

Zero snorted. "I'm sure you aren't interested at all, Kuran. This is another of those things that you're just doing because of Yuuki. You no longer have any use for me, so why don't you leave me alone?"

"True enough, I have no use for you anymore," Kaname conceded calmly, as if he had already expected Zero's response, which was very likely in all accounts. "But you're still important to Yuuki, and because of that I cannot leave you alone."

"You just don't want to fail at something for Yuuki, do you? Sorry to say, but this time you will," Zero replied scathingly.

"You sound very confident, Zero. You should do well not to underestimate purebloods… Even if you have indeed killed Rido."

"And you, Kuran, should learn not to overestimate yourself. Even if you are the original ancestor of the Kuran clan."

There was a long pregnant pause as both parties sized the other up, their respective auras swirling and flaring darkly. Zero knew that if he and Kaname were to fight, it would be to the bitter end and only one of them would walk away alive. Kaname might put Yuuki's priorities high on his list, but Zero knew better than most that at the end of it all, Kaname would do what was necessary. Even if it meant having to disregard Yuuki's wishes. If Zero got too close to succeeding in killing Kaname, that would certainly spell the end of his life because Kuran Kaname would never let himself be bested by his ex-pawn… and that was perfectly fine by Zero. He actually welcomed it, even if he would give Kaname a fight of his life before going down to the pureblood.

If he actually killed Kaname though, there wasn't much for him to regret either. Besides, even if he did kill Kaname, the likelihood of him surviving afterwards would be very, very slim. Perhaps they'd both perish at the same time. Regardless, either scenario would be fine by him. Just maybe he'd be a bit more pleased if they both died at the same time. Another pureblood pulled down along with him… the last pureblood to have manipulated his sorry excuse for a life. It was only fitting, no?

Then abruptly Kaname reigned in his aura although he still had a displeased expression on his face. That surprised Zero enough that his own aura lost its darkly destructive edge. "Leave then, if you so wish to, Zero. I'm not going to stop you."

Zero stared at Kaname, assessing the pureblood's body language to find the truth of his words. It seemed really unlikely that Kaname would let him walk away just like that.

As if sensing Zero's suspicions, Kaname spoke again. "We were on the verge of coming to blows, and we both know that it's not going to be a fight in which we can both walk away alive. The outrageous amount of disrespect that you showed towards me was enough to make me fight you seriously enough to kill, but Yuuki would rather you be alive than dead at my hands… Even if you take your life later, it will not be any of my concern."

"If I don't?"

"Then live the rest of your life out wherever you want to, in whatever way you wish to. I will not interfere." Unless you plan something untoward towards Yuuki…

Zero didn't need to be a mind reader to know what Kaname had left unsaid. He was slightly perplexed at how easily Kaname was letting him go. But then again, Kaname had no use for him and would certainly be able to think up of a suitable reason to give Yuuki on why he hadn't returned with Zero. But he was a vampire hunter, even if it was only due to his family now, and letting a hunter who had nothing to live for, except for exterminating the entire vampire race if he so wished to, walk away alive was foolhardy. However, there was the likely possibility that Kaname knew that he wouldn't destroy Cross Kaien's dream of peaceful co-existence between humans and vampires on a whim, which could be the sole reason Kaname was letting him disappear. That and he was quite sure Kaname thought he wouldn't be a problem if Zero did try to attack vampires again.

"You might live to regret this, Kuran. For not killing me here."

"Perhaps," was the pureblood's enigmatic reply.

Zero turned away from Kaname, but his senses were still alert to any sign of movement from the pureblood. He was instinctively wary of vampires, and regardless of what Kaname had said, there was still the possibility that Kaname might strike him as his back was turned. Even if Zero knew that for a pureblood vampire, Kaname was not the dishonorable sort. There was no sudden movement from Kaname, and Zero decided that the other was serious about letting him go without incident. Just as he was about to disappear from the clearing they were in, he heard Kaname's last words although they were spoken softly, and possibly had not been meant for his ears.

"Live the rest of your life peacefully, if you can… You deserve as much."

He froze at Kaname's words. Never would he have expected to hear what was a semi-apology from the other vampire. But Zero chose not to act on it, not to say anything but to just leave as he had originally meant to. There was nothing he could say, and even if Kaname really apologized to him – although that would never happen he was sure – it was by far, much too late to do anything. Purebloods may be extremely powerful, but even they could be helpless when Death came a knocking, when Time decided to fly by so fast.

Nothing said now, done now would be able to heal the wound in his heart, to make this wretched life of his worth living again.

Cross Kaien stood alone in a small clearing, a solemn expression on his face. It had been almost five months since Kuran Rido was killed, almost five months since another step closer to his dream had been fulfilled… and almost five months since the ball where Zero had disappeared from the Academy. He couldn't blame the boy, knowing clearly how much he had to be hurting from all the things that had happened to him in his short life. But it still hurt a little, that Zero hadn't stopped to say goodbye (even though he had already been informed of the imminent departure, Cross hadn't expected it to be so soon and abrupt) nor had Zero decided to try to unshackle himself from the heavy chains of his tragic past and start a new life despite all Cross had tried to do.

Now, he was standing in front of a small collection of graves. There had once been only two of them, but now there were three. Yagari and he had been the ones to create that third grave, and so it was still relatively recently since he'd been here. But now, all three graves took on a different appearance, something he was sure of the reason.

Herbaceous vines twined around the weathered gravestones and several more extended to cover the ground around them in a thorny meshwork of flora. Some of the vines that were around the gravestones were in bloom, and silvery-lilac roses blossomed around the three graves, giving off a delicately sweet aroma. The third grave, especially, had the most of those beautiful, elegant roses surrounding it. These had not been there the last time Cross had been to the Kiryuu family's resting grounds, and he was sure that nobody had planted these roses because he could sense, faintly, the presence of a vampire in those vines and roses… Zero.

After months of searching, he had finally come to the conclusion to look for Zero at his family's burial grounds, all the while wondering why he or Yagari hadn't thought of it sooner. And he had found the boy… or the remnants of him. No, Zero wasn't dead yet, he could tell. But he was no longer conscious. Cross had studied about vampires intensively. In the beginning, it was because he had been a ruthless vampire hunter, but later on, it was because he wanted to understand more about this race that he so wished could co-exist peacefully with humans. Through his studies, he now understood what Zero had done.

He knew of Zero's new abilities, having been present when Zero fought Rido. Zero had not made real roses grow from the ground to surround his family's graves. Instead, the boy had created the roses and vines that entwined themselves in a careful, protective embrace all around the small graveyard from his own life energy. Zero was alive for the vines were now his physical body; but his consciousness and sense of self was buried far too deeply to ever surface again.

"Rest well, Kiryuu-kun…"

Cross turned away from the graveyard; he had to inform Yagari about this. He also knew he would be visiting these graves more regularly now. He had always regarded Zero as his own son, and it did relieve him that Zero hadn't taken his life as he had originally feared. But still, he was left with one lingering fear… For it was inevitable that such a day would come, and for his own selfish reasons, he could only pray that he would not have to bear witness to it…

The day when those beautiful, yet tragic silver-lilac roses finally withered and scattered into the unyielding wind.

It's done! I've finally finished the third and final part to my Twins Verse series! Well, okay. I have a spin-off/side-story in mind (which will explain why Zero didn't kill himself like he originally intended to), but whether I'll write it is uncertain. Next year will be a much busier year for me, cause of major exams. Oh and in case you're not in the know, Shindou Nadeshiko is not an OC, and I did not make up her name. Her name is revealed in the second Vampire Knight novel, but because I haven't actually read it, my characterization of her will be unlikely to tally with the novel. So don't grouse because of that.

Well, I don't think Zero's OOC. Just think of all he went through! The most difficult part of this fic though, was writing the confrontation between Kaname and Zero, cause my VK OTP is Kaname/Zero (vice versa) and I really didn't want them at each other's throat (and Zero was being really difficult there)... I hope what I eventually came up with is okay, and doesn't make them OOC.

Hope you enjoyed though!

carzla