DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Vampire Knight!
Author's Note: It contains spoilers for Chapter 67. I have not read or seen Chapter 68 yet, so, after the spoilers are out of the way, it's completely my own imagination.
Yuki sprinted up the old stone steps as quickly as she could, her long brunette hair flowed behind her. Hanabusa Aido and Kaien Cross were promptly following her. Yuki made it to the top of the first flight to see Lord Aido was kneeling before the man she had grown up with. "Kana..." Her cinnamon eyes widened when she noticed the sword in his hand.
Lord Aido had his head bowed and his eyes were closed. He looked perfectly tranquil. Kaname slowly raised the sword as he stared down at Lord Aido with a look of distaste. Before any of the three onlookers could even blink, he had sliced off Lord Aido's head, which turned to dust right afterwards.
"Father," Hanabusa whispered, his own cerulean eyes wide with shock. "Father," he couldn't believe what had happened. "Father!" His father's body had already turned to ash.
"I'm done hesitating" Kaname still had his gaze fixated on the remains. "I once made the choice to stay with you, but now," He looked directly at Yuki. "I'm going to fulfill my original plans." The male brunette changed into a swarm of small black bats. "I'm sorry." The bats promptly flew away.
Hanabusa ran up the remaining stairs and kneeled next to his father's remains. He picked up two handfuls of the remaining ash and opened his palms directly next to each other. The blonde couldn't believe that the person he had respected for over half his life had murdered his father for no apparent reason. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as the remains slipped to the ground through the cracks in between his fingers. The ash was then slowly blown away by the gentle breeze.
Yuki rushed over to her tutor's side without a second thought and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She remembered how she felt once her memories and true nature were returned to her only to find out that her own parents had died protecting her from her uncle. The brunette understood the pain he felt since her mother died right in front of her in order to lock away her memories. Yuki knew that her mother and his father both died in different ways, but they did leave right before both of their eyes.
"Hanabusa," she used his first name in order for him to know that she truly cared.
Hanabusa shrugged her hand off of his shoulder as soon as he noticed the light weight that was rested on it. He stood up and walked back to the van. Kaien glanced at Yuki before he himself returned to the vehicle.
Yuki gazed at Hanabusa's retreating form with a sorrowful expression. She knew that no matter how many times she apologized, it wouldn't change the fact that his father had been killed by her brother, the man they had both held on a pedestal. Even if she did give him countless apologies, it wouldn't mean anything coming from her since she wasn't the one who had committed the crime. A soft sigh escaped her pink lips before she slowly moved to the van.
It had been a few days since the incident and Hanabusa still barely even talked. Whenever he did decide to say something, it was mostly just to tell Yuki where he was going and an approximate time of when he'd be back. Yuki never questioned him about his days since she knew he was still grieving and he wouldn't reply anyway. She couldn't stop herself from worrying about him since he was her constant companion in the past whenever Kaname had gone on short trips. The brunette was so used to his smiling face and scoldings that she couldn't bear to see him so depressed. Yuki wished he would be fine, but knew that it would take time, possibly months, for that to happen.
Yuki sat in her study and worked on the assignment that Ruka had given her. The female aristocrat had taken it upon herself to be the pureblood's tutor until her cousin (1) was done grieving. Along with Ruka, Akatsuki was also at the mansion and stayed by his slightly younger cousin's (2) side. He was pretty much the sturdy rock that anyone could lean on after all.
Like the past few days, the scent of salt wafted through the air. Yuki sighed since it meant that her tutor and friend was crying once more. She closed the book that she was supposed to be reading and looked over at Ruka. The slightly older young woman wasn't paying attention to what the princess was doing because she was lost in her own thoughts.
"Ruka-san," the brunette could never bring herself to call her without an honorific.
"Yes, Yuki-sama," her dusty rose eyes met the other's cinnamon ones.
"Would you please bring Akatsuki here," Yuki requested.
"Of course," Ruka stood up and left the room.
Yuki looked down at the closed book with a determined expression. She couldn't let Kaname, her flesh and blood, get away with those atrocities. Even though she loved him, what he had done was completely uncalled for. The princess had a feeling that he was the one who had started killing purebloods, along with aristocrats, who went against the Kuran family's idea of a peaceful co-existence with the humans. Even if those murders were for a good cause, it was killing off the remaining purebloods and forcing the ones who were still alive to go into hiding. If he thought it was creating a more peaceful world, it wasn't. His actions were making a world filled with fear.
"You wished to see me, Yuki-sama," Akatsuki's deep voice rang in her ears.
"Yes," she stood. "Ruka-san, please stay." Yuki walked to the middle of the room and faced the two nobles.
"What is it," Ruka softly inquired.
"I want the both of you to find Kaname," the brunette informed them. A gasp escaped Ruka's lips due to the request.
"But, Yuki-sama," she was cut off by a fierce look from the pureblood.
"I understand that you're afraid, but," Yuki told them. "Since you support a peaceful co-existence, I doubt he'll kill you on sight."
"I'll go," Akatsuki informed them. "On the condition that you watch Hanabusa in my absence."
"Of course," Yuki gently smiled. "If you want, I'll call you and keep you up to date on what's happening here."
"Thank you, Yuki-sama," Akatsuki slightly grinned at her in return.
Yuki handed Akatsuki a credit card that she had taken from her brother's room earlier that day. The aristocrats glanced at it then turned their attention to her. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a limit, so, as long as Kaname didn't freeze it, you'll be fine." Ruka and Akatsuki nodded simultaneously.
"We'll say goodbye to Hanabusa then go pack," Ruka left the room before either of them could say anything.
"Thank you, Akatsuki-san," Yuki told the redhead. "Please give Ruka-san my thanks too."
Akatsuki inclined his head before he too left her study. Yuki sat back down at her desk and went back to her work.
Author's Note: The next chapter will be up as soon as I find the time to finish and edit it. Once I'm completely fine with it, I will make a rough draft of the chapter after it and then update. Anyways... Here are the notes:
1) I believe Ruka and Hanabusa are first cousins. If they are not first cousins, then they're second cousins and, therefore, still are cousins.
2) I'm not sure if Akatsuki is a few months older or not since I don't recall their birthdays ever being mentioned. I've searched endlessly for the characters birthdays, but I could only find Yuki's, so... Akatsuki's the oldest, Hanabusa's in the middle, and Ruka's the youngest out of the three.