Hey everyone! I know I haven't written anything lately, heck my accounts been practically dead! But I've recently just had an itching to pick up this little idea and work at it. I got this idea after reading way too much shojou and listening to Otep, and I've missed this anime/manga so much. Certainly after I watched it at first I was angry, what Zero/Yuki fan wasn't?

So that's where this came from, hope everyone likes it!

It is very, very AU, so I hope everyone doesn't mind. Either that or it's extremely similar to the anime, in which case I am a little disappointed, but at the same time not very surprised.

Also this does involve (at the moment) at least one gay pairing, I only use the ones that are strongly implied cannon.

I will admit that although I read up to a certain point in the manga and watched the entire anime twice, I don't think I totally understand the entire story (as it is portrayed on Wiki). This is mostly the reason for the story being AU.

When two constellations love each other very much…. Kevin!... What? I'm just trying to help the kid out. I had to learn astrophysics on the streets.

Disclaimer: …. I think it's said enough; I, and the entire united group of fan fiction writers do not own these anime's/manga's/novels/movies/plays/etc.

Ghost Flowers

Summary: Yuki is a normal human, always has been. She lives with her adoptive fathers Kaien, the headmaster of Cross Academy; and Toga, whose job is pretty secretive even within their close-knit family; and her brother Kaname. Everything is normal, she attends school like a normal human and is interested in a normal human boy, or so she thinks.

Things turn upside-down for Yuuki, her family, and those connected to her when Kaien and Toga adopt a third child, Maria Kurenai, a vampire.

Genre: Romance, Horror, action

Pairing (General): ZeroxYuki

Rating: M (Future lemons and probably quite a bit of violence.)

Finally after this long intro I shall start the story. ~xXDitDXx

Ghost Flowers

Chapter 1: The Prelude

The day was similar to most in the semi-populated city; the sky was cloudy with a few sharp rays of light cutting through the haze every now and then. The trees were in letting their leaves grow vibrantly shaded with hues of red and gold, the grass was brittle but not defeated just yet. People of all shapes and sizes filed down the sidewalks and poured into the streets between patient and not so patient cars and buses. It was early on in the day, so kids were just starting their begrudged school hours.

One such school in particular, Cross Academy, was on the outer edge of the city, nestled in a thicket of trees and surrounded by a good distance of land from all sides; it was something one might picture out of a fairytale with its old-style yet modern appearance. To the side of the school were the dorms, the class buildings were displaced around the campus evenly, and their ivory color almost glowing in the rich colors of the fall season.

Yuki Cross; a small brunette with large, almond-shaped eyes; groaned inwardly as her father, Kaien, a rather chipper man with blonde hair and glasses, pulled up to the specially gated off administrator's parking. She felt like a bit of a fool with him flaunting her all over the place, and now she knew that she would have at least one or two eyes on her as she was escorted around the new school by none other than the headmaster himself. And any teen knew that it only took a few people watching for something to spread like wildfire over campus.

She figured it was hopeless anyway, she had been an active member in the school in her previous years, helping with activities and parties; not to mention her brother Kaname had already attended the academy for a year, and had dealt with being the headmaster's son before her, it had to have been harder for him than it would be for her, especially with the way Kaien Cross always doted on her and her brother. The affection was acceptable for a girl, but for a guy it was probably rather embarrassing.

Their story was like many orphans' stories were. Their parents had died in some accident or had abandoned them, and they had to be put up for adoption, Yuki at a very young age, her brother a year older. She and Kaname stuck together through it all, though, a surprising feat since it usually got hard to keep siblings paired when it came to adoption. And, after a few attempted and failed missions, Kaien Cross and Toga Yagari, two male partners looking for kids (or mostly Kaien), adopted them. They were brought up in a loving family and raised with good manners and sturdy enough morals.

Yuki was certainly grateful for this, and loved her 'fathers' dearly, but she still felt it wrong to call them as such when she had a father and mother, dead or alive. Other honorifics would simply have to suit.

Soon she was in her father's office, getting her schedule and the layout of the campus explained to her, as if she hadn't been prepped for this day all summer. She supposed it was important that she be excited and cheerful, for her poor father's sake, and she was in a way.

This year was going to be special, it was the beginning to her higher education and her life, she would meet new friends and make her family proud, and try to get good grades. She supposed it was just a freshman form of senioritis that plagued her and made her reluctant to attack the day.

Or perhaps she was just close to her period, God help her.

"Yuki…" The soft voice drew her from her internal conversation, making her perk up a bit in order to look attentive. She turned her gaze, which had been on the view outside the large glass window overlooking the campus, to Kaien Cross. He frowned in defeat. "You're not even listening to me, are you, my cute little daughter?" He asked in a forlorn tone.

Yuki rolled her eyes at the term, and breathed a great sigh. "Cross if you keep calling me that, I'll never be accepted into the normal adult population," She gave him a pointed look, "I think it's time to get on a first name basis, I have known you since I was a baby after all."

"And what a cute little baby you were." Kaien let out a wistful swoon and clapped his hands together, then seemed to regain the memory of what they were talking about. "Can't you call me Daddy just once? Or Dad?..." He smiled hopefully, "at least Father, perhaps?"

"No," Yuki replied dryly, which was met by a saddened whine from the headmaster. She tried to get back on track by changing the subject. "Headmaster, shouldn't I be getting to my classes? If I don't leave now I'll be late."

With that she was released from her pouting adoptive father, and into the world of Cross Academy.

Walking down the paved pathway that winded through a well vegetated courtyard where many students lay in the grass on blankets and talked during their free time or sat on benches or around the fountain together. At the moment only a few people resided here, all of which were upperclassmen who didn't need to take a full day of classes.

Yuki doubled her pace, practically feeling her seconds tick by. She wasn't an over achiever or anything, she just didn't like being late on the first day.

Rounding a corner and ascending some stairs, she passed through the big, impressive doors and entered a hallway, which after traveling along for some time she came across the destination she sought after. She entered the classroom and looked around at the many faces, all of which were now trained solely on her. It brought a blush of embarrassment to her face. She saw a few people she was familiar with from their relations with her brother, Kaname.

She spotted an excited, happy looking boy with blonde hair and ice blue eyes named Aido, and waved to him with a little giggle in her expression. He was bordered on each side by an orange haired boy named Kain, his cousin, who gave her a kind smile, very temperate next to Aido's flamboyant greeting; and Ruka, a graceful and intelligent looking girl that gave her a small nod, but not a smile as the other two had. She had never been very fond of Yuki, it seemed, but she was still a very respectable person who Yuki one day hoped to impress, maybe even befriend.

Yuki made her way to her seat which the professor had pointed out once she had entered. It seemed that he had done everything in his power to make sure she was far away from the three she had waved to earlier, perhaps knowing that to seat her with them would result in ultimate doom for their education.

Instead, she was seated in the far right corner of the room, right next to windows that overlooked the courtyard. From here it could be seen that the clouds had finally won the battle against the sun and were now puffy and dark in color like a blanket over the sky made of grey fleece. The loss of light had a dulling effect on the fall colors of the trees and brush, turning brilliant crimson to brick red and golden to dark yellow. The leaves that teetered on their stems lackadaisically and finally, with a soundless defeat, fluttered to the ground in a heap, seemed far more dismal than festive in this lighting. It also seemed to affect the classroom, which now consisted of either dead-eyed people barely listening to the professor or people whose heads bowed into to crooks of their elbows or slid hazardously low on their upturned palm. Despite the professors distress and constant lecturing towards those who were falling prey to the sandman's curse, it all simply blurred into his old lecture, making it a terribly lost cause.

One such teen with their head down was the one next to Yuki. He looked to be a second year like her brother, with a lean, lithe form, or at least that's what she could see from his hunched position. He had silver hair that hung over his hidden face and crumpled against his arm on which his face was placed, and looked almost metallic. She wondered if she touched it if it would make her bleed, like a million tiny razor wires. At the very edge of the curtain of hair, spanning from just below the ear to the base of his neck, she could easily see a tattoo. It's shape seemed like a flower, but far more manly in the way it's edges were sharp and hard-edged, like a rose made up of it's thorns. His breathing was slow and even, though she couldn't hear it, she could see his form rise and fall slightly, slowly; he seemed very peaceful.

Yuki blushed, although it probably wasn't very visible. She was spending way too much of her energy on studying this male teen that sat next to her. She never really found herself people watching as bad as she did just then. Of course then again she had hardly ever seen such a hair color, or a tattoo for that matter, like this guy had. Yes, she was just infatuated with the odd fashion choices this guy displayed; there was no attraction, nothing like that. She's never even spoken with him! And what was this? Why was she blushing? She rubbed her hands against her cheeks, trying to calm the blood out of them. After which she swiftly reformed her composure and looked to the teacher, focusing with an intense amount of determination on the lecture.

Although, her attempts were futile, every word the teacher spoke seemed to die before it teacher her ears, leaving her to her own imaginings once again. Just as she found herself staring out the window once again, there was the sound of a paper being set on her desk. She looked down, almost in horror at the thought that her teacher was going to give them a test on the first day, then realized it was a note.

'Turn on your phone!'

-It read, obviously from Aido by the handwriting which was scrawled in an impatient manner. It confused her for a moment, what did he have to talk about during class and why couldn't it wait? In any case it would only be solved by following his wishes, so she pulled her phone from her pocket and held it under the desk, flipping it open. She pressed the power button and waited for the logo to flash off the screen, then was rewarded with a pair of text from the boy who seemed bent on making her get suspended on her first day. The first read:

'I see you got seated next to the kill joy of Cross Academy, has his gloomy aura led you to contemplating suicide yet?'

And the second:

'I dare you to poke him! He'll eat your soul!'

Yuki rolled her eyes and laughed a little inwardly, made sure she wasn't getting any strange looks from the teacher or any of the students that were likely to snitch, and looked over at Aido, who smirked at her from across the room, behind a very agitated looking Ruka. Kain seemed as if he was just trying to do his work and ignore the strange exchange. She sent a sideways glance to the boy next to her and then looked back to her phone, hitting the 'reply' button.

'You're an idiot, Aido, I'm not going to poke someone, and we're not in third grade.'

She smiled and shook her head, then realized that from the angle she held her phone under the desk, and from the position her neighbor was in with his head tucked in the crook of his arm, he may be able to see her conversation. He was still asleep by the look of his breathing, but it still made her feel a bit nervous and just a hint guilty. She tried to edge her phone away a little when it signaled a new message.

'Oh c'mon Yuki, take one for the team! He's a real jerk, you'll see. He does nothing but sleep all day then abuse his powers as a school guardian to make us all miserable.'

'Maybe that's because you have a knack for breaking the rules.'

'I enjoy my life to its fullest!'

'Just give it up and pay attention to class, Aido, or will Kaname and Kaine be forced to help you cram again?'

'One time!' This was quickly followed by another text. 'Teacher coming your way!'

Yuki stuffed her phone into her coat pocket swiftly and looked up just in time to see her professor coming close, a quizzical look on his face, though the glint on his glasses made it hard to see his eyes clearly. He stopped abruptly at the row in front of them and glared at someone who was hunched over their book bag. His voice was loud and intimidating as he scolded the student with all the fiery fury of a tortured teacher.

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief and allowed her shoulders to slump a bit, feeling her heart slow back to normal pace. If she had been caught texting on her first day Kaien would have definitely been upset. Of course his wrath wasn't nearly as frightening as her other dad's, Toga. He was always a harsh militant type of guy with a short temper that made him comparable to a porcupine on a bad day. In any case, she had gotten off scot free this time.

The brunette looked over at Aido and gave him a critical look, signaling the conversation was over, and he pouted visibly, causing Kain to smirk.

Yuki shook her head and chuckled quietly before turning back to the window, already knowing that any hope for the lesson getting into her head was pointless given the circumstances. She was interrupted by a sudden shiver down her spine, a natural reflex signaling she was being watched. This sensation caused her to automatically turn her head in the direction of the person, an action which was met by a pair of startlingly intense lavender eyes, they seemed like the type that had stared down everything and anything in their way, cold and collect, and brimming on the edges with past experiences that were both exciting and heartbreaking; this added with their close proximity made her almost jump out of her skin. Yet still she couldn't look away.

"It's rude to stare at someone as if they're a monster." The male next to her said with a slight smirk on his face. "Yuki Cross, right? Your name's been bouncing around campus all day."

The silver haired teen had apparently stirred from his sleep at some point, and it caused her to ponder the thought that he had seen her conversation with Aido. She didn't think it was smart to ask so she simply replied, "Sorry, I was just surprised that you were awake, you seemed dead asleep before, ….?" The gape was intended to be a silent request for a name, but it seemed he wasn't going to take the hint.

"It's near impossible to sleep soundly while someone is clicking away on their phone; I'm surprised the teacher wasn't roused by that racket." His voice was cold and sharp, though the anger he displayed didn't really seem all that serious. Still, it set Yuki ablaze with indignation.

"Well you shouldn't be sleeping anyway! This is class, you should be listening." She almost shouted before she got a look from the teacher that said 'be quiet or you die', something one doesn't mess with when it's coming from their superior. She continued in a whisper, "And the way I use my phone is none of your business."

This time he let a sincerely devilish smirk grace his lips which were, as she could assess, usually set into a frown. "I think it is my business when you're talking about me, isn't it?" His voice grew softer, yet still had an edge to it. "Still think I'm not that bad?"

Yuki was almost fuming. What a jerk! And she had stood up for him! "It's not my fault you have a bad reputation around here which causes you to come up in conversation! I have the freedom of speech." She continued, answering the second question. "I would prefer to give you the benefit of the doubt, but it appears that you like the idea of everyone hating you." She raised an eyebrow at him, "Glutton for punishment?"

Her neighbor scoffed, turning to full-on face her, he smirked a shit-eating smirk and raised his eyebrow as well. "You know, I thought you would be some goody two-shoes, daisies and sunshine type of girl; probably a stupid little ditz too; being the daughter of the headmaster and all." He paused a moment, as if speculating this thought. "Perhaps my assumption wasn't all wrong. You're automatically assuming strangers are harmless and kind, what a naïve thing to do."

Yuki was struck down, wordless and pale under such scrutiny. Not only was he attacking her, but also her fath-… Kaien! What a set of gonads this guy must have to act so brashly. But Yuki Cross was never one to run with her tail between her legs, she would stick this out if she had to set the guy on fire. She held back a growl and answered with a retort muttered through gritted teeth. "And you, I thought you'd perhaps have some form of self-esteem," She paused, as he had, gaining a scornful look from the guy, "But that's the biggest exaggeration on the planet, seeing as you have a need to shit on everyone else's parade just to make yourself feel semi-adequate."

The boys eyes widened and for a split second Yuki figured she would either be on the business end of a , not figuratively, but actually piercing glare, and perhaps a strike of some kind. But it never came, and the guy calmed his look a bit. An amused smile graced his face. Yuki, even after their little battle of wits and verbal assault, could not stop herself from realizing just how attractive the tremulous and broody guy seemed when he smiled, or even when he scowled, for that matter. It was quite aggravating when she felt so strongly that she must loath him.

"Zero Kiryu…"

Yuki's head snapped back in the direction of his voice before she had even realized that she had switched her gaze back to the window. "What was that?" She asked instinctively, though she remembered just as she blurted out the question that what he had told her was his name.

"I'm Zero Kiryu, guardian and night watch of Cross Academy…" He announced, still in the hushed tone that didn't gain them much attention from the teacher.

Yuki nodded curtly, her resolve set on disliking him, although he did have an extremely refined knack for changing the mood. She felt like this was more of a first impression than their first words to each other. Now he seemed more subdued, still scowling but in a more dutiful way that suggested he had been through a lot to put him on such a self-proclaimed higher pedestal, but at the same time one could see a form of self-despise, as if he felt unworthy to even exist. He was a complex individual, a two-faced coin. It intrigued Yuki to no end, which would definitely clash with her attempts at civil disobedience.

There was no further conversation for the rest of the period; and soon, just before every teen in the room began to feel their souls being gently tugged from their bored bodies due to the constant drone of their teacher, the bell rang. Yuki stood fluidly and gathered her stuff, then made her way over to her friends, ignoring her new neighbor and his continuously grumpy state. She received a great hug from Aido as soon as she got there.

"You're Kaine and mine's new buddy in crime, alright?" The boy with blonde, crazy hair said excitedly. Kaine rolled his eyes, and Ruka simple excused herself out the door early. Aido took a vain pose and continued, "I am the most popular guy in school, after all, I'm expected to do the best pranks ever committed at Cross Academy." He split a foux evil grin.

Yuki raised an eyebrow and quirked a smile, emitting a nervous laugh. "Aidou, you do remember that I am the headmaster's daughter, right?"

"That never stopped Kaname, Yuki! Come on!"

The conversation and corresponding laughter echoed as they left the room, and left a trailing aura of comradory and cheerfulness in it's wake. It left Zero in the room, alone all but the teacher, who grouchily erased information from the board and prepared himself for another onslaught of kids in a few minutes.

Zero had taken his time gathering his books and stretching his muscles as the group joked and exited, all the while watching his new classmate. He watched her expression, the way her eyes glittered when her perfect, pink lips lifted into a smile, or closed in a cute crescent shape when she laughed. He enjoyed watching her hair bounce a bit as she left, her slim yet perfect hips swaying ever so slightly, just enough to make her seem like an unknowing temptress, who's too sweet and innocent to admit to her impish ways or seduction.

She had a perfect hourglass figure, the curve of her torso dipping just below her diaphragm and flaring out like the analogy suggests. Her chest was smaller than perhaps most men would have fantasized, but for her height it suited her well, and gave her a soft, almost childish appearance that suited her very well. This look completed her character, and diluted her temperamental and indignant personality. Her willfulness only added to her attractiveness. He could hardly think of anything unattractive of her, which may seem a bit idiotic of him, but then again what wasn't idiotic about him ogling over an almost complete stranger like he was, a girl to whom he had just been extremely bitter. He couldn't change himself; it was his natural defense to snap at anyone who so much as tapped his wall, even if he had started the conversation.

Zero shrugged a shoulder backpack onto said appendage and made his way through the corridors and into the courtyard, meandering to his next class well after the tardy bell rang. He thought of the pictures he had seen from when Yuki was young, as she had burrowed her way into his train of thought that day rather than the usual training and dismal memories than encircled his life. He remembered the headmaster when he was first entering this school, and when he was being appointed as a guardian. The blonde-haired man had pictures of her and Kaname all over his desk and the walls, along with pictures of himself and Toga. Although they were more sparse as their lifestyle was a little less accepted among the general public, and from what Zero knew about Toga the man didn't agree with photography that much.

Zero had a special kind of relationship with the girl's other adopted father. He doubted she, or even Kaname, knew of his connections with their family. But he knew them rather well from photo's and stories Toga sometimes told him between training sessions. He remembered when he was younger, and Toga had shown him the first picture they had gotten of Yuki and Kaname after they were first adopted. It was small and tattered after much folding and stuffing into his wallet, the edges were crumpled slightly and the paper was worn to a cloth-like texture. It was a picture from when Yuuki, (at the time the picture was shown she was about five) had been a baby. She was tiny with a little tuft of brown hair, her eyes were large and round and dark on her chubby little face. Her brother was a bit older, around four years old Zero had guessed, and held her close to him like any over protective sibling would. One could see that the orphanage which had taken them in would never be able to get them separate families. By this time Zero had been about six and had no interest in such trivial matters. He had issues of his own to deal with. Still the image had stuck in his mind. The more pictures he'd seen and Toga's occasional confession to family troubles or childish outbursts or trips, they all led to him contemplating what it was like to be in a normal family. At first he felt bitter displeasure, envy, even. But slowly his heart softened, he watched the children grow up from behind a mask of invisibility, and now they were his classmates.

Zero decided against going to his next class and simply took a detour toward a grouping of stables near the sports grounds. Entering, he slipped quietly into one of the cubicles and settled himself on a pile of softened hay and alfalfa. This was his sanctuary, the one place he could go where no one would interrupt him or question him, and where he needn't words to express displeasure or serenity. He could simply close his eyes and take in the scents, heightened for him, of the grasses and wood, and shut out the less pleasant odors which were typical of a well-kept stable. He was in the process of doing so now.

A warm, partially wet muzzle pressed against his hair and pulled some of the silver with it's lips, stirring him from his musing. He rested a hand on the snout of the white-coated beast and rubbed circles along the peach-fuzz clad hide. The mare was names White Lily; she was just a colt when he first began helping around the stables as a pass time. Back then he had been very different from now, happier, less cold. Back then he had a family and all the love he could want in the world. How cold those few years had made him.

The day passed rather quickly for him then, dozing in and out of sleep and paying care to the horses occasionally. He felt much better among them rather than he usually did around people, perhaps because they were less of a temptation. He particularly needed this day off due to the headmaster's daughter. He had never felt so drawn by another human before, in more ways than one. It scared him a bit. He knew she was off limits, not that he would ever consider any person to be on limits. But he knew any attraction to her would be shot down by Toga. It was hard enough to retain a relationship with his master as it was, after he had lost his family.

With Zero being a vampire and all, it made it difficult to gain the trust of his vampire-hunting master. He could easily consider himself dead if he so much as expressed an interest in Yuki.

He sighed defeat and resigned his attraction to simply a dream, and picked himself up, brushing off the dust and grass that had gathered on his clothes. After doing so, he began his trek towards his normal training grounds, where he would meet Toga in a few hours as soon as night fell.

Yuki spent the remainder of her day in and out of classes, with a brief interlude for lunch, where she was happily accepted into Kaname's circle of friends at one of the larger tables. She got along well with them, for a freshman. Her classes were mostly boring, as was to be expected, but she figured they would be a necessary evil when she wanted to continue into college.

On another note, which she was surprised she was even considering a topic worth contemplating, she hadn't seen Zero in any of her other classes, and it didn't seem that he was in them, as there was no empty seats available. She didn't know whether to be pleased or the opposite. He was intriguing at best, and she couldn't help finding herself visualizing his lean, well-toned body. She thought of the intense glint of seriousness in his lavender eyes, the constant knot of his brows, the whiteness of his teeth when he smirked or even grinned. She imagined what it would feel like to run her fingers through that sharp-looking hair. She could bet it was really very soft.

She shook herself, unsettled by the idea of that guy becoming the main subject of her fantasies. She had to remember that he was very rude, egotistical, and crude. It annoyed her to no end, how he had treated her simply because she had been defending his kindness over a text, which he shouldn't have been reading anyway. She had always told herself not to let boys take over her head, and if they should may it be someone like her brother. He was what she believed the epitome of what a guy should be. He was kind, considerate, and gentle. Like a knight in shining armor, just like what any girl would want.

She supposed she was setting her bar rather high with that statement, but she wanted to be happy, and from her childhood she could only ever remember Kaname being nicest to her. She wanted a guy like that, she knew it. But she didn't want Kaname himself. He was her brother, and that was one line she'd rather not cross, and she wasn't interested in him in that way; although it may have been true that she had a brother complex.

Soon Yuki found herself back in the courtyard, heading towards the main building and , ultimately, to Kaien so that they could go home after he was done with his work as a principal. The ground was dark and weighed down with moisture from a small rainstorm they had received earlier that day, the leaves which had fallen now gathered small puddles of water which reflected the grey, wispy clouds that hovered above.

She was excited to get home and get time to herself. She had been frazzled all week about her first day. Certainly she had spent many a day at the school with her father, but never had she been a student. Now that it was older she could relax and unwind her taught stomach and get rid of the butterflies. She may even be able to write a bit and pick up her dusty guitar. She had been neglecting any form of creativity for a while, thinking back it may have been a good stress reliever if she had just allowed herself to do something basic.

The brunette freshman sidled her way up to the chairman's office and was receives with a warm hug and a shower of questions that were perhaps a little too ecstatically asked. She answered them happily and gave back small hugs that could satisfy her adopted father and still leave her a bit of mature dignity. They stayed in the building for a good while, while Kaien reviewed paperwork and talked with a few teachers and other supervisors about business stuff and students. Kaien was a very hands-on type of guy. He liked to know everything there was to know about every person; students, teachers, and coworkers alike. He was not only a superior, but almost like a father of the people attending Cross academy. Needless to say, he had a huge heart to be able to give that much love. Yuki truly did think the world of him and her other father, but she would be damned if she let anyone know about it.

It began to get darker outside and a light rainfall began to sprinkle the ground again with silver droplets, the symphony it created was soft and subtle, drowsing and beautiful as a magical lullaby. This song signaled their departure, and it continued until they reached home.

They lived in a cozy two story house, off-white in color with dark brown shingles and window panes, and a dark green door. The yard was lined with well-tended greenery and a tangle of ivy from which small, white flowers bloomed, crawled it's way up a garden ladder that was placed against the face of the area was quant and lively, almost like something one would see from a fairytale, or at least that's what Yuki had always thought as a child when returning from school. At this time in the season the garden was not as fresh looking as it was in the summer or spring, but it still held more of a lush appearance than most of the other houses on their street.

Upon entering, they found that Toga had already left for the night, as was when he was typically off to who knows what. Yuki had always wondered what exactly Toga did for a living. When she was small she had always fantasized that he was some masked hero of the night, like batman. He was mysterious enough. But now she figured he just preferred his privacy, and whenever she asked Kaien he always just said Toga was part of a public defense corporation, but not the police. Toga always returned a little after midnight, slept until around seven, and left for work once more from then until around five. It was somewhere around nine tonight, so Kaien had missed their brief time between work hours. They took days off for themselves sometimes and went on trips so it wasn't that upsetting, but with how clingy the headmaster was, you'd think Toga had died.

"Oh, my love! Why must you leave so early and return so late? I know you have responsibilities to your work, but you have responsibilities to me too!" He cried to the empty house, as Kaname was also gone to his own devices with friends and school work and the like, he was very active in the school community.

Yuki rolled her eyes and sighed, setting down her book bag next to the stairs that led to her room. "It's only the first day of school Kaien, you knew you'd have to sacrifice the freedoms of the off seasons for this."

"I knooooooow…" Kaien moaned from the living room, where he had flopped onto the couch with a muffled thud. Yuki went into the kitchen and began making tea, choosing an earl grey bag to suite the day better. Kaien heard this and popped his head over the back of the couch, which was facing away from the kitchen. "Is my daughter planning on spending the night with her poor, distraught father? How thoughtful and kind that is of my sweet little pumpkin!" His eyes sparkled with a glow that was full of pride and gratitude. It was even impossible for her to turn down, despite her desire to crash in her room.

Yuki and Kaien spent a lot of the night sitting together with tea or some reheated soup for dinner, watching movies or TV shows that they both managed to find interesting in some way or another. Yuki listened to Kaien sob or laugh at different intervals, and did the latter herself a few times. She enjoyed her father's company more than she every dared let out. She did, however, hate it when he treated her like a toddler. Unfortunately those instances were often the ones to take place in public. She knew he cared about her, though.

It wasn't long before she retired to her room upstairs, which was adjacent to Kaname's. He still hadn't returned home yet, but his absence wasn't alarming in any way. He had long ago shed his curfew after turning eighteen. He was very responsible, and trustworthy, not to mention Kaien and Toga believed that young adults did have very busy lives. Their only rule was that he be safe and smart, and call if he got drunk (which so far he had never done, to their knowledge).

Entering her room, Yuki slumped on her bed, lying down so that her arms were spread eagle and her calves still hug off the side of the matress , allowing her bag to plop on the carpeted floor. She laid there for a while before shaking herself and grabbing a composition book. Ideas of lyrics and note compilations had been buzzing and strumming their melodies in her mind all day, all week, actually. So she was determined to get it all out right then and there.

Sitting cross-legged with her acoustic at the ready, the body of it in the nook created by her lap, she twisted the wires until they were in perfect tune. Her worn notebook lay open in front of her, a pencil in the book's crease. Satisfied, she began:

The music began soft and steady, rising and falling in octave as she went, it grew louder, louder, until finally the chords switched to simple, one-string notes. They were fast but soft, similar to the raindrops outside. She began using her voice, it's chime as sweet as bells, and a soprano.

Why does my heart beat so,

Every time I think of that moment

Your eyes, your smile

It's like a memory I can't grasp, yet will not leave me be

I don't know whether to love or hate this,

Does it even matter?

Just stay, a while,

You're like a memory I can't grasp, yet will not leave me be

…

She stopped, thinking of what she had just sung. She wondered of what could have inspired it, and all that could come to mind was the boy with silver hair, and lavender eyes.

Whelp, that's it! Hope you like it! Be sure to r&r and tell me if this is worth continuing.

(I know the song is very rough and not good at all, but I was thinking on my feet. I'll probably revise later.)

Thanks! ~xXDitDXx