a/n: In the manga, this scene made me blubber. I have always been a passionate fan of Zero+Yuuki, and the two of them walking away from eachother... after he finally kissed her... !!! *sob, sob*
If he squinted, then the impossibly long strands of her hair blended into her black uniform, and she almost looked like the old, human Yuuki. His Yuuki.
But she wasn't, he had to remind himself. She was a vampire, and he had given her his word that he would never let that happen. He had failed her, and even if it was the most hypocritical act he ever commited, he would free her from the monster that thing had turned her into. Not as a hunter, as her friend.
The hope was hard to kill. His fingers through her hair was natural, her shoulders fit against his arms in a way that made his chest tighten and his throat ache. A small, feeble voice muttered pitifully:
Maybe it can go back. Maybe she'll smile for me, again, and pester me about scowling all the time. Maybe I can protect her from all the nightmares and bad memories. Maybe we can go far away from all these enemies and monsters and be completely okay because it will be us and we'll be together. Like it should be.
That was wishful thinking. If it was just like it should be, his parents would never have been killed. They never would have met. He never would have felt...
He could see that she knew, and had to believe that her word meant she still cared, and her eyes were so familiar. Her expressions... they were composed, and unchanging. Just like Kaname's. There was life in her eyes, and in the blood that freshly bubbled against his lips, but her face was already molded into a final mask. It would remain until the day he caught up to her, and finished her.
Oh, well. Even if she already knew, he hadn't grabbed her close to leave it at that. He held her tightly and kissed her, and all the cold pieces of his heart froze together and made it that much easier to let go and push away.
Turning his back on that girl that he loved, with nothing but the promise of death, was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.
Although, with the taste of her blood still clinging to his lips and trailing a sticky line down his chin - it was almost as bad as listening to her footsteps in the opposite direction.