A/N: The idea simply erupted into my brain, and I could not help, but write it. I dearly hope you will enjoy it~! ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight does not belong to me.

A Home To Belong

Lost, cold, and hungry – few words that described him as he walked across the street, eyes alert for the approaching vehicles, while in the meantime, searching for a place to spend the night; desperately craving for some form of warmth – any would do, he was not picky.

The night was crisp and lonely, the shop-lights were lit and taunting, hundreds of people continued to go from one place to the another, and yet, not one of them paid him even a pinch of attention to him, to his eyes, to the desperation he was emitting.

Growl, his stomach protested as the smell of meat made its way to his nose, and without a second thought, he followed the scent, as a sailor to the voice of a siren.

It was a restaurant, high-walled ceilings with crystal chandeliers, good food and diligent workers, and a place for the rich, someone which he was clearly not.

But even if he was of poor descent, he was about to stop at nothing to get what he wanted; what he desired – and that was his piece of delicious, juicy steak, preferably with bone intact.

The sole idea made his taste buds water with anticipation. Damn me.

With determined steps, he made his way to the back alley, and with vigor and small hands, he knocked the door, impatient for the woman to arrive with his dinner.

Almost instantly, the door barged opened, and cold eyes met his terrified ones. Not him, again.

Quickly turning around on his heels, he was about to make a run for it, but the man swiftly held him down him with a foot, crushing him roughly into the ground.

He winced at the sudden impact, his eyes glazing over with pain. Not again. Please spare me.

"You filth! I will erase you from existence! I hate you! I hate you!"

His tormentor raised his other leg, while still holding him down, and kicked his side with the tip of his boot – with no mercy; countless of times.

Pain, intense agony spread across every fiber of his body, and he whined more and more, a plead for the man to stop this unnecessary torture.

I will leave. I will never come back. So stop, please.

"You imbecile! How dare you come here again! I will kill you! I will kill you!"

His words were harsh, but the relentless kicks directed to his guts were even more of a torment.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

A woman, ash-blond hair and amber eyes, the person who usually fed him with kindness, came behind the man and wrapped her arms around him, to halt her boss from this madness; to prevent him from suffering further.

"Ruka! If you do not let go of me, you are fired! Do you hear me? You are fired!"

However, Ruka did not heed his words, and with apologetic eyes and a hurried voice, she shouted at him, "Hurry, my boy! Hurry!"

He did not need to be told twice. Limping, crawling, he made his way further into the dark alley, burgundy eyes remorseful as he eyed (from a safe distance) the kindhearted worker getting slapped roughly by the horrible man.

If only, he could save her, he would, if only he was a ...!

His body throbbed with agony, and with difficulty, he rested down on the concrete path, snarling softly as terrible pain shot right through him. He would be fine. Rest was what he needed. He would live...

"Oh dear, look who we have here with us."

A gang of three emerged from the shadows, teeth bared and eyes red with rage, and the leader, Aido Hanabusa, circled him with predatory intent, implanting more terror within his soul.

Not now! Not when I was this injured! Splendid, just great!

"Leave me alone, I have no business with you!" He exclaimed; voice calm despite his inner turmoil; eyes defiant and impassive as he stood up from his resting position, slowly backing away from them.

He would be damned if he showed his fear to the likes of them. He was better than that!

Or so he had thought. What a fool.

Hanabusa started stalking towards him, growling and baring his fangs towards him, in a show of intimidation – and to some extent, it worked, despite his chagrin.

"Moron, you are nothing more than a fool! We have not forgotten the loss you have caused us. You will pay with your life. You have some guts showing your face in our territory again! Last time, you escaped unharmed, but this time, you will not be so lucky! I will make certain of it."

He should have backed down, and yet, the only thing that left his mouth was, "Bring it, lowlife."

The following events were a blur, as the self-centered leader issued a threatening snarl, ordering his lackeys to attack him; to take his life.

With a muster of courage, he fought and fought until exhaustion and pain overwhelmed him suddenly, and with a disgrace, he fell down on his stomach. His nasty perpetrators took this as their chance, and bit his neck, gnawed his skin until bones showed, scratched his eyes, and then when they were satisfied, they left him for dead.

All this time, he was whimpering, growling for them to stop, crying out for help, as blood flew out of his battered body profusely, but as onlookers passed and stared at him with pity, none of them stopped to help him, none of them offered a word of comfort.

None of them thought he was worthy to be saved.

He was going to die – and once again, he would be alone, as the day he was born and abandoned cruelly to the world of humans.

If he could cry, he would, but unfortunately, his kind did not have the ability to sob, to mourn their loss; their pain.

He, and the rest of his species, were nothing but a filthy, unneeded trash of this world. This was why no one came for him. This was why he was left alone to die.

Please, Lord, if you hear me, if you exist, let me die quickly. This pain is unbearable, I cannot bear it anymore. All I want to do now is to leave this world of pain, of hunger, of loneliness. Help me, this one time, I beg of you!

But as time passed, his eyes were still open, his heart was still beating, his blood was still leaking, and there was no peace for him even in death. His creator had also abandoned him in his time of need. But why? What had he done to deserve this?

Rapidly and rapidly, he could not handle the pain a second longer, and as he was about to give up hope and close his eyes for the last time of his pitiful life, his vision was suddenly penetrated with soft light, accompanied by a pool of enchanting lavender.

"I will save you! Please don't close your eyes! Please stay with me!"

Words, filled with worry and urgency, was barely registered to his dying brain, but even then, he looked at his savior, showing his gratitude through his eyes as he was unable to utter them in human words.

He was too late to be saved, but he dearly hoped that his appreciation was noticeable enough through his bleeding eyes. If only he was a human...!

Amethyst orbs teared up as they stared at him, and the man held him close to his chest, cradling his battered body, planting fervent kisses on his forehead.

He wanted to tell him to stop, he was dirty, and bleeding, and soaking the man's pristine, white shirt with his tainted blood, but once again, he could not since he was nothing more than a filthy canine.

However, he was grateful for this man's kindness towards him, for the warmth he had been looking for his entire life. Someone cared for him enough to cry, and that was enough for him – absolutely sufficient.

Maybe, the Lord did exist to grant him this beautiful death in the arms of his angel. He was unworthy, and yet, he felt so damn happy.

He could finally leave this world in peace, in the warmth he has desired for, and with a small bark, he nuzzled his savior's chest in appreciation, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The next time, he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a white-ceiling, and with curious eyes, he looked around, puzzled with his whereabouts.

Across from him, there was a couch, cream-colored but inlaid with a fine green silk; leaves embroidered so delicately that they might have just sunk in; the white curtains were linen, the kind of white that was untouched by hands and devoid of dust. There was no computer, no television, but simply, a book-shelf that was situated beside a work table; cramped with countless of books, lined in the correct order.

As he glanced down, almost too curiously, the covers, that were gracefully draped over him, were a soft color of lavender with white orchids drawn over the plain of the soft fabric, and with delight, he snuggled into it, enjoying the warmth that it offered him.

In all, it was a room, very likely belonging to a human, but, despite the strangeness of residing in such a place for the first time, he felt refreshed, relaxed, and extremely calm.

Maybe, this was what heaven was – a beautiful room, with no worries, no anxiety, and a place where he would never have to hunger, or experience cold, or even feel lonely.

It was more of what he could have asked for, seriously.

"I am glad to see you awake. I told you I would save you, dear boy!"

A soothing voice, like melting honey, interrupted his musings, and with a flinch, he stared at the man, who was coming his way, a sweet smile plastered on his flawless features.

As an instinct, he crawled back into the safety of his blanket, cowering in fear; whimpering softly. Was he about to get hurt? Was this nothing more than a wishful illusion?

"Is this how you show your gratitude to someone who saved you? I am hurt."

The blanket was gently pulled away from him, and with another whimper, he trembled with fear, his ears flopping down to his sides, his eyes squeezed shut, but even when he was expecting a usual beating from someone of their kind, nothing of that sort actually happened.

Instead, a delicate hand rested on his head, gently stroking his fur, as well as the back of his ears; and the man apologized, kneeling down on the bed, fond amethyst eyes boring into his wide ones, "I am sorry if I scared you, I mean no harm, my dear boy." The caressing resumed, and he felt the tension; the terror sliding away from him slowly, and the man continued with his speech, voice softer than before, "My name is Kiryuu Zero. I am a veterinarian. And as you can see, this is my humble home, which I happen to be very proud of, so please feel at ease."

With hesitancy, he slowly raised his head up and eyed the amiable individual suspiciously – to figure out if the man held any malicious intent towards him, but as time progressed with no incidence, only kindness was shown to him, he realized that this person was not like the others – he was different.

Cautiously, and with a small bark, he crawled on the man's lap, nuzzling his head into his stomach; showing the vet that he had gained his hard-to-gain trust.

Kiryuu Zero, the person who had saved him from his deathbed and had kindly taken him into his household, chuckled over him and with gentle fingers, lifted him up, rubbing his nose against his smaller, more round one.

"Will you give me the honor to take care of you? To name you, my dear boy?"

Gentle amethyst orbs met his eyes, and his savior shot him a fond smile, a dimple decorating his right-cheekbone, and he, with twinkling eyes, gave the man an ecstatic bark, gently clawing his chest to show Zero-san that he accepted his offer.

Nodding his head, the smile on the man's face became more pronounced, and Zero-san held him close to his frame, laughing amiably as his chest was assaulted with another series of head-nuzzles.

"Welcome home, Kaname."

And with a loud, overjoyed bark, Kaname (wincing slightly since his body had to still recover but too excited to care) pounced on his new owner, licking all over his face playfully; happily.

At last, he found a home to belong to. He could ask for nothing more.

He was finally happy.

A/N: Yay, a happy ending~! I was planning on having Kaname die since the story was supposed to be sad, but that would have been too cruel, even for me! ╥﹏╥

But anyways, I hope reading this story was worth reading! (-'_'-) If I get inspiration, the next chapter will be from Zero's perspective and would also have some futuristic element with them being together as a family~! (^▽^)

Reviews/Feedback would be very appreciated~! I would like to know what you guys think. (◒‿◒)

Farewell for now, and take care! (^з^)-*:･ﾟ✧