Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight and am making no money from this story.
As I mentioned in the summary, this is inspired by chapter 71; therefore, this story includes major spoilers up to that point. You have been warned...
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I can do this.
Yuuki tossed off her flowing pajamas and grabbed her school uniform.
I can do this.
It felt strange - the white uniform was so alike, yet so different than her black one. She tugged the last button through the hole on her jacket and spun around to glance in the mirror, forcing a serene smile that showed none of the maelstrom lingering in her heart.
I can do this.
Bending down, she pulled her shoes on and headed toward the door, pausing before opening it.
I can do this . . . for Kaname.
She smiled. Smaller this time, but a true smile. It still felt strange to leave off the -senpai, but considering his recent revelations, she owed him nothing less. Especially since he'd been asking for her to leave the title off since their move into the Kuran mansion last year.
Her smile faded and Yuuki took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I can do this. For humans. For vampires. Because Kaname believed in coexistence. Because Kaname still believes in coexistence.
She opened the door and slid out into the wide hallway, where Shiki was waiting with Rima at his side.
"Yuuki-sama," Rima drawled, her face giving away little of what she was thinking.
Yuuki shot a tight smile their way, nodding at Rima's address.
Shiki smiled at Yuuki, "Are you ready?"
"Yes," she replied with more confidence than she felt, "let's go."
It had been two weeks since the night class had started again, and Yuuki still couldn't shake the jitters of nervousness that gripped her every day when she woke up and remembered that she was alone, and Kaname was still nowhere to be found.
The three made their way out into the courtyard where the rest of the class greeted Yuuki with deference before gradually returning to their conversations.
"Aidou-senpai," she greeted him. While she could finally take off the honorific for Kaname, she had for the most part given up trying to not use it when addressing the rest of the night class; it was too ingrained in her, and although it sounded silly, she didn't really mind - it was one of the few things that remained the same from when she was human.
"Good morning, Yuuki-sama."
Yuuki had been watching Aidou carefully since their return to Cross Academy. There were no words to express how much she appreciated his help, but there were also no words to describe how guilty she felt about it. Since his father's death, Aidou's eyes were always glazed and half-lidded. Sometimes, Yuuki wasn't sure how he could stay in the same room as her, let alone stand by her side every day and pretend nothing was wrong, pretend that her fiancé hadn't killed his father.
She took her place in the midst of the night class group with Shiki, Rima, and Aidou as the doors opened.
There were a lot of things Yuuki dreaded lately, but this part of each day was the worst. She glanced up at Aidou walking sedatedly by her side, and once again internally cringed at the memory of his former enthusiastic greetings to the day class girls, who even now stood cheering along the path. In contrast, now he seldom cracked more than a smile.
Still, he walked on next to her. She didn't think she could ever begin to thank him for his unwavering loyalty.
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Yuuki's eyes flew open in the darkness of her room. The clock showed her that she had only been asleep for a few hours.
Confused, she sat up, wondering what disturbed her sleep. It took a few seconds before she felt it. Suddenly she doubled over, grasping her sheet with one hand and her throat with the other. Kaname. The burning tickle that had been at the back of her throat for days tripled in its demanding ache. Where? Where are you?
Her mind barely registered the slight click of the widow lock opening and the cool breeze that flowed in, signaling the coming of morning and the start of the day classes.
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He had to see her.
This wasn't part of his plan; he was supposed to stay away much longer, until things cooled down in vampire society and the hunters weren't as on edge. But then, Yuuki wasn't supposed to be moving quite as fast in repairing his latest escapade either.
With all the hunters nearby and the tenuous truce at Cross Academy, this was the last place Kaname should be, even with his limited time. Zero, for one, would shoot first and ask questions later, as would most hunters and quite a few vampires if he wasn't mistaken.
But this, he decided as he lightly closed the window behind him and drew aside the heavy curtain to cast the morning light on his fiancé, was worth it.
Poor girl, he thought as he glided through the room towards her, brows furrowing. Sometimes he forgot just how young she was.
"The blood tablets can be difficult to get used to," he spoke aloud.
Yuuki's closed eyes finally opened as she turned her head towards him.
"Kaname . . ."
Following the trail of light to the bed, Kaname kneeled down next to her. Her hair was disheveled from sleep and her eyes squinted in the sudden light, but she was just as beautiful as ever. He had missed her.
His hand reached for hers to unclench its hold on her sheet, and Yuuki's eyes filled with tears he brought it up to his lips. Her other hand trembled as it lifted to his face, brushing along the side of his brow as he leaned in to her touch.
"Kaname . . ."
"Yuuki," he murmured as he gathered her to himself, tugging at his collar in a silent offer.
She shook her head, face buried against his chest as she breathed deeply, taking in his scent. Kaname could hide his presence for now, but the moment someone smelled his blood . . . her head shook again.
Kaname made a grunt of disagreement above her, and before she knew it, her hair had been swept aside and she felt the sharp bite of teeth in her neck. Her eyes widened. Why . . . ?
"That will send someone running," he said, peppering her neck with kisses before pulling back. A quick flick of his hand locked the door, "That will not hold them long; we do not have much time."
Yuuki held his eyes for a moment, frowning at his trick before reciprocating. Like him, she drank little, pulling back just after the burning in her throat subsided. Kaname, I feel so weak when you're not here. I'm so lost. Everyone looks to me for direction, but I'm just as directionless as all of them! I'm trying, Kaname. I'm really, really trying. I hope it's enough.
Her hand held his like a lifeline as he leaned his forehead down against hers. Oh, Kaname. I miss you.
She knew their time was short, so she asked the one question she wanted most to know: "Why?" Why did you kill Aidou's father? Why not explain? Why disappear? . . . Why not tell me?
Yuuki watched as his eyes darkened and he shook his head in a refusal to answer. "Not yet, Yuuki. Soon, but not yet."
He squeezed her hand and brushed her wayward hair behind her ear, watching it tumble down her back. Although she bit her lip to stop it, her eyes filled with new tears nonetheless.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
"Of course," was her instant, watery, reply.
He leaned down to capture her lips. "I'm sorry, Yuuki."
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Yuuki jumped when the door rattled, "Yuuki-sama?"
"You have to go," she stated shakily, keeping her death grip on his hand.
"Yes," his eyes showed his regret.
She stood with him and walked back toward the window. Unlatching it with his free hand, he let the morning air back into the room.
"Kaname," she asked hesitatingly, taking a deep breath, "am I doing the right thing?"
He turned back to his small, beautiful fiancé, "Yes, Yuuki," he answered, "you're doing perfectly."
Reading the desperation for him to stay in her eyes, he tiled her chin up and wiped the last of her tears away.
"My brave, brave, girl," he intoned in a gentle voice, "I will be back soon," he said before leaning down to kiss her once more.
Yuuki could feel their time ending with Zero's terse voice on the other side of the door. The noise outside soon broke in and a mixture of hunters and vampires piled in the door - one party there to seize the vampire king, the other to protect him.
Yuuki felt Kaname break away and heard Zero's shout of, "Kuran!" before watching Kaname dissolve into a cloud of bats and scatter out the window, her hand stretching into the air to follow.
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The next morning, Yuuki repeated her mantra.
I can do this.
She tugged on her clothes and headed for the door, straightening her jacket.
I can do this.
She opened the door and slid out.
I can do this.
Instead of just Shiki and Rima, a small crowd had gathered to see her exit.
I can do this.
Yuuki politely nodded her greetings and continued walking.
They want information. They want to know he's coming back, but he's not.
I can do this.
In the courtyard, Yuuki spoke her first words of the day, "Good morning, Aidou-senpai."
"Yuuki-sama," he murmured. Like the rest of them, Aidou's gaze was different this morning. It was full of questions that no one dared to ask the pureblood princess.
She stood beside her friend for a moment before speaking again.
"Aidou-senpai . . ." If anyone, I owe at least Aidou some type of explanation . . .
Aidou's glazed, questioning eyes met Yuuki's.
"I'm sorry, Aidou-senpai," she began, her voice lowering, "he didn't tell me why."
Aidou met her gaze for a brief second before turning away, towards the opening doors.
"We should get going, Yuuki-sama."
"Yes," she replied, walking next to him. "Yes, we should."
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And there you go! Yet another Yuuki/Kaname fic. I seem to be writing a lot about these two lately while I'm waiting to see what exactly Kaname was thinking when he killed Aidou senior . . . and where he went. I also wanted to get Yori in here - I think she's going to be important later on in the story, now that we've been introduced to how important her father is - but *sigh* it didn't quite work out. Maybe I'll get around to a friendship fic sometime soon!
Apologies if there are any mistakes; I didn't edit this one as much as I normally do; please let me know if you find anything I should fix!
Thanks for reading; I love reviews like I love the sun in the sky! (i.e. - please review!)