Author's Notes - God, it's weird writing the word human in conjunction with Kaname...

And I can't help but feel this plotline is swiftly becoming ironic when you consider canon VK...

Thanks to everybody who reviewed, faved and alerted! (And those who may be following who did not review...)

Lost in the Night

-Chapter Two-

~Naught but Tears~

Kaien sighed heavily as he read the newspaper headline, which screamed in bold black writing; "Sixteen disappear in a single area - presumed dead". The ex-hunter promptly dropped said newspaper. He didn't need to look through it to know what the other headlines told him. "Missing." "Found dead." "No blood left in corpse."

He looked up and was unsurprised to see Zero looking at him expectantly.

'They're building an army,' the hunter stated bluntly, convinced with his own logic.

'We don't know that, Zero. It might just be-'

'They are building a friggin' army, Chairman.' The younger hunter watched impassively as his guardian's lips tightened into a thin line.

'I'm not the Chairman, Zero. Not anymore. After all,' he grimaced as he spoke. 'There would have to be something for me to be Chairman of.'

After the death of the pureblood princess Yuuki Kuran, and the presumed death of her brother and fiancé Kaname Kuran, there was no longer anybody left to support the co-existence scheme, and quickly the idea fell through altogether. It was decided by the re-established Senate that they had taken after their parents, and "tragically" took their own lives. As a result, Cross Academy was shut down and purebloods were placed under greater "safety precautions". The vampires did still maintain their treaty with the humans, but as human numbers began to dwindle, the relationship between the two races worsened.

The aristocrats that had once been a part of the Kuran's inner circle had been arrested under suspicion of murder, one or two were presumed dead and according to rumour one had been cleared and released. One was under custody of pureblood vampire Sara Shirabuki.

Glancing around, Kaien had to wonder why in order to make important decisions that would affect all their lives, they had to do so in a dingy, run down little café. Still, it was quite crowded inside, and the noise and… unpleasant odours would keep any vampires away.

He picked at a layer of grime on the rim of his mug of (yet untouched) coffee. …Or what he was told was coffee, anyway. Not even his cooking was this bad.

The two men sat in silence for a while before Kaien spoke up again. 'You're certain she said she was coming?'

'Yeah,' said Zero, glaring darkly at nothing in particular. As the words left his mouth, the two hunters felt the familiar aura of a vampire brush their consciousness. Glancing up, Kaien spotted a familiar young woman walking towards them, a perpetually irritated expression on her face as she tucked a lock of silky blonde waves behind her ear.

There were probably many reasons for her irritation. For starters she was outside in broad daylight surrounded by noise and disruption she probably hadn't seen for ages, since she'd been imprisoned in her own home. Of course, another source of irritation for her might just be her grimy surroundings that she had to wear trainers, worn jeans and a baggy t-shirt. Honestly!

The former chairman smiled faintly as she made her way over to them. 'It's nice to see you again, Ruka-chan.'

Ruka Souen's lips twitched slightly at the corners, which was the closest thing she could probably get to a smile in current circumstances. As the muscles of her face shifted, Kaien couldn't help but notice with a frown the fading scars littered about her face.

'I see you at least made an effort to seem inconspicuous, Souen-san,' said Zero. His expression and tone remained unreadable, but Ruka shot a glare at the hunter as if he were clearly implying otherwise.

'Unlike you, Kiryuu-san. You're far too tense to seem natural, particularly with that predatory aura you're exuding,' she sneered. She had just lived through eight months of pure hell, being tortured and maimed in her own home. She hadn't seen Hanabusa or anybody else for seven of those months and Akatsuki... She was becoming increasingly worried for him. When she had last seen him... A shudder ran down her spine at the thought.

At least he's probably better off than Seiren. Thinking about Seiren and what happened to her made her sick, particularly when her thoughts moved on to Hanabusa. Seiren had reacted violently when they had insulted her with suggestions of her role in the Kuran's deaths, and when they started to question her about the Kuran's affairs...

They were still cleaning that room. Thank God vampires deteriorated after death, because Ruka didn't want to know what they did to Seiren before her death.

Please, please, if there is a higher power, don't let Hanabusa die like Seiren did...

...don't let anybody else die like Yuuki Kuran and... Ruka felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes at the thought of Kaname-sama. Perhaps that was why she was so angry with Kiryuu. The way he sat there, his eyes and words giving away nothing of his thoughts... it reminded her so much of Kaname.

The noble woman blinked as she saw something with pink floral patterns dance in front of her face. Blinking again she realised it was a handkerchief. Kaien Cross' handkerchief.

She was crying.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Ruka accepted the proffered cloth with an attempt at a polite smile of gratitude. It came out a shaky grimace instead, as soft sobs began to shake her somewhat frail body.

This was ridiculous! She had already spent an entire month crying her heart out. She should be working on saving her friends, not wallowing in self-pity like a weak human girl!

Kaname-sama would have gotten it done.

Ruka felt her resolve harden as that thought entered her mind. Sitting up straight she faced the two hunter's watching her, her normally soft caramel eyes steely.

'You asked me here to discuss whatever I've learnt about the Senate's plans, am I right?' she asked.

Had Ruka been anything other than a vampire, Zero would have acknowledged the flicker of respect that formed within him. Kaien, on the other hand wasn't as prejudiced against vampires and openly acknowledged his respect, smiling encouragingly at the young blonde woman. He almost wished he could tell her about Kaname, but it was currently too risky to breathe a word to anybody. The only people who knew the former-pureblood's secret were himself and Zero, and for now that was how it had to remain.

'Let's start with…'

|X-X-X|

'Who are you…?' he called out into the fog. 'Where are you, what are you, and what do you want with me?'

What do you want with me? It sounded like a line from a clichéd horror film. But standing outside with the icy winter wind roaring in his ears, blasting him with a flurry of snow while he struggled in vain to see through the thick white fog around him - he felt like he was in one.

It seemed like reality, the bite of the frozen gale was evidence enough of that, but he was dreaming, he knew that much. Just like he knew he'd stand out here screaming for something to show itself until he'd hear the sound of...

Sobbing.

Somebody was crying, a woman. He could hear the soft hitching of her breath. Turning on his heel he looked behind him, and felt the familiar sensation of his heart skipping a beat.

He knew she'd be there. She was always there. Whenever he slept or closed his eyes, she'd be there at the back of his mind, shrouded in fog. Like an important memory he'd forgotten...

She stood there, a black silhouette in the vast white, watching him. He couldn't see her eyes, but he could feel them burning into his soul with the misery and longing.

His heart beat erratically in his chest, but not from fear. No. Never fear. He knew instinctively he'd never fear this woman, whoever or whatever she was...

'Kaname...' Her voice was a distorted whisper, he couldn't hear her voice as she spoke, but he recognized it somehow. Like some kind of pseudo-logic that he couldn't possibly begin to understand.

He reached out to her, walking forwards. At the same moment she lifted her arm, her hand reaching out for him. As he approached her the fog thinned, and things became clearer. Memories and knowledge that danced on the edge of his memories edged closer.

This woman... her name, her significance... it was all becoming clearer...

Then he saw her face. A heart-breaking, yet unbelievably tender smile spread across her features.

Twin trails of crimson liquid tracked down her cheeks.

Tears of blood...

'Sleep a little longer yet...' she whispered, still smiling sadly.

Kaname woke up with a small scream, sitting bolt upright with his arm outstretched. The human blinked for a moment, wondering why the room seemed to be blurring. Then he noticed the warm tears running down his cheeks.

Damn it! He'd fallen asleep again... and Kaien had asked him to do the grocery shopping as well.

Sighing he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the sofa, glancing around blearily in his search for the clock.

She said the same things every night, and he woke up with the same reaction. He'd woken up from almost every dream like this crying like his heart was breaking - which is what it felt like. Actually he woke up from all his dreams and started crying, humiliating though it was.

"Sleep a little longer yet..." Did the woman in his dreams have something to do with his lost memories? And Kiryuu-sama?

Kaname blushed as he realised that once again he had called Zero, "Kiryuu-sama" in his head.

Before he could think any further on the matter he head the clicking of the front door, followed by Kaien's voice.

'I'll go and sort the paperwork. You could wait in the living room, if you want.'

Before Kaname could react, the living room door swung open, revealing a tall blonde woman. Brown eyes met gold, and the woman's eyes widened almost comically in shock.

Kaname, unsure what to make of the woman's reaction, decided that being polite was probably the best course of action at the moment. 'Good evening,' he said.

The woman screamed.