Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight nor am I in anyway affiliated with it.
Author's Note: Sorry about the 2 month wait. I was busy with high school (I graduated at the end of March) and now I'm getting ready to move at the end of the month. After I move and everything's settled down, updates should be more regular, like once or twice a month depending on my schedule. Without further ado... Please enjoy the chapter!
Ever since Hanabusa had left, Yuki had holed herself up in her room. She spent the slowly passing days either on the floor or on her bed. The brunette barely had the will to move. Yuki knew that a pureblood shouldn't act so pathetic, but she felt truly alone. After she had been changed back into a vampire, she had had to leave everyone and everything she had known from her human life and now she didn't have anyone to talk to since they had all left. Kaname had gone off to pursue his original goals, she wasn't entirely sure what they were. Ruka and Akatsuki had went to search for her brother because she had asked them to. Hanabusa was someplace no one knew and she wondered just where he had ran off to. Yuki had absolutely no idea where any of them were but she only had the means to contact Ruka and Akatsuki, but she hadn't even felt like trying to call them.
Yuki laid on the white plush carpet and looked up at the white ceiling with a blank expression on her face. Her long brunette hair was splayed around her small form. Yuki's arms were laying horizontal from her body and her legs were out diagonally, much like a child who was in mid-swipe while making a snow angel. The pureblood's already pale skin looked sickly, as if she was slowly dying. Dark circles marred the space directly under her cinnamon eyes giving her a beaten look.
Yuki smelled the water from the snow and instantly guessed that there was more falling since it had gotten more prominent in the area. She continued to blankly stare at the ceiling and mentally saw the snow cover the roof. The brunette slightly wished it would break the ancient ceilings and completely cover her body. Despite her wishful thinking, she knew that it would never happen since the Kuran mansion was built to last and would only somehow be destroyed by a fire, an attack from the hunters, or an attack from an army of vampires. Yuki knew that the fire wasn't probable since, no matter what a pureblood's specialty was, it could be put out. An attack from the hunters also probably wouldn't happen since they had no reason to attack the peaceful Kurans. She thought that an attack from other vampires was a possibility since there were those who wanted the blood of the Kuran family for themselves and, if they got ambitious enough, they'd surely try it.
Yuki was so lost in her thoughts and detached from reality that she didn't even sense a presence inside the mansion. She didn't hear the door to her room open or the soft gasp. The quick footsteps and the face staring worriedly down at her didn't even register in her mind at all. "Yuki-sama," a concerned voice entered her ears. "Yuki-sama!"
The blurry world she had grown accustomed to slowly came into focus. "Ruka...-san," her voice was hoarse due to the days of unuse.
"What are you doing on the floor," Ruka's dusky rose eyes were filled with worry and it almost looked like she was about to die from the shock of finding Yuki on the floor.
"I didn't feel like getting up," Yuki innocently yet monotonously replied. "So that you don't worry even more, I wasn't attacked." The brunette slowly sat up. "Where's Akatsuki-san?"
"He's still searching for Kaname-sama," she averted her gaze to the floor at the pureblood's side.
"It's alright," Yuki picked herself up off the carpet. "What are you doing here?"
Ruka looked directly at Yuki with a shocked expression on her face. She hadn't expected to be asked that question. "We thought it would be best if someone came to check up on you and Hanabusa," she reluctantly answered. "Akatsuki thought it would be better if he continued searching since, out of the two of us, he is the best tracker."
Yuki nodded in understanding and felt Ruka's eyes on her, it made her slightly uncomfortable. She could almost hear the other girl's shrill yelling about her appearance. The brunette just knew that she'd be scolded for looking so disorderly.
A soft sigh escaped Ruka's lips and a gentle expression replaced the shocked one. "Come on, Yuki-sama." She moved over to the brunette's vanity and pulled out the mahogany chair for her. The young woman patiently waited beside the chair as Yuki slowly walked over to it and sat down. Ruka adjusted the chair so that Yuki could see herself in the mirror before she picked up one of the many brushes that laid on the vanity's wooden surface. She softly ran it through the younger girl's hair. Whenever the brush hit a tangle, Ruka gently removed it from Yuki's hair. "When was the last time you brushed your hair?" The aristocrat's voice was on the verge of being motherly.
"To be honest," Yuki paused for a few moments. "I'm not sure."
Ruka forced herself not to sigh and managed to keep her expression neutral as she continued to move the brush through the pureblood's hair. "You have to take care of yourself," she placed the brush back on the vanity. "No matter what's happened."
Yuki refused to look at her only female companion, instead she focused her gaze on her lap. Her long lashes covered her cinnamon eyes, slightly hiding the expression inside them from Ruka. Yuki's face gave away all her emotions though. She looked positively hopeless and depressed.
Ruka had a feeling that if Yuki could simply give up, she probably would. The aristocrat knew that the brunette would stay alive, or awake, as long as she was made to take over Kaname's duties. Ruka inwardly sighed since she felt that it was unfair for the inexperienced girl to have so much responsibility suddenly thrust upon her. She had absolutely no idea why her cousin would just up and leave Yuki when it was a difficult time for the both of them. If she had to guess, she'd say that Hanabusa didn't want to be around anything, or anyone, that reminded him of Kaname and what had happened.
Ruka looked at Yuki's despondent face in the mirror and wished that she could do something to help, but knew that the one the girl really needed wouldn't be coming back for awhile. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he would ever return to the brunette's side. The aristocrat had no idea what would happen, but she knew that she had to help in anyway she could.
"Yuki-sama," her voice was soft. "I'll stay by your side until he comes back."
"No," Yuki responded almost immediately.
"But, Yuki-sama," Ruka attempted to argue. "It's my du-"
"No, Ruka-san," she got off the chair and walked over to her bedroom door. "Your job is to help Akatsuki-san find Onii-sama." The brunette turned the brass knob and pushed the door open.
Ruka looked at Yuki with sorrowful eyes and a frown on her lips. She couldn't believe that she was being ordered to leave when the brunette clearly needed someone. "Yuki-sama..." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I'll be fine," she moved away from the doorway in order to allow Ruka to leave. "It's not that bad... Being alone..." Yuki stood at the window with her back to the other young woman. Her head was directed at the ground, her long locks nearly hid the fact that she was hugging herself. "So go help Akatsuki-san." She wrapped her arms tighter around herself in hope of being comforted. "Bring Onii-sama back." Yuki's voice was cracking and it was obvious to Ruka that the pureblood was about to cry. "Please, Ruka-san." She slowly relaxed her arms and placed them back at her sides. Yuki turned around and faced Ruka with teary eyes. "Do this for me."
Ruka almost gasped as a tear made its way down Yuki's cheek. She managed to keep her expression neutral and looked the brunette straight in the eye. "Call if you ever need anything." Yuki nodded in response. "Akatsuki and I will bring Kaname-sama back... No matter what it takes." Ruka bowed to the pureblood.
"Thank you, Ruka-san," Yuki's voice was filled with gratitude. "Thank you."
Ruka straightened, turned towards the door, and left. Yuki went back to facing the window and looked out at the pure white scenery. She watched the snowflakes dance to the ground and land gracefully on the snow that had already piled up.