Disclaimer: Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino and this work is not meant to make any profit of the franchise.

Author's note:

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first Vampire Knight fanfic. I hope to stay as true as possible to canon characters even with mine thrown in, but please let me know if I'm crossing the line too much. Hope everyone enjoys the reading and thank you very much in advance for any reviews/critiques.

May contain: Blood/Gore, MaleXMale pairings. The course of happenings may differ slightly from the anime/manga.

Many thanks to: My Beta-reader, EzmeAG98 at Deviantart.

Chapter 3 – Obeyed or Overthrown?

Not long after the arrival, the chairman had provided help to carry the visitors' luggage from the carriage to the tack room and a room he kept prepared at the Night Class Teacher's dorm. It wasn't very big or overly adorned, but looked comfortable enough with an inviting bed and all the furniture he would need.

As Luc arrived in the room, it was about time to start unpacking and tidying everything in their places. Curious about the stranger, Yuuki offered herself to lend a hand with the unpacking. Zero should already be off on his prefect duties, so she could afford to spend a bit more of time with them for surveying the duo.

Despite having announced he was simply passing through, Astaroth carried an extensive amount of luggage with him. Most of it was clothing and Yuuki was surprised to find out many weren't exactly the latest fashion products the Night Class students usually sported besides their school uniforms.

Luc scattered some pictures, fitted inside nice frames, over a small table near the bed, placing them one by one. The master would later arrange them at his liking, but for now, the vampire watched Yuuki, smiling at her wonder, despite she had not said a word. She would take an outfit from the case and examine it for a couple of moments with either a confused look or an admiration glance, and then would put it away carefully in the wardrobe. Colourful vests with rich patterns and pants that were simply tied with buttons or sashes emerged from the suitcases one after the other, not to mention the long baroque coats and soft ribbons with which he would occasionally tie his hair. As for shoeing, two pairs of riding boots were all he had on sight.

Then she looked at the sober way Astaroth was dressing at the moment. Much more sober than of his servant, right beside him.

- I am sorry to disappoint you, my dear. – the vampire explained – This is simply my travelling outfit. When I'm at home I like to dress with more elegance.

Yuuki blushed at him noticing her not so inconspicuous rummaging.

- W-well, I...

He didn't seem angry or annoyed in the least, judging by the way he smiled at her.

- You don't need to apologize. We've all been children once, yes?

As Luc and Yuuki were finished with the tidying, Astaroth was now sitting on a small stool, cleaning his skin, because now that he could look himself in the mirror closely, it actually looked a bit worn down by the journey. That and perhaps the nasty black pudding he had at the airport. Hopefully, the blood he had just ingested would soon make its way thorough his system and make it look as soft and lovely as ever. That was the problem with older vampires, he thought, they should regularly be on the watch for skincare. Or at least in Europe they did. Japan wouldn't probably be way behind that mark too, judging by the colossal make-up industry that had grown within the country. One of the most well-developed in the world, he was told.

- Well, I hope the stay room is at your liking, d'Arcy-san. – Yuuki said, trying to make up for her earlier curiosity.

- Oh yes, very nice. – replied the vampire while adjusting a new couple of handcuff buttons to his shirt's wrist.

Luc carefully brushed his master's auburn locks and as if he was still trying to break the ice, Astaroth decided to turn the conversation other way.

- Oh, have you met my petit valet Luc? He takes care of me.

He said that with a tiny hint of pride in his voice and smile, while the boy replied sweetly while rubbing his shoulder, slightly worried.

- We met a few minutes ago, remember master? By the carriage…?

Astaroth showed a confused expression for a moment, probably due to his malnutrition.

- Oh… there you go then, that's nice.

- Is there anything I can get you, d'Arcy-san? Anything you'd like?

The girl expected a polite refusal, but the vampire seemed to hesitate for a moment as if thinking about it. In the end, he straightened up his back in the chair and lifted his glance at Yuuki.

- …Yes. I would like to speak to Chairman Cross.

Yuuki thought that whatever it was the new guest had to say to the chairman, it looked important, judging by his tone, and asked him to follow her towards Kaien's office.

Cross had excused himself earlier during the guests' settling in operation, allegedly to be off to his office and work a little more just before going to bed. He held a pen in his hand, but the blank sheet of paper was still lying in front of him ever since he sat down. And blank it rested. A letter was probably in the making, but Kaien knew Astaroth well enough to know it would be a hard task to sugar-coat any of the vampire's deeds.

The chairman reflected for a bit in the cold silence of the building, but not even his warm shawl seemed to offer a bit of comfort. The war waging in Europe, Astaroth's despair and his misbehaving conduct... would they be enough to argue his (hopefully temporary) inability to adapt to the Japanese law and bargain his freedom and well-being with Kaien's superiors? The situation was complex and the letter to the Hunter Society would have to wait.

The sound of the door's latch brought him back from his thoughts.

- Chairm... I mean, otou-san... D'Arcy-san is here to see you. We knocked, but you didn't answer... – said Yuuki entering the room meekly with the visitors right behind her.

- Thank you for your hard work, sweetie. – Kaien smiled at her as if there wasn't a single trouble bothering him.

- I'll be checking the perimeter outside with Zero then. – she announced, believing the chairman would want some privacy with his guests.

Kaien nodded, pleased with her resolution, and she took her leave right after.

When Yuuki finally closed the door, Kaien took a moment to look at his old friend's valet. Through a cold eye, he still seemed eager to shadow his master's every step.

- So I see you still keep a live-in servant.

- Of course. It wouldn't be of much use to me if I kept a dead one, yes? – the vampire chuckled at his own joke in a carefree way.

- You certainly haven't changed one bit, Astaroth.

- Well, how could I Kaien? It's our nature. – he replied, placing a hand on his own chest – Hm, but then again, you never know.

- Tell me, what did change? – asked Kaien using a graver tone - I thought you'd want to spare the little one to this kind of conversation but…

- Oh Luc is at that very special age when a boy only has two things on his mind.

- I know. – Kaien bent slightly to Luc's level - Girls and booze, right?

- Homicide and torture.

The servant's reply was monochordic, but he seemed to be honest about it. It wouldn't be too hard to guess the reason though. On one occasion, Astaroth had mentioned he kept a servant that had grown up with him. If Luc was the one he was talking about, then for some reason the boy couldn't age or die. Humans tend to be dynamic in nature and character, so an abnormally long lifespan, more than making one's existence dull, for someone like Luc was a downright hassle. The same fact, however, could in turn become a hassle for Astaroth himself because of the attitude his servant was prone to get sometimes. On the other hand, the response could simply be the result of the education Astaroth had given him.

- So I see. – for some reason, the chairman thought it would be better to leave the boy alone for a while. He shouldn't be too happy being dragged to what seemed one more of his master's crazy enterprises.

- Speak frankly Kaien. I can assure you what is heard here will not be repeated, trust me.

- Very well, but you still haven't answered my question, Astaroth. What did change?

Astaroth took a deep breath.

- I came back to ask for your help. My country is in disarray, and you're the only one I could think about all this time.

- Your letter doesn't make much sense, Astaroth. You speak ill of the Order of the Dragon, but as far as I know it is there to prevent these kind of disputes. Why would it allow them?

- Because they can make profit out of it. The households are weakened by the blitzkrieg the rebels are able to make, and when the three princes fall it will be easier for the Order to crush the rebels, dismember the mainlands and take them for its corrupt knights. It's been many centuries since the Order died out in sight of humans. But it still lives for us vampires. My father felt something had become rotten within their ideals and left the Order so he could follow his own path, as did many other princes. Here and there, uproars started everywhere among our people and the princes that are left lack the power to subdue them.

- What?

- You're an adept hunter Kaien, the best. Vampires everywhere tremble upon hearing your name. If you're by my side, your fame and power would be of utter importance to our cause. I'm sure that together we'd be able to crush the rebellions and dismantle the Order by shedding some light on what they are doing. My family is doing what they can and I promised them that I would get them help.

Kaien looked skeptic.

- And how do you intend to do that?

Astaroth seemed surprised at the question.

- How else? Revolution! Open war!

- Blood in the streets… you say.

- At least that would be a change!

The chairman was shocked at the request. Even if it was too risky, as a friend he wanted Astaroth's happiness, but not by such means. Was he ever tired of having his hands smeared in blood?

- You can't ask me to do such a thing, I cannot!

The vampire showed his fangs and hit both his palms against the top of Kaien's desk. The violence of the gesture mirrored his state of mind quite closely.

- Authority must be obeyed, or it must be overthrown! – He growled his demand - The hunt of humans by these rebels has been indiscriminate, and the Order that does nothing about it! Every night we're out fighting for less and less food. If you don't help me, we're all going to starve!

It was hard arguing with Astaroth simply by the fact in Europe things were still different. Probably the richest families would be able to import the Japanese blood tablets, but most still didn't have access to them or refused them blatantly. Despite the hunt thrilled many, most of the civilized vampires solved the problem by taking a regular, willing human donor as a companion that would feed them from time to time, which allowed access to fresh human blood without the need to molest the surrounding population.

It was now becoming obvious Astaroth had come back for cannon fodder to his cause, and Kaien would never allow it.

He knew Astaroth didn't want the power for himself, simply a harmonious existence. In that point, he and Kaien were the same. But at what cost? What price would Astaroth be willing to pay for such harmony?

- It can be done! You know it can, or else you hadn't built this school!

- I'm simply trying to hold them back. And I know that in the possibility of an attack I will have capable students willing to fight for that peace you talk about. It's a comfort. But a fragile peace is all we can sustain.

Astaroth fell to one of his knees as if he felt weak from malnourishment.

- Kaien, you know I am not accustomed to beg…

- My answer is still "no". I won't take part on that violence.

The hunter could feel the tension in the vampire's body, a fearsome thing to behold if he attacked out of anger.

- Astaroth, I know your temper.

- And so you beckoned me into your school so you could restrain me? – He hissed.

- I brought you in so I could give you hope!

Knowing that Kaien was reacting that way because he was concerned about him, it would be both useless and foolish to keep putting up an argument, so Astaroth got up and let himself fall down on the couch in a sitting position, looking a somewhat lost, yet in obvious distress, hiding his face between his hands. How could he go back home empty handed?...

- "Hope"... How could there be hope if while I'm trapped here with no solution, my homeland is being torn apart by scoundrels and thieves and my people starve under the Order's indifference...? There's no way out. I need you to join me in this fight. Believe me, I wouldn't be asking it if it weren't really necessary, but…

Luc observed everything quietly with a frown and his arms crossed. Even if both of the adults kept similar creeds and convictions, they were indisputably in opposite sides of the board.

But the headmaster still knew how to get to his old friend's heart. He sat down as well, close to the vampire and placed a warm hand over his shoulder.

- Astaroth listen, you're an equestrian, a brilliant equestrian. Why don't you make it count? Spend some time here with us, just until you are able to figure things out properly. And while you're at it, well, I've been looking for a horsemanship instructor. I thought you could fill that spot for me, just in the meantime.

- You mean work? You've got to be kidding me. – he replied in disbelief – What are you talking about? I don't work!

- Take it as a punishment then. – Kaien replied with a smile – Teach them everything you know, maybe at some point you will find something that will fit you as a reward.

The vampire went silent, seemingly acquiring a calmer stance, until he eventually got up.

- But remember one thing, Astaroth. If you're going to stay you're going to play by my rules. If you give any thought to it you'll realize it's for your own safety as well.

There really wasn't much room for negotiation if he wanted to stay, that was the type of man Kaien was.

- Very well, I'll do as you say.

When the vampire finally left the study, Kaien let himself fall on the couch, drained of energy, and covered his eyes with a hand.

It had started to rain.

...Continues...

Author's note:

Despite the fact I'm twisting reality a bit, the Order of the Dragon really existed, and though it hardly had any vampire members, it's funny that one of its founders was the father of Vlad Tepes, the Impaler (mostly known as Dracula).

Check the details here: wiki/Order_of_the_Dragon

As for my version, I'll write more about it in later chapters ^^