The Winter Chill

Chapter 4
A Strangely Informative Encounter

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight is property of Matsuri Hino.

Chapter Summary: While Kaname, Zero, and Kaien deal with the aftermath of Zero's lapse in control, Yuuki must deal with an encounter unexplainable.

Yuuki was back in that bare room again…only this time she was alone. There were no smiling figures and no Kaname. She was by herself on that beautiful couch. 'Alone,' Yuuki thought, looking up at the beautifully decorated ceiling. It wasn't difficult for Yuuki to remember how much she hated the feeling. She had never had many friends, but she'd made certain that she was never completely alone. For the last ten years, she'd had Zero, Kaname, Yori, and the Headmaster to keep her fear of being alone at bay. It was a strange experience to be alone now. She tensed when she registered a quiet sob from behind the door. 'Or maybe not so alone…' She realized as she stood from the couch and made her way to the door. The being inside continued to cry. 'It sounds…like a child,' she realized. Recalling the Level E child that had been in town square, she reached automatically for Artemis. She brushed the thick fabric of her grey sweats. She sighed. 'Right.' She was still in her sweats and her tank top. This was a dream. 'Whatever is beyond this door…I can't control it.' With that thought in mind, she grasped the doorknob and opened it.

The little child inside gasped and jumped back against the wall. Yuuki blinked down at the girl who was barring her fangs defensively. The girl's wide reddish brown eyes blinked back up at her. Yuuki's lips fell open. It wasn't hard for Yuuki to recognize the little girl. She had seen that tiny face in the mirror over a hundred times. The child huddled in the corner of the closet was herself. 'But…why do I have fangs?' A look of confusion washed over the little girl's face. She loosened her tense body and straightened up. Her mouth closed; her fangs went back into hiding. Yuuki crouched down in front of the girl and simply stared for a moment. 'Is it simply an act of my subconscious? Am I channeling my recent thoughts of becoming a vampire onto the littler version of myself? No. That would be so messed up! I know if certain that I wouldn't do that…So…what is this?' Yuuki was startled out of her thoughts by a touch on her chin. She blinked and brought the young child back into the focus. Child Yuuki lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and moved her hand upward to her lips.

"You are me," the little girl acknowledged. Child Yuuki parted her lips with her tiny finger. Despite having a finger in her mouth, Yuuki's eyes widened in shock. In all of the dreams she'd had, none of the figments had been able to talk to her like this. There was a sense of awareness about the young girl. It was as if she were really here with Yuuki instead of a figment of her imagination, but that was impossible. Yuuki was certain that she was asleep. "But you don't have fangs," she continued as she poked around in Yuuki's mouth. Yuuki gently grasped the little girl's wrist and guided it down between them. Child Yuuki tilted her head cutely and asked, "Why don't you have fangs?"

"Because I'm human," Yuuki answered. 'Such a strange question from myself,' Yuuki thought. Child Yuuki pursed her lips. A look of pure confusion swept across her pretty face. Yuuki once again noticed the tears on her cheeks. "Why were you crying? Did something happen?" At the question, the little girl furrowed her brows. She seemed to be wracking her brain in an effort to remember.

"Something bad happened…" Yuuki froze as a feeling of fear swept through her. "A scary man came...he made mother and father angry…he hurt father…" Little Yuuki began to shake. Yuuki reached out and opened her arms to the smaller version of herself. The smaller version stepped into the circle of her arms. Yuuki gave a quiet gasp as the little girl's memories translated into her own mind. She saw the buttons on someone's shirt as he cradled her to his chest. "And my Onii-sama left me to go help father. He…left me with mother…" Yuuki's heart froze as she saw Kaname. She saw Kaname walked away. She reached for him despite the arm around her waist and screamed for him, but she didn't scream his name. She screamed brother. "But mother isn't here…" Yuuki saw a familiar flash. It was the woman with dark red hair. Yuuki could see her eyes now. They were the same shade as her own. Yuuki swallowed.

"Wha…What was that?" Yuuki whispered. The child version of her was quiet as if she were trying to process it too.

X

Kaname blew in through the front door. Immediately, he was assaulted by the overwhelming smell of his dear girl's blood. For a moment, he was completely staggered by it. His eyes, immediately reddened by the scent of her blood spilt, locked on the closet door. He could sense that the blood had been split inside that little room. He narrowed his eyes as his mind quickly put the pieces together. Even in his panic, he had sensed no intruder. Yuuki was attacked by someone in the home. The door to the closet was demolished as his powers lashed out in his anger. 'Kiryuu.'

"Kaname!" He heard Kaien call urgently from upstairs. Kaname forced his rage down for the moment and ran upstairs. The door to Yuuki's room was opened a crack; he pushed it open the rest of the way and stepped inside. What he saw almost brought him to his knees. If it weren't for the sound of Yuuki's heartbeat; he would have thought she were dead. He moved immediately to her side, ignoring Kaien speaking. He peeled the bloody bandage around her throat back. A lamp in Yuuki's room exploded as he looked down at the vicious tearing. He hissed angrily as he looked at the still bleeding wounds. 'He will pay for this,' Kaname promised as he tenderly brushed the hair surrounding the wound away. He leaned down. Being so close to her open, bleeding wound caused his eyes to flash red with hunger, but he pushed it aside. His dear girl had been hurt enough today. He would not make it worse. He was no animal.

He pressed his lips to the wound. Yuuki gave a quiet noise and tilted her head a little more to the side. Kaname glanced up at her jaw. It made his heart skip slightly to see her baring herself so vulnerably; he hadn't even began to heal her yet and already his lips gave her comfort. He pushed that little enjoyment aside and focused on making her better. She sighed as the wound closed. 'Even in sleep, it gave her pain.' He realized. He didn't remove his lips until the wound was closed. Then, glaring down at the scar it left, he pressed his lips to her neck again. He heard Kaien's heart give a small jump. Kaname kept his lips on her neck until the memory of Zero's teeth were erased from his precious girl's neck. He stood up stiffly.

"Kaname….you've got…" Kaien trailed off. He didn't want to say that Kaname had Yuuki's blood on his lips. That would make Zero edgy and he wanted to keep the two vampires apart for as long as he could. Kaien could see the rage burning just underneath the surface. Kaname would kill Zero if they encountered one another right now.

Kaname closed his eyes. He could smell Yuuki's blood against his lips; he was sorely tempted to dart his tongue out to taste it, but he knew what a horrible idea that would be. Just a little taste wasn't enough to satisfy him. He wanted to be able to drink from her properly, to share in her memories, and taste her feelings; he wanted her to be awake when he did it. He wanted her to be her. So, he simply removed the handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood away. He held it between his fingers once he was certain he had cleaned the blood away. The handkerchief went up in flames not a second later. Kaien was, wisely, silent. He turned his eyes to Kaien and asked:

"What happened?" Though the question was voiced calmly, the room suddenly felt many degrees cooler. Kaien drew in a sorrowful breath.

"May we go downstairs?" Kaien delayed respectfully. Kaname allowed it and nodded. Kaien tried not to shiver as the angry Pureblood followed him out of Yuuki's room and down the stairs. For Zero's sake, he hoped burning his clothes took longer.

X

Yuuki and Child Yuuki had moved to the couch after that experience. The child had yet to let go of her as they eased down onto the couch. Yuuki noted that this younger, stranger version of herself held the same fear of being alone that she did. They sat on the couch in silence for a little bit. Both lost in their thoughts and both unknowingly transmitting their thoughts to their other versions. Young Yuuki knew that older Yuuki was trying to figure out what those visions were. Older Yuuki knew that younger Yuuki was perplexed by her line of thinking.

"Don't you know?" The child Yuuki chimed in, "they were your memories. Our memories. You are me." Yuuki sighed.

"I can't know that," she told the younger version of herself as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through her hair. It seemed to calm the girl further. Yuuki heard a whisper of thought, 'momma used to do this all the time…' Yuuki pushed the thought away. "I don't remember anything before age five."

"I'm five," child Yuuki told her as she leaned up.

"I know," Yuuki smiled. The child didn't smile back; instead she frowned.

"Mommy must have done something…" She trailed off; it looked so strange to see such a thoughtful expression on one so young. The little girl looked up at her and said, "I've been here all along. Inside your head. I'm not a figment of your imagination."

"What do you mean?" Yuuki asked. What child Yuuki was telling her was beyond her understanding. She couldn't deal with this, but still the little version of herself continued:

"Mommy sealed me away." Yuuki blinked. It was confusing. For a moment, she hadn't seemed to know just what had happened to her; but now, she seemed to know. "I don't know how and I'm not sure why…but she sealed me away. I've been here all along, learning with you, interacting with people with you. I know all about you…but you don't know a single thing about me." She sounded so sad. Yuuki took a deep breath and prepared to doom herself to confusion.

"Would you tell me?" She asked.

"I've been trying. Those flashes…that was me trying to talk to you. To let you know."

"Oh…" Yuuki trailed off.

"I'm sorry it hurt you." Yuuki put her hand on little Yuuki's head and rubbed her hair.

"It's okay," she reassured the child.

"Are you going to forgive Zero?" Child Yuuki asked in the way all children do. Yuuki furrowed her brows.

"What?" Before the question even came out the memory assaulted her.

"Zero!" She cried out to the best of her ability around his hand. He tightened his fingers around her cheeks as if to muffle the noise. Yuuki cried out and tried to wiggle away from him, but his arms were wrapped so tightly around her waist that she couldn't get away. It only made her fight harder. She brought her hands up and pushed hard against his chest. He budged only a little, but he managed to pull himself back. She screamed as he bit down even deeper; she felt her skin tear underneath his teeth. "Zero! Stop! No!" She yelped as she began to beat his chest. Yuuki unknowingly pulled the child closer as if to guard her from the memory. The child snuggled deeper into her chest, glad not to be alone in this room anymore and saddened by what the older version of her went through.

"I…" Yuuki realized with sadness that the answer the question was an immediate yes. She had been so scared and it had hurt so much. She closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the couch. Her answer defeated her, "I don't know…" She admitted quietly. The child hummed.

"I understand, better than anyone, your reasons. You want to cherish him, take care of him…and protect him. So, you give him our blood. It is the only way. But…"

"But?" Yuuki pressed the child. Young Yuuki hid her face in Yuuki's chest as she muttered:

"I'm angry with you. Our blood belongs to Onii-sama. He should be the first to take it and yet you give it away." Yuuki opened her mouth to protest, to defend herself, but she realized she had nothing to argue with. What the child said was true. So, Yuuki was silent. She knew her blood belonged to Kaname; and she knew how it hurt him to know that she was letting Zero feed from her.

"I can't accept all of this right now," Yuuki sighed, thumping her head back onto the couch. "I can't process it."

"I know, but you'll remember it. That's enough."

"Why did you sound so perplexed when you found out I didn't have fangs?" Yuuki asked after a moment of silence.

"Because…when you look in the mirror, I see you how you should be. I see you as me."

"So, you see me with fangs."

"Yes."

"That's strange."

"Indeed." Yuuki couldn't stop the giggle at such an old term coming from a small child. Younger Yuuki giggled too. Suddenly, a somber expression washed over the child's face.

"You may want to wake up now," it was such a simple statement, but it was enough to stir her to consciousness.

Yuuki blinked up at the blurry, white ceiling. She could hear voices downstairs and she could feel the warmth of someone next to her. She blinked a few times to clear her vision before she looked toward the source of the heat. She immediately recognized the stock of silver hair. It was Zero. He was half-lying on her bed. His head was resting on his crossed arms and his shoulders were shaking almost violently. It was then that Yuuki realized Zero was crying. Not just crying, he was sobbing. Yuuki's heart almost broke in her chest. In all of her years with him, she had never seen him cry. Yet, it was Yuuki who had caused him to cry. She frowned.

"No," it came out as a quiet puff, too quiet for him to hear. Her throat repelled against her attempt at speech. She swallowed in a desperate attempt to wet it. It helped only a little. She parted her lips to say his name, but nothing would come out. Her throat was too dry and too sore from her earlier screams.

"Zero," they both heard the muffled call from downstairs. "Come down here." Yuuki, cowardly, closed her eyes as he raised his head up. She felt his touch, gentle and feather light on her head.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered before he left. Yuuki's eyes filled with tears. She wanted so badly to tell him it was okay, but she knew it wasn't. Zero had made her afraid. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of Zero. He had lost control; he had nearly drained her. She was still afraid. She waited to open her eyes until she heard the first creak of the stairs. Slowly, she tried to sit up. Immediately, the dizziness forced her back down. She clenched her jaw angrily and used that to force herself back up. She clenched her jaw harder as nausea tried to force her back down.

'I am not just going to sit here!' She growled as she swung her legs around to the edge of the bed. Vertigo slammed into her, but she fought against it. 'I'm not going to leave Zero to face the Headmaster by himself. This was not something he decided alone.' She stood up and immediately grabbed for the nightstand as her knees threatened to buckle. She tightened her fingers around the nightstand and glared in the mirror at the weak girl struggling to stand. She saw how pale she was; she saw how her arms and legs were shaking; she could feel her body screaming out at her to stop, to lay back down, but she didn't care. 'We decided together.' She pushed herself up and used the nightstand to propel herself in the direction of the door. 'So, we will take the punishment together.'

X

Zero walked down the stairs with the speed of a man moving toward his own execution, slow and heavy. He had slipped in through the window once he knew Kuran had arrived. It wasn't that he was afraid of Kuran; he wasn't afraid of the beating or of death; he was afraid of and for Yuuki. It was his worry for the girl that pushed him to climb in through her bedroom window instead of going through the front door like a normal person. He needed the immediate reassurance that her heart was still beating. He hadn't been disappointed. Since Kuran had healed her, she had gained a little of her color back but not enough; she was still so white. But she wasn't bleeding anymore. It would take some time for her to regain what he had selfishly taken, but she would eventually be okay. He was so lost in his worry for her that he didn't notice when he had reached the bottom of the stairs. He gasped as he was violently brought out of it. Pain sheered through his shoulder as he was slammed back into the wall. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard the headmaster yell:

"Kaname!" Even knowing who had him, he denied his instincts and didn't strike out. He knew that he deserved whatever punishment the Pureblood dealt him. He had nearly killed Yuuki and that was the most heinous of crime to them both. It was the one thing they could agree on. So, he locked eyes with the angry Pureblood and resigned himself to his punishment.

Upstairs, Yuuki heard the thud and the yell. Yuuki's heart froze. As terrified as she was of Zero right now, she didn't want him hurt. She would never want that. She forced herself to move faster. She shoved away from her post against the wall and forced her feet clumsy down the stairs. Her knees gave out completely on the fourth step. She grabbed desperately for the banister. It was as she held herself up that she saw just what she was about to run into. Kaname had Zero pinned to the wall with one hand. One hand, that Yuuki noted with sickness, through his shoulder was all that kept Zero on the wall. Blood dripped from around Kaname's hand and down Zero's chest. She swallowed her horrified scream. Kaien was busy trying to pull them apart while Zero and Kaname were having some sort of stare off in the middle of the room; but Yuuki somehow understood what was happening. Zero gave a small grimace of pain as Kaname's eyes flashed red. She paled. She knew she didn't have long. She used her arm strength to propel herself over the last three steps. She landed shakily on her feet and scrambled to them. Her entire body ached; she felt as though her limbs were made of lead, but somehow she made it to him before Kaname could do anything.

"Stop, Kaname, please!" She plead as she forced herself into the small space between them. The red in Kaname's eyes faltered as he registered the tiny girl between them, pushing against his chest. Yuuki could feel the sickening warmth of Zero's blood against her bare shoulder and channeled her earlier rage to get Kaname off of him. She used Zero's stomach as leverage to shove them apart. She heard him give a quiet oomph as her back slammed into his ribs, but she heard nothing else from him until she pushed Kaname away completely. She was profoundly surprised when Kaname moved easily. There was a sickening noise as Kaname's hand left the hole in Zero's shoulder. His blood coated hand crossed her peripherals as he stumbled backward. The force of her shove made her go with him a few steps. She stumbled forward and nearly fell to her knees in front of him, but she managed to save herself just in time. Behind her, Zero crumbled to the floor. His foot knocked into her ankles accidentally. She wobbled slightly as the jar to her ankles knocked her further off balance. She tried to step away from his foot, but her knee gave out before she could fully put her other foot down. The Headmaster caught her around the waist before she could fall. She leaned her full weight against the Headmaster, confident that he could take it, as she kept her eyes on Kaname. "Thank you for healing me, but please…don't kill him. We were both at fault. I knew it was dangerous. So, if you want to punish him, then you should punish me also." A look of pure disgust, no doubt at the idea of hurting her, passed through Kaname's eyes.

"Yuuki," she heard Zero croak from behind her, but she didn't look. The Headmaster couldn't ignore the way her body tensed. "Don't defend me. I nearly killed you…if it hadn't been for the Headmaster intervening…or for Kuran…I would have." Yuuki couldn't say anything to that; she knew he would have. Instead, she simply sighed.

"I won't kill him, Yuuki," Kaname promised, "but he does need to be punished." The question why was on the tip of her tongue, but that little voice chimed in, 'because he hurt us. He nearly killed us. Onii-sama needs to do this. If you don't step aside, it'll only be worse on Zero.' Yuuki rolled her lips together and tried to step aside, but her legs wouldn't cooperate. They weren't strong enough to hold her up. The Headmaster helped her aside. "Yuuki," Kaname spoke up again as Kaien helped her out of the way, "don't think I am not angry with you as well." She tensed, but didn't look away from him. Though she hated that he was disappointed in her, she couldn't find it in herself to be sorry for helping Zero. Even with the scariness of almost being drained, she still didn't regret trying. Something in his statement however made her angry.

"I understand," Yuuki nodded. Her lips ached to form a word, but she wouldn't let it fall. She still didn't believe it. She stared at Kaname as he approached Zero. 'He can't be my brother. He just can't. I can't have fallen in love with my older brother. That's just…'

"We'll be like mother and father someday," Kaname promised as he lay beside her on the pillow. His hand was warm against her cheek as his eyes glowed with love for her. She could feel her lips smiling back at him in joy. Yuuki gasped as the child forced yet another memory onto her. They were clearer now that she knew, but that didn't make them hurt less. She closed her eyes at the pain radiating through her head in sharp stabs. The light and the sounds suddenly hurt. She was unaware of the area around her mouth turning green. Kaname's voice caused her eyes to open again as he said:

"I will not deal out his punishment in front of you, Yuuki. Go back upstairs." Yuuki looked at him through blurry eyes. He wasn't look at her, but down at Zero's crumpled form. He was trying to rise, Yuuki could hear. One hand was on the wall behind him, aiding him in standing up. 'Zero,' she thought fondly, 'always so proud.' She knew what was going through her best friend's head. He refused to take his punishment sitting down. It was too close to being on his knees like a subject. He would not and never would be one of Kaname's vampires. So, despite the pain he was going through, he would rise. Yuuki couldn't even begin to phantom the amount of strength Zero had. Yuuki realized Kaname was waiting for her to move, but she didn't want too; and then she realized the gem he had given her. In his want to protect her from the darkness of his world, Kaname had given her the opening she needed. Maybe she could still save Zero from Kaname's brand of punishment.

"No." She rebelled. "If you are going to punish him, then I will stay and watch. It's not like I can make it upstairs anyway." She saw the shock on Kaname, Zero, and Kaien's face at her blatant defiance. Despite the weakness in her body, the strength of her spirit was conveyed through her eyes as she stared at Kaname. She pushed off of the Headmaster slightly and stood in front of Kaname. She knew that there was nothing remotely intimidating or dignified about the way her knees were knocking together like a newborn fowl, but she squared her shoulders anyway and kept eye contact with Kaname despite the vicious vibrating her body was doing. "Let that be my punishment, if you are so angry at me. There is nothing else you could do or would be willing to do that would hurt me more." Kaname flinched. "I told you," she reminded him with slight gentleness, "if you punish him, you have to punish me too."

"Yuuki…" Zero and Kaien breathed, both stared at her in identical surprise, but she didn't look at either of them. Her eyes were on Kaname; she wanted to see what he would do. Would he be the Pureblood King exacting out his vengeance for her pain? Or would he let Yuuki handle it on her own? She could feel her knees beginning to give so she leaned back against Kaien once more, content to take solace in his steady strength.

Kaname's jaw jumped repeatedly as he fought with himself. The beast in him demanded that Zero bleed for hurting Yuuki in such a way, but the man in him told him not too. He knew Yuuki was serious. She was stand and watch him through everything if she had too. She would stand and watch him become something he never wanted her to see. He dug his claws into his hand and looked down at the ex-human. Kiryuu's eyes weren't even on him, but on Yuuki. He looked back toward his dear girl. Her knees were knocking together with the effort it was taking her to remain standing; she was slumped on the Headmaster's chest completely, grasping his arms for support; but her eyes burned, oh how they burned, with her fire. He sighed. He couldn't do it. He couldn't punish him in front of her.

"Very well, Yuuki. You win," he conceded as he held his hands up. The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly and filled instead with her tiredness. Sadness filled him at the look. He wanted nothing more than to take it away. Kiryuu stood beside him; Kaname spared him only a little glance and knew immediately that as bad as he was bothered, it bothered the ex-human twenty times worse. 'You will be his punishment. Just seeing you like this and knowing he is the cause hurts him more than I ever could.' He was very aware of Yuuki's eyes on him as he thought. They seemed to burn into him, study him in a way she never had before. He looked up and met her eyes. She didn't blush or look away; she kept staring, peering into his very soul. 'What are you looking for?' He wondered. 'And what will you do if you find it?' As if hearing his message, Yuuki looked away, but not before he saw a flash of something move of her face.

He knew that little something would haunt him for the rest of the night; for even in all his years, he had never seen an expression quite like it. It was a mixture of fight and curiosity; it was anger and longing; it was love and sadness. All of these emotions had been mixed into one on her beautiful face. For someone who prided himself in knowing what each of her expressions meant, that one expression stumped him and frightened him.

X

Yuuki accepted the awkward silence as she reclined on a pillow in her bed. The Headmaster gently held her arm in his hands as he inserted a needle into her forearm. She didn't look down at it, instead she chose to look at the ceiling. She grimaced as she felt the cold blood trickling into her veins. It felt incredibly weird to be given blood. She looked back toward the Headmaster.

"Why do you have blood in the house?" She regretted asking the moment the words left her lips. The normally goofy man gifted her with a strangely serious look from over the rim of his glasses. He gave a quiet sigh and pushed his glasses up his nose before he answered her:

"I have known all along about what you and Zero were up to," Yuuki flinched. "I had hoped that I wouldn't need it, but the cynic in me knew that it would be possible."

"Yeah, but how did you get it?" She asked, hoping to delay the conversation she knew was coming as long as possible. The look in his eyes told her that she didn't fool him at all, but he still humored her.

"The Hunter's Association has wide connections. Giving my standing in that world, it was relatively easy for me to get enough blood. They know that I have Zero Kiryuu in my care. They just believe that I was giving him this blood instead of keeping it for the day you might need it," he said. It was strange to hear the Headmaster speak of his past. He never had before. When Yuuki asked, he always said that it was in the past, that it didn't matter anymore.

"But it does matter," Yuuki spoke her thoughts aloud. The Headmaster stared at her in confusion, but he said nothing. "People always say that the past doesn't matter anymore because it's the past, but if that was true, people wouldn't study history. It matters because in the end…the past always matters. It always comes back around. You can never escape it." Kaien filed her statements away in his mind with a deep sadness.

"You know," he started, acting as though her thoughts had stayed inside her head, "you can't feed him anymore. You can't give Zero your blood." Zero's red eyes and his blood covered mouth flashed into her mind. Yuuki grimaced and shut her eyes tightly as if she could shut out the images. It didn't work. Instead, she felt the phantom imprint of his fingers, his nails, digging into her cheeks as he tried to suppress her screams. She snapped her eyes open; maybe if she found something to look at, something to hold her attention, she wouldn't think of it anymore. A vicious shudder of fear stole down her spine despite herself.

"I know," she distracted herself with speaking. "But…what will he eat? Blood tablets don't work for him; his body rejects them."

"This," the Headmaster tapped the bag suspended in the air by the long hook. "I'll start using the blood as the Association believes I am." Yuuki knew it wouldn't be as good as her blood; it would work as well, but she couldn't…she couldn't give it to him anymore. Not at the rate he needed anyway. He would drain her before he drank his fill. She rolled her lips together as despair slammed into her. The Headmaster must have seen the emotional trauma on her face because he rose from the chair across her bed and said, "I'll be right downstairs. Get some rest, Yuuki," he told her gently before he turned away. Yuuki watched him leave; but the minute the door closed, she gave in. She was so tired, so angry, so confused, and so, so very drained. She just…she couldn't take it anymore. She crumbled forward and gave in to the torrent of emotions ripping through her. She cried without care for her volume. She cried until her eyes ached; she cried until she couldn't breathe. She cried herself to sleep.

Zero sat outside her door and listened. He let each sob cut through him. He had done this to her. So, he would listen. He understood now why Kaname had given in so easily. He had let Yuuki be his punishment. Zero gave a sad, suffering snort as he rested his chin on his knees. 'I have to admit the bastard knew what he was doing.'