Author's Note – Hey everybody! Here is the next chapter. It's slightly late, as I try to post a chapter every two weeks – but I was really busy this week so it took me longer to finish it. The next chapter will take longer too because exams are literally in two weeks – so it's mega cramming time – so yeah….
Anyways, back to this chapter. The drama's really starting in this chapter and we get to hear more from Zero – which is always fun for me. Don't get mad with Zero so far in this story – he's not himself – but that will end, trust me!
Keep reading and reviewing! I love to hear from you – and I don't care if it's criticism.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Vampire Knight or the characters I didn't make up, right Yagari?
Suggested song – 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence. It's for the section with the star * (i.e at the very beginning)
Yagari: Hell no.
SFC: You know Yagari… you should really stop smoking – it's really bad for you…
Yagari: (glare) Shut up.
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Chapter Four – Dancing and Shattering Tears
*
Yuuki woke to find tears sliding down her face, making her cheeks moist. Her forehead felt clammy and her hands gripped the bedcovers. The air was deafeningly silent and she hiccupped as the wave of sadness crashed upon her. Her heart felt constricted, strangled, making her feel unable to breath. A tear sliced a trail down her nose and her chest shuddered. Her skin felt like a thin sheet of ice and she wasn't sure she could prevent it from melting.
She would forget. She had to forget him.
The shuddering wouldn't cease and she sobbed silently – the pain running through her body like a charge of electricity. Only did she stop when she felt a large hand run through her hair gently, drawing out the curtains of her face.
She froze and her throat contracted. A surge of self-hatred ignited in her heart and she felt black, coated in thick sin, which smothered her soul.
She didn't want to hurt him. She couldn't bear it. He deserved so much better than her. She was so wretched.
Yuuki closed her eyes in pain as Kaname's finger trailed down her face in a path of warmth and guilt.
"Was it a nightmare?" he asked steadily.
That triggered yet more tears to drip from her overflowing eyes.
No. Far from it – that was what was damaging her the most. She managed to nod crookedly. She'd have to lie to keep Kaname happy.
That was all she wanted.
A large arm slid around her with the grace of a snake and brought her closer to him. Yuuki tensed, urging her body to feel comfortable in his arms.
"Tell me", he whispered into her hair. Yuuki hiccupped.
"Tell me about that dream"
Panic swelled within as she strained to come up with a lie, a lie that wouldn't pain him. Her mind cast back to that time with Zero had woken from a nightmare long ago. Yes. She would use that one.
Yuuki avoided Kaname's eyes.
"I thought… I thought I'd killed you…"
Fresh tears welled in her eyes, as she felt suddenly even guiltier in a completely different way. She waited, in pain, for his response.
It came in a way she hadn't expected.
Kaname flipped her firmly flat on her back and crushed his lips to hers, ravishing her face in rough kisses. Yuuki was clueless as to how to respond, as her breath was knocked out of her. She lay limp as he continued to kiss her from above. It felt pleasant, his lips travelling over hers and she fluttered his eyelids closed, straining to enjoy more.
She could feel Kaname's mouth and his hair tickling her face. She was in darkness, with only the company of his lips – but as she lay there with her eyes closed, she gasped.
The black of her mind turned to silver, and she saw lilac eyes, smooth white skin and soft lips. She winced.
The darkness of her vision was invaded by an image, an image of a face, Zero's face.
His gentle face was permanently etched to her mind as she lay there on the soft bed. His pure lilac eyes wouldn't stop gazing at her with sadness as her fiancée took control of her mouth.
She desperately tried to push the image away and laboured to conjure up the features of Kaname in its stead within her mind – but brown morphed easily into silver and red into crystal purple.
She was fully aware that it was Kaname who lay on top of her in the bed, but the images of Zero wouldn't cease flashing through her mind. She fought angrily against her mind and started to kiss Kaname back at a hesitant pace. As they kissed together, Yuuki couldn't stop a tingle of fear pierce her.
What was wrong with her?
Slowly she registered his hands gradually travelling down her small body and her eyes flung open – an alarm ringing in her head. She began to tremble and he stopped, his dark red eyes scanning hers.
Why was it that she felt she was balancing on the blade of a knife? This was Kaname. She had known him her entire life. She would offer him all of it he craved it.
Yuuki couldn't stop shuddering. Her mind was working in slow motion and she felt she was swimming through thick oil, her movements' limited, unable to escape, drowning slowly. She was so confused she couldn't stand it. She had to ease her feelings.
Everything was more than she could take. She turned to her brother with wet apologetic eyes.
"Gomen Onii-sama. I need to be alone right now"
Yuuki gripped the bed covers and flung them off her, diving through the door into the hallway. Her chest rose and fell erratically. She ran blindly through the hallway. The lights remained unlit due to the time of 'night' and it was hard to see.
Her mangled hair flew around her face as she continued to sprint, her eyes red and swollen.
I'm so sorry Kaname.
She stormed into a bathroom, bolting herself inside. She started to sob hard, her face a mix of sweat and tears.
The bathroom was typical, including a shower, toilet and sinks situated under a giant wide mirror.
Through the dark, Yuuki could faintly see her reflection in the mirror: a weak, bawling, miserable, little girl who stood broken by the door.
Within her raged a surge of anger and she let her power envelop her before smashing her curled fist square into the mirror's glassy surface, the hand meeting it with a large crash and clatter. Shards of broken glass showered to the tiled floor and the fragments sliced her small, lithe body.
Why can't I let go of the past? Why can't I let Zero go?
She lifted an arm and watched the meandering streams of rich red blood stain her skin until it lost its snow-white colour. She turned her eyes back to the broken mirror and saw patches of the shattered glass reflecting a blinding blood red as Yuuki's eyes glowed a deathly colour.
The pain felt surprisingly good; a distraction from her churning mind. Blood crept and spiralled from her tainted, damaged hands and tears of blood painted lines down her face. She bent over a sink, breathing hard.
I won't be weak. I can't be weak. I can't betray Kaname – he's my life.
So why can't I let him go?
The door started to shudder and Yuuki ignored it. She wanted to endure her pain by herself. The door continued to shudder, refusing to stop and irritation began to seep into her blood. She bit her lip with her fangs angrily and waited for whoever was on the other side of the door to give up.
Fists bang on the other side endlessly. The anger grew over time and Yuuki unbolted the door fuming.
As the door opened with a slam Yuuki struck the intruder harshly across the face with a choked sob.
The golden-eyed maid crumpled to the floor, shocked.
"Yuuki-sama", she whispered, eyes wide, her mouth trembling. Her fists bled slightly from desperately banging on the bathroom door.
Yuuki's eyes widened in surprise – but she had no time to fret over an insignificant servant. It was time she learnt not to meddle with the business of a pureblood.
"The door was locked for a reason", she said coldly, before walking out back to her own bedroom.
Yuuki ignored the feeling of being watched as she entered her room quietly, licking the blood off her arms cleanly.
There she ignored the welcoming sight of the bed, feeling she didn't deserve it and curled up on the floor, rocking herself quietly to sleep.
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Zero
The reign of the purebloods was numbered.
There were still purebloods left in the world yet to be murdered, faces he didn't even know, could never recognize if he saw them. Yet he would find them.
This was a difficult mission for a young vampire such as him, he lacked information he needed to hunt down those he targeted. It was no use going to the Vampire Hunter Headquarters as the society was corrupt and the records of vampires were probably unreachable right now.
Zero was a wanted man.
It would be suicide if he openly infiltrated an enemy hotspot and demanded anything he wanted.
The mission had to be accomplished undercover and after much thinking he and Yagari had decided that the best way to collect information on vampires… was unfortunately from the wretched vampires themselves.
He had to go behind enemy lines and that was why, out of all places, he was situated here.
Here, in this ridiculously fancy ballroom amidst a gathering of glamorously dressed bloodsucking leeches.
Zero chuckled heartlessly.
Looks like I'm right at home.
In order to blend in with the aristocrat vampire community and one of their pompous grand masked balls, Zero, for once, was elegantly dressed. He was dressed completely in black, excluding the loose white shirt, which hugged his chest. His trousers were night black except for the chain belonging to the Bloody Rose, which leaked out of his pocket in a ray of silver. A dark cloak draped over his broad shoulders and lastly, and most importantly, a rounded velvet mask covered most of the features of his face so that only his glassy lilac eyes and wild silver hair could possibly give away his identity.
When Zero thought about it, he supposed he looked just like Ichiru when Zero had met him again as the right-hand man of Hio Shizuka, after all the empty years he had thought him dead.
That was a good thing. If worse came to worse, perhaps the vampires would mistake him for his brother instead of the other more troublesome twin. He'd be better off.
Zero wandered aimlessly in the silver-themed ballroom, his ears attuned for any interesting, useful information concerning his prey. Yagari was also attempting to eavesdrop on the partying vampires – but he being just a human – and a legendary vampire hunter on top of that, he had to do his part above the ground where he couldn't be sensed by the ever-aware vampires.
Zero's hand hovered over his gun.
He watched as vampire nobles danced gracefully in the ballroom, swirling and swaying like swans in an elegant nest, dressing and swishing as flowers to the flowing music of the accompanying violins under a stilled rain of glittering chandeliers.
Quietly, Zero noticed the many correlations between this ball and the one he supervised back at Cross Academy. Part of his mind swam with the image of a delicate Yuuki in her white ball gown dancing lightly amongst the vampires.
No feeling reached his empty heart. He didn't care anymore. He only wanted to imagine Yuuki Kuran with a bullet in her head – nothing more and nothing less.
He continued to pace around the dance floor, his eyes shifting from one vampire to another. As far as his vampire senses could tell, none of the vampires he had seen so far were purebloods.
What measures would he take if he found one? It would be too dangerous to attack him or her in the heart of all these aristocrats. Again, it would be suicide. The option of death lingered endlessly in his life.
Not that death sounded entirely unappealing.
He'd have to lure the vampire out, preferably where Yagari was nearby. Zero turned his eyes to the next crowd of vampires and stopped mid-walk.
A young vampire girl with caramel brown hair and forest green eyes was staring at him with no reluctance, not bothering to hide her piercing gaze. She wouldn't turn around, her eyes fixed on Zero's masked face.
She wasn't a pureblood.
Zero turned, uninterested, and proceeded to walking around the huge ballroom.
It was as he walked off that a sharp pain slammed against the inside of Zero's skull like a barricade and he clenched his fists, his teeth piercing his bottom lip in pain. The faint sickeningly soothing taste of blood spread through his mouth.
He tensed, fighting to maintain his composure, surrounded by waltzing vampires who could threaten his life if they discovered who he was – and it wasn't time for Zero to die just yet. He couldn't allow himself such peace and relief when he had unfinished business with the scum who had destroyed his life.
Particularly a certain Kuran Kaname.
Zero walked stiffly over to the serving table on the far side of the room, scattered with fancy foods and beverages, and grabbed a glass of champagne – seeking alcohol to numb the headache which tore at his brain.
Once every drop had washed down his throat, Zero made to walk out of the bathroom, losing faith in his last shreds of sanity.
His feet, however, wouldn't move.
Zero's eyes widened, and a slight hint of alarm could be seen on his features before he restored his robotic, emotionless stature. Zero fought to free his long frozen limbs. As he continued to struggle, the pain in his head increased to the point it was almost unbearable.
Zero's breath caught and the champagne glass in his hand shattered into the air as if it was a diamond firework. He attempted again to force his body from his rigid spot near the food table. The pain blasted again with enormous force, causing him to wince. But of course - it didn't put him off.
Zero chuckled hollowly. He had suffered deeper pain than this and it could never be healed – it was a scar marring his heart. The pain he experienced now was laughable in comparison.
He was about to try and break free one last time, when a small icy finger stroked the curved of his cheek, tracing his angular cheekbones. He froze and turned his masked face to the side; meeting the finger of the young vampire girl he had seen earlier. She was dressed in a lacy white gown giving the impression of a draping snowflake, and had the appearance of an eight –year old girl.
"I sorry sir, I didn't mean to hurt you", she blushed timidly.
He glared at her from behind his mask.
Zero found he couldn't pull away from her eyes as they studied him. He felt irritatingly vulnerable, as the girl seemed to regard him as a complex code to be deciphered. The violins in the background grew hazy to his ears as the tiny vampire trapped him in a daze. His earlier pain began to fade away.
She broke the silence with a lazy sigh.
" Oh I just hate masked balls. It makes people so hard to read", she said quietly.
Zero just stared at her coldly.
"What's your name?" asked the girl, with a small smile.
Zero wouldn't answer.
"Mmm…now I'm even more intrigued", she chewed on her lip as if she was nibbling at a piece of sushi.
Her finger traced the smooth skin on the back of Zero's hand and he stiffened. He didn't know how, but the girl's very presence disabled his ability to move.
He was powerless.
"You see, I'm very talented at working people out – it's my own personal game", she paused, smiling slyly in a shy way.
Zero continued to stare, frozen amongst the slices of diamond glass, which lay amongst his feet. She stood on her tiptoes, and to his slight surprise, made him bend over so that she could whisper in his ear. By this time the pain he had felt previously had dissolved into the air.
"For example", she giggled sweetly.
"With that couple there…" she pointed with skilled subtly, "You can tell by the way the man gestures to his wife, that he isn't faithful to her. He's a vampire of noble branch and doesn't believe his wife will grant him a satisfactory heir".
She seemed to learn all this in the space of second. Was this girl really around eight years old?
She paused, studying the couple again more closely. Then she burst into a short fit of laughter before whispering once more in Zero's ear.
"She knows! She's plotting to get revenge later. See how she shifts the wedding ring on her finger? How she's constantly peering at her husband in the corner of her left eye?"
Zero listened warily to the intelligent girl who held his attention.
Why was she talking to him? It didn't seem like he had given himself away.
She pursed her lips and studied the nobles in the ballroom once again.
"Ah… that boy over there", she pointed to what looked like a thirteen year old buy in vampire years, dressed in a black suit and matching mask," is left-handed and particularly vain as he keeps brushing back his hair with his left hand".
It was true. Something about the boy did remind Zero of a younger version of Aido. This girl was extraordinary – there was no doubt that everything she said was true as she pointed it out.
Zero stood still, hoping that his lack of activity would bore her and that she would leave, releasing him from her spell.
The girl watched him as he made no reply and sighed.
"Gomen-nasai, I'm dreadfully sorry", she began, her face sad and lonely.
"You must be wondering why I'm talking to you – it's just that you seem…different, the only person I just can't seem to figure out. Everyone here is so fake and pompous, only concerned with making connections with other families to make their clan stronger. "
The girl blushed deeply.
"But with you… I feel there's something more… I just want someone to talk to. You seem so out of place – just like me – so I thought we could be friends. I've always hated the other vampire kids."
Zero frowned slightly. Did he really stand out that much? That wasn't what he planned; his aim had been to blend in.
There was only so much some fancy clothing and a mask could do – he was still an antisocial heartless vampire hunter who had hated these fancy wretches all his life.
This girl was slightly different, he admitted. She appeared distant from the other vampires, although she was obviously of high status. He could smell it in her blood.
It was a shame.
If she wasn't a vampire and he gave a shit, he might have liked her.
Vampires, were however vampires, and her vampiric aura still urged him to retch.
"I can't afford to have friends right now."
Her smiled vanished and he sighed.
"But I can understand".
She smiled radiantly; relieved he had decided to speak with her at least somewhat.
"Oh you have such a charming voice!" she applauded happily.
Zero made no facial expression. He was starting to get tired of this.
Her eyes held an element of frustration, as he seemed to give no hint about who he was. She stared longingly at Zero and he had no choice but to look back.
How long was he going to have to stay here, frozen to this spot?
Zero's eyes widened in alarm as the little girl sprang up onto the tips of her feet and slowly reached up to grasp the sides of Zero's black mask. He stiffened and struggled against his restraining body to break free – but it had the opposite effect, making him bend lower towards her touch.
He felt a flare of hate towards himself and all vampires and he cursed.
He was being manipulated by a vampire yet again.
His limbs started to jerk and he used his will power to try and stop himself from being exposed, but he was powerless against her will.
He glared coldly at the girl, as her fingers curled around the curves of the elegant mask and brought it free from Zero's face, its fluid shape falling slowly to the ground.
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Seiren
She had been sure she had sensed him around here somewhere and now aimed to catch him unawares when the chance came.
Dressed in black and carrying her knife along with her viciously sharp nails, she was efficiently equipped for the mission she had been appointed to carry out.
It was raining heavily, yet she sprung up to higher heights in order to get a good view of the sights below. If her target was around here like she thought he was, she should be able to see him from this position.
There he was, hurrying to get to a shelter from the rain. No one else in the vicinity would have guessed that this man was a vampire – but to her, it was obvious. The subtle grace at which he walked, his visible preference to the dark; they were all give-aways.
He was one of the many vampires Kaname-sama had asked her to target.
Seiren soared down, landing agilely in front of the vampire.
"Huh?"
She struck him and pinned him to the nearest street wall, spearing his clothes to the wall with her knife. The street was abandoned and no one could witness the deed that was taking place.
Seiren poised her razor sharp fingernails beneath his chin with delicate but malicious intent. She stared icily as the man's face transformed into an expression of horror.
"Why? What have I done?"
"Nothing", she replied stonily, "Kaname-sama has ordered me to kill the likes of you."
"But I'm not Level E! I'm not insane! I'm a Level D!" The vampire's eyes bulged and he began to sweat, fearing for his life.
"Exactly. A vampire once human. Vampires with dirty diluted blood. Both levels are the same"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"And must be erased".
Seiren's fingernail slit the level D vampire's throat and he made a choking sound, his weak blood trickling down his skin as his eyes lost their shine and his body sank into a heap of dust.
"I'm sorry", she said emotionlessly to the leftovers of the victim she had disposed of.
"All requests of Kaname-sama must be fulfilled".
She walked back down the street, sheathing her knife swiftly. The only sound to be heard was the background rustle of traffic far away.
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Zero
Zero's silver hair fell around his face, his face revealed.
There was nothing he could do. Now he was exposed and there was a possibility he would have to fight his way out of the crowded ballroom. It was only a matter of time before he was recognized.
In the meantime, he was frozen, staring blankly at the little girl who gazed into his eyes, her fingers still lightly touching his face. She seemed a little taken aback, finally seeing the dark stranger's face.
"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to be handsome. Let's see what I can learn about you now"
Her eyes seemed to burn into his eyes as she examined him with fierce concentration. His fists clenched. He felt like hitting her. It was not his intention to become a little vampire's entertainment for the evening instead of carrying out his mission.
Zero's emotionless face was plain to see.
A small smile crept up the side of the little girl's face.
"You're in love" In her soft voice rang a note of triumph as she revelled in her discover.
He ignored her, glaring at her attitude. He didn't want to hear it. He wanted her to shut up. She was wrong. The Zero she was describing no longer existed and there was no use trying to bring him back. It was a dead lost case.
His eyes became a cold icy purple, his face tightening as he forced a wave of hate to wash over him, comforted by its familiar touch.
She frowned.
"You're lost – confused".
Creases appeared on her young face as she looked troubled, wincing as she explored Zero's past and character.
"Pain… unbearable pain". Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Grains of time trickled by as she looked at him intensely. She stumbled, taking a step back as if she was burnt by Zero's presence. She was shuddering, avoiding his hollow gaze.
He blinked as he noticed tears welling up in jade eyes. She wiped at her eyes, sniffling as she attempted to hide her sorrow. She seemed more her age, fragile and insecure and he tensed rigidly as she burst into sobs, flinging her small arms around him, her head pressed into his stomach.
His shirt became damp but he remained still, letting the girl cling to him in her sudden sadness.
Not that he had much choice.
"Please feel better", she choked in a whisper, "please stop hurting, I can't stand it!"
Zero, gazed up at the ceiling, trying to ignore her jabbing words.
"It's –it's j-just not fair".
He sighed.
"A b-broken heart – stop it! Stop it! Stop breaking! I order you to stop suffering!"
A pain awakened in his head once again, but it wavered like the child crying into his shirt.
"She'll come back! Stop it! I promise!"
Yuuki…
His chest panged and Zero cast away the name to the back of his mind.
"Get off me", a new note of hate in his voice.
The girl froze at his tone and slowly unpeeled her arms from around the heartless young man.
"I'm sorry", she whispered – and it didn't seem like she was just apologizing for her actions.
In those two words, she apologized for every pain and sadness in his life, every unjust deed he had been dealt with, every tragedy, on behalf of her kind.
His eyes widened slightly. The room had gone deadly quiet. The music had halted and the room was still. Eyes narrowed at Zero from every angle, reddening with a bloody luster. Dancers froze mid-step, glaring behind faces of feathers.
A sharp scratch shrieked through the air as vampire nails sharpened into long blades suspended from fingers, all pointing in his direction.
A skinny woman with long curled blonde hair came up and snatched the little girl from behind, putting herself as a shield between her and the killer surrounded in the room.
"Elena-sama! Get back quickly! Aoitori-sama would be horrified!"
As the girl was whipped away Zero finally felt freedom within his limbs. He grabbed the Bloody Rose gun and it proceeded to blossom countless branches in the direction of the vampires.
The host of the vampire party stepped forward to meet Zero with her sheathed bladed fingers.
"Our duty is to protect the purebloods and yours is to die, traitor", he ran forward, aiming at Zero's neck.
A bullet shot from amongst the thrashing thorns and hit the vampire square in the chest, plummeting him into dust. Vampire nobles sprung forward, weapons bared at the intruder, diving with inhuman strength and Zero jumped onto the serving table, knocking off various dishes as he fired bullets into his enemies.
Screams sliced through the room as several vampires were hit, their cries echoing loudly as they tried in vain to reach the vampire hunter.
One vampire raced forward and sliced off a branch of the bloody rose in a flash with a long steel katana.
Zero watched coldly as he wound a vine around the gasping aristocrat, strangling him as the thorns proceeded to pierce his nocturnal skin – yet more opponents came, undaunted by the towering Bloody Rose.
"Leave him alone!" screeched Elena, running forward, "He's my friend!"
She was briskly batted out of the way.
The Bloody Rose slayed five attacking nobles, staining the marble floor with blood.
"You monster! You murdered three of our prized purebloods! Rido-sama, Kontan-sama and Shizuka-sama! It's time to pay!"
Zero's eyes ignited with cold fire at Shizuka's name.
"The killer of Hio Shizuka wasn't me – I'm not sorry to disappoint you".
"Lies!"
It was time for him to get out of here. He directed a vine of his awakened gun at the large chandelier at the centre if the ceiling. It curled over its frame and Zero used it to swing him over the heads of the party guests and towards the exit.
He landed nimbly and sprinted with unmatched speed out of the underground vampire hotspot and out into the open. Yells could be heard a while behind him and he needed to move quick.
Yagari was waiting for him out in the open, sitting in the driver's seat of his truck. Zero welcomed the quick escape and jumped into the front seat, as the truck burst off with maximum power.
Several vampires threw themselves onto the truck, piercing holes into the windscreen. Yagari steered with one hand while he pulled out his gun and shot them off, half-watching as they tumbled off the truck in pain.
Zero opened his door, firing gunshots into the pursuing enemies, unbothered as they perished into nothingness. The main threats were eliminated.
Soon the vampires were miles behind and Yagari drove the truck through the wilderness to a place that could avoid detection.
The town was left far behind and buildings were replaced with trees, streets replaced with dirt, and the bustling noise replaced with an unsettling silence.
The truck ran into a tree as they attempted to wing through the thick forest.
"Damn it", growled Yagari, sitting without a seatbelt in the driver's seat. The Truck now had a large dent in the front was wedged tightly in the dirt.
"Looks like we'll have to stay here tonight"
He grabbed sleeping mats from the back seat and proceeded to open his door, banging his head hard against the tree he had failed to see with his one eye.
Zero ignored his cursing as he ripped off his cloak and carefully opened the front door, walking out into the open.
The air was damp and cool and the trees echoed with night birds exchanging words. It was dark and the only light came from the glow of the car headlights and the flare of Yagari's lighter as he struck it against his new cigarette.
Zero laid out a blanket and lay on his back on the ground of a small opening, his arms behind his head as he looked at the stars through the gaps between the looming trees.
"Not in the truck?", a puff of smoke blurred the air.
Zero was silent and Yagari sighed, setting out to join him. He flung his blanket down next to his student and collapsed heavily on the ground with a contented sigh. He removed his hat and joined Zero in watching the stars.
"It's unlike you to screw up", Yagari started conversationally. No response came for a while and Yagari puffed out some smoke in annoyance.
"Is it?" came quiet words from next to him.
Yagari laughed.
"It's true you've always been a troublesome student, provoking vampires, making mistakes from time to time - but this, is the first time I've ever seen you have to run from a stampede of angry murderous vampires. What happened?"
He was going to ignore the fact that Zero's answer ran deeper than the simple dealings with average vampires.
"I got… distracted".
Yagari narrowed his eyes, curious. Zero's ever emotionless tone brought creases to his face.
"Any news?"
Zero didn't answer, and Yagari knew he had come empty-handed.
It seemed he was needed after all.
"I too was mostly unsuccessful – but I did hear a name."
Zero stared blankly at his sensei, awaiting the information.
"A pureblood named Aoitori is what I heard, other than that I learnt nothing."
Zero tensed slightly, his mind racing back to that recent time in the ballroom. He had heard that name before.
He remembered.
He didn't know who Aoitori was – but somehow he was connected to that little girl who had distracted him earlier that day.
Finally. He was getting somewhere.
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Yuuki
It was a while before Yuuki awakened a second time that day and she felt more at rest; calmer and more composed. She washed off the blood completely and attempted to start the morning normally as she had easily done before.
Dressed nicely and smelling sweet once again, she felt she was ready to forget the events of the night and begin a new day, lacking the drama of the last night. She walked to the dining room once again for breakfast and was surprised to discover the absence of her brother.
What had he done after last night?
Her stomach churned and she down at the piano, staring blankly at the keys.
Slowly and gingerly she reached out her finger to touch the small instrument, and proceeded to play a little melody, her fingers stumbling slightly on the notes.
So engrossed had she become, that she missed the sound of approaching footsteps, which echoed louder as Kaname came slowly closer.
He stood by the piano and watched her grimly.
The notes clashed painfully as she finally noticed him standing behind her. He seemed colder and more collected than the night before and Yuuki feared she had hurt him.
"When was it that you stopped telling me everything Yuuki?"
He was pained and his hand gripped the edge of the piano. Yuuki didn't reply and stood up, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him – push the painful memory out of his mind. He kissed her back, pushing her against the keys of the piano, making them resound and echo throughout the room.
An unnoticed figure stood nearby, her fists clenching.
She swept away in the direction she had come, her grey, silver hair swishing as she walked swiftly away from the scene. Maria's eyes flashed a colour not belonging to her own.
Hio Shizuka, the princess of the sakura unnaturally in bloom, still had a debt to pay.
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So there you go folks! I hope you enjoyed it! Keep reading and tell me what you think of it!
