As one might expect, the battle between Yuki and Itsuki was intense. With Yuki's natural abilities as a vampire, and Itsuki unleashing the rage he'd been containing since his parents were killed, both proved to be formidable opponents to one another. Although Yuki would normally have been at an advantage in such a situation, she was currently taking great care to ensure that there would be no indication in the morning that this battle took place.

"I know what you're thinking," Itsuki said. "But the odds aren't in your favor. By tomorrow, this family will recognize you as the monster you truly are."

These words ignited a fire within Yuki for two closely connected reasons: The first was his use of the word 'monster', a word both she and her father had come to despise. The second was the indirect suggestion that Mikuru would fear and reject her if she were to learn the truth.

Because of her newfound anger, her next moves were considerably less cautious than those preceding them. In addition, her appearance changed to match her emotions, with her eyes glowing blood red and her canines visibly sharpening and extending. Combined with the image of her catching the axe's blade with her bare hand, it would have been very unfortunate if someone suddenly came downstairs.

Suddenly, someone came downstairs.

"What's going on down here?" Haruka mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Once she had done so, she finally realized what was happening in front of her, and spent roughly ten seconds stuttering incoherently before screaming the word Yuki dreaded to hear.

"M-monster!"

Yuki froze on the spot, her appearance changing from that of a ferocious beast to a lost, helpless young girl. However, the damage was already done, and both Haruka and Itsuki concentrated their efforts on trying to drive her out of the house. Soon, other people began to come downstairs, and Yuki couldn't help but notice that many of them seemed more angry than they were afraid. This didn't actually matter to her, though, as she had dreaded both reactions equally.

"Leave this family, and return to the inferno from whence you came," Haruka's father cried, "you wretched child!"

Yuki's one consolation in this crisis was the fact that Mikuru had not woken up, allowing her to pretend that there was the slightest possibility that she hadn't reacted the same way the rest of her family had. In order to reinforce this so-called "possibility" to the best of her ability, she crawled with her diminishing strength out of the house.

Drawing as much energy as she could from the full moon, she ran as fast and as far as she could, leaving the manor far behind.

Eventually, Yuki found herself at the same park where the Tsuruya family had originally found her. Although she realized that as soon as the sun rose, much of her energy would be drained, she didn't care, and actually found this preferable than what she might have endured at the manor.

"If you stay there, they'll find you."

Yuki looked up at the source of the voice, only slightly surprised to find her father standing over her. Because of the mood she was in, she considered him an unwelcome sight, and although her mannerisms made that quite clear, he stayed with her regardless.

"I felt your pain," he said, "and before you escaped I was on my way to save you."

"I should have stayed," she said. "Had I done so, they might have killed us both."

"I will not let you die," he reminded her. "Even if that infernal Doctor Koizumi was willing to let you be claimed by leukemia, I will not stand for such an atrocity."

Yuki remained silent. She was well aware of what her father had done so that she wouldn't die. This didn't stop her from sometimes wanting to find the vampire he'd originally consulted and make things unpleasant somehow for them.

Finally, she spoke again.

"Leave me. Abandon me here, just as you did before."

It was now her father's turn to go silent.

"My dearest Yuki, you know I..."

"I know nothing," she said, "because that is exactly what you told me. I might have forgiven you if things hadn't ended like this, but as far as I'm concerned, you deserve everything the son of Dr. Koizumi intends to do to you. I will ask you once more: Get. Out."

He tried once again to explain himself, but upon finding himself on receiving end of her powerful glare, he was forced to turn around, hang his head in shame, and walk away.

The next day, Yuki was in the exact same situation she was in when Mikuru had found her. She knew this was going to happen, and yet she accepted it. But at the same time, she was unsure of herself. She didn't know whether she wanted to be left alone, or to be found and killed. She didn't know whether she wanted to find her father and harm him grievously, or if she never wanted to see him again. But most of all, she wasn't sure about Mikuru. She didn't know if she wanted to be reunited with her, or if she wanted to spare her the torture she would no doubt endure if they were to see each other again.

Regardless of what she may or may not have wanted, someone came to see her, and Yuki immediately realized that, whatever kind of conversation was exchanged between them, everything would change afterwards.

"Yuki...?" Mikuru said. "This morning, I... I heard some things about you. And I'm not sure what to believe..."

"You should believe what your family told you," Yuki said. "I am... a monster..."

"I still don't believe it," Mikuru said. "You might be different, but you're not a monster."

"You don't know my kind," Yuki said. "They were not meant to be."

"I'll admit, I don't know much about..." Mikuru cleared her throat. "…vampires... It isn't as though there's a book about them that explains them in great detail... But at the same time, I don't think my family know anything about them either. In particular, they seem to think that all vampires are evil, and I know that's not true."

"How can you be so sure?" Yuki said.

"Because..." Mikuru smiled warmly. "...you're not evil."

Yuki felt the urge to smile back, but some unknown force stopped her. "...Thank you. Although I hadn't realized it, that is precisely what I needed to hear."

"I'm glad." Mikuru knelt down and hugged her.

Yuki had an issue she wanted to address, but she was so happy that she decided it could wait. As such, the two remained as they were for several minutes, but eventually the issue was too much for Yuki to ignore.

"If your family catches you like this, they will not approve."

Mikuru's eyes widened, struggling to believe that she'd overlooked something so obvious when taking such a risk. "I... I should... But I don't want to leave you..."

"You must," Yuki said. "But do not worry. I will wait here for you."

"You can't!" Mikuru begged. "If you do, they're sure to find you."

"You can tell them I was not here," Yuki said. "They trust you. They'll believe you."

Mikuru nodded, wearing the same expression she wore when setting her plan to find Yuki's father into motion. With one last embrace, she turned around and ran off, stopping only to turn and wave goodbye.

Yuki waved back, feeling the happiest she'd felt since... She didn't know when, but she realized that it was probably before she had contracted leukemia.

A/N: I guess I can safely tell you now: This story is inspired primarily by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, while also drawing inspiration from some other pre-Dracula vampire stories.