Chapter 7- Waking Up the Ghost

A/N: Here's probably the last chap for a while, sorry ^^' It's my senior year and I need to do well so my writing will be taking a back-seat to my schoolwork for a while. I will try to update at least once every two weeks though, so it shouldn't be too long of a wait. I just didn't want to leave you guys at a cliffhanger XD

Notes on this chapter: Oh, and if it isn't obvious, not including the first flashback/memory, all the other flashbacks shown/ what are going to be shown are in order. So, don't worry about piecing timelines together or anything :3 And just in case people haven't made it to a certain chapter in the manga, *spoiler alert, you have been warned* Kaname was the original wielder of Artemis, Bloody Rose, and the anti-vampire sword. That is all :)

Disclaimer: Nope, VK isn't mine.

Quote/Title from: Waking up the Ghost by 10 Years

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"Under the weight the sin is eating me alive…"

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Slowly, and with much effort, Yuuki brought her hand to the pureblood's cheek, confusion swimming beneath the tears of her cinnamon orbs. "Did you… really kill me?"

The brunette man rose to his feet, carrying the girl gently in his arms. He went to brush a tear from her eyes, but stopped when Yuuki flinched at his touch. He instead walked towards the startled members of his Court, handing her to the tousled-haired blonde. The noble remained silent, but stared up at the king imploringly.

Kaname turned away, voice barely above a whisper, "Yuuki, I have been trying to atone for my sins all this time. What I did then—and what I should have done, have been plaguing me for centuries. I… I am sorry. I do not deserve to hold you in my arms again."

Yuuki stared at the retreating form of the king, bringing a hand to reach towards him, whispering, "Kaname..."

He stepped up the marble stairs to his throne, determined. "Come to me, Artemis."

From the throne a bright light shone, enveloping the room in a golden blaze. Rido howled, clutching at his stomach as the pureblood turned to him, scythe in hand. "Aidou, take Yuuki away from the castle; it is too dangerous here. Everyone else may leave as well. I do not need any of you in the way."

"But, Kaname-sama—" A honey-blonde started, taking a step forward.

"Pawns should listen to their king. I said leave this place, now." Kaname interrupted, pointing the scythe towards Rido.

Reluctantly, the Court members followed his orders, all filing out of the room from the opposite door. As soon as they left Kaname let out a groan of pain, falling onto one knee. Artemis crackled in his grip, cobalt sparks traversing the handle of the scythe to his hands. "Artemis… why do you disobey me now? Am I not a worthy master any longer?"

The curly-haired pureblood smirked, bringing his index finger to his lips. Biting down, he let the blood ooze onto the floor, laughing all the while. "Oh, Kaname, when will you ever learn? I am the one who taught you to enjoy blood and destruction and death. Before you met me, you were nothing. A blank canvas onto which I could pour all my knowledge into. You were the perfect killing machine. Well, almost… you still couldn't kill me, even in a blind rage." Suddenly, the blood took form and shape, extending from the wound to make a long blood whip.

"Quiet, Rido. Didn't I tell you before that ghosts should stay dead?" Gritting his teeth, the king darted forward, cutting an arc through the air with the scythe. Rido flipped backwards, dodging the attack easily. He extended his hand, bringing it up and then down, allowing the whip to crash into the ground.

Kaname rolled to the side seconds before the whip would have made contact with his head. A large crater remained where the whip landed, scattering pieces of marble.

"Do you remember how Yuuki cried out for you? 'Kaname? Kaname? Help me, please! I don't want to die!' You were such a fool!"

The anger in the king's eyes was palpable, nearly a shifting force that tumbled with him as he glided into the air, bringing the scythe down. "You have no right to even speak her name!"

Rido laughed, extending the blood whip over his head. It blocked Artemis inches away from his face, allowing the man to look at his ex-pupil.

"It's so saddening how you turned out, Kaname. You had such potential. Now all you want to do is protect the livestock of your kingdom!" Rido growled, hitting the handle of Artemis with every word. Kaname staggered back, falling onto the floor with a thud. Artemis fell from his hands, clattering onto the floor. Before he could retrieve it Rido stepped on his hand, using his other foot to kick the weapon away.

Rido brought his hands to the king's throat, leering darkly. "Ah, you've grown stronger though, haven't you? Even though I can tell you haven't had human blood in centuries, you've been attacking purebloods. And now, we are the only ones left. How does it feel, Kaname? To have your world ripped from your very eyes?"

The usually stoic pureblood dug his fingers into the taller man's wrist, growling out a reply, "I w-will not let you hurt Yuuki!"

Rido chuckled again, squeezing Kaname's throat with glee. "Heh, that's hilarious! You can't even protect her from yourself!" He flung the lithe man into the wall, stalking after him. Kaname rose to his feet, shaking off pieces of debris from his coat. A trail of blood dripped from his chin onto the ground in steady taps.

Eyes flashing crimson, he caused a large chunk of the ceiling to fall down onto the pureblood. It covered the man entirely, blanketing him in pieces of broken rubble. Through the haze of dust, the king could see crimson pouring from under the debris. The blood quickly turned into bars, creating a sort of jail around the fallen ceiling. The blood shifted, turning to create almost thorn-like stems, crashing through the large room. It created a maze of pointed blood spikes, crisscrossing until pinpointing the only other person in the room. As if they had their own intelligence, they all targeted the injured brunette. The king fell to the ground, barely dodging a spike that brushed against his cheek. Suddenly, the blood stopped, returning to the center of the room where the debris was.

A voice rang out, malice clear in his voice, "Ah, it wouldn't be fun to end this little game without an audience. I instead, leave you with a warning, my dearest friend. There is a wolf among your precious sheep. How do you think I was able to formulate such a plan to attack you at your weakest? Farewell, Kaname." Rido emerged from the rubble, unhurt, a wicked grin on his face. With a wave of his hand he disappeared, leaving the king alone in the broken pieces of the room.

He dropped to his knees, clutching at his chest as pain racked his body. Memories spilled into his mind as he curled up into a ball, willing his fangs to stop lengthening and for his eyes to return to their natural hue. But, his control was running thin and every second brought him closer to the monster within. Vision fading, he saw a flash of blonde and emerald.

"I think I hear seagulls! Kaname, can we stop by the ocean, please?" Yuuki pleaded, cinnamon orbs wide with pent-up excitement.

The pureblood paused, senses alight with stimuli. From the smell of the ocean salt, to the scent of the town, to even the girl beside him, there was a hint of something else in the air. The scent of death.

"We should continue." He replied brusquely, walking forward.

Yuuki pouted, but followed after him. "Fine! But, promise me we'll see the ocean someday, alright?"

The vampire sighed, bringing a hand to ruffle the brunette's hair. "…I promise."

The girl grinned, holding on to the mahogany-eyed man's arm. "I'll hold you to it! If you break your promise I won't forgive you!"

Kaname did not respond, stepping in front of the girl. "Rido." He said simply, watching as the visage of a curly-haired man came into vision.

"Hello, Kaname. It's been so long since I've last seen you… who is the delicious looking girl behind you?"

"She's no one you need to concern yourself with."

The stranger's eyes narrowed. "So, you wouldn't mind if I had a bite...?"

The girl cowered behind the pureblood, until she hesitantly moved from behind his coat. "Uh, Rido-san was it? I would appreciate it if you didn't talk like I wasn't here. If there is something you wish to say about me, then please say it to my face."

This caused the man to let out a laugh, chuckling loudly. "Hahaha, I didn't know humans could have such… energy. It's quite refreshing. My apologies, miss. You are obviously different than my usual meals. I hope I haven't frightened you." He grinned, showcasing a pair of sharp fangs.

"What are you doing here, Rido? " Kaname questioned, pushing the girl back behind him.

"Is it a crime to take a walk? I'm staying at the village near the ocean. It has such a wonderful view… you two should come by. I have a villa there, if you need a place to stay."

"We're fine." The brunette said, grabbing Yuuki by the arm. He holstered her up onto his back before taking off, leaving the mad pureblood to sneer at the pair as they disappeared into the horizon.

"That woman… smells just like Juuri. Could it be…?" He trailed off, smile twisting into a frown. A foreign emotion passed behind his eyes until it was replaced with his usual twisted glee.

"Oh, how fun! I wonder where you two are going… Kaname, my little pupil, and the delicacy you tote around. Be careful, I might just steal her away from you, forever."

The voices hushed as soon as the pureblood opened his eyes. He found himself on his sofa with six pairs of eyes staring at him worriedly. He shifted to a sitting position, allowing the blanket to slip off his form and onto the floor.

"Is Yuuki safe?" He saw that the girl was not among the nobles in the room.

Aidou spoke up nervously, "Y-yes! I took her to her friend's house, Miss Sayori Wakaba. Once she was feeling better I escorted Yuuki back to her own home." Where you didn't tell me her adopted brothers and father were all vampire hunters.

"I see. That will do, for now. In the meantime, I must speak privately with Takuma."

The rest of the nobles reluctantly left the room, with Aidou taking one last glance at the pair before shutting the door.

"Takuma, how much have you told your grandfather?"

The blonde gazed at the pureblood quizzically. "What are you talking about, Kaname?"

"You've never been a good liar. Tell me, how much have you exposed to your grandfather? I will not ask you again."

The emerald-eyed youth turned away, "I'm sorry. I-I was told it was for your benefit. He said he would only relay important information to those of the Council. I swear, Kaname, that I would never have given him the information if I had known what he would do with it."

The pureblood sighed, tipping his head up to look at the ceiling. "I am not angry with you, Takuma. I am, however, worried for the Council. They are so twisted with avarice and bloodlust that they have outgrown their usefulness. Tell me, what made you give him the information? You are much more intelligent than that."

"He said he knew a way to ease your bloodlust. I knew— I knew he was probably lying, but I couldn't let even a miniscule chance slip away. I'm truly sorry, Kaname."

Without warning, the pureblood showed a rare moment of kindness, giving the stunned noble a hug. "It is alright, friend. I have done much worse. I still trust you."

Kaname's eyes flitted sadly to the chessboard behind Takuma.

It seemed that despite his efforts, war was inevitable.

"Father, please, tell me what happened! Why don't I remember anything from before the age of five? Please, tell me!"

The flaxen-haired man sighed, removing his glasses. "Yuuki, this is what I—what we, have been trying to protect you from. But, it appears you have found out at least some of the truth on your own. So be it, I will tell you."

Yuuki hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much!"

Kaien chuckled, patting her on the back gently. "Ah, my daughter is so happy with me, it makes me glad!"

He reluctantly released the brunette, motioning for her to take a seat in front of him. Folding his hands, he spoke, "I know Kaname has wanted to tell you this for years, but he didn't want to drag you back into a world filled with pain. Your real parents… Yuuki, were killed by a Level-E. You managed to escape from the house, somehow, and ended up in the snow, all alone. Kaname had been tracking the Level-E, but had come too late to save them. He followed the sound of your cries and killed the man before he could attack you. You must have gone into shock, because you couldn't even give your own name. You had pushed away all your memories of your parents due to the pain and shock of losing them. Now an orphan, Kaname took you in and brought you to me. I adopted you and he gave you the name 'Yuuki.' He then erased your memories of him and kept away, wanting to let you live a normal life."

The girl did not respond, absorbing the information. My real parents… are dead? I had always thought that, since I knew that Father would never have taken me in otherwise, but… to know they had been killed by a vampire. I-I'm scared.

The double-doors were kicked open, revealing the silver-haired twins. Zero had a perpetual frown on his face while Ichiru smiled happily, bounding over to the flaxen-haired man. "Hi, Father!"

Kaien expected a greeting from the other twin, but was left disappointed as he waked past him and towards Yuuki. "Well, it's about time you told her the truth." Zero said, ruffling the shocked brunette's hair.

"A frown doesn't suit you." He said, pinching her cheeks in an attempt to make her smile.

"S-stop, Zero!" She whined, half-heartedly swatting his hands away.

Suddenly, a question popped into her head. "So, Father, how did you meet Kaname?"

He laughed, "That's a whole other story, my darling daughter! I'll tell you some ti—"

The doorbell suddenly went off, interrupting the flaxen-haired man.

"I'll get it!" Yuuki said, running down the hall. She made it to the foyer area to open the door, shivering at the cold night air.

"Hello, Yuuki." The pureblood greeted, brushing a hand against her cheek. She stilled at his touch, but before she could respond an amethyst-eyed man came down the stairs.

"Get away from her, vampire!" He spoke angrily, pointing his gun directly at the vampire's chest.

Kaname turned to the boy in mild annoyance. "Is that any way to greet the man who saved your life?"

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! Remember, reviews are loved! They give me warm fuzzies :3 And, don't worry, there's still many more twists and turns in this story, so stay tuned!

-Isis