Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.


After spending a week with Zero, I decided the hunter wasn't that bad. The lemon scent of the dish soap was almost homey by now, and my hands seemed to soften with their continued exposure.

"What do you want for desert?" It was a question I asked every night after he learned of my aptitude for pastries. His lips pursed in contemplation before he responded.

"You pick." I was already expecting that response, as it was the same he had given me every time I asked. We had just finished breakfast, and though I was starting to trust Zero, he was still a vampire. So I dropped a tablet into a glass and handed it to him. He never responded when I did this, but I had a feeling it bothered him.

"Yagari's coming over tonight." He nodded, remembering the conversation we had with the chairman after the little fiasco called my first day of school. A knock on the door brought me out of my revere, and a small smirk played on my lips at his slightly disturbing timing. Zero rolled his eyes and opened the door, revealing not only Yagari, but the Chairman as well.

"Happy birthday Himiko-chan!" The bespectecled man threw himself at me, sqeezing me in enthusiasm. I began squirming, attempting to break free from his hold. He took the hint, letting me go abruptly, and a sense of sadness descended upon me. I felt like I was disappointing him. Stupid Chairman.

"Well, Yagari-kun and I got you a present!" His singsong voice was a little to cheerful,as were the two colorful boxes.

"It's your birthday?" I turned to an ambivalent Zero, which was one I didn't like apparently.

"Ellegedly." He snorted and I inwardly sighed.

"Open mine first!" I took the box the chairman was thrusting at me and grimaced. Best get it over with. Inside was a crimson satin dress.

"It's very Jessica Rabbit." The confused looks I got made me smile. " A cartoon character from America." Zero shrugged along with Yagari.

"But you like it?" A puppy dog pout was all it took to break me.

"Of course. The slit makes weapon access easier." It wasn't quite the response he wanted, but Yagari handed me his present to me before he could protest. This time I pulled out a pair of silver claws.

"They're beautiful." I almost felt bad for giving this present a better response, but the heavy feel of silver was too intoxicating. Zero snorted as the chairman huffed.

"You ruined her Yagari-kun." Said man rolled his eyes.

"The dress is actually for the assignment tomorrow."

"You mean I can't just wear this?" I gestured to my jeans and turtle neck, both of which were well loved and well worn.

"No." I sputtered.

"But Zero gets to wear his normal clothes!"

"Well, Zero is... Zero." I could feel my eye twitching, my hand trembling. It seemed my self control wasn't what it should be.

"Fine. I won't go." I was bluffing, but no one else needed to know that. It appeared that Yagari was going to call it before the Chairman interjected.

"But Himiko-chan, who will help Zero on his mission? He might go beserk and kill all the guests." My brows wrinkled at his comment.

"And that's my problem, how?" I wasn't sure why his disappointment in me was surprising, but it was. I couldn't fathom why a vampire would stand up for the filthy monsters like that.

"You're going." I glared at Yagari before sighing.

"You couldn't have gotten something more conservative?" The Chairman pouted, causing me to frown.

"Just wear a jacket." I glanced at Zero, realized my only hope of getting out of wearing the dress was gone, and groaned.

"I'm leaving." Pushing past the two adults, I dropped the dress on the couch and slipped the claws on to my fingers before stalking out the door. It wasn't safe, wearing something like that in a room full of vampires. And while I had no qualms with killing them, I didn't just go out provoking them.

The night sky was lovely, the moon a simple slither surrounded by the stars. I shoved my hands in my pockets, partially to hide the claws, and partially to block the cold. It wasn't to terribly biting, but I had become a creature of comfort, and liked my frivolities. I knew Zero was behind me. Knew he was going to follow me all night if he needed to. In a way having a vampire do that put me on edge. But somehow Zero made it tolerable.

"I won't let them bite you." I stopped, turning to face his approaching figure.

"I'm not helpless. I can take care of myself. It just seems unnecessary to put myself in a position like that." His eyes narrowed shrewdly.

"That's not the only reason you're being like this." A grimace passed my features as he hit it on the nail.

"You don't know what it's like. When there's more than one. When they know what they're doing." His expression was puzzled, not comprehending my case. "The difference between a level E and the rest is that the level E is acting totally on instinct, no thought involved. When they know what they're doing, when they consciously hurt you, it makes it so much worse."

I'm not sure what expression flitted across his face, but the fact he allowed me to see it was enough to compensate for my admission.

"Let's just patrol." I nodded, ant swiveled, ready to take out my insecurities on unsuspecting beasts. "They won't bite you." His promise seemed less of an insult, and more of an endearment now, and it brought a warm, foreign feeling in my chest.

"Thank you."


It was almost dawn, and I was starving. I glanced over at Zero, who looked no worse for wear and sighed. He returned my gaze and my complaining stomach flipped.

"What?" I frowned at his cold tone, but shrugged it off, by now realizing almost anything Zero said was cold.

"Can we get something to eat?" He scowled, but changed our destination to a small café. I almost snorted when we entered, finding it to be extremely... girlie, and not at all something a vampire slash vampire hunter would associate himself with. He seemed to read my thoughts as he sent me a dark look. I shrugged, a smirk playing on my lips as the waitress seated us.

The menu was full of desserts, and while I loved the concoctions, there was no way in hell I was eating something that decadent for dinner. "Is there anything normal here?" He snorted, and then pointed to a small section of the menu with different flavors of Soba. I sighed and stared at Zero while I waited for the Waitress to come. He gave me an odd look and turned away, leaving me bored and hungry.

"What can I get for you?"

"Jasmin tea and soki soba." She nodded and turned to Zero, only to gasp.

"I know you! You came here with your little girlfriend before. What happened to her, is this your new one?" I could sense the emotion rolling off of him more than see it, but he just shook his head and glared.

"Nishin soba." It looked like the waitress wanted to ask more, but Zero's death glare scared her off.

"If I find spit in my food, I'm blaming you." He blinked, then scoffed.

"You're the one who was 'hungry', it's your fault." My eyes rolled.

"I wasn't rude o the waitress. And who's this girlfriend of yours, huh? Compatition maybe." It was meant as a joke, a way to lighten the mood, but it did the opposite. He just scowled and looked away, refusing to meet my questioning gaze. To me, the waitress thinking we were dating was hilarious, but apparently even someone thinking it was slightly possible we were an item was abhorrent to him.

Well, I didn't want to date the filthy vampire anyways. Of course his reaction tipped me off to who his 'girlfriend' was. I wasn't sure why, but the fact he took me to a place he took Yuuki upset me.

"Let's not come here anymore." He didn't respond, but I was almost positive he agreed.