I don't own Vampire Knight. End of story.

May contain spoilers, may not. Your call.

"They all stood before me as if I had all the answers. I didn't want to tell them that they were sadly mistaken, and that I in fact didn't even have answers for my own problems, much less theirs."

Zero Kiryu

Chapter eight: Betrayal

Something was pulling him, like a desire he couldn't place. It was telling him to run from her before she processed what he had said and proved that their comfortable friendship was not meant to last. Though he found himself unable to move, unable to breath or to think, he could only watch her every miniscule reaction for some sign of what she was about to do, and for a long time he saw nothing.

It took Yuki a while to process what I had said and even then I don't think she believed me. She sat up again in order to stare at me. "What are you talking about, Zero?" She asked, still calm. She didn't believe me. I almost backed out, but I knew she would hate me more if I pretended to lie to her.

"Kaname Kuran isn't really dead." I repeated. This was the end, and I knew it.

"I…I saw him, Zero. I saw him die." She said, her voice wavering due to the shock.

"No that is what he wanted. He wants Bato to think that he is dead so that he can raise a force against him and eventually kill him." I said. It did hurt me to say this, but I couldn't lie to her forever.

She threw the blanket off of her and stood up; despite the pain she endured for doing so. "Please Zero; tell me this is a sick joke." She said, quietly. I could see the tears surfacing in her eyes.

"I wish I could, Yuki." I said, shaking my head.

She didn't freak out, or cry or do anything that I thought she would. Instead she very calmly asked "Where is he?"

I stood up to face her "I can't tell you Yuki, I promised him." I said. My promise to him meant nothing, but I couldn't let her go to him. I didn't want to let her go anywhere just yet. As long as I was spilling secrets I was ready to spill my biggest secret of all.

"What do you mean Zero! Tell me where Kaname is!" She shouted.

I held my hands up in an attempt at self defense "Just hear me out for a second Yuki, please!" I said. She stopped; apparently her curious was greater than her anger, which was what I was hoping for.

"What" She asked, while grinding her teeth together.

I inhaled a deep, sweet breath and sighed. "Yuki…for years now we have been friends, and I would do anything for you and you know that" I started. She didn't look impressed. "Lately though, I have been noticing something that I had up till just recently chosen to ignore." I paused again. I had never been good at expressing my feelings, and this feeling was particularly difficult to express.

"I'm guessing there is more…" She said, tears freely streaming down her cheeks. At least she was listening to me, which was a good sign.

"So before you hurt me, or hate me or whatever it is you are planning to do to me for betraying me just give me ten seconds." I said, still unable to figure out what exactly it is I wanted to say to her.

"Ten seconds" She agreed, glaring at me. I had never really seen her glare and in any other situation I would have laughed at her for trying to be serious.

"Yuki this is hard to say but I think I…." I paused again. Damnit! Why was this so hard? It was just three stupid words!

She crossed the room standing right in front of me, bit her lip and thrust her fingers back into my stomach wound digging deeper this time than before. "Why don't you just say it Zero! You have been hurting me for too long." She said, the tears streaming freely now.

"I love you, Yuki." I said, feeling her fingers tremble inside of me. She gripped tighter, and I could now see the blood running down her knuckles.

"Thank you, Zero." She said letting me go.

I stared at her in disbelief. "What did you just say?" I asked. Had she gone completely mad?

"I know you love me, Zero. I have known for a long time." She said, plopping down on the bed and running through what had happened in her mind. She came to the conclusion that it was Kaname who had betrayed her, and not Zero, so Zero in turn did not deserve her punishment.

"What do you mean you have known?" I asked, unable to comprehend. I thought Kaname was the only one who knew, and he would never tell Yuki anything that would benefit me in any way.

"I'm not stupid, Zero. I just never thought you would admit it to me." She said, looking suddenly very sad. I hoped I had done the right thing by admitting my love for her. I didn't know what else to say to her, so I remained very quiet and waited for her to comment.

Before Yuki was able to gather a reasonable statement there was a noise outside the door, which seemed to be Aido. "We can talk later" I said, happy for the distraction. I crossed the room and pulled the door open, preparing me for whatever it was that seemed to be making Aido so upset, but before I could open my mouth in order to snap at the rowdy vampire something cold and hard was pressed against my temple.

I froze on the spot but didn't bother stepping back; I knew he wouldn't shoot me. "Ichiru" I greeted, staring at my twin brother who stood merely arms length away from me.

Ichiru stared back at me, his eyes hard and his expression unreadable. It felt almost surreal staring into my own face on another person. Ichiru had been attending the day class before Kaname 'died' but once Kuran disappeared Ichiru decided to return to Maria, the small vampire whom Shizuka Hio (the woman who turned me into a vampire in the first place) had possessed in order to get close to me once again.

I glanced at Maria who stood behind Ichiru, gripping onto his long brown trench coat and watching me with weary eyes. "What are you doing? Put your gun down, you are in a hallway full of vampires!" Yuki yelped, setting a hand on my shoulder. I wasn't concerned by my brother's obvious hostility.

Ichiru made no move to lower his weapon "I am here on strict orders, Zero." Ichiru explained, cocking his gun.

"To kill me?" I guessed. The other vampires, who now included Rima and Siren stayed quiet. They knew that Ichiru's gun, the counterpart to my own 'Blood rose' could easily end there pathetic existences with one shot.

"No" He stated "I didn't know you were here until that vampire mentioned your name" He said. I was sure he was referring to Aido, who had a tendency to have a very big mouth.

"Then what are your orders?" I asked. I could hear Yuki fretting behind me; she was worried that the situation was going to get serious.

"To protect Maria and to seek and destroy the one called Kaysha Matsumi" He said, surveying the room behind me.

"I don't know who issued your orders, but Kaysha has already been taken care of" Kain reasoned, stepping forward and placing a hand lightly on Ichiru's shoulder. "Please lower your weapon" He added. It was more of an order than a request.

Ichiru drew another gun and pressed it against Kain's stomach. I rolled my eyes. My brother was still as predictable as ever. "Unhand me, vampire" Ichiru commanded.

Aido stepped forward, snarling. I decided to end this pandemonium before Ichiru accidently shot someone. I held no real ties to any of these vampires, but if what Kaname told me was correct, and there really was some kind of war brewing, I would need more friends than enemies.

In one swift motion I caught hold of my brother's gun and twisted it out of his hand, then just as quickly kicked the other one into the air and caught it, all before my brother could react to even one of my movements. "You know it is stupid of you to threaten me, especially when Maria is so close." I warned, watching the frail girl press closer to my brother.

"You wouldn't dare" Ichiru snarled.

Yuki stepped in front of me and slapped Ichiru in the face, shocking both me and Ichiru. "He is your brother" She snapped "Even if you don't like it, you two are related and therefore you should at least respect him, not attempt to murder him." I could tell that she was more afraid than she was angry.

"He wouldn't have shot me" I assured her, pulling her back against me.

Kain stood his ground "He wouldn't have shot me either, and lived." Kain almost smiled at his own statement and all the surrounding vampires un-tensed.

"Like they said, Ichiru, Kaysha is dead, so your presence here is unnecessary" I said.

Ruka mumbled something about hunters who lack manners and Aido stepped forward and introduced himself to Maria, bowing before her. "It is nice to meet you for the first time, Maria Kurenia, and I am happy to see that you are yourself again." Aido said. The last time he had seen Maria she was being possessed by Shizuka Hio.

Maria bowed in return "Thank you very much, Aido Hanabusa." She said, proving that she did in fact know who we were, despite the fact that the last time we had the pleasure of meeting she wasn't quite herself.

"You killed Kaysha?" Ichiru asked, looking honestly curious.

"Accidently" I clarified. I didn't mean to mutilate her; it was the first act of vamporic violence that I have committed.

A dark look crossed Ichiru's face again, but I could see the look of praise lurking just below the surface. He wanted things to return to normal between us, so that we could go back to being brothers and not enemies. Though being my twin, Ichiru seemed to be just as stubborn as I. "Typical" He scoffed, stepping between Aido and Maria. "What about Bato, and Seki who was supposed to be Kaysha accomplice?" He asked.

Aido frowned at him for interrupting his conversation with Maria but answered his question regardless "Seki has been taken care of as well but Hatake managed to escape" He said, glancing at his cousin.

"Let me guess, Zero murdered him too?" Ichiru asked. I simply nodded. Yuki kept her mouth shut and some of the vampires wandered away, uninterested in our conversation. Ichiru frowned at me. "It won't be long then, in that case." He said.

He was referring to me falling to a level 'E' vampire, which did inevitably happen to all humans who were turned into a vampire. My only chance at saving myself was murdered last year by none other than Kaname Kuran himself (though no one but me knows this valuable piece of information.) "It isn't important" I said, glancing down at Yuki. From the saddened look on her face I could tell that she knew exactly what Ichiru was talking about.

Ichiru ignored my comment and turned back to Aido "Isn't it time for night class?" He asked. He must have had some kind of ulterior motive for coming here today, I just hadn't figured it out yet.

"Actually we were just about to discuss Bato Hatake, weren't we Zero?" Ichijo Takuma, who was the night dorm vice president, spoke up. I gave him a look that said I had no idea what he was talking about and he winked at me. "Would you like to join us Ichiru? Maria?" He said, smiling his friendly upbeat smile at them.

Maria returned Takuma's smile and turned to Ichiru, who was waiting for her response "It would be best" She said, smiling at me as well. I frowned. I didn't want to be forced to drag my brother into this senseless fighting as well as the bulk of the night class aristocrats.

Takuma extended a hand to Maria "Alright then, we should talk in the common room where we can all sit comfortably." He said, leading her down the stairs. Aido, Rima, Ruka, Siren, Shiki and Kain followed after him, but Ichiru remained.

"I have something to discuss with you" He said, glaring at me.

"Save it for later. I have already had one important discussion interrupted today." I said "Common Yuki" I said, pushing her in front of me gently. I didn't want to leave Yuki alone with Ichiru.

The vampires were already settled downstairs on the soft red and gold furniture. Kain leaned against the nearby wall, seeming to be lost in his own thoughts. Rima and Shiki sat on the small two seater couch nearest the staircase, both looking attentive and prepared, despite their usual aloofness. Ruka and Aido sat on another two seater couch. Ruka was watching Kain with an interested expression and Aido was observing Maria, who was sitting on a less than comfortable looking chair and chatting with Takuma who was standing beside her.

There seemed to be only one chair left, so Ichiru kneeled down on the other side of Maria and I allowed Yuki to occupy the chair while I stood close to her. "What have we to discuss?" Maria asked, already interested in the conversation.

"What are we going to do about Bato?" Takuma asked, and it seemed like every head in the room turned to me. They all stood before me as if I had all the answers. I didn't want to tell them that they were sadly mistaken, and that I in fact didn't even have answers for my own problems, much less theirs.

"What are you all staring at?" I snapped, my face feeling heated under their gaze.

"You know the most about him" Kain said "I looked him up in the pureblood records and it barely stated his heritage, much less his strengths and weaknesses." He said, sharing a look with his cousin.

"You talked to him, didn't you? At the party I mean. What did he say?" Rima asked, twirling her stringy blonde hair in-between her fingers.

"For maybe a second" I answered, dashing their hopes "And only to tell him that Kaname was on the balcony." Most of their faces fell and Siren edged into the room, standing against the staircase and watching carefully.

"So what kind of enemy is he? What are his motives and what is his main goal?" Shiki asked, turning to Takuma. Apparently they now thought I was as useless as I felt.

"From what I understand his plans are to take down anyone loyal to Kaname Kuran, and control the pureblood houses." Maria offered "He came to my house not long ago in order to form an alliance with my father, which is why Ichiru and I have come here." She said, looking saddened "He would have killed us otherwise. I may be a pureblood, but I am in no way capable of taking one down." She said "I am weak and helpless" She whispered.

That is just great, even without associating with me, Ichiru is already involved. "He also seems to be targeting Yuki and Zero. Kaysha could have easily captured any of us in the night class using her compulsion, but she chose to use Seki in order to capture Yuki." Kain said a slight growl in his voice.

"He saw them together, Yuki and Kaname I mean, so it is only natural that he thinks Yuki is closest to him" Ruka commented, though I was sure it was a painful thing for her to have to admit. Ruka at one point loved Kaname, though now it seemed she was more interested in Kain.

"That could be a problem" Takuma said, scratching the back of his head.

"Or it could be to our advantage" Shiki spoke, causing every head to turn to him. Even Rima, who seemed to be his closest companion stared at him in shocked silence.

"What are you saying, Shiki?" She asked, yelping slightly.

I snarled at him. Surely he wasn't thinking of using Yuki as bait to lure Bato Hatake out of the shadows…a thought dawned on me, one I should have realized before now. Bato was a pureblood, which means that he had a number of abilities, one of which was the ability to completely control the actions of lesser vampires.

Why would Bato, who knows good and well that we would begin to plot against him allow us to act as independent vampires? He has no control over Yuki or Ichiru, but who is to say that he isn't using one of these vampires in order to spy on us? Or worse, what if he was using all of them in order to lure Yuki and I into a well thought out plan? My paranoia got the best of me and I began imagining which vampire was the betrayer in our midsts.

How many of these vampires knew I was a vampire? That secret had been up to this point my ace in the whole, assurance that I had a power that the vampires were not aware of and could therefore put to good use in an emergency situation. When I killed Kaysha and Seki I relied on my vampire instincts, but was Ruka and Kain aware of this? Or did they just think that I was an incredibly powerful hunter?

"Of course I don't mean we sacrifice her" Shiki defended, causing me to jump from my unsettling thoughts. "I just think that we could compose a trap for Bato using Yuki's blood, or something similar and he would be none the wiser." He reasoned.

"He'll know" Ichiru and I answered simultaneously. I glanced at him and closed my mouth, allowing him to continue. "He is a pureblood and obviously a sharp one at that. Who's to say that he isn't spying on us at this very moment?" He said, voicing the same concern that I had been worrying about. Apparently despite our differences my brother and I are still connected in some way.

"But if that is the case then it means that…" Maria trailed off. We all knew what it meant without it needing to be voiced. It seemed a cruel fate, being hunted by someone who was more powerful than us all combined. Maria glanced at my brother and pressed her forehead against his "Oh Ichiru, I am so sorry for getting you mixed up in all of this" She said, closing her eyes.

"Don't be concerned, Maria. I wouldn't have been able to leave you to be hunted, and besides, I was already involved." He assured her, pressing a hand to her cheek. I looked away unable to watch how close my brother and Maria Kurenia had become. It was slightly nauseating.

"Speaking of spying, what if he is using one of us as a spy?" Ruka spoke up, startling Maria. Yuki had stayed very still and very quite through the conversation, but she now seemed ready to voice her opinion as well.

"You may not even be aware of it" She said "I have seen Kaname use his compulsion on Aido before, it is an amazing ability" She said, and the vampires all glanced at each other suspiciously. The last thing we needed right now was to all fear each other.

"You are very right Miss Yuki, a purebloods will over the lesser vampires is extremely powerful and impossible to fight." He said, speaking from experience. "We have all been exposed to it when Kaname was dorm president, even if Kaname did not mean it himself. It is an almost subconscious power that the purebreds can't help but use." He said.

"How does it work?" Yuki asked. She had seen it done, but never actually been forced to obey as the others have.

"It starts in your stomach, and then works its way throughout your system until you are numb. It makes you feel very tingly and weary, and then no matter how you force yourself not to, your body obeys the command." Aido said.

"It makes you feel weak and helpless" Ruka added "It is in no way a pleasant experience." She said, sighing.

I seemed to be the only vampire in the room who had not been subject to this very cruel vampire ability. "So if one of us is a spy then how will we know which one it is, if the spy doesn't even know that he is a spy?" Rima asked, watching Takuma with her large eyes.

"I am not sure." The moon dorm VP shook his head, seeming to be at a loss.

Maria raised her hand eagerly "I think I have an idea!" She said, sounding excited. Ichiru watched her carefully, raising his eyebrow.

"What is it?" Takuma asked. Maria was a pureblood with not only knowledge of pureblood powers and weaknesses, but also hundreds of powerful connections to other purebloods and a number of vampire aristocrats. It would be beneficial to at least her what she had to say.

"Well why don't I ask you one by one?" She asked. "I could use my compulsion to force you to answer my questions, and I could ask if you had talked to Bato? You wouldn't be able to deny my request and there would be nothing Bato could do to stop me, unless he showed himself and risk being attacked by all of us" She said, beaming.

A smile spread across Takuma's face "You are truly brilliant my dear!" He said, clapping his hands. "Alright then, you shall question us all one at a time. I shall personally volunteer to go first" He said.

Ichiru didn't look happy "Maria, you know how difficult it is for you to use your powers, if you used them excessively on such a big group it could be dangerous for you." He said, placing his hand on top of hers.

She smiled at him "Don't worry about me, Ichiru. I want to be of some use to my friends." She said. Ichiru glanced at me, and I nodded my head at him. I was sure that Maria would have no problems, and at this point we needed all the help we could get.

"Alright then, it's settled! Let's get started, shall we?" Takuma asked. All the vampires stood up and readied themselves to be questioned.

Takuma carried Maria's chair away from the group in order to give them a bit of privacy. Ichiru joined her and stood at her side, in case the spy panicked and ended up getting hostile. Yuki was also able to join Maria, and I handed her the 'Bloody Rose' gun, since I would also be a suspect.

I stood closer to Maria than the rest of the vampires, who kept a fair distance. Takuma knelt before her, and the questioning began. She asked him simple things, like has he spoken to Bato recently, and was he working for anyone other than Kaname Kuran. His answers were clear and sure, no doubt or hesitation in the slightest. She smiled at him once she was finished "Nothing" She concluded.

Takuma strolled triumphantly back to the group of vampires and Aido stepped forward, kneeling down in the same fashion. She asked him a different series of questions and then smiled "Still nothing" She assured as Aido rejoined the group.

Kain was the next one to step forward and he answered in the same clear self assured fashion that Aido had. Thus ended the vampires that I trusted, and the ones who remained were the main suspects. I didn't know Siren or Rima, or even Shiki enough to know whether they were capable of betrayal or not, and Ruka herself had a reason to want to get back at Yuki and Kaname. I shifted positions, then stepped forward before Shiki was able to "I would like to be next, if you don't mind" I said. I had noticed the left over vampires giving me the same distrustful look that I had been giving them.

"Alright, Zero Kiryu" Maria said as I kneeled down in front of her and stared her in the eyes. Everyone watched, and Yuki gave me a worried look. I hoped that she wasn't looking at me like that because she thought I was guilty? "Zero Kiryu" Maria started, lining her voice in compulsion. Takuma cringed from standing to close to her and yet…I felt nothing. She continued without pause "Have you associated with Bato Hatake, and in turn formed an alliance with him in order to betray Kaname Kuran and the night dorm by relaying their secrets?" She asked firmly. Her question was unlike the ones she had asked the others. It was demanding, straightforward and to the point which leads me to believe that she believed me to be the betrayer. I grimaced, but said nothing. The feeling that Aido described never overtook me, and I remained myself. I blinked a few times, as did Maria. She tried again, putting more force into it than last time "Zero Kiryu" She snapped "Have you or have you not formed an alliance with Bato Hatake?" She asked "Answer me!" She shrieked, getting flustered and weak.

I continued to stare at her, feeling nothing but normal. "It isn't working" Ichiru commented, staring down at me.

"How can that be?" Maria asked. "He couldn't possibly be immune, could he?" She asked, glancing at Takuma, who merely shook his head.

"No vampire is immune to a purebreds will. It is impossible" He said, staring at me with a confused expression.

"Well he is clearly not responding" She said. I was just as confused as everyone else.

"It isn't possible" Aido said, stepping forward.

I remembered the vampire and the mirror, the reflection of the demon living inside of me and the pieces seemed to fall in place. I laughed, causing all the vampires to stare at me as if I had gone mad, and in some cases I probably had.

"What are you laughing at?" Takuma asked, backing up slightly.

I stood up and took Yuki's chin into my hands "It doesn't bother me." I said, burying my face into her flesh and inhaling the smell of her warm pulsating blood. "I don't feel anything." I added. No bloodlust, no thirst, no burning in my throat. All the usual problems that aroused from me being so close to Yuki seemed like nothing, completely insignificant.

"What are you talking about?" Shiki asked, stepping in front of Rima.

I stood before the night class and smiled, revealing my sharp fangs. Now that Kaname was gone, and Bato already knew it was time to inform the vampires of what I was. If we were to truly be allies in the upcoming war then they had every right to know. "I am a vampire." I stated simply. "If I were human, would I have taken this test in the first place?" I asked as dawning arose in Shiki's face. Apparently he, Rima and Siren had not realized why I had offered to stand before Maria in the first place (considering humans were somewhat immune to vampire compulsion.) Even Takuma seemed a bit shocked by this revelation. Kain, Aido, and Ruka remained un-phased and impassive.

"You're a vampire?" Rima yelped. "When did this happen?" she asked, glancing around.

"I have always been a vampire." I said. Yuki was pulling on my sleeve but I ignored her.

"We can talk about this later" Ichiru interrupted "We need to continue questioning before Maria passes out." He said, laying his hand gently on Maria's. The other vampires agreed that the continuation of the questioning was the best idea, and Shiki stepped up.

Maria asked him a series of questions, to which he answered calmly then sent him away. Rima stepped up and went through the same examination. Once she passed she flaunted over and looped her arm in Shiki's, smiling at him.

The only two vampires left were Ruka and Siren who were both staring at each other. "I will go first, if you don't mind." Siren said, strolling up to Maria. I tensed as she passed me and the monster that lived inside of me stirred. I clenched my fist as Siren kneeled next to Maria and bowed her head.

"Siren, is it?" Maria asked, unsure of the name.

"Yes, Miss Kurenia, I am Siren" She assured. Ichiru felt it at the same time I did, just as the first question left Maria's lips "Do you, Siren, have any allegiances to Bato Hatake?" She asked, her voice ringing out clear. Ichiru tightened his hold on his gun, and I took a slight step forward as Siren opened her mouth to answer.

She hesitated.

A/n - …This was one of my favorite chapters, mostly due to the fact that you really get to see home the night class students interact with each other and how easily suspicion spreads. Do you think Siren is the spy? Or could it be Ruka? Stay tuned for the next installment Chapter nine; The lazy day to find out a little bit more about Ichiru and Maria and there tentative relationship. As always, please read and review and remember, NO FLAMES!