Notes: Wow...Very long absence. I apologize. I valiantly struggled with several writer's blocks as I was writing this. Thank you for bearing with me and the encouragement that you gave me even during my horribly unforgivable absence. As an author, I humbly beg, on all fours, for an ounce of your mercy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Vampire Knight.



Book Nine: Dancing with Sin



Cross Academy was filled with more excitement than usual with the ball that was to take place in just a day, and I was also expectant for the coming dance; perhaps it would be my chance to spend a moment of privacy with my princess. I went back to my manor after some business with the Senate, and opened a secret door that led up to the cellar where I had hidden all of the belongings of my late parents. There was a heavy trunk in the middle of the dusty room, and I opened the lock with ease with a password. Lifting the lid, I found what I had come for: my mother's beautiful dresses. I had not been able to throw them away when the thought of my princess being old enough to wear them looking even more beautiful than my dead mother had looked in them.

One by one, I unfolded them and held them out to inspect them closer, wondering what kind of dress I wanted to see Yuuki wear the most: this one too informal, this one much too colorful, this one…much too revealing. Perhaps she would wear it one day just for me, and the primitive part of me hungered for that day. I finally chose one that was a soft pink with white ruffles underneath and one that had a decently high neckline since I decided that I would rather not have teenage boys staring at her chest for the entire night. It was elegant yet well suited for her age, and I knew she would be the most radiant creature that the world had ever seen.

Pleased with my choice, I went back down the stairs, quietly sealing up the cellar along with all of the things from my past; however, little by little, I felt as if I was slowly bringing them back into my future. I carefully laid the dress over a plush velvet chair and I sat down with a blank card and fountain pen in front of me, my mind not quite sure how to begin a note to Yuuki. I hesitantly reached for the pen and touched the tip to the paper, creating a small dot of black ink, marring the white background of the card. Unhurriedly, I began to write:

To my dear Yuuki,

I would be greatly honored if you wore this dress to the dance. I will be waiting for you,

Your servant,

Kuran Kaname

It was simple, but there was no way that I could even begin to convey my feelings for her on paper, so I said the simplest things to at least to get my point across. I only hoped that the Kiriyu boy kept his dirty hands away from her. At the thought of that boy, I almost broke my fifth desk; I still could not forgive him for biting my most precious girl, and I knew that I indeed would never forgive for his Sin.

I asked Seiren to wrap the dress and the card in a neat box and instructed her to leave it at the door of her dormitory room the night of the dance before she left. She nodded once and walked out of the door just as Ichijou came in. He flashed at her a charming smile that she briefly returned before disappearing out of sight. My friend closed the door and heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong, Ichijou?" I asked with a slightly amused smile.

He gave me a pained look. "The dance is tomorrow and I don't know what to do."

Ichijou always made things overly dramatic. I folded my hands together and rested my chin on them. "What?"

"What will I do if too many girls ask for a dance? I can't keep dancing with all of them. Even though I'm a vampire, I still do get tired!" He looked at the ceiling and put his hands together as if he was praying to the heavens to plead for mercy. "Oh, did you know? Kurenai Maria is sick again so she won't be able to attend the dance."

"Ah…A shame…" I murmured, but I knew the reason behind the excuse.

Kurenai Maria was only a shell. The first day of her transfer, she had greeted me in the classroom, and the faint smell of a Pureblood wafted into the room. It had caught me off guard but it aroused suspicions. I knew that only Purebloods had the special power of possessing other beings—in fact, my own uncle was probably using this power to inhabit a poor, defenseless creature somewhere since I had torn his own body to shreds. Hio Shizuka was conniving and the reason why she came to the academy was easy enough to guess.

The Kiriyu boy.

I almost snarled.

"K-Kaname? Are you listening? Why are you so dazed?" Ichijou looked concerned as he stared at me nervously.

Forcing my lips to turn upward into a smile, I sighed. "I have to go study."

He gave me a softer, more sincere smile. "You know, you don't always have to force a smile like that. You can show me how you really feel sometimes. It's not hard." With a wider smile, he left, leaving my chest aching dully.

If only it was as easy as he made it sound. With no way to truly differentiate between my allies and enemies, I could never truly express my inner self…

Unless I was with my princess. She made me forget sometimes: the pain, the revenge, the loneliness. But always, when I left her radiant presence, my motivation for bittersweet revenge returned tenfold—no, a thousand fold. She was the only thing I had left in this world, and I would no stand to see it get taken away from me again. Not anymore. Not when I had the ultimate Checkmate. Nothing else mattered.

Shizuka, if she was putting on the pretense of being sick, would be making her move tonight. What would I do? It would not be a surprise if she had already approached my Yuuki, most likely luring her with the temptation that she could save her friend somehow. And my princess would be too naïve and too gentle to suspect any kind of betrayal of a promise because I or even the Chairman have broken a promise that we have made to her. I would not simply let Yuuki's pureness be tainted by a conniving vampire. Shizuka would never get her way because she was too simple, too weak to make any difference in the plans that I had laid out. She was going to die, but not at the hands of the Kiriyu boy—she was going to die by mine. I took some pleasure in this dirty chore just because I knew Zero wanted to kill her himself to avenge his family.

How he amused me. He almost made me really laugh at his stupidity. Were his sufferings greater than mine? His parents were Hunters who murdered the innocent and guilty without discrimination, while mine vowed to never drink the blood of humans ever again. His loved blood and mine hated killing. It was only fair that they would be killed when they killed so many of our kind, but mine were innocent. They only wanted peace. They only wanted to live to see their children grow and be happy. But they met death too early, and I was going to make the vampires pay with the help of the unknowing Kiriyu.

There was information that Hio had a little sidekick who lurked in the outskirts of the academy, entering only at night through one of the many side entrances. He had a mask. He was of little matter to me since he only seemed to be human. He was not as agile as the Kiriyu boy or as strong, so I doubted he could pose any real threat to me.

We would see how this night would end, but I could be certain of one result. The threat of Hio Shizuka would be eliminated from the chess board before the morrow.

The time of the dance was drawing near so I went out to the front entrance of the dormitory to assemble the vampires before going. Many of the dresses worn by the female students sparkled in the dimming sunlight as the sun set, but the bored expression plastered all over their faces were as one, uniform body. This tickled a rare nerve and I smiled at them.

"As you all are painfully aware, this dance will count as a part of your grades. You must dance with at least one human partner without hurting them or revealing any part of our identity. But in the end, let's try to enjoy ourselves."

They bowed to me with a unanimous chorus of "Yes, Kaname-sama."

Obedient allies were like pawns for my bidding.


• ∞ •


The main hall where the dance was to take place was already full with the Day Class students. The girls whispered loudly behind their hands, causing a strange humming of murmurs that echoed throughout the large, marble room. The excited Chairman stood to give the opening announcement.

"I'm so glad to see so many people here! I hope you all have a great time! Extra credit to whoever dances with me!" The crowd laughed at his antics.

The chamber orchestra began to play a waltz, but I was already bored, having scanned the crowd twice and not being able to find my princess in her new dress. The music, at least, was soothing to my agitated senses and I began to worry if Yuuki had already gone to see Shizuka. No, the job of being a guardian always came first. Putting Seiren on alert, I quietly slipped out to the balcony, hiding behind the gossamer curtains.

The night was indeed far more beautiful than the day, and the moon shone happily without a cloud to interfere between its silvery light. The stars winked at me from the heavens and they reminded me of how my father's eyes would twinkle at the thought of any sort of mischief to displease my mother. He had once told me after Yuuki was born, 'Yuuki is like the sun; we all revolve around her.' She was the core, the very center of my entire universe, and if she was gone, then my universe would be nothing but a black hole, spinning into the pits of despair, destroying anything and everything that came near my vicinity.

The volatile thought faded when I heard her familiar call. "Kaname-sempai!"

I looked up to see her standing elegantly in the dress, beautiful and gentle, as she blushed a light pink. I couldn't help but smile. "Good evening, Yuuki. I'm happy you're wearing the dress."

Her flawless ivory face flushed a deeper color. "Ah, yes, I wanted to say how thankful I am for the dress." She bowed quickly. "Thank you!"

My princess looked nervous. She squeezed her hands together and the blush remained on her face. "Is something the matter, Yuuki? You look a little strange…" I teased lightly. She immediately put her hands to her face as if to feel her own temperature. I chuckled and gave her another reassuring smile. "I'm just kidding. You look pretty today. That dress looks really nice on you."

She looked a little shocked at my honest confession and I heard her heartbeat quicken. This pleased me more than words could ever tell. I knew that her heart would always belong to me and I was satisfied that she reacted the way I always react to her: the quickened beats of the heart, the feeling of being unable to breathe, the tightening of the chest at the scent of her hair, her skin…

I slowly reached at and gently took her porcelain hand, marveling at the smoothness of it. "Would you like to dance with me? In return for the dress…" I drew her nearer to my body by wrapping my other arm around her little waist. I had to fight to stay in focus. She was so breathtaking that I could hardly do anything.

The music was no longer in my ears. I let my memories take me back to the past when my little princess was small. The music box that I had given her as a birthday present contained two waltzing figurines that spun to the tinkling music of the box.

"Kaname-sama, can you show me how to dance like them?"

I could still see the innocence behind her eyes as she pleaded with me to teach her how to dance. That day, I stooped a little hold her tiny hands as I slowly taught her the steps to the dance. We couldn't match our steps to the music that day but holding her hands like that was enough for me.

"Sempai…? Why are you missing the beat?" She asked timidly as she followed my slow lead.

"Because I'm not listening to the music." I replied with ease as I again missed the beat of the turn. "Let us dance slowly…like the old times…" How I miss the old times.

Yuuki had a nostalgic look on her face. "You're right. Back in the past, I could only dance slowly since I had just learned the waltz…" She looked up at me and I was surprised to see that there was pain in her eyes. "You're mean, sempai. Till when do you intend to stop treating me like a child?"

I gripped her hands a little firmer. "I do not have such an intention."

"Really…?" She whispered in disbelief as she looked away in disappointment. In desperation, she looked up at me again, and this time she was angry and sad, confused and tormented. "That night…The one who made me sleep and tampered with my memories is you, isn't it…?" She pushed me away and I felt my heart tear in two. "Keeping me away from that place…just like stopping a child from poking his nose…" She trailed off without much confidence.

I had to reassure her somehow. I had to tell her my true feelings. "No…No…" I hugged her tightly with my soul begging her to understand me. "I'm not treating you like a child. I just…want to protect you. I did what I thought was best in that case…"

Please…Believe me…

She was frozen in my arms for a moment like a statue and then she again pushed me away, her face etched with new determination. "I'm sorry…" She murmured before turning on her heel and running from me.

Sorry? Sorry about what? That look on her face told me she was going to do something. I could not let her suffer everything by herself because of her unhealthy attachment to the Kiriyu boy. I was going to go find her first.

"Kuran-sempai, what happened to Yuuki?" That detestable voice asked me.

I turned around and glared at the form of the other academy guardian. "I have told you what your role is. You are Yuuki's shield. Do not ever forget."

And he sprinted off in the direction where I had last seen Yuuki.

"What happened, Kaname?" Ichijou asked me, thoroughly confused.

But my mind was already whirling at the next move that I had to make. I knew that the Kiriyu boy would do his best in order to protect my princess, and his best was adequate enough. I knew he didn't yet have the strength to kill a Pureblood like Shizuka, but that worked out well for me. I needed her for the plot of my revenge. I would be crossing over to the ultimate darkness for vampires like my uncle had done before me, but I could not defeat him if I did not take the risk.

Rido and I would be on equal footing after tonight—no, I would be stronger. I would have gained enough darkness to defeat him. In order for Yuuki's future to be without darkness, I had to destroy it now even if I become one with it and self-destruct. I would protect her no matter the cost. She had everything to live for and I only had one: her.

I left the school dance in search for Shizuka, and I felt a strange calmness settling within me. Perhaps I was too used to the killing, the plotting, and the acting to be nervous about committing an unforgivable sin. My prognosis led me to believe that they would either be outside or in Kurenai's room. Would interfering achieve my goal? No, I could not kill her in front of my princess. I would just have to rely on the Kiriyu boy to protect her in the meantime.

I would have to wait patiently and have Shizuka come to me.

The room was empty when I entered it and I looked around at its contents covered with white sheets. The room was nostalgic. This was the first place that held memories for me. The incident with Ruka had taken place here, and I could almost taste the blandness of her blood in mouth again. I could still see Yuuki's terrified eyes staring at me with horror as I drank someone else's blood. My heart had committed a great sin here, betraying the one to whom I was promised. And I was about to sin again, but this time in the eyes of no one.

The breeze shifted with the presence of another in the room and I watched a figure glowing in a silvery white kimono enter the room. Her clothes were stained with her blood—I could smell the rich scent of a Pureblood radiating from her like heavy perfume.

"Horrible wound, isn't it, Shizuka?" I caught her attention. "Against troublesome vampire weapons, even our abnormal healing power is limited."

She turned to face me, her skin as pale as the moon itself and her eyes eerily empty. 'Kuran's son… Why are you here?"

To kill you. "This bedroom was the first I occupied when I entered this school."

"I see. As for me, no one will disturb me here."

That is the plan. "Yes…"

"Well then, let me ask you one more time," she said quietly while fingering the dusty covers, "what brings you to this school?"

She knew more than I expected. Her tone of voice told me that she already had a clue of my answer. "To return a favor…and also because this is an appropriate place to get what I want." I slowly approached her and carefully wrapped my arms around her as if to give her reassurance and I felt her relax against me. "Actually, I probably would have done the same as you…Shizuka."

Without much difficulty, I quickly thrust my right hand into her back and through the front of her chest. Blood splattered everywhere. I gently grasped her beating heart then tightened my fingers around it, and I felt her body tremble from the shock.

"I am like you, milady. I do it for myself." I whispered into her ear.

For my Yuuki.

And I drank Hio Shizuka's blood, savoring the power that coursed through my veins with each gulp. The darkness briefly flashed before my eyes and a sudden urge to kill erupted in my stomach.


Notes: I love all of my reviewers and readers.