Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, nor do I profit in any monetary way from this story. It is written for my and other's enjoyment, and I am taking creative liberties with the characters. The only character that is mine is George Rosenburg. Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty are property of Viz Media and Matsuri Hino. Support them buy purchasing manga and dvds legally from your favorite retailer! The rating is posted above, and I cannot be held responsible if a reader who is too young reads this story without permission.
Author's Note:
To make up for the lack of fluff, I thought I'd post what I have so far. If you are reading all three of the chapters I just posted at once, I am impressed! Since I am posting like a fanfic fiend, I probably won't post again for a little bit. (Not too long, though). ^_^
Chapter 11: Demanding the Truth with Scarlet Eyes
The first thing that Yuuki Cross noticed was that she felt terrible; like she had been up all night and only got an hour of sleep. She also felt warm and weighted down by what she assumed was a heavy blanket. Focusing all of her energy, the darkness that filled her vision soon became bright slits of sunlight.
"She's waking up," she heard someone say.
"I'll go inform Lord Kaname. Are you going to be able to stay awake, Hanabusa? You look like hell," said a deeper, masculine voice.
"I'll be fine, Akatsuki," he said in a curt tone.
She heard faint footsteps and the closing of a door before it became quiet again. Increasingly curious as to why she was being watched over by them, she tried to lift her head up. "Ugh. Wh-what ha-happened?" she asked.
Yuuki either was always on the receiving end of an obnoxious Hanabusa or an irritable one. Today, she got irritable. "You passed out several days ago. Lord Kaname brought you here. You're in the Academy infirmary."
"Passed out? Several days? Kaname?" She gasped. "George! The vampires! Zero! Is he hurt? Where is he?" she asked in a rush. She tried to get off the bed, but he pushed her back down. With her head spinning like a top, she accepted that she would have not been able to stand, anyway.
"Don't be stupid. You still haven't recovered, and I have specific orders from Lord Kaname to not let you leave this room until you do." He reached over to the end table and handed her a pill and a glass of room temperature water. "Take this."
She held the medicine and looked at it questioningly. "What...is it for?"
The exceptionally smart vampire had to take a deep breath to keep from yelling at her, for fear that Kaname would slap his face off. "Quit looking at it like I'm trying to poison you. Just take it. It's supposed to help you recover."
Giving him one more wary glance, she swallowed the pill and finished the water. "There, I took it. Now, where are Kaname, Zero and George?"
"They're fine. That's all you need to know. Now sleep." Hanabusa walked to the door. "You are not to get up from the bed until you've rested some more. If you begin to feel worse, yell for me. I'll be outside the door," he said. Not leaving any room for debate, he walked out, leaving a perplexed Yuuki.
Almost against her will, Yuuki fell into a dreamless sleep. She vaguely recalled seeing Ichiru visit her, but it was all a blur. A clock on the opposite wall told her that she had nearly slept the entire day. Groaning, she sat up to get her bearings. She had to admit, she did feel better, and she had a sneaking suspicion that medicine was a sleeping pill.
"He-hello?" she asked with a raw voice.
To her surprise, Hanabusa walked in. "What do you want?" His hair was more unruly than normal, his normally pressed clothes were wrinkled, and it looked like he had bags forming under his piercing eyes.
"You're still here? Aren't you tired?"
He stared a hole through her. "Are you seriously asking me that? Of course I am tired. Is something wrong or are you going to ask me stupid questions?"
Yuuki recoiled from his snippy attitude, but if he'd been up watching her this entire time, it was understandable. "No, I'm fine. I feel much better now."
He looked at her with an exhausted gaze, his ice blue eyes droopy and dull. "Hmph. Good. My job is done. I'm going to bed." He walked nearly to the door before her shy voice stopped him. Why he stopped, he didn't know, but nevertheless it happened.
"Hanabusa." She paused to make sure he was listening. "Thank you for watching over me. That was very kind of you." Her smile was sweet as candy and her eyes shone with the warmth that his leader always received.
Deep down inside, he liked the sunshine scent and kindness that always followed her, and it bothered him – a lot. It especially bothered him that his normally sensible, stoic, stone-faced leader seemed to be taken with her. So, he did what any normal boy would do and channeled his inner jerk. "I did not do this because I wanted to, Yuuki Cross. Remember that. The only reason I'm here is because Lord Kaname wished it. If it were up to me, I would have left you in the rain."
He walked out of the room, his footsteps echoing softly on the wooden floors, with the image of her remorseful face etched into his mind.
Shaking off Hanabusa's meaner-than-normal comment as best as she could, Yuuki pulled the covers away and realized with shock that she wasn't wearing the clothing that she was the other night. Instead, she was wearing a generic hospital gown. Looking around frantically, and turning beet red, she located a new set of garments folded neatly on a nearby stool with a note on top.
Yuuki,
Here are some cute clothes that I have picked out for you to wear! As soon as you are dressed, don't forget to come visit your number one parent!
Kisses,
Daddy
P.S. I bet you are wondering how you got into the hospital gown. Kaname helped you change. Somehow, he did it without looking. Can you believe that? (must be a pureblood thing...) XOXO
Yuuki nearly fainted at reading that Kaname had almost seen her naked, but found herself blushing at him still not taking a peek. I'll have to thank him later...again.
Putting on the outfit, which looked like a pink crayon had exploded all over her, she carefully made her way to the exit of the building. To her surprise, she was greeted by two former Night Class students.
"Hello Akatsuki. I didn't know you had arrived, Rima. What are you doing here?" Yuuki asked. She noticed that it was nearly dusk.
Both of them bowed politely.
"We are your personal escorts, Lady Yuuki," Rima chimed in, looking serious. "I'm visiting on my vacation."
Akatsuki just looked bored out of his mind.
"Ah...um...well, okay. But why do I need escorts? Don't you have better things to do than watching over me?" Why are they calling me Lady?
"My thoughts exactly," Akatsuki said.
Yuuki wasn't sure what to do at their continued silence, and fidgeted on the steps. "Um, Hanabusa said that Kaname made him guard me. Did he ask you to do the same?"
Akatsuki sighed. "Yeah, he did. Wouldn't tell us why, and we didn't ask."
"Can't we just say you watched me that way we are all happy?" Yuuki asked with a goofy smile.
"Not a chance," he said.
"He'd find out and then we would need disciplined," Rima finished, matter-of-factly.
"Oh," Yuuki said lamely. "Okay, then..." She began walking to her home, with the two vampires following a short distance behind her. This is so weird, she thought.
Walking into the home, with Rima and Akatsuki standing outside, she met with her father. He, as always, cried dramatic tears and wailed about how his precious gem of a daughter was ill. He informed her that George had already left for home, and that he left his best regards for her to feel better. Once she told her side of the story, which matched Kaname's perfectly, she asked something that had been bothering her.
"Um, Headm-father? Where's Zero?"
He suddenly got serious. "Zero is not feeling well, so he's resting in his room."
"What's wrong with him? Did a vampire hurt him?" A million scenarios were flying through Yuuki's mind, and none of them were pleasant.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Zero is fine, just exhausted. He'll be back to his grumpy self before you know it. Maybe you can see him later?"
She still looked worried, but she wasn't nearly as distraught as before. "Sure."
Since she wasn't able to sleep, she patrolled all night long, with two "escorts" accompanying her. She tried making polite conversation with them, but she found out very quickly that they were the quiet type.
This is ridiculous. I need to speak with Kaname. Determination in her eyes, she made a beeline for the Moon Dorm. She walked into the castle-like building unabashedly, startling the residents that were lounging in the common area, and walked up the stairs to his room. Senri locked eyes with Rima and had a knowing smirk on his face. When met with the stares of the other students, Akatsuki just shrugged.
At the last minute, she decided that just barging into his room was a bad idea, so Yuuki knocked.
"Kaname, I need to speak with you right now," Yuuki said firmly.
It was eerily quiet on the other side, and she wondered with dread if he was even home. Thankfully, the door opened, but it revealed a nearly shirtless Kaname. His hair was dripping wet, and he carried a white towel around his neck to catch the drips. He wore a dark button-up shirt that was anything but buttoned properly, displaying glimpses of his toned body through the undone button holes. He wore a pair of white pants, but he didn't wear his usual belt. Obviously, he had just gotten out of the shower.
"Hello Yuuki. I am glad you are doing well," he said.
I am sooo happy I didn't barge into his room! "Ahem, yeah, thanks." He was distracting, and she was sure he knew it. Back to the task at hand, Yuuki! Focus! Taking a deep breath, she mustered up her courage. "Kaname, why are you making Rima, Akasuki, and Hanabusa watch over me?"
The two flame-haired vampires remained deathly quiet, amazed that she could question his motives.
Kaname glanced at them, before moving aside for her to walk in. "Please, come in. I'd rather talk in private." He hid his smile due to her adorable anxiousness.
Yuuki walked inside with trepidation, and stood next to the familiar pink lounge chair. Kaname closed the door gently and walked near her, drying his hair absentmindedly with the cotton towel. "What is bothering you?"
"I want to know why they are being forced to watch over me like I'm a wayward child," she said looking away from him.
"I do not think you are a child, Yuuki. Far from it, actually." He let the towel rest on his shoulders, and reached out to stroke her hair.
"Then...then why are they following me? It makes me uncomfortable," she ended in a mumble.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you feel that way, but...I think it's only proper for my lover to be protected from danger," he said in a soft voice, discarding the towel.
"Lo-lover?" she asked.
He brought her close to his body, hugging her loosely. His skin felt warm through his silky shirt from the shower he had taken, feeling soothing on her own. He smelled faintly of soap and roses. "Does being my lover disgust you?"
She blushed. "N-no, not at all! It's just...after what I said, I thought..."
"What you said didn't change my feelings for you, or my intentions." He made a move to kiss her near her lips, but she pulled away.
"No, don't distract me. You're hiding something from me, aren't you? It's about how you are connected to me." He gave her a small, bitter smile. "What is it, Kaname? Why do you care about me so much? Do you even care about me at all? What are you protecting me from?"
"Yuuki, please, you are asking too much at once. Calm down, or you'll strain yourself again."
"No, Kaname! I can't take this anymore. George has left, Zero won't hardly talk to me, the Headmaster won't answer my questions, and now you are saying that you still want to be lovers with a human girl you saved. What is going on?" Her voice was a little higher than normal, but she wasn't in hysterics...yet.
He hugged her closer, firmly yet gently. "Relax, Yuuki. I know deep down inside you desire being this way with me, don't you?"
She nodded into his chest after an agonizing pause, resting her head against him in defeat.
"Then don't fight it. Don't ignore your feelings, my dear, dear girl." Sensing that the situation could escalate into one like last night, he placed his hand on her head and a warm glow surrounded her. Yuuki fell limp into his arms, sound asleep. He carried her over to his bed, and covered her up. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Forgive me, my love, but this will be less painful for you. By me is the safest place."
Going into his office, he made an expected phone call to the Headmaster.
Yuuki, once again, found herself in strange surroundings. She was laying on a large four-poster bed with velvet curtains. The walls were decorated with expensive-looking paintings, and she felt a little out of place.
Wait...this is Kaname's bed! Oh my, how did I end up in here? Where is he?
She got up from the bed, still in her clothes, and tried feeling her way around the room. It was the dead of night, and no lights were on in the ornate room, save for the faint glow of a kerosene lamp that was most likely left for her. Bringing the lamp closer to her face, she jumped in horror at seeing her clothing covered in blood. Walking closer to the wall, it also had blood thrown upon it by some unknown force. Having enough sense to put down the lamp, she snuffed out the flame so that she wouldn't see the nightmare she was living in – it didn't work.
Now, bright as day, she saw a little girl with a shadowed face stand facing her. The child looked up and appeared to float towards her. Yuuki backed into the wall and the girl kept advancing. In a flash, the child reached out and flew into her body, like a ghost.
Kaname apparently heard her to some degree, and opened the door. Turning sharply, Yuuki felt herself reacting on an instinct she didn't recognize as she ran full speed at him. He held her by her shoulders.
"Yuuki, are you alright?" he asked.
Yuuki began reacting violently to him, and her eyes were hard and cold. So, it has begun. Yuuki, I hope you do not come to hate me after this night. He patiently held her by her wrists, keeping her at arms length until she snapped out of her trance. After a few more seconds, she did.
"Ka...Kaname?" She gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Kaname, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry!" she cried. Large raindrop tears cascaded down her face. She hugged him for dear life, and he returned her desperate embrace gently.
She's finally at her breaking point. Oh, Yuuki... He picked her up and began carrying her. "Come with me, Yuuki. Let's go for a walk to clear your mind."
She nodded, still crying.
He opened one of the windows with his power and traveled out into the night air. It was chilly, and the scent of snow was in the clouds. He felt her grab onto his shirt tighter, and he looked down at her.
"What is it, Yuuki?"
"Everything...everything is co-covered in bl-blood," she said quietly.
"Shh, it will all be alright soon. You'll see," he said comfortingly.
He walked across the campus instead of transporting himself, which might have frightened her even more in her delicate state. Part of him, he thought, was probably delaying what was going to happen for as long as possible. Luckily, the air wasn't so cold that she would freeze before they arrived where he was going – to the Main Hall.
He entered the eerily quiet building, his steps echoing across the empty halls. Finally, he arrived at his destination, and opened the door to the fourth floor roof. It was one that he had seen her observing the Academy on a time or two before, and he would easily be able to deflect any attack, should one happen, from the high perch. Kaname set her down gently, still cradling her to his body as he kneeled on the stone roof.
Her expression looked neutral now, like she had given up on fighting the images that harassed her day and night. Her normally bright, shining eyes looked dull and empty.
"The snow...it's red. It looks like rose petals falling from the clouds," she said softly.
"Yuuki, I will make the monsters go away, but you have to trust me." After she nodded dumbly, he leaned forward and let the beast inside of him take over just enough. He finally allowed himself to see the delicate veins in her neck – the same veins that taunted him for so many years. He smelled the scent of her skin, and of her blood, his fangs finally elongating enough to do what he had denied himself in her honor.
Just before he continued, he put his mouth near her ear and whispered what he thought she might understand. "Yuuki, you are the most precious person in my world, and I'm sorry this has to be done."
Kaname swiftly moved back to her neck and, as gently as he could muster, sunk his fangs into her neck. He fought the beast inside of him, pushing it to the back of his mind.
No! Not now. Not like this. Later. When she is ready.
Refusing to actually drink from her, as he felt that would have been violating her in some way, he still let the blood that he desired most off all roll down her neck and onto the floor. The poison, as the hunters called it, in his fangs entered her blood stream.
I'm no better than a spider killing its prey, he thought sadly.
Yuuki felt numbly aware of what was going on, until a burning sensation invaded her senses. She began thrashing from the pain as she realized whom was causing it. "Ka-Kaname? Wh-"
Not wanting her to attract unwanted attention, he covered her mouth with his hand. Due to her fidgeting, he had to bite a little harder. He felt her painfully grab his hair to pull him away, but he ignored it. Finally, after several agonizing minutes, she stopped moving. He pulled away and looked down at the damage he'd done, hoping that she would make it through the transformation mentally stable.
"Only you, my dear Yuuki," he said quietly as he bit his own wrist. He filled his mouth as much as he dared, and used his thumb to open her pink lips. He let his rich blood trickle slowly into her mouth as he placed his on her own, waiting for the vampire inside of her to know what it was. As he felt her begin fidgeting again, he knew that she had awoken. After steadying her by placing his free hand on her cheek, she stopped moving and gladly accepted his blood.
Reluctantly pulling away from her, he wiped the blood on her porcelain face that had escaped her lips. "Do you remember who I am, Yuuki?"
It took her a few moments to register, but she slowly sat up with tears forming in her eyes. Placing her hands gently on the sides of his face, her breath hitched as the veil that had covered her mind for most of her life was finally lifted. "Kaname..." Happy tears falling down her face, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly. If she could have seen his, it was a mix of contentment and uncertainty.
Knowing that the clock was ticking until that monster awoke, he stood up. "Can you walk or would you like me to carry you?"
She stood up slowly. She was a little wobbly. "I think you'll have to carry me."
He gladly did just that, and they walked down the stairs and out of the building. Just after they exited, they both heard a familiar click.
"What have you done?" Zero was pointing the Bloody Rose directly at them, his eyes furious.
Yuuki did what she was known for and jumped out of Kaname's arms in order to be his human, or rather vampire, shield. "No, don't shoot him! Please!"
He turned his metallic eyes on her. "You...you smell like him! Damn you, Kuran, you changed her into a vampire! I'll kill you!"
"NOO!" Yuuki yelled at the top of her lungs. "I won't let you kill him! He didn't force me. He's my brother! Don't..." She couldn't finish as she fainted into Kaname's arms.
Zero looked horrified.
Kaname picked her back up calmly, and stared without fear back at the vampire hunter, in all literal senses of the term. "If I was her real brother, we'd both be much happier."
Real brother? Zero refocused his hard gaze. "What do you mean, Kuran? Don't tell me you've already started lying to her. Are you her brother or not?"
"Yes and no. That is all you need concern yourself with. Surely, even you can sense that the pure blood of the Kuran family flows through her. She is like me... a pureblood." He watched as the truth was acknowledged in his purple eyes. "Now, either fight or get out of my way, Kiryuu. She needs to be taken to a safe place."
Kaname walked past the dumbfounded Zero and headed towards the Headmaster's residence. The two cousins, Akatsuki and Hanabusa, both met him along the way with their own questions. By now, they reported that the entire Night Class sensed the arrival of another pureblood, but were otherwise were not searching out the source. Hanabusa, ever perceptive, quickly figured out just how special Yuuki was to Kaname. Both gladly pledged to help him, regardless of what happened.
The four of them arrived at the Headmaster's home, with Akatsuki and Hanabusa standing guard at the front door. Kaname carried a still passed out Yuuki to her bedroom. Kaien watched them walk by with mixed emotions.
Placing her carefully on her bed, Kaname waited for the time when she would finally awaken from her nightmare.
Ending A/N:
See you next time! Thank you for reading this far and reviews are welcome, not demanded.
