Hello people! Now that I'm on summer holiday, I'll be able to write a lot more XD

I'm excited!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight…

Chapter 13 - Explanations

Zero's eyes twitched uncomfortably as a harsh ray of morning sunlight burned through his aching eyelids. He frowned as a small part of his exhausted brain registered that it was morning. Couldn't he just lie here forever? It was not like he had anything to live for.

Something scratchy caressed his cheek as he lay on the ground. Zero sighed. It was probably White Lily, wanting her usual morning brush. Why did she have to be so insistent?

"Stop it, Lily – "he complained in irritation, sitting up and attempting to swat his annoying but adoring horse away from his face.

His hand did not meet the warm, soft fur that he was expecting. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying just next to a lot of prickly rose bushes. The ground was wet with morning dew. Buildings stood in the near distance. As Zero sat up, he realized that he had collapsed on the outskirts of a small town. Slowly, Zero began to remember what had happened last night. The level E's and their little ringleader had escaped. Regaining his energy enough to stand up, he brushed himself off. There was no way in hell that he was going to let them run free any longer.

Touching his head painfully, Zero could feel a lot of dry blood. He had hit his head – badly. Although the bleeding had stopped, there was still a large gash across his skull. Thanks to that girl drinking his blood, the wound hadn't healed as quickly as he was used to. He uncomfortably became aware of his desperate cravings, gnawing for the huge amount of blood that he had lost. Zero shrugged them off as best as he could by chugging down tablets as he set off to hunt, his Bloody Rose gun on high alert.

The forest was damp with morning dew and bustling with activity. Birds called to each other from high above whilst tiny insects rustled through the undergrowth, setting about their daily activities. As he trudged through the array of trees, plants and species, it became more and more obvious that Tori and her companions were long gone. The wind had blown any scent away, and the falling leaves had covered any footprints or trails. Zero didn't even know how long he had been unconscious. It was likely that the trio had reported back to their mysterious pureblood master by now. Zero cursed himself for collapsing.

Hoping that the association would be able to give him a lead, Zero began to head back. He felt a small itching of déjà vu as he wandered into the nearby town on his journey. He knew that at some point, he had been to this quaint little place. There was just something familiar about the cobbled streets and dusty shops. Even the citizens going about their daily business mad Zero feel as if he had seen them before. After staring at the buildings curiously, he remembered that this town was near to that strange hospital where Kaiya had supposedly escaped from. It seemed like so long ago since he had been to the hospital and found the letter from Taro. But now Kaiya had left. Deciding that he had nothing better to do, he turned around and headed in the direction that he remembered. There was still something not quite right about that girl. Perhaps she was connected somehow to the incident in the woods.

Unlike the last time that he'd been here, Sea Green Children's Psychiatric Hospital was bustling with activity. Nervous parents and friends crowded into the waiting room hoping for a visit, phones were ringing off the hook and doctors and patients consulted and talked constantly. He wondered if now would be a better time to find out exactly why Kaiya had ended up in this place to begin with.

The people nearest to the stood and stared as Zero walked in. He could feel their eyes on the back of his head and wondered just how bad his injury was. Ignoring their stares, Zero walked straight in and started to look for any sign of Kaiya. He didn't care what those people thought.

Kaiya did not turn out to be hard to find. As a 'potentially dangerous' escapee, the entire hospital seemed to be on red alert, despite the fact that Kaiya had been missing for months now. No new information had surfaced for a long time, and everyone seemed to be becoming more and more desperate.

"Hey, you!" a voice shouted angrily.

Zero looked up. It was Maruyama – one of the psychiatrists who had questioned Zero at Cross Academy. She was puffing heavily, her cheeks bright pink. It was obvious that she had run to catch him as quickly as possible.

"Where – is – she?" she asked threateningly. "I know that you found her. Tell us where she is. It's for her own good. That girl is a danger to herself."

"I don't know where she is," he replied, truthfully this time.

The woman did not look convinced. After all, last time he had lied to her.

"Do you even know anything about that girl?" she asked spitefully. "Or do you think that it was just completely ordinary to find a strange girl one day who supposedly lives at this establishment?"

Zero scowled.

"Maruyama-Sempai?" a woman asked, hurrying to catch up. "What is it? Have you found anything?"

Her eyes widened at the sight of Zero's distinctive silver hair.

"You!" she said in disbelief.

The woman grabbed his shoulders forcefully and rammed him against the nearest wall, knocking over a framed picture of the hospital's founder. Ignoring the pleas of Maruyama, she glared angrily at Zero.

"Where is my daughter!" she cried.

"I don't know," he repeated awkwardly.

"Don't lie! Of course you know! Maruyama-Sempai told me about how you're harbouring her at some stupid school!"

"But – " Zero protested weakly before being drowned out once again.

It was like talking to a brick wall.

"She's mentally ill you know!" she continued, her grey eyes flashing dangerously. "My daughter needs help. One teenage boy can't look after her alone."

Zero blinked. Teenage boy? Who was this woman?

"Mine-san!" Maruyama interrupted, pulling the hysterical woman away. "Now is not the time. Our latest reports show that she is no longer residing at Cross Academy."

"Well where is she then?" Mine asked.

The two women stared straight into Zero's violet eyes expectantly.

"I told you, I don't know where she is." Zero said for what seemed like the hundredth time. "She disappeared two weeks ago."

They had gone upstairs into a private office which smelled slightly of roses. On the shiny elm desk in front of him was a small plaque with the words HIROKO MARUYAMA, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST etched upon it.

"Liar!" Mine said angrily.

"I don't think he is, Mine-san," Maruyama said quietly. "It's highly likely that she experienced a psychotic break as she did the night she escaped her."

Mine sighed. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"I just want her safely back in the hospital being cared for properly," she admitted.

She frowned and placed her empty teacup solidly onto the desk.

"What were you thinking?" she asked angrily. "How did you ever decide that you could look after her?"

Zero glared menacingly. How did she expect him to know everything? Besides, Kaiya was not on a psychotic break. She was a vampire. Yet… if her parents were human then how was that possible. She couldn't be level D or E if she had been here for nearly her entire life.

"Well who is she then?" he said irritably.

Perhaps there was something in her past related to all of this. There had to be a reason for a vampire to be at a human hospital.

The two women stared sadly at each other. Mine nodded slowly.

"Her name is Kaiya Hayashi, and she was admitted under our care thirteen years ago." Maruyama explained sadly.