Hello my friends!

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it!

Disclaimer:

ME: Give it to me! Give it to me!
ZERO: *holds rights to VK over my head*
ME: *jumps but can't reach it* You're just being cruel now!
ZERO: You love me ;)

I don't own Vampire Knight :(

"Zero?" Yuki questioned as the couple found themselves standing outside of Headmaster Cross' door. The yellow light in the hallway sheathed them in an easy glow, "What are we doing here?"

Zero knocked his knuckles against the door, "I think," he explained without looking at the brunette, "the old man might know what's going on."

The large door swung open with a groan to reveal a very sleepy Headmaster wearing his pink kitten pyjamas. Headmaster Cross leant up against the door frame and rubbed his eyes with a fist as he yawned loudly. As his eyes fell upon his visitors, Headmaster Cross lit up like a little child on Christmas.

"Ah! My children!" he cried, as he flung his arms out wide expecting an embrace, "What a pleasant surprise!"

Yuki forced a smile onto her face as she held her clasped hands behind her back. She really wasn't in the right frame of mind to be playing happy families.

Zero scowled at the delighted man, "You may have looked after me, but I never agreed to being called your son."

Headmaster Cross' face dropped, "Why do you have to be so mean to me, Zero?" he whined as streams of tears ran down his face.

The silver haired man huffed at the childish behaviour, "Listen old man, that's not why we're here."

Zero then grasped a startled Yuki by the shoulders and ushered her past the Headmaster and into the room.

"Well this doesn't appear to be a casual visit then." Headmaster acknowledged as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He followed the pair into the living room and gestured that they sit.

Yuki swiftly sat down on the corner of the lounge and the cushion softly dipped under her weight. Her heart was racing faster than usual and she fidgeted with her clammy hands in her lap to occupy herself. She let her head drop causing her short locks to fall about her face, covering her like a curtain. It was a protective instinct; to hide herself away, to make herself smaller. The room felt unusually muggy, like a still summer night. The stagnant air sat heavily on the petite girl making her uncomfortable. Small beads of sweat started collecting on the back of her neck just below her hairline and loose tendrils of hair were stuck to the sides of her face.

Why did she feel this way?

Why was she … why was she scared?

Yuki continued to wring her hands in her lap.

The silver haired man noticed his companion's discomfort as he sat down next to her on the lounge. He hated that she was feeling this way. Yuki didn't deserve unhappiness. This was just wrong. He needed to find a way to lift this weight off her shoulders. And he would; he would do anything for the girl beside him. Absolutely anything. Just to see her smile again.

Zero reached across and rested his palm on the fidgety hands in Yuki's lap. The brunette glanced up at him, locked in his lavender gaze. Then after a moment her eyes fell back down to their hands again in her lap, and she allowed him to loosen her grip and let her hands fall gently aside.

"Yuki," Headmaster Cross began as he sat across from the couple, "you're awfully quiet tonight."

"A-am I?" She stuttered, averting her gaze, "Ah well … I um … ah…"

"She's been having nightmares." Zero interrupted, cutting straight to the chase.

Headmaster Cross raised an eyebrow at this, "Really? Yuki?" he addressed her, "What kind of nightmares."

"Well," Yuki raised a hand and brushed away the hair from her eyes, "I … I think they're from that night … ten years ago. B-but I can't tell if they're real memories … or just … nightmares."

"The same thing keeps happening in them though," Zero interjected, "It has to be more than just normal nightmares. I thought that if anybody knew about what happened that night," he looked at Headmaster Cross pointedly, "it would be you."

A pained expression swept across the Headmaster's face, "Unfortunately," he said, looking at the two of them; Zero with a hard expression, and Yuki's uneasy eyes, "I don't know any more about what happened that night than what you two both know. All I know about that cold night is that Kaname appeared at my house asking me to take Yuki in because I was the only one he could trust with her. He mentioned that you, Yuki," Headmaster clarified, "may be quite unsettled and easily startled or even upset because of the frightening vampire that attacked you." He then sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "But I'm afraid I don't know anything about what occurred before that incident. I always focussed on moving forwards from that point. I didn't want to dwell on such a black moment in your life." He explained.

Yuki's shoulders slumped as an even heavily weight fell upon her.

Headmaster doesn't know.

She closed her ruby eyes, trying to hold the tears in.

If Headmaster doesn't know…

What was she going to do now? These nightmares weren't going to give up. She needed answers … but had no place to get them.

The stifling heat was becoming too much for her in the small room. Claustrophobic. She started sucking in sharp, shallow breaths trying to get oxygen to her lungs. The constant thud of blood pulsing through her veins became eerily noticeable to her as the sound vibrated through her ears.

"I don't accept this."

Yuki's head snapped up at Zero's raised voice. She watched with wide eyes as he glared at the Headmaster.

"There has to be something," Zero snarled, "anything. You can't just tell us to go back to our rooms and forget about this-"

Headmaster Cross raised a silencing hand causing Zero to bite back the words on his tongue.

"The only thing I can think of," Yuki's ears pricked up as Headmaster Cross spoke, "would be to go to the Hunter Association Headquarters and see if they'll let us go through their records of vampire executions. All missions have to be signed off on by the hunter after the kill." He explained, "If we can get in there should be reports about that night and the level E that was killed. Maybe something in those records will jog your memory as well, Yuki."

"Ahhh," Headmaster Cross whined the following afternoon as he trudged obediently behind Yuki and Zero as they walked through the town centre and towards the Association Headquarters. The warm, orange sun was slowly disappearing behind the hills at the edge of the town, leaving a peaceful purple and blue shadow in its wake.

"And to think you dragged me away at this time of the afternoon," he sulked, "when I was going to make a lovely roast dinner. There won't be enough time to let the potatoes cook now-"

"Can you stop talking about your freaking potatoes!" Zero growled over his shoulder.

Headmaster Cross just gave the silver haired man a childish sullen look and continued walking.

"Zero," Yuki scolded him, "be nice, please."

Zero slapped his face in frustration then opened his fingers, giving Yuki a pointed look through the slits.

"We need him to get into the Association." She reasoned.

Zero rolled his eyes and let his gaze fall on the road in front of them. They continued in silence for a few moments until Zero noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Beside him, Yuki was fidgeting with her hands once again.

She must be anxious.

Zero's demeanour softened as he took in his petite friend. Her ruby eyes kept low to the ground whilst her shoulders stood stiff.

Oh, Yuki.

"If you keep on doing that," he nodded to her hands, "they might fall off."

Yuki narrowed her eyes at the tall man and slapped him hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! Hey!" He rubbed his arm.

Yuki just shrugged at him and continued looking forwards as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

Though Zero felt a small sense of victory when a small smile played on the corner of Yuki's lips.

"Here we are." Headmaster Cross stated.

The trio found themselves in front of a grand building at the edge of town with intricate carvings crawling up the walls and around the windows. The overwhelming sight of such mystical, yet frightening place caused Yuki to gulp loudly.

"This is the place?" Her voice broke.

"Yep," Headmaster Cross strode in front of the pair and began to enter the building through the ominous blackwood doors.

"Okay," she murmured, psyching herself up … then stopped. The silver haired man hadn't moved from his spot.

Yuki tilted her head. "You coming Zero?"

She watched as Zero took in a calming breath, then followed behind her.

Inside the Association, the ceiling was high and large columns were situation around the room. There were people scattered about, all attending to their own business carrying files … and weapons.

"I thought we had an anti-vampire barrier," a burly man snidely commented, as the leant against a column at the edge of the room.

Yuki's face hardened as she turned on the man and her fists clenched by her sides, "You can't speak to him like that," she raised her voice, "Zero was born into the Kiryu's. He has a right to be here."

"Yuki," the brunette stopped short as she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She glanced up to find Zero standing behind her with a gentle face, "It's okay."

Yuki relaxed her hands and let them fall to her sides, she gave Zero a silent nod but not before flashing the burly man one last dark look.

"Ah!" Cried a voice. Yuki's head snapped in the direction and found and elaborately dressed woman holding a fan in front of her face.

Who is she?

"What a surprise it is to see you here, Zero Kiryu! I am most delighted."

"President." Zero replied with a curt nod.

"The president?" Yuki thought.

"President," Headmaster Cross addressed as he strode towards the woman, "I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

Yuki watched as the pair retreated away from peering eyes. Her brow furrowed.

"Zero?" she asked, grasping onto his sleeve, "What do you think they're doing?"

"Cross is probably trying to convince the president to let us look at the hunter reports." He glanced down at the brunette, "They aren't open to the public normally."

Yuki nodded and no sooner, Headmaster Cross and the President returned.

"This way, Yuki." Headmaster Cross gestured for her to come to him. But she didn't move instantly.

Is this what I want?

What if she didn't like what she found? Was she able to do this? Or could she just live in ignorance for the rest of her life? And constant nightmares doused in blood?

Before she had a chance to truly decide, she found herself stumbling forwards as Zero began to make his way towards Headmaster Cross.

"It is this way to the records you wish to see," The President held out an arm, allowing Yuki and Zero to step in front of her as they walked towards a wooden door at the end of the large room.

Inside, the room was smaller than the first, however the ceiling was just as high in order to accommodate for the walls and walls of books that pilled as high as the eye could see.

"Where do I start?" Yuki's question floated in the silent air as she took in the vast sight before her.

"This way, Yuki." She followed Headmaster Cross around a shelf of books and towards a table.

"Wait here." He told her and then disappeared around a corner. Yuki took in a deep breath and rested against the edge of the table.

"Are you scared?"

The brunette jumped at the deep voice, but settled as soon as she saw Zero's face in front of hers. She shook her head in defiance.

But honestly … she was scared.

"Here you go, Yuki!" Headmaster Cross rounded the corner with arms full of books and let the drop loudly on the table. "Start with these."

She gazed over the dusty books on the table. Her answers could be in here. What a strange thought… the mysteries that she didn't know … they all could be in here …

Her head snapped sideways as she heard a chair screech across the ground. Zero had pulled out a chair and sat down, dragging a book in front of him.

"Well?" he questioned Yuki with a raised brow, "Are you going to just stand there?"

"No, no." She quickly shook her head.

I can do this.

The brunette righted herself with a deep breath, then pulled up a chair besides Zero.

The couple had been at work for over an hour and had yet to find anything. There were thousands of reports to go through, yet none of them were of that night. It was disheartening to Yuki. Despite her best efforts not too, in the bottom of her heart she had gotten her hopes up, believing that this would work.

She had really believed that they would find something.

Yuki's shoulders slouched as the weight of disappointment fell upon her.

The sound of a chair moving snapped her head up as she watched Zero stand up and stretch out.

"I don't know about you," he said, dropping his arms, "but I need some caffeine to keep going. Want anything?"

Yuki shook her head, "No thanks, Zero. I'm fine."

"Alright," The silver haired man put his hands in his pockets and wandered around the corner, "won't be long."

Once Zero left, Yuki went back to the reports. She had to keep going.

There had to be something…

The brunette daintily flipped through the brittle pages, then stopped suddenly.

Yuki's ruby eyes narrowed in on a name on the page.

Kuran, Kaname.

Then they shot wide.

Instinctively, Yuki's hands held the book in a vice grip and raised it closer to her face. Her eyes frantically scanned the words around his name.

"Execution of level E #472.

Hunter: Rin.

Upon reaching destination for kill, Level E #472 was already executed. Appeared to be done by Kuran, Kaname. He took a small child before I had a chance to speak with him.

Note: Evidence of a second body was also found at the scene. Unable to identify."

Confusion etched across Yuki's face.

"Evidence of two bodies?" she muttered to herself, perplexed. "That doesn't make any sense. It was just Kaname. Just Kaname, the Level E and myself. Two bodies?..."

In that second, Yuki's world went black again.

Cold.

She was so cold.

It played out like every time before.

Yuki stood frozen in the blackness. She knew where she was … and what was going to come for her. And yet there was nothing she could do to stop it. Fear left her paralysed as the grey figure came into view again, flying towards her. Then came the other figure, the tall woman with long hair soaked in blood. The crimson liquid that dripped from the woman stood out, taunting her. Yuki's head throbbed as she gripped at her hair, wishing for the pain to go away.

Her world went white again as Yuki found herself back in her chair. She gasped loudly, letting the book to fall from her fingers and land with a loud thud on the ground. Swiftly, she raised her hands to cover her ears. The loud screaming continued this time as Yuki clutched at her head. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, willing for it to stop. There was too much noise! There was too much-

"That vampire … is going to eat me!" The child's frightened was overpowered by a commanding one.

"Stop. Stop looking!" It ordered.

Yuki's eyes snapped open at the sound of the new voice … and then she shrieked.

The book before her was soaked in the deadly crimson liquid which flowed out from the binder and began to trickle down the table legs.

Zero was waiting in the Association cafeteria for his coffee when he heard the ear-splitting shriek.

Yuki!

Forgetting about anything else, Zero raced back towards the library, his ears zooning in on the voice he knew all too well.

"Yuki!" He cried as he spotted the trembling girl with her hands covering her face. He flew to her side and knelt to be at level with her. Zero's strong hands grasped her shoulder tightly and he shook her; a wild glint in his eyes as he took her fragile form in, "what happened?"

Yuki just stood there, unable to do anything but tremble as her eyes were glued on all the blood.

"The book … there's blood … every … everywhere. There's so much blood!" she began to scream again, "There's so much blood! Get it away!"

Zero glanced over his shoulder in the direction of her frantic eyes. The open book on the table appeared absolutely normal to him. There was no blood.

"Yuki," he whispered as he raised one hand from her shoulder to run his fingers through her hair soothingly. She was still shaking. "There's no blood."

"B-but-" Yuki began to argue but stopped after her eyes fell upon the book again.

All the blood was gone.

"I … I saw it," she stuttered. This didn't make any sense. Was she going insane? What was wrong with her? "Why…?" Yuki didn't understand at all.

But her musings were silenced by a great red flame that erupted out from the book. The overwhelming heat caused the pair to stumble backwards. Yuki stifled a gasp with her trembling fingers.

"What the hell…" Zero muttered as the flame died down as quickly as it erupted. He leant over and found that the page Yuki was reading was now just a pile of ash.

"Come on," the silver haired man placed a comforting arm around the small girl's shoulders and she shook uncontrollably. "Let's get who out of here."

"Go, have a shower," Zero instructed when they made it back to Headmaster Cross' guest room. Yuki hadn't spoken a word the entire way back to the academy in the darkness. Personally, Zero believed that she was still in shock. Whatever she had been reading, it must've contained something about her past.

But … then why?

Why did it burst up into flames?

Zero watched his petite friend nod, averting her gaze from him, and slowly shuffle into the bathroom at the end of the corridor.

Yuki…

In his mind he cried for her.

As he waited for her, Zero decided to make her a cup of tea. It always calmed her down as a child. And she probably needed that right about now.

Yuki still felt uneasy on her feet and she unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall to the ground. She held onto the glass frame of the shower to steady herself as she stepped in. Turning on the hot faucet, she immediately felt the steam rise up. Goosebumps pricked up on her porcelain skin as she held out her palms to the running water.

She couldn't get the visit to the Association out of her mind. And that book …

Why did she see blood? Why was there fire?

None of this made sense to the small girl and she gripped her arms around herself tightly.

Why was there evidence of two bodies at the scene?

Who was the second person?

"Stop! Stop looking!"

That same voice from before erupted in her mind, hurting her temples.

Yuki gasped loudly at the force in her head. The action caused her feet to slip and she fell backwards in the shower, landing heavily on her wrists scrunching up her face. The jolting pain was soon forgotten when she opened her eyes and found herself soaked in a sea of red.

Her ruby eyes flashed wide at the crimson blood rushed out from the shower head and pooled around her body. Her breaths laboured as she held up her hands. They trembled with red.

Zero rested against the kitchen counter, letting his eyes slip shut as he waited for the kettle to boil. What a day. He felt like their outing today didn't clear anything up at all. It only gave them more and more questions to fret over. He didn't like this. He didn't like it at all.

A high pitched shriek pierced Zero's ears and his eyes snapped open instantly.

Yuki!

Zero pushed himself from the counter and raced towards the voice. Once he came to the bathroom door he pounded on it with a tight fist.

"Yuki!" He called out, "What's going on?! Are you okay?"

"There's blood!" Cried the voice beyond the door, "There's blood everywhere! Get it off me! Get it off! Ahhhh!"

"Yuki!" He called distressed, not knowing what to do.

Another loud shriek burst out from the room, and Zero gripped his fist tighter against the door. He felt so useless!

As a pained cry got muted by the barrier between them, Zero's heart broke in two.

"Why is there blood?!"

Not thinking of the consequences, Zero called out.

"I'm coming in!"

In his own frenzy to see Yuki, Zero barged through the door. His frantic eyes flickered about until they fell upon the girl. A naked Yuki had curled up into a ball on the shower floor, shaking. Her loud sobs echoed, bouncing off the tiles in the small room, as she let the water from the shower pour over her head.

There was no blood anywhere.

"Oh … Yuki …" Zero's voice broke at the sight.

His mind had slown down and the adrenaline in his veins had calmed. He breathed deeply as well, settling his racing heart. Slowly, he grabbed a fluffy towel off the rack and walked over to the trembling girl. With a loving gentleness, he draped the towel over her body, covering her.

Then he knelt down in the shower with her, not caring in the slightest about getting his clothes wet and pulled the bundled up Yuki into his arms.

He didn't try to unravel the ball she had cocooned herself into.

"It's okay, Yuki," He whispered into her ear, "It's all gone now. I'm here. I'm here. It's okay. You're safe. I'm here. The blood is all gone."

He continued these safe murmurings into her ear as she sobbed in his arms.

Zero held the brunette for a long time, lowly rocking them on the shower floor, until her tears stopped.

Yuki sniffled and finally released herself from the ball she had wrapped herself up in, gazing up at the silver haired man with wide eyes.

"Hey," he murmured whilst raising a thumb to gently wipe the tears from under her eyes.

"Sorry," Yuki's hoarse voice croaked, "That you had to see that. I don't," she cleared her throat, "want you to worry about me. I'm … I'm okay."

"Hey now," Zero cupped her face so he could look at her directly, "Don't you think it's a little unfair? That you can worry about me, but I can't worry about you?"

The girl in his arms didn't respond. She just played with the edge of his collar with wet fingers.

"I'm here for you, Yuki," Zero promised her, "You don't have to be strong all the time. It's okay for you to lean on me; that's what I'm here for."

Yuki nodded her head as his words warmed her heart.

"I got your clothes all wet." She complained.

Zero was relieved and let out a sound that almost sounded like a laugh, almost.

"They'll dry."

Yuki closed her eyes as she nuzzled her head into Zero's neck. She felt safe there, with his strong arms around her. Like everything would be okay. The warmth radiating out from his body was soothing Yuki's frantic heart. Thawing out, she relaxed against his strong chest.

"Come on," Zero slipped his arm under Yuki's knees while keeping the other one at her back. She lifted the small girl slowly off the ground, paying close attention to keeping the towel covering her, "Let's get you dry."

Zero carefully carried Yuki into the guest room and sat her down on the bed.

"I'll let you get changed."

As Zero turned to exit the room, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his shirt.

"Wait."

He glanced over his shoulder to see Yuki gripping his shirt tightly, whilst the other hand held the towel against her chest.

"Can you …" she stopped.

"What is it, Yuki?"

"Um," she squirmed, embarrassed, "would you mind just standing outside the door, so I can see you?"

Zero was taken aback by the strange request, but complied, waiting just outside the ajar door so Yuki could see him.

After Yuki had gotten changed into a fresh pair of pyjamas, Zero led her to the lounge.

"Wait here for a moment."

He then went into the kitchen to fix her a cup of tea.

Yuki accepted the steaming mug gratefully as Zero came to sit down beside her. Yuki took an eager sip and let the warm liquid travel down her throat, giving her a warm hug on the inside.

"Thank you." She smiled at the man beside her.

The pair sat on the lounge together as she finished her tea. Zero lazily flipped TV channels, not actually interested with anything on the screen, just trying to add some normality to the night.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked as Yuki placed the empty mug on the coffee table.

The brunette nodded and stood to leave.

Before she had a chance to protest, Zero swept her up into his arms once again, holding her securely to his chest.

Yuki gasped, slightly taken back by the action. She had been so close to Zero all day, it was unusual for him to consciously bring her closer towards him.

It took her a moment before she could speak.

"I can walk you know." She pointed out. "And anyway, doesn't being so close to me make it harder to resist-"

Zero cut her off.

"I'm not taking any chances tonight."

Yuki gazed up at Zero, her eyes passing from the silver piercings in his ears, down to his strong jawline and then settled on the ink on his neck. He seemed so in control of himself, such determination.

Slowly, Yuki raised her arms and wound them around his neck in a vice like grip. Her lithe body relaxed against the planes of his chest and she let her eyes drift close.

"Not my room please," Yuki clutched at Zero's sleeve as she recognised her corridor, "If it happens again," Zero understood what she meant by it. "Yori is there. She'll ask too many questions. I can't go there. Not tonight."

Zero nodded, realising the motive behind her request. Yuki needed somewhere she could sleep without worry of anyone else intruding on her nightmares. The silver haired man wracked his brain about where to take her as he cradled the brunette in his arms. Back to Headmaster's guest room? No that was back on the other side of the academy, and Yuki had to rest now after the day she had. Then where?

Zero finally decided on a destination. Turning on his heels he began to walk again.

"Your room?" Yuki's voice disturbed the silent corridor as Zero stood outside his door.

He stopped in his tracks, slightly uncomfortable, "I can take you somewhere else if you'd like?"

"No, no," Yuki backtracked, feeling her cheeks flush, "I … it'd be nice, not being on my own after today. And I … I feel safe you."

Zero brought the two of them into his room, closing the door behind him. With only the moonlight from the window to guide him, he slowly placed the small girl down on the edge of his bed.

"You can have the bed," Zero said and pulled out a large blanket from under his bed and tossed it over himself as he laid on the floor.

Yuki crawled underneath the sheets of Zero's bed, with her eyes glued on him the entire time. The pillow, the sheets, they all smelt like Zero; like the cool midnight breeze right before it rained. The small girl curled up in the sheets, holding them close to her face as she breathed his scent in. Though her eyes stayed on Zero's broad back as he laid facing away from her.

"Zero," she whispered.

Zero's head peered over his shoulder at the voice.

"Hmm?"

"You don't have to sleep on the floor."

At this statement, Zero rolled over towards the girl in his bed. He propped up on an elbow and rested his chin in his hand.

"Well there appears to be someone already occupying my bed."

Yuki flushed, "I … I mean, there's plenty of room for the two of us-"

"It's a single bed." Zero interrupted.

"Well," Yuki fidgeted with the sheets, "I feel guilty taking your bed while you sleep on the floor."

"Yuki," Zero sighed, "you don't have to do that."

"Zero," her voice was stronger this time, commanding his attention, "Get it the damn bed."

The silver haired man raised a brow at her tone. He locked his gaze with hers, waiting for a falter in her eyes.

But she held strong.

With a sigh, Zero sat up off the ground, leaving his blanket on the floor and slipped beneath the sheets.

"Alright," he agreed, "but if you steal all the blankets like when we we're little I'm going to kick you on the floor."

Yuki giggled, "Okay, Zero."

The brunette then raised a hand and placed it on Zero's cheek.

"Zero," she smiled, "Thank you, for everything."

His lavender eyes widened at her gesture and his breath caught in his throat.

"Yuki."

Zero raised his own hand to cover hers on his face and let his eyes drift close. Just from one touch, Zero felt a sense of peace wash throughout his body. It was a beautiful feeling, so pure and so warm.

This is what I want.

Her smiling face.

Her gentle hands.

Her warm heart.

"Goodnight Zero."

Zero's eyes opened at the loss of contact on his face, but the warmth didn't leave. It was permanently scorched into his skin.

But there was no pain.

Only joy.

In that moment all Zero wanted to do was to lean over and press his lips against her smiling ones. To feel her skin upon his skin. But before he had the chance to move, Yuki had rolled over.

The silver haired man placed a hand under his head and sighed contentedly. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she was bathed in moonlight.

To be the one that she trusted when she was asleep made his heart swell. Even though he could take her life at any moment.

She really wasn't afraid of him was she.

"Goodnight Yuki."

Sweet dreams.

Review and you get to sleep in Zero's bed with him!

ZERO: Not happening
ME: Pleaseeeeeee
ZERO: No.

review anyway my friends,

lots and lots of love xxx