* Vampire Knight and Fairy Tail... so much fun to write but I will probably never do it professionally since I don't own them.

General POV

The days following St. Xocolatl Day were nothing short of a dream for Lucy, everything in her life just seemed perfect. Everyone except for the Day Class students, were accepting of her and Takuma's budding relationship, even Aidou supported them. The magazine that she, Senri, and Rima and been in had hit the newsstands and the three of them were now booked almost every weekend for photo shoots. And she was still exchanging letters and photos with Fairy Tail every day so she could watch her friends and their families grow. They had gone crazy over the copy of the magazine she had sent them and were glad that she was happy and making a life for herself.

The only downside was that something seemed to be going on with Zero. He wasn't having lunch with her and Yuuki anymore and that was bothering her. She wasn't so egotistical to think that it was because of her, but she had a feeling that something else, maybe serious, was going on. She'd asked Yuuki about it too, but all she said was that Zero was always like this and that he would be okay.

On the day of the dorm inspection, Lucy had hoped to be able to talk to Zero in person since he had been avoiding her. She had even seen the two of them walking up the path to the Moon Dorm, but Zero ran off before they came inside and Yuuki ended up running after him.

Takuma and Hikaru had noticed her mood and assured her that she would eventually be able to talk to the moody, silver haired boy. Lucy knew they were right, but she couldn't get past the feeling that something was going on.

Her worries were compounded later that night while they were in class. She was waiting for Lord Kaname to return so she could start her talk about Earthland when she noticed the sudden mood shift of everyone in the classroom. They all sat up a little straighter in their seats and some of their eyes began to glow blood red. It wasn't like the time she gave everyone chocolates, it was more like when she had cut her hand open that first day she arrived and she suddenly felt nervous.

"Lucy, I think you should step out of the room," Takuma told her in a calm voice, his eyes the same red color as everyone else. "There's a scent of blood in the air and I don't want to risk you accidentally getting hurt."

Needing no further prompting, she slipped out of the room and down the hallway. She didn't know what she expected to see, but Lord Kaname carrying an unconscious Yuuki was not what she had in mind. What made it worse was seeing the blood that was still dripping down her neck from an obvious bite wound.

All too quickly, it became harder and harder to breathe as her eyes refused to look away from the blood. Someone... attacked Yuuki? I thought it was safe here? No one is allowed to feed on blood here!

"Lucy?"

The sound of her name is what drew her out of her thoughts enough to force herself to look away from the blood on her friend's neck. Then her body was moving. She wasn't sure where she was running to, she just knew that she had to get away.

There were puncture marks all over her body. She was so pale, like there wasn't any color left in her at all. "Mama? Mama, are you okay?" She wasn't moving. Stepping closer, the smell of blood permeated her nose and she couldn't help but wrinkle it in disgust. Looking at her chest, realization hit that she wasn't even breathing. "Mama... no..." was all Lucy could say before fainting at her mother's bedside.

Kaname could only watch as Lucy sprinted away from him. He would have to tell Takuma to check on her after he had looked after Yuuki, she was the most important thing. It was only after she had woken up and Cross had come to tell him about the restlessness of the Night Class that he let his mind go back to Lucy. As soon as he got back to class, he called Takuma and Hikaru over to talk to him away from the rest of the class.

"Did something happen?" Takuma asked him.

"There was a situation with a vampire that isn't in our class attacking Yuuki, Lucy saw the blood on her neck and I believe she became consumed by her fear again and ran off." Kaname told them, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

"Damnit, she was doing so much better," Hikaru cursed before turning to look at Takuma. "Do you want me to come with you or do you want to handle it on your own?"

Takuma wanted to say that he could take care of it himself, but since he would have to search for the blonde, it would probably be better to accept his help. "If you don't mind. We'll split up to look for her, call me if you find her before I do."

"Same for you," Hikaru said before they split up to search the grounds for Lucy.

It wasn't long before Takuma caught the unmistakable scent of tears and terror that he had come to recognize whenever Lucy was dealing with her phobia and quickly followed it. When he caught up to her, she was sitting on the edge of the swan fountain with her arms wrapped around her stomach and she was bent forward so that her head was practically between her knees. He quickly called Hikaru to let him know that he had found her and that he would handle the rest on his own.

Making sure that she would notice his presence, he approached her slowly and cleared his throat. "I won't bother asking stupid questions like 'are you okay' or 'are you afraid of me'. I know you're not okay and I know that you'll say that you're not afraid of me, so I'll ask you something else. Is it okay if I sit down next to you?"

After a moment, she nodded her head and he slowly sat down beside her.

"Is it okay if I hug you? I hate seeing you scared and crying, and I really want to hug my girlfriend so I can comfort her." Again, he waited for her to nod before he gently wrapped his arms around her and guided her so that her head rested against his chest, just beneath his chin. "Do you think you could tell me about where your fear of vampires came from? I don't know if it will help you at all, but it might if you talked to me about it."

She didn't say anything for a while, just kept her face pressed against his chest as she continued to cry. Eventually, after she'd calmed down, she sat up and took Takuma's hand in her own and held it like he was her lifeline.

"When I was little, my mom would read to me all the time. It didn't matter what kind of books they were, I just loved hearing the stories and listening to my mom's voice. When I was ten, Mama started to get really sick but she would still read to me or I would read to her. I remember, we were reading a vampire book at the time she died. I came into her room with the book and what I saw..." Lucy squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop more tears, but they slipped past her eyelashes and down her streaked cheeks. "She was so pale and there were so many puncture marks and bruises on her skin from the needles... then there was the smell of blood. I guess my mind made it so that the sadness I felt for losing Mama turned into fear for what I was seeing..."

He gave her hand another squeeze as she trailed off, Takuma decided he didn't need to know anymore since he had a pretty clear idea of where her fear had come from. And since she was from a world without vampires, it was a pretty understandable way of acquiring her fear. "I wish I knew a way to make your fear of vampires go away. All I can think to say is that you're one of the strongest people I know. You beat Hanabusa in that battle, you fight for the people you care about, and you have been able to pick yourself up time and time again when things don't go the way you planned. But I want you to know, anytime you feel scared or like there's something you can't handle, I'll be there to help you. I'm pretty sure that Hikaru will gladly lend a hand too, all you have to do is ask."

She was quiet after that, not even crying, just staring off into the night and holding his hand in a death grip. Takuma was fine with that so long as she was with him.

The days they had been together had seen their relationship taking slow steps. He was still hesitant to talk about his family, specifically his grandfather, but she seemed to have the same hesitancy to talk about her own family, specifically her father. They were comfortable with physical touches like holding hands or hugging, but hadn't gotten to kissing yet. That was fine with him for the moment since they were still getting to know each other and were becoming more and more comfortable with each other as well. He had fallen hard for her, and because of that, he would have the patience of a pureblood vampire when it came to waiting for her.

He was so deep in his own thoughts that it took him by surprise when she suddenly released his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him. His arms automatically wrapped around her waist to hug her back.

"I am strong," he heard her whisper, more to herself than to him. "I will get over this fear, no matter what. This is my life and I refuse to be afraid of my own friends." Then, to his surprise, she lifted her head so that their eyes met before tilting her chin so that their lips touched in a gentle kiss.

It was so sweet and brief that Takuma hardly had any time to react to the kiss before it was over. When she pulled away and they opened their eyes again, he couldn't help but stare at her for a moment before swooping in for another kiss. It was longer this time as he gently caressed her lips with his and hugged her to his chest. It was by far the best thing in the world and a moment that he never wanted to see end.

Eventually, breathing became an issue and they reluctantly parted, resting their foreheads against each others. He was smiling as he starred into her beautiful brown eyes, his girlfriend's eyes. "You are strong."

Lucy POV

Takuma took me back to the dorm after that, probably for the best. I knew that it must have been a rogue vampire that had snuck its way onto campus since I had seen all the vampires in the classroom at the time Yuuki was attacked. It wasn't even that I was scared of them, I just didn't want to face anyone.

I felt a lot better the next morning and decided to sleep in. By the time I woke up, I only had a little while to get the lunches together. Even though Zero hadn't joined us since St. Xocolatl Day, I still made three every day in case he showed up. I was in the kitchen while Aidou was talking to a couple of businessmen who wanted him to join their company. It wasn't the first time I had seen this kind of thing with the Night Class students and I had learned to just ignore them and keep my spirits out of sight until they were gone.

A little while later, I heard the two men leave and a female voice join Aidou's. I figured that it was another Night Class student until I heard him yelling. "What are you to Lord Kaname!"

Keeping myself hidden, I looked out the kitchen doors and saw Aidou and Yuuki at the bottom of the stairs, his ice encasing her right foot. Their conversation was too low for me to understand without getting closer, so I stayed back. But then he grabbed her arms and ice started forming from his hands.

Screw being caught for eavesdropping, I'm not going to let him hurt my friend! I was pulling my whip from my belt when Lord Kaname was suddenly between them and hit Aidou. I couldn't help but wince when I saw this but I was glad for the interruption. The blonde vampire soon disappeared, leaving Yuuki and Lord Kaname alone. They were speaking a little louder than before so I was able to hear them better.

"In the future, don't come here alone. This place is far too dangerous. However, if you do wish to come here again, I suggest you have Zero accompany you. Considering what he took from you, he owes you at least that much," Lord Kaname said as walked her to the door.

Yuuki pulled away from him and turned to face him. "That isn't fair to him! Why are you saying things like that?"

Reaching forward, he pulled her collar away from her neck. I could tell that he was looking at the bite mark there. "You really want to know why? The answer is quite simple, he bit someone I hold dear. And I'm sorry, but I just can't ignore that you got bitten by someone else."

I couldn't help but be confused. Why would Zero owe her because she was bitten? Was he not able to protect her and Lord Kaname blames Zero for it.

"Kaname, I came here today for a reason, I have a request," I heard Yuuki say in a determined voice. This seemed to surprise the vampire since he released the hold on her collar. "Please don't put Zero in the Night Class!"

"And why not?" He asked her.

"Zero has been fighting this battle all by himself; and for four years, I didn't know anything about it. I was so close to him the whole time, and yet I didn't even see it happening."

I had to cover my mouth to keep from gasping. No way! Zero would only have to join if... He's a vampire! I thought he was human! Does that mean that he was the one... the one that bit...

"You have a kind heart. But Yuuki, with this, there's no use beating yourself up over it."

"I should have known," she said, her voice distressed. "When I found out that Zero was a vampire, I was totally shocked. But then, well yesterday I... I really hurt Zero."

"Yuuki," Kaname reached up to stroke her cheek. "I'm sorry. If I could, I'd do what you ask, but I'm afraid I can't. Any human who becomes a vampire will eventually fall to a Level E. Yuuki, Zero cares about you and it's obvious he wouldn't want to see you in that state."

I heard her crying just before she ran out the door. I wanted to duck back into the kitchen before I was discovered but I couldn't move. I was in shock from the discovery I had just made and, obviously, wasn't supposed to know about. Zero is a vampire and he will eventually fall to a Level E? Like that monster that attacked Gray, the one that I killed...

"If you're trying to hide, you are doing a poor job."

I jumped at the voice that had come from directly in front of me. Lord Kaname's piercing red-brown eyes were fixed on me. I couldn't help but look away.

"It's not like that's what I was intending to do. I heard Aidou yelling earlier and came to see what was going on, then I saw Yuuki. I was going to interrupt when I saw him using his ice powers on her but you got to them first. And then..."

"I understand, but you have heard something that I would prefer to be kept secret since it would hurt Yuuki if anything were to happen to Zero."

That's when I was able to look back up at him. "I don't want to see either of them hurt. I can keep this secret, Yuuki won't even know that I know the truth. If you don't think it's safe, go ahead and erase my memories from the past ten minutes. But for the record, I agree with Yuuki. If you force Zero into the Night Class, with his hatred of vampires, he could end up committing suicide and that would hurt Yuuki really badly."

I didn't care at that moment if I was speaking out of turn or even if I angered the pureblood vampire before me. I said what I had to in order to protect my friend. I might not have known Zero's secret, but I knew the kind of person he was. If I had to guess, after apparently biting Yuuki last night and his knowledge of what happens to humans turned by vampires, he might be contemplating the idea of killing himself to make sure he wouldn't harm her again. And if he wasn't, he definitely would be if he was forced to join the Night Class.

"And what would you have me do?" Lord Kaname asked me. "I can't simply allow him free reign with the Day Class students. If he were to lose control and attack one of them, their blood would not only be on his hands but on mine as well for allowing him to stay there."

"Well, give Yuuki a way to control him. With how much time they spend together, it makes sense to give her a way to subdue him until he calms down or you get some blood tablets into him to calm his cravings."

He seemed to contemplate this for a moment before turning away from me. "I'll allow you to keep your memories, but only because you are powerful enough to protect Yuuki from Zero during the day when I can't be there."

"I'm fine with that, I'll help keep an eye on both of them. And if I turn out to be wrong, I'll protect Zero from himself and anyone else he might harm."

"Good, I'll remember that you said that," he said as he began walking away.

"Even if you didn't, I would. I'm a celestial mage after all, and I always stand by the promises I make." Even though he was a good distance away from me by then, I knew he could hear me. I just hoped with every fiber of my being that I was right and I wouldn't need to fight my friend. The very idea of him becoming like that monster, a raving beast that was so focused on killing and drinking blood that he might forget who he was.

Please, Mavis, Spirit King, every God and power in this world. Don't let him become like that thing.

A/N: If you can't tell, I'm going to be a lot more heavily ingrained in the Vampire Knight world from now on. There will still be off-shoots of my own writing here and there, but nothing probably won't have those 3-5 chapter shots that are totally mine... unless I come up with a really good idea! Warm-Fuzzies and please review!

A/N 2: Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter, it took a long while to find the time and the inspiration but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I will try to post more frequently, but it all depends on when my muse talks to me.