A/N: Sooo sorry for this chapter…

Disclaimer: Don't own VK.

Yori felt Aidou tense beside her. His face had grown still, and she felt the temperature in the air plummet drastically around them. When his eyes met hers, they were foreign to her, filled with something she had never truly seen in them before: fear.

His lips moved sluggishly, in horror, to form a single word. "Kaname-sama."

She felt a shiver pass over her, and not from the sudden cold. He moved past her quickly, shoving his way through the crowd towards the balcony Yuuki and Zero had claimed. She started after him, barely able to match his pace in her heels. Fear drove her forward. If Kuran was here, now… She shuddered at the thought.

"Stay here,"Aidou threw back over his shoulder without a pause in his step. She ignored him. Kuran wouldn't hurt her. She couldn't say the same for Aidou's safety, however.

In another moment they were outside in the brisk air. Zero was standing at the edge of the balcony, back towards them, staring up at the sky where a receding black mass blotted out the stars. His fists were clenched, spine straight and quivering like an arrow that had just found its way to a target.

"…Yuuki…?" Yori asked breathlessly.

Aidou looked like he might be sick, but he pointed up to the quickly diminishing blotch in the sky. Zero turned a fraction of an inch toward them and nodded grimly, before leaping off the balcony in a single, smooth motion without a word.

Yori stared at the spot, feeling nauseous herself. What would happen to Yuuki? Kuran wouldn't hurt her, surely..? Regardless, she felt a queasy knot blistering her stomach. If the pureblood leader had come all the way here to take Yuuki away, it couldn't be good. She swallowed. Her mouth had gone dry.

Another glance at Aidou told her that he was even worse off than she was. He looked physically ill and entirely terrified. She hadn't thought anything could easily scare a vampire like this, especially one as strong as Aidou, but the wrath of a pureblood was perhaps the one thing that could.

She took a moment more to steady herself, and then put a hand on his arm. "Come on," she prompted him in a soft voice, and he let her lead him away from the balcony.

The grass cracked under his feet like bones, breaking with the heavy fall of each footstep. He was not going to sit idly by this time and watch his sun be eclipsed by the dark clouds that were Kaname Kuran. This time, he was going to take action, and fight for what he wanted most in the world to protect. And if, despite all that he had drank in her blood, Yuuki chose to be with Kuran…

He grit his teeth. He'd deal with that if it happened. For now he was only going to concentrate on finding her, on keeping her safe. Who knew what punishment the pureblood would have in store for her this time. The thought had his insides throbbing with rage.

"Kiryuu-kun," a familiar voice called out. "Where do you think you're going?"

Zero halted abruptly, turning to meet the eyes of the Chairman that regarded him through a shimmery green mask. His eyes swept over the man's form. The ex-president of the Hunters Association was dressed as…the Frog Prince.

"None of your business," Zero growled

The Chairman smiled. "You're going after Yuuki. Do you know where to look for her?"

Zero clenched his fist. "I'll find her."

"How?"

He had no answer for the older man. He wasn't sure how he would find her. He just knew that he had to. He had to, or he feared he might lose her again, when she had been so close, when he had finally tasted everything with such clarity in her blood.

"Have faith in her. My precious daughter will manage to find a way home. Her heart is here, after all." The Chairman's eyes were soft. "Be patient. Trust her. This is something she needs to do herself."

The silver-haired hunter turned to gaze up at the moon, in the direction that the black stain had been moving. How could he find her… He didn't know where to begin looking. He took a breath, trying to calm himself. The Chairman was right. He had no choice but to wait. He had to trust what he had read in her veins.

It was going to be a long night.

Yuuki whirled on him furiously, hand impacting against his chest with the force of an earthquake, making him take an involuntary step back. Fury crackled from the tip of every finger, igniting a fire within her eyes as she faced Kaname-sama boldly, without fear. She was no longer afraid. How could she be afraid now, when the future was glowing luminous silver and violet?

"What are you doing?!" Her eyes flashed livid crimson, fangs jutting out in denied thirst and brazen anger.

"Yuuki, do you really think I can sit by and watch you slip away from me while doing nothing?" The sorrow coated his eyes like hoarfrost. He regained the step between them that he had lost, fingers alighting against her own. She resisted the urge to draw her hand away, though her skin jumped at the touch. "You are everything to me, Yuuki. We promised to twine our futures together, didn't we?" His fingertips brushed against the incriminating ring she still wore. "I wandered for centuries, waiting for someone…waiting for you. And now that I've found you…is it so wrong to say that I don't want to let you go?"

Her chest was caving in. To grasp something she wanted so much, to immerse herself in violet and silver, she had to let something else go. Something that she still treasured, even if it had come at such a high cost. Even if she had been lied to and betrayed.

She swallowed, feeling that familiar ache of guilt and sadness congeal in her throat. No matter which way she turned, there was pain. There was no easy choice here, but there was the right choice, and she had already made it.

She shook her head, murmuring, "You understand loneliness better than anyone… But you're so selfish. You always think you can get me and Zero to do whatever you want."

He smiled bitterly. "The feelings he has for you weren't part of the plan."

Her fingers balled together tightly. The plan. A sharp reminder of all that he had done to hurt Zero, of how he had twisted the vampire hunter's life into a horrific tragedy.

"You don't laugh from your heart anymore. Why are you giving up on the idea of living with me?" he asked, leaning towards her, eyes searching for hers. "My love isn't…"

The fury had evaporated like so much steam. In its place, she felt only a haunting sorrow. She felt the scarlet blaze drain from her eyes, rusting back to brown. Her fangs shortened and withdrew, and she felt the noose of the ring against her skin. She couldn't be angry with this man for long, no matter what he did to her. She loved him from the bottom of her heart, as someone she had once thought to spend eternity with, as someone she adored, as a brother. Now, she felt the empty pit of all the dreams she had once invested all of herself in. Gone, now, forever.

The love she felt for Kaname-sama did not matter. It was true that she didn't feel the happiness in her heart. She projected only lies in his presence and felt sickened with herself, for what she was doing. For deceiving him and herself and continuing with the farce that their engagement had become.

She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly, and simply murmured, "It hurts…"

"What happened, Yuuki?" His voice was low, familiar, but it stirred nothing inside of her anymore. She tightened her grip. She was letting him go. He paused, the moment tangible in the air, and then said, "I see…" His arms returned the embrace, worming their way around her, and his mouth found her ear as he whispered, "If you don't know where your heart belongs, I'll show you, Yuuki. If you're okay with someone like me…"

She stiffened. The words were vague, like wisps of clouds barely formed, but she could sense some danger behind them. She pulled back a little, staring into the veiled eyes that had concealed so many things from her. She was searching, there, attempting to decipher the intention behind his words. Her heart had already rooted itself in different colors.

Shaking her head, she replied, "Kaname-sama, I know-"

His lips silenced her, hard against her own, his hands skimming across her body hungrily. Her eyes widened, and she gasped, jerking free with a force of strength she hadn't known herself capable of. His hand caught her wrist, but the ferocity in her voice stopped him as she spoke.

"No." It was only one word, but it rang with an undeniable authority that she had never dared to muster before him before.

The shadows in his gaze swarmed, glinting with sparks of blood.

"I'm not confused anymore, and I'm not afraid. I know where my heart belongs," she wrenched her hand free of his grasp. "I love you, but it's not enough. It won't ever be enough."

Time froze. Her heart smashed against her chest painfully. Once, twice, and then she lost count. Their gazes had locked together, melded together. An insidious smile slid over his lips then, and his voice came as smooth as silk. "Yuuki, you're confused, but you know in your heart that you belong here. We bound our eternities together. I'm going to prove it to you."

His mouth struck against hers again, and this time she felt the stamp of panic flush through her. She had to get out, now. There was something dark and possessive in that kiss that sent alarms sounding through her mind. She struggled against him, attempting to pull away, but his hands were like iron fetters, holding her in place.

"Stop it, Kaname-sama!" she gasped, but his only response was to press his body even harder against her own.

His hands tangled in her hair, stroked over her neck, down her back. She fought against him more furiously then, anger surging through her, but it only seemed to fuel his advances. The panic settled into her system like the dregs of a sewer. Her mind snapped into focus, and with a flash of adrenaline, her hand found Artemis in her bag, withdrawing it in a single crack of lightning that drove the two of them apart.

Kaname-sama stood facing her, the scythe poised to strike, fending him off with its menacing threat. She let the outrage showcase plainly on her face, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to control her breathing and the mad rush of her heart. The pureblood remained as he was, still and silent as the shadow of a predator. She saw something murky surface in his eyes for an instant, infinitely perilous, but in the next instant it was gone. He straightened then, expression hardening to granite, and his eyes blackened.

"Yuuki, if you are truly going to leave, there's no way out except for one of us to kill the other. I won't let you leave without a fight, and if you're really intent upon leaving me…it's better if you tear my heart out with your own hands." The words were darker than his eyes.

No. Why did it always have to be with way with him? He was always standing at some extreme, when nothing had to be at such extremes. She had to be strong now, she had to be clear. She was ready. Seeing Zero again had given her strength. The hunter had certainly always done what was right, no matter how difficult the decision. He had fought against his own twin to defend what he thought right. She had a great deal to learn from him.

Standing straight and sure, her voice rang out without a hint of hesitation. "No, Kaname-sama, there are more than those two options. You try to manipulate me with your words, but I won't let them affect me this time." She jutted out her chin stubbornly, steadfast in her determination. "There's nothing you can do to stop me from leaving, and I refuse to murder you. Are you really going to kill me for following my heart?"

Again, they stood facing each other, eyes locked in heated battle. And again, she felt her resolve hold against the challenge in his eyes.

"If you leave, and you side with the Hunters and oppose me, there may come a day when we will be enemies. It will be the end for us, forever." His words rang quietly in the hall.

The sadness swelled against her tongue. "I know. But I've already made my decision. I'm not turning back. This is what I've chosen."

That dangerous presence surfaced once more in his eyes, and then reverted back to emotionless stone. "So be it," he said tautly, and turned on his heel to walk away, down the hall and beyond her field of vision. As he walked, the edges of his form frayed into hundreds of black bats, carrying him away from her.

For a moment, she felt flattened by anguish. Her shoulders slumped and her lip trembled. Her fingers clenched, unclenched, and she drew in a shaky breath. Then, setting her mouth in a straight line of determination, she turned in the opposite direction, putting away her scythe and making her way up to the room she had inhabited for the past months.

Stepping into the doorway, she took in the familiar contours of the room. The bed, the dresser, the corner where she'd always settled herself amongst soft pillows to draw or do some other craft. Everything was just as she had left it earlier. She wondered briefly if it would remain this way after she was gone, even though she knew the traces of her inhabitance here would fade like dusty memories.

Squaring her shoulders, she moved to the dresser, picking up her mother's brush and father's handkerchief. She ran her fingers lovingly over the surface of each, and then placed them into the small bag she was still wearing from the dance. Then she went to her art corner to pick up the scissors before returning to the place in front of her dresser.

She met her own eyes in the mirror. "Are you ready?" she mouthed to her reflection. Her reflection nodded assent. "Then, let's go back so we can move forward." With that, she took the scissors to her hair, hacking off the length until it scarcely reached her chin. Examining her reflection, she smiled. Yes, just like this.

The hair lay scattered on the top of the dresser, so she bundled it together into a single pile. Her heart was beating erratically, but she knew what she must do. She was both losing and gaining everything simultaneously. So with a breath, she removed the ring from her finger and let it fall heavily atop the discarded hair. With that, she had severed all of the promises that remained unfulfilled between her and Kaname-sama.

She turned her back on the mirror and strode away.

Back in the safety of her room, Yori watched Aidou wear holes in her floor, pacing back and forth and driving himself insane with anxiety. His eyes were like red comets, flying back and forth across the small space like shooting stars. His frustration and worries crackled frost through the air.

"If he hurts her…" he started, then broke off. "He won't hurt her."

"He won't." She shook her head. She didn't think Kuran would do that.

His voice was barely a whisper. "He did before."

Silence hung like fog. Her heartbeat had spurred erratically.

"It's my fault. I brought her here. I should never have brought her here."

"She would have come anyway," Yori answered, a touch numbly. He had hurt her before… The room was spinning a little.

"It doesn't matter. I should never have brought her. Maybe he won't hurt her. Maybe he won't touch her. But he'll hurt me. If he doesn't rip my heart out with his bare hands, it'll be something else. I should never have gone against him. He's my king, my leader, and I…"

"Hanabusa." She used his name to ensure his attention. "You did what was right. It's not right to keep both of you locked up like you were."

"Only Yuuki was. I wasn't really, not really…sort of…but I will be now. I'll be locked in some room for all eternity to rot. But what if he hurts her… I should go after them. I should go back to the mansion and make sure she's alright."

"By the time you got there, whatever was going to happen would already have happened. What good would it do?" She was trying to be rational, but part of her wanted to leap up and take the next train out there to rush to her friend's rescue. Not that she even know which train to take, though.

"I can't just wait here and do nothing. Even if I don't go, Kaname-sama will definitely come here, to kill me himself, or…"

"That's exactly what you have to do. Wait here. Yuuki can take care of herself, especially if she's made up her mind."

He finally stopped pacing and sat down on the bed, staring at his hands in conflicted terror. She could see the worries flick past his eyes one at a time. She wasn't even sure if he was breathing.

She stood, moving to stand in front of him and taking his face in her hands to force him to look at her. She attempted a smile, but when it failed she let it fall from her lips. "I'm worried, too. But there is nothing we can do right now. Yuuki will be okay. And we'll deal with Kuran if it comes to that…together. You're not alone in this anymore."

She pulled him close then, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on top of his. For a moment, he remained immovable, but then his arms found their way around her, and she heard him take a long breath to calm himself.

"And anyway," she continued. "If Kuran tries to lay a finger on so much as a hair on your head, I swear I won't let him. Does he know how long it takes you to do your hair every morning?"

She felt him smile against her, and the chill in the air abated. They both had a long night ahead of them, but at least she didn't have to worry about Aidou as well as Yuuki. As long as he was here with her, she knew he was safe. And that made the wait more bearable.

The second hand of the clock ticked in a violent spiral, jerking out every instant, slicing gashes through the pit of time that had ripped open within the empty space of his room. His breath rattled like chains, knocking against the walls. His eyes were fixated on his hands, shaking and desperate from inaction. Forcing himself to move, his eyes struck against their blurry, broken reflection in the small mirror above his dresser. If he searched there, he could almost see brown ones reflected back from within his own.

His fingers found his throat, his tongue ran over his fangs dryly, and his frame trembled from the effort of containing his palpable rage. She was inside of him now, all of her, and she was whispering her confession deep in his veins. But he was rendered helpless and unable to act. He had been given the chance to rebuild all that they had lost, and it had been snatched away from him just as quickly. Kuran always managed to destroy everything Zero wanted.

He sucked his breath in through his teeth, forcing control over his limbs. Her fingertips gliding over his cheek had promised. She'd promised. Her eyes had promised. She would return to him that precious moment her brother had stolen from them, and bring with it her answer. He only hoped it was the answer that coiled under his skin, the one he had drunk in. Everything could change in the blink of an eye. Kuran could change everything even faster.

He stood, pacing across the room like a caged animal. To keep himself occupied he'd already changed his clothes and cleaned his gun in vicious anticipation. If only he could have the opportunity to use it, to blast a hole right through the pureblood's rotted brains. Then they'd see how well he could plot to keep Yuuki away from the hunter. Mostly, however, he'd just been sitting on the edge of the bed, tense and restless.

His feet took him to the dresser, and his hands did the rest. He withdrew the stack of letters, shuffling through them, skimming over their words again, taking in their scent, tracing the lines and curves of the handwriting. She was inside of him, she was in these letters, but it was a poor substitute for Yuuki in the flesh.

He wanted her here, now. Each moment clawed through his gut. How long ago had it been that he'd been able to hold her close, drink in her blood, lose himself in every part of her, hear her voice? It had been a matter of hours, and yet it felt like both an eternity and the count of mere seconds.

But he knew he should be patient. She would return to him. She had always done so before, back at the academy. No matter how often she had left to roam around the Night Class mansion or converse with Kuran, she had always found her way back. This time was no different. They were bound together. The truths laid bare in their blood had sealed it. Those truths, however, did not make the wait any easier. He placed the letters back inside the drawer, the motion doing little to curtail his impatience and preoccupations.

And then he heard a knock on the door.

The sound of the ticking clock shattered in his ears. Somehow, the world had faded to black, and suddenly the knob was in his hand, twisting. The night spilled into the hall with the sweet scent of sunshine, and there, framed by stars, stood the only love he had ever known. She was still dressed as she had been at the dance, though she had removed her mask and tied it around the small bag she wore on one shoulder. Only now she wore the answer she had promised him openly around her head for the world to see. Her old bonds with Kuran were cut off at her chin.

Violet and chocolate collided there in the doorway, hanging suspended in utter silence. The words had sputtered out like dying flames in his throat. All that he had wanted to say had disappeared. She was here, she had come, and he already knew her answer, even as her lips finally moved into a tearful smile as she simply told him, "I want to stay with you, Zero."

There were no words that he could give her in that moment. He had never been good at them. Instead, he only stepped forward to pull her into a tight embrace, cherishing the warmth and closeness of the woman he loved. He was never letting her go again. As her arms slid around his neck, he felt the absence of that cold poison circle around her finger, and only the delicious chill of metal around her wrist.

In the still darkness, a familiar scent tinged the air. Aidou glanced up, eyes focusing on a fluttery shape moving through the window. His gaze honed in on that form, and when it came to a rest, he met Yori's eyes and smiled.

A shadowy butterfly had landed on his shoulder.

A/N:Review~