Chapter 2: First Meetings
The little girl gathered snow with her mitten-covered hands and added it to the sphere of snow that served as her snowman's head. She took the slightly crooked carrot she had snuck out from the kitchen and inserted it into the head, completing the face. The last rays of sunlight shone on the buttons she had used for the eyes, and they shimmered. Standing back and admiring her work, she decided to go back and bring her mother to see her masterpiece. But she would have to wait a while, because her mother was probably not awake yet.
"That's an ugly snowman."
Yuki spun around and nearly bumped into the boy who had snuck up behind her undetected. Shocked, with eyes wide and mouth open she stared at the stranger who looked only a few years older than her. He wore a big black hat with a red band and an old-fashioned black jacket. Under his hat she could see his hair was a light golden-orange color and his eyes were a light green like leaves under the afternoon summer sun. Had she not heard his voice first, she might have mistaken him for a girl with his thick eyelashes and beautiful features. Her instincts informed her he was a vampire, although he was suppressing his aura.
"Wh-who are you?!" She overcame her shock and stared at the strange boy distrustfully.
Yuki thought about running back home to the safety of her mother but hesitated. Unfortunately, the house was some distance away, she should have stayed closer like her mother instructed. She had only come this far because the garden was too crowded with branches and other plant material for her to build her snowman. Yuki observed the boy and decided to not worry so much. He was only a kid like her, so he probably was not dangerous. A part of her was also curious, this being the first time she met someone close to her age.
"Hmm, I don't need to give my name to a brat like you," he replied as he walked past and examined the snowman closer.
Shocked at his rudeness, she clenched her fists to her side and countered, "You're just a brat too!"
He turned towards her, an annoyed expression on his face, and looked as if debating something fiercely in his head before he spoke again. "I'm going to let that slide because I'm not interested in hitting a weakling baby like you. And also, I'm much older than you, so you better know your place, brat."
"My name's not 'brat', it's Yuki, and I'm not a baby! I'm 6 years old!" She indignantly replied. "You don't look that much older anyway, so if I'm a baby you're a toddler!"
The boy looked even more irritated than before and glared hard at her for a few seconds before turning back to the snowman. "Count your lucky stars that you're still a kid or else I would've killed you. I'm not going to even bother explaining because a baby like you wouldn't understand anyway."
Yuki felt like arguing but stopped, he had already threatened her… maybe she should really run home and tell her mother. He was rude and it was not fun talking to him, even if he was also a kid. However, she hesitated again due to sheer curiosity, it was exciting meeting someone new, since she only knew her mother, Aoi, and Erina-san.
Trying to forget his earlier comments, she walked closer to him.
"Where are you from?" she asked, wondering how this stranger ended up at this place few people pass by.
She, her mother and Aoi had settled here after meeting Erina-san, who owned the house and its surrounding acres. Before this they had constantly moved from one town to another, never staying in one location longer than three weeks.
"Somewhere far away," he replied mysteriously.
Yuki was about to press him for details when she saw him extend his hand and pluck one of the button eyes out.
Protesting, she tried to take the button from him, but he was taller and held it out of her reach.
"That's Mr. Snowman's eyes! Give it back!"
Ignoring her demands, he smirked, enjoying her reaction.
"I'm going to tell mother!" Yuki felt tears coming and sniffled in frustration. Her mother was strong and would teach him a lesson so unforgettable he would regret taking her button.
Seeing the girl's teary eyes, the boy scrunched his face, disgusted. He hated crybabies, but he was concerned she would tattle on him. Shizuka was undoubtedly stronger, being many years his senior, and she probably would not take kindly to him messing with her daughter.
Having observed the girl from the distance ever since his bat familiar chanced upon her in the snow a few weeks ago, he had also glimpsed her mother. Although he had never met her before, he soon pieced together the clues and identified her as Shizuka Hiou. The Hiou clan members all had the same silvery white hair and preference for traditional Japanese clothing. He remembered hearing from his sources a while back that she had fled her husband and that the Senate had sent their watchdogs to find her but had paid it no mind then.
Even though he was usually bored (like most of his kind) and looking for entertainment, he was not interested in marital disputes of his fellow purebloods – that was too crude. Besides, he hated the Senate, those clowns that tried restricting the purebloods despite their inferiority, so he was not inclined to rat Shizuka out. Besides, he had always disliked the Kurans who always maintained their distance, acting as if they were better than other purebloods even though their ancestors had been comrades in war. On principle alone, anything the Kurans supported, he would oppose. If Rido Kuran was annoyed by his wife's escape, then all the more reason for he, Shizuku Toma, to turn a blind eye.
He had not expected to find a pureblood child out here and had kept an eye on her due to curiosity and because he had nothing better to do. It was the most interesting thing he had come across in a while, and he was not ready to let it end so soon with being discovered by Shizuka. That was why he had suppressed his aura and approached the girl when she was alone and quite far from her mother. He would have to find a way to prevent her from tattling.
Scowling, he lowered his hand and thrusted the button back to Yuki. She tried to stop sniffling and took the button, placing it back into its place on the snowman's face.
"I knew you were a baby, only babies go running to their mommies whenever things don't go their way," he commented casually, taking advantage of her obvious offense at being belittled for her age.
She curled her lips into a frown, "I'm not a baby! I'm a big girl. Mother doesn't have to tuck me into bed anymore!"
Hearing her last sentence, Shizuku scoffed. Good grief, he really was dealing with a baby here. But then again, he was not much better, messing with the baby when he was almost a century old (though that was technically still very young for a pureblood). He really was bored.
"If you're not a baby, then are you going to tell your mom?" he asked, cornering her into the answer he wanted.
She looked conflicted for a moment, before replying no hesitantly.
"Fine, then I'll acknowledge you as a big girl."
She nodded, satisfied he was not calling her a baby anymore.
He examined the child in front of him, she had tawny brown hair and eyes, coloring typical of the Kurans. "You don't look like your mother at all," he stated casually, "I guess you look like your father."
"I don't know, I never met my father," she replied before seeming to quickly regret her answer. With a guilty expression, she covered her mouth with her hands, as if she could stuff the words back in.
Shizuku was intrigued, despite his earlier alleged disinterest in Rido's marital drama. He could not help but wonder why Shizuka took their kid and ran. Maybe she had finally had enough of his philandering? Sources had informed him that Rido was involved with quite a few noble women, all daughters of pro-Senate families.
Well, Shizuku would not judge the man for his affairs, it was not uncommon for pureblood men to be involved with level B women. In fact, it was one of the unspoken expectations that they help maintain the noble class by creating half-pureblood children, alleviating the dilution of their vampiric blood along the generations. He himself had no interest in such things though, for various reasons.
Trying to change the topic to cover her earlier blunder, Yuki dropped her hands and countered, "Why is it any of your business anyway? You didn't even tell me your name though I told you mine. It's not fair!"
Seeing her pout like the child she was, he scoffed again. Fine, he'll throw her a bone in exchange for secrecy.
"I'll grant you the knowledge of my name only if you promise to keep me a secret from everyone, including your mom."
Yuki was conflicted once more. She had never kept a secret from her mother, it felt wrong. But if she did not agree, she would not learn his name and probably would never see him again. He was the only other kid she had met, and although he was mean, he had stopped calling her a baby and had given back the button…
Seeing her undecided expression, Shizuku gave an extra push in the desired direction. "Well, I guess I was wrong. You're a baby after all, I should've known you couldn't keep a secret."
The girl gasped in protest, and blurted, "Fine, I promise! I'll show you I'm old enough to keep secrets!"
Shizuku smirked, this was so easy he was practically taking candy from a baby. Well, this was not exactly something he should be proud of, but it was certainly entertaining, and he had always been mischievous even back when he was really a child.
"Alright. My name is Shizuku, but you'll address me as Shizuku-sama."
"Shizuku?" Yuki tilted her head sideways as if processing the information, before smiling widely. "What a girly name."
Hearing her words, he scowled, wanting to knock her in the head. This was not the first time he had heard this though; he could only blame his mother for her naming choices.
"Shut up brat, what would do you know? And it's Shizuku-sama to you!" he snapped, annoyed the girl had forgotten the honorific. Who did she think she was? Acting as though they were the same age.
He was going to lecture her further on his superiority but stopped, remembering the time. The sun was nearly gone, this was the time Shizuka usually came out to beckon the girl back. He should leave now, or his fun would be over.
Glancing at Yuki who was staring at him with curiosity evident in her large eyes, he decided to bid farewell for now. "I have to go, I have important matters to attend to."
"But you're just a kid, what important things do you have to do?"
She was starting to get on his nerves, though he supposed this was partly his own fault for maintaining the appearance of a kid. Patience, restraint, forgiveness, he reminded himself.
"You wouldn't understand, so I'm not going to waste time telling you. Anyway, I'm leaving." He prepared to disperse into a flock of bats and fly home but stopped when he felt her touch his elbow. This brat really had some nerve getting all touchy with him like they were close.
"When will I see you again?"
Seeing her earnest expression, his irritation melted just the tiniest bit and he decided to give her an answer. "Well, since you're so eager to see me again, I'll try to clear my schedule and visit in a week or two. But I can't promise anything, I'm swamped with work being the important person I am."
Before Yuki could further inquire about his employment and importance, he transformed into a flock of bats and flew off, leaving her staring after him open-mouthed. She stared after the bats until they completely disappeared from view. It had been so exciting to meet another kid, even if he was more than a little mean. She wanted to see him again and maybe next time he would give her his hat so she can put it on Mr. Snowman. She turned to face the snowman and decided to add more snow to its body. As she patted the snow flat, she heard a faint voice, it was getting louder and closer.
"Yuki, where are you?"
It was her mother's voice, and she sounded upset. Yuki shivered, her mother was angry and was probably going to lecture her. What if she decided to ground her? Oh no, she could not let that happen, playtime was her favorite part of the day. Gulping, she quickly ran towards the voice.
Her mother was wearing a dark blue dress and was barefoot even though snow covered the frozen ground. Yuki hurried over, almost running into her mother's legs. She stopped, clutched her mother's dress, and gazed up at the adult who wore a stern and displeased expression.
"Yuki, why are you out here when I told you to stay near the house?"
Her mother's voice was frosty, and Yuki looked away from her beautiful but frighteningly incensed face.
"I-I wanted to build a snowman and there was not enough space there."
Shizuka glared at the girl who was looking down at the snow. The child was going to give her a migraine. "What if you got snatched away by dangerous people just because you wanted to build a snowman? Do you know what happens to naughty little girls?"
Her mother was so scary right now, her aura so cold and dark that Yuki could not help but start crying. Tears rolled off her cheek, one after another, followed with sniffling.
At the sight of the loudly sobbing girl, Shizuka sighed and forced herself to abate her anger.
"I-I wa-wanted to build a sn-sn-snowman for Okaa-sama, to make you ha-happy since you we-were sad and looking outsi-side the win-win-window a-again," Yuki managed to choke out.
Shizuka's eyes widened upon hearing those words and her ire vanished rapidly. She should not have appeared that way before the child, but Yuki who should have been sleeping had apparently caught her in one of her moods. Softening her expression, she knelt down and embraced the crying girl, gently stroking her hair.
"Don't cry anymore Yuki. It's alright."
She picked up the girl who wrapped her small arms around her. The child always calmed down quicker when she carried her, a habit she had kept despite not being a baby anymore. "Let's go back now."
Yuki shook her head and sniffled, "You didn't see the snowman yet Okaa-sama."
Shizuka relented and let the child lead her to her handiwork. It was a cute snowman, though its eyes were clearly lopsided, the nose placed too low, and the twigs serving as arms vastly different in size. Her daughter looked at her expectantly, waiting for her assessment.
"It looks nice, Yuki. I can see you put a lot of effort into it."
Hearing the praise, Yuki beamed at her mother, her previous misery replaced with joy.
"I knew it wasn't ugly! He-," Yuki caught herself in the nick of time, eyes wide with fear that she had almost accidentally revealed her secret. What would her mother do if she had slipped up?
Shizuka looked at her, puzzled. "He?" She wondered why the girl was making such a face.
"Um, I mean the snowman. It's a he, he's called Mr. Snowman and has a family, but I didn't make them yet." Yuki looked to the side as she replied, feeling guilty about her secret.
She had certainly meant to build more snowmen – that much was true. She hoped her mother could not sense her secret; her mother had always been able to read her easily. She buried her face in her mother's soft hair, trying to hide her guilty expression.
Shizuka had the slight impression that something was going on but decided not to pursue it – it was probably some trivial blunder the girl had made. Yuki was safe and that was what mattered. She patted the Yuki's head and finally put her down.
"I'll make his wife tomorrow!" Yuki announced.
Shizuka eyed the girl, amused at her naïve optimism. Did the child really think she would not face consequences just because she was cute?
"Unfortunately, his wife and children will have to wait because you are grounded for a week."
Yuki opened her mouth to protest but was shut down quickly by her mother's glare, silently daring her to challenge her edict. Although Yuki pouted the whole way back, she was comforted by the fact that she had managed to keep her new friend a secret. Hopefully, he will come back when she was no longer grounded. For now, she will think about what to do when he next visited and maybe figure out his job.
The girl sat in the armchair near the fireplace, reading a book on famous generals throughout history. Although it was an illustrated book for children, she thought it was a worthwhile read. It was impressive how some people possessed the ability to lead squadrons of men to face death and win despite the odds. It was even more inspiring when she considered how they were all humans, lacking the strength and speed of vampires like Kaname-sama.
Suddenly the door to the lodge opened and a cold gust blew into the room. Her father was back, and he had returned with guests. She closed her book, putting it onto the coffee table and walked over to where Kaien was ushering in two boys. Before he left earlier, he had informed her that some of his friends were working nearby, and their children (who were around her age) would be staying with them for a few days.
"Ah, Yoko, this one here on the left is Zero and the one to my right is Ichiru, they're the sons of the Kiryuus, my old friends."
Yoko nodded. "I'm Yoko, nice to meet you, Zero-kun and Ichiru-kun."
It was her first-time seeing identical twins, the boys before her really looked like carbon copies of one another, with the same violet eyes and silvery hair. They were even dressed in the same outfit, both wearing white ear mufflers, gray scarves, and light blue jackets.
Zero and Ichiru looked at the girl who was supposed to be the headmaster's daughter. She was as tall as them even though the headmaster had mentioned she was a year younger. She wore her brown curls in a disorganized ponytail and was observing them with her light blue eyes partially hidden behind messy bangs.
"Nice to meet you too," the twins replied in perfect sync, causing the headmaster to start gushing about how twins were so mysterious and incredible.
Yoko helped the boys put away their jackets as the headmaster went into the kitchen and asked Momoyama, her caretaker, to start setting out dinner.
"You don't resemble the headmaster at all," one of them commented casually.
"Ichiru! That's not polite!" The other one quickly chided his twin.
"It's alright. I hear that often," Yoko replied, retrieving guest slippers from the shoe rack. "I'm adopted after all."
"Oh," Ichiru, the one who had been reprimanded uttered, pausing briefly before asking, "What happened to your real parents?"
"Ichiru! You're too nosy! You should apologize to Yoko," Zero chided again.
Although Yoko had trouble telling them apart based on appearance, it was not hard distinguishing them based on their words and actions. Zero was the one who acted the big brother, keeping his younger twin in line while Ichiru was the one asking all sorts of questions while clinging to his twin's arm.
"It's fine," she replied as she led them to the couch where they could chat until dinner was announced. "I don't know either, father never told me."
She settled back into her armchair, diagonally facing the twins who sat on the couch.
"Hmm, so you don't know if you have siblings?" Ichiru asked, still pursuing the topic of her unknown heritage.
"No, I could just be a single child."
"That's unfortunate, you must be lonely. I'm okay because I'm always with Zero- nii," Ichiru stated before snuggling closer to his brother.
"That's nice. You two must be very close," Yoko replied, neither refuting nor confirming her loneliness.
She did not think she was lonely; she had always preferred being in the comfort of her home reading. However, having met Zero and Ichiru and seeing how close they are, part of her wondered what it would be like to have a twin.
Zero, who was anxious to change the topic before Ichiru could further intrude into Yoko's privacy noticed the book on the table.
"Do you like reading Yoko-chan?" he asked, indicating the book.
Yoko nodded. "I like books on history the most, what about you?"
"I like reading about animals and the natural world."
"You two are boring, I like fantasy books, with dragons and witches!" Ichiru announced.
Zero was about to admonish his brother again but stopped when the Ichiru suddenly started coughing. Eyes wide in concern, he quickly patted Ichiru's back. "Are you okay Ichiru? Do you feel sick? You probably got sick from being in the cold – I told you to wear the hat with ear flaps instead!"
Ichiru shook his head as his coughing trailed to a stop. "I'm okay Zero-nii, don't worry so much," he replied, though his weak voice and slightly flushed face suggested the opposite.
"We have medicine for colds and fevers here. Should I go get them?"
"No, it's okay! I'm fine," Ichiru interrupted before Zero could reply. "I'm always like this; I cough a little here and there but I'll be fine soon."
Zero was about to argue with his younger twin when the headmaster popped his head into the living room and announced dinner was ready.
Ichiru had recovered enough to act like he was completely fine, and to prove his point, he leapt off the couch and ran over to the headmaster, calling back at the other two, "Come on guys, you need to stop being so slow!"
Yoko glanced at Zero, who still looked uneasy. She slid off her chair and led Zero into the dining room where everyone else had gathered. The dinner Momoyama cooked was waiting, warm and smelling delicious.
The next morning, after finishing a breakfast of oatmeal and still not seeing the boys, Yoko decided to knock on their door. Zero opened it and let her in to see Ichiru, who was bedridden with fever. The younger twin was flushed and had a wet towel over his forehead. Feeling the need to be helpful, Yoko went to retrieve the medicine kit and notified her father, who had just awoken. They all crowded into the guest room, looking at the afflicted Ichiru.
"Zero, go eat breakfast now, I'll take care of Ichiru," the headmaster offered.
Zero shook his head, refusing to leave his brother's side, "I'm fine, I'm not hungry."
Ichiru waved at his brother to go, mumbling weakly that he was okay with the headmaster there. Zero resisted a while longer before giving in, seeing that Ichiru was not backing down either.
Yoko accompanied Zero to the kitchen and showed him what the breakfast options were. He ended up choosing oatmeal too and they sat together at the round table.
"Is Ichiru often sick? He mentioned that yesterday."
Zero nodded, a serious yet sad expression on his face. "He has been like that ever since we were born." He murmured distractedly, "It's all my fault."
Yoko looked at Zero, puzzled. She wanted to comfort him but decided not to pursue the topic. He had enough on his mind already and she did not want to intrude, especially since they only met yesterday.
"Otou-san, why does Ichiru get sick often while Zero is healthy even though they're identical twins?"
From a scientific viewpoint, Yoko was curious. She had read somewhere that identical twins shared many traits, such as having similar IQ scores. As they took their afternoon stroll (her father frequently insisted she take a break from reading and "get some fresh air"), she finally asked the question she had been curious about. The twins and Momoyama were still in the winter lodge. She and her father stayed at this mountain lodge often on school breaks, but this was the first time guests joined them.
Kaien was surprised, even though he should have been used to her asking such questions by now. He debated how to reply in his head, part of him not wanting her to know anything related to vampire hunters, and the other part arguing it would be pointless to hide it since she would find out eventually given her inquisitive nature.
"Zero seems to blame himself for Ichiru's condition," Yoko remarked, staring straight ahead.
Kaien sighed, he too had seen how concerned Zero was over his twin and was not shocked to discover the boy blamed himself over something he had no control over.
"Yoko…" he hesitated but decided to tell her anyway. "Zero and Ichiru were born into a vampire-hunting family like I was."
The girl nodded, unsurprised since most people her father knew were connected to the Hunter Association.
"Although having twins is a happy occurrence for most people, for hunters it's a tragedy. That's because the babies compete inside their mother, with the weaker one dying. Zero and Ichiru are very unusual because exceedingly few hunter twins are both born alive."
"Why are hunter twins like that?"
Kaien sighed again, of course his bright daughter would sense he had left something out. "The hunters say it's a curse, punishment for our origins."
The girl looked up at him, silently urging him to continue. Although she read plenty of history books, they were always about human history, with no mention of the hunters and vampires.
"Vampire hunters came to be a long time ago, supposedly not long after the first vampires appeared. Before hunters existed, humans lived in fear of bad vampires. Humans were helpless against vampires who were stronger and quicker. One day, a female pureblood sacrificed herself to gift some humans the power and weapons needed to destroy vampires, including purebloods like her."
"Sacrifice?" Yoko held her breath, caught in the story. She was always intrigued by anything related to hunters and vampires.
"She gave her blood and life to the hunters. And because we took her life and blood, hunter twins are cursed in exchange."
Kaien looked at the path glistening under his boots, momentarily remembering his own lonely and violent past...
Seeing her father's abnormally pensive expression, Yoko slipped her hand into his, giving it a soft squeeze. He was startled but smiled and returned to his usual demeanor. He was not the Kaien Cross of the past anymore, now he was just this girl's father and a school headmaster.
A few nights later, Yoko opened the door to find Kaname on their doorstep.
"Kaname-sama! What are you doing here?" She was happy but surprised to see him.
"I was in the vicinity and decided to pay a quick visit." He smiled as he ruffled her hair and stepped into the warm lodge.
"Kaname, glad you could make it!" Kaien appeared, a mug of hot chocolate in his hand as he welcomed their guest.
He had sent a letter informing Kaname that he and Yoko were in the area, but had not received a reply, leaving him unsure if the youth would be visiting or not. It would be interesting to see how this played out, given the two other guests staying with them.
Zero had sensed the presence of a vampire, one that overwhelmed his hunter senses, and had known instinctively it was a pureblood, despite never having met one. He knew the headmaster had sensed the vampire too, but strangely he had not been alarmed. In fact, he had reassured him it was someone he knew.
Zero now peeked at the newcomer, his stomach knotted with worry despite what the headmaster had said. The pureblood appeared to be in his early adolescence, and had dark brown hair and eyes, beautiful in the way he had heard all purebloods were. Zero was not fooled by the pureblood's unnatural beauty though, they were dangerous creatures with frightening powers. He could not believe how friendly Yoko and the pureblood were.
Kaname noticed the boy staring warily at him from behind the headmaster and sensed the boy was born into a hunter lineage like the headmaster.
"Oh, you already have guests," Kaname pasted a small but polite smile on his face, nodding at the hunter boy.
That very moment, an excited boyish voice called out, "Zero! Who is it?"
A second later, a copy of the boy appeared, except his hair was damp and he was in his pajamas, clearly having just gotten out of the shower. The first boy, Zero, stopped his twin before he could rush past, pulling him behind him protectively. The second boy stood behind his twin and looked at Kaname curiously.
"Ichiru, he's a pureblood."
"Oh…" The younger twin's eyes widened temporarily, before his expression became sadly contemplative. "I couldn't even tell."
Yoko looked from Zero and Ichiru back to Kaname and stopped when she saw Kaname's expression. He was looking at the twins with a startling intensity and was visibly shocked, given his wide eyes and partly open mouth. She had never seen him so unsettled, but before she could ask what was wrong, he recovered, his usual polite but unreadable expression back in place.
"Kaname-kun, would you like to join us for some hot chocolate?" The headmaster interrupted the silence.
"Thank you for the offer, but my car is waiting. I still have a lot of matters to deal with, so I'll be going now."
Kaname turned to the twins. "It was nice meeting you, Zero and Ichiru. I hope you two get along with Yoko."
The twins did not respond, but merely kept staring at him.
He turned to Yoko. "Sorry, I have to leave. I promise I'll visit within the next two months though."
"Kaname-sama, take care of yourself." Yoko hugged him, disappointed he was leaving so soon but accepting that he was busy.
He smiled and patted her head before walking out into the cold wintry night, thoughts swirling madly. The hunter lineage actually gave birth to two live twins…He turned to look back at the lodge, the warm light spilling out the windows onto the snow outside. It seems he had chanced upon the answer to the problem he was so desperately trying to solve…
The next day, as the three children played outside, with Ichiru bundled up in so many layers he was having difficulty walking (at Zero's insistence), Zero decided to ask what had been bothering him all night. The three of them had just paused to rest on top of a slope, which Ichiru decided was fit for his purposes. He climbed onto the red sled he had been dragging, and took off, snow flying up behind him as he shot to the bottom, leaving the others behind.
"Yoko, that pureblood from yesterday…" Zero looked down at the snow under his boots before continuing, "You shouldn't be too close with him."
Yoko glanced at the concerned boy, understanding his perspective as someone from a hunter family. It was only logical for him to be distrustful of Kaname, who was a pureblood vampire and thus his enemy. Hunters only existed to kill vampires after all…
"I've known Kaname-sama all my life, and he has always been kind to me like an older brother."
"That's strange though, why would a pureblood be so close with a human?"
It just did not make sense to Zero. From what his parents told him, purebloods were elitist and kept to themselves even amongst vampires. They were rarely encountered, except at the occasional vampire soiree during which the Hunter Association would dispatch some hunters to ensure the vampires were not plotting something under the guise of a social dance.
His parents had only seen a total of three purebloods, all at soirees, and had never fought one. If they actually had to fight one, Zero wondered if he and Ichiru would become orphans – even a single pureblood required a gang of highly trained hunters to injure them, much less kill.
"Yes…I've wondered about that too. Perhaps Kaname-sama is lonely since he doesn't have any family left."
Zero examined Yoko while recalling the memory of the brunet pureblood, and suddenly what had unsettled him deeply, but he had been unable to put into words finally hit him. "You look a lot like him, Yoko."
The more he thought about their similarities, the more his suspicions grew. Their hair was the same shade of brown and their facial features resembled each other's. If Yoko had less curly hair and brown eyes instead of blue, she would undeniably look like a younger, female version of the pureblood.
"Is that so? Maybe it's because we both have brown hair, but that's a common hair color." Yoko had never really noticed her resemblance to Kaname until Zero had pointed it out. "Even if I look like him, it's just coincidence. After all, I'm human, and he's a pureblood."
She was right – their resemblance could not indicate any familial relationship. If they really were related, Yoko would be a vampire, which she clearly was not. Still, it was uncanny how strong the resemblance was…
"Zero…" she spoke hesitantly, "Will you quit being my friend if I insist on staying close to Kaname-sama?"
He looked at her, Yoko was staring at him with slightly worried eyes.
"Of course not, that's between you and him, just like our friendship is only between you and me." He smiled and patted her shoulder to reassure her, meaning every word he said.
Yoko was kind, she had helped him look after Ichiru all week, despite how offensive Ichiru could be. It was both Zero and Ichiru's first time getting so close to someone else around their age, since their family always moved around due to their parents' profession, and never had time to settle down and make friends. Besides, it was the pureblood he was wary of, not her. If the pureblood ever decided to harm her, Zero decided he would protect her.
Yoko's face lightened, and she smiled. "Thanks, I'm glad to hear that."
Their conversation was interrupted by Ichiru hollering at them from below. "Hey! Get down here already! Why are you two leaving me alone when we're supposed to be playing together?!"
"We're coming!" Zero yelled back.
He climbed onto the remaining sled, and extended a hand to Yoko, who took it and climbed on behind him. The two of them then sled down the hill to join Ichiru.
A/N: In this AU, there are many divergences from canon. For one, Shizuka is Yuki's adoptive mother, due to circumstances which will be explained in a prequel series. As for Shizuka perhaps appearing OOC, I interpret her character to be more tragic than anything, she was never evil, but driven by fate to take a misguided revenge. Although she can be cruel, she had another side in canon which treated Ichiru and Maria gently.
Another divergence is that Shizuka and Rido are married, not just engaged. Her ex-human lover does not exist in this AU.
Shizuku Toma is the boyish pureblood in the manga who attacked Yuki outside the cemetery. I've always been curious why he looks like a boy despite supposedly being older than Yuki's original brother. Since Hino never explained, I'll be writing him like an OC and coming up with a background story for him. BTW, I based his coloring off Emma from The Promised Neverland, lol.
Finally, Zero doesn't hate vampires like he does in canon because the Shizuka incident doesn't/didn't happen. And Momoyama isn't an OC, she's the elderly lady who helped Kaien care for Yuki in the manga.
Anyway, thank you to readers that faved/ followed the story.
