So here's Zero! Kaname will be appearing in the next chapter because at the moment I'm figuring out the exact timing of that. There are some hints and subtle (I hope) things in this that I'm repidly building up to as I start to derail canon!
To the guest who mentioned Yuuki's feelings toward Kaname, I can try and explain that a bit! So, when she first "woke up", she didn't really have any solid memories. Just a vague "knowledge". Almost right away she's attacked by this man, and then there's Kaname, who saves her life and takes her to safety. My impression is something close to how ducklings can imprint on a person? That person means safety and comfort and such, you know? Of course there's feelings and memories expanding off of that, but thats the core of the relationship.
I, personally, am a really loyal, apathetic and pragmatic person. I tend to get really clingy with people who show me affection, or allow me to be touchy with them. I generally keep my distance from adults and young children. I'm also mostly a doormat unless with people I trust won't leave me behind or speak about me behind my back. I'm bleeding these traits into Yuuki in this, and doing my best to keep true to both myself and an amnesiac, isolated girl.
Eleven and a half, Yuuki Cross can smell the blood from where she stands. It's a faint smell, but familiar.
"Yuuki, this boy's parents were killed by a vampire," Cross tells her, his gaze not fixing on either the boy or Yuuki. Instead it is far away. Yuuki wonders briefly if Cross had known his parents- if they'd been friends. She can see blood on the boy's right cheek, and he is swaddled in an unfamiliar, large coat that brushes his ankles. His face is mostly downturned, his eyes shadowed. His hair is short and silver, surprisingly clean of the blood she can smell.
"It's a miracle that he managed to survive," Cross continues. "Please look after him while he's staying with us, okay?" Cross begins to turn back toward the front door. "He's still covered in blood, so give him a bath first. I have to go talk to the police." And then he's gone, the front door closing behind him.
The boy doesn't so much as twitch, not shifting at all and seeming to be breathing very shallowly. Yuuki is sure that the scent of blood must be incredibly unpleasant and overpowering for him. She makes her way closer, watching his face carefully, feeling as though she's somehow approaching a wary animal. From what she can tell, he isn't actually tracking her movements at all.
"Let's…" Trailing off, she approaches his side, keeping a careful watch on his face. "Can I touch you?" She asks, moving her hands where he can see them. When he doesn't respond, she rests a careful hand on his back and the other on the shoulder closest to her. He moves at her slight push easily, but doesn't seem to be really paying it any attention.
From right next to him, the scent of blood is almost overwhelming.
Eventually they reach the bathroom, and Yuuki draws him a hot bath. She explains the soaps and retrieves him some towels before leaving the room, but when she'd returned to check on him after fifteen minutes, he'd shown no signs of having moved at all.
"Um…" She doesn't know his name, she realizes a little too late, before continuing with uncertainty. "I… Shall I help you with your clothes?" She reaches slowly for the edges of the coat he is swaddled in, and notices his arms going lax. His face still doesn't shift, his eyes remaining unfocused. Due to the brighter lighting of the bathroom, she can tell now that his eyes are a light lilac color before the coat is removed and his eyes are the last thing on her mind.
I knew there was blood, but… so much? Is it all from him, or someone else? He isn't wearing a shirt, and there's blood smeared on the right side of his throat, face and upper chest, some of it wet but a majority of it congealed or mostly dried. Yuuki can't tell if there's an injury beneath all of the blood, and it worries her.
"I'm going to wipe that off and treat your wound, if you have one," she explains to the likely catatonic boy. She grabs a washcloth from the edge of the bathtub, dipping it into the lukewarm water after pulling her sleeves up to her elbows, then wringing the excess water out. When she reaches it toward his neck, there's a sense of threat- like the boy is a trapped, vigilant animal, suddenly more intent on her despite all signs pointing to the contrary. She hesitates slightly before continuing her movement. The sense fades when the cloth connects and the boy doesn't visibly react at all. She manages to clean the blood simply and quickly, revealing that there's no injury beneath it.
The scent of blood persists even after she's dropped the dirty washcloth back into the bathtub.
Somehow, the boy's lack of injury doesn't comfort Yuuki at all.
She wakes up to the smell of blood. In her room, there's no visible explanation for the scent at first, but a glance to her door reveals it being open a crack. She isn't completely sure why, as she always closes her door.
Climbing to her feet, she paces out into the hallway, looking around. She glances at her door, revealing the blood smell that had woken her had been blood smeared on her doorknob. None of the lights are on so it's a little hard to tell, though. The scent of blood is stronger to her left, in the direction of a small reading nook, so she carefully makes her way over in that direction, not turning any lights on.
In the shadows of the area, tucked into the corner of the room near the fireplace embedded into the wall, is a small masculine body. It's Zero, who she's only known for about a week and a half, in his pyjamas. It's difficult for Yuuki to completely see him, but as she gets closer, the smell of blood is stronger and she can see him more clearly.
"Zero-kun? What are you doing?" She asks, stopping a few feet away from him. Zero has a hand up to his neck, and she can see blood on his fingers and cheek, his neck mostly covered by his hand.
"I can still feel that woman," Zero's voice is slow and bland. "It feels disgusting." There's movement in his hand, the scent of blood increasing, and she realizes that Zero is scratching his neck to ribbons.
"Ze-" Yuuki chokes on her words, hurrying forward and grasping onto his hand. The scent of blood is powerful this close, her ever-present deja vu at the scent resurfacing. "Zero… By 'that woman', you mean that vampire who killed your family and hurt you, right? You don't… You don't have to scratch away the feeling of her, you know?" She presses her free hand against the bloody skin, her eyes tearing up but determinedly meeting his own.
His face is blank, his eyes similarly so.
"You're okay now, alright? Your skin is clean, and that woman will never touch you again. I promise. Okay? Please, stop this…"