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The Council of Thirteen

Book Seven: The Second Lord

The Kuran Restoration

Chapter 1: Siblings

Beta:

"Yuki, are you absolutely sure this is what you want your Mystic Code to be?" Dom asked her apprentice and adoptive daughter skeptically as they stood inside her workshop in Sanctuary's Governor's Palace looking down at the device the vampire had chosen.

"Yes," the twelve year old affirmed with an enthusiastic nod. "A Mystic Code is supposed to be an expression of the user, not just a simple magical focus isn't it?"

Dom nodded warily.

"Then this is perfect," Yuki said, gesturing to the scythe lying on the long table before them. "The scythe is a symbol of the Grim Reaper, the arbiter of life and death. Since my affinity is Matter Manipulation, the control of the life and death of all things, I think it's fitting."

"Or you just think it looks cool." Dom shot back with a roll of her eyes.

"It's still better than a beret like Felicia-obasan uses, Sensei." Yuki countered as she picked up the weapon and spun it expertly around in the moves that Dom had arranged for her to be trained in. "Besides, I wouldn't want to put all that effort you put in teaching me how to use it to waste."

"I did not just get you trained in the scythe," Dom reminded her apprentice. "I had you trained in the basics of handling multiple weapons so you could choose one you liked."

"And I like the scythe." Yuki insisted.

"It's not a practical weapon." Dom said with a shake of her head.

"You're not changing my mind on this, Sensei." Yuki said, as she began channeling her magic into it and attuning the weapon to her thus making it her Mystic Code. "I'm keeping Artemis."

Great. She's already named it. There's no changing her mind now.

Dom just sighed.

"I guess I'm going to have to get you more advanced lessons on scythe handling then?"

"Yes, please." The twelve year old said eagerly as she commanded her new Mystic Code to compact itself into its more manageable travel form. Its polished and wickedly sharp slivery adamantine blade vanished in a burst of light and its segmented bone white shaft of mithril seemingly folded in on itself until only one segment remained. All in all, the now disguised scythe looked nothing more than an innocuous short baton of about 12 inches.

"Fine," Dom said, resigned to the situation. "But let's test out the limits of your new Mystic Code first."

Yuki just nodded happily, literally bouncing on the balls of her feet at the prospect of playing with her new toy.

A half hour later, Yuki was sorely regretting her earlier enthusiasm. In her eagerness to test out Artemis, she'd actually forgotten how brutal of a taskmaster her mentor and foster mother could be during training.

"Alright, let's take a break." Dom said after an exhausting spar, one that had taken after Yuki had almost drained her mana pool casting every spell she knew, repeatedly, as part of the older Lord of the Thirteen's evaluation of her Artemis.

"Thank you," Yuki said gratefully as she practically collapsed to knees.

Dom rolled her eyes at what she probably reasoned was an exaggerated display. Then again Dom seemed to have endless stamina so she tended to struggle to understand that others had limits.

"Here," Dom said, summoning a bottle of water and tossing it to Yuki. "Drink up."

Yuki caught the bottle, more out of instinct than anything else being too tired to even really register its presence. Still acting on the same instinctive auto-pilot, she brought the bottle to her lips and drank.

As the cooling water, spiked with just a tinge of restorative potion, reinvigorated her, Yuki slowly regained some of her awareness and found herself staring at Dom who was busy using her magic to repair the damage their session had done to the training room they were using. Despite the five years that had passed since the Thirteenth Lord had rescued her from that Level E on the day her parents died trying to protect her from being drained of her blood by her murderous uncle, the woman had seemingly not aged a day and looked as stunningly beautiful as she ever did.

Then again, I'm biased. Yuki mused. After all, it was not uncommon to think of one's mother as the most beautiful woman in the world was it not?

And yes, Yuki very much considered Dom her mother. She never wanted to diminish her birth parents' sacrifice but she was more than happy to admit that to her, her foster family were just as much her true family as the Kurans were. Not only had Dom done everything in her power to train her to not just be a great Lord of the Thirteen but a good person, but she'd also happily accepted her as part of a family. Treating her no differently than she did Fleda, Chihiro and Alyssa, her own biological daughters.

Speaking of her sisters…

"Sensei, are we done here?" Yuki asked as she finished the bottle. "Has Artemis passed muster?"

Dom turned to eye Yuki's scythe appraisingly for a long moment before nodding.

"You'll still need to work on mastering using it as a weapon and a focus, but the scythe passes."

"Yay!" Yuki cheered, jumping to her feet. "If that's the case then-"

"Go show it to your sisters," Sensei said with an amused grin. "Like I know you've been dying to."

Yuki needed no more prompting than that and immediately ran off to do that, calling out distractedly behind her as she did. "Thank you Sensei!"

All she heard was her beloved Sensei's amused laughter, something that served as much as her giddy anticipation to show off Artemis to her foster sisters to bring a smile to her face.

"Wow! It looks so cool!" Alyssa, Dom-sensei's youngest daughter, said with stars in her eyes as she looked over Artemis, causing the Second Lord to preen. "It's so much cooler than Fleda's mace."

"Hey! My mace is cool too." The purple eyed, fair skinned Fleda said with a growl as she summoned her own Mystic Code. The marching band mace radiating an aura of cold as befit its mistress' status as an ice mage.

"Yeah, but Yuki's Artemis is cooler." Alyssa insisted, crossing her arms defiantly as her blue eyes glared at her eldest sister challengingly.

"Both are cool." Chihiro, the middle child, cut in quietly, looking between her blonde and blue-black haired siblings worriedly. "Can we just agree on that and not fight?"

"I have to agree with Chihiro," Yuki added. "As much as I appreciate the vote of confidence for my Artemis, Alyssa, I do think Fleda's mace is pretty impressive too."

Alyssa shot her a betrayed look, but Yuki just shrugged. "I'm just being honest."

Fleda looked ready to say something, but Chihiro shot her a look and she seemed to think better of it.

"Okay, I'll admit that Fleda's Mystic Code is pretty cool too." Alyssa allowed. "But I still think Yuki's is cooler. I really hope mine will be just as cool when I get around to making one."

"Or you'll just end up following Felicia-mama's lead and go with something silly." Fleda said with a scoff. "You take after your birth mother way too much."

"And you take after the Murasakis." Yuki chided. "Or didn't your Grandfather mention you inheriting your abrasive personality from Shirayuki-sama's family?"

"I'm not abrasive!" Fleda denied with a pout.

"I love you, big sis, but you totally are." Alyssa said with a roll of her eyes, even as Chihiro nodded in agreement.

"You guys suck."

"No, they are just being honest." Felicia said as she walked into the parlor the four girls were lounging in. "You really need to work on your attitude Fleda."

"Felicia-mama~!" Fleda whined.

Ignoring her, Felicia effortlessly changed topics.

"It's dinner time girls." She told them. "Go cleaned up and ready to eat."

There was a chorus of affirmative as the four young girls rushed to do as their mother ordered.

Kaname felt the magic of the token the Thirteenth Lord had given him fade and found himself in the familiar gardens of Sanctuary's Governor's Palace. Looking around nervously, he idly noted that unlike the winter conditions back in Hokkaido down here in Sanctuary, it seemed spring was in the air and the whole garden was full of blooms of every shape and size. Though since Sanctuary's weather was artificially induced by its magic, the comparison was somewhat unfair.

"Hello Kaname-san," Shirayuki-san, the purple haired yuki onna that was one of the Thirteenth's two wives, greeted as she walked over. "You do know you don't have to wait here at the teleportation point for an escort, correct? You're Yuki-chan's Onii-san, you're more than welcome in our home."

"It is the polite thing to do." He said, offering his customary response to the question.

The yuki onna just shook her head at him but gestured for him to follow.

"Yuki-chan is expecting you." She said as they walked towards the nearest entrance to the Palace. "She wants to show you her new Mystic Code."

"Did Dom-sama allow her to make it a scythe like she wanted?"

Shirayuki-san laughed. "When has Dom ever been able to tell Yuki-chan no? All she, or any of our daughters for that matter, ever needs to do to get her to do what they want is to pout at her and she'll cave. They have her thoroughly wrapped around their little fingers."

Kaname allowed himself a smile at the casual way the woman accepted his little sister as a member of her family, counting her as one of her daughters. It was wonderful that Yuki had managed to find herself a family again after having their parents so violently taken away from them.

It was as he was entertaining such thoughts that they entered a drawing room and Kaname saw Yuki chatting excitedly with her foster sisters as two of her foster mothers, the Thirteenth and Felicia-san, watched indulgently.

"Yuki-chan," Shirayuki-san said, causing his little sister to turn towards her. "Your brot-"

She never got to finish her sentence before Yuki leapt out of her chair.

"Onii-chan!" She shouted gleefully as she raced to hug him in welcome.

Kaname returned the hug like a man starved of affection for ages. And in many ways he was. Living in the household of the power hungry Level B noble that was Ichijo Asato was a necessity for his plans but it was nevertheless an emotionally draining experience. That and the prospect of what he planned to tell Yuki tonight made him savour this hug all the more.

"Yuki," the Thirteenth said, her voice cutting into his thoughts. "Why don't you take Kaname to your room? You can chat with him in private there."

The rest of her family, Yuki included, looked at her in confusion, clearly wondering why they would need privacy.

Do you know what I intend? He sent to the Assassin Lord via telepathy. It was not an ability typical of his kind but Kaname had lived for thousands of years and in that time had learned more than his fair share of esoteric skills.

The specifics, no. The Thirteenth Lord replied. But whilst you hide it well, I can tell you're nervous. Considering your self-control, only something truly unsettling would affect you this way. Whatever that might be, I imagine you'd like some privacy to discuss it with Yuki.

Kaname just offered the woman a grateful nod.

"Yuki, why don't we go to your room like Dom-sama said," Kaname urged.

Yuki frowned, looking between her foster mother and himself but eventually hesitantly nodded. Taking his hand, she led him away to her room.

"Yuki, Shirayuki-san mentioned you forged your Mystic Co-" Kaname began as they walked into his little sister's bedroom. An expansive affair that was more a whole suite than anything.

"I can show you Artemis later." Yuki said, cutting him off even as she closed the door behind them and cast a series of privacy wards. "I want to know what you came here to talk to me about first."

"Yuki, that can wai-"

"Onii-chan, tell me." His little sister said firmly. Her tone radiating authority as befit her status as the Second Lord of the Thirteen.

For a moment, Kaname could only admire the maturity she'd developed under the Thirteenth Lord's tutelage but the narrowing of her eyes told him that her patience was growing thin, so he began his explanation.

"Ichiou is pressuring me to accept an engagement."

"Ichiou?" Yuki asked, with a thoughtful frown. "The noble you are living with? Ichijou Asato?"

"That's him." Kaname nodded. "He seeks to use me as a political pawn, just as I am using him to build the connections among the nobles that we need."

"So just like we planned." Yuki acknowledged. "I don't see a problem so far. Yes, forcing you to get engaged is off putting. But we expected this would happen. It's typical for Purebloods like us. Besides, when our plans come to fruition we can just annul the engagement if that's what we want."

"Yes, but the problem is who he wants to engage me to."

Yuki blinked for a moment.

"Oh!" She gasped as she puzzled out what he meant. "He wants us to be engaged. As is customary for Pureblood siblings."

Kaname nodded.

"I don't see the problem." Yuki said with a frown. "Nothing I said earlier wouldn't apply if we were engaged."

"Perhaps," Kaname allowed, hiding his surprise at the fact that Yuki would be so cavalier about being engaged at such a young age. Whilst it might have been expected of a Pureblood Kuranian, Yuki was hardly raised as such.

"What's the problem, Onii-chan?"

Kaname took a deep, calming breath. It was time to take the plunge.

"Yuki, even if this engagement is to be but a farce there is something I must confess to you before you agree to it."

What he was about to do was something he was loath to do. Knowing full well that it would likely completely change his relationship with the girl who he loved with all his heart. But knowing, in no small parts thanks to the urging of the Thirteenth Lord, that he could not keep Yuki in the dark forever and that the longer he kept it a secret, the more painful the reveal would be. That Ichiou's plans to engage the two of them presented him with an impetus, as flimsy as it might be, to do so was both a blessing and a curse.

Yuki looked at him questioningly. "Onii-chan?"

"Yuki," he said, looking her firmly in the eyes to show that he was telling the truth. "I am not your brother. Your real brother was killed by Rido years before you were born to provide the blood that revived me from my hibernation."

Yuki prepared to say something but Kaname held up a hand and she subsided, letting him continue.

"In truth, I am the ancient ancestor of our clan. The last surviving progenitor of all Kuranian vampires. I merely wear the shape of your deceased brother because it was his blood which revived me and in homage to the loss of his innocent life."

Kaname had expected many reactions from Yuki at his revelation. In his worst nightmares, he imagined Yuki rejecting him and breaking his heart. In his wildest dreams, he envisaged her ignoring everything he said and happily reaffirming his status as her brother. But he was surprised by the one he received nonetheless.

"So what?" Yuki said, with an indifferent shrug.

Kaname could only blink in shock.

"Yuki, do you not understand what I said. It means that I'm not your brother. That I've been lying to you all my life."

Yuki sighed at this, seemingly in exasperation. But that couldn't be it, right?

"Since when have you lied Onii-chan? You might not have been my brother by birth, but you absolutely have been my brother by choice. And I love you all the same. This changes nothing."

Perhaps this is my wildest dreams come true after all. Kaname thought, even as a traitorous part of his mind sowed doubt once more. I have to be sure.

"Yuki, you can't be seri-"

Letting out another sigh, one that this time he was sure was in exasperation, Yuki thrust her right arm towards him.

"You won't stop doubting what I say," she said, looking at Kaname firmly and daring him to deny what she'd said. "So drink my blood and be sure."

"Yuki, do you understand what drinking another vampire's blood means for our kind?"

"Of course," she scoffed. "It's reserved for lovers. But that's just stupid and a cultural thing. My foster parents and siblings offer me blood all the time!"

Kaname startled at that.

"But sharing blood means also sharing one's memories and emotions. It is a very inti-"

"Only if you allow it." Yuki said, shaking her head. "With just a little self-control, all drinking blood will share is energy. No memories, no emotion."

Kaname nodded in understanding. If that was true, and he had little doubt it was. Whilst he had never encountered a situation where such could occur, he had heard rumors to this effect before. And if only energy was exchanged when drinking blood then it would eliminate much of the reason why drinking another vampire's blood was considered intimate.

"Back on topic," Yuki said, shoving her right arm towards his face again and pulling him back from his contemplation of the revelation she'd dropped on him. "Drink my blood and see my feelings for you. I want you to."

"Yuki that's-"

"Onii-chan, do it." She commanded, glaring at him.

Sighing, he relented and gingerly lowered his fangs into her arm. He barely allowed them to graze her flesh, letting only a few droplets of her precious lifeblood to leave her body which he promptly sucked up before pulling away.

It was prudent that he did so. Her blood was amazing! Rich in a way unlike any blood he'd ever tasted across his thousands of years of life. It brimmed with life. It overflowed with power. It was indescribable but if forced to do so, Kaname could only say that it was almost like raw liquified magic. It was perfection itself. And if he had not pulled back when he had, he doubted he'd have been able to resist attempting to drain Yuki dry.

It was thus with great difficulty that he pushed aside the ecstasy brought on by the taste of her blood to focus deeper on what it contained. To examine the feelings that Yuki had suffused her blood with. And once more he felt swept away by the contents of her blood. It was filled with love for him. It sung of her acceptance of him as her brother.

One thing did bring a tear to his eyes though. Despite the intense love she held for him, it was purely familial in nature, without a hint of the romantic.

I suppose I cannot get everything I want. He thought with a mental sigh of disappointment. He had hoped that Yuki, the only person still alive in this lifetime that he'd come to love, would be his wife but it seems that was a dream which would continue to stay a fantasy.

Though this is enough. More than enough.

"Do you believe me now, Onii-chan?" Yuki asked, as pulled her arm back and looked at him curiously.

Still feeling a sense of bittersweet disappointment, Kaname uses all his self-control and offers her a smile.

"I do, Imouto-chan."

Done!

Kaname got totally brotherzoned, no? Well, he deserves it. To be honest, as much as I ship the Kaname x Yuki pairing in canon!Vampire Knight, I do dislike how manipulative he is of her. I think I mainly ship it because ultimately he is her first true love and I just want it to succeed. Guess I'm a romantic like that. That said, in this verse things are different and Kaname is very much not Yuki's first love, true or otherwise, so I'm going a different route.

Well, that's it for today. Till next time toq!