Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight nor do I make any profit from it

There were only two days left before the ball, and Amaya and Katsu were already back from their trip back to the Suzuki manor. The two Suzuki purebloods had both been able to relax while they had been away from the academy and the stresses of anything concerning the Night Class. The girls were able to pick out dresses for the both of them in no time and since they had been able to get that done so quickly, Katsu had suggested that they go back to the academy early.

Amaya was walking down the stairs in the main building, almost thirty minutes after classes had ended for the Day Class. She had just been called to the Headmaster's office to confirm that she and Katsu were back. As she was walking down the path towards the dormitories, she thought she had felt something going on in the old abandoned dorm that teachers had once used. She quickly ran over there. Though it was probably not a smart idea to go in the first place, she had to see what was going on. Amaya arrived in the old dorm just in time to hear someone say…

"So, you can sense me… Because there's a bond between us. It fills the emptiness in my heart now… You finally came to kill me," spoke a small girl's voice.

Amaya realized quickly that the voice belonged to Maria, but it didn't sound exactly like her. There was a slight difference in her voice. A maturity to it.

"Are you surprised that you can't kill me," Maria asked.

"Don't touch me," yelled another voice.

Amaya's dark blue eyes widened. It was Zero's voice.

"I am your master. I gave you a life as a vampire. You're my faithful servant no matter how you look at it."

Before the ravenette knew it, a gun was shot and she smelled blood coming from a fresh wound.

Maria chuckled under her breath. "You're the first one who hasn't yielded to me. You figured out who I'm, Zero… Even if I look different."

"Yes, I can't forget, Shizuka Hio. That day your true face was covered with our blood."

Amaya covered her mouth with her right hand. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. So, she was right after all. A pureblood was present in Maria Kurenai's body.

"This body isn't mine, so I want you to treat it gently," Maria stated.

Amaya listened as silver rang out; obviously the girl was pulling out a blade of some kind. No matter the difference between her and the silver-haired hunter, she had to help. It wasn't right for a pureblood to be possessing someone else's body.

As she tried to get into the room, someone pulled her back behind the wall. The next thing the ravenette knew was she felt like she was going to pass out.

"Don't you dare look away, boy," was the last thing she heard before she passed out completely.

The small Suzuki pureblood slumped in the arms of her kidnapper. He picked her up so that she was now bridal-style in his arms, but before he could get far, someone called for him.

"Where do you think you are going with Amaya, Kaname," asked a voice behind him.

Kaname looked over his right shoulder to see the red-brown-haired pureblood there. She was dressed in only her white blouse, black pants, and boots. Her sword and gun were by her side once again. "Katsu," he whispered.

"Yeah, it's me. Tell me, what are you going to do with Amaya?"

"I'm going to take her back to her room."

"And tell me why on earth you stopped her from getting herself involved in there?"

"You know perfectly why I stopped her," Kaname stated before he left.

Katsu shook her head as she looked into the room. Maria, her servant, and Zero were gone as well. The brunette sighed again.

"Great, now I need to go find him," Katsu whispered as she walked into the room, "Jeez, where did they take him?" The brunette smelled the air, quickly finding the scent of Zero's blood. She followed the scent all the way up to the hallway with all the dorm rooms in it. Mixed in with Zero's blood she smelled someone else's scent. It smelled like…

Katsu's black eyes widened.

It was Toga's scent!

"Damn it. Just what I need," she whispered to herself. She followed the scents. It wasn't very long before she finally found the two of them, but they weren't alone. She could hear a third voice in the room, but she could not recognize it.

"It has been quite a long time, Master," the unknown voice spoke.

"Ichiru," Toga cursed.

Katsu sighed softly to herself. She remembered reading the Kiryu family file at the Hunter's Association headquarters about Ichiru dying alongside his parents. Obviously, it was false. The brunette heard footsteps a few seconds afterwards.

"Are you alright, Zero," Toga asked him.

"Oh, right. You're only real student was Zero," Ichiru stated.

Katsu heard some metal rattle within seconds of the other Kiryu twin speaking. He must have been pointing a blade at Toga. If she didn't do something, both Toga and Zero could be injured from this man. The brunette quickly moved into the room. She came around in front of Ichiru, grabbing the sword in her right hand before facing the silver-haired man.

"Katsu," Toga whispered.

Katsu held the sword in her hand even tighter, making her hand start to bleed and sizzle from the silver. Her blood dripped from her hand onto the carpet floor. This didn't surprise her or the man she was standing in front of him. The two behind her though were a bit surprised from all the actions she had taken thus far.

"Katsu, let the sword go," Toga spoke sternly.

The brunette narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ichiru, not even making a move to let go of the sword. "What are you doing here, Ichiru? I had read that you had died alongside your parents," Katsu told him, "What has happened since that night?"

Ichiru smiled. "Is that what they said," he asked, smirking. He ripped the sword from Katsu's hand.

The brunette winced as pain came quickly from the action. More of her blood dripped down onto the floor, even when she tried to cover the cut with her other hand. Zero and Toga stood up from the floor, the former human leaning upon his master.

"Ichiru, stop this," Zero yelled angrily.

Ichiru smirked, making Zero lunge at him. Sword mets gun in the middle, but eventually the sword was flung into the air. The silver-haired human fell onto his back on the floor. The former human was pushed to the side as the black-haired hunter tried to protect Ichiru from the blade, but the Suzuki pureblood moved so that her right upper arm was the only thing that the blade touched.

Once the blade had gone through her arm, the brunette backed up into the wall behind her. She hadn't screamed in pain from the sword going through her arm at all. Or the fact that the silver was sizzling against her skin. No whimper; nothing. She hadn't uttered a single sound. Katsu took her left hand and grabbed the sword, wincing in pain with the added weight on the sword. She ripped it from her arm and tossed it aside without a second thought. Her dark red blood ran down her arm, finally dripping onto the already bloody floor.

"Katsu," Toga yelled as he ran over to her.

Ichiru smirked as he grabbed the bloody sword from the ground. Zero tried to stand, but he failed. "I never thought I would see the day that a pureblood protected a vampire hunter without a thought," the human chuckled out.

Katsu looked down at her arm as the silver-haired traitor left the room. She didn't feel like looking at anyone at the moment. She had just made a mistake that for all she knew could cause her more harm than good.

Zero was finally able to stand up after his second attempt. "I'm going after him, Master," the silver-haired hunter stated before he left the room.

"Zero, wait," Toga yelled after him, but the silver-haired student was already out of hearing.

"Go after him," Katsu breathed.

Toga looked back at the brown-haired pureblood. Her hair was covering her eyes like a curtain, but he could still see some tears running down her cheeks. "Katsu," he whispered softly.

"Just go. He needs your help more than me," she spoke a little louder now.

Toga didn't listen to her. Instead he helped her up onto her feet.

"Toga, I don't…"

"Don't complain, Katsu. Zero can take care of himself. Right now, you're the one who needs help."

Katsu looked up at him before letting him lead her back to the Headmaster's office, trying to find out why he would do this. Help her and all. She was a pureblood. She would heal in time, though it would probably take some time with the silver shards from the sword still sizzling against her wound.

Kaien opened the door after the black-haired hunter had kicked it in order to get his attention. "What happened to Katsu," he asked them as they walked into the room.

"We ran into Ichiru," Toga stated.

"Ichiru? I thought he was dead," Kaien responded.

"Well, he was very much alive when we saw him," Katsu commented as Toga helped her sit down on a sofa. The brunette winced as pain rushed up her arm. It was a terrible pain. It was the type of pain that would not stop immediately. Aid was a must right now if the pureblood was to heal in time.

"Cross, do you have a first aid kit in here," Toga asked.

"Yeah, it's near my desk," Kaien answered as he pointed.

The black-haired hunter went over to the dark wooden desk and grabbed some white wraps from the small box. He went back over to Katsu's side and started to wrap her arm up. "This should last till we get you back to my quarters," the hunter told his student, "Then we'll take care of the silver remains that are there."

Katsu shook her head, quick to disagree with the other. "I'm going back to my room and that's final," the brunette stated.

"Katsu, you're injured and bleeding badly. Do you really want to go into a dorm where there are vampires left and right waiting to get an opportunity to drink your blood? A pureblood's blood that is."

The brunette hesitated, "No, I don't."

"Then you're staying at my quarters until you're completely healed."

Katsu looked away as Toga wrapped the bandage around her arm.

"It would probably be best if you didn't go to the ball either, Katsu. It would just give you more time to heal," Kaien suggested, hoping the pureblood girl wouldn't snap at him for what he said.

Katsu nodded, "Alright, that's fine, but what are you going to say to Amaya when I don't join her at the ball?"

"We'll just tell her that you aren't feeling well."

The Suzuki pureblood looked over at Toga. He had been the one that had answered.

Why, the brunette thought to herself, Why is he going so far for just me?

Katsu nodded after she had those thoughts run through her head. It was better if her cousin just didn't know about what had really happened.

Toga helped her up onto her feet before the two of them started to walk to his quarters. Once there, he took her into the bathroom just after they had arrived.

"Why don't you take a shower while I go get you a change of clothes," he asked her, "Do you think you'll be okay until I get back?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied.

Toga left his quarters to go to the Moon dorm, leaving Katsu alone.

The brunette placed her left hand on her bandage. She felt a little bit of pain from just touching it, but it wasn't that bad. The brunette gasped as thirst quickly took over her senses. Katsu's left hand came up to her head. She was having a very bad headache. She looked in the mirror to see her eyes were bright red.

"Damn it," Katsu cursed, "not again." She sat down on the floor and rested her back on the bathtub.

Of all things to happen right now, it had to be this, Katsu thought. She had to have been sitting there for a couple minutes before her eyes went back to normal. However, her heavy breathing did not stop no matter what she tried.

Not now, beast.

Toga was walking back to his quarters with Katsu's clothes in his arms. As he was walking, his thoughts led to Katsu's actions earlier.

Why had she protected me, he thought.

His single, light blue eye narrowed. He was confused. Katsu was a pureblood and yet she protected him like any normal hunter would have.

She couldn't possibly be…, Toga thought.

"Yagari," someone yelled, pulling the hunter from his thoughts. It was Kaien who had called him. Toga had to wonder what the tan-haired man wanted now.

"What is it, Cross," he asked, slightly annoyed.

"How is Katsu doing?"

"She's fine, I think, but…"

Kaien could see it written all over his face as he approached his friend. "Did Katsu protect you from something? Is that how she got hurt?"

A long pause between the two men soon followed the question. The black-haired hunter was gathering his thoughts on the matter before...

"Yes... And I'm just trying to figure out why she did that."

"Yagari, have I ever told you that I have seen the way you look at Katsu at times?"

Toga looked at his friend, hisone good eye narrowed yet again. "What do you mean, Cross?" His voice was full of anger. He was not liking what the man was implying.

"You care about her, don't you?"

Toga looked away. He cared for her, yes. But was it really just a student and teacher relationship anymore? A friendship?

Obviously, it was growing into something else way too fast for the both of them.

Too abnormally fast.

"I don't know. She's a pureblood vampire and I'm just a hunter."

"You don't know until you try, Yagari." Kaien left his friend's side with that statement in his head.

Try… Is that all it takes, he thought as he began to walk back to his quarters, Maybe all I need to do is try, but when can I tell her.

He opened the door and walked into the living room. "Katsu, I grabbed you one of your hunter outfits, if that's okay. And I also grabbed your red cloak and hood," the black-haired hunter yelled as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to the bathroom to see Katsu on the floor.

"Katsu," he called as he dropped the clothes on the ground. He walked over to the pureblood's side and tried to help her up, but she just ended up slapping his hand away.

"I'm fine," the brunette told him as she stood up on her own. She winced and screamed out as a little bit of pain came with moving her right arm. Blood started to quickly soak the white bandage, changing it to a red color.

"Sit back down, Katsu. We need to change that bandage, and quickly," Toga stated. He found an extra wrap in the bathroom and he gave Katsu a white towel. When the hunter took the dirty bandage off, the brunette quickly placed the towel on her arm.

He shook his head and took the towel from the other's hand. "Here, let me do it."

The pureblood looked down at the floor as Toga dried off some of the blood on her arm before placing the new wrap onto her arm. "Thank you, Toga," Katsu spoke softly once he was done.

"Do you still want to take a shower," Toga asked.

"No. I think I'll just change into the clothes you got for me and go to bed."

Toga nodded. "Alright. I'll take the couch and you can have the bed."

"You don't have to do that."

"No, I think I do. You'll need the bed more than me." The hunter stood up from the floor before leaving the bathroom.

Katsu grabbed the clothes and changed into them. It was her red tank top, black shorts, and black hoodie that he had grabbed. The brunette grabbed her cloak before laying down on the bed. She placed the cloak over her body, using it as a blanket for the night. It wasn't long before she had fallen asleep.

Kaname had taken Amaya back to her room and placed her under the covers of her bed. He brushed her long, black and blonde hair out of her face; her slight pale features were shining a bit. As he looked at her, his dark red eyes became a bright red. He closed his eyes and looked away. Feeling thirsty at such a time was inconvenient and unnecessary. He opened his eyes a few seconds later and they had returned to their normal wine-colored shade.

"It's taking too long, but I must wait," he whispered to himself.

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Kaname immediately turned to walk back to his room.

Outside of the academy and deep in the woods, the coyotes were there, watching over the academy.

My lady, do you know when he will return, a dark brown male coyote asked.

No, I do not. Kin is not giving me any of that information at the moment, but I believe that one of his subordinates or someone from the Senate will tell us, the tan lead coyote answered. She looked at the academy.

We will kill those Suzuki girls once and for all, she growled.

Amaya woke up the next morning, feeling very out of it. She didn't feel like herself at all. She felt like she had completely missed something; something that could have been quite important. The ravenette looked out the window to see that it was quite late. She had to be thankful that it was the day before the ball and that the Headmaster was letting the Night Class get the day off. A knock on her bedroom door scared the small, blonde-streaked, black-haired girl from her thoughts.

"Hello, who is it," Amaya asked without getting up from her bed.

"It's me, Amaya-sama," spoke a sweet voice. It was Maria.

"What is it, Maria?"

"Can I come in and talk to you, Amaya-sama?"

"Sure, I suppose so…"

The small, silver-haired girl came into the room and stood near the door, leaving it open. She leaned a little bit, placing her legs crossed and pressure upon the left.

"What is it you need to talk about," Amaya asked as she got out of the bed.

"Do you remember what happened last night?"

The ravenette looked over at the small girl, "What are you talking about?"

Maria smiled, "Oh, so you don't remember. You don't remember me and Zero having a little… Conversation."

"What are you…?"

Out of nowhere, the memories of last night came back to Amaya: Zero's fight with Maria… And her fainting from someone grabbing her… Everything.

Her dark blue eyes wide with fear and surprise, the only thing that the Suzuki pureblood could do next was place a hand onto her forehead, "What the...?"

Maria smiled even bigger now, "Ah, you remembered rather quickly. I didn't even need to make you draw blood. Excellent. I want to make you a deal. You, of course, know how Zero means a fair amount to your cousin... In a sort of weird way, correct?"

The ravenette nodded as she watched the small girl walk over to her.

"Well, why don't you trade yourself for Zero? I will drink from you and then let Zero drink from me."

"And why would I do that?"

"To save your cousin's friend."

"Is there another option?"

"Yes, but I don't think you will like it as much."

"Tell me anyway."

"Well, if you don't give me your blood, then you can give me Kaname Kuran's corpse."

Dark blue hues widened. "Kaname's... Corpse?"

"Yes."

"You want me to kill Kaname?"

"Either that or give me your blood." Maria giggled before leaving Amaya alone in her room once again.

The ravenette ran her right hand through her long hair, finally stopping upon the back of her neck.

What on earth should I do, she thought, I can't kill Kaname. Then… If I don't do that, I guess my only option is…

Amaya quickly shook her head, making her hand fall downward. She didn't want to think about this anymore. She walked over to her bathroom and took a shower. It had to be at least fifteen minutes before she finally got out. The shower had given her some time to think about what Maria had said to her. She dried herself and got into some dry clothes. She was drying her hair when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," the ravenette ordered as she continued to dry her hair. She turned to the door once she had heard the person walk into the room. She was surprised to see that it was Kaname that had walked into the room.

"Kaname," Amaya whispered as she took the towel and laid it around her shoulders.

"Amaya, how are you feeling," he asked her.

"I'm feeling fine. Why do you ask?"

"I heard from your cousin that you fainted last night. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Amaya looked at him; her blue eyes narrowed a little at his words. "Is that really what happened," she questioned. From what she could remember from last night, she concluded that Kaname could possibly have something to do with it.

"Well, I would believe so," Kaname answered her calmly.

Amaya placed a hand on her forehead, a slight headache beginning. "I guess I'm just having some trouble remembering what had happened last night," she told him.

"I do hope that you feel better."

"Thank you, Kaname."

The pureblood prince turned and left the room, not even closing the door behind him.

The ravenette looked to the window and saw that night was quickly coming. The sun is already setting behind the trees. She hadn't even noticed that night had come that fast. She sighed and sat down on the bed.

I wonder where Katsu is? Maybe she's got an order she needs to get done, Amaya thought.

Just as she had finished that thought, she heard Katsu's bedroom door open. She looked back over to her open door to see her cousin walking into her room. She was in her red cloak and hood, red tank top, black shorts, and black hoodie. The right sleeve of the black hoodie was rolled up. On the upper part of her arm and elbow was a white wrap.

"Katsu," Amaya called. Her cousin looked over at her.

"Oh… Uh… Hey, Amaya," she answered.

"What happened," Amaya asked her as she walked over to the other's side. Her dark blue eyes were focused on the wrap.

"Oh, just a little accident during an order. It's perfectly fine," Katsu replied. She turned to walk into her room. She quickly grabbed a change of clothes before walking right back out, closing the door behind her.

"Are you still able to go to the ball tomorrow night?"

"I don't know. It depends on how I feel and if Toga will let me go," she answered before she walked down the hallway.

Amaya watched the other leave. She wanted to find out if her cousin was telling her the truth or not, but maybe it was best if she didn't at the moment. The ravenette turned and went back to her bedroom. She took the towel off of her shoulders and threw it at the wall.

Damn it, she thought, now I wish I had asked when I had the chance.

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