See, I have a new chapter for you in some semblance of a timely update! I hope this clears things up a little. If not the next chapter will for sure.

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Rido sighed in frustration and half-turned to see who had spoken. Yuuki tried to turn as well, but was restrained by Rido's hand on the side of her face. She tried to push away from him again and he just grabbed her small hands in one of his and restrained her. "Ugh," Rido said suddenly. "What are you doing here? I don't remember extending you an invitation."

"I was unaware that entrance was invitation only," the voice replied sarcastically.

"Nor was I," Sara replied. "I for one am glad to see you, Kaname."

"I wish I could say the same Sara," Kaname replied coldly. "Sadly, however, your recent behavior has made me being glad to see you an impossibility. In fact, I would very much like it if you ceased to exist.

Sara sighed exasperatedly and rubbed her eyes. "Am I going to have to hash this out with you as well? I've already gone through it with the young woman over there."

"You mean my sister?" Kaname demanded. "Whom you tried to kill a little bit ago?"

"I was unaware that you had a sister," Sara replied. "You didn't tell me you were Kaname's sister." She said looking at Yuuki.

"Funny," Yuuki replied, trying to bite Rido's hand, "It never seemed to come up." With an evil glare she changed her tactic and turned her head suddenly and bit him on the chest. He released her with a cry of shock and shoved her away from him, striking her across the face as he did so.

The blow stung but was not enough to keep her from recovering from her fall and sprinting into Kaname's open arms. He held her to him for a moment and then pulled back and looked at the side of her face where Rido had struck her. There was only a slight red mark, and it was sure to fade shortly, but that small blemish on her skin angered him.

Yuuki watched his expression go from gentle to murderous and then realized something, "Kaname, are you dead too?"

"No," he replied confused. "And neither are you."

"But, they said that this is where pureblood souls go when they are not ready to be dead," Yuuki said in a rush gesturing at Sara and Rido.

"That it is," Kaname replied with a gentle smile, "But it is more than that. It is also where our souls go when we decide to rest for long periods of time. I spent years here. That is why you are here now. Your mind needed to escape from reality."

"So, I'm not dead?" she asked a smile spreading across her face instantly.

"No, my dear girl, you are not dead," he returned her smile and stroked the side of her face warmly.

"Ugh," Rido interrupted them. "I think I'm going to get a cavity from all the sickly sweetness in the air. That or vomit."

"I was enjoying it," Sara replied with a glare. "It is nice to see Kaname happy. I have never seen him smile since his parents died."

"Sara," Kaname said a little surprised. "My parents did not die, they were murdered. By him."

Sara gave him a wry smile before she replied, "Then that is something they and I have in common. He killed me and took over my body."

Rido shifted uncomfortably under the angry stares of the three other purebloods. "Now, now," he said, holding his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "Don't look at me that way. It's not as if all of your hands are clean either. How many people have you killed, Kaname? Or you, Yuuki? Or even you, Sara? You all look at me as though I'm the only one here that has killed. Hell, Kaname and Yuuki both tried to kill me."

"I only tried to kill you because—"Yuuki began only to be cut off by Kaname.

"You owe him no explanation," Kaname told her abruptly. "We were both justified in our actions, unlike him."

"Dear, Kaname," Rido laughed cruelly. "So sure that you are the good guy. I will just remind you that 'good' is a subjective term."

"Even within the realm of subjectivity, you are evil," Sara spat at Rido. "Only in some backward universe would you be considered 'good'."

"I beg to differ," Rido began to say at the same time as Kaname said, "Sara, it will do you no good to try to lecture him. Sociopaths can't learn to control themselves."

"Are you proposing what I think you are?" Sara asked with no emotion.

"Yes," Kaname replied with a feral grin pushing Yuuki gently behind him. "That is exactly what I am proposing."

"Excellent," was Sara's reply as her face turned up into a grin to match Kaname's. Then she and Kaname turned as one and faced Rido. He began backing away from them attempting to think of a way to keep them from destroying his soul.

"Now Sara," Rido said attempting to be intimidating, "I have already killed you once, do you really want to risk the existence of your soul in this ridiculous attempt? I know that you think that teaming up with Kaname will help you to survive this attempt, but he will be next to useless. He cannot kill me."

"That is where you are wrong, Rido," Kaname sneered a smile on his face that Yuuki did not like in the least. "In the world of the living, I owe you and cannot kill you. Here, that restriction does not apply." \/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/

Zero watched Kaname as his face relaxed and his breathing settled, then he turned and walked back through the barrier to where Seiren was waiting. She shifted nervously as he approached her and asked, "Are they going to be alright?"

Zero looked at her and gave her the only answer he could honestly give, "I don't know," he said sadly shaking his head. "Let me look at that shoulder." He reached for her and was frustrated when she turned away slightly.

"It's fine," she said shortly. "I have to go talk to the other nobles before they come over here and realize what is actually going on."

"You can't go over there bleeding," he insisted reaching for her good arm. "They'll eat you alive, literally."

She dodged his hand and gave him a short snort of laughter before she replied, "Let them try." Then she smiled at him slightly and walked towards the nobles.

Hanabusa watched the exchange between Zero and Kaname, and then Zero and Seiren carefully. The presence of emotion in all of their faces caused his blood to freeze in his veins. If it was bad enough to make Kaname talk civilly to Zero in public, and to cause Zero to have an emotion in public, it had to be bad. When Seiren began to approach them, he nudged Kain to get his attention and inclined his head towards the approaching vampire.

When she was close enough to be heard easily by all the witnesses, Seiren spoke. "Yuuki-sama has been injured in the battle, and Kaname-sama requests that you all give them privacy while he tends to his sister's wounds. They will not be holding council tonight so it will do you no good to stay here. He will send you a message when his sister is well enough to entertain visitors," She said simply and moved to rejoin the hunter in watching her master.

"Yuuki-sama," one of the noble women began, "She will be alright, won't she?"

Seiren turned to face the woman with an unfathomable expression on her face. "I'm unsure mother," Seiren replied simply. "But Kaname-sama is taking care of her so the odds are high that she will recover. Now I have a task to return to."

Her mother nodded and walked forward to kiss Seiren on the forehead. "Be careful," she said before she turned and walked into the woods where she disappeared. The other adult nobles soon followed suit leaving the younger nobles alone in the clearing with the headmaster, Zero and the two unconscious purebloods.

"So," Aidou demanded of the silver haired bodyguard, "what is actually going on? I know Yuuki well enough to know that she would have at least tried to reassure the senior nobles that she was fine."

"Not to mention," Kain added, "she would never consciously attack Kaname-sama."

"I'm sorry," Seiren replied. "Kaname-sama ordered me not to tell anyone what was going on."

"What?" Ruka demanded. "We deserve to know what is going on."

"You might ask Zero," Seiren said sympathizing with Ruka and agreeing that they did have the right to know. "He was not told to not tell you what is going on."

Despite their desire to know what was happening, none of the vampires had any desire to approach the volatile hunter, especially when his beloved Yuuki was in danger. Even Aidou, despite his tendency to do dumb things that irritated Kaname, didn't have a death wish. With no one to get the information from, but unwilling to leave they settled themselves onto the grass to wait for Kaname and Yuuki to awake. \/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/:\/

"Come again?" Rido asked realizing that he had been depending on Kaname being useless. If Kaname was able to fight, he didn't stand a chance.

"You heard me," Kaname said with a smirk. "This is where I was before you awoke me. I came here willingly and therefore I owe you nothing in this plain. There is absolutely no reason I cannot destroy you and many reasons I should. In fact, I will."

"Now Kaname, that is not fair," Sara said gently. Rido felt his heart lift, was it possible that she was going to ask him to spare his life? "I too desire vengeance, why should you get all the fun?"

"You are right," Kaname replied. "It was crass of me to exclude you from this. Together then?"

"Of course," Sara nodded her head in ascent. "Would your sister also like to join?"

Yuuki was slightly disgusted with how calmly they were both discussing the murder they were about to commit. It was like they were planning a party. It took her a few moments to realize that they were looking at her expectantly and a couple more to come up with the question they had asked her. "No," she finally replied. "I do not need to join you, I already killed him once, remember?"

"If you are sure," Sara said kindly before she turned to Kaname, "Shall we?" He nodded and they began advancing on Rido.

Rido watched the two enraged purebloods advancing on him and felt his feet begin moving on their own. He knew that if he could back away far enough he might be able to make it to the woods and escape. He may be insane, but he didn't want to die.

Kaname saw the way that Rido's eyes kept darting to the woods and was getting ready for him to make a break for them. When he did, Kaname shot a bolt of power in his direction.

"Ha," Rido gloated over his shoulder as he continued to run, "You missed Kaname, your aim must be going in your old age." No sooner had he finished speaking than he ran headlong into an invisible wall.

"Did I?" Kaname asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nice," Sara commented, glancing at Kaname, "I never would have thought of that."

"I got it from our battle with him in your body," Kaname replied his eyes flashing red as he wrapped the force field around Rido so his only path of escape was towards the two of them. "Would you care for first blood?" He asked Sara.

She nodded and then her crystalline blue eyes flashed ruby and a chunk of Rido's flesh exploded from his body.

"Not bad," Kaname commented. "But watch this." His eyes likewise flashed crimson and Rido's hand, that had involuntarily flown up to grasp the area that had just exploded, disintegrated.

"Please," Rido begged. "You don't really want to kill me. If you kill me here I will truly cease to exist."

"And that is a bad thing?" Kaname demanded. "Do you know that Yuuki still has nightmares about what you did to her? Allowing your continued existence is an insult to her. And should we allow you to pass on, do you deserve to be with the relatives you killed for eternity? I think not. You should never have existed in the first place." With his last words, another chunk of Rido exploded painfully from his body.

"It was my turn," Sara pouted.

"Fine," Kaname replied, "You can have the next two turns. Better?"

Sara nodded and smiled predatorily before her eyes flashed crimson and Rido cried out in pain again.

After the first explosion, Yuuki had turned her back on the scene, fighting the urge to throw up. I thought they were just going to kill him she though desperately. I didn't know they were going to torture him before they did it. 'Doesn't he deserve it' another part of her thought. No one deserves that. She flinched as he cried out in pain again. What makes it worse is that they are competing to see who can inflict the most pain. It's wrong! She covered her ears against the sounds coming from behind her, but she still couldn't block it all.

"Please," Rido begged, blood running from his body in rivers. "Please just let me die. Have mercy!"

Kaname gave a cruel laugh, "Do you honestly think you deserve mercy?" his words were followed by another scream of pain from the man who had caused so much pain to so many. Honestly that scream did not bother Kaname, what bothered him was the memory of Yuuki writhing in pain at the memories of what that man had done to her. That would haunt him forever, and he would make this man suffer for just as long, if he could. Rido deserved everything he was receiving; he had cut short the lives of so many.

At his plea, Yuuki turned to look at the man that had harmed her and instead of the hatred she had felt for so long, she felt pity. He was curled in a ball on the ground, blood matting his hair and covering what was left of his skin. But it was his eyes that killed her, they were filled with such pain and loneliness that she almost understood why he had done the things he did . . . almost. She knew pity was the last emotion she should feel for the man that had killed her parents and raped her, but that was the only emotion she had for the pitiful creature in front of her.

She stood slowly and walked towards Kaname and Sara. Once she was there, she gently laid a hand on Kaname's arm. He turned to look at her and was surprised to see sorrow in her eyes.

"Yuuki," he started, kneeling down to look at her. "What's the matter?"

"It's time to end this Kaname," she replied, gesturing at Rido. Rido looked up at her confused, and expression that was mirrored in Kaname's eyes.

"What do you mean," He began, "We are ending this."

"No," Yuuki replied. "You are punishing him. That is a different thing than ending it."

"But—"

"No," Yuuki said gently, placing her fingers on Kaname's lips to silence him. "please, just end this so we can go home."

"Why?" Rido asked suddenly, his voice hoarse from his screams. "Why?"

"Because," Yuuki replied, looking at him sadly, "No one, not even you, deserves this."

"But," Sara cut in. "He killed me, and your parents, and—"

"I'm well aware of what he did," Yuuki said. "And he has paid for those crimes. He has been alone his entire life and will be alone for eternity, which is punishment enough."

"How can you say that?" Sara demanded. "I'm sure you hate him as much as I do. There is no punishment severe enough for what he has done."

"I don't hate him," Yuuki replied with a sad smile. All of the other purebloods looked at her incredulously. "I did," she clarified, "but now I pity him."

Kaname, seeing that Yuuki was certain it was what she wanted and that Sara was about to argue again, looked to Rido and said, "Good bye." Then he summoned his power and delivered the final blow that he had been unable to deliver all those years ago.

"Thank you," Yuuki said resting her head on his shoulder. "Let's go home, ok?"

He nodded and stood slowly. He then took her hand and led her back to the opening of the tunnel into her mind.

"What about me?" Sara asked suddenly. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You should move on," Kaname said simply. "Your body was destroyed in the battle, and there is no way to return it to its original state."

"So I'm actually dead?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes," he replied. "I'm sorry." Then he and Yuuki disappeared down the tunnel. Yuuki looked back just before it closed and saw Sara sink to the ground crying. She felt her heart break for the other woman, but there was nothing she could do so she kept walking with Kaname.

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So, I've seen a bunch of people doing this on here and kinda liked the idea so let's give it a try, shall we?

Mistressamy: See, not right now, but it is an update :)

Yuukivampirefan: I'm sorry, did this help at all? If not, the next chapter will clear everything up, I promise

XxIcessxX: Well, here is more for you. I'm glad you appreciated the plot twist :).

Cosmic-lover: I'm glad you like it. I'm especially glad that you like the more violent side of Kaien, I wasn't sure how well that would go over. Was that a satisfying enough fight in her mind for you. And you were right that neither of them were actually dead, this time.

Green rider girl: I'm glad you love it! And actually as turkeysub picked up it was a reference to the scene in The Princess Bride where Miracle Max is able to bring Wesley back from the dead because he is only "mostly dead." These vampires don't seem to be the undead variety.

Turkeysub: Yes! You were the only person to get that! Cyber-chocolate-chocolatechip cookies for you! And thank you for the complement.

Sy: Don't worry I didn't kill her. :) and I think your other question got answered.

Ok so that is done, if you hate it, tell me and I won't do it again. So tell me what you thought about the current chapter if you have time. As always thank you for reading.

Stickdonkeys.