Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. It belongs to Hino Matsuri.

Chapter 1 – Growing Pains (When Your New Parent Can't Cook)

Shivering awake I pried my eyes open to find myself no longer in my bed at home, but instead lying outside on snow-packed ground, flakes billowing fiercely through the air around me. I pushed myself up from where I was lying on the ground, hearing and feeling the crunch of the snow underneath me as I did so, looking at my hands in shock as water eased through the gloves I was somehow now wearing.

On my now very small hands.

Now my hands weren't particularly big to begin with, but they were still adult-sized, the hands I now found myself with covered in delicate light cream gloves with frills on the cuffs, that were undeniably more for style than practicality, were definitely a child's.

I snapped out of the daze I had fallen into, staring at my shrunken hands as a small whimper sounded from behind me. Turning as quickly as I could in the rising snow, stumbling a little as I did so, my limbs stiff from the cold, still uncertain as to how long I'd been out here, never mind how I'd got out here to begin with. That was something to think about later, when I was hopefully some place warmer. Behind me I found a little girl sprawled out in the snow just like I had been before, who was now also waking up, pushing herself up just enough to sit in the still rising snow.

I shuffled closer in concern, the girl's head snapping up to look at me from the sound of the snow crunching, only to tilt her head at me, confused.

"Are you okay?" I asked, coughing a little bit from how unexpectedly dry my throat was, the girl remaining silent as she blinked her eyes up at me "Can you understand me?" I tried again, seeing now that I was closer that the girl looked like she was Asian descent, Japanese maybe? "Do you-" I cut myself off, hand coming to my throat in shock as I realised that I wasn't actually speaking English as I'd intended, but what sounded like Japanese. I snapped my head up to look at the girl to find her still staring at me curiously, not having moved an inch since she'd first sat up, shoulders quivering from the cold.

Deciding I had more important things to worry about, such as the freezing child next to me, I pushed my unexpected new language skills to the back of my mind for the moment. Shuffling even closer to the girl so I could wrap my arms around her, pulling her to me so we could share what little warmth we had, I squinted through the snow to see if I could make out anything else from our surroundings, if there was a light there could be a house so I could get help, maybe?

Just when I was about to give it up as hopeless, unable to make anything out due to both the snow obscuring my vision but the fact that it was night, I spotted a silhouette making their way towards us. A bit nervous as there was no guarantee the stranger would be friendly, I moved myself in front of the girl, trying to shield her from sight as best I could as what I could now see was a man, approached.

He halted in his approach, stopping about an adult's arm reach away, an unsettling smile spreading across his face "Are you lost, little girls?" he asked, smile getting wider until I could see a mouthful of impossibly sharp teeth.

No. I thought, shaking That's impossible, he can't be a- This isn't-

"MAY I DRINK YOUR BLOOD?" He snarled hand reaching out to grab us, snaring me as I pushed the girl -No, Yuuki. Away with what little strength I had.

"N-No-!" Yuuki protested from behind me having finally found her voice, though small and obviously frightened, she grasped onto my arm, trying futilely to pull me out of the vampire's grip.

I trembled, the monster's fangs inching closer by the second as I tried my best to push him away, calling out a strained "Run!" towards Yuuki, hoping the girl would do as I said though doubting it.

I could smell the man's breath by now, a horrid putrid scent that could only come from rotten blood, squeezing my eyes shut in preparation for the pain, only for it to not come, instead my body falling loose from his grip as something warm splattered across my cheek.

"You are a disgrace to all vampires." My eyes flew open at the new voice, Yuuki clinging to my arm as she buried her face into it, hiding from the newcomer and the gore that had now taken over the scene. The man who had first approached now missing half of his head, the sight disturbing as his skin began to crack before his body shattered into pieces like glass, turning to dust that blew away with the snowflakes.

I stared at the place the man used to be, one arm absentmindedly coming up to wrap around Yuuki, only being drawn away as the young boy who had saved us hesitantly came closer, asking "Are you alright?"

Yuuki peeked out from where she had hidden herself in my arm at this voice, I could feel her start a little, looking to her in concern to see what had startled her, only to see her touching the ground where some of our attacker's blood remained, her mitten becoming soaked as it made contact before she began raising it to her face.

I reached out on instinct, grabbing her hand at the same time as the boy, slowly pushing it back down, away from her face as he gently scolded "Don't." before letting go, watching me curiously as I pulled her soiled mitten from her hand, replacing it with my glove that was slightly too big.

"Hey." He called out, his hand reaching out to touch my arm, though not grabbing it, letting me know I could pull away if I wanted "Why are you both out here alone?"

Unsure how to answer as I didn't know myself, I shrugged helplessly. The boy stared at me with an unreadable expression for a moment before sighing, his hand coming down to clasp my uncovered one, that I could now barely feel from the cold "Come with me. I'm Kaname." He introduced, gently pulling me up to standing, other hand hovering just in case I fell as I helped Yuuki rise with me. "What are your names?"

Again, I shrugged, before my attention snapped to Yuuki as she let out a small hiccup, pulling my hand out of his so I could pull her head up towards me, her lip quivering as tears streamed steadily down her face.

I looked to Kaname in panic, completely unsure as to what to do. He looked at me for a moment blankly, seeming unsure himself, before snapping out of it, immediately moving to crouch down in front of Yuuki, gently brushing away her tears as he shushed her "Of course…you were scared." He consoled in a soft voice, hand coming up hesitantly to stroke her hair as she clung to him, little hands grasping at his coat as best she could.

"It's alright now." He continued, giving gentle shushes every now and then until her sobs quieted down, her grip softening as she calmed down, his eyes moving from the now calm child to meet my own, pausing for a moment before he spoke "…You can cry too if you want. I'm sure you were afraid as well."

I was.

I was so scared, powerless to defend myself or Yuuki when that man attacked us…but I couldn't bring myself to shed a tear. All I could think of at this moment was how cold I was, and if I was cold, how cold was little Yuuki? As if hearing my thoughts a strong gust blew past me, causing me to have a full body shiver, which seemed to finally get through to Kaname that he was currently in possession of two little girls…still in the middle of a blizzard.

He pulled slightly away from Yuuki, making sure she was standing as he stood himself, keeping one of her hands with his before reaching out his other to me, which I took without hesitation to his obvious relief. "Come on. I have a car waiting, I'll take you both somewhere safe."

With that we followed Kaname, him keeping hold of our hands as he helped us walk through the snow, until we eventually came to a road, on which was parked an expensive looking black car, the kind rich people were probably chauffeured around in, windows tinted so we could not see inside, though the engine was still running, wipers working constantly to brush snow off the windscreen, showing it did have a driver at least.

We stopped in front of the back door, Kaname letting go of our hands to pull it open, showing the clean interior, empty of other people despite its size, as warm air hit us from the heating inside. Turning back to us he bent down, first lifting Yuuki into the car, placing her on the seat, buckling her in, before turning to me to do the same. I let him lift me, seeing how careful he was being to not hit my head off the roof and making sure I was comfortable, before reaching over to close the door behind him, taking the middle seat as his own between the two of us as he directed the driver to go to the "Cross Estate".

I checked on Yuuki as the car pulled away, seeing she had already slumped in her seat by this point, thoroughly exhausted from the events that had occurred since we'd woken up in the snow. I then instead focused my attention on the boy seated between us, eyes narrowing on him as I took in a certain detail.

He caught my stare, looking down at himself then back at me "What is it?"

"Y-You…" I croaked out, throat still dry as he perked up upon hearing my voice, his attention focusing on me fully as he waited for me to continue. "You're…not wearing your seatbelt."

He blinked at me dumbfounded, gaze drifting down to his seatbelt before he slowly picked it up, pulling it across him before clicking it into place, then slowly looking back at me as if for approval.

I nodded, satisfied as I settled more deeply into my seat, pulling off the one glove I still had on, shoving it in my pocket as I rubbed my hands together. You should lead by example after all, especially if you're in the presence of what appear to be two impressionable children, and while I'm not, if Yuuki we're awake she would be.

"You…" My attention was brought back to Kaname as he spoke, seeing him still looking at me "Do- Do you know how you got there?" He asked, repeating his question from earlier, though it sounded like he'd been meaning to ask something else before changing his mind.

I shook my head no, not wanting to strain my throat if a verbal reply wasn't needed until I could get something to drink to soothe the dryness I'd experienced whenever I talked.

"Do you know your name?" He tried again, though he didn't seem as hopeful as before, his posture more slumped than before, though I doubt I would have noticed if I hadn't been watching him as intently.

Another shake of my head in the negative, I know what was my name, but somehow doubt that would be my name in this life so I'll just pretend I don't know as much as I should. Hell, it's bad enough that I'd just almost been murdered but the fact that I was in a manga? It's probably best I keep my mouth shut about anything I shouldn't know, which is why when he asked me if I knew Yuuki's name I once again responded with a non-verbal "no".

After that the rest of the ride was quiet, only Yuuki's soft snores being heard until the car eventually came to a stop. Kaname looked up at the closed divider that separated us from the driver, seemingly having heard a cue inaudible to my ears as he began unbuckling us. He reached across me, pushing the door open to reveal we had pulled up outside of a brick building, light streaming out of the lower windows, the front door slowly opening to reveal who I knew was Kaien Cross as Kaname lowered me to the ground, leaning over to gently wake Yuuki, before doing the same to her, closing the car door behind us as he led us over to the chairman.

Said chairman was beckoning for us to follow him inside with a sad smile, opening the door wider as we all shuffled inside, directing for us to go ahead of him into the living room as he shut the door, telling us to make ourselves comfortable as he followed us in before leaving through another door, from which I could hear the sounds of cupboards being opened and cutlery clinking.

I began taking my coat off upon seeing Kaname helping Yuuki remove hers before placing her to sit on the sofa, handing it to him, to his surprise as he turned to me, likely to help me do the same if needed. Upon seeing that I was more independent than he expected and didn't need as much help as Yuuki obviously did, he asked me to help her remove her shoes, along with my own while he hung our coats up to dry, informing me in a gentle tone that it'll help us warm up quicker before leaving in the same direction as Cross.

I did as he asked, seeing his reasoning, grabbing our shoes, before placing them in front of – though still a good distance away – from the fireplace to dry, before jogging back over to Yuuki, hopping up to take a seat next to her, my limbs nowhere near as stiff as they were before. Sitting next to her I could now see that though we were both small children I was probably, judging by our size difference, maybe 1 or 2 years older than her - well my body was at least.

My thoughts were interrupted as both Kaname and Cross re-entered the room, Kaname coming to take a seat in the vacant spot on the sofa next to me, and the chairman handing small plates of pudding to Yuuki and I with a smile, Yuuki needing to be coaxed a little before she understood to take the plate, looking at the pudding sat on it curiously.

I also looked at mine curiously, it looking like a crème caramel from my last life, though I was uncertain if it would taste the same, knowing I didn't particularly like them before, but hey who knew? Picking up the little spoon that lay on the plate, I supposed I probably have different taste buds now so it's worth a try, scooping up a little of the pudding, giving it a sniff, only smelling hints of vanilla before popping it in my mouth with a hum.

I considered the taste for a moment, deciding that I liked it, scooping up another bit as I looked up from my plate, pausing as I saw both Kaname and Cross watching me eat with small smiles.

"Is it nice?" Kaname asked softly.

I nodded, debating it for a moment before holding out my spoon for him to try the pudding, much to his shock, apparently. Has he ever had pudding before? He must have, but then again, he might not like sweet things – but he's still pretty much a child, and what child doesn't like sweets every now and then?

"No, thank you." My thoughts cut off at Kaname's response, I looked back at him to see him looking at me with a gentle smile "That's for you, you should enjoy it."

Choosing not to push as it wasn't really a big deal, I continued eating it myself, only tuning back in as Cross agreed to something they must have discussed when in the other room "Of course I will look after these children, Kaname. You're the surviving son of the person I owe a lot to." He paused for a moment, catching sight of Yuuki's still full plate as she reached out and poked the dessert "This one doesn't seem to understand that the pudding is food…"

"Yes…" Kaname agreed quietly looking over Yuuki as she continued jiggling the pudding "They seem to have lost most of their memories…. they didn't even know their names when I asked." He turned back to me briefly "And she's the only one I've heard speak so far." before reaching over to help Yuuki with her pudding, directing her as he picked up her spoon "Scoop it with a spoon…there. Open your mouth."

He demonstrated, holding out the pudding to her, only succeeding in drawing her attention to himself as she stared at him, to his confusion "What? Say 'Ahh…'" He cut himself off as Yuuki pushed herself closer, invading his space, Kaname not resisting as she examined him, reaching towards his mouth before jerking away in fright with a small scream, crowding herself into the corner of the sofa furthest away from him.

"Headmaster," He began, standing, his voice quiet though strained, understandably hurt at her reaction, though trying to hide it "I think it's better if I leave and never see them again. I'm going home."

"Going home?" Cross asked incredulous, rising himself as he spoke "You mean to that place? Just when you were finally able to leave…" He shook his head "That place is a den of demons who want to use you since your parents have passed away."

"But…I can't not go back."

I couldn't stand it anymore, hopping up from my place still on the sofa, running over to where he now stood by the door, hugging his legs tightly – I wanted to give him a proper hug, but they were all I could reach at my current height. He's just a boy at this point…and now he's all alone…

I felt Kaname jolt in shock slightly beneath my hands as I hid my face in his legs, now embarrassed by my impulsive actions. I was about to pull away until I heard him let out a shaky breath, his hands coming to gently lay on my head, fingers starting to lightly comb through my curls, careful not to snag as though he'd done the same before – which I pointedly chose to ignore for now.

We stayed like that for a few moments longer, I coming to the decision that I would only start to let go when he did. He gently pulled away, hand unwinding from my hair as he knelt in front of me, his hands then moving to gently cup my face. I watched him as he looked into my eyes, seeming to be searching for something, expression falling as he didn't find it.

He gave me a sad smile, stroking my cheek with his thumb before standing, giving Cross a nod as he moved to leave again, pausing in the doorframe to look back at Yuuki who was still crouched timidly on the sofa before back to me as he said "…Goodbye." Leaving swiftly after, the distant sound of the front door opening and closing confirming his exit.

I was snapped out of the daze I had fallen into, staring at the door, by Cross gently resting a hand on my shoulder, my head snapping to look at him as he sent me a smile, leading me back over to sit on the sofa beside Yuuki. Moving to kneel on the floor in front of us once I was seated, he told us "Well, my name is Kaien Cross and I'll be looking after you from now on." He paused for a moment, looking back in the direction Kaname had left before directing his next words to Yuuki "That person said to me…'Girls are born princesses'. So, from today, I'll give you a name that means 'Tender Princess'…you'll be 'Yuuki', is that okay?"

She didn't answer, still obviously not understanding the situation, but as no protest came, he decided to take her silence as acceptance, turning to me as he asked "…Now, how about you? What shall we call you, little one?"

I shrugged not really having any idea about what I'd name myself, my previous name being western not Japanese. I was also curious as to what he'd come up with and if that was going to be my 'original' name in this life like Yuuki's was.

"What about…Aihi?" He inquired with a hum, elaborating "The 'Ai' meaning love and the 'hi' meaning queen, so you'd still be royalty like your sister."

I considered the name for a moment, before shaking my head no, liking the 'Ai' but not so much being labelled as higher status than Yuuki, even though it was unlikely the name was intended that way. Cross let out another hum, raising his hand to cup his chin in thought, looking a little perplexed, eventually peering over at me to ask "…how about Hime?"

I must've made a face as he quickly continued "Ah, I suppose not then." letting out a small chuckle. "Hmm let me think, let me think…a good name for a girl…what's a good name for a girl...? I've got to make sure it's a good one too as it's probably going to still be your name far into the future unless we somehow find any of your relatives…" He stopped, repeating to himself "…the future…" Turning back to me he paused then hesitantly suggested "Mirai? It quite simply just means 'future'…I suppose you can consider it to be a wish from me that you have a happy one…"

I ducked my head, hiding my expression as I considered it, it was a pretty enough name, I ran it through my head a few more times, it growing on me quite quickly. Looking back to the headmaster to see his hopeful expression, I gave him a firm nod of acceptance, to which I received a beaming smile as he announced happily "There we have it then, Yuuki and Mirai."

~VK~

"Yuuki! You wear that on your foot!" The man who was now our father, corrected from the doorway as he watched Yuuki put her sock on her hand, lamenting "It's been a week and you haven't spoken a word."

It was at this point that I decided to make my appearance, closing the closet door of our currently shared room – Yuuki being quite clingy towards me since we'd been dropped off here - so that I could be seen, fully dressed in one of the dresses he'd bought since taking us in, tights on and a bow tied in my curly hair "Mirai! As usual you look lovely! Such a smart girl!" I tried not to look proud, as after all I wasn't really the child he thought I was. Judging from the indulgent smile he sent me, I obviously failed, pouting as I looked away. "Ahhh! So adorable! You're both different kinds of cute!"

I was about to reply, moving to stand next to him in the hallway, only to be cut off as we heard the front door abruptly open, footsteps rushing towards us until Kaname came into view looking worried only to stop short upon seeing us stare at him, slowing his pace as he continued his approach, Cross asking with a smile "Good evening, Kaname. What brings you here?"

"What?" He responded in disbelief "I received an email that a vampire chased those little girls and attacked this place…I shook off my guards and rushed over here…but I take it…you lied." He looked away from us and I'd say, though he was trying to hide it, that the mighty pureblood was pouting. "I'm never going to believe anything you say again."

"Kaname! Kaname! Oh no! Look!" Cross called out urgently, pointing through the doorway we were standing in front of.

Kaname being the gullible boy he was at this point, rushed over to look despite his previous words "What happened?!"

"Yuuki got dressed by herself!" Cross announced as I peered back into the room, Kaname freezing next to me as we saw Yuuki had indeed attempted to finish dressing herself, though the results were amusing, especially as she ducked into her clothes like a scared turtle upon seeing Kaname "What?! Kaname? Huh?" he called out in panic as Kaname's body began to bend over, him reaching out a hand to the doorframe to keep him steady as he began to laugh.

"Wh-What should I do?! Kaname has gone berserk!" He asked flustered, looking to me to which I shrugged happy to just watch the rare sight "…he's laughing? I didn't know he had a sense of humor…!"

You know, I tilted my head watching Kaname He's kind of cute like this. Not scary at all.

"Sorry. I-I shouldn't be laughing…ha haha ha." He eventually got out a bit breathless, his chuckles calming down, swiping a finger under his eye where a happy tear had escaped "Haah. Ah, I'm sorry for scaring you." He told Yuuki, voice gentle as she peeked out of her clothes, turning to me with a soft smile "I'll leave you be. Bye-bye." he finished with a small wave, moving to walk back the way he came.

"Kaname…" He froze in his steps as the quiet voice called out, both Cross and I also watching in surprise as Yuuki rushed after him, grabbing onto the end of his coat as she spoke again, beaming up at him "Kana…me?"

As both men seemed uncertain as how to react to this turn of events, I let out a small sigh, walking over to pat Yuuki on her head, her turning her smile on me as I praised "Well done Yuuki! Yes, that's Kaname, say hello." I gestured back to Kaname with a smile who was watching us with a hopeful expression.

"Hel…Hello! Kaname hello!" Yuuki called out happily under my encouragement. I heard a squee of delight sound from behind us but didn't bother to look at what I knew was undoubtedly Cross gushing over how cute Yuuki was being.

"Hello Yuuki." He responded looking down at her with a smile, turning to look at me, eyes shining as they met mine, "Hello… Mirai." He hesitated briefly over the name but otherwise seemed happy.

"Hello Kaname." I answered with a wave. "Do you want to stay a little? Even though dad lied to get you here?" A slight choking sound echoed from behind me, Cross probably taken aback a bit by how bluntly I'd called him out, or possibly by the fact I'd referred to him as my dad like he'd been requesting the whole week.

Kaname peered over my head at him in annoyed amusement before responding "…Not today I'm afraid. I really did run out without notice…I probably have people looking for me already." A sigh escaped him "I should get back before they get anymore worked up."

"We'll walk you out then." Cross announced as he came up behind us, placing a hand on Yuuki and I's shoulders, gently leading us to the front door so we could see Kaname off, Kaname turning back to wave back at us before ducking into the back of a car almost identical to the one he brought us here in. The three of us watching from the doorway as he drove off.

~VK~

"Yuuki!" Dad called from where we stood in the doorway, wrapping his shawl more tightly over himself to shield from the cold as we watched Yuuki wait outside in the snow for Kaname to arrive "You'll freeze! Wait inside like Mirai."

It was at this point his car finally arrived, Kaname exiting a short distance away as Yuuki rushed over to meet him with a hug calling out happily "Kaname-sama!"

I squeezed dad's arm letting him know I was going over, before rushing over to join the two of them, finally willing to brave the snow now that Kaname had arrived, managing to join them as he confusedly asked "Why 'sama'?"

"Dad has been explaining suffixes to us," I answered, his attention turning to me with a smile "Yuuki decided 'sama' fit you best."

"Oh?" He raised a brow, curious "and you?"

"I don't like them." I whined, shoving my hands in my coat pockets as I kicked lightly at the snow "Why can't I just call people by their name? Why make it complicated?"

He let out a small chuckle, both of us focusing our attention on Yuuki as she wiggled in excitement pulling on our sleeves "Today is Yuuki's birthday! It's the day Kaname-sama rescued Yuuki and Mirai a year ago!"

"By that reasoning shouldn't it also be your birthday?" He asked looking over to me curiously.

"I told Yuuki we should have separate birthdays." I answered smugly "She didn't want to until I told her that means we'd have to have two cakes."

"Of course." He agreed, obviously amused at my reasoning, smile turning annoyed as dad joined us, telling him "I snuck out and rushed over because I heard the girls had been kidnapped. Can't you ask me over here without making up something?" His smile turned warning as he scolded "Huh? Headmaster?"

Dad let out a nervous chuckle, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his head, letting out a thankful sigh as Yuuki spoke again, drawing Kaname's attention away "Happy birthday…Kaname-sama!" She tilted her head at us, checking "Right?"

"No, Yuuki." Kaname corrected softly as I shook my head fondly, the both of us sharing an amused smile as we both reached out to stroke her hair in unison "Today is happy birthday to you. But…thank you." He checked his watch, probably needing to get back to wherever he stayed having likely rushed out without notice because of dad's lie again. "I'm afraid I need to go." He told us seeming sad at having to leave so soon, dad giving him an understanding nod as he squeezed mine and Yuuki's hands before moving back to his car. He paused as he opened the door, turning back to look at me as he asked, "What day did you decide on for your birthday?"

"May 26th."

"Hmm…curious." He shot me another smile, ducking into the car, closing the door behind him before I could question what he meant. The car driving off as the three of us stood watching him leave again.

~VK~

After having spent a year being home-schooled by Cross to make sure we we're confident enough to actually go to school, today marked the end of our first day. Yuuki had to relearn pretty much everything, but still managed to test into the class for her age group, whereas the only things that really tripped me up were Japanese and History, though I picked them up quite quickly. The benefit of being an adult with a child's brain that picked up things easier and easily tested into the class 2 years above her, which both dad and I thought was closest to the age I probably was.

It being our first day, he'd also somehow managed to get Kaname to meet us at the door when we arrived home, whether he told another lie to have him do so or not I didn't ask. I hung my coat on one of the hooks, walking into the living room, dropping my bag by the sofa, kicking my shoes off as I dropped myself onto it.

The others entered shortly after me, dad once again trying to cajole Yuuki "Yuuki…why won't you call me 'papa'? 'daddy' would also be fine! Or even just 'dad' like Mirai does!"

"She noticed that you're a failure as a 'man', let alone a 'father'." Kaname bluntly replied, Yuuki's expression pretty much saying the same thing "Go put your bag in your room, Yuuki…" she ran off, picking up my bag too when she spotted it, eager to do as he said, happy he was visiting us again.

"Where did I go wrong?" Cross muttered to himself.

"…It's ok dad." I consoled him, walking over to pat him on the back "I like you just the way you are."

"Mirai…" He turned to look at me with teary eyes, before lunging forward to glomp me in a hug "You're such a good daughter!"

I awkwardly patted him on the back shooting a pleading look at Kaname who looked away, raising a hand to hide a smile, the traitor "…There, there."

Hearing Yuuki's footsteps pattering back towards us she popped back into the room, having also now shed her coat and shoes like I'd done, she paused, taking in our positions before asking innocently "…Is he being needy again?"

I snorted as dad let out a cry of "Yuuki!" following it with "Mirai!" as I responded with a blunt "Yes."

"Kaname!" He called out, finally letting go of me "My children are bullying me!"

"From what I've seen you deserve it."

He slumped, dejected, shuffling over to the sofa before dropping onto it as if he had been drained of energy, muttering something I couldn't make out under his breath. Though judging by Kaname's amused smile, he obviously could, putting a hand on Yuuki's back to lightly push her fully into the room, other hand coming to guide me as he passed, leading us both to take a seat next to our father on the sofa, before taking the armchair for himself.

"How was your first day of school?" He asked, ignoring Cross who was continuing to mutter under his breath.

Yuuki's face showed exactly how she felt about the experience, definitely having not enjoyed the lessons and I'd known beforehand that she was still nervous about making friends despite her outgoing personality.

"It was okay." I offered.

Kaname raised a brow, a hint of amusement in his eyes "Just okay?"

"It's school," I shrugged "my teacher and classmates were nice, but it was boring."

"Why can't I be in Mirai's class?" Yuuki whined, not for the first time.

"Now Yuuki, we've spoken about this." Cross had finally decided to snap into 'responsible adult' mode at the repeated question "Mirai tested into the class two years above yours, she's older remember?" He held up a hand as she went to protest again "I know you'd rather be with your sister, but you need to remember that if you did go into her class the work would also be two times harder that what you were taught today."

At that she slumped into her seat as if drained of all energy with a long whine, eventually shifting so she was lying face down on my lap as I stroked my hand through her hair with a quiet "There, there." Looking up to meet Kaname's equally amused eyes.

"Now then," My attention turned back to our father as he spoke, looking down at us with a gentle smile "Why don't you two go play together upstairs? I need a moment to talk to Kaname before he has to leave, I'll call you down when it's time to say goodbye."

Yuuki's shot up, her expression falling as she took in the fact that Kaname was going to be leaving soon. I gently took hold of her hand, pulling her along with me as I slid off of the sofa "Come on, we can play whatever you want."

Her eyes lit up a little at my words, her little hand clasping mine tightly as I led her out of the room, though not without her throwing one last glance back at the pureblood inside.

~VK~

"Kaname-sama…is a vampire, right?" Yuuki was ten when she finally asked the question, causing both our father and I to peer up from where we were sitting on the floor around the coffee table working on a jigsaw puzzle to look at her.

Cross reached up to adjust his glasses as he answered "Yes. The government hasn't made it public that vampires exist…so please keep it a secret too, Yuuki." He turned back to the puzzle, placing the piece he still held in his hand in its place "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that applies to you as well, Mirai."

"Nope." I answered, leaning over to slot another piece into place, his hand coming up to pat me on the head with a smile.

"A secret…" Yuuki whispered to herself, dropping herself on the floor as she snuggled against me, looking up at me through her lashes as she told me quietly "It's a secret, but Kaname-sama let me touch…his vampire fangs…Kaname- sama won't do anything like that scary vampire, right?" Her grip on my arm tightened "He's completely different, right?"

"Has Kaname ever done anything that you didn't want him to, Yuuki?" Cross asked her, leaning his head on his hand to peer over at where she had hidden herself against my side.

Yuuki shook her head in the negative as I began stroking her hair, something that seemed to be a reoccurring part of our day now, as Cross shot her a smile at her answer, telling her "There are vampires you can be friends with."

"Yes!" She agreed, mood improved as she scooted forward to see the picture we were creating, father and I sharing a smile as we watched her try to help.

~VK~

"If he's coming to visit us, he should pass by here…" Yuuki muttered as she let go of my hand once we'd made it into town, walking ahead through the crowd despite the fact both I and our father had told her not to. It being one of the conditions allowing us to go by ourselves in the first place.

"Yuuki, don't wander off." I called out, increasing my pace to stand next to her as she peered around to see if Kaname was nearby. Well at least tried to, her height, or lack thereof was making the task somewhat difficult.

Yuuki froze up, her only moment being to retake my hand, squeezing it tightly as she only now seemed to understand that we were alone in town, surrounded by strangers. I let out an inaudible sigh, stepping so that I was in front of her, crouching down a bit so I could look her in the eyes "Hey, it's okay. Big sister is still here with you."

Slowly I felt her untense, until she whipped around in my hold startled as our names were called by a familiar voice "Mirai, Yuuki."

"Kaname-sama!" She greeted with glee, letting go of my hand as she ran to wrap her arms around his waist, his arms coming up to reciprocate the hug as he glared at a point somewhere over my head.

I peeked over my shoulder in time to see a man who was obviously a vampire tip his hat towards the pureblood before scurrying off in the opposite direction. I hurriedly walked over to where the two were, shaken by how we'd likely been stalked by a predator and I hadn't noticed.

Kaname peered down at me in concern as he patted Yuuki's head "Weren't you scared walking in town, just the two of you?"

"If we're together," She pulled back from the hug, reaching out to take mine and Kaname's hands in her smaller ones, holding them up "I'm not scared of anything."

"Me too." His expression softened as it always did when he looked over us.

Yuuki turned to me expectantly, shooting me a beaming smile when I added "…Me three." Swinging her hand with mine as I returned her smile with one of my own.

Of course I knew things couldn't remain so simple forever, but for now I just wanted to bask in the presence of two of my favourite people, pushing my worries about the future aside for at least this one moment.

It wouldn't be long now before our world inevitably became darker.

*Already takes too long to update fics that are already published*

*Publishes another one anyway*

So yeah, here's my first Vampire Knight fic ahaha just because I want more OC-inserts and isekai across all the fandoms I like…

Also the VK fandom doesn't seem to be very active, not sure if its just me that sees it that way but I want more OC or SI fics TT^TT

Any dialogue that's taken directly from VK in this fic is taken from the Viz publication of the manga… with a few alterations where I see fit '^^