A ray of light fell on the hunter's face, indicating the beginning of a new day. Unconsciously, Zero placed a hand against his face, tried to shelter himself from the brightening light. It was natural for vampires to hate the sunlight, though ironically, he used to love it as a kid. He used to watch sunrise with his twin brother when he was young; never failing to bath himself in the warm sunlight. But the cruelty of fate has taken away what his life, turning him into a vampire. A Level-E , to be precise. Though as dreadful as it may be, he knew the day would come when he would succumb to shear madness and lose his sanity completely. Even now, he could feel it slipping away from him.

A shift of weight on his chest caught his attention. Yuki, his long lost friend, was still fast asleep. He smiled when he saw the petite girl snuggled closely against him, taking in the warmth of his body heat. The surrounding temperature was quite warm at the moment, compared to night before. Zero wrapped the girl in a hug-like embrace, sharing his body warm with her, in absence of blanket. He ran his hand against Yuki's soft brown locks, continuing with slow successive caresses.

He had never felt so close to anyone before, besides his twin brother. To him, she was God-sent gift at times when he thought all hope was gone. Yuki had secretly helped him during his early days, when he was held captive by the slave traders in the mines before he was sold to Albert. He recalled the nights that Yuki would sneak into the dungeon and accompanied him throughout the night after a long day's labour. She would make up all sorts of excuses to fool the prison guards, mostly bribing them with delicious food that she stole from the kitchen. The guards did not mind the girl's bubbly presence much; they practically were dead bored doing their duties anyway. They were kind enough to let Yuki come and go as she pleased, as long as their superiors were there.

Zero had become more open as time passed. Knowing that Yuki was trustable enough to share his deepest secrets with, he began to reveal his past to her. She listened to him attentively; her hands tighten around his as she shared his suffering and pain throughout his story. What she did at the end of very unexpected. She lunged forward and held him in a strong hug with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Everything is going to be fine. I will stand by you forever, Zero."

It was the first time in a long time that Zero wept. The pent up emotions that he had kept locked inside his heart had finally been released. He could feel as if their minds where synchronised, both hearts beat as one. He finally realised how much he has been deprived of love and care. Yuki was his long awaited person that he seeks his salvation from after the horror that fate had inflicted on him.

And on that fateful day, Zero thought he has lost her forever. It was like any normal day, where the slaves when driven to work in the mines. While digging for diamonds, Zero had secretly kept a chip for her pendant. Yuki's birthday was two days ahead, and he had been looking forward to give the diamond pendant as her present. The ex-hunter was on his way out, when he heard a roaring sound deep in the mines. One side of the mine walls has collapsed, burying a few unfortunate slaves beneath. He did not register the situation fast enough; Zero was too stunned from the scene unfold in front of him. A strong tug snapped him out of his dazedness.

"Zero! Hurry, we need to go!"

"Yuki?!"

His legs were unfrozen at that instance. Without waste of time, he ran forward, following Yuki closely behind. Out of sudden, the hunter realised that he had dropped the chuck of diamond behind. Zero stopped for a moment and ran the opposite direction without thinking further.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Before the boy noticed, a giant boulder was on its way down, threatening to crush Zero into pieces. But the blow never came.

Next thing he saw was Yuki laying on the ground, half of her body pinned under the rock's weight.

"Yuki!?"

Zero rushed next to her, trying to shift the boulder with his bare hands.

"Hang on there, Yuki. I'll help you."

Zero tried to move the rock again, yet with no avail.

"Zero, you need to get out of here. The whole place is gonna collapsed in seconds."

"Who cares?! I need to save you…"

Bleeding hands continue to dig the earth.

"ZERO!"

Yuki's shout froze the hunter's movement for a moment.

"Listen, Zero. This is no time for arguments. You need to save yourself."

"No, I'll never leave you, Yuki. I don't want to lose anyone again…"

Tears were flowing heavily down his bruised cheeks. It was reliving the nightmare all over again…

Zero jolted when a soft pressure landed on his head. Yuki was caressing him in a futile attempt to calm him down.

"You will never lose me, Zero. I will always be by your side…"

To his worse expectation, the ground beneath them shook. The place where Yuki was pinned down cracked open; the weight of the boulder dragged the immobilised girl down the pit. Time seemed to slow down as Zero reached out for Yuki's hand, trying to grab it as she fell.

It was too late…

"YUKI!! NO!!!"

The silver haired hunter could not recall what happen after that incident. He found himself waking up few days after the accident in the mine. When the news reached him, Zero was totally devastated. Yuki's loss was too hard for him to accept. His only hope and haven was… gone. Zero went berserk and lost himself to his raging vampire instinct and wipe out the village that he was in. Deep down, he knew that he would never find another girl like Yuki again. He had destroyed the only salvation left in his world.

However, things are different now. Yuki, whom he had presumably dead from the cave-in has miraculously survived. The warmth of her body and her slow paced breathing were proof of that. Yuki has kept her promise. She would remain by his side no matter what comes in their way. And he intends to do the same.

The cell bars were opened, revealing two high ranking vampires. One of them was his pureblood saviour, Kuran Kaname. As promised, he came to seek Zero's answer. Though still frustrated to see the closeness that Yuki and Zero share together, Kaname remained his calm composure. Though, the hunter did not miss a glimpse of his fang sinking into his lower right lip.

"What's your answer, Kiryuu-kun?"

Zero stole a glance of sleeping Yuki before he knelt down in front of the pureblood. He had always hated vampires. Never did he imagine to mix with any, or serving them. However, Yuki's safety is his top priority. To hell with all his vampire hunter pride, it does not matter anymore. Yuki has sacrificed a lot for his sake including her life at one point. It would only be fair for him to repay her by obeying her saviour's wish.

I would do anything for you, Yuki….

"I, Kiryuu Zero pledge my loyatly and service to you, Lord Kuran."

A grin appeared on Kaname's face. Victory was drawing near…