Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Vampire Knight Guilty or the characters or story line affiliated with either the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for its creator Matsuri Hino. I only own the name of the Hunter (Manta: means Hunter in Japanese) I came up with.

Author's Note: I know that they were together for several Christmases, but I'm only doing two and then I'll explain the importance of them.

oOo

Chapter Two: Glimpse into Christmases Past

Sometimes the past has a way of haunting you…

When Zero opened his eyes it was to see the large living room in Kaien Cross's house. It was just as he remembered it during his first Christmas with the legendary Hunter. The large tree sat in the corner sparkling, bringing gentle light to the shadowed room. From the fire in the hearth Zero could make out the details in all of the little red and silver ornaments and smiling he remembered Yuuki begging him to help her decorate the tree.

"Come on Zero please?"

Zero was sitting in the worn leather armchair in front of the fireplace reading one of Kaien's many books on Hunters when Yuuki had come into the living room dragging behind her a huge dusty box. She had abandoned the box in front of the still bare Christmas tree before she moved to stand in front of him with a pout on her face.

Yuuki had been pestering him all day to help her decorate the tree and up until then he had been adamant with his refusal to help her. Now with her standing there pouting, with her eyes sparkling with mischief he knew that he was going to give in and she knew it too.

"I don't see the point in decorating a tree only to have to take it down again."

"Zero!" She said his name as if she was shocked he would even say such a thing. "It's Christmas and you can't have Christmas without a tree. So will you please help me decorate it? Please Zero?"

He sat down his book and stood. With a tiny squeal of delight Yuuki grabbed his hand and led him over to the bare tree and began pulling decorations out of several boxes she had managed to drag before it. Zero smiled as she pulled out various ornaments in red and silver and handed them to him to place upon the tree.

After a couple of hours and Yuuki constantly moving ornaments around the tree was decorated. They both stood back to admire the tree. With a smile Yuuki turned to him. "Thank you Zero! It's a beautiful tree isn't it? It's special."

Zero regarded her before turning back to the tree. "There's nothing special about a Christmas tree Yuuki. It's just a tree."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her shaking her head, but her smile was still in place. "It is a special tree. It's special because you helped make it beautiful."

Zero said nothing as he continued to stare at the tree. He felt Yuuki slip her tiny hand in his and he reveled in the warmth of her touch. Thetreeisnowherenearasspecialasyouare. He knew his thought to be true, no object, no matter the beauty, could ever be as special as the girl who stood so happily beside him with her tiny hand in his.

Zero let the memories of that night dissolve as the present…or past, he wasn't sure at the point, resurface around him. Ichiru stood before the hearth, the fire silhouetting part of his body in shadow as he studied the tree that he and Yuuki had decorated. A sound caught Zero's attention causing him to turn and peer at the shadows around the doorway that led out to the hall. Yuuki appeared in her long white nightgown, a beautifully wrapped present in her hands.

He felt a moment of panic as she came closer to him, but Ichiru shook his head. "She can't see or hear us. This is just an image of the past. We're only spectators."

He turned away from Ichiru to watch Yuuki gently set the present down beneath the tree and retrace her steps back out into the hallway. Zero remembered what was in that present. He smiled as the memory began to play in his mind.

Yuuki handed Zero the slightly heavy present wrapped in blue and green paper. She had a smile on her face as he took the present from her and set it in his lap. "Open it Zero!"

Shaking his head at her excitement he couldn't help but smile as he tore the paper off to find a gift box underneath. Lifting the lid from the box he reached in and pulled out several books. They were Hunter books, books he had been talking to Kaien about several weeks before. Yuuki must have overheard them and had her father help them.

"Do you like them Zero?"

Zero nodded. "Thank you."

He felt a twinge of guilt for not getting Yuuki anything in return, but her smile remained bright and so he figured it didn't matter if she was still happy.

His smile faded as the memory dissolved. He felt that same twinge of guilt that had plagued him those many years ago. Turning to his brother he saw Ichiru give him a meaningful glance. "You didn't get her anything that year."

"No, but she seemed happy enough."

Ichiru shook his head and for a moment blackness surrounded Zero before the memory he just remembered played out before him. He watched as Yuuki handed him his gift and watched as he opened it and lifted the books from the box. He watched her smile. What his memory hadn't shown him was the sadness that had surfaced in her eyes, the dying hope that she might receive a present in return diminished. No he hadn't seen that look in her eyes because he had gotten up to take his books to his room and began reading.

"She looks sad?"

Zero turned away from the image of Yuuki and glanced at his brother. Ichiru stood there with his hands in his pockets studying Yuuki. Even if this was only an illusion of the past Zero could feel her sadness envelope him and again he felt the guilt seize him.

"I didn't think to get her anything. My mind was still trying to wrap around the slaughter of our parents, it was wrapped so tightly in hatred for Shizuka."

"She understood that Zero. She may not have fully understood what had happened to you then, but she knew your mind was elsewhere. However it didn't stop her from hoping, it didn't stop her from feeling upset when you turned away so quickly and left her standing there alone in front of a tree she felt was special because you helped her make it that way."

Guilt for his oversight and hatred towards himself warred within him. Zero turned and caught a last look at Yuuki before her image faded to blackness and he knew another image from the past was about to surface. This time when the darkness receded he saw the same tree in the same corner, a fire burning in the fireplace, but this time he and Yuuki sat quietly, each reading their own books, lost in their own little worlds. He remembered this Christmas too; it was the Christmas that Yagari had stopped by and asked if he wished to accompany him on a trip to another Hunter's home for a Christmas party.

"Zero you have a visitor."

Zero looked up as Kaien led Yagari into the living room. He was surprised to see his master since he hadn't seen him in over a year. "Master! What brings you here?"

Lighting a cigarette he took a minute before he answered. After exhaling a stream of smoke he broke out into a rare smile. "I came by to see if you wanted to go with me to a party at Hanta's. Many of the Hunter families are gathering and several asked to see you."

Zero nodded. "When will we leave?"

"Tonight if you hurry and pack your things."

Zero stood and took a step towards the door leading out to the hall when he felt a hand on his arm. He glanced down and saw Yuuki looking up at him. "Will you be back by Christmas Zero?"

Yagari laughed. "I'll have him back by Christmas Miss Cross."

"Good." She released Zero's arm and he made to move towards the door. "Zero?"

He turned back to her. "Yeah?"

"Will you bring me back a present?"

Zero smiled a small smile but nodded. "Sure Yuuki."

He left her sitting there with Kaien and Yagari while he went to pack his things. When he was done he found Yagari waiting for him by the door with Yuuki. "Remember you're supposed to be back by Christmas Zero. I'll be waiting for you."

Zero knew what happened then. He had left her standing there in the doorway. He hadn't made it back by Christmas. He and Yagari both had chosen to stay a bit longer. Not only that, but he had forgotten to bring her back a present as well. He felt disgusted with himself as the image changed and he saw Yuuki sitting in the darkness before the tree. It was late, the fire in the hearth dying down to embers, and she sat there in silence staring up at the tree a lone present in her hands.

"She waited all night for you to return eventually falling asleep on the floor. Cross found her there the next morning. She ended up falling ill from a chill since the fire had gone out and she hadn't been warm enough, but you wouldn't know that because you didn't return until after the New Year began."

Zero felt horrible. He hadn't known that she had gotten sick. She had never mentioned it. She had been her bright cheerful self when he had returned with Yagari. Even after she had given him his gift she was still happy…even after he had forgotten to bring her one. She hadn't said a word, but Zero didn't need the images from the past to know that she had probably had the same look of sadness and lost hope in her eyes as she had had the year before.

"I never even knew. She never told me. Why wouldn't she have told me she had been sick?"

Ichiru looked at Zero as if he should know the answer to that. "Isn't it obvious Zero? She didn't want you to know. She didn't want you to worry about her. All she wanted was for you to be happy."

"I didn't think about anything but meeting up with old family friends."

"Don't you think Yuuki knew that? She knew that you wanted to see the other Hunters, to be close to people that were almost like family to you. It made you happy to go so she said nothing, not even when you returned." Ichiru was silent a minute gazing at Zero through slightly narrowed eyes. "Every year she gave you gifts with nothing in return. She never expected it of you, but she always hoped. Then there were the Christmases where you were away with our Master and told Yuuki each time that you would be back in time for the Christmas only to break that promise time and again. Yet still all she wanted was for you to be happy."

Zero felt angry with his self, hated himself for treating Yuuki that way. She hadn't deserved it from him, not when she had been his best friend, really his only friend. She had been his salvation, his reason for sustaining his humanity when his vampire blood rebelled against him. He had claimed to himself that he loved her and yet he had done this to her.

He lifted his eyes to see Ichiru regarding him. "Are you ready to continue?"

Zero stifled the urge to groan. "What more is there to see?"

"I have to show you the present now?"

The urge to stare at his brother like he had gone mad fought with the feeling that he himself had gone crazy, why else would he be reliving memories and seeing images of past perspectives he had never seen. "I know what happens in the future. I was just there if you recall."

"Yes brother I do recall, but this is a present you are not aware of."

"What are you going on about now?"

Ichiru touched his shoulder again and the world around Zero began to grow dark as it had before. "This is a present without Yuuki, a present that could have occurred had she not befriended you that first night."

As he sank into the waters of blackness his mind kept replaying the same thought over and over again. He hoped that when he opened his eyes next that that thought couldn't be true. Almost chanting his thought like a mantra the darkness closed over him.

A present without Yuuki…

oOo

To see the Christmas tree go to the site below. Remove the spaces and replace parenthesis with right punctuation. Then follow the directions I have left for you.

www (dot) santasbestchristmasdesigns (dot) com

After the site has loaded click on the green door to enter to the main page.

Click on Photo Gallery on the top navigation bar. Then click the image that shows up and it'll bring up a numbered list.

Click on number 13 titled "Silver Bells Tree" and that's the tree I used for this chapter.