Vampire Knight

Guilty Temptations

Chapter Five: The Forgotten Relative

"C-Child? What are you talking about?" I stuttered. "My family died. There's no way that you could be my mother!"

Shizuka stood up gracefully, making Zero's guard come up again. She reached out to me, speaking softly. "…It's just that you can't remember."

Zero's gun then aimed at her, making it easier for him to shoot since she was closer. "Don't touch her, Shizuka."

Shizuka chuckled lightly; this didn't faze her a bit. Zero grimaced, shooting his gun loudly three times at her stomach. Blood spilled from her clothing. Her next move was very sudden. I had only blinked, and already, she was behind me, grabbing my waist and taking me to an unknown place. Zero and Yuki ran after me, but they were stopped by a man with silver hair, like Zero's, and a long sword. That only meant that he was looking for a fight. I yelped, "Zero-kun! Yuki-san!"

But before long, I was already out of their sight as they were of mine. Shizuka stopped in a moonlit room. She smiled at me, and her hands trailed up to my forehead. Her hands glowed, a comforting glow that felt nostalgic. She tucked away my hair, and I soon felt a tingling sensation in my head. It felt weird, and I passed out from the feeling. I woke up a few minutes later, facing Shizuka from her lap. She was stroking my hair gently and I sat up with wide eyes.

I turned to look at her and her hand stroked my cheek. I gasped, suddenly remembering those forgotten memories. "O…Okaa-sama…"

Shizuka nodded as I almost tackled her to wrap my arms around her tightly. "W-Why did you leave me!?"

She lifted my head with her finger, and she said, "Long ago, I was arranged to marry a pureblood vampire, and I soon gave birth to you. I fell in love with another man, though, and I knew I didn't love my arranged husband. I didn't want you to be raised in a family where the mother would leave for another person. That's why I gave you to a family in the town, when you were a baby. I erased your memories from that time, and let you be raised by the Ninomiya family."

"But that doesn't explain why my family was vampires!" I cried.

She forced a smile on her face, continuing her story. "My family must've found out where I left you. They must've attacked your family, and being purebloods, your family themselves turned into vampires. My family didn't bite you did they?"

I shook my head. "I didn't see any other people in the house but my parents and brother."

"So the only ones attacked were the Ninomiyas. Once I heard that my family had attacked them, I had to check up on you… but you weren't home. I found out you were attending the Cross Academy, and as a wanted pureblood vampire, I couldn't show my true identity. I disguised as Maria to get to you," Shizuka sighed, and she hugged me again. "I'm sorry."

I couldn't understand why she was a wanted pureblood. She seemed so kind and warm-hearted. My realization began to come in now. "I-If you're my mother… then that means…"

"You're a vampire. A pureblood vampire," She mumbled in my hair.

I shook my head, almost hyperventilating. "I-I don't want to… I can't be one of… But they… I…"

"Calm down, Shiori…" She whispered, patting my head softly. "Take your time to understand this… Hiou… Shiori."

My new name. I was a vampire; A pureblood. My mother is a wanted vampire. I have a family I don't know about. A whole new identity. Every little detail was killing me inside. I mean, this whole time I'd been something I've disliked. Well, disliked meaning, being like Aidou.

"How come I'd never thirsted for blood my whole life?" I asked.

Shizuka smiled. "I asked the Ninomiya family to sneak in blood tablets into your food. You had a daily intake of tablets but you didn't seem to notice."

"So I wasn't just imagining that copper taste in my lunches," I exhaled.

She looked truly guilty of leaving me, and not being able to raise me. But I was okay with that, knowing that from now on, we'd be together forever.

…But sometimes, you can't assume promises that can easily be broken.

Kaname walked out of the shadows, speaking in his usual formal manner, but somehow, I had sensed something bad to happen. "That wound looks terrible, Shizuka-san."

Shizuka looked up from me, and she faced Kaname. "Young Kuran… Why are you here?"

"This was my first bedroom in the Academy," He answered, smiling towards me.

Shizuka said in return, "I see. This place is nice. No one disturbs me and my daughter here."

She stood up, walking towards Kaname. Kaname wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind, Shizuka emotionless from his intimate gesture. I mumbled, "Kaname-senpai… What are you doing?"

And it was so fast. My mother's eyes widened and more blood trickled down onto the carpet. I looked up and gasped. "O…OKAA-SAMA!"

Kaname had stabbed Shizuka with his bare hand. His palm was seen right through her chest. Kaname murmured, "You don't seem to be surprised, Shizuka-san."

"I wanted to take your life too," Shizuka replied. "I was planning to use Yuki an assassin… If you take my heart now… As a pure-blood, I might die."

I stood up after hearing these words. "N-No! Don't die!"

Kaname swiftly leaned his head towards Shizuka's neck, sucking the red liquid fall out from her veins. I ran up to Kaname, grabbing my mother's shoulders and forcing him to let go of her. More blood spurted out from her chest, spilling all over my dress. She almost fell from my arms until I hoisted her up with my strength. My vision blurred from the instant tears that fell from my eyes. I cried at Kaname, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!? WHY WOULD YOU KILL MY MOTHER!?"

Kaname's expression didn't move at all. I fell to the ground with Shizuka in my arms, slowly dying with her heart pierced. "Shiori," She said quietly.

I turned her over to face me, and as she lay in my lap, she murmured, "I'm sorry I couldn't stay in your life any longer."

This sentence made me sob even more. I cried loudly as she continued her sentence. "Shiori… Throughout the rest of your life you will develop your powers one by one. Control them, and you'll be a successful vampire."

I shook my head, choking on my tears. "Y-You're not going to leave me alone, okaa-sama! N-Not again!"

Kaname then spoke up. "I'm not going to let her die for nothing."

I paused, and looked up at the dorm president with hatred. "What could you do!?"

He turned to Shizuka. "I will destroy the one thing you've hated the most… The person who destroyed our destiny as purebloods…"

Shizuka grimaced lightly. "The one who ruined everything… Young Kuran… You will become stronger as the days pass… But at the same time, you have summoned a sinister future for yourself. You will have darkness wherever you go, Kaname."

Kaname sighed. "I understand that."

Kaname soon vanished, and Shizuka smiled slightly ungratefully. "He'll be coming here soon."

"Who…?" I whispered.

The door then opened fully, with that same man who looked exactly like Zero panting. His eyes widened at Shizuka's bloody body. He stuttered, "S-Shizuka…sama…"

He seemed to take no notice of me, and he took Shizuka's hand, holding it tightly and crying. "Shizuka-sama! I-I'll give you my blood! Please…Please don't die!"

Shizuka took her hand away, quietly mumbling, "You're the only one I can't turn into a vampire… Ichiru. Moreover… It's already too late."

Suddenly, her body began to disintegrate; not into the fine dust like my family did, but small tiny stars of light. I gasped, my grip tightening on her more than ever. "No! NO! I'm not going to let you go!"

Shizuka smiled. "You're going to have to, my sweet child."

The man beside me, Ichiru, looked at me in disbelief. "This… is your daughter…"

Shizuka nodded. Ichiru hugged her waist tightly, and these gestures of love and affection led to them sharing a small kiss, quick, but heartfelt. Her palm touched my cheek gently, and to both of us, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

She had closed her eyes, losing consciousness. Ichiru and I let our tears out freely, unable to stop their tracks. Suddenly, a huffing Zero came inside the room, his eyes glowing bright red with the tattoo on his neck. We turned to look at him, and Ichiru said, "Due to Shizuka-sama's dying, the Level E within you is restless. But it's too late, Zero."

Shizuka's body, with more light surrounding her motionless self, shattered like glass, into bright dust. My hand covered my mouth, and I sobbed loudly. "NO!"

Ichiru sadly frowned, murmuring, "She didn't want my blood in the end."

Zero, struggling harshly at the doorway, grunted, "D-Don't. You can't think that being a vampire is… I-It's…" He clutched his neck in pain.

Ichiru grimaced furiously and yelled, "You! I don't know so many things even if I've been with her for so long! Why is it always you!?" He said, storming towards the kneeling Zero.

But Zero choked, "I… don't care what happens anymore. But I just don't want to become a vampire!"

I gasped at this, and standing up, I mumbled, "…You're a vampire?"

Ichiru scoffed. "Only the lowest type of vampire. He can't control his thirst for blood. Zero… you're already a Level E."

Ichiru then began to open the door to the balcony, with Zero crawling on the floor with desperation. "I-Ichiru…"

But he'd already left. I ran to Zero's side quickly, holding him up against my shoulder. "Z-Zero-kun! Why are you like this!? Is there anything you need?!"

Zero gasped for air, as if he were drowning in a deep ocean. "I need… B-Blood… Pure-blood…"

My eyes widened in shock, realizing I was the person who had the blood he needed. I gulped uncertainly, and took out my collar from my neck. "…Take mine."

He looked up at me and he said angrily. "You're not a pure-blood. I'm not going to take away your blood, Shiori."

I bit my bottom lip, reluctant to tell him the truth. "M-My mother is… Hiou Shizuka."

He gaped at me for a second, and he told me, "That's not possible! How could it be true!?" Zero stared into my eyes, and he then gasped. "Y-Your eyes… They just…"

"What did I do!?" I touched my face, thinking my appearance was changing for no reason. "Your eyes… they're turned into the same color as Shizuka's for a second…"

I realized then he was sweating, and his breaths went shorter than before. "Z-Zero-kun, don't think about it! You're getting worse every second! J-Just take my blood!" I pulled his tie towards me, and he pushed me against the wall without a second thought. His head was merely inches away from my neck. I breathed quietly and shut my eyes, murmuring, "I'll be fine."

And with those words, he dug his teeth into my bloodstream, sucking out much more than I expected him to. I clenched my grip against his uniform, waiting for the pain to be over. I whimpered as quietly as I could, whilst I felt my body feel numb, and weaken by the minute. Tears still streamed down my cheeks; I'm sure my make-up was badly ruined already. I still couldn't get any of these things into my mind. All this information was just crammed into my head, and people expected it to just sit there contently. Soon, I reached the point where everything around me turned into darkness.

I opened my eyes groggily, and rubbed my eyelids carefully. I was in my room. But it looked a little different. I could've cared less though… I sat up, looking out the window, seeing the Day Class students wandering around for their classes. I stood up, trying my best to fight the massive head rush that blinded me for a few seconds, and walked over to the sink to wash my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and gasped. My eyes were red and swollen, my mascara marked two lines down my cheeks, my hair was all knotted and messy, my dress was completely blood-stained, and my neck… Two small but deep wounds marked it there, and it didn't look like it was going away for sometime. I bit my lip and gripped the edge of the sink tightly. "…It wasn't a dream."

I exhaled slowly, and scrubbed my face until the mascara was gone. I wiped my face against a towel lightly and tried to find a brush to smooth down my hair. I checked the desk near my bed, but it had gone missing. I checked the drawers, and found a comb I'd never seen. Still, I did my best to return my hair to its soft, untangled state. I heard the door open, and my heart skipped a beat. What if it was a student coming to ask me why I wasn't in class? They'd see my dress and… who knows what they'd assume.

"W-Who's there?" I asked to thin air.

Zero then turned the corner and faced me. His hair was wet. He'd probably taken a shower, and he was in half his uniform. Zero did wear his pants and shirt, but that was about it. And it made me notice that he'd decided to wear his top unbuttoned. This distracted me. A lot. "Z-Zero-kun. Are you alright?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. You passed out after what I did to you. I swear I thought I killed you, Shiori. Don't scare me like that again, geez," Zero rubbed his head with a slightly damp towel. He took a seat on top of the bed. Speaking of which…

"What are you doing in my room?" I asked quietly.

He mumbled, "This is my room. I carried you here after you blacked out. I cleaned up what I did with your neck… but I couldn't find any bandages or whatever. And your clothes, um, well, you know…"

I tried to hide my blush from him and I said, "Oh, t-thanks. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you. I'll go back to my room now," and I scurried quickly out the door, but Zero stopped me.

"I need to talk to you about something, Shiori. Besides, you can't go out in the hallway in a bloody dress," Zero told me.

I stopped, and turned around. "What do you need to talk about?"

He sighed. "What isn't there to talk about? I believe that you're a pure-blood. I haven't gotten bloodthirsty since I did that… to you… But what's this about Shizuka!? You're her daughter? Since when?!"

I grimaced, and clutched the ends of my dress. "Last night."

"She told you and you believed her? Why did you have to be her daughter!? Couldn't you have been some other pure-blood's child?!" He scolded me.

I frowned. "It's not like it's my fault! I don't control who's my mother, okay!? You've been a vampire longer than me, and I hardly know anything of the vampire world, so don't go assuming that I'm just like the Night Class! I've never sucked a person's blood in my entire life, not once! T-This new identity of mine is like a whole new life I don't know about! My mother hardly gave me information about my vampire life; just my past! I don't know my grandparents, my uncles, aunties… I don't know my own family! And I…" I brought my hands up to my head, as if holding it up before it fell. My knees gave way, and I sank, stuffing my hands on my face. "It's just too much for me to take, Zero-kun."

I felt silence in the air as I sobbed out my pain. Suddenly, I felt a towel fall against my head. I looked up from blurry eyes, and saw Zero towering over me, mumbling. "Stop crying. I'll uh… go to your room to get you whatever clothes there is. It saves you the trouble of getting stared at with all that blood."

I did what he said, standing up slowly and wiping my tears with the towel. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to… burst out like that. This is just so… frustrating."

Zero didn't comment on that, but he said, "I'll be back. Stay here for a bit."

So Zero left and I took a seat on his bed. Sighing in anger, sadness and stress. Zero soon came back, with my uniform. He said, "Go and take a shower in the bathroom outside the room. We'll go back to class if you want to."

I forced a smile on my face, happily accepting the change of clothes he delivered to me. "Uh… S-Sure. We can go back to class!"

And just as I reached for the doorknob, the Chairman came in, looking at my dress with wide eyes. "S-Shiori-chan!"

He quickly closed the door behind him, and still stunned with the state of my attire, he stuttered, "Y-You found out… about Shizuka?"

I looked up at him, and mumbled, "How… did you know?"

"The Hunters Association," He answered, and then explained, "It's just a group of Vampire hunters is all."

He made it sound like it was no big deal. "Those were the people who were after my mother?"

"Shiori-chan… Your mother was a wanted vampire. She was out of control," The Chairman placed a light hand on my shoulder.

I shook it off. "How did you know about my relation to Shizuka-sama? …Why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

He sighed. "The members of the Hunter's Association were given a wanted list a long time ago. They had information about each of the criminal vampires, and one was your mother. It had information on you too, being her daughter. But it was said that you had no idea about the vampire world, so we left you be. Until Kurenai Maria came, I'd sensed something odd about the girl. She was a distant cousin of Shizuka… I was thinking maybe she would tell you about your long lost mother. And Shiori-chan… I didn't want to tell you of this relation because, if anything, I wanted you to find out from your mother herself."

I scoffed quietly. "This is just…"

"You're a vampire too, aren't you…? Shiori-chan?" The Chairman asked.

I nodded slowly, admitting my fate. "But I don't feel like one at all."

The Chairman pressed his lips together. "I-I'm sorry to bring up the news at a bit of bad timing, but… I'm afraid you're going to have to transfer to the Night Class."

Zero's eyes widened as mine did, and together we yelled at the blonde man.

"WHAT!?"

I'm not sure if this was a good chapter or bad… so please tell me what you thought of it by reviewing~! It really means a lot of you guys could review more often, so please review! Pretty please! With a cosplay on top~! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!