A/N: I just couldn't wait to upload this chapter. Please enjoy and reviews would be appreciated. ^^

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters. Their existence is accredited to Matsuri Hino.

Soldiers in the Making

Zero woke up, gasping sharply from the nightmare that was still fresh in his mind-the blinding white walls, the golden eyes that never ceased their monitoring of him as they saturated his blood stream with their chemical concoctions. He groaned slightly as he pressed his palms to his throbbing temples. The cooling sensation from his palms helped ease his nerves a little as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He noticed for the first time that he was in an unfamiliar place but oddly enough, he felt calm.

Rather, his skepticism faded and was replaced with curiosity when he laid his hands on the covers that were draped over him. They were soft and downy to the touch. Now with a little more eagerness, he pressed his hands into the mattress he was laying on and marveled at how easily it gave way and molded around his hands. Had he grown up in a normal household, he would have known to call it a memory foam mattress. He was going to lay down on the fluffy-looking pillow behind him when he heard a turn of the doorknob.

He could feel his heart flutter against his chest bone as he hurriedly pulled the covers over his head and held his breath. He heard the door creak open and close. A familiar feeling of fear and unease began kneading its way through his muscles as he heard the sound of light footsteps drawing near the bedside. He tensed himself, ready for an assault when the figure spoke.

"I know you're awake." He was surprised to find that the voice belonged to a young girl no younger than he was but he did not stir. He waited for her to speak again. He felt the edge of the bed shift as the girl sat down and sighed.

"You know you've been asleep for almost three days now. I thought you would never wake up," she paused, hoping for a reply but Zero continued to remain silent. Yuki twisted her body around, facing the lump that was him. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you, I promise." He was startled by the hand that she had placed on his shoulder but he was not adverse to her warmth. In fact, he felt comforted by her words and dare he say, believed in their genuinity.

That was why, after a few moments of silence, he shifted to face her and slowly pulled down the covers. He flinched away from her as her golden eyes met his and almost jumped off the bed had she not looked away first. She abruptly got off the bed, her eyes focused on the ground in front of her.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I was warned not to look directly at you. At least, not at first," she slowly looked up at him and gave him a small smile as he held her gaze. He was more perplexed than he was afraid of her. She had the same colored eyes as they did but unlike theirs, hers were full of life. Her gaze was soft, crumbling away his guard and inviting him to trust her. His cheeks burned and he broke their gaze as a ticklish sensation formed in the pit of his stomach. He was taken aback by this new sensation that he did not know how to explain. It was not a horrible feeling.

He just couldn't get himself to look at her again without his cheeks heating up. He tried what he did earlier by pressing his palms to his cheeks in an effort to cool them down as he gazed upon her again. In his moment of thought, she had taken a few steps closer to him. He noticed a spark of intrigue in her eyes as she stared into his.

"I think your eyes are pretty. They're so lavender, they almost look grey." She flashed him a smile before sitting beside him on the bed. "So, are you hungry? Thirsty? Anything?" He felt her eyes on him as she began kicking her legs back and forth against the bed.

He shook his head slowly. He needed answers more than anything else and said softly, "Where am I?"

Yuki grinned, relieved that the boy was finally talking. With a pleased look on her face, she replied, "Don't worry. You're under the protection of the Trust now." She patted his shoulder and continued, "My brother was uncomfortable with the idea of having you at our home so he agreed to place you in the new training facilities we just built. Are you comfortable here?"

"Yeah well, it's nice. Better than what I'm used to anyway," mumbled Zero as he played with the hem of his shirt.

"Great!" Yuki hopped off the bed. "I'm going to go tell Kaien real quick that you're awake now. I'll be right back."

"Wait. Who's Kaien?" Zero was starting to feel anxious again. He had gotten used to her company but the thought of meeting anyone else welcomed fear back into his heart.

"He's the one that saved you." Yuki smiled warmly and approached him. "And keep this between you and me but he plans to adopt you! Isn't that great?"

"Adopt?" The word seemed to ring throughout the room as the idea of being welcomed into a family sunk into Zero's mind.

"Yeah! You and I will get to see each other more often!"

Zero looked up at her then and for once, he felt the wings of hope unfurl in his heart.

~Ten years later~

He drew in a ragged breath as he circled around a shadowy figure on the lit platform. The figure's features were indistinguishable except for its eyes that were burning with a vile yellow. It chilled him to his bones to stare into those eyes but he willed himself to maintain eye contact. He must overcome his fear now. With his gun in one hand, Zero lunged to the right of the shadow.

The shadow dodged him and struck him from the left but Zero had anticipated for that to happen. He reflected the shadow's attack with his left arm and aimed of the back of its neck. He fired and sure enough, the bullet sliced clean through, severing its brain stem from its spinal cord and the shadow curled up in smoke, leaving Zero alone on the platform.

"Well done Zero. You were two minutes faster than last time but it's still not good enough if you want to pass the final exam." The room flooded with light and a door opened to the left of Zero. In stepped a man in his mid-thirties with black locks of blue undertones and a silver-studded black leather eye patch concealing what would have been his right eye. He tilted his head up and gazed at Zero with his one silvery blue eye, his characteristic smirk plastered across his face.

Zero rolled his eyes at his teacher, Toga Yagari before stepping past him and out of the simulation room. "Relax. I still have time." He went over to the dashboard and brought up the recording of his battle onto the large computer screen.

"Oh? Do you believe in your own words Zero?"

The door to the simulation room slid to a close as Toga walked over and stood beside him. Zero was quietly evaluating his fight sequence with an intensity that would have burnt a hole in the screen if he had had laser vision. Toga sighed and sat down on the chair next to him. He remembered the first time he met Zero. It was his first day of class at the Trust Academy, established for young boys and girls to be educated in all avenues of academic excellence and combat skills.

He had been a frail nine year old boy who spoke little and exuded an unapproachable, almost hostile aura that intimidated the other youngsters around him. The only person who was unfazed by his demeanor was Yuki who came by to check in on the boy from time to time. His impenetrable aura would disintegrate in her presence of which Yagari couldn't recall him doing around anyone else. Zero was arguably one of his best pupils with his hawk-like concentration and ironclad resilience but with every student, he had an obstacle to overcome. The computer screen was frozen on the creature's eyes and Yagari watched as Zero bit back the urge to look away. He had always displayed an unrelenting determination in everything he did but it worried Toga when that drive caused him to forget to take care of himself.

"That's enough for today Zero." Toga made a move to turn off the dashboard.

"No!" Zero blocked him and glared menacingly at Yagari who stood his ground.

"Someone wouldn't be happy to know that you're going to miss her birthday party."

The harsh edge in Zero's faced softened and was replaced by bewilderment. "Aww crap. It's today?" Zero cursed at himself and forgetting about the video, raced to the locker rooms. Yagari smirked before turning off the dashboard and sauntered out of the control room behind Zero.

oOo

Yuki hurriedly slipped out of her school uniform and threw on a lacy lilac dress that brushed just above her knees. Its sweetheart neckline accentuated her pale and delicate collar bone as she roughly combed through her hair and twirled it into a messy updo. With a dash of eyeliner, a smear of lip tint and a spritz of her favorite rose fragrance, Yuki took one last look at herself in the mirror before slipping on her heels and rushing to her birthday party.

She was just rounding the corner to the gardens when she collided into someone.

"Ow!" The person steadied her and she looked up to see Zero shaking his head disapprovingly at her. He was wearing a fitted black tuxedo that hugged his broad shoulders nicely and his hair was a tousled mess of silvery white strands.

Yuki rolled her eyes at him and briskly moved past him. "I'm not in the mood for your sound judgements today Zero." She heard him chuckle softly to himself as he followed behind her.

"I was sent to retrieve the birthday girl who is, might I add, half an hour late to her own party?"

Yuki groaned. She could just imagine him raising his eyebrow in the smug fashion that he always did when he was teasing her. "I lost track of time practicing with Aido for our final exam, okay? I feel horrible about it." Zero caught up to her and smirked.

"And oddly enough, he was punctual." Yuki felt like punching Zero square in the face but decided against it as the sound of mirth and music grew louder. As they approached the entrance to the gardens, Zero stopped and cleared his throat.

"What is it now?" Yuki turned around and narrowed her eyes at him.

Zero only smiled and bowed deeply, offering her his arm. "May I escort your highness to her party?"

She playfully slapped him on the shoulder and laughed good-naturedly as she circled her arm around his. "But of course."

He grinned and pulled her in close, whispering in her ear, "Happy 18th birthday Yuki." The timber in Zero's voice tickled her, sending chills down her spine. She felt herself blushing as they walked down the aisle towards the center stage where her brother stood clad in a sultry sapphire suite. Cheers and applause rang out from the crowd as everyone turned to face the birthday girl.

Zero unwound his arm from her's as Kaname swooped in for a hug. He gave Kaname a curt nod before leaving the siblings onstage.

"Is everything set in place?" Yuki whispered as she pulled away from her brother and waved energetically to the crowd down below.

"Don't worry. Everyone is in their positions." Kaname smiled for the crowd and placing his hand on the small of her back, led her to the dance floor below. "Now," he extended a hand out to her. "May your brother have this first dance?"

She curtsied and placed her hand in his. "Just like always." She giggled as he swept her across the dance floor that was left empty for the Kuran siblings. The guests stared in awe at the flawless image of the siblings as they glided on the dance floor like two snowflakes twirling and shimmering in the winter sun. Zero stood at the far corner of the dance floor with his arms crossed. He scanned the area from time to time but his eyes would always roam back to the pair under the spotlight.

He didn't really care much for dances and parties. It was only because of Yuki that he even bothered to make an appearance at all. Besides, he didn't like the attention he received from some of the guests who made no effort to conceal their curiosity. The runaway Unknown who was feared for his unprecedented abilities that manifested itself when he was eleven. They didn't know or wouldn't understand how it was possible that he was eavesdropping on their conversations now.

To be one with the crowd as well as a part from it-Zero was used to it. Just then, he heard the shuffling of feet about twenty yards away. His hands immediately shot to his gun holster as his peripheral vision picked up on a moving figure.

He touched the ear piece he was wearing and radioed in, "Suspect identified at the rear," before making a detour toward the suspect. Yuki halted, her smile all but faded when Zero's report buzzed in through her earpiece. She looked at Kaname whose expression had grown serious as he threw off his coat to reveal a gun holster of his own.

A hint of sadness made its way to his eyes as he caressed her cheek. "I'm sorry."

She reached up to touch his hand and shook her head. "We'll truly celebrate later." He nodded and off she fled to follow Zero. From the hip holster concealed underneath the folds of her dress, she brought out her weapon, an extendable silver rod known as Artemis to all its past wielders. Just above the hedges, Yuki saw figures clad in black spilling over into the gardens. With adrenaline rushing excitedly through her veins, Yuki grinned. They had been anticipating for such an invasion like this. The guests had long shed off their party robes and now stood in the gardens armed and poised for the oncoming attack.