Disclaimer- I don't own Vampire Knight

Chapter 4

Awakenings

Ruka was leaning into the casing around her window. A soft breeze blew her hair into face as she stared into the night with a solemn expression on her face. She was upset about being overlooked by Kaname and by the fact that he had chosen to make Yuuki, a human, his lover.

It was while she was staring over the moonlit forest and hills that the scent of blood reached her. Turning her head in the direction of the scent, she curiously stared into the distance. A moment later, her eyes widened and she gasped when the scent of Kaname's blood filled the air, followed by the unmistakable presence of another pure blood. She knew immediately who was giving off the aura and it shocked her.

"Impossible," she whispered to the night, putting one of her dainty hands to her lips.

Zero stood atop a building in a deserted area of the nearby town, his lavender eyes staring angrily down at the two vampires below him. His jaw clenched and his lips pulled back to reveal the sharpened fangs they had hidden.

"I knew it. The scent of Yuuki's blood...You," he hissed at the brown haired male that held the girl to his chest. "To Yuuki."

Kaname looked up from where he sat on a ledge of the dilapidated stone building, Yuuki was in his arms and she looked up in surprise at the sound of his voice.

"Zero," she whispered pleadingly.

Growling, Zero pulled his Bloody Rose from its place at his side and pointed it at the emotionless Kaname.

"No, Zero," Yuuki cried, tears gathering in her eyes, standing up and raising her arms "Please. He's my brother."

Gasping in shock, his eyes widened as he stared disbelievingly down at the two vampires below him. Yuuki wobbled on her feet and with a quiet sigh, fell into Kaname's strong arms.

"You're her brother?" Zero asked in shock.

"I would have been happier if I had been born as her brother," Kaname replied. "Why do you look so confused?"

"Because she said you were her brother and you're denying it."

"Yuuki is the daughter of Haruka and Juri Kuran, there is no doubt of that. You are a second level vampire, you should be able to tell that she is a pureblood." Kaname said, standing up with Yuuki in his arms. "However, you are also a hunter and are on the side of those who hunt our kind. I will be protecting her now."

Zero stared after Kaname as the pureblood disappeared into the night. "That didn't answer my question though, what are you to her, really?" He questioned out loud, irritated by the way all purebloods seemed to be able to avoid answering his questions.

"Hmm?" humming inquisitively, Ken raised his head and let his gray eyes leave the sleeping form of the delicate woman on the bed and look to the curtained window to his left. Standing from the chair he had been resting in, he walked to the window and gently pushed aside the thick curtains. It was still dark outside, but dawn was quickly approaching. "So she's been awakened. The Kuran princess has returned."

A barely audible groan floated to his ears from the large bed behind him and Ken let the curtains drop back into place as he turned towards the sleeping woman. Her once peaceful face had twisted into an expression of pain and discomfort as her small hands clutched at the sheets and blankets that covered her. Another groan poured from the woman's throat and she turned her head to the side, her white hair falling into her face and her body fidgeting as she began to whimper.

Walking towards the bed, Ken sat down on the edge and shushed the whimpering girl, running a hand softly over the smooth, flawless skin of her cheek and pushing some of her soft hair behind her ear. "You must be quite thirsty," he said quietly when she groaned again.

Rolling up the sleeve of his shirt, Ken brought his wrist to his lips and bit in to his own flesh, letting his blood fill his mouth and the scent of it fill the room. The girl in the bed writhed in discomfort and Ken gently placed his other hand on her cheek, letting his thumb stroke her flesh. When he pulled his wrist away from his mouth, he leaned over the fidgeting girl and placed his other hand on her face, keeping her from moving her face away from him as he brought his mouth down onto hers. Her lips were parted and Ken let his blood flow from his mouth into hers. The girl swallowed reflexively, letting the blood coat her parched throat.

Ken pulled away from the woman, wiping a thin line of blood from her chin as he did so. "Wake up... Reina."

The white haired woman gasped, taking in a deep breath, her sapphire eyes snapping open and her body arching slightly off the bed. She was breathing heavily as she blinked blankly at her surroundings, a hand rose and went to her throat and a small moan leaked from her pink lips.

"You must still be thirsty."

Startled, Reina's sapphire eyes flew open and she gazed at Ken in utter confusion.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked.

She did nothing but stare at him for a moment before she shook her head from side to side slowly and let her gaze go to his wrist where the two wounds he had inflicted on himself were healing.

"Are you thirsty?"

Swallowing, Reina nodded and let her eyes roam over the body of the man beside her as he pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal the perfect curve of his neck where she could see the pulsing of his blood pumping through his veins. Reacting on instinct, Reina pushed herself up on the bed, the sheets falling away from her torso to reveal that she was in a thin nightgown of expensive black silk, one of its straps had fallen from her shoulders and Ken carefully replaced it as her arms made to wrap themselves around him as she brought her face towards him, her hot breath splashing against his neck and collar bone.

There was only a slight hesitation on Reina's part as her lips parted and she ran her tongue along the smooth surface of Ken's neck, but she pushed it aside when her throat tightened painfully in response to the musky scent of his blood beneath the surface of the taught skin. Her fangs pierced through his skin easily and she pressed her body further into his, letting her fingers curl, her nails dug into the flesh of his back as his blood filled her mouth and poured down her parched throat. A sigh of relief escaped from her throat as the pain in her throat and chest lessened considerably.

"That's a good girl," he whispered to her, one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back.

Removing her fangs from his neck when she felt that her thirst had been sated, Reina absently licked the small trail of blood that was leaking from his neck. Her tongue ran lightly against his flesh from his collarbone to the wounds she had inflicted upon him.

"You're quite forward, aren't you?" Ken said, causing Reina to jolt in surprise and pull away from him.

She whimpered when the movement made her feel as if there was an ice pick repeatedly being thrust into her head. Pulling her knees to her chest and covering her face with her hands, Reina huddled on the bed and rocked herself slowly.

"You need to relax, the pain will subside soon. Do you remember anything? Do you know who you are?"

Her head shook minutely, but she didn't look up at him.

"Reina Tsukina," Ken said and she stopped rocking herself to look up at him blankly. "That name is familiar to you, isn't it?"

Cocking her head to the side, Reina studied the man before her curiously. She couldn't remember much of anything at the moment and the feeling left her empty and confused.

"I'm Ken Takamora."

Her body stiffened and her breath hissed through her teeth as she sucked in a deep breath.

Ken laughed lightheartedly. "I take it you're familiar with my name too. You have no need to worry though, I'm not going to hurt you. Do you believe me?"

Her brows drawing together at the question and her lips pursing, she nodded once, slowly. "I..." She tried to speak, but she found that it was hard to project her voice, her throat was scratchy and aching with a thirst that was different from the one she had moments ago quenched.

"I'll get you some water," Ken offered, standing from the bed and turning his back to Reina who watched his every move as he filled an empty glass that had been on the small table by the chair he had been sitting in with water from a pitcher on the same table and brought it back to her. "Here you go," he said, holding the glass out to her.

She took it with a small nod of thanks and raised it to her lips, delicately sipping at the cool, clear liquid.

"Thank you," she said after several sips, her voice still sounded harsh, but the melodic tone wasn't lost entirely.

"Of course."

"I...all I can remember is darkness. There are faces that look familiar and names, but I can't grasp them. Why?" she asked, a note of pleading to her voice as she stared up at Ken.

"Because I had to make you die," Ken answered evenly.

Sucking in a breath, Reina met his unwavering gaze uncertainly. "I don't understand."

"In order to save you, I had to kill you."

Yuuki blinked her eyes open with a quiet groan of discomfort caused by the harshness of the lights in the room she was in. Raising a hand to cover her eyes, she jolted upright when a vision of a man with eyes of blue and crimson flashed through her mind.

"It's alright, you're safe," a soft, masculine voice reassured as a hand brushed over her hair.

"K-Kaname?" she stuttered out, fixing her wide eyes on the man who was sitting beside her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, running the backs of his fingers along her cheek.

"I..I am..."

"It's alright, Yuuki. I know what you want," Kaname said, pulling the small girl closer to him.

There was no hesitation as she lowered her head to his neck and bit him, hungrily gulping down the blood that flowed into her mouth. When she pulled away, she did so with a startled cry as visions of a smiling couple filled her mind.

"See anything interesting?" Kaname asked, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

"They're dead," she said shakily. "Mother and father are dead, but they were so strong. How could they-"

"Calm down, Yuuki," Kaname commanded softly as the walls behind Yuuki began to crack.

The girl took in a deep breath and released it, with the released breath the window shattered, letting in a cool breeze that made the curtains dance.

"But...But...I..." Yuuki couldn't seem to find the words she was looking for and clenched her eyes shut in frustration.

"Just relax, ask me whatever you'd like."

"I don't understand. You're my brother so why...why did you.."

"Ask you to be my lover?" Kaname finished.

"Yes, why would you do that?"

"Because we are engaged so long as you still wish to be."

Shock replaced the confusion on Yuuki's face as she stared at Kaname. "I've lived as a human for all these years and that's.."

"Something only beasts would do? That's right, Yuuki, we aren't human."

She shook her head fiercely, shutting her eyes tightly and letting her hands dig into the fabric of the sheets that covered the bed they were in.

"I'm not human, I know that, but I, I just can't."

"I've watched you forget everything for ten years. Now that you remember, do you wish to leave me all alone again, Yuuki?" Kaname asked.

"No. No, you're not alone. Reina, you and her were-"

"Our engagement ended fifteen years ago, when Yuuki was born. We both moved on, but that doesn't matter now. Reina is dead."

Yuuki's brown eyes widened at the revelation and she was struck speechless.

"If you wish to be free of the engagement that Haruka and Juri Kuran placed on us, I will willingly let you go. I will not force you if you do not love me."

Her eyes filling with sadness, knowing that the idea hurt Kaname, Yuuki reached out to place a hand on his face. She didn't want to hurt him, her brother, and though she knew that their own parents had been siblings too, the idea of marrying her own brother was something that she couldn't stomach. She had spent most of her life up to now as a human that the ideals and standards of them were embedded into her. She knew in time they would likely fade, she could sense that the vampire side of herself would slowly devour it until there were no human traits left of her.

She understood now why she had been doubting her love for him, because she loved him in an entirely different way. She loved him as a brother, a friend, but not as a lover.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears slipping from her eyes and trailing down her cheeks.

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