Disclaimer- I do not own Vampire Knight

Chapter 6

Return

There were several advantages to being a vampire and a pureblooded one at that. Traveling long distances quickly was fairly easy, you simply let your body become nothing more than particles in the air that you could reform at will and went wherever you wanted.

It wasn't until Ken and Reina neared the forests of Cross Academy that they both let their bodies reform. At first appearing as strange red droplets like blood and then a writhing, floating mass of the same substance that quickly changed into the forms of both people.

"All of the human students are still at the Academy, I can sense them. There's a large number of former human vampires in the area too, some nobles and I can sense two purebloods and..something else," Reina said quietly, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she looked into the distance, her hair floating around her like a halo in the light early morning breeze that stirred the leaves of the trees.

"The something else would likely be Kiryu," Ken told her, he too was staring into the trees between them and the Academy. "There's quite a few hunters too, a little way from the Academy."

A frown pulled at Reina's lips. "I can't tell who's who. Where is Takuma, can you tell?"

Ken kept his eyes in front of him, glad that Reina was too distracted by the numerous auras that she was desperately trying to recognize, to look at him. He was excellent at hiding his true feelings and emotions, he had years of practice after all, but he didn't want to lie to Reina, she had been through enough on account of his family.

"He isn't here," he finally answered monotonously.

She tore her sapphire gaze from the horizon to turn her attention to Ken, he was frowning openly and not looking at her. The dark hair of his ponytail was dancing in the wind and the fabric of his unbuttoned dark gray coat fluttered with it as well.

"What do you mean he isn't here?" Reina asked slowly.

Ken turned his gray eyes to meet hers. "He isn't here, Reina. Neither is Kaname, but your other friends are and so are those hunters, there's only two people standing up to the lot of them and they are using the Council's dogs as well as former humans to do their work."

Her attention turned back to the miles of trees and hills before her, taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. When she released the breath and opened her eyes, she smiled over at Ken. "I suppose we should help them then, shouldn't we?"

"As you wish," he answered, a small smile on his own face as he inclined his head towards her ever so slightly.

A sudden rush of wind disturbed the quiet of the small grove they had been standing in, causing little tornadoes to stir the leaves on the ground and make the grass sway. When the wind died down and the leaves and dust settled, Reina and Ken were nowhere to be seen.

–

Two men stood before a large group of people in a bright, green portion of forest. One had long dark blond hair and a beautiful gleaming serrated sword held in front of him with such grace it seemed to be an extension of himself. The dark haired man beside him held no weapon, but there were several guns strapped to his body beneath the long leather coat he wore.

"Our society has decided that the villains responsible for this little mess are those of the Night class and we are here to deal with them accordingly," the mocking voice of the current president of the Hunter's association said from behind the fan that was being used to hide the smile on the much too pale face that was surrounded by white hair that had been fashioned into an elaborate updo. Expensive, thick furs and gaudy jewelry also covered the woman's body.

"So you're going to kill innocent vampires again?" the dark haired man growled.

"The Day class is being protected by the Night class," the blond man said calmly, his stance never faltering. "I will protect the Night class."

"And just who will protect you?" a soft, sing song voice asked in a tone that was almost laughing, it startled everyone in the woods who couldn't see its source. "Because honestly, this buffoon probably won't be much help."

The dark haired man whirled around, the voice had been directly behind him and the arrogant, powerful aura of a pureblood that came with it was unmistakable. A gun was drawn and raised in a split second, pressed to the temple of the woman that materialized before him. There was another aura, quickly approaching, but the blond man responded to that one by gracefully spinning the hilt of his sword in his hand so that the blade was pointing behind him and pressed lightly to the neck of the man that had been trying to approach his friend.

"Really, is that anyway to greet an old friend?" Reina sighed, smirking as she looked up at Yagari whose one visible eye widened in shock.

"Reina?" Cross questioned in surprise.

She raised a hand to wiggle her fingers at him and smile widely. "Hello, Cross. Would you mind removing your blade from Ken's neck? He means no harm, promise. Miss me?" she chirped, grinning at Yagari.

"No, it was actually quiet without you around, it was nice," Yagari complained, putting his gun away and scratching at his stubbly cheek.

"You're supposed to be dead," the heavily clothed president snapped.

Reina's eyes narrowed and she let her eyes slide from Yagari to the woman behind him. "Yes, well, as you can see, I'm not."

"What did you do, Takamora?" the woman demanded. "You will pay-"

"The only one who will be paying, madam president," Reina hissed mockingly. "Is you."

"Reina," Cross warned.

Yagari put an arm in front of the pureblood whose angry eyes flashed up to him. "You shouldn't be involved in this fight. Let us take care of this, you go and help the others. They would like to know you're alive."

"You are aware of what she is, and what she has at her disposal, aren't you?" Reina asked coldly, her eyes going to Cross.

The man nodded solemnly. "I am, but you should go Reina. This isn't the place for you to be right now."

"Take care of yourself, Yagari, I don't want to have to come back and rescue you," Reina sang. "You'd be in the debt of a pureblood, never a good thing," she teased lightly with a wink.

"Just go away," Yagari snorted.

"Lets go," Reina said to Ken, her voice losing all notes of playfulness and becoming serious.

Their destination this time was the Academy itself where several conflicts were already taking place, but Rido had not yet been challenged. Reina stood in the shadow of the trees that surrounded the Sun Dorms before she decided to step out and assist a small group of Night class students that were fighting against several strangely dressed vampires she didn't recognize. There was a flare of fire and Reina knew immediately that Kain was one of the students and usually where Kain was, Aido wasn't far behind and that thought made a smile tilt her lips skyward.

Stepping out of the trees, Reina walked towards the group that was fighting in front of the girl's dorm building, Ken not far behind her, ready to make a move if he needed to. Sensing her, there was a small break in the fighting and the attacking vampires all turned to look at Reina, the Night students' vision was blocked by their attackers and then by their blood as their bodies were shredded by visible white blades of spinning wind. Reina continued to walk forward, ignoring the droplets of blood that fell, but never touched her. The eyes of the Night students all widened as she approached and stopped before them, her face blank before her lips curled into a soft smile that they all recognized.

It took a moment, but when they all realized it was indeed Reina that stood before them, they all sank into deep bows.

"There's no need for that right now," Reina told them gently. "Where are Kaname and Takuma? I need to find them."

Kain looked up at her, hearing the urgency in her voice, his eyes widened in understanding. "They..they don't know you're alive?"

She shook her head, her hair swishing around her. "No, no one knew but him," she said, nodding towards Ken who was now at her side.

"Isn't he-"

"A Takamora? Yes, he is," Reina answered before Kain could even finish his question. "There's no need to worry though, he's no threat. Where are Kaname and Takuma?"

"Kaname has left... for the Council. I don't know where Ichijo went, he just said he had something he had to do," Kain answered.

"I see. And Aido, where is he?" she asked.

"At the Moon Dorms," Kain answered, somewhat confused.

"I can sense everyone's aura, but they aren't familiar to me anymore. I need to relearn them, it's a bit frustrating," Reina explained with a sigh, shifting her gaze to the nearby dormitories. "Hana," she whispered when she saw a blond boy on the roof, facing two vampires who she knew were not from the Night class. She disappeared an instant later, speeding to where Aido was, he dealt with the two on the roof easily, it was when he approached the gaping hole in the same roof that there was a problem as his eyes looked down to lock with the mismatched eyes of the dark haired man below him.

"You are Rido Kuran-sama..."

"I've had enough appetizers, but you seem worth eating," the dark haired Rido said, lifting one of his arms towards the blond above him. His eyes narrowed when someone appeared in front of the boy, keeping him from falling into the arms that would have happily taken his life. "Well, well, what have we here? A ghost?"

Aido gasped as a woman appeared in front of him, her long white hair tickling his face as the wind blew it back at him, along with a light and familiar scent. His eyes studied the woman's back and the arm that was held out to her side. There was no familiar aura, but there was no doubt that the woman before him was not only a pureblood, but a woman they all had believed to be dead. She was dressed entirely in black, her heeled boots, her slacks, her top and even the long peacoat she wore, were all black.

"Reina-sama?" Aido muttered, his blue eyes full of hope.

"Did I make you worry, Hana? I'm sorry," Reina replied, partially turning so that she could smile warmly over her shoulder at him.

"You should move away from here, Reina, you are in no condition to fight that monster," Ken said, appearing on the corner of the roof and walking towards her.

"I'm not going anywhere," she replied, her eyes locked on the blue and crimson orbs that were smirking at her hungrily. "Hana, get out of here. I'll deal with this."

"But, Reina-"

"Reina?"

Turning her head just enough to see the girl who had spoken, a smile formed on Reina's face. "Hello, Yuuki. It's nice to see you've remembered who you are, but you should not-"

"Reina," Ken shouted as the woman spun around to grab Aido and leap away from the broken roof just as fluid tentacles of a red substance shot out at her.

"I'm fine," she assured him, landing beside him and releasing Aido. "Hana, you need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving you," he protested stubbornly.

"He can-move!" she shouted, pushing Aido away from her, sending him tumbling over the edge of the roof before she leapt over the numerous vines that shot past where they had all been standing. "What is that?"

"We're about to find out," Ken answered, landing beside her a few yards behind Yuuki and the mass of writhing vines.

The vines grouped together just a few feet in front of Rido, looking like some twisted version of the fairy tale beanstalk that a naive child had planted. As the vines parted and drew away from the body they had shielded, Reina gasped, her eyes widening in incomprehension as she saw the familiar silver hair of the school prefect who she had given her blood to on several occasions.

"Zero?"

Even though her voice was barely above a whisper, the boy turned his narrowed and hate filled lavender eyes on her, the intensity of the look made her flinch involuntarily. He looked as if he had wanted to kill her, but then his eyes lightened, barely, but they did and he uttered her name, not even realizing he had done so.

The entire world seemed to freeze for both Reina and Zero as they stared into each other's eyes. They were both clearly surprised, Zero to see Reina alive and Reina to see Zero in such a state with vines attached to his body. Reina could see the hate in Zero's eyes, she could feel it in the air and most of all she could tell that it was directed at not just Rido, but every other vampire on the roof at that moment. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to kill every one of them. Gasping, she jolted out of the uncomfortable moment and stumbled back a step, a hand unconsciously going to her stomach. A move she would soon regret.

Zero couldn't help but to stare in shock at the flawless white haired woman that was staring right back at him with surprise. He was confused about how she could be alive, there was no trace of her aura, but there was no doubt that it was her. Her aura was different now, somehow it seemed stronger, darker, but that wasn't it, there was something else he couldn't quite grasp. It wasn't until she gasped, taking a step back and putting a hand to her stomach that something seemed to click in his head and a pang of guilt washed over him. He had frightened her. Again.

The guilt only made him angrier than he already was. He still couldn't understand how he couldn't find it in himself to hate her, she was not only a vampire, but a pureblood. Her kind had ruined his life, his brother's life, the entire fate of the Kiryu's had been ruined by her kind. Yet, he still couldn't hate her. Even her rejection of him couldn't make him hate her.

The silence that had descended over him washed away, replaced by the whistling of the wind and the quiet, dark chuckle that escaped Rido as he focused on Reina, the hint of a smirk on his lips. Zero's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. If he couldn't hate her, then he would do something else.

He would protect her. After all, he owed her.

Ken glanced to the side to make sure Reina was alright, but upon hearing the dark, echoing chuckle that spilled from Rido's throat, he turned his gray eyes back to the taller and older man before him. He didn't even think about what he was doing before spinning around to grab Reina around the waist and leaping off the roof seconds before there was a loud crash as Zero blocked Rido's attempted assault on Reina, the vines that were attached to his right arm moving at his command to stop the pureblood from trying to use the bottom portion of his body, which had taken on a liquid like state, from shooting out at her.

"What are you doing?" Reina protested, pushing Ken away from her and trying to leap back on to the roof.

"Wait," Ken demanded, grabbing a secure hold of her wrist and ignoring the jolt of electricity that shot up his arm as she spun around to face him again, her eyes narrowed and her fangs peeking out from behind her pink lips.

"Reina!" Aido was running towards them a worried look on his face when he felt the immense difference in her aura now that she was angry.

"I can't just leave her up there alone!" Reina snapped. "And, Zero, he may be a lot stronger, but Rido is a monster. He will kill them and I don't intend on letting that happen!" She jerked her hand from his grasp and turned around prepared to jump the several stories back to the roof. The sounds of fighting and shouting had reached her and she didn't want to leave Zero and Yuuki to the mercy of the vicious thing they were fighting alone.

"Think about your child," Ken said simply, quietly.

Reina froze, her eyes widening and her breath catching in her throat.

"C-child?" Aido stuttered, blinking at Ken before shifting his blue eyes to Reina's back, her head had dropped slightly and the angry aura she had been given off had been replaced by one of confusion and helplessness.

"Yes," Ken answered softly. "Reina is carrying Takuma Ichijo's child and she just betrayed that fact to a man who has no morals and would use that knowledge to his advantage somehow. He wouldn't kill you, Reina, not right away, and you know it. If you go back up there, you run the risk of not only hurting yourself, but your child and every single person who cares about you."

"That's not fair," Reina whispered, her voice shaking as her fists clenched and she stared at the ground beneath her. "How am I supposed to help if I can't fight? I came here to help them..."

"So did I," Ken replied, reassuringly laying a hand on her shoulder.

Reina looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes widening slightly.

"You can help, Reina, but you shouldn't put yourself in so much danger by trying to fight with Rido. I will help them if you wish it, but you shouldn't go near him," Ken told her gently.

Reina went quiet for a moment before lifting her head at the sound of a girl's scream. She saw that Yuuki was falling from the roof just a few yards away, Aido let out a startled and confused grunt before rushing over to try and catch her, only to have her land on her feet, on his back.

"Move," Reina muttered quietly, lifting a hand, palm facing towards Ken and allowing a small pulse of energy to leave her body and hit him square in the chest.

Being that he had been distracted by Yuuki's near fall and her rather odd landing, he never saw the blow coming and was caught off guard. His feet were suddenly no longer beneath him and he was flying backwards through the air, in a moment he had righted himself, crouching in the grass and preparing to rush back to Reina's side as the white haired girl stared upwards there was a loud cracking sound and then the building only feet in front of the girl broke apart in a plume of dust and debris that hid her from view. Yuuki, too, was nowhere to be seen.

"Reina!" Aido shouted.

Ken stared at the place she had been, waiting for the smoke and debris to settle. What he saw when it did was nothing like what he had expected. Yuuki stood in the center of the rubble, her weapon held in one hand, the curved blade had pierced through Rido's back as he had leaned over her from behind. Reina was taking the opportunity to attack him while he was distracted. She simply waved a hand in the direction of his head and a large flat circle of white wind began to spin towards him, but it never hit its target.

There was a loud crash as a column of writhing, twisted and thorny vines fell upon Rido. Silence descended over the area for several moments before the sound of tiny cracks was heard from within the mass of vines. There was then the sound of something shattering and thousands of tiny red crystals exploded into the air behind Yuuki.

All Reina could do was blink at the vines as they retreated, leaving Yuuki unscathed and in a state of shock. The vines returned to Zero, forming the barrel of his now deformed and monstrous Bloody Rose. Her head tilted to the side curiously, there was the scent of blood on the air, it wasn't heavy but it was there none the less. When Yuuki went to walk forward, but stopped in her tracks, Reina looked up at Zero to see several things that she had never expected. He was pointing Bloody Rose at Yuuki and he seemed to be thinking seriously about pulling the trigger, then there was the fact that the vines of the strange weapon were not only attached to his arm and shoulder, but several were at his neck and it was these vines that were drinking their hosts' blood.

"Zero?" Yuuki asked questioningly.

"Why aren't you moving?" he growled, closing his eyes and turning his head away for a moment but not lowering his gun.

Reina choose to stay back, she knew he wouldn't pull the trigger. He couldn't kill Yuuki, a girl who had done so much for him in the past and had always been his friend. It was when a new aura, that of a pureblood, caught her attention that she decided to move.

Without thinking, Reina walked past Yuuki, blocking Zero's shot and then continuing to walk towards him with no readable expression on her face until she was standing right in front of him and the barrel of his gun was only inches from her chest. He scowled at her, but lowered the gun.

"Let go of the gun, Zero," she said calmly, placing a hand over the silver barrel that the vines had moved away from and ignoring the pain of the shocks that were being sent up her arm as she touched the anti-vampire weapon.

"Why is the Bloody Rose drinking his blood?" Yuuki asked in confusion and possibly fear as she walked up behind Reina.

"Because it's no longer just a simple gun. It never really was," Reina replied.

"But-"

"Let go," Reina urged, cutting off Yuuki's questioning. When he made no move to release the weapon, Reina frowned before wrapping her fingers around the barrel securely and pulling it from his grasp with a pained cried and then letting it clatter to the ground as the vines disappeared, recoiling and returning to the gun that lay on the ground beside her. "Yuuki?"

"Huh?" The young girl answered, jolting out of her thoughts as she had stared at Zero.

"Would you go and check on Ken for me please? I'm afraid I may have hurt him," Reina asked.

"Uh, ok," Yuuki replied hesitantly, casting a glance at Zero before walking off.

"Don't you dare," Reina hissed at Zero as he went to grab his Bloody Rose. "And you," she growled, standing up as a sharp wind kicked up around her and Zero. "Should know better than to attack someone without a weapon."

There was a loud screech as a thick, curved blood red blade collided with an invisible barrier in front of Reina and another person appeared behind Zero. The man's crimson eyes widened as they locked on Reina's unmistakable sapphire eyes.

"Reina?"

"Hello, Kaname."