Disclaimer- I don't own Vampire Knight

Chapter 24

Planning the End

"What?" Reina questioned, her eyes weary and her voice cracking. She stared at the smirking face of a man she knew didn't belong to the man she had once loved, at least not any longer.

"Who said that Takuma Ichijo was dead?" Michael repeated, the malicious smirk he wore widening in response to the look of dread and uncertainty on Reina's face. "As a pureblood, Reina, you should know that you don't have to kill the owner of a body just to take it over."

She couldn't speak only blink dazedly over at Michael as he stepped towards Aido and Kain who were both beginning to struggle out of the debris of the fallen wall they had both been thrown through. She watched as Michael's hand reached for Hanabusa's neck, the long fingers relentlessly encircling the blond's throat and hefting him roughly from the rubble. Her body refused to move or react, her mind was too full and jumbled to allow her to properly think through what was going on.

Growling his displeasure, Aido attempted to free himself of the gruff hand that was latched onto his neck. Ice began to crawl up the legs of his captor, freezing him to the spot as his nails bit into the flesh of his wrist.

"Will you let this boy kill me, Reina? Will you let him take Takuma from you?" Michael taunted.

"Reina," Aido ground out, watching as the white haired pureblood's head fell into her chest and her small hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her entire body was shivering and her tears had once again begun to trickle down her cheeks in her confusion.

"I... I don't know what to do, Hana," she mumbled, her voice thick with despair. "I just... I can't..."

Frowning sadly, Aido understood that Reina must have felt very torn. Not knowing whether Takuma was really still alive and struggling against the pureblood that had taken over his body must have made things very difficult for her. She had been willing to fight earlier when she had believed that Takuma was dead and that his body was just an empty shell that had been stolen and used for the benefit of the twisted man that inhabited it. Now that she wasn't sure what to believe she didn't know what to do. She had loved Takuma and she was incapable of causing harm to someone she had once loved so much.

Grunting and grimacing in pain when Michael drew the sharp nails of his free hand across his cheek, Aido fidgeted in the strong grasp that held him firmly.

Sensing Kaname drawing near, Reina fell to her knees and let her hair cascade around her and hide her face from view. "..Please hurry, Kaname," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as the scent of Aido's blood filled the air, growing heavier as Michael dug his nails deeper into the vampire's flesh.

Kaname who was already quickly approaching the outskirts of the town that lay at the bottom of the hill that led to the Tsukina Manor heard Reina's quiet plea. It echoed in his head and spurred him on. There was a gathering of level D vampires congregating in the area around the manor, it took him less than five seconds to kill any that even dared to move towards him and continued to glide through the forest until the manor was in sight. Slipping through an open window and into the house, he appeared behind Reina, his eyes glowing and his nails extending and sharpening.

Michael barely had time to register the pureblood's arrival due to his speed and he hadn't even noticed that he was no longer strangling Aido until he smashed into the large television that dominated the far side of the entertainment room. The shattering of glass echoed throughout the house and the sound it created when it fell to the floor reminded Reina of rain. A sound that usually calmed her but that now made her nails bite into her skin.

"Reina," Kaname inquired softly, leaning down and pushing her hair from her face so that he could lift her chin and stare into her eyes that looked so lost and alone. "Everything will be alright... Don't cry my love." Brushing her tears from her cheeks with his fingertips and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he straightened and let his crimson eyes lock on Michael.

For him there was no Takuma Ichijo, that man, his once trusted friend, had died and his body had been stolen by the monster that now stood before him. "Didn't I warn you, Takamora, that if you so much as looked at Reina I would kill you?" The threat was so obvious in Kaname's voice and his aura that Aido and Kain both flinched and scurried out of the entertainment room, Aido uncertainly eying Reina as she sat shaking on the floor. "It's alright, Aido, please help Reina to our room. I'll be there as soon as I've finished with our guest."

Nodding, Aido rushed to Reina's side and knelt beside her. At first he wasn't sure if she would try to stand on her own, but when he saw she had no intention of moving, he carefully picked her up, one hand around her back and the other beneath her knees. Her head rested on his shoulder and she nestled her face into his neck, not even noticing the scent of the blood that had dried on his cheek and neck.

"Wait," she murmured before Aido could carry her too far. One of her pale hands reached for Kaname and she lifted her head from Hanabusa's shoulder.

Taking the delicate hand into his own, Kaname held it to his chest and ran his free hand through Reina's hair. "It will be alright, Reina," he assured the beautiful broken woman, kissing her hand before laying it on her chest as Michael began to pick himself up. "Go and rest. I assume the children are safe?"

Reina nodded, laying her head back down against Hana's shoulder. "Yes, Emi knows where to go, they're fine, but Kaname-"

"Go, Aido," Kaname cut in, tearing his eyes from Reina, his demeanor becoming cold and unforgiving as his crimson orbs met Michael's.

"Kaname," Reina repeated pleadingly. "He's not dead, Kaname.. Takuma-"

"This isn't Takuma, Reina. Takuma is-"

Reina shook her head vehemently. "He's not dead. He's still..." She trailed off, her tears pouring from her eyes. Hiding her face in Hanabusa's neck, Reina clutched tightly to her close friend and tried not to break down any more than she already had.

"She's telling the truth, Kuran, her precious little Ichijo isn't dead. He's just...sleeping," Michael said, his grin growing.

Eyes narrowing, Kaname fixed Michael with a heated glare. "Take Reina to our room, Aido," he commanded, his eyes never leaving the grinning man that was sauntering his way towards the broken wall.

Nodding once again, Aido turned away and walked up the broken steps carefully with Reina carefully held in his arms. His fiery haired cousin trailed along behind him.

Once Aido had reached the top of the stairs and disappeared from sight as he turned the corner, Kaname flew forward, one hand tightly coiling around the slender throat of the vampire that had dared to enter his home and threaten his wife and children. His other hand melted away and reformed into a sharp curved blade that was pressed so roughly against the neck of the man whose neck he was holding tightly that blood began to leak down the pale skin.

Fangs extending and eyes flashing dangerously, Kaname spoke in a low, demanding voice. "I warned you of what would happen should you harm her in anyway, Michael. Did you think you could get away with it?"

Looking quite disinterested in what was going on, Michael sighed in boredom. "Really now, Kuran, what do you think you could do? You won't kill me... Or should I say you can't kill me?"

Tilting a brow upwards, Kaname replied, "What makes you think I can't kill you?"

Choking on the laughter that had begun to bubble from his lips, Michael cringed away from the pureblood when the blade of his transformed hand pressed deeper into his neck. It had never occurred to him that Kaname would actually be able to kill him, not while he inhabited the body of a man that had once supported him and loyal served him and his precious queen. His resolve faltering, Michael twitched in discomfort and hesitantly met the angry pureblood's eyes.

"Did you really believe that after you would be able to threaten Reina and our children and live? Are you really that foolish? I'm not as kind as Reina."

Michael squirmed, fruitlessly trying to escape the relentless grasp that Kaname had on him. He knew the pureblood would kill him without remorse and with his life hanging by a thin thread, he was on the verge of panicking. Just as Kaname pulled his transformed hand back in preparation to slice his head off, Michael lost all his fear and smirked knowingly. The raised never lowered to sever his head from his body. A delicate, graceful hand had stopped the blade in its path as a shower of sparkling golden hair floated elegantly around the angelic face of the woman that had stopped it.

"Sara," Kaname greeted blandly.

"Hello, Kaname," the beautiful the young pureblood replied, smiling demurely. "You don't look happy to see me."

Pulling his hand back, Kaname stepped backwards and away from Sara and Michael. "Don't play coy, Sara. You may be a pureblood, but that doesn't mean that you can get away with playing games with my family."

"I never thought that the most feared head of the Kuran can would be so...human. You've grown weak, Kaname," Sara said, her voice lilting amusedly while she continued to smile.

"I think you're forgetting who you're talking to, Sara," Kaname replied, smiling slightly when a blast of invisible energy blew Michael off of his feet and sent him careening into the wall, another blast blew past Sara who had stepped out of its path.

"You ruined my dress," the girl sighed, holding up the now shredded right side of her pale blue gown. "Play time is over for now," she complained flippantly. "Come along, Michael, I've lost interest in this game. I'm bored."

"We're not done here," Michael snarled, pushing his way out of the rubble of the wall his back had broken apart.

Turning and fixing Michael with a cold stare, Sara made it obvious she wasn't in the mood for Michael's arguments. "We're leaving."

Grinding his teeth together, Michael nodded in agreement. Seconds later the two disappeared, leaving Kaname standing alone in the ruined room. After several long moments of thought the pureblood turned and strode from the room.

He didn't go to the room that he shared with Reina, instead he made his way down the corridor that led to the back stairwell and the room where the vault was hidden. At Kaname's suggestion a newer door had been placed on the vault that would scan the fingerprints of those wishing to enter. Of course there were still several traps in place for anyone who tried to get in to the vault uninvited, but Emiko had long ago learned how to disable them. It was something that Reina had shown her so that should anything ever happen where Reina was unable to be with her children in a time of crisis they could hide themselves in the vault.

Making his way past the disabled traps and into the room that housed the large vault that now kept safe not only the Tsukina's heritage but much of the Kuran's as well, Kaname pressed his thumb against a small dark pad that lit up and scanned his finger print. After accepting the print the panel requested a pin number which he quickly entered.

The door clicked and clacked before noiselessly swinging open on well oiled hinges. When he step into the controlled coolness of the vault, he turned his head towards a small desk where he saw his son scribbling away unconcerned about anything in a coloring book. Opposite him was Emiko who glanced up at him with wide, worried eyes, but she stayed seated and as calm as possible so as not to alarm her younger brother.

"Daddy!" The young boy cried, leaping from the chair he had been in and tossing the crayons he had been using absently onto the desktop. Giggling the boy ran towards Kaname, arms outstretched and flailing haphazardly.

Smiling, Kaname picked the brown haired boy up and kissed his temple. "Hello, Haruka. Have you been behaving for your sister?"

Nodding emphatically, the three year old grinned proudly. "We were playing hide and seek. Mommy was supposed to come find us, but I guess we win 'cause she couldn't find us in here. Big sis, Emi, knows the best hiding places!"

"This was a good hiding place even I had a hard time finding you," Kaname lied smoothly. "But since I did, why don't we go up to your room and play a game in there instead."

"Will you play too?"

Kaname shook his head, sighing when the three year old's face pulled into a moping pout. "You can play with Aido and Kain for a little while and I'll play later, ok?"

"Promise?"

"Promise," Kaname replied, smiling and bumping his forehead against his son's making the boy grin crookedly.

Standing from where she had been sitting patiently, Emiko walked over to Kaname and stood silently beside him, her blue eyes staring distractedly towards the door of the vault. She may have still been young, but she was still a vampire and could easily smell the scent of blood, her mother's and Aido's sticking out to her the most.

Laying a hand on the girl's head, Kaname smiled reassuringly at the startled girl before leading her out of the vault.

When Kaname walked into the large room he and Reina shared, he wasn't surprised to see that Zero was leaning against the far wall by the window. The Hunter's lavender eyes were scanning the surrounding area of the manor, looking for anything that might be out of place.

Reina was sitting on the bed, her hair still tangled and spotted with blood and her clothes torn and dirtied. She was staring down at her hands that were resting in her lap

"Kain, Aido would you mind keeping an eye on Haruka and Emiko, please? Both of them are in Haruka's room," Kaname told the two noble vampires, noting that both had changed into clean clothes in the time since he had last seen them.

"Of course, Kaname-sama," Aido replied, bowing his head slightly.

When the door had shut behind the two, Zero let his eyes wander over to Kaname who was staring at Reina's bowed head with a slight frown. "What do you plan on doing now, Kuran?" Zero asked Kaname, his face relaxed and blank. "You expected this would happen eventually. Now that Michael has made his move what are you going to do to stop him?"

A quiet gasp slipped past Reina's lips and her sapphire eyes widened minutely. Kaname looked from his wife to the silver haired Vampire Hunter's president, eyes narrowed to show he was unhappy with the lack of discretion that had been used on Zero's part.

"T..." Closing her eyes when she caught herself about to say Takuma's name, Reina sighed before starting to speak again. "Michael had said that you were keeping things from me, Kaname and judging by what you said yourself...About having warned him not to come near me... How long, Kaname?" Reina asked, lifting her head and meeting Kaname's eyes with a look that seemed far less lost and sad then it was betrayed and hurt. "How long have you known that Takuma wasn't dead and that Michael had stolen his body?"

Kaname didn't reply immediately, he stared into Reina's eyes, hating the look he saw in them. Knowing that once again he had caused her pain, he answered honestly. "I've known that Michael had stolen his body since the ball thrown by the Hunter's just before we were married, but I believed Takuma to be dead."

Her expression didn't change, she simply nodded and let her eyes leave Kaname's. Turning her attention to Zero, she asked, "And you, Zero, have you known since then as well?"

He didn't answer, but he did nod his head and fold his arms over his chest.

"I see. Aido and Kain seemed far from surprised themselves, was I the only one not to know what was going on? That Takuma wasn't dead and that his body was being used and violated by Michael Takamora," Reina inquired, her voice quaking with anger.

"I was afraid to tell you the truth. I didn't want you to blame yourself or to go looking for him. I was worried about what would happen-"

"Did you worry about what was happening to Takuma? Did you ever think about what he must have been going through? Or did you only think about yourself? You've always been good at lying, Kaname, especially to me. I thought that had changed. That you had decided it best to be honest with me because you loved me, but it seems you were only honest about the things that wouldn't make me upset with you."

"Reina," Kaname sighed. "It's not-"

"Leave," Reina cut in, giving Kaname a look that said it was best to do as she requested for the time being. "I don't want to hear your reasons or excuses right now. I have other things to think about. I suggest you find a way to fix this because if you don't... I will." She stood from the bed, striding past Kaname and into the bathroom.

"Don't look so smug, Kiryu."

"It was your decision to keep this from her," Zero spoke up. "Did you really think she would never find out?"

Ignoring him, Kaname turned and left the room. He wasn't happy about leaving his wife with the Hunter who had desired her and was now seeming like a much more suitable match for her. After all, Kiryu had always been rather upfront with Reina, he wasn't one to lie or do things in the shadows.

When Reina walked out of the bathroom several minutes later, she had showered and changed into a clean pair of black pants and a pale blue tank top that was worn beneath a sheer black lace sweater. Her white hair had been pulled into a bun and her bangs clipped back with two silver pins.

"I have a favor to ask," she said to Zero who was still leaning up against the wall by the window. Walking towards the silver haired man, Reina stood before the window and looked out over the green landscape.

"And what would that be?" Zero inquired, eyes shifting to Reina who continued to stare outside.

"It's not safe here for the children, I need to get them somewhere where they'll be protected and in no danger."

Zero studied Reina for a moment, he had expected her to react much differently. Much more emotionally. Instead she seemed calm and the way she was carrying herself was nothing less than what one could expect from the queen of the vampire race.

"And what about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"What are you going to do, Reina?" Zero asked.

She didn't answer his question, she began to turn away and head for the door intending to go and pack bags for Haruka and Emiko.

Stepping away from the wall, Zero reached out and grabbed Reina's arm, stopping her from leaving. "What are you going to do?" he asked again.

Glancing over her shoulder at him, Reina replied, "I'm the pureblood queen, Zero, I'm not going to allow Michael Takamora to live. Sara Shirabuki either."

"You plan on killing them both?"

"It almost sounds like you're worried, Zero."

Zero frowned and kept his grip on her arm firm. "If you act on your own, despite your reasons, the Association will have to see it as an act-"

"Of insanity," Reina finished. "I'm not insane, Zero, and you know it. However, if that's what your association would like to believe, then let them."

Scowling at Reina and her nonchalant attitude, Zero turned her around and forced her to face him. "This isn't you, Reina. You wouldn't abandon your children or Kaname."

Reina's eyes narrowed. "Kaname brought this upon himself and since he seems to have no desire to handle the situation that he has left to fester for several years...then I will."

"Think about what you're saying," Zero advised coolly. "If you do this-"

"There is no if, Zero. I will kill Michael Takamora and make sure that Sara pays for her insolence."

Sighing, Zero ran a hand through his silver hair and briefly closed his eyes. "Fine, have it your way, but you're not going alone."

"This isn't your problem. It's not the Hunters' problem. It's-"

"I'm going with you whether you want me to or not," Zero cut in. "This.. situation has been kept from most of the Hunter's and obviously the vampire community, if either one of us goes in there alone there will be a lot of problems, but-"

"If we go together and work together then perhaps neither one of us will have to be hunted in the end," Reina finished, sighing resignedly, but nodding in agreement.

Releasing Reina's slender arm, Zero stayed silent and watched Reina's face as she turned to look back out the window. The emotion he had expected to see earlier, but hadn't was there in her eyes now and he wondered if she would really be able to kill Michael if that meant killing Takuma's body. As strong as she was, he wasn't sure that anyone could deal with having to kill someone they loved in order to protect themselves and their family.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He finally asked.

A frown flitted across her features and she exhaled a soft, quiet breath. "I don't see what other options we have. I have to protect my children."

"But can you kill him?"

"... We'll find out, won't we?"