(Sorry for ending chapter 3 a little short! Hope you like chapter 4! Feel free to review the story! Any feedback will help!)

When I reached the front gate Ayame was nowhere to be found and the gate was blowing in the wind. I raced into the village to try to find her but all I found was some of the night class roaming around. When I asked them why they were here; they said Yuki asked them to hunt down some vampires that were causing trouble in the village. I also asked if they'd seen Ayame but they shook their heads no.

As I rounded the next corner I found Ayame fighting with a level E vampire. I could tell she had injured him with anti-vampire daggers because he was cut open in several spots. She looked like she was having fun dodging him as he swung at her several times; she kicked him in the face several times and just as he swung at her she jumped back. He swing at her again but this time she didn't get far enough away and I could hear the fabric of her shirt rip.

"Son of a….. This was my favourite shirt!" she shouted as she pulled her gun out of her jacket.

"I'm done playing games with you, goodbye!" She pulled the trigger and the vampire evaporated into dust.

I was about to walk up to her when she shouted "NO! Zero stay where you are!"

"What? Why?" I replied

"Because, that damn level E cut me open pretty good and I don't want you going berserk with thirst, so just stay there!"

Hearing that she was injured made me something inside me click; forget all about being a vampire, all I cared about was running to her and making sure she was alright.

I ran to her side and turned her around to see that her shirt was torn and she had a large gash across her ribs. I gathered her up into my arms and took off towards headquarters; once there I rushed to the infirmary and into the first available room I saw. The nurse was startled as I shouted at her for some help. I stayed in the room as the nurse stitched up Ayame's wound before bandaging her up and calling her father.

Toga stormed into the room several minutes later and shouted "That's it no more hunting for you!"

"What? Dad you've gotta be kidding me? It's just a scratch!"

"This is no joke Ayame; from now on you'll no longer be hunting vampires!"

"But dad….."

"No buts!"

"I'm a vampire hunter; it's my job to hunt them!"

"Not anymore, from now on you're going to be a normal girl going to Cross Academy!"

"But I'm not a normal girl dad; I was born a vampire hunter!"

Toga sat down on the edge of the bed put his head in his hands and said "You're all I've got Ayame; I lost your mother I can't lose you too!'

"Dad stop being ridiculous; I can't stop being a vampire hunter any more than you can!"

"Well as the head of the association I'm taking you off duty until further notice!"

"This is so unfair." Ayame said as she jumped out of the bed and stormed out of the room. She slammed the door shut on her way out and I could hear her shouting all the way down the hall.

"I'll go after her." I said to Toga while giving his shoulder a squeeze.

"Thanks Zero, I can always count on you, please watch out for her." he said to me before I left the room and raced down the hall.

I found Ayame in her room at the academy; I had no idea how she had gotten that far away in such a short period of time but she did. She had just finished changing her clothes and was now wearing tight dark blue jeans, a tight t-shirt that had Jack from the nightmare before Christmas on it, a dark leather jacket and black stilettos. I walked into the room and sat down in the chair. I really do like the chair; it's comfy.

She sighed and said "Zero I can't stop being a hunter."

"I know, but for now just do what your dad says and eventually he'll forget all about it."

"No Zero he won't, he blames himself for my mother's death and now he won't let me do anything slightly dangerous; I'm surprised he even allows me to go to school here."

I could see the tears in her eyes again so I pulled her down onto my lap and hugged her. She let go of me and said "Thanks Zero you always make me feel better."

She then kissed me on the cheek; which made my heart skip a beat for the second time since we met. I couldn't believe that I was falling in love for a second time and this time I didn't have to worry about my life ending or her having another lover like Yuki did. This girl was so much like me in so many ways. We sat in the chair and stared at each other until I leaned in and kissed her.

We kissed and kissed over and over again and before I knew it she was sitting on top of me with nothing but her bra on and she was unbuttoning my shirt, I didn't want to stop her but I was beginning to feel thirsty. I was about to push her off; but I found myself licking her neck instead. Before I could stop myself I sunk my fangs into her neck. I felt pure bliss as I drank her blood; I could tell she was okay with it because she wrapped her arms around my neck, tangled her fingers into my hair and pulled me closer to her.

"This must be the feeling, you get when you drink from someone you love!" I thought as I pulled my fangs back out.

The two of us sat and stared at each other for several minutes before she leaned towards me and kissed me. Even though I just drank her blood and my mouth was still full of it she still kissed me; soon we were making out. After a while we lay down on her bed and cuddled and before I knew it she was a sleep on my chest.

In the morning I woke up with Ayame still a sleep on my chest and Toga staring me in the face. He looked extremely pissed and I felt really embarrassed to have Ayame's father and my sensei catch us half-dressed on her bed together. He motioned for me to join him in the hall but the minute I moved Ayame woke up.

"Dad what are you doing here?" she said "Get out of my room."

"What I'd like to know is why Zero is in your bed?"

"Why is that any of your business?" she shouted "Since when did you start caring about who I'm with!"

"You're my daughter! I have a right to know!" he shouted back

"NO! You only care that it's Zero, if it was anyone else you'd be walking away!"

"Is that true Toga!" I said

"Of course not Zero!" he lied

"Is it because I'm a vampire, is that why you think I'm not good enough for her?" I shouted

"No…..Zero….I….." was all he could say

I picked my shirt and jacket up off the floor before jumping out the window. I could hear Ayame yelling my name from the window but I didn't turn around I walked off towards the barn. Once there I sat down in the hay and put on my shirt.

"Why? Why do you have to be so stupid?" I thought to myself "She has no future with you! Just give up on happiness Zero, you're a Level D vampire, no one will want you!"

"What do you think lily?" I said to the horse as she nudged me.

I sat there for several hours before realizing that it was Saturday and that meant the masquerade ball was tonight. The chairman asked that Ayame and I watch over the ball and have a little fun in the process. The last ball I attended was when Shizuka Hio reappeared and I nearly became a Level E. I had promised Ayame I'd dance with her so I ran back to the Chairman's bathroom to take a shower.

When I finished my shower I headed to my room and changed into my school uniform. All of the male students wore their school uniforms while the girls wore dresses. I headed into town to find a mask since it was a masquerade ball.

As I walked by shop after shop I couldn't find a single mask until I spotted one in the window of this small thrift store. I stopped dead in my tracks and whispered "Ichiru."

The minute I seen this mask in the shop window I almost began to cry; It was the very mask that Ichiru was wearing the night I realized he was still alive. I had to buy that mask and wear it in memory of my brother. I missed him so much; and I wondered if we would have become closer if he was still alive. I wondered through the town for the rest of the afternoon thinking about my brother.

As the evening approached I headed over to the ball room to find students finishing the decorations for the ball. The place was decorated with black and silver fabric and tiny lights hung from the ceiling. Chairman Cross appeared out of nowhere and snapped at least thirty pictures of me. He was always snapping photos of me. I asked him if he had heard about Toga finding me in Ayame's room this morning. He replied "Yes I did the man ranted and raved about it in my office for about an hour; but in my opinion it's up to the two of you if you should be together or not Zero; personally I think your perfect for each other."

That comment made me smile which caused him to take more photos of me.

The ball was well into the swing of things before the night class arrived. I watched as Yuki danced with Hanabusa and then with the dorm president Takuma Ichijo. She kept eyeing me as I leaned against the pillar waiting for Ayame to show up. I just ignored her stares, she wasn't my Yuki anymore. No matter what she did she'd never be the Yuki Cross that I once loved.

When Ayame finally walked in the whole room stopped and stared at her, she was wearing a strapless black ball gown that clung to her upper body and flared out like a princess dress; the dress sparkled when the light hit it; her shoes were of course black high heels. Her hair was done up into a messy bun with several strands hanging down everywhere and her mash was made of black lace and feathers. She looked absolutely beautiful; even more so then any human or vampire I had ever seen.

But the reason the whole night class was staring was because they could see her scar; and like me they must have been thinking about Senri because they kept looking from her to him and back again. I could hear the day class whispering about how they thought she must have gotten the scar but the night class was completely silent. I knew what must have been going through their heads and I could tell by the look on Senri's face that he had to have had something to do with that scar.

When Ayame finally approached me I bowed and took her hand in mine. As the two of us twirled across the dance floor I could feel Yuki's jealousy stabbing me in the back as she watched us dance. After all I never danced with her in the five years that I've known her. But my heart now belonged to Ayame and I had to finally admit that to myself and move on.

The whole world seemed to slip away; as we danced all I could see was Ayame and all she seemed to see was me. At the end of the song Chairman Cross showed up and took several photos of the two of us. Ayame leaned towards me and kissed me on the cheek before saying "Thanks for the lovey dance Zero."

"Any time." I replied

She smiled at me then pulled out her prefect badge and pulled it up over her bare arm. We were about to check out the rest of the ball when Senri walked up bowed and said "May I have this dance?"

Ayame stared at him for a few seconds before taking his hand. As the two of them danced I realized they looked similar; why hadn't I noticed before that her highlights match the color of Shiki's hair and her eye color matched his too. The two of them moved gracefully across the dance floor almost like they were gliding; I noticed that all of the night class was watching them too especially Rima; who was in a fit of rage at the moment. As the song ended the two of them were standing back where they had started; Shiki placed her hand in mine before bowing and walking away. We could both hear Rima shouting at him because he danced with Ayame and he wouldn't give any answers to her questions.

"Ready for some patrolling?" I said while letting go of her hand.

"Sure."

As we turned to start the patrol for a second time; the barn manager stormed in screaming "The barns on fire!"

"Lily!" Ayame shouted to me.

I took off towards the barn to find it was burnt to the ground but Lily and the other horses stood safe and sound in the field nearby. Ayame caught up a few seconds later; she had torn half of the bottom of her dress off and now it looked more like a funky cocktail dress rather than a ball gown. I turned back around and began brushing the ash off of lily. Ayame wrapped her arms around my neck from behind me and whispered in my ear "Thank god, they're safe."

I just nodded in response. Having her close to me was really making my heart beat. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and never let go. I unwrapped myself from her arms and pulled her around me; then I kissed her over and over again. I didn't care if her father disapproved of me I wanted her to be mine. Forever.