S E V E N

"It's time for her to pay the price for killing a Pureblood Vampire!"

Yuuki's heart was beating rapidly inside her chest, echoing like a bass drum in an empty auditorium. Zero questioned Ruka's words, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brows at her words. They oozed like poison as they left her lips, and her glare never wavered from Yuuki's. She wasn't just scared anymore...

I'm scared…

…she was terrified.

"Killing a… Pureblood?" the silver-haired prefect turned his head slightly to look back at Yuuki, who was looking away and keeping herself out of everyone's line of vision. "Yuuki, what is she talking about?" before he could turn to look at her with his completely dumbstruck expression – which Hanabusa would've loved to have Kaname see – to match his completely dazed tone, the blonde haired aristocrat stepped slightly in front of Ruka to send her a disapproving glare.

"You heard, Guardian!" his eyebrows knitted together in anger as he stepped forward and shoved him out of the way, grabbing the former vampire princess by the arm and squeezing tight, his hair bristling and his touch sending a shiver up her spine as ice formed on her arm, keeping them connected. "This little two-timing slut couldn't get a certain man out of her head and she questioned her loyalty to Lord Kaname! While Ruka and I left to patrol the area, she had Kaname seal her vampire side again with her memories intact, no longer enabling him to live!"

Yuuki let out a whimper as his fingernails dug into her arm, leaving purple bruises in their wake and ice spreading across it, causing it to burn. "I-I didn't mean for it to happen, Hanabusa! Please, let me go!"

"You don't have the authority to tell us what to do anymore, Yuuki Cross!" Ruka shouted, her gaze cold and her movements rigid as her eyes glowed with a fiery-hot intensity Zero had never seen before. In the blink of an eye, he'd shoved Hanabusa away from Yuuki, sending him into a building with his newfound vampire strength, and turned to tend to her wounds as hot tears streamed down her face. He looked to see Rose had fainted before the long speech had even begun, but also to see Ruka was kneeling beside her. Damn, she moves fast… he spun Yuuki as he released her arm and pulled out his gun fast enough to have to back up again, Ruka holding a piece of broken glass in her hand. I know she will… that's why I have to be careful…

Yuuki's tears didn't cease as she took out Artemis, swinging it toward Ruka, electric waves hitting her shoulder. The vampire backed away, baring her fangs like a beast, and Hanabusa came up behind him. His cheek was scratched from when he'd hit a window, the force being so great it caused it to break from beneath his weight and ultimately cutting his face. Blood dripped down onto the concrete as he held her chin up to gaze at him with frightened crimson eyes. "H-Hanabu-"

Before she could get his entire name out, she felt an intense burning shoot through her stomach and she looked down to see an icy hand pierced through her stomach. She went to breathe, but gasped, blood spurting from her mouth as her trembling hands moved to grab the icy, bloody hand of Hanabusa. Zero's face contorted in pain as he ran at him, but was immediately stopped by Ruka. "Where will your desires go-" his eyes widened as he looked back at her, baring his fangs. "-now that you've lost your reason to live?"

"You shut… your mouth!" he pulls out Bloody Rose again and pushed it onto her throat, his eyes starting to tear up. The aristocrat holding him down didn't falter nor did she beg for forgiveness, and he understood. Without a moment's hesitation he pulled the trigger and pushed himself onto his feet. He watched as Ruka crumbled, holding her shoulder in pain as her body trembled in pained rhythms. "You just shut your mouth!"

"Oh, but she's right, Zero," Hanabusa sang, pulling his hand from Yuuki's stomach and walking over to the silver-haired Guardian. "Now that your precious Yuuki will be dead in a matter of minutes, what will you be able to accomplish without her by your side?"

His breath hitched as he didn't hesitate to shoot the vampire in the knees and brush past him, causing him to lose his balance and fall against a lamp post. Zero fell to his knees, picking Yuuki up to hold her close. Her breathing was horribly uneven as blood poured from her wound. "Yuuki… Yuuki! Please don't-…"

The brunette's shaking hand reached up to rest against his cheek as a tear rolled down it, and blood spilled from her mouth as she opened her mouth to retort. He shook his head and held her close. "I never… never hated you, Yuuki… please don't die!"

Ruka's eyes were no longer clouded with fury as she watched the scene, her body calming from the effects of shock from being shot. Her body had healed itself immediately upon the bullet's impact, but she was in no mental condition to take the life of the girl who had released her of her obsession with the Pureblood Prince. A rather dark thought for her to have even dwelled upon, but still rather legit considering she was in love with a man she had no real right to. She got up, swaying onto the building and staring into the dark, murderous eyes of Hanabusa. He was still bent on revenge; after all, Kaname was his first and only true love… but then again, he was also hers. She bowed her head down as she heard thunder rumble above her.

"What're you waiting for, Kiryuu?" Hanabusa's voice moments later caused her to look at him with questioning, sandy brown eyes. "Aren't you going to avenge her? Don't you want revenge, hm?" she knew what he was planning; he was only getting him in the fighting mood, so he would have a more formidable opponent. After all, – and anyone, even Zero, might vouch for this – Yuuki wasn't much of a fighter unless she had Zero fighting on her side. She watched the Guardian's body tense up as he pulled Yuuki's body closer to keep himself from losing control.

"Now do you understand… what it's like… for the person who you care for the most… to be taken from you in the blink of an eye?" he didn't waste any time getting up and running at him, kicking him into a nearby building. The wall crumbled under the force, and Zero was thrust into a stool, grinding his teeth. Hanabusa had begun stepping toward him when Ruka pushed herself from the wall and began to step toward Yuuki. Hanabusa smirked over his shoulder. If anyone has the audacity to kill the little bitch, it's Ruka, he thought coldly. He stepped over the broken brick wall, disappearing from Ruka's line of vision.

He heard a loud, demanding bark of "Yuuki Cross, get up!" before he disappeared into the dust cloud where Zero was hiding.

Huh. I can honestly say I suck at battle scenes and action-y type crap.. oh well.

This seventh installment comes with good news and bad news. Which first? Bad news, or course! The bad news is, I finished the epilogue to this story, so all that's left to do is upload the remaining three chapters. The good news... shall come to you after the epilogue. (Which, I'll only tell you/warn you of this: It's longer then each chapter, about 2x)

See you next week!

~Cookie