Hey everyone! Sorry for the completely overdue chapter, but I found myself going on a surprise vacation. That, and my FanFiction was acting up.

Anyway, this chapter is not for the light headed. It involves serious injury, fight scenes, and a whole lot of blood, so if you can't handle it, don't read it.

I do not own Vampire Knight, or any of the characters, places, or...uh...ideas? The story is the only thing I own.

Loyal readers...the moment you have been waiting for has finally come. FLUFF! But just a tiny bit of it.

Anyway, reviews are GREATLY appreciated, even if they are criticism, and each one is held close to my heart!

Please note that, unlike the rest of the story, this chapter is told in many different POV's!

Please enjoy!

POV Means point of view. It's which character we're seeing the world through.

YUUKI'S POV

"Ow! Ow! Zero, let go of me! I want to sleep!" I swat at Zero's hand unceremoniously, as he drags me by my wrist, quite forcefully may I add, down one of the many corridors and hallways in this colossal of a headquarters. Pausing my assault of Zero's arm momentarily, I take a few seconds to examine the paintings and sculptures littering the walls and tables of this outdated, but quite elegant, manor. It's hard to believe that this beautiful structure is home to an organization, that before my life changing events occurred, I would have though to be pure evil.

But now, I'm part of the same group, aiming for the same goal, and that is, in all its simplicity, to overthrow the country, the Kingdom, that I was once a part of.

Once, being the keyword.

And here I am, being dragged by one of the top members, one of the most powerful, of said organization, completely helpless due to my magic block, which means no spells, and no Artemis, unless a rod hardly the side of my hand counts, to my doom. Or something like it. Oh, and have I mentioned my lack of sleep, due to being woken up at freakin' 5:30 in the morning?

And the reason of this unpleasant start to a day, is, unfortunately, so I can fight the most powerful and experienced person…uh…creature…in this whole goddamn building without my magic, my only system of fighting, to, get this, gain my magic back!

Um…Yay?

Regaining my awareness of the situation, I continue beating Zero's arm, though already aware that my attempts are futile, while whining about my lack of sleep. Zero, as always, heedless of my pleas, ignores me, and continues on.

After countless minutes of this going on, and when I start to feel my rest derived feet going numb, I stop moving altogether, as a silent way of protesting.

Zero, obviously annoyed, continues to pull at my arm, but I make sure to plant my feet on the floor like they were made of concrete, and declare, "Let me sleep for a few more hours, and then we can fight to your heart's content!" I ponder my next words. "This is an order!" I try bravely.

Zero stills briskly, lets go of my arm, and turns around sharply, his amethyst eyes gleaming. His mouth twists into a scowl while he hisses at me. "Yuuki, enough! How do you expect to beat me when you're lying on your ass the whole day?!" Zero snaps.

I pout, annoyed. "What do you mean, 'the whole day'?" I complain, and rub my sore wrist, which is now, temporarily, free from Zero's vice grip. " I've only slept for 4 hours!"

"And you want to sleep for 4 more!" Zero barks. I guess he's not much of a morning person, either, judging by his attitude. "Now lets get this fight over and done with, so you can sleep, and I can away from you!" He mutters, quite irritated. I flinch back a bit and swing around to flee as I see Zero make a small lunge for my wrist, but unfortunately don't move away fast enough. Zero's hand latches on to my wrist once more, and much to my annoyance, resumes to dragging me down the corridor against my will.

"Damnit, not again, Zero!"

Holy mother of a llama! Why do I have to deal with this?!

? POV

The room's darkness, the sense of oppression filling the air, is calming.

The squandering and screaming of the people outside the room, the sound of their panic and demise is like a cigarette for a drug addict to me, sending shivers of ecstasy down my spine as I indulge in my bittersweet pleasures. I open my eyes, and sigh in contentment. Turning to the soldiers on the floor, I wait for my report.

"So…have you found her yet?" I say, my voice echoing out to the distance, wrapping around everyone, and never failing to intimidate the others.

"I-I'm sorry…I'm afraid all our troops were k-killed in b-battle…" his voice shakes as he says "killed". I tilt my head to the side, and gently place my head in my hand, tapping my free fingers on the side of my throne impatiently. "…Leaving no more hints about the princess's whereabouts…" The words are clumsily spurred out, the speaker obviously frightened of me, and I can hardly hear the words over the shrieks of pain coming from the outside. The man strokes his beard nervously.

My eyes shine, then slit, and eyebrows crumple into a frown. "And tell me…how could you lose a single girl, a single girl, with literally hundreds of you, searching for her? How?!" I see the man flinch back, frightened, and I can't help but smile a bit at his act of fear. Oh, how I love the power of intimidation swimming through my bones! But now is not the time to dwell on my greatness, no matter how overwhelming it may be. I beckon the speaker up with an elegant swish of my finger, and call him to me, where I perch on my throne. He shakily makes his way towards me, and I smile menacingly as he takes the couple of step up to my seat. Bending forward, I gently caress his cheek with my hand, and whisper in his ear, "If Lord Kaname heard of this, you do know what's going to happen to you and me, I'm sure." He nods hastily. I continue, and lower my voice deeper. "So go out there now, and find the damn princess!" Swiftly, I raise my hand up, and let it connect with the man's face harshly. He flies a couple feet, and landing on the floor, skids another. The rest of the room's occupant's shift nervously.

The man, recovering from his injury, nods hastily, and scurries off the floor, and away from me frantically. I lean back in my throne, eyes closed, and hands threading through my hair. Why must I do everything myself? I sigh.

"How long will it take to reach The Cross Kingdom?" I inquire sharply. Another man stands up, and proceeds to answer me.

"Eight days, and seven nights."

I smirk.

"Prepare the carriage. We head out tomorrow."

YUUKI'S POV

"Zero, what the hell?! We haven't started yet, damnit!" Yelping, I dodge another knife sent at me quickly, and roll to the floor to dodge another one. "ZERO!"

"Oi. You never said I had to say 'go'." I look up and scowl at Zero, as he stands above me, smirking. I resist the urge to blush at how handsome he looked when he was smiling, and pout a bit.

"Well, it's only fair, eh?" I mutter, and stretch both my hands out in front of me, clenching and unclenching my hands in a 'gimme' gesture. Zero looks at me with mild confusion. "Ugh! Help me up!" I explain.

"No." How blunt…

"What?! Zero, you got me on the floor, now get me off of it!" I bark.

"No, Yuuki. You're strong enough to do it yourself. Don't be lazy!" Zero snaps harshly.

I scowl. "Fine! God, all I was asking was for a little help…"

"For something completely and utterly useless and moronic." Zero finishes. "Now come on. You want to sleep, and I have work to do. There's no time to waste."

I prop myself up in a sitting position with my hands, then climb up to my knees, and finally my feet, ignoring the look Zero shot at me as I took my time doing so. I take a moment to look around at the room. Quite big and roomy, since there's nearly no furniture that adorned the floor or the walls. But there's a plethora of weapons hanging from the wall in back of the room, a lot of which I couldn't even tell what they were. The room looked sturdy, made with thick concrete and steel, with no elaborate designs, like the rest of the manor, and there were no windows in which we could crash through. A true training room.

"Hmph…" I crack my knuckles together, and smirk, completely betraying my insides, which were begging to run away. "You're right. And the sooner I beat you, the sooner I get my magic back. Alright…" I bend down, and pick up the knife, which nearly impaled me before at Zero's skilled hands, from off the floor, and throw it behind my shoulders. "But no weapons, agreed?"

Zero sighs. "Fine. Now…let's go!"

Immediately, Zero comes charging at me, hand stretched out, ready for an impact. As he reaches me, he thrusts his hand forward to hit, but I instantly react, and put my hand up, all fingers outstretched to block his oncoming punch. As his fist lands in my hand, I curl my fingers around to grasp it, and pull him forward so that he sails into me. Stretching out my knee, I swing my leg forward, and slam my kneecap his stomach. The smack is a rewarding sound, and only proof that my attack was rather painful. Zero winces a bit, and flies back, but lands on his feet perfectly, and only to rush forward much swifter than before.

But I'm recovering from my earlier onslaught, so a kick is aimed squarely at my hip, and Zero's foot hits me soundly in a perfect kick. I cry out a bit, and crash into the wall, causing it to crack a bit, and sending rubble everywhere. Lying on the broken concrete, I have but a moment to rest, before a fist is suddenly send straight at me. I nearly scream bloody murder and duck down frantically, as the fist connects with the wall, shattering it.

Before Zero has another opportunity to attack, I grab his arm, push off of the wall, and flip over it, twisting it so he can't move without breaking the limb, almost smirking as I hear Zero gasp in pain, and send a high kick to his face. Zero dodges the attack, rips his arm away from me, and grabs my outstretched leg. I try to pull away, but his hands remain, as he throws me down in the ground unceremoniously.

Gathering my senses, (And the air I lost with that attack.) and taking advantage of my new position, I hook my leg around Zero's hamstring, and trip him to the floor, smirking at the shock written on his face. I immediately stand up, and jump up of the ground, preparing to slam my foot down on Zero's body. But just before I'm able to touch him, Zero rolls back, gracefully stands up, and handsprings away.

"Damnit, Zero!" I groan. Can he stay still for a bit?

I dash forward, and aim a quick chop to his neck. Zero blocks with his arm, and swings his free hand for a slap. I block that with my free arm, and we stand there, trying to overpower one another for a couple of seconds. As I feel my strength slipping in this obviously overmatched test of power, I abruptly pull back, causing Zero to stumble forward a bit. Taking complete advantage of his current state, I handspring over to him, and my feet in the air, latch my legs around his surprising thin waist. Using my hands, which are placed cleverly on the floor, I flip over, and slam Zero's head in the steel ground, myself landing in a crouch position. But he recovers in a millisecond, and in a sitting position, wipes the blood off of his mouth calmly. I blink.

Bad mistake.

When my eyes open, Zero is suddenly next to me, starting his next barrage. No time to think, I prepare to counter.

His leg goes for my face. I catch his leg, and prepare to slam it on my knee, hopefully breaking the limb. He pulls back instantaneously, but I'm there faster. I raise my hand in a slap, and send it sailing down. Zero catches my arm once again, and grabs the wrist of my other one. Then, much to my horror, he throws me high in the air, sending me tossing and tumbling.

Do to the high ceiling, there is no worry of me hitting concrete, but that just means Zero can throw me higher and increase the risk of another attack. Sure enough, as I sail through the air, I see Zero jump up quite powerfully (Because he's a vampire?), and reaches me in no time. He starts to flip violently, with one leg outstretched, faster and swifter as every moment goes by, until his form becomes a blurred vortex. No doubt he's preparing a dangerous assault that could end this battle if it hits, and I gasp in fear as I can't move. The rotation of his body is so powerful, that I can sense that it's dragging my utterly helpless form closer into the range of his calamitous offense. And sure enough, once he comes close enough to touch me, he slams his leg down in an immensely powerful axe kick, his target, unfortunately, me. Seeing no possible way to counter attack, I hold my arms up in an 'X' position, and do my best to reduce the massive damage about to be given to me by the dangerous kick. Painfully, his leg collides with my arms, but my defense hardly does anything. I feel something break, as my arms are swung back and my block is broken through, and the attack hits completely into my upper torso, breaking my ribs, probably snapping my spine, and most likely smashing my collarbone. I'm send crashing down to the floor, and as my back collides the steel ground, my spine reverberates painfully, and all of the air is pushed out of my body, leaving me gasping, not only for air, but for unconsciousness.

I stay still for a bit, trying not to groan or move, but as the agony escalates, I roll over, and cry out in pain. But I stay strong, trying to gather myself into a sitting position, and trying to propel myself up with my arms. But as the bones are snapped, I gasp in agony, as my limbs give out, and I fall to the floor once more. Panting, I violently cough out blood, wincing as it sprays to the ground in large splatters, and try to shakily move my hands up to prevent myself from staining the steel. But I find the simple task undoable, since my limbs are ruined. More blood falls onto the floor from the top of my head, and my vision blurs red, from my life liquid falling from every nook and cranny of my whole body. I try to stretch my legs out, but gain sharp protests from my spine and bottom, and as my gasping and panting increases, my chest burns immensely, and pain is shot to everywhere in my body. My head starts pounding, my vision's blurring, my body's in complete agony, and my mind is losing control.

But what's worst is what I feel inside.

That I'm a loser. Of course, losing is a definite possibility for everyone, and I'm quite aware that in the world, there will always be someone stronger than you. But to lose with a margin like this? To be pushed to the brink of death, and have your opponent nearly unscathed? And to Zero, I'm sure this is just a measly victory gained from a horrible opponent, who couldn't do anything worthwhile when it came to physical aspects. And hell, has Zero even lost a battle before?! I mean, I bet he was going easy on me! If he actually tried, I'm sure he could beat me with, what, a flick of his fingers?!

And I know Zero says I'll get better over time, and I know that I'm just starting out…

But this is just pathetic.

Tears weld up in my eyes, as my thoughts run away with me. My confidence shattered, my bones shattered even more, and my reputation down the drain. I shudder in agony and shake violently as more blood is thrown from my mouth in a series of rather violent coughs. But my tears don't fall. I need to uphold at least a little of my dignity.

Footsteps echoing out from my side snap me out of my thoughts and bring me back to the real world. I slowly turn my body to face Zero, whose eyes are widened. As his eyes lock on to my battered frame, I hear a tiny gasp echo out from his mouth, as he takes a step back, no doubt surprised at how much damage his attack really did. I close my eyes slowly. "Yuuki?!" He shouts, as he rushes forward, and drops down beside me. He shakes me a bit, to make sure I'm with him. "Yuuki? Yuuki…come on…Answer me!" The shaking becomes more insistent, and is increasing the damage to my arm, so at this moment of time, I open my eyes shakily, ignoring the throbbing of my head I gained with the tiny gesture, and look at Zero with half lidded eyes. I smile, in order to insure him I'm alright, which I most definitely wasn't, and place my battered arm on his, trying to hold back the wince as I did so.

"I-I'm f-fine…I…promise. J-Just… get me a…doctor…would y-you…" I stammer out. After all, I wouldn't want to make the boy feel any worse then how his is now, yeah? I cough a bit, and Zero flinches a bit.

How out of character…

Gathering my nerves, I roll so my front faces the floor, and prepare my arms to, once again, strain to stand up. My hands ready to push, I gain a shock of déjà vu, as I had done this not even, say, 5 minutes ago, but in better condition. See how humans…and vampires…take simple actions, such as getting up, for granted?

Okay. Here we go. I press forcefully against the steel floor with my hands, my arms already screaming with protest, and my mouth about to do the same. Trying to ignore the excruciating pain burning through my limbs, I proceed to push myself up on my knees successfully, though I feel like passing out this early.

Next part.

"Yuuki, enough! I'll help you get up!" Zero pleads. "Your body has taken too much damage!" Do you understand that I'm doing this for your sake?!

"N-no! I'm fine…A-After a-all…I'm s-strong enough to do it m-myself." I prevent myself from smirking. "And… Iwouldn't…want to…be l-lazy. And…who c-could…p-possibility need help…with something…so c-completely and utterly u-useless…and…moronic?" I bite out, despite my damaged condition. You better believe I'm mocking him. After all, what better opportunity could rise like this one? I cough a bit.

"Yuuki! This is no time poke fun! Let me-"

"No! I c-can do i-it myself!" I say, once and for all. "Y-You got…me on the floor, but this…time, I'm g-getting…off of it!" I stutter, as my pain intensifies. I struggle on my knees, to get at least one foot out from behind me, and on to the floor, to gain me the leverage I need to push myself into a standing position. "A-And I'm…not s-so…weak…" My right knee is struggling, but I'm able to bring it in front, and plant my foot in a strong hold. "…that y-you have…to…" I clench my teeth together, and brace myself, as I begin to push my foot downwards. "H-help me…w-with…" I push forcefully, and whimper in pain as my legs start to burn, and my spine starts to feel shaky. "…everything!" Finally, I push hard enough to get myself into a standing position, and hold my ground, though shaking. I feel the pride overwhelm me as I turn to Zero, and smile.

"S-see…!" I laugh a bit, and cough more. "I c-can do…it…you know!" I cough rapidly, and gasp for air a bit. But this doesn't stop me from talking. "I c-can d-do…it my…" My legs give out abruptly, my arms don't do anything to protect myself from my fall, my vision blurs, and my mind goes blank all in one second, as I plummet to the floor once more. But before I'm able to crash into the steel ground, one that I've grown accustomed to, warm arms envelop me, and lift me up to a sturdy body, hugging me closer into a hard, but surprisingly soft, frame. "…self." I mutter.

We start to move, I notice, but I don't see anything. Closing my eyes, I try to let sleep overtake me, to drop in the blissful world of oblivion and the unaware. After all, I'd rather not feel then to be in this amount of pain. Calming myself down is no easy task, but with the rhythmic rise and fall of Zero's chest, the soft puffs of air that gently caress my face from above me, and the soft steps that resonate around me as we make our way…well…somewhere, I find myself drifting away in no time. Only to be woken up by Zero, who insists that I shan't sleep until I get in a partially stable condition.

"Yuuki…stay awake." Zero's monotones voice rings out. "Your condition isn't fatal, but is definitely somewhat serious."

I force my eyes open for a bit, and struggle out, "W-were you…g-going e-easy on…me?" I gasp. It may not be fatal, but it's sure as hell painful!

I look into Zero's eyes. Nothing, except a small hint of remorse. He looks down, and catches my gaze with his intent one, and despite myself, I blush a bit and try not to look away. Zero stays silent for a while, but continues gazing at me, so I shift, despite the pain it brings me, uncomfortably in his arms, and wait for his answer. He sighs, and tightens his hold around my shaking frame, most likely telling me not to move anymore. Zero closes his eyes, and looks away, but his mouth breaks open a bit, to explain. "In the beginning, yes." I grimace. I knew it. "…But…" But? "Once you were able to block my first punch, and counter attacked with that powerful knee…I knew you weren't going down without a fight. " Zero scoffs, and I smile a bit. "I concluded then, that if I wanted to win, I couldn't lose a second's concentration." My smile widens, and I lick a tiny bit of blood off my lips. The metallic taste was something I've grown accustomed to, sadly, after today. I wait for Zero to finish."Towards the end, especially after you landed the handspring into a body slam…good move, by the way, I realized that I could actually lose this thing, and if I didn't want to…well…not only would I have to fight with complete concentration, I would also need a strategy." I nod stiffly, and sniff a bit.

We stay silent for a while, the only sound the tiny taps of Zero's shoes. I listen intently, and focus on the noise, trying to block away my fatigue, and the small voice inside of my head, begging me to sleep. Zero doesn't speak anymore, and honestly, him speaking this much is a rarity, so I indulge in the first amount of silence I've been able to have in these past couple of days. But…

"Yuuki…?"

I blink a bit, and hold back a yawn. "Y-yes, Zero…?"

"I'm sorry."

And with that, I close my eyes, and let the oblivion take me into a blissful slumber.

ZERO'S POV

Walking through the corridors, it occurs to me that I have a lot on my mind. Which is quite unusual for me.

I look at the girl, who sleeps calmly in my arms, despite her current injuries, which seem to be quite painful, and sigh a bit as she coughs rather harshly. Stupid girl, trusting a vampire enough to sleep in his arms when the odds are against her. Surely, she couldn't have forgotten that, one, she's bleeding quite a bit. Two, if I were to attack her, she'd be in no position to fight back successfully. Three, I'm rather thirsty, as I haven't had a drink in a while, and four, I'm injured and losing blood, which only incites my thirst more. She should have remembered at least one of them…

But, then again, she's in this condition because of me. How many of her bones are broken? How many fractured? Has she ruptured any organs, or popped any muscles? Concussions? Internal bleeding? Every single one of those is possible, and with a high success rate as well. But what made me lose control? What made me so…so wary of her, that I was to hit her with my full strength? This is completely unlike me, as I would never make such a moronic and stupid mistake in normal circumstances.

But that's just it…What if…

This wasn't just a normal fight, with a normal girl?

What if I see something more in her, something so diverse…something sostrange and dangerous…that my intuition automatically took over? I abruptly still, and stare at the girl who still sleeps despite being battered from all angles, the girl who looks so delicate and fragile, yet is so willed and strong…and the girl, who in battle, was so skilled, that she drove me the point losing my self-control, without her magic…

No. Impossible.

Scaring me to the point where my instincts take over is unheard of…and it definitely couldn't happen with this…this princess! The only other person who was able to do that was…

Was…

…

I need to get off this topic. I'll make sure that it won't happen again, and that's that. I resume walking once more.

It looks like she'll need at least a day to recover, but if she drinks some blood, and has one of us cure her, she'll be fine within 24 hours. Quite the relief…

Why was I so worried about her?

…Eh?

If I had a drink in my mouth, I would most definitely spray the contents on the floor.

"What the…" I mutter out, and bite my lip. Why do my thoughts become more uncomfortable for me as they go on?

…But

When her body hit the steel floor after my final offense, and she didn't make any attempt to move, I nearly felt my heart stop. For the first few silent, agonizingly quiet seconds, I was convinced that I had killed her, but when she flipped over, the relief flooding through me was unstoppable. The panic, though, soon raised again once more, as she coughed out at least a pint of blood and wailed out in pain, a tear jerking, pitiful little sound that I had never heard her make. When she tried to lift herself up, but failed completely, collapsing once again on the floor, I assumed enough was enough, and made my way over to help her. Her form, though I could only see her back, was so beat up, so battered, that I stopped dead in my tracks once I gained better sight of her. She must have sensed me coming, because as soon as I stopped, she made a small attempt of rolling over, and looking me straight in the eyes. And what made me gasp were not the bruises, not the blood that stained her…well…everything, and not her arms, which were bent at an odd angle. No.

It was the fact that she was crying. The tears didn't fall, and she made a huge attempt of keeping it under check, but they were still there. And that's what matters.

But after I consoled her, after I talked to her a bit, and after she asked me to get a doctor, she did probably the stupidest thing I've ever seen a human do in my eventful life. In her condition, with her arms broken, her spine fractured, enough blood loss to cause anemia, her vision dazed, and her rib cage split, this silly human actually tried to stand up!

But she succeeded. Even when I told her I'd help her, even when I said that she was too injured, and it would've been to much of a strain on her body, all she did was mock me, ignore my warnings, and continue on. And after, when she regained her stance, standing on the floor…she smiled. Through the excruciating agony she was dealing with, after losing, I'm sure, her first battle, and just about ready to pass out, she smiled at me, to convince me that my attack didn't do that much to her. That she could still stand up, even after being beaten down to a serious degree. Then…her body gave out, only proof of how much struggle she went through to do that simple, yet horrible task, and all for my sake.

So how could I let her hit the floor once more?

The warm feeling swimming around in my insides…was it pride? Respect? Well, whatever was, I definitely view her differently than before…

I come out of my thoughts, to gaze at Yuuki's peaceful face, taking in slow gulps of air, and blowing them out to a inaudible beat. We reach the door that takes us to the rooms, and I open it carefully, trying to prevent as much noise as possible to keep Yuuki asleep. Silently, I take a few seconds to walk across the hallways and to our room, and grasp the door handle softly, turning it. I take a step inside of our room, and shutting the door, glance at the clock on the side of the desk next to the bed. 9:34 in the morning…Well, at least she has enough time to recuperate…

I lay the limp body on the bed softly, and come around to sit on the opposite side of her. Yuuki remains asleep, but seems to shuffle a bit, trying intently to grab on to something. I watch her struggle for a bit longer and sigh, before I slowly reach my hand over, and connect it with hers. Immediately, she calms down, and shifts closer to me, as I gaze at her face, while an unknown feeling swims inside of me. I wonder why…with her…with Yuuki…I always act so odd. So strange. But…maybe…

Yuuki's grip on my hand tightens, and she scoots over even closer, enough so that she can reach me. Slowly, she stretches her free hand over, and grasps on to my pants, clenching tighter, and smiles a bit in her sleep.

But maybe strange…

I smile a ghost of a smile, and move my hand to swipe some hair from out of her face, looking at her peacefully sleeping. A ridiculously warm feeling envelops my insides, as I hold back the urge to chuckle as Yuuki sneezes comically, my smile only widening the more I look at her.

Maybe strange…is a good thing.

YAH! ROMANTIC DEVELOPMENT TIME!

Zero is not in love with Yuuki yet. That would be too soon. He just noticed that's she's different from other people, and even has an influence on him to act differently. He's interested, not in love!

That will come soon! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I CAN'T EMPHASIS THIS ENOUGH!

So, did you like it?