-Half-hearted Vengeance-

~disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight…it belongs to Hino Matsuri-sama…

~random notes(?): cheerio~! :D. Thank you very much to those who reviewed and added this to their story alerts! It was very much appreciated! ;D. And, yes, this is going to be a Kaname x Zero/Ichiru x Zero story, although it may take a bit longer to develop. Zero's top priority is "vengeance", so yeah…XD. Anyway, I apologize for the long wait…-bows-. I hope you will like this chapter! ;D

Chapter 1: Commencement

A pale, slender hand gently brushed against the soft, silver locks of the young man who lay in a bed of white roses encased within a dark, polished casket. The said young man looked nothing more but the tender age of seventeen; an ethereal glow graced his peaceful features; and the rhythmic motion of his chest moving upwards and downwards gave him the appearance of a sleeping work of art. To many, it seems as if the deep slumber he was in can be put off as nothing but natural…but no. It was not anything but natural. In truth, the silver-haired young man had been in this passive state for four years now—and still counting. The pale hand continued on its ministrations, until it found its way down to the young man's cheek and began to caress it gently. This hand belonged to another young man, who, strikingly, was the complete mirror image of the body that lay there.

A slight frown adorned his well-sculpted lips; whilst his pallid, silver-amethyst eyes held therein a mix of contradicting emotions—a feeling both of relief and remorse—as he silently watched the face of his younger twin. He no longer knows what to think nor what to feel; relief that his brother had survived, or remorse because he had been reduced to this state? Whichever it may be, he was, at least, sure of one thing: the voice coming from the back of his head which keeps on telling him that this was his to be blamed for. All those years ago, it was he—Ichiru—who decided to take the blow that was supposed to take his life. He could've stopped his brother, but what did he do instead? Nothing. That is what. He felt disgusted at himself. He was such a pathetic excuse of a person; unable to protect what was important to him.

It was quite fortunate that Shizuka had arrived before all was lost. A second too late and Ichiru would have really been gone. However, she was still too late to prevent him from falling into a deep coma from which they knew not when or if he will ever wake from. There was also the fact that the younger twin had been weak and fragile as a human, which will, inevitably, be a factor on whether or not he'll be able to recover from this fitful sleep. Sure, it was certain that purebloods can never be killed easily, but in his case, his vampiric nature—which includes his healing and regenerative abilities—had been sealed away for most of his life. His only saving grace was for him to be reawakened as the pureblood he really was. But doing so had its risks; considering that Ichiru was half-dead at the time. It was a gamble that their mother had taken. The die had been cast yet there is still no certainty if it was a win or a loss. Now all that's left is to wait and see, for only time will be able to tell.

Slowly, Zero pulled away his hand from his brother's cheek. He then retracted the said hand towards his mouth; just close enough for his lips to touch his wrist. His tongue darted out from his slightly parted lips and trailed along the expanse of his skin before he bit down and carefully—so as not to spill—drew in his own blood into his mouth. After he was satisfied that the amount was sufficient enough, he leaned in and pressed his mouth to his younger twin's; infusing with the other the life-giving elixir that was his pure blood. A trail of blood oozed down on one side of Ichiru's lips, which the other licked away after the transfusion. Zero continued to watch his brother's sleeping form; a gentle look in his eyes. It was the only thing he could do for him now; hoping that his blood might aid the younger vampire on his recovery.

Shizuka silently watched the scene unfold in front of her eyes. It wasn't an uncommon thing for Zero to do this. In fact, there had been countless of times wherein she had had to stop her older son from rendering himself blood-dry. She knew that his scars run deep; that he still blamed himself for his brother's condition. She could feel—she knows—that in every single day that had passed, the guilt inside of Zero grew deeper still. She had wanted to hold him; embrace him; reassure him that everything was alright—will be alright. But something kept her from doing so. It was all because of one thing: she was the same, is she not? Yes, she was the same as her son; perhaps even far off. Truth to be told, she felt even guiltier than him. How could she not? She was, after all, the one responsible for bringing them into this chaos. Maybe…maybe if she had protected them better, they would never have had to suffer so much…

"It is not your fault, Zero. If there was anyone to be blamed for, it is I and I alone…" Those were the words she had wanted to tell him, but her pride as a pureblood would not allow it. As one of her social standing, she could never allow herself to show any weakness. Even more so, now that she had been reunited with her children. They should never see this side of her. Her vulnerability. She has to be—needs to be—strong. If they see her so much as to break down, then how will they be convinced that she is the one they could lean on? There was also another reason why she still insisted on holding back. It was something she had tried to ignore for so long. It was a thought at the back of her head saying that perhaps her sons would start to hate her if they found out about the truth. Her heart aches every time it crossed her mind. That is the one thing that scares her the most; the possibility of being left by the ones she had cherished once the truth had been exposed. She then bit her lip. No. The truth should not be known; at least, until she felt it was the right time to do so. What matters now is what lay in front of them, and not the shadow that had been the past.

Zero turned his head as he felt the presence of his mother nearing. He wasn't that all surprised; he had expected it. For today was the day. The day they had been longing for. The day that they will commence that which had been put up for so long; the day they start their cold revenge on those who had caused their misery. Standing up, he took the offered hand and put his lips upon it; all the while exchanging a look of mutual understanding with his mother. Shizuka, in turn, kissed his brow; a gesture both of affection and of wishing him luck. However, before taking his leave, Zero cast one last meaningful look at his brother. "I will make them pay for this, Ichiru. I promise…"

A wave of unrest hovered among the students of the Night Class. Only but a few hours ago they had felt an unfamiliar presence—a pureblood vampire—arrive at the gates of Cross Academy. They knew that a new student was to arrive this day, but what they don't know was the fact that it was a Level A vampire. Who could it be? The same question was on their minds. Purebloods are very rare as only a few remained in existence. They had all familiarized themselves with all of the pureblood vampires, being Nobles that they are. But this one…this one was out of the question. That's why they could not help but wonder: Who and why had he or she come? And for what purpose? Surely it is for the headmaster's pacifist ideologies, is it not?

Whatever thoughts the students have been having at the moment were cut off as they heard silent—surprisingly quiet even to their sensitive ears—footsteps approach. Anticipation made itself known in the form of the loud thumping in their chests which was caused by every step the unknown pureblood took forward. Then the door slowly opened to reveal a young vampire who, according to his appearance, was about seventeen years of age. His hair was that of natural silver and his skin was of a complexion far fairer than any of the Night Class had ever seen even among their kind. Both his hair and skin seemed to emit a faint glow beneath the moonlight; giving an unearthly feel towards his appearance. What was most striking about his features, though, was a pair of silver-amethyst eyes which were being set off beautifully by the white uniform he wore.

Their professor was visibly tense as the new student walked up to him; towards the center of the room. He made an effort to open his mouth to introduce the silver-haired vampire, but a slender hand was raised in front of his face; silencing him. The said student just gave him a small smile before turning to the others to introduce himself. "I'd like to thank our professor here for his offer to announce my name, but I believe that it would be rather rude to not introduce myself personally."

"My name…is Hiou Zero."

~end of chapter

I've finally finished it after procrastinating for so long…XD. It's a wee bit shorter than the prologue, but I'll try to make the next chapters longer. XD. I hope you guys liked it! And please, please do tell me what you think! X3. My Muse needs a little encouragement before continuing (she's been acting all tsundere lately and I have no idea why…XD).