N/A: Thanks for all the support everyone!

Chapter 5

Snow opened her eyes to see Kuran Kaname next to her bedside, his reddish-brown eyes looking at her with a gentle expression.

"She would've found out about it eventually." he told the Headmaster.

Zero glared at him.

"If your classmates could've controlled their thirst, this wouldn't have happened."

"Aidou has received his punishment." A strange spark flashed in his eyes for a second, transforming his beautiful face into a mask of cruelty.

"Well, the bottom line is she knows now and since Kiryuu-kun won't let us modify her memory…" Chairman Cross stepped in.

"What's the point? One of them's going to go hungry again anyway. Vampires can't be trusted." Zero replied, shooting Kaname a look of pure hatred.

"I believe you're forgetting your own race, Kiryuu-kun." Kaname responded in a calm tone.

Zero opened his mouth to shoot back one of the lines he always had handy for such situations, but Kaname spoke again.
"I'll tell her."

"Good idea, Kaname-kun! I'm sure you'll be able to provide an objective point of view." Kaien Cross said.

Zero rolled his eyes.

Snow looked at him, a bit confused and then all the memories flooded into her mind like an unstoppable hurricane.

Blood…a red cross and fear. Karin lying on the floor after …Aidou-sempai did something to her…a monster. He was a monster who only looked human. She had a strange feeling about the Night Class and Kaname's presence did nothing to reassure her.

She was trembling as she looked at him with a frightened expression.

"Don't be scared of me. I won't hurt you." he said.

Snow noticed that he was indeed sitting down calmly and made no sudden moves. His tone was soft and soothing, but something told her he couldn't be trusted.

"What…are you?" she started.

"I'm not someone you should fear. You're safe around me. We'll start at that."

She seemed to calm down a little, but her eyes still showed fear. He didn't want her to look at him like that. He was going to start off by explaining to her that humans aren't the only sentient race in the world and that there were many others, including vampires, but he had a feeling she wouldn't respond well to such a lengthy introduction.

He sighed, realizing that a lot of time had passed since he'd been so indecisive about his ways.

"You…" he heard Snow's trembling voice. He looked at her and noticed she was staring at his lips.

"…have fangs."

She had said it so innocently, it made him smile.

Snow wondered how she never realized this sooner, but this man had fangs, the …sharp, pointy kind. She remembered the blood trailing from Karin's neck when Aidou attacked her and quickly put two and two together.

But it was impossible! Vampires don't exist!

"I'm afraid we do." Kaname said suddenly.

Snow's eyes snapped to his.

"You can…read minds?" she asked aloud.

"Not at all. I'm very good at reading expressions though." He told her. It was partly a lie. She did have her emotions spilled all over her face when she went from confusion to sudden realisation to confusion again, but he did have the ability to see inside the mind of humans. However, he did not want her to be weary of him and shut herself off.

"So you're a vampire?"

He nodded, looking relieved when she didn't panic.

"And Aidou-sempai is…?"

"A very repenting vampire, I assure you."

She continued, without paying attention to his last statement.
"The whole Night Class…they're all vampires." she said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"I knew there was something strange! All of you have this…aura…I can feel it." she told him.

"I know you can. It's because you come from a long line of vampire hunters." Kaname informed her.

Snow's eyes widened and she put one hand on her forehead, sighing.

"Too much information…"

"I understand how it can be confusing. I'm here to help you understand."

Snow looked at him, her curiosity overwhelming her fear.

"So you drink blood, right?"

He wasn't expecting her to be so out front about it.
"Yes, but…"
"So why am I safe with you around?"
Snow realized she was getting slightly angry, although she didn't know why. Maybe because a vampire attacked Karin and was about to attack her…but Kaname seemed so...gentle. Was it because of her "vampire hunter" heritage that she would automatically hate them? Should she hate them?

"We are experimenting with something called "blood pills". We don't attack humans. At least the vampires here at Cross Academy aren't supposed to."

Snow shook her head.

"I don't get it. Why would humans learn together with vampires?"
"Chairman Cross…and I…believe that vampires and humans can eventually learn to coexist peacefully. It's the purpose of this academy."

"The Day Class doesn't know about this, do they?" she asked quickly.

"No. You must also keep it a secret."

"But Karin…"

"She will forget last night's event altogether. We've altered her memory. It's better this way." Kaname replied.

"You've…altered her memory?"

Kaname hoped he wouldn't have to tell her this or get into the many abilities vampires had, but she seemed eager to know everything there was to know.

"How…dare you?" her eyes were now burning with anger as she looked at him. "Playing around with people's memories…what right do you have?"

"She would only start a panic among the Day Class if she remembered."

"So what? Then your little experiment of lumping humans together with your kind would go wrong?" Snow's indignation grew exponentially, making her forget that she should be afraid of him.

Her words had a bigger impact on him than he would've ever expected. She considered him different…dangerous.

"Everyone's in danger." she thought aloud. She jumped out of bed and headed towards the door, but then remembering something, looked at Kaname.

"Why didn't you erase my memory?"

"With your vampire hunter instincts you would've figured it out sooner or later." He kept silent about the part where Zero promptly stepped in between her and Seiren.

Snow's expression was one of determination.

"I'm telling everyone. You say last night was an accident, but it could always happen again. Who knows how many times it's happened already, but you tampered with the victim's memories."

Kaname got up too, dominating her from his height.

"We're not…walking bottles from which you can take a sip now and then!" she shot, turning to the door.

Kaname's movements were a blur as he stepped in between her and the door. Snow took a step back, finally realizing she could be in danger.

"You can't do that. You don't understand."

She remained silent, feeling her bravery melting like butter under the sun. After all, if he killed her now she couldn't say a thing.

Suddenly, he was in front of her and his hands grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I said I won't hurt you."

She felt goosebumps on her skin. His touch was so cold…

"I just want to make you understand how important it is to keep this a secret." he said in a lower tone. "I won't alter your memory, but I need you to promise me something."

Snow wondered how a vampire could have such a gentle gaze.

"Promise you'll trust me."

"Trust you?" she repeated, taken aback.

"Yes, trust me. No one will touch you or your colleagues again, I swear it."

Snow looked at him, disarmed by his demeanour. His eyes, dangerously close to the shade of crimson, entranced her.

Kaname found himself unable to let her go. He stared at her face, so delicate and innocent, like a child's. He couldn't let her go. Not again.

His face drew closer to hers and she didn't struggle, she just kept looking at him with those big brown eyes.

Almost unconsciously, his gaze trailed to her neck. It was a vampire's basic instinct to taste the one they craved for…to have their blood mixing together. Her hair was pulled back, making her so exposed…but the golden locks that fell down her shoulders weren't like the ones he remembered.

She isn't Yuuki.

Kaname released her, backing away.

"Give it some time. You'll understand everything eventually."

Snow snapped out of her trance-like state, wondering if this was perhaps another of a vampire's abilities.

She nodded, suddenly feeling worn out.

"I think I'll just rest a bit more." she told him.

"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to send for me."

"Thank you."

Kaname left the room and Snow let herself fall on the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

ooooOOoooo

Ruka, Aidou and Kain sat in the Moon Dorm's common room, all wearing a gloomy expression.

"I don't see why we all have to suffer because of this idiot!" Ruka finally burst, pointing at Aidou.

"Give him a break, Ruka. He's been punished enough." Kain replied, looking at his friend.

Aidou was pale, even in vampire terms. His usual cheerful expression was replaced with a grim mask and he didn't even seem to realize what was going on around him.

"I don't understand why they couldn't alter that brat's memory too. So what if she has vampire hunter blood?" Ruka spoke again in an annoyed tone.

Kain sighed.

"If you ask me, I think Kaname-sama had his motives, other than her lineage." Aidou finally spoke, without looking at them.

"What could those motives be, huh? Why would Kaname-sama want that human girl to know the truth?" Ruka asked.

"Are you questioning my decisions, Ruka?"

The air in the room seemed to get thicker as Kaname stepped in. His voice was as calm as always, but Ruka bowed her head, mumbling.

"Of course not, Kaname-sama."

Aidou dropped to his knees, not daring to look at the pureblood.

Kaname didn't spare him a glance as he climbed up the stairs, to his bedroom.

"I don't want to be disturbed." he added.

"Sleep tight, Kaname!" Ichijou spoke, meeting him on the stairway. He was smiling as he came down.

"What's with the long faces?" he asked the gloomy vampires.

"Ruka's jealous and Aidou's repenting." Kain explained, earning himself a glare from Ruka.

"I have no reason to be jealous." she told him, crossing her arms.

"Then don't be." Kain shrugged.

Ruka shot him a murderous glance, before turning her back on him and walking away.

"You guys are so depressing." Ichijou told them. "I thought we could play cards or something, but if this is the case I'd rather read manga."

"It's almost daybreak anyway. I'm going to hit the sack." Kain said, walking out of the room.

Ichijou looked at Aidou, who had retaken his place on the sofa.

"Aren't you going to bed?"

Aidou shook his head.

"I'll just stay here for a while."

"Suit yourself." Ichijou said, climbing up the stairs. He stopped mid-way and glanced at Aidou again.

"Don't worry, Kaname-sama has probably forgiven you already."

When Ichijou was out of sight, Aidou whispered to himself:

"I doubt it."