Yuki jolted awake drenched in cold sweat, her sweaty hands clenching her comforter close to her. She sighed in relief. It was only a dream... Her mind unwillingly seemed to warp her back into her dream sequence. The snow was cold and unforgiving against her face, and she brought her arm up to shield her eyes against it. She saw Kaname, looking at her with an unfamiliar cold stare. He had looked at her like she was a Level E, the same one that had attacked her that day in town.
She, of course, did not see his face, but she could imagine it. "K-Kaname-senpai...?" Her dream self had murmured. He had only narrowed his eyes at her. "Yuki. You disobeyed me once again. Why will you not open up to me? I could have helped you with your problems. Instead, you run to Kiryu for comfort." She gasped. Zero? A pained gasp was heard from behind her and she turned. There was Zero, drenched in blood and on his knees, gasping for breath. His moonlit irises widened as they set upon her. "NO YUKI! Run away from him! He isn't who you think he is! Yuki!" She turned and a sharp pain blossomed in her abdomen. She screamed. It wasn't Kaname. It was Rido. He stabbed her with his claws. She faintly heard Zero's agonized scream behind her, and Rido whispered in her ear. "He loved you as much as I did, Yuki Cross. Farewell." He withdrew his hand from her and she collapsed. She heard Zero run to her, firing gunshots and forcing Rido-Kaname to retreat. He collapses beside her on his knees and scoops her up in his arms, his eyes full with tears.
"Y-Yuki... I'm so sorry... This should have been me... Not you..." He cradled her close. Yuki stared up at the "sky" and drew in a pained breath. "Z-Zero... No... It's not your... Fault..." Her eyes began to close and Zero's head snapped up, and he cupped her face in his free hand. "No, no no no no NO! Yuki, stay with me, don't you DARE close your eyes! DAMMIT, Yuki, please, keep fighting! I'll get you help! Hold on! Don't you dare die on me!" Yuki could only manage a weak, tired smile. "Zero... Remember that day... You waited outside for me... Until I got home... What were you thinking that time...?"
Zero swallowed thickly. "I... I-I was thinking of how beautiful you were in the fading sunlight... I loved to hear you laugh... Yuki... You have to stay with me... There's so much left to do... So much I still want to tell you... Don't leave me alone..." Yuki's chocolate-red eyes filled with tears. "i never told you... My biggest secret... I love you, Zero Kiryu... Ever since that fateful night that we met... I knew I liked you... You looked... Like a bloody prince... A prince.. Without a princess... I wanted to be... Someone special to you..." Zero's breath hitched and he drew her closer. "Yuki... I love you so much... I never told you, never showed you... How much you mean to me
... I loved you for so long... Watched you and Kuran dispay affection that I was so jealous of... I wanted you to be mine, Yuki... I wanted to show you... Just how much I loved you... You have to live... Live for me, live for us... I want a million chances to show you how much I love you... Not just this chance, while you die in my arms... Please Yuki..." Yuki let out a pained laugh. "Maybe... We'll see each other... In heaven, someday..." With the last ounce of strength she leaned up and closed the short space between them, and kissed him.
Then, she had awoken with a short scream. It felt so real. She was glad it wasn't. As she got up and got ready, she contemplated the dream. What could it have meant? Was it an omen? A vision? She froze at that. No, no, don't go thinking like that! It was just a dream. She just ate too many strawberries last night. Yeah, that was it.
She put her armlet on and as she was walking down the hall. Suddenly, she got a wave of nausea and she saw black dots flit across her vision. She thought she saw Zero walk around the corner, but she couldn't be sure as her vision swam. She couldn't even feel herself falling, but she felt a warmth envelop her. "Yuki? What are you doing out here?" Yuki felt a piercing pain in her abdomen and cried out in pain. Zero's smooth concerned voice sounded in her ears. "Z-Zero... It hurts..." She felt his arms shift and tighten around her. "What hurts, Yuki? Where are you going anyway? There's no school today." Yuki flinched. Busted... She yelps as the pain intensifies, "M-My abdomen... Z-Zero..." He set her down against the wall of the hallway, and without looking even the least bit embarrassed, pulled up the jacket and shirt of her uniform. She blushed. His eyes widened as he touched the mysteriously scarred flesh of her skin. "Yuki, what have you done to yourself?" He murmurs, looking shell-shocked. "W-What are you talking about?" She looks and gasps. There are cuts all over her abdomen, and looking fresh too! "Let's take you to the Headmaster. He'll want to see this." Yuki moves to object, but he throws her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Z-Zero! I can walk you know!" Zero makes no move to do what she indirectly asks. "No. We don't want to risk the cuts getting worse." Yuki sighs and gives up, relaxing against Zero's taut back, feeling the muscles flex as he moved.
They arrived at the Headmaster's office, and entered without even knocking. "Headmaster, you need to see this." Yuki protested as Zero set her on her feet and lifted up her jacket and shirt, showing the cuts. Headmaster gasped. "My, Yuki! You should have told me you were cutting yourself! Are you being bullied? Are you depressed? Tell me, my darling girl!" Yuki took a deep breath. "No, Headmas- Eh, father... I'm not cutting myself, and I'm not being bullied more than I usually am... I didn't do this to myself." Zero suddenly angrily cut in. "Then it was that bastard Kuran! I'll kill him!" Yuki spun around, pulling her garments down. "N-No! It wasn't Kaname, what are you thinking?" Zero snarled in rage. "I'm thinking that he is the one who did this to you, Yuki. He's a monster, and monsters will do anything to satiate their bloodlust." Yuki vigorously shook her head. "What's gotten into you, Zero? Kaname would never intentionally harm me, especially in this way!" Zero growled. "Then what else could it be?" Yuki's breath hitched and her eyes widened to the size of pie plates. She dashed out of the room, Zero's and Headmaster's voices fading quickly. She didn't even hear Zero's footsteps and she was soon seized and pinned by the wrists against the wall. "Stop, Yuki." She felt Zero's breath on her face and she looked up. Zero wasn't even breathing heavily, unlike her. "Tell me the truth. Was it Kaname?" She slowly shook her head. "Of course not... But.. Something must have snuck into my room last night... A Level E maybe? I don't know, that's the only conclusion I can draw." Zero's moonstone lavender eyes searched hers and he sighed, backing away from her. "Then we have to secure your room so that nothing will be able to get in." Yuki could only nod. "But, if it was a Level E, why did it only scratch me? Why didn't it drink my blood?" Zero stared at her. "It could have just had a meal." Yuki frowned. "But I thought that Level E's always drank blood, no matter how full they were." Zero shook his head. "They stop once they've had their fill. It's rare though. It only clawed you, right?" Yuki nodded. "Yep." Zero stared down the hall. "Well, let's go get some breakfast. Is there anything in particular you're in the mood for?" Yuki suddenly grinned, all traces of worry erased from her face. "How about a steaming bowl of miso soup?" Zero's lips quirked up and he almost chuckled. "Only you, Yuki." And they both made their way to the Headmaster's kitchen.