Blood Candy 4- Valentines

What is all that noise outside? I get up and pull back the curtain. I notice the date. Valentine's Day. No wonder they're so loud this early. I close the curtains and lay back down. I had just gotten to sleep too. Damned girls.

"What's all the noise, Hana-sama?"

"It's just the Day Class girls being annoyingly loud. It's Valentine's Day."

"Oh." I get up and walk over to Maru's bed. I bend over her and kiss her forehead.

"Go to sleep. You need your rest."

"Hai." I go back to my bed and sit on the edge. Valentine's Day…Zero hasn't even looked at me since the incident with Aido. I know that he doesn't care about me at all. I wouldn't blame him if he hates all vampires now. After what happened to his family. But I can't stand to see that hatred.

I want to see him happy, to love him. For him to love me. I lie down and stare at the ceiling. Why? Why can't I bring myself to hate him? But only want to love and be loved by him? Knowing that doing so will kill me. Knowing that any sort of love I harbor for the Kiryu family in itself will bring about my death. I situate myself in bed and cry into my pillow silently.

"Kiryu-kun! Again!"

"Temo, Hana-sensei, I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm fine. Again! You'll never be a good hunter if you can't attack a vampire without hesitation!"

"Ah, Hai."

"Quit hesitating! You could get killed if it were someone else. Just because your teacher's a vampire, doesn't mean you're safe in a fight!" I knock him back and wince as the knife nicks me. "That's enough for today. Tomorrow, I want you to be able to keep from hesitating against me. I am, after all, one of the vampires that are hunted." I turn and start for my mansion.

"Sensei! Matte!" I look back at my student.

"What, Kiryu-kun?"

"Why are you training me then, to hunt your brethren?"

"Because, there are evil vampires out there. There are only a few like me that don't like war. The Hunters are there to protect the ignorant humans from those vampires. And I do this because I have a soft spot for your family. I'll see you tomorrow." He nods and I walk away.

"How sweet. The Vampire Hunting Pureblood."

"It's amazing, don't you think? That even though Hunters hunt vampires, they in themselves hold a small amount of vampire blood. All it would take to make a powerful hunter would be a drink of vampire blood. To awaken that suppressed bit of blood in the hunter and heighten his senses."

"You make it sound so easy."

"But it is easy. Haven't you noticed that every time a hunter kills and is splattered with the blood of his victim, he gets stronger? The body of the hunter absorbs the blood on his skin, strengthening him. But that's not what you wanted to talk to me about. Interrupting my pleasant walk."

"As you know, Kuran, I have the ability of prophecy. Unfortunately for you, my latest vision involves you."

"Ah, so you came to prophecy my demise? That's usually the way with your gift."

"Your love for the Kiryu will kill you. Worse than that. You'll fall in love with the last of the Kiryu. And at the hands of your lover, you will die."

"That's all?"

"You don't seem upset."

"Of course not. If I'm to be killed, I'd rather be killed by my lover than a stranger or someone I dislike. And besides. It's quite a ways off, my end. The Kiryu family is in full bloom."

"Just be careful. You're a formidable ally of the Association." I nod.

"Of course. Oh, I haven't seen Kurosu in a while, but tell him thanks for me huh."

"Sure." I hurry to the mansion.

"Hana-sama. Wake up. Kaname-sama is asking for you."

"Maru-chan?" I pick myself up and look around. I suppose I fell asleep while I was crying. My eyes hurt. I roll over and get out of bed. I change into my white uniform and fix my hair quickly before going to the front room, where Kaname is.

"Onee-sama." I roll my eyes and slide down the rail.

"What is it?" Kaname frowns and touches my cheek.

"Your eyes are red. Were you crying about something?" I back up.

"It's nothing. I suppose I was crying while I slept. I don't know why though."

"Ah. Are you planning to attend classes tonight?" I shake my head.

"No. Of course not. I was going to attempt to reconcile with Zero-kun. Since I haven't been my normal self lately."

"Don't get yourself killed, Onee-sama. Not before you and he get together." I roll my eyes.

"You know me. Reckless as ever. It's twilight." The rest of the class show up and we leave the dorm. I plan to go with them, at least to see why all of the usual noise is dulled. I yawn. I didn't sleep well today. Because of that dream. That memory plaguing me. The last of the Kiryu huh?

A festival of sorts? All of the Day Class students are standing behind gates with names over them. Yuki blows a whistle and explains things. So the girls are going to offer chocolates to the guys in an orderly fashion? How strange.

"Humans get stranger and stranger as time passes."

"You're one to talk, Onee-sama." I roll my eyes and notice that there's a small line of guys, embarrassed, behind a gate labeled 'Kuran Hanami'. Kaname notices it as well and chuckles. "Looks like you've got yourself a fan base too." I punch his shoulder and go to the gate.

"Hanami-sempai, please, accept this." I smile slightly and take the box from the guy. Immediately, the rest of them get roiled up and all but attack me. I take four more and notice that any more will make walking awkward.

"Sorry. My hands are full. I can't accept any more." The guys remaining bow.

"It's okay."

"Thank you." I sigh and leave.

"Hana-sama, I can carry them for you."

"Thank you, Maru-chan." I hand her the chocolates and we go towards the school.

"Hey Kuran."

"Zero-kun."

"Think you can make room for one more?"

"Meaning?" He tosses a box to me and I catch it on instinct. A…chocolate. I stare at Zero.

"Thanks."

"Can I talk to you?" I nod and Maru looks at me.

"Hana-sama?"

"Head to class. I'll see you in the room afterwards."

"Hai." She bows and hurries to the classroom. I walk towards Zero.

"What did you want to talk about? I'm sure you have patrols soon."

"I was thinking, and I remembered you. You were friends with my parents. Why? A vampire shouldn't be friends with hunters."

"If that vampire is also a hunter, it is natural. You know the reason why I was friends with your parents? Because…a long time ago, I trained the members of the Kiryu family. After a long time, it got to the point that I had to stop that. Because the association was afraid of having a vampire train hunters. But even if I lost contact with my family, I always was in contact with the Kiryu. Always.

"When someone in the Kiryu family died, or married, or even was born, I was the first outsider to know. And I was always present. However, ten years ago…my parents died, and I lost myself. I found out while I was visiting your family. I went home to see my parents and younger brother and no one was there. I found out that my parents committed suicide and left Kaname on his own.

"I lost myself and went back to my mansion in France, where I stayed and never left. I didn't even leave the grounds of my mansion for ten years. When I heard about your parents…I couldn't bring myself to leave. It was like I had lost everything I ever knew." I look at the tree behind Zero. "I'm sorry. I've been saying strange things."

"No. I asked a question and you answered. But…I have another question. When I remembered that you were friends with my parents, I also felt something strange. I can't explain it, but…I want to know why."

"A strange feeling…as though something important is supposed to happen, but you can't figure out what it is? Like something important to you, like a missing piece of yourself, is right there, but you don't know how to grasp it or even what it is?"

"Yea. I guess." I nod slightly.

"You've already grasped it."

"Huh?" I toss the box of chocolate in the air and catch it.

"With this. You've grasped it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll fall in love with the last of the Kiryu." Zero stares at me.

"A long time ago, when I was still a well known part of the association, the Head of the association was a gifted young man with the uncanny ability to see bits of the future. He approached me one day, saying that my friendship with the Kiryu would be my death. His exact words were, Your love for the Kiryu will kill you. Worse than that. You'll fall in love with the last of the Kiryu. And at the hands of your lover, you will die."

"But why would someone that loved you kill you?" I smile slightly.

"You should understand, seeing as I'm the same as her. I know that mark on your neck. I used to have a tattoo like that on my ankle. To suppress my evil self. It's a seal to suppress the descent into insanity. And other things. That night…she bit you. I'm the same as she is. A pureblood. And my gentleness is twice as fragile as most. Because of my evil self. If you encountered that side of me, you'd definitely pull your gun on me and kill me." I turn and start to leave. I had meant to reconcile with him, apologize for not being there when his family died, for not being there to console him like I had been for so many of his ancestors. Zero catches my hand and I look at him.

"Wait." My hand…I rip my hand out of his and stare at my palm. Why…why did it just feel like my hand was on fire? "Hanami?" Oh right, he calls Kaname as Kuran. I shake my head.

"It's nothing. What?" Oh dear. "Zero-kun? Are you okay?" He looks unsteady. I touch his arm and watch his expression. "You're…come on. You need to get inside, away from the scent of the humans."

I help Zero to the school building and up to Kaien's office. "Kaien, do you have any blood tablets? Zero is…" Zero drops to the ground and I sit on my knees beside him. "Zero-kun…" Kaien comes over with a glass of water and a blood tablet.

I take them from him and start to hand them to Zero. "Here. You'll feel better if you take this." He hits the glass out of my hand, shattering it and spreading water all over the floor.

"Never!"

"Zero-kun…eventually…if you let this continue, you might attack one of the humans here. If you do that…then you're no better than those of us who were born like this. Please…" He looks away from me and I stand up. "Zero-kun…I don't know if you realize this. But…" I shake my head. "Kaien, I'll be going now." I leave the room and lean on the wall.

I can't do this. I can't watch Zero suffer. If he refuses blood tablets…then I'll offer him my blood. I already love him. I realized that when he gave me the chocolate earlier.

I think I might have loved him since I first saw him. When he was born. Because when I heard about the Kiryu family being killed by Shizuka, I was devastated far more than I was by the deaths of my parents. Because I thought that Zero was dead.

And the pure joy I felt when Kaname said that Zero was here, alive and well, that was definitely what I'd been waiting for. It revived me. I had been so depressed in the past four years, it was unbearable. Even Maru was worried about my sanity.

I kept myself locked up in the mansion, asking Maru to bring me prey occasionally from the neighboring town. And even then, it would only be when I was absolutely desperate for blood, to the point I couldn't even move. While I thought that Zero was dead, I lost my will to live, and longed to commit suicide. But I couldn't do that, not when it would devastate Maru to be alone. She's had nothing but me for the past two hundred or so years. I couldn't leave her alone. That's the only reason I didn't rip out my own heart when I thought that Zero was dead.

I clench my fist and go to the dorm, staring at the box of chocolate in my hand. Somehow I managed not to crush it. I open the box and pop the chocolate in my mouth. I wonder if he made it himself. It's pretty good. Better than most chocolates I've had.