Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Inuyasha.

Chapter Four


'This is risky.' She eventually thought, looking towards the buildings jutting out from behind raised gates. In front of her sat a figure shrouded in darkness, seemingly at ease as the horses pulled on.

When the carriage came to a halt, she gauged the surrounding area for any immediate dangers. Finding none, the door opened and a hand reached in to help the two out.

It was strange to see her maker in this new form, Kagome reasoned, watching as said shrouded figure daintily put her hand into the other.

Maria Kurenia had always been a frail vampire, so she worried. Ichiru seemed to worry too, for he was handling her far more delicately than ever before.

She wondered if coming to Cross Academy had been a wise move, but she would follow her master anywhere. As she trailed behind the two across the school grounds, she became acutely aware of the large crowd of vampire signatures in one of the school buildings.

"Maria," she began, fumbling over the informalities, "I imagine you're aware?"

Maria offered her a sweet smile, pale grey eyes replacing what would have been cherry colored ones. "I am." The trot in her gait was evident, tinkling laughter permeating the surrounding area. "I'll go meet the headmaster now." She offered nothing more than that.

Ichiru; he'd grown far taller as the years went by, expressed his displeasure with a frown. Kagome could sympathize with his reluctance to leave her alone, but it wouldn't do well to let himself be discovered so easily in his worry for her. They weren't supposed to make themselves known.

She instead offered him a small smile, "I won't leave her alone." It would be easy for her to blend into the shadows. She, herself, had grown little. It was something she attributed to becoming a vampire. She still looked like a young would-be teenager.

Slightly reassured, Ichiru handled Maria's belongings with ease and set off to the moon dormitories.


The human showing Maria around smelled and looked heavenly. She was sweet. Petite. Sincere. When Maria pulled her into a 'loving' embrace, Kagome held her breath.

She wanted to sink her teeth into the girl.

Shizuka expressed more restraint, merely teasing the prefect instead. They both knew they couldn't touch her, however enticing she may have been. Besides, she had larger concerns. Mainly that Shizuka had just entered the night class.

It comforted her to know of the useless formalities vampires had with one another, so she was well assured of her master's safety. They would probably dance around their distaste for one another.

What she hadn't expected was to find Ichiru's twin so easily. She'd heard of him, but it was startling to see him leaning against the tree. His aura spoke volumes of pained angst carefully disguised underneath a look of indifference.

He looked so much like Ichiru. The only difference was the clear vampire nature his aura held. Added to that, he was slowly crumbling into a Level E. Kagome almost felt sorry for him. He had never known the taste of Shizuka's blood.


Her sympathy ran out the moment he dared to point his gun at Maria.

Things had escalated too quickly. The pureblood in human form, Yuki, had come out. And then Shizuka, she knew of her fondness for Zero too, acted rashly. She stepped out to meet him. And Zero reacted less than ideal.

Kagome wavered.

In an instant, she'd leaped from her spot, throwing down a barrier. It was all Zero needed to fire his gun.

The shot was deafening in the silence.

Yuki was screaming at him. He seemed confused at even having pulled out his gun. But that didn't matter to Kagome. Nothing mattered. Only, the fact she was standing protectively in front of Shizuka, the markings of the Bloody Rose stained against her hastily put up barrier.

She cursed her stupidity.

"What did you do?" It was the first time she'd heard Zero's voice. It was far harsher than Ichiru's.

Regardless, he'd dared to harm her master, and she was angry. When her eyes glowed red, the two prefects stiffened in alarm.

Yuki visibly recoiled. Zero held his composure together better, narrowing his eyes. "Disgusting."

She cared little for their reactions, looking back to Maria. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Maria replied, but there was a hint of displeasure in it. Shuddering, Kagome turned back to the two prefects.

She'd accept her punishment later.

"You're foolish." Kagome began, "Spilling blood on this estate would lead to a number of troubles." She wondered what Ichiru would have done had he known his brother had dared to hurt their master.

This needed to end quickly.

"Maria, we should leave." This was far too demanding of her, she knew, but she hoped the pureblood would listen. She was sure the Night Class would come running out at any moment.

Kaname Kuran, the other pureblood on this estate, was someone she would rather not engage with so quickly. Being around them made her uneasy, and she was sure she would have to fight against her instincts.

"Maria, are you alright?!" Yuki had torn the gun from Zero, but she dared not get closer.

"We may go." Maria finally conceded, glancing at the brunette in front of her. Her cold facade melted away; Yuki seemingly to have missed the transaction between them, "Zero didn't mean it."

There was something underlying the words, but by then Kagome had already backed into the shadows. Maria followed shortly after, leaving the two prefects.

"What were you thinking?!" Yuki rounded on her partner. "You could've really hurt her!"

She couldn't bring herself to say kill, knowing the Bloody Rose could fully end a vampire's life if shot correctly. Her expression changed once she looked closely at Zero.

He looked disturbed, shocked even. "That woman…"

"Zero?"

"Who was she?" His voice was cold, chilling Yuki as she wondered just what Zero had against this new student of theirs. She knew Zero hated vampires, but his hate felt far more potent. And unwarranted.

"…a transfer student… The headmaster mentioned it earlier, remember?"

He didn't answer her, grabbing the gun and storming off.

"…Zero?"

He hadn't mentioned the girl, and neither did she.


"Kaname… About the new transfer student," Takuma began, looking at his best friend. "What are we going to do with her?"

"Ichijou, you take care of her."

"Eh?" The blond vampire blinked. This wasn't what he had in mind.

"It will be a problem if I openly talk about her being a nuisance, while she gathers her pawns here." Kaname murmured, glancing out the window to see Yuki berating Zero.

They all had felt the remnants of the Bloody Rose.

"Since, all the pieces I have collected are here."

"Right…" Ichijou couldn't understand what the elite vampire was talking about, but he gathered Maria wasn't good news. She had teased the Night Class, easily picking up on the insecurities of Aido and Ruka.

A knock on the door brought both their attention. "…Hello?"

"Maria?" Ichijou seemed surprised when it opened, "What're you doing here?"

The silver haired vampire let a smile play on her lips. "I want to be excused from the dorm for a while…" Before he could ask, she answered. "To keep the Night Class peaceful." The regret on her face was almost sincere. "I heard that there was a dorm that was used when the Night Class was in the process of being established. I'd like to go there."

"I will talk to the chairman," Kaname answered from behind him.

"Eh?" Was Kaname really going to do that? Takuma didn't think the pureblood was doing that out of courtesy.

"Thank you! I'm so happy!" Maria laughed, rushing out of the room. Ichiru met her, to which she smiled frivolously.

"…Kagome?" He asked.

Maria licked her lips. "She is fine."

Ichiru didn't dare make the connection, trailing after his master.

He wondered if the child was okay.


End of Chapter

(Sooooo I decided to work on some chapters – I will try to plot things out more effectively. I hope to get everyone to meet in the next chapter but we shall see.)