*Author's Note: Another short one…but I hope you like it anyway haha.
Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight, because Matsuri Hino does.
When we got back to the headmaster's house, it was very late. Although I hadn't finished my pile of homework yet, I was so tired. I decided to skip it and go to bed. Zero headed straight for the shower.
As I headed to my room, I thought about the night and how Kaname had saved me from the vampires, just as he had so many years ago. It seemed as though he was always there at the right time. But then, it always seemed as if Zero was too. He had seemed so angry tonight.
Strangely, I felt myself blush as I thought about our embrace earlier. He had seemed so unstable as he hugged me tightly. I didn't know what to make of it. I had known him for years, and in all that time, he always seemed so put together. Angry, yes, but he never seemed shaken. Even the night I met him, he did not seem shaken, but dead. I remembered with such clarity that first night.
I had been sitting at the table eating dinner with the headmaster when there was a knock at the door. The headmaster had looked up curiously, mumbling that he didn't remember expecting any guests tonight. I had watched silently as he had opened the door.
Standing outside was a tall man wearing a long coat. He leaned in to talk to the headmaster privately. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I heard the urgency in his voice. The headmaster looked shocked, but he nodded, agreeing with whatever the man in the long coat had said. The man quickly disappeared, walking to his car, and I thought he was going to leave. But then, he came back from his car, pushing a boy who looked about my age in front of him.
The boy had a very different appearance than most people. He had silver-colored hair and lavender eyes, both very unique to see on a person. But what I noticed the most was not his appearance, but the way his eyes bore into mine. They looked dead. I didn't know what, but I knew that something must have happened to this boy to make him look so dead.
"I'd like you to meet Zero Kiryu. Be nice to him Yuki, his family was killed by a bad vampire. Help him get cleaned up. I have some business with the police I must attend to," the headmaster said quietly to me. He walked away, leaving me alone with this boy. Zero, he had called him. I tried to find my voice.
"So the bath…it's…it's over here," I said, pointing inside, thinking he would follow me. He didn't move, and he didn't say a word. "May I touch you?" I asked after a pause. Still, he didn't respond. He didn't even look like he was listening. "Come on," I said to him, coming behind him and putting my arm around his shoulder to lead him to the bathroom.
I lead him up the stairs and to the small bathroom on the second floor. I realized there was already hot water in the tub, although I hadn't remembered the headmaster or I having filled it before.
"There's hot water in the tub already," I said, hoping he would take it from here and clean up. Again the only answer I received was his silence. I knew I was going to have to help again.
"Um…you want…help with your shirt?" I asked, feeling awkward. Silence. I walked to his side and slid the shirt off of him. I gasped. His entire neck, and parts of his face and chest, were covered in blood, probably his own. To stop my eyes from filling with tears, I knelt down beside the tub and soaked a washcloth in the hot water. I turned to him again.
"Can I clean that up?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't respond. I just felt better asking him for permission. When he proved me right by not answering yet again, I gently washed the blood off his body, being careful not to hurt him. "Tell me if I hurt you," I said quietly. He looked right through me.
When the blood was cleaned up, I saw the source of the blood; two small puncture wounds were in his neck. The vampire who killed his family must have bitten him. I wondered why his whole family had been killed and he had been spared, but I didn't dare ask him, for fear he might break. He seemed so fragile to me.
I took him around the shoulders again and lead him into the adjoining room, which was the only extra room in the house. I set up the bed and put sheets and covers on it, along with pillows, and stood back to make sure he had everything he would need. I don't know how, but I had just known that he wouldn't eat any food tonight. So I walked him over to the bed, and pulled back the covers.
"This is where you can stay. I hope it's comfortable enough…" I let my sentence trail off. I watched as he climbed into the bed and turned away from me, resting on his side. I stood there a moment longer, caught up in emotion for this poor boy. "I'm so…so sorry," I whispered, letting the tears fall freely from my eyes now. He didn't turn or give any sign that he had heard me, but somehow I knew he had. I knew all he wanted now was to be alone. I left him.
As I was brought back to the present, I realized the shower had stopped running. Good, Zero must be out then. I changed into my nightgown and grabbed my toothbrush, heading to the bathroom. The door was still closed when I got there, so I knocked, wondering if Zero was still in there. When there was no reply, I walked in.
Zero sat on the ground, only his pants on, and his whole upper body was soaked. It was as if he had gotten out of the shower and stopped mid-change. He looked utterly lifeless. Something about his eyes reminded me of that first night I had met him.
"Zero…" I said quietly, but he didn't even stir. He just looked blankly ahead as if in a trance or something. I grabbed a towel and walked over to him, kneeling down in front of him.
Without a word, I dried him off, and scrubbed his hair dry with the towel. He didn't seem to mind much, although I knew he was at least aware of me by now. When I had finished, he sighed and stood up without a word. He looked as if he was about to leave, and then thought better of it. He turned back around to face me and offered me his hand. I took it, and stood up, smoothing my nightgown. I looked up at him to try to glimpse what was going on inside his head.
When he just stood there, I didn't know what to do. So I took his hand and lead him to his bedroom, opening the covers for him. He got in the bed and just laid there on his back, not moving or saying anything. He looked so sad, I almost wanted to cry. He was hiding something from me, I just knew it. Something was bothering him and he couldn't tell me what it was. I did the only thing I could think of to comfort him. I laid on the bed beside him outside of the covers and I stroked his hair, just as I used to when we were young. Before long, his eyes fluttered closed and he strayed into a troubled sleep, tossing and turning as I watched.
Tears brimming in my eyes again at the pain he was so obviously trying to hide from me, I got up from the bed and walked out of his room, closing the door behind me.
*Yeah, kind of a downer haha. But none the less, thank you for reading! Tell me how I'm doing!