*Author's Note: Without exception one of my favorite scenes in the entire story. It's so filled with emotion. It was fun to write. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight.

I had been sitting in my room all day, quarantined they were calling it. I was left alone like some diseased wild animal to rot and die in this place. Yagari and the headmaster would confine me until I had fallen to a level E, I was sure. And I deserved every minute of confinement.

Of course I realized that the door was not locked; this was self-confinement. I could have easily walked out of this room and into the world outside. But at what cost? I preferred to nurse my guilt and disgust in private where no one would be hurt.

Naturally, as I was left alone with my thoughts, they strayed towards Yuki. They always did. Just as I had confided in her about my fear of drinking a human's blood again, it had almost happened. I had been morbidly relieved when Yagari had shot me in the shoulder. That searing pain had been the only thing able to stop me in my tracks from hurting her.

A knock at the door quickly extinguished my burning thoughts. I walked over to the door, thinking it was Yagari, ready to open it.

"Yuki…" I said quietly, my eyes widening as I looked at the girl standing in my doorway. Why was she here? "How did you—"

"Why are you staying in this room just because that guy told you to?" she asked me, referring to Yagari I assumed. "…Zero…there's no lock on this door. So why don't you just leave?!" she questioned me, confused at my self-imprisonment. Knowing that I couldn't possibly explain to her my motives and the cacophony of swirling emotions that I held inside, I did the same thing I always did; I pushed her away, hoping that this time she might stay away from me.

"Go home," I told her, keeping any emotions out of my voice and turning my face away from her as I shut the door. But she wouldn't have it.

"Hold on! Why are you doing whatever that guy says?" she asked me, genuine confusion in her voice. She couldn't understand the bond that was obviously shared between Yagari and me. Though I knew that I should send her away, there was some part of me, the human part, which wanted so badly for her to know. To know my story and my past; to know me. Sure, others knew of my past, such as the headmaster and the Vampire Hunter Society. But none knew my story because I willed it. Just once, I felt the need to divulge my secrets of my own choosing, to a person of my choosing. I also had kept it secret from her for all these years, hoping that it would protect her. But now, I knew I had reached the point where withholding information from her would no longer help her, but hurt her, simply because she insisted on being around me, though she knew the ugly truth of what I was. Steeling myself, I prepared to weave her a tale from my crimson childhood.

"My family has been Vampire Hunters for many generations," I told her. "Even my parents were Vampire Hunters. When I was a kid, there would be long stretches of time when my parents would go away. That man would look after my brother and me as both our teacher and our guardian," I narrated, referring to Yagari as "that man", as she had been.

"And that was when it happened. When I saw what they call a level E vampire for the first time," I said, my eyes now clouding over, seeing not what was in front of me but my memories. "The head nurse at our grade school was a kind and beautiful woman. But in truth, she was a vampire that was formerly a human," I continued.

"One day she suddenly transformed into a ferocious vampire right in front of us," I said, as I saw the bloody scene before my eyes once again. Omitting the gory details for Yuki's sake, I continued, "When her neck was smashed, she continued to bear her fangs until the moment she died. And I became afraid of vampires for the first time ever," I concluded my story, looking down at her wondering eyes once again.

"My master risked his life to teach me that lesson," I told her, answering her original question. I wanted her to understand why Yagari wanted me dead, and thus why I had to die. "And so if he says that he has to kill me…then I—"

"No! The truth is the only thing you're doing right now is choosing to hide in this room and give up on yourself!" she yelled at me, eyes ablaze. Angry, I looked away from her, clamping my jaw shut. She didn't understand. She couldn't. Why had I thought that she would? I began to close the door on her and was about to answer her accusation when I saw that the blaze in her eyes had melted into hot tears that were forming at the corners. She gripped the doorframe, shaking, as she continued.

"You're the one who made me take that gun, even though I said I didn't want it. So don't run away from me!" she shouted angrily at me. Suddenly she stopped shaking and stood up straight, looking me in the eyes through the crack in the door.

"Let me in," she said, sounding both calm and determined. I didn't even move to stop her as she walked in, closing the door behind her. She carefully took my shaking hand, leading me towards the bathroom. Looking down at our linked hands, I was genuinely confused.

"Yuki? What are you—"

"No one will notice us in here," she interrupted, pausing before the bathroom door, her back to me as she spoke. "Let's continue where we left off last night," she said darkly.

I knew what she was referring to. How could I not, as last night had been the subject of every one of my troubled nightmares and waking dreams since it had happened? She silently lead me into the bathroom and I followed, still stunned by what she had just said, not fully aware of the physical world at this moment. All I could feel was a swarm of feelings crowding my head, and all I could see was her as she began to unbutton her jacket.

Why? That seemed to be the only word my mind could form. I could not understand why she would go to these lengths, or why she was trying to sustain a monster like me, who could have killed her multiple times in just the past couple days. I could not understand why she would commit the worst sin a human could commit.

"I realize now this is the only thing I can do for you," she said quietly, her eyes downcast. I could not bear that look, the one that told me this was her only option, and she saw it as her obligation to sustain me.

"Yuki…" I said her name quietly,"…what are you saying?" I asked her, trying to keep the sadness from seeping into my soft voice. Without looking at me, she walked up to me, pushing my shoulders back. I obliged, as usual my muscles relaxing to let her take me where she would to avoid hurting her. As my back hit the wall, my breath caught, and I put my hands gently on her shoulders.

"This is the best way," she told me, burying her face in my chest. "Zero…drink my blood," she said, her slight shaking against my body driving me to pull her into my arms and hold her. I knew that I couldn't do this. This was wrong. But I also knew I would. My despair at the weakness of my willpower bled into my legs and they gave out under me, causing me to slide to the ground, landing with Yuki in my lap. "You'll feel better, even if only for a little while," she told me, gripping my shirt with her tiny fists.

I couldn't look at her anymore. I couldn't watch her offer herself up to me so meekly. And yet I couldn't stop the blood in my own body rushing to my cheeks, flushing them with my twisted excitement at the prospect of her blood. As my bloodlust began to take over, I knew my only hope now was to plead with her.

"Please don't. I can't…I would never…forgive myself…" I said softly, as I painfully held back my thirst.

"Yes…I know…" she said just as softly. The despair flared in me as I realized that she wasn't going to stop this, and I no longer was capable of doing it myself. My hand moved of its own free will, coming to rest on her back. Though I was fighting a battle within myself raging stronger than any I had faced so far in my life, it didn't show in the way I leaned towards her, breathing heavily, my mouth watering with the sound of her blood pumping through her veins under her paper-thin skin.

"I'm sorry, Zero," she said gently. A single tear escaped my eye as my internal battle was lost and I gave in to my deepest desires, the monster inside of me burying my anguish at hurting the only person I loved in the worst way possible. Baring my descended fangs, I slid them into the tender flesh of her neck.

As the first wave of her blood hit my parched throat, my instincts took over and I grabbed a fistful of her hair, holding her in place as I gulped hungrily. However, I was not prepared for the torrent of emotions that came with each gulp.

I could taste her fear. She could tell me over and over again that she wasn't afraid of me, but I knew that deep down, her instincts were screaming at her to get as far from me as possible. Her fear wasn't even the worst part.

Despair. Guilt. Regret. Her emotions hit me like a wall as thoughts of Kaname drifted on her blood. I did not understand how emotions and thoughts could be conveyed through blood, but I now realized that the act of drinking blood for a vampire was the single most intimate act they were capable of. I gripped her tighter as my own emotions about what I was doing to her caught up to me.

Then, as if sensing my distress, she put her hand on my back, and the flavor of her blood seemed to change, an overwhelming tenderness pouring out of her veins, only slightly tainted bittersweet by her previous feelings. I couldn't bear to continue.

Sliding my fangs out of her neck as gently as I possibly could, I leaned back, a drop of her blood falling from my lips. I sat back, not able to look at her.

"Zero…are you alright?" Yuki asked me softly, still worried about my well-being, though I had never done anything but hurt and violate her.

"This being I've become…is despicable," I said, finally forcing myself to look at her. Blood flowed freely down her neck, yet she still looked so beautiful in the soft light. "Even if I loathe vampires…even if I don't want to hurt anyone…I can't stop myself from lusting for blood."

The tears quickly pricked my eyes again as I thought about how much I had hurt her, how much she regretted everything I had done to her. But most of all, how much she still cared about me, despite everything. I was so grotesquely undeserving of any affection she could ever have for me, much less the flood of tenderness I had felt moments ago with the flow of her blood. I wanted nothing more than for her to leave me forever, never looking back, never sparing a thought for the pain I had caused her.

"Yuki…just give up on me," I pleaded. Then, covering my face with my hand so she couldn't see my tears, I said, "You know it too. This is just like the blood tablets. This doesn't solve anything; it's only a temporary measure. Please…before I acquire a taste for your blood…" I told her softly, voicing my greatest fear.

"Just give up on you? How could you ask me to do that? I made a promise to you and I'll keep it no matter what," she said, and I could feel her gaze on me, trying to reassure me. "I promised you that I would stop you, and I don't care if you refuse, or even if you hate me Zero, I will tame the beast in you as many times as necessary! You are not a level E, and I am not going to let you die. If you want, you can hate me along with the vampires, but the one thing I won't let you do is give up on everything!" she told me, trying desperately to keep the hardness in her voice and the tears from escaping her eyes. I looked at her bewildered.

"How could I ever hate you?" I asked her, putting every ounce of emotion I was feeling into that one question. She caught her breath quietly, having sensed all of the feelings barely contained in my voice, and looked into my eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, catching her off guard. But I had to know the extent of the damage I had done to her.

"Uh…yeah…I feel fine! I don't even think I feel faint this time! Don't worry about me, I'm fine as usual, and I won't have any problems going to school tomorrow either!" she said, a little too cheery for the events that had just happened. But she quickly became serious again as she told me, "Nothing has changed, Zero. And tomorrow, come back to class. Do it for me…please. Do it for both of us," she said, and just like every time before, I knew I would, because I was incapable of saying no to her.

*I just wanted to say, as much as Yuki clearly wants to help Zero, it seems to me that she has always felt she owes a debt to Kaname, so there would be no way she could do something like this and not feel slightly guilty, even if that guilt is misplaced (in my opinion). And to clarify, when Zero says he feels her fear, the fear she's probably feeling is fear for him, not of him. Anyways, thanks so much for reading, and let me know what your thoughts are!