I leaned against the cold, stone wall. The warmth from Ichiru had already left my skin.

I had just been reunited with my brother only to have him taken away by the same person who took him 4 years ago. I thought back, finally remembering a part of my memories that I had long thought I had deleted.

I remembered how Shizuka mercilessly stole my blood and injected the poison that purebloods carry. The feeling of the poison circulating around my body, making the surface of my skin hot and melting the surrounding snow.

I remembered hearing Zero's laboured breathing close by, the sound of his teeth grinding against each other. The smell of his blood hanging in the air.

I remembered the sight of the 2 loving people who took me in, dead, surrounded by their own blood. Fear being born in my chest.

I remembered Shizuka, her gown stained by our family's blood, her eyes glowing red. The red tongue that licked the remnants of our blood from our face.

But now I remember Ichiru, unharmed, standing by Shizuka's side, smiling. His small face lit up with joy as his eyes skimmed over the remains of our former parents and the sight of Zero at his weakest. I never knew what his face looked like when he saw me, but I had assumed it had been the same.

The cruel side of Ichiru that suddenly took over the one I knew.

When I saw Ichiru, while he was with me and taking care of me, I could see the side that I knew when I sat with him on his bed, talking about the fun things that we did. I couldn't find the cruel essence in his face, in his touch.

I finally lifted myself up from the ground. I felt weak, needing to place a shaking hand on the wall to support me. I followed the route that Ichiru took when he left me. I placed my hand on the knob on the door where he told me that he had to go and that he promised that I would see him again.

I pushed the door from its frame. There was a long hallway, with weak lighting coming from the single string of bare light bulbs. A sudden burst of cold air blew in, making me shiver. I looked down and realised the state of my ripped and stained uniform.

A sudden pang of pain hit my head and I grabbed my head to try to stop the spinning. There was a pain in my throat, not one from thirst but rather an aftertaste that won't go away. In that one moment, I heard something, or maybe I imagined it by it sounded like someone saying: Gomenesai over and over again.

I didn't know how long I had been walking, and the hallway seemed to be never-ending. I finally met a stairway leading up and willed myself to make it up there. A metal door greeted me at the end. Needing a break, I leaned against the door, savouring its coldness against my tired muscles. A cool breeze blew in and it was laced with the smell of blood. I felt my throat burning up with thirst.

Biting my bottom lip, I let the taste of my own blood temporarily satisfy the rawness of my throat. I was tired and I could feel my lids getting heavier. I never expected this to happen. All this mess with Shizuka, I thought that the cover of that story had long been closed. Why would she be here? She had no interest in me. Zero?

I pulled myself up, using the handle of the door to support me. I opened the door slowly and was surprised. It was a hallway in the Moon Dormitory and I had been in the basement. I shut the door after me and saw the sign on the door: Broom Closet. Thinking with a sad sigh, none of these higher up vampires would even think to clean their rooms.

I saw the door around the next left turn and was about to leave when I smelt something: Shizuka's blood.

I needed to know what she meant that my blood had changed. I hadn't thought anyone's blood would change over their lifetimes. That statement, that one and only mind was creating fearful scenarios in my mind. Was my blood mutating? Was my body going to be okay with this new, changed blood? And this could be my only opportunity to find out.

I staggered up the stairs and dragged myself towards the source of the smell. My throat was burning and even the training couldn't stop this rawness.

The door was just ahead of me. I thought I saw a shadow, but it might have been a dream. The smell of blood was strong, too strong to be only a minor wound. The sound of my heavy breathing filled my ears and I closed my eyes tight in disgust. Disgusted with myself. I had worked myself so hard to try to ask Shizuka to only find her heavily wounded or worse, dead. I felt like curling up and crying.

"Kaname, answer one thing for me. That girl, Tsuki, she wasn't born a human was she?"

I froze.

"No, you're right, she was born a pureblood. But the powers of her blood lay dormant within her, waiting to be revived once more." Takashi's voice.

A pureblood? I'm a pureblood? How could that be?

There were too many questions and my head was spinning. The edges of my sight were blurring before finally turning black.

But as a fell into the unconscious state, I could hear:

Gomenesai, Aiko-chan.

Aishiteru