* It might be a good thing that I don't own Fairy Tail or Vampire Knight since Hiro Mashima and Matsuri Hino write them a lot better than I do.

General POV

Excitement was in the air as Lucy wrapped the presents she had gotten for Takuma's birthday party later that night. She hadn't been sure what to get him at first since she wanted to get him something that no one else ever could. So she wrote a letter to Fairy Tail to ask Mira, Wendy, and Erza their opinions. She described how he enjoyed books as much as she did, he had a beautiful sword that he used when he was hunting Level E vampires, and had a sweet tooth as bad as her own.

Next thing she knew, Virgo had appeared with multiple boxes of gifts from all her friends in Fiore to give to her new boyfriend. There were also letters from Mira and Cana, saying how thrilled they were that I had found someone and that Cana's cards saw a good future for them.

One of the gifts they had sent was meant for her to use it as her gift to Takuma. It was a small lacrima charm with the symbol "protection" carved into it. Lucy was instructed to infuse it with her own magic and attach to his sword. It would bring him good luck, enhance his abilities with her own magic, and alert Lucy in case anything were to happen to him. It was an easy spell and she really hoped that Takuma would like her gift.

She wrapped the charm and gathered all the presents to take them outside where the party would be held. The party was supposed to be a big to-do with the entire Night Class attending as well as other vampire aristocrats who were coming for the celebration. She was a little nervous about how to introduce herself to the people who didn't know who or what she was. She was even a little scared to think of what would happen if one of the vampires were to become daring and try to taste her blood. However, Lord Kaname had assured her that none of the vampires attending the party would dare to harm her while he was around. Though he did instruct her not to go wandering off alone or with someone that she was not familiar with. Hikaru had also promised that either he or Takuma would be by her side at all times. With those assurances, Lucy forced herself to relax so she would be able to enjoy her boyfriend's birthday party.

After setting out the gifts, she was surprised when Ruka and Rima swooped up behind her and hooked their arms through hers. "We are going shopping for a new outfit for the party!" Ruka said as she smiled at her.

"But I..."

She didn't even get to finish as Rima shook her head at her. "Your red dress is nice, but I'm sure that Takuma would like to see you in something blue since it is his favorite color."

Realizing that any argument she came up with would be shot down, Lucy sighed and allowed herself to be led away by her friends. The drive to town was a quick one and they immediately led her to a shop that made custom dresses.

It wasn't long after arriving that she realized that Ruka and Rima had planned this. The seamstress fluttered and squealed over Lucy, saying how honored she was to have the hottest new model wanting to wear her clothes. She then brought out six different dressing in varying shades of blue.

The first dress she tried on was a strapless, tea length dress with glitter lace overlaying the navy blue fabric. It had a sweetheart bodice and an empire waist that accentuated her chest... but maybe a little too much. She was fully aware that she had a large chest, and this dress seemed to make it look even larger. Ruka and Rima looked just as uncertain about the cut and suggested trying on the next dress.

The next dress was a sleeveless malibu blue short tank mesh dress with a v-neckline in front and a cowl in the back. It was a beautiful dress, and hid her chest a little better, but the fabric made her look a little big around her waist. Her friends agreed with her and she went to try on the next one.

When she tried on the third dress, Lucy knew that she'd found her dress for the party. It was a lake blue colored lace tank dress. The length ended just above her knees which was a little longer than she was used to but still comfortable and the v-neckline toned down the size of her chest without going overboard. She could tell by the smile on Ruka's face and the look of interest on Rima's face that they agreed with her.

The seamstress fluttered and sighed as she circled around her to make slight adjustments to the dress so it would fit even better. When she was satisfied, she hurried to the next room before coming back with a pair of heels to match the dress and a gold necklace with turquoise crystals to go with it.

It was quickly decided that she would get all of it, but when Lucy reached for her purse she realized that she had left it back at the dorm since they hadn't given her a chance to grab it. Before she could say anything, Rima was paying for the dress and Ruka was paying for the accessories. Lucy tried telling them that she would pay them back when we got to the dorm and they just brushed it off.

"Consider this an early White Day gift for those chocolates you gave us," Ruka told her. Rima nodded in agreement.

Deciding that it was pointless to argue with them, Lucy accepted her gifts and they hurried back to the dorm to finish getting ready for the party.

~oOo~

The party was in full swing only an hour after the sun had set and it wouldn't have surprised her if it kept going until dawn. It was so different from the parties at Fairy Tail, no fights or heavy drinking, but she could tell that everyone was enjoying themselves.

Lucy was cautious as she observed the vampires enjoy the party. Lord Kaname was separate from everyone else as he sat on a elegant settee at the front of the dorm with Seiren watching over him. Aidou, Akatsuki, Senri, Rima, Ruka and the rest of the Night Class were mingling with the vampires that had come for the party. Her boyfriend was in high spirits for his birthday and she couldn't help but giggle at times because of how cute and full of life he seemed to be.

Many of the vampires that didn't know her came to introduce themselves. She didn't miss the hungry gleam in their eyes as they took in her form and her scent. Lucy could tell that none of them were quite sure what she was or what to make of her. She understood that it was only natural for them to be curious about her so she tried to be as polite as possible without telling them what she was since Lord Kaname had advised against her saying anything.

Only one man attempted to give her what he classified as a "friendly nip" to her wrist but he was quickly pushed away by Hikaru. Her friend had stuck close to her since the party began and she was grateful for that. Takuma had also gotten cross with the vampire who attempted to bite her, telling him how it was bad etiquette to bite another man's girlfriend. The vampire had apologized and walked away after that.

When he was gone, Takuma had taken her into his arms to comfort her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "That wasn't too bad, and since you and Hikaru are here I knew that he wouldn't hurt me." Then she smiled up at him. "And since I'm your girlfriend now, you should tell me about the 'proper etiquette' of being in a relationship with a vampire."

The blonde vampire rested his forehead to the top of her head, attempting to hide his blush. "It's simple really; while you're with me, no one but me is permitted to touch you or taste your blood without my permission. They can flirt with you in the hopes that you to leave me for one of them, but that's the most they can do. It's the same for me with you even though you're not a vampire, the girls can flirt but no one can take me away from you unless I willingly leave you. Basically, we belong to each other. The only time this wouldn't count is if you should happen to catch the eye of a pureblood vampire and they wish to claim you. I wouldn't be able to stop them unless we were mated. Luckily for us, we don't have to worry about that since you're under Lord Kaname's protection and he's already told me that he approves of our relationship."

Lucy nodded in understanding, she had suspected as much but it was good to hear it from the source. "What about your family? I don't have any family, so what will that do for us?"

"As far as I can tell, name and heritage is the same here as it was for you in Fiore but there's also the factor of power. The more powerful your blood, the more desired you are by aristocratic families. And going by what Lord Kaname said, and after tasting your chocolates, your blood may be on par with a pureblood vampire's blood. If my parents or even my grandfather were to find out the truth about you, they would insist on us being together more permanently to further the power and prestige of the Ichijo line."

She noticed that even though he was smiling as he told her this, he seemed a little uneasy. Lucy could easily relate. He didn't like the idea of being forced into a marriage anymore than she did. As it was, they had only been dating for a little over a week and didn't want to be pressured by his family to get together if or when they found out about her. But that was something they would worry about when the time came.

A minute later, there was a change in the atmosphere as two unexpected guests arrived, escorted by Aidou and Akatsuki. Yuuki looked uncomfortable and Zero looked like he was ready to pull out his gun and start shooting. Lucy tried giving them a reassuring smile, but only Yuuki seemed to notice it. Takuma gave them a warm greeting and encouraged them to enjoy the party. Zero, being Zero, was cold.

Yuuki got over her shock quickly. "We came here on business, I wanted to know what happened today."

Takuma's expression dropped slightly and Lucy giggle as she took his hand to cheer him up.

"I want to know why you thought it was okay to destroy that Level E," Yuuki continued. "I mean, he's a vampire just like you are."

"Actually, we're not like them at all." Aidou told her as he walked past them to the buffet table.

"Yuuki, you must understand that the society of vampires is ruled entirely by a few purebloods and only a handful of aristocrats," Takuma explained as he handed Yuuki a drink, Lucy handed Zero a drink as well since she was pretty sure he wouldn't accept it from anyone else. "Every student in the Night Class is at least an aristocrat or higher. Below us are the average vampires, and in the ranks below them are the vampires who were once human."

Lucy didn't miss Zero's scowl and could understand why he wasn't happy. She wanted to tell Takuma to be more considerate, but that would give away the fact that she knew the truth about Zero, so she stayed silent and listened. A lot of what she was hearing was new information and she wanted to understand as much as she could about vampire society since she was, technically, now a part of it.

"And then there are those vampires that don't even make the rankings, and they're known as Level E." Senri said, joining the conversation.

"Due to a number of reasons, vampires who began their lives as humans will slowly lose their sanity, falling into Level E," Takuma continued, his expression looking slightly pained. "The 'E' standing for the 'end.' Complete degeneration and destruction."

Lucy couldn't help but grip her boyfriend's hand a little tighter as she recalled her own run-in with a Level E vampire. It had been a terrifying experience at first, she and Gray might have been killed if Rima hadn't gotten to them in time. Sensing her unease, Takuma gave her hand a squeeze to comfort her.

"We are in no way similar to vampires who were originally human. Please don't lump us together again," Aidou said in his usual over-confident voice, though Lucy couldn't blame him for wanting to make that distinction clear. It would be like someone telling her that all celestial mages treat spirits like tools or shields.

"Why do you have to look down on them?" Yuuki snapped, only a few of us knew the reason why. "None of them wanted to become a Level E in the first place. It was your kind that..."

"Exactly right," Takuma interrupted her. "And that is why it is our duty to keep an eye on them. Before they're so consumed by their thirst for blood, they grab any human they can find."

"They were following my orders." Lord Kaname's voice cut through the party, directing the attention away from Takuma and to the pureblood. "I did it. I'm the one who told Takuma and Senri to hunt down the Level E today."

"It was you, Kaname?" Yuuki asked in surprise.

"Yuuki, I'm surprised that you would come to such a dangerous place simply because Takuma asked you to," he told her, his voice showing a bit of disappointment.

"I wanted to find out for myself," she replied.

"Did you now?"

Lucy almost giggled again. Only the little Disciplinary Committee member could make the pureblood so exasperated. It was entertaining to watch.

"Come over here; Yuuki, Zero," Lord Kaname commanded as he sat back down on the settee. There was a murmuring through the crowd, no one seemed to like the idea of the two of them being so close to the pureblood. The tension only seemed to escalate when he then said, "Yuuki, sit beside me. It's all right."

The brunette was definitely shocked and uncomfortable with the idea. "I'm fine here."

"Yuuki."

"Okay," she said as she was suddenly sitting beside him.

Then he pulled her closer to him. "Beside me is the safest place for you to be. "

Lucy watched from beside Takuma, he was just as tense as everyone else as they watched the scene unfold before them. The mage may not know everything about the society of vampires yet, but she knew enough to realize how big of a deal it was to be invited to sit beside the pureblood. Their conversation continued but Lord Kaname was speaking low enough that Lucy couldn't hear them. She got a little uneasy when Zero stood before the two of them. He wasn't threatening at first, more like annoyed.

Then everything changed.

Zero pulled out his gun and pointed it at Kaname. The reaction of everyone around them was instantaneous. Seiren had her hand at Zero's throat, the vampires around her had pulled out a variety of weapons, Lucy even found herself reaching for her whip, which she had secured to her thigh just under the hem of her dress. But then Lord Kaname said something and Seiren lowered her arm as Zero lowered his gun.

"How dare you point a gun at Lord Kaname," Aidou sneered at Zero. "Tearing you to shreds right here wouldn't be enough. However, I will restrain myself while attending this academy. I don't want to hinder the Headmaster's passivist ideology. But never forget, our respect for one person is what keeps us at this school, and he is Lord Kaname, a pureblood."

There were more words between Yuuki and Lord Kaname that Lucy couldn't hear, and she was beginning to worry. The tension around her was only continuing to rise. If something doesn't cut through it soon, there might still be a fight, Lucy thought as she looked at Takuma.

As if sensing the same thing she did, he released her hand to clap and get everyone's attention. "Hey, don't forget everyone. This is my birthday party, you've all got to celebrate. Yuuki and Zero are my precious guests too."

And as if by magic, the tension lifted and the party continued.

Lucy POV

I continued to stick close to Hikaru and Takuma although I did end up dancing with Senri, Akatsuki, and Aidou as well. I was having a great time since everything had calmed down. When it came time to cut the cake, I couldn't wait. It looked absolutely delicious. I'd even taken a picture of it earlier that night to send back to Fairy Tail, I could just imagine how jealous Erza would be when she saw it.

When Senri "accidently" cut Takuma's finger with the cake knife, I couldn't help but feel a shiver race down her spine. But I didn't say anything as the maroon haired vampire licked at the blood. It was because I was looking away from them that I saw Zero cover his nose and mouth with his hand and hurry away. Yuuki quickly followed after him a moment later.

This had me worried, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the smell of Takuma's blood must have reached Zero and made him hungry. And since Yuuki went chasing after him... I looked over at Lord Kaname and he gave me a nod, so I ran after them. I wasn't going to risk anything happening to either one of my friends.

Unfortunately, my shoes did not make it easy to keep up with them and I lost them for a moment. When I heard a large splash and I changed my direction, hoping that I would make it in time. A moment later, there was a gunshot. That had me sprinting towards the sounds as I pulled my whip from my thigh. It hadn't been a normal gunshot either, I'd felt traces of magic like when Zero had fired his gun at Aidou that first night. I had no idea what was happening as I approached the pool where the splash came from, but I was going to be prepared.

As I looked out from behind the trees, I could see three people. Yuuki and Zero were in the water and even in the dark, I could see blood seeping from his shoulder. A man wearing a brown duster jacket, a brown hat, and an eye patch was standing over them and pointing a rifle at Zero.

He pulled his cigarette from his mouth as he stared down at the two teenagers in the water. "Zero, even with your thirst for blood, do you still have a reason to brace yourself?"

As the man was lifting his gun to fire again, Yuuki wrapped her arms around Zero to shield him. "Mr. Yaguri, listen. It's clear to me that you and Zero have a connection to each other that I don't know anything about. But I will not let you decide Zero's fate for him. I will not let you kill him."

I didn't know who this Mr. Yaguri was, but he was pointing a gun at my friends. And although Zero had told me once that the bullets used to kill vampires wouldn't hurt a normal human, I wasn't going to take that risk. That man was going to kill Zero and could end up hurting Yuuki in the process.

"Are you saying, he isn't a Level E yet?"

Before she could answer, Zero was easing her away from him and Yaguri was aiming his gun again. I was about to activate my whip to interfere when Headmaster Cross came running and yelling out of nowhere to grab the black haired man's gun. "This is a perfect example of why I hate vampire hunters."

Hearing that, I stepped a little deeper into the cover of the trees. I should have guessed that Yaguri was a vampire hunter, who else would have a vampire weapon? Which meant that if he saw me, he might end up reporting me to the Hunters Association... but that didn't matter. Even with Headmaster Cross there, if Yaguri aimed that gun at Zero or Yuuki again, I would interfere.

"I want to know now, who are you?" I heard Yuuki ask. This got my attention, I wanted to know too.

"When Zero was training to be a vampire hunter, I was his mentor. Right, Zero?"

The silver haired teenager paused as he was walking past them, still gripping his wounded shoulder. "It's true."

Wow, all of a sudden, I feel like I'm in the middle of a soap opera.

"You really are the adopted daughter of that silly twit," Yaguri continued. "Zero was about to attack you, yet you consider me as your enemy."

This got my blood boiling and I accidently rustled some leaves on the tree I was hiding behind. Yuuki didn't seem to notice. Yaguri took another drag of his cigarette. Only Cross looked in my direction. "I'll take over from here. Yuuki, go back to the dorm."

The soaking wet girl nodded to her adoptive father as she followed Zero in the direction of the Sun dorm. When she was out of sight, Yaguri raised his gun again and pointed it in my direction.

"Did you really think that hiding behind some trees would hide your presence from me?" Yaguri sneered around his cigarette. "Show yourself."

Not sure of what else to do, I put my trust in knowing that Headmaster Cross wouldn't just let this hunter take me away. So I put on the overconfident mask that I had worn as a debutante and stepped out from behind the trees with my deactivated whip in my hand. The hunter's surprised expression gave me a little more confidence. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting someone like me to step out.

"The threat of that gun might be intimidating if I thought it could actually hurt me," I told him as I walked close enough that I could use my whip but remained far enough away that he couldn't touch me. "But that only works on vampires, so you're better off using it as a club or like a baseball bat against me."

He scowled at me, his one blue eye glinting in the moonlight. "And what exactly are you?"

"The answer to that question is well above your pay grade," I said in the coldest voice I could manage.

Yaguri smirked at me. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought that he liked how disrespectful I was to him. "I can tell that you're not a human, but your power is different from a vampire, which makes you an unknown. And under the laws of the Hunters Association, I'm allowed to kill any unknown that I think could be a danger to humans."

He pointed his gun at me and I activated my whip. Just as I thought, when he felt my magic coming off of my whip, he hesitated. I took advantage and flicked my wrist to strike him. The impact knocked the gun from his hands and I had it wrapped around his wrist before he could recover. He and Cross seemed genuinely shocked that I had gotten the upper hand so quickly, I used that to my advantage and glared at him.

"I don't appreciate you hurting my friend, especially since he has yet to become a Level E. That aside, to attack a Cross Academy student who has not harmed anyone and who came to investigate the sound of a gunshot is just inexcusable. And since when does being different warrant a death sentence? If you weren't a friend of Headmaster Cross, I might be tempted to teach you a lesson."

"L-Lucy, I... um... think that's enough," I heard Headmaster Cross stutter out as he kept a safe distance.

I instantly retracted my whip and released the hunter but kept my glare in place. "For the record, I don't kill people so you don't need to worry about that. I am also under the protection of Lord Kaname Kuran, so unless you want to deal with the wrath of a pureblood vampire, be careful who you choose to hunt." Then I turned to Headmaster Cross and gave him my brightest smile. "It's good to see you again, can you tell Yuuki for me that I'm going to be up later than normal tonight so I won't be able to make it out for lunch tomorrow?"

He seemed confused for a moment by my sudden mood change but nodded anyway.

"Thank you, Headmaster Cross! Well, I have to get back to the party. It's Takuma's birthday, you know? I'll be sure to tell him that you said 'Happy Birthday!'" I said cheerfully as I waved goodbye a turned to leave. Neither one of them stopped me, which was a relief. I didn't think that I'd be able to keep that horrid mask in place for much longer.

General POV

Yaguri and Cross starred after the blonde that had just walked away in the direction of the Moon dormitory. They were silent for a long time and then the hunter realized that his cigarette had burned down, so he pulled the pack out his pocket for a new one.

"Well, that was an interesting experience," he chuckled as he lit his new cigarette. "And she's not a vampire or a hunter?" Cross shook his head. "Too bad, that girl would make one hell of a hunter. Maybe I should recruit her."

"I doubt that she'd ever join the Association. Most of her friends are vampires and she's living with them at the Moon dormitory," Cross told him.

The hunter chuckled again. "I don't know whether to be more worried for her or the vampires she lives with. Either way, she has set a challenge for me and I intend to meet it."

"And what was that?"

He took a long drag of his cigarette and smirked as he pulled it from his mouth. "She said that knowing what she was, was above my pay grade. I'm going to find out who and what she is on my own, unless you're willing to tell me."

Cross shrugged as he looked away from Yaguri. "All I can tell you is that Lucy is a well behaved student who has gained quite the following here at the academy. Yuuki adores her, she's friends with Zero; and she wasn't lying when she said that Kaname promised to protect her, although from what I've seen of her skills before tonight, she doesn't really need his protection. So I would recommend that you use caution if you choose to proceed."

"If that's the case, I think I'll stick around for a while. I did just get certified to be an ethics teacher," the hunter chuckled as he rested his rifle against his shoulder. "Between her and Zero, this could be an interesting assignment after all."

A/N: I wasn't sure whether or not Lucy should avoid Yaguri out of fear of being pursued by the Hunters Association. But I figured that since it was going to come up eventually, I should just do it now. This chapter was a bit longer than I normally do. I hope that makes up for the late update. Warm-Fuzzies and please review!