*Vampire Knight and Fairy Tail are not meant to be owned by same person, but if they could I wish that they could have been mine!

Lucy POV

For the next few days, I kept as close of an eye on Maria as I could. She had moved to the other dorm since she'd gained Lord Kaname's permission but would still join us on our nightly walk to class. One day, Takuma was asked to check on her in the old dorm and I offered to go with him. Both of them must have known that I had a different motive for going but neither of them questioned it and allowed me to go.

"Are you excited for the upcoming ball?" Takuma asked me.

I couldn't help but smile up at him as we walked. This was one of the first times I had seen him out in the full sunlight and it suited him very well. "Very much! I've been to galas and soirees when I was living with my father, and Fairy Tail is the kind of place that parties every night, but this is different. Just having fun and dancing is something I am looking forward to."

We continued talking until I saw something odd. Maria was outside of her dorm and skipping towards the main campus where the Day Class was still in session. Takuma got a bit of a panicked look on his face as he released my hand and started chasing after her. Unfortunately, we didn't catch up to her in time and we became surrounded by the majority of the Day Class. Both of us knew how much trouble this could cause and Takuma tried to tell her, but she basically ignored us.

"But I just want to look at the café terrace." She said absently as she skipped along. "This is fun."

I noticed how she looked off to the side and followed her line of vision to where Yuuki and Zero were standing. When I looked back, Takuma and Maria were long gone. Then I heard the girlish squeals and saw Aidou wrap his arms around Yuuki. That made me groan with annoyance. He enjoys torturing her way too much, I thought as I approached them.

Zero was about to leave with Aidou by the time I got there. I could see the serious looks in their eyes as they started walking past me and was about to fall into step beside them.

"This will be a private talk, Lucy. No offense," Aidou said in the cold tone he usually reserved for people he didn't like.

"Some taken. You promised to keep me in the loop on this, Aidou."

"Not now, Lucy. I need to ask this guy some questions," Zero said, gaining my attention. At least he had the decency to appear apologetic for leaving me out. At least that's what I saw, I doubt if anyone else except Yuuki would have noticed.

I met both of their gazes, forcing them to look me in the eye before I spoke. "Fine, I'll give you two your time alone. But just remember, I have ways of finding things out myself. If you don't tell me about this later, I will still find out on my own."

The boys walked away and, because of what Aidou had done to poor Yuuki, she was chased away by a bunch of jealous fan girls. All I could do was look at Yuuki's friend, whom she had passed her books off to and shake her head.

"Crazy day already, isn't it?" I said to the girl with a smile.

"I guess. You're Lucy, right? Zero and Yuuki have lunch with you sometimes."

"That's right, and what's your name?"

"I'm Yuri, Yuuki's friend and roommate." She said as she extended her hand.

I recognized the name right away. Yuuki had spoken about the girl with a lot of affection; but, like the rest of the Day Class students, she was unaware of the double life that Yuuki and Zero led. "It's nice to meet you, Yuri! Yuuki has talked about you a lot during our lunches." I said as I shook her hand.

"Do you think she's going to be okay? That was a pretty big crowd that went chasing after her."

"I'm pretty sure that she'll be fine, it wasn't as big as you think, either." I smiled at her. "Some of those girls went after Aidou and Zero, and others went after Takuma and Maria."

"I'm surprised that you're not worried about your own boyfriend," Yuri said, a small smile on her face.

"I'm sure he'll be fine; but just in case, I should probably go lend him a hand. It was nice to meet you, Yuri. Please keep taking care of Yuuki!" I said as I waved goodbye and hurried off to find my boyfriend. I didn't find him, but I soon located where Aidou and Zero had disappeared to.

They were too far away for me to hear but… I quickly found a more secluded spot close by where no one would notice me. "By the power of the Jade Emperor, I beckon you to my side, Rat of the Chinese Zodiac!"

There was a pop as Whisper dropped onto my shoulder and I rubbed his head with my fingers. "How may I help you, Empress?"

"How far away can I be and read two specific people's minds?" I asked him.

"Whose minds do you wish to read?"

"Up there, Aidou and Zero." I pointed at my friends. "They're having a conversation and leaving me out of it. I want to know what's going on, it's important."

"Since I know whose thoughts you wish to read, I can make it so you can know the thoughts they speak. And we should have no problem from this distance." He confirmed. Then Whisper jumped into the air before turning and diving head first into the center of my chest. Just like with Kaa, there was a feeling of oneness with Whisper as our souls merged. Then I felt a buzzing in my head, as if someone was trying to tune a radio until the voices came in.

"… That's because her appearance has changed, hasn't it?" I heard, if that's what you call it, Zero ask Aidou. Apparently, I had come into the conversation mid-way.

"I don't know anything about that. Only purebloods, themselves, know all the powers they possess. But what's more important is what you sense about her. And I want to hear that from you." Aidou replied.

"Why is that?"

"So as to keep peace in the Night Class."

"Don't joke," Zero said as he started to get annoyed

"You are the only one who would know, because you have a blood-bond with her."

What's a blood-bond? I asked Whisper with my mind.

Then there was a rush of thoughts that made my head ache. Best I could tell, if I went by the chilled sensation that came with the thoughts, was that they came to me from Aidou. The thoughts explained that a blood-bond was formed when a pureblood creates a new vampire and had many functions. It made it so the person who was bitten is obedient to the pureblood and will be incapable of harming their master. It also makes it so the turned vampire can sense the one that had bitten them. That was why Aidou was asking Zero what he sensed from Maria.

Deciding that I had heard enough, I asked Whisper to return to the Spirit World. After he left and I felt the pressure in my head subside, I continued my search for Takuma. Hopefully, he had avoided getting his clothing shredded by the Day Class girls. Although, that was a sight I might not mind seeing.

~oOo~

I continued to keep an eye on Maria whenever I could, but I also kept an eye on how she reacted to Zero. It didn't seem like there was much to see, at least until I noticed the way she would meet the hunter's eyes in passing or how she was giving a little extra attention to Yuuki. It was sort of unnerving.

Then one night, Maria came back to the Moon dorm with a masked man with her. I don't know why, but there was a sense of familiarity with that masked man. Maybe it was his hair, it was the same color as Zero's. Unable to help my curiosity, I followed them until they entered Lord Kaname's office and waited outside. They were inside for a while, and although I couldn't make out what they were saying, I could still hear their voices. It struck me as odd that Maria's voice had changed, it was more mature than before.

After a little while, the door opened and Maria and the masked man came out. The vampire sneered when she saw me but I wasn't paying much attention to her. I was looking at her companion. Looking at him, since I knew from Gemini and Aidou about Zero's family, it was obvious to me who he really was.

"It is quite rude to stare," Maria told me, not bothering to disguise her voice.

Looking at her, I didn't bother to hide my glare. "So is lying about who you really are."

She smirked at me. "But I am Maria."

"No, that's the name of your body but not the soul that's running the show. Your name is Shizuka Hio."

Her eyes went slightly wider for a moment before her glare took on a whole new level of hate and her companion notched his sword with his thumb.

"Don't bother, you two couldn't kill me even if you tried." I told them, glad that my anger at them would have overshadowed the scent of my fear.

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Because Lord Kaname can't control me in his own body, so what chance do you have in that borrowed one? You could try two against one, but we both know that you're trying not to attract too much attention right now and I would still beat you into the dirt, where you belong."

Her companion gritted his teeth as his hand gripped the handle of his sword. Maria/Shizuka put out her arm to halt him, never taking her eyes off of me as her lips formed a smirk. "Interesting. You know, I could use someone like you on my side. And you are not a vampire, so you have no true loyalty to Kaname Kuran. Why not join me?"

My powers started reacting to my anger at the woman. I could tell because she began looking uncomfortable as she stepped away from me. The masked man looked even more itchy to draw his sword. "Because you hurt one of my best friends. You condemned him to become something he hates and I will never forgive you for that. If I hadn't already decided that Zero deserves to be the one to kill you, you would be in pieces right now."

"Do you really think that you have the power to kill me?" Maria/Shizuka smiled at me.

"We shall see, won't we?" I glared back at her before I stepped past them and went towards my room.

I wasn't there for long before I sensed that Lord Kaname had rushed out of the Dorm. Leaving my room, I quickly found Takuma and gave him a look that asked him what was happening. He didn't answer, just shook his head and went to his room. I wanted to find out what was happening. I could follow Lord Kaname if I wanted since I had Night and Arion.

But I also knew that the pureblood must have had a plan. There was no way that he would have let Maria/Shizuka into the academy without one. I just had to trust that he knew what he was doing. But at the same time, I knew that even though he cared a great deal for Yuuki, that affection didn't include Zero. I could only hope that Yuuki's care for Zero would force Lord Kaname to take care of the hunter as well.

General POV

The next afternoon, Lucy woke up hearing an argument downstairs between Ruka and Akatsuki. From the sound of it, Lord Kaname had gone to talk to the Disciplinary Committee about the ball. That struck her as strange since the pureblood rarely went out during the day. When she saw Aidou leaning against the wall with a perturbed look on his face, she knew that she needed to talk to him.

Lucy grabbed his hand and forced him to follow her outside where they were less likely to be heard or bothered by other members of the Night Class. Being conscious of his aversion to sunlight, she kept them to the trees so we could stay in the shade. When they were far enough away, she let go of his hand and turned to face him.

"You promised, now tell me what you and Zero talked about."

He looked away from her as he leaned against a tree. "It was nothing of real circumstance, unfortunately. I was unable to get any solid facts or leads about what's going on."

She glared at him, knowing full well that he was keeping things from her. "What did I tell you about having ways of finding out the truth? For instance, I know that you and Zero both suspect that the pureblood vampire, Lady Shizuka Hio, is connected to Maria in some way. I know that she's the one that attacked Zero's family that night four years ago. I also know that the two of them have a blood bond to each other."

His eyes snapped up to look at Lucy in shock. "How did you know all that?"

"I may not be a vampire, but that doesn't make me stupid either. And it's not like I haven't been paying attention to the ways of vampires since I arrived here." She told him, satisfied that he had the decency to look ashamed. "I also know that blood bonds are formed when a pureblood vampire bites a human. That bite will eventually turn the human into a vampire. Since you know about the blood bond, you know the truth about Zero."

"Of course I know," he said sounding indignant. "Anyone who knows about Lady Hio or what happened that night with the Kiryu hunters would know what happened to him and what he will become."

"And you haven't told anyone?"

"There'd be no point in saying anything right now," he shrugged. "Lord Kaname wants to keep it quiet, so that's what I'll do for the time being. But I've got to ask, how do you know about it?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "I overheard Yuuki and Lord Kaname speaking the day you attacked her." Aidou flinched at that, before turning a glare back at her. "He knows that I was there and allowed me to keep my memories, so don't even think about trying to use that against me."

"Then, what do you want from me now? You already seem to know everything."

"Except I don't. I want to know what became of Ichiru Kiryu."

Aidou looked at his feet. "No one really knows that. The hunters found Zero and his parents in their house, but they never found Ichiru's body. It's suspected that she took him with her to torture him as punishment for what happened to her lover."

"Her lover?"

"A human that she turned into a vampire. She loved him. But then the Kiryu's got the order to kill him even though, rumor has it, he hadn't become a Level E yet."

"That's why she went after them, for killing the person she loved." It wasn't a question, Lucy knew that it had to be true. From what she had seen with the way Lord Kaname looked at Yuuki, when a vampire fell in love, it was a big thing. If anyone dared to harm the petite girl, he would destroy them much in the way Natsu would wipe someone off the face of Earthland if they dared to harm Lisanna or the kids.

"Why would she come here, anyway? Just to get a closer look at Zero while he falls to Level E?"

"I doubt it," Aidou shook his head. "I heard that the only thing she ever truly cared about was her lover. After he died, she went insane and killed the Kiryus. But the fact is that they were only the weapons that killed him, someone else must have been used them to do the deed since that vampire's name was on the hunters' list before he had become a Level E."

Lucy was wracking her mind for some reason why the pureblood would risk exposing herself at the academy when she had taken such pains to hide herself for the past four years. The only things that came to mind were the same reasons that different mages in the past had waited. "If it's not just Zero she's after… then she either had to wait for an opportunity to do something or for the right information. Like you said, the Kiryus were just doing as instructed. So she must have found out who had sent down the order for her lover to be killed."

"That's got to be it," Aidou agreed. "But for someone to manipulate the Hunters Association like that, it wouldn't be easy to get to that person. She would need more than just the identity, she would need a lot of power."

"But she's a pureblood, she already has more power than most," Lucy said, unsure of where the blonde vampire was going with this.

"Not just physical power, but certain bonds that wouldn't have been available to her back then." He told her as his eyes went a bit wider. "Like a way into the Hunters Association so she could get whatever information she needed, that's where Zero would come in. As a hunter, he can find out things that vampires can't. Plus, he's one of the twin hunters which makes him a useful tool."

"I'm not familiar with that, twin hunters?"

"Hunters can only have one child at a time because they are meant to be natural born killers. If, by some chance, a hunter becomes pregnant with twins then one twin will devour the other in the womb and become twice as strong as any other hunter." Aidou explained.

"So what does that mean for Zero and Ichiru?"

"They are the first known twins to be born so they are also seen as the Cursed Twins of the Hunters. From what I've heard; while Ichiru was weak, Zero is stronger than most hunters. Having that kind of power as your servant and spy in the Association could be seen as helpful."

Lucy nodded in agreement. "So she now has the information and a tool for her plans, but that still doesn't explain what she's doing here. Unless… what if the one that had her lover killed is just as powerful as she is?"

"You mean another pureblood?"

"I don't know about that, just someone really powerful. Is there a way for a pureblood to increase their powers quickly?" At that question, Lucy saw the other blonde go pale and a bit of panic set into his eyes. "Aidou?"

"The fastest way for a pureblood to gain power in the vampire world is also the biggest taboo. And that's drinking the blood of another pureblood vampire."

She gasped as understanding flooded her. "And Lord Kaname is a known resident of the academy, it would be easy to locate him, set up a trap on the grounds of the school, an disappear again before the hunters or the Senate could get here to do anything."

"And even if they could get here in time, the hunters are forbidden to harm purebloods and the Senate has no power over them." He confirmed.

"In that case, we should head back to the dorm." Lucy said as she started walking.

"Why? The Senate and the hunters might not be able to do anything, and vampires can't go purebloods. If she tries anything against Lord Kaname, the most we can do is watch." Aidou told her, his voice edged with panic as she followed her.

"That's true," Lucy said as she continued walking. "The Senate, Association, and vampires wouldn't be able to do anything if two purebloods decided to fight. But I don't fall into any of those categories, do I?"

That made the vampire's steps falter as he stared at her back. "You would…"

"I am a member of the Night Class, meaning that I owe my loyalty to Lord Kaname. But more than that, I am also a Fairy Tail mage and we protect our friends until the end. I refuse to let some other pureblood come in here and hurt anyone. It doesn't matter if they are a vampire or a human, she will not get past me."

A/N: I am so, sooo sorry about how long this took. To be honest, I've started to get a little burnt out on this story and I needed to take a break to write some other things. Glad I did it though since I was able to write this out pretty quickly!

I promise to get the next chapter out as soon as the urge to write hits me! And fear not, my faithful readers! I will not leave this story unfinished no matter what! I can't stand it when stories like this are discontinued and I refuse to be that kind of writer!

Warm-Fuzzies and please review!