Yuuki was walking up the long flight of stairs towards Cross Academy. She'd left the Kuran Estate without a word to anyone right after she received Zero's letter, and she'd been rushing back to what she left behind a year ago as fast as she could. But now, staring up at the entrance to the place she'd lived for the four years of her life that she was human, her feet had suddenly turned into cement.

She slowly pushed forward, forcing herself to remember the courage Zero's letter had given her. The courage that quickly evaporated as soon as she placed her foot on the first step that led up to the entrance. She was beginning to panic, horrible thoughts filling her mind.

What if Zero wrote that letter a long time ago and I'm just barely getting it now? What if Zero isn't even here anymore? What if I'm too late? What if this is just a trick to lure me to my death?

She shook her head violently, pushing those thoughts to the very darkest part of her mind. She was here. She could do this. Nodding once, she regained her courage, and ascended the remaining stairs quickly. The fear in her heart was still present, though she chose to ignore it. Ignoring it allowed her to finish what she'd started. She was determined now. She would see Zero.

Even if this is all just a trick. Getting to see you one more time before I die is better then running from you for forever, Zero.

The sun had just set, and if Zero still had the same habits that he had a year ago, he'd probably be outside running around somewhere. She decided she'd play it safe and go to see the Chairman first, so she needed to be careful not to run into Zero before then.

Crossing the main courtyard slowly, she savored the feelings she remembered of the simple times. The times when the biggest things were protecting Zero and getting good scores on the next test she had. It felt like a dream for her to be there again after what seemed like forever.

Taking in a deep breath, she pushed forward and entered the Sun Dorm where the Chairman was sure to be in his office. She was so nervous that she had to push herself against the wall for support as she walked. Her hands were shaking and she felt the sweat on her palms.

What will the Chairman think of me being here? Oh, I hope he welcomes me back.

Yuuki had made it to the doors to the Chairman's office unscathed and unnoticed, but her stomach was doing anxious flips like never before. Inhaling shaky breaths, she stepped forward and tapped on the door, waiting for her adoptive father to respond. When he responded quickly, her heart, too, did flips at hearing his voice. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it. How much she had missed him.

"It's open." The Chairman said again, when nobody entered his office. Still no reply. The Chairman got up from his seat, walked the short distance to the doors, and pulled them open. What he saw on the other side of those doors made his heart leap into his throat, and he squealed with delight.

"Yuuki!" He exclaimed, pulling his daughter into his arms to embrace her tightly.

Tears were pooling in Yuuki's eyes, and she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to contain them, especially if her father figure kept holding her and showing her the love she didn't deserve.

"Dad..." Yuuki whispered, and a traitor tear slipped over and rolled down her smiling face.

The Chairman heard what she called him and he beamed, his smile growing bigger then it had ever been before. It had been over a year since he'd seen Yuuki, and he was so glad that she was back. He had missed her terribly.

"Oh, Yuuki! I missed you so much!" Cross said, letting go of Yuuki and holding her at arms length to get a good look at her.

His smile faltered slightly as he saw the tear on her beautiful face. Reaching up, he wiped it away gently, and led her to a seat so she could relax.

"I've missed you too." Yuuki said in a pitiful whisper, her voice full of sadness.

The Chairman didn't expect to see Kaname with her, as he knew where Kaname actually was at the moment, but he looked into the hallway instinctively anyway. When he didn't see anyone with her, he shut the doors and took a seat next to Yuuki.

"It's been a while, huh? You haven't changed much. I still haven't gotten used to your hair being so long though!" Cross said happily, playing with a strand of her hair.

Yuuki wondered how he could be so happy about seeing her, after she left and didn't come back for a whole year, didn't send a letter, or make a phone call. She might as well have just completely abandoned him, and he'd still be more then happy to see her when she came around again.

He is the selfless one here, not me.

"Yuuki, why are you so upset?"

She was startled by his question, but gave him the answer she knew he deserved. "I just can't comprehend how you can welcome me with open arms and a smiling face after being gone for so long..." She couldn't even look into his eyes.

"Oh, Yuuki. You have nothing to be upset about. Your my daughter...well...at least you are to me. And you always will be, no matter what you do. I know you were only doing what you had to do. And Kaname always kept me updated on how you were doing."

The Chairman knew that Kaname was barely home anymore though. Kaname was always busy lately. Cross was well aware of this.

"I guess." Yuuki said, "I...I'm just so lucky to have someone like you in my life. I hope Zero is as welcoming as you were, however I doubt I'm that lucky."

"Your here because of his letter, aren't you?" He asked.

"You sent it, didn't you?" Yuuki replied with another question.

Cross nodded, smiling proudly. "I had a feeling it would get you to come back to me."

Yuuki laughed, "So this was all for you?"

"Well, I'm aloud to be greedy with my own daughter!" Cross told her, jokingly defending his actions.

Yuuki stood and ran to her adoptive father, this time pulling him into an embrace. "Thank you." She whispered to him.

He was touched, and held her tightly to him, enjoying the feeling of her being near him again. He really had missed her.

"Zero is probably outside by the fountain right now...if you want to go see him. That is where he usually sulks now." Cross told her as she released him from her hug.

Yuuki took a deep breath and nodded at him. "Okay."

She turned to walk away when Cross called to her.

"Yes?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"He really does care for you. Go easy on him, okay? It hurts me to see him so down. Maybe you can lift his spirits. You always could, you know?" He said, a gentle smile on his face.

Yuuki felt a new found obligation rise within her. She felt she needed to help Zero. She'd always been his protector, his ally, his friend. She was always there for him. She would be there for him again. Now. Right now, when he needs her most. She would be there for him.

She turned once again, only this time, she was running. She had to save Zero. She would save Zero. It was her concern. It was her duty. Most of all, it was what she wanted to do.

When the fountain came into view, she slowed and finally stopped, trying to catch her breath. Zero was nowhere to be seen. She felt a tug at her heart, and felt the familiar ache start to awaken.

I guess I will just have to look for him then.

She exhaled and strolled slowly towards the fountain, stopping once she reached its edge. She looked down into the clear water and saw her reflection. With her reflection came the memories of the last time her and Zero had spoken. He'd called her a monster, and since then, every time she looked into a mirror, that is what she'd seen.

She wasn't ashamed of what she was, she embraced it, she felt like Zero's equal now, but she only wished that Zero could love who she was now. She didn't want Zero to see her as a monster. She didn't want Zero to hate any part of her. But he did. He saw the disease within her. He hated her for it.

Growing angry she let out a low whimper and thrust her fist into the water, distorting her reflection as the water rippled from all directions.

Zero watched Yuuki silently from the tree he was leaning against. He was shocked at what he was seeing. He couldn't believe that she had actually come back, and that she was standing right in front of him no less. Sure, she wasn't exactly within arms reach, but he could easily close the few yards between them and gather her into his arms.

He had stood in the exact spot she was now standing, only moments before she arrived there, and what shocked him even more was that she was almost mirroring the movements he'd just made himself. That was why he moved away from the fountain. He couldn't stand to see his reflection.

Could she really feel the same way that I do?

He just couldn't believe that she'd be disgusted with herself for any reason. Let alone the way she looks.

He had seen her arrive in the courtyard, running towards him, and for a moment, he panicked and almost ran away. But when she stopped and looked around at the empty yard, he could have sworn he'd seen sadness in her eyes. He couldn't move his feet from the ground where he stood, so instead he just watched her as she slowly walked over to the fountain and looked down into the water.

He continued to watch as she clenched and unclenched her small hands into fists. And he watched as she let out a cry and slammed that tiny fist into the water as he'd done only moments before.

But as she fell to her knees and began to cry into her hands, he could no longer just watch. But for some reason, he still couldn't move. So, he made her aware of his presence.

"The greatest harm can result from the best of intentions, right Yuuki?" Zero said. He was referring to himself and the pain she'd caused him, but he couldn't help but feel that the same words applied to her as well.

Yuuki gasped, and stood quickly, but was afraid to turn around and face the man she loved. She would know his voice anywhere. She tried to be strong, and not let him realize that she was crying for losing him of her own accord.

"Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you." Yuuki replied, trying to make Zero see that she wasn't worth his pain, that he shouldn't be upset over her. What she didn't tell him was that she had cried over him. Many many times.

Zero knows she doesn't mean those words, but can't help but feel hurt by them regardless. He still couldn't help but feel he had something to do with the tears she'd just been spilling. As he thought back to her fragile body violently shaking from the sobs emitting from her lips, he felt weak to her once more.

"You know what Yuuki? The hardest thing for me to do was watch the girl I love, love someone else." He whispered, his guard down now.

"And when I seen you smile and knew that it wasn't for me, that was when I missed you the most."

But letting his guard down made him feel vulnerable and he immediately put it back up, malice rising with it.

"It's just another one of those days where I just want to disappear. To get away from everything. Because dying seems less sad than having to wake up every morning with the weight of this pain on my chest." Zero said, the bitterness saturating his tone.

Yuuki knows that she is unworthy of his love. He shouldn't feel any sadness because of her.

"Never be sad for what is over, just be glad that it was once yours." Yuuki says, though her emotions were getting the best of her, and her voice didn't come out as strong as she was hoping it would.

However, Zero is surprised by her words. He is sure that her words are contradicting her emotions, but for some reason she is sticking to them. She is being defiant.

Why won't she just tell me how she feels?!

Zero took a deep breath and continued, looking past her previous statement. He'd come this far, he had to let his feelings take over, he had to finally tell her how he feels.

Yuuki remained quiet, wallowing in the guilt she knew she deserved to feel. Zero, though, began to move towards her slowly, only allowing a small amount of bitterness to show through his next words.

"It's getting colder and the darkness consumes me, Yuuki. Maybe one day you'll actually care about me..."

Yuuki felt a tear at her heart and a prick at her eyes as his words reached her ears. She'd been silently taking everything he could throw at her now, hoping that he would break her down like she deserved, hoping that he'd be bitter and unkind and say every ignorant thing he could think of...

But to think that she never cared about him, that was just too much.

Turning quickly to face him, she didn't even realize their closeness as she screamed at him. "Just because you can't see my tears doesn't mean I'm not crying! And just because I don't show my weakness, doesn't mean that there isn't anything wrong!"

...And mostly she had been hoping beyond hope that he'd grab her and hold her in his arms while she cried because of the intense feeling of shame within her core.

Zero noticed Yuuki had been rather quiet since they'd begun their talk, but he was shocked by Yuuki's tone and especially by Yuuki's words. He realized what she was trying to tell him, so he softened his voice further, and took another step towards her. He is determined to make her see how he feels about her.

"You have to forgive to forget, and forget to feel again, Yuuki. I know that. But I can't seem to forget about you...and I don't want to."

Yuuki finally realizes how close they are and begins to panic. She hasn't been this close to Zero in so long. She tries to take a step back but the fountain is blocking her retreat. So she tries to remain strong, and make him see the reality of things.

"How typical. Your emotions are clouded so you can't see. Even though the truth is right in front of you." Despite trying to be strong, her voice comes out barely above a whisper, and she instantly regrets speaking at all. Zero could always see right through her, as she could him.

And he does. He sees right through her, and he knows what she is trying to accomplish. He takes another step closer to Yuuki, closing the distance between them almost completely, and turns her to face him.

"I'm afraid that the day you finally decide to love me will be the day I've given up on waiting for you." He whispers to her, afraid that if he took his eyes off of her, she'd disappear.

Hearing his words, and understanding them wholly, Yuuki is heartbroken, and the tears she so desperately tried to hold in, came spilling forth, rolling down her cheeks one after another, and became one with the ground as if they'd never existed at all.

And really that was all it took for Yuuki. One look into Zero's eyes and the pain in her heart diminished so completely that it was as if it was never there to begin with. That was how it had always been. But she couldn't bring herself to look Zero in the eye, so she hid her face in her hands, ashamed to even be crying.

Zero wouldn't allow her to hide from him though, and grabbed both of her hands in one of his, and gently forced her to look up at him with the other.

"Hey, you have to have a darkness, for the dawn to come." Zero was trying to show Yuuki that they had both been suffering, but that she could fix that if she wanted to. This was his darkness. This was her darkness. And she had the power to change that darkness. To fix it and make it better. To bring forth light to their darkness, so that they could be happy once more. She had that power.

Yuuki understood Zero perfectly, and bursting into tears, she threw herself into his arms and cried on his shoulder, only this time, she wasn't ashamed of her tears. She was happy that Zero had shown her that he still cares, even if he didn't come right out and say it.

Zero wrapped his arms around Yuuki without hesitation and held her while she cried.

"I'm so sorry." Yuuki cried, though it was muffled by Zero's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Zero rubbed soothing circles over Yuuki's back. "Shh." He said. "It's okay, Yuuki. It's all okay now."

And he truly hoped that it was. He had never felt so hopeful before and he knew that if she decided to leave again, his pain would be so excruciating that he wasn't sure he'd be able to live through it that time around. But he was so happy that he could have this moment with her. This one moment that could tear him to shreds, or lift him higher then ever before.

As Yuuki cried, she recalled a saying she'd read once. It pertained to this moment and she was surprised she even remembered it at all.

I'm digging my way to something better. I'm sowing the seeds I've taken for granted. This thorn in my side is from the tree that I planted. And it's torn me and I've bled.

But the wound has begun to heal, and I won't make the same mistake twice. I am digging my way to something better.

Those were Yuuki's last thoughts before she cried herself to sleep. Zero picked her up gently and began to walk through the courtyard. He held her close to him and refused to let go for anything.

He made it into the dorm building and up to his dorm room without so much as a single struggle or interference, and lied her down on his bed, pulling the blankets over her body. Turning away from her to give her some privacy, he walked back to his door. Taking one last look back at her, he wondered rather she was apologizing for hurting him once, or apologizing because she intends to hurt him again.

Deciding not to ruin this moment with more heart ache, he walks back to her sleeping form and places a chaste kiss upon her lips, then turns and walks out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.