Hurrah! Another addition to the fan fiction. Teehee. So, here are my chapterly thank yous: Alix117, BRITISH VAMPIRE, gokurakuin tsukiko, April Marciano, milanhime, akanohana for the support and reviews! I love the kind words you all give me; you keep me motivated to keep writing! Thank you all so much! I hope you enjoy this next chapter =] Arigatou gozaimasu, tomodachidachi!

"No," I hissed.

Chairman folded his hands over his mouth, his eyes carefully surverying me. Zero read over the letter, his expression remaining blank but his face slowly paled the more he read.

"Would you rather someone else take up the task? Mind they won't be as gentle as you-"

"To hell with that! This whole letter is a joke!" I snapped, jumping to my feet and my fists balling. "I'm not doing it. I don't believe it."

"This is real, Kaiyo. I understand you're upset but-"

"Do you realize what they are asking of me?" I shrieked, cutting off Kaien's attempt at comfort. "Do you realize what they are asking of me!"

"Kaiyo, calm down!" Zero attempted, his voice drenched with panic.

"NO!"

"Wait, Kaiyo-!"

Zero reached for me as I tore out of the office, the door slamming behind me.

There is no way this is real.

I reached the stair cases and practically jumped down them before tearing into the main hall.

No way!

The main door was yanked open and I sprinted out into the bitter cold, my thoughts an incoherent mass of hystaria.

Absolutely no way! Not Suki. This is a hoax!

At Suki's...

"SUKI!" I pounded on the door, "SUKI! OPEN THE DOOR!"

No, I hadn't forgotten the last time I paid a visit to Suki's home. Even so, I had to make sure that this wasn't true. There was no way. It was completely insane and impossible.

"SUKI! OPEN THE DOOR! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! SUKI!"

Continuous pounding on her door. Waiting for it to open...praying she'd open the door or at least answer by calling my name. Some sign she was there.

Silence.

"SUKI!" I punched the door a few more times, becoming a mess of hystarical sobs.

Only the wind moaning through the barren trees. No Suki.

"Suki!" I covered my mouth with my throbbing hands. "No...no no no. Suki...why Suki?"

That letter wasn't true. It was a hoax. A hoax! It had to be! There was no possible way Suki had fallen into that way of life. She didn't even associate with vampires! Hell, I didn't even know if she knew they exsisted! What pureblood would even bother attacking Suki? She held no valuable information whatsoever, she was human and she was normal.

...wasn't she?

My thoughts trailed as I sank to my knees, hand trembling over my lips.

Suki is no benefit to any vampire...she's just an average woman that looks after me! She's a family friend of mine! I'm not valuable in terms of information on vampires! Just a random girl that attends Cross Academy...I'm friends with Yuuki and Kaname but-still. I not involved in any of their affairs other than the participating in the fight with Rido...

...unless...

I buried my face in my hands, attempting to figure all this out. All of it was so confusing-to many possibilites and potential answers. None of them made sense. If someone was after me, then why would they attack Suki? And why would they be after me in the first place?

This...isn't happening...

Back at Cross Academy

A light tap on my door...

"Kaiyo?"

"Go away."

"It's Zero."

"Go. Away."

Zero walked into my room anyway, closing the door gently behind him. I might as well have been talking to air molecules. I refused to make eye contact and remained curled up on my bed, facing the wall and staring menicingly at it.

"Kaiyo, I know you're upset but-"

"The Association is just playing a sick joke," I snapped. Despite my harsh, stubborness, I knew what I said wasn't true. The Association didn't screw around and they never contacted me unless I was somehow directly tied to a situation.

"This...can't be easy," Zero said quietly and sat down beside me. "I know how upsetting it is. That letter is difficult to believe for me too. Still, it's best if you don't let your emotions get the best of you. You've seen how those beasts act-she's not the same person you've known for so long."

My eyes burned. I still avoided eye contact and Zero's words burrowed into my memory. Whether or not I should have felt like he was comforting me or being flat out insenseitive was difficult to decide...I knew he was drawing on past experiance but I could not tell if that had made him more empathetic towards me or if had hardened his heart.

"Zero?"

"Hmm?"

I rolled over to meet his soft eyes and he waited, listening, like he always did. Whenever there was a crisis, Zero was always the first one to be there for me. Maybe that was why I was starting to see him differently...? Or was I just being grateful and finally recognizing that, no matter what, I'd always have Zero with me?

I had convinced myself that I loved Kaname Kuran and he was the only one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. My love for Kaname was rooted in the gratitude I felt towards him for rescuing me from a Level E and pulling me away from the bloody scene that haunted me. He watched over me as a brother would and kept me safe. The main difference...

Kaname saved me once.

Zero saved me countless times.

"I know I get edgy sometimes and I tend to blow you off. I want to make up for it," I told Zero as I sat up. "I'm not going to take you for granted anymore-don't look at me like that because I know you know I do-and I'm going to be there for you when you need me to be. Just like you've been doing for so long."

Zero studied me a minute then a smile crossed his lips.

"Don't worry about it, Kaiyo."

"I'm going to worry about it," I stated, my hands gently resting on either side of Zero's face. "I'm going to worry about it."

Zero froze a moment at my touch and then disgressed.

"Just go with it, okay, Zero?" I said. "You deserve it."

For the second time in less than forty-eight hours, I wanted to hold Zero close to me and not let go. I stroked his face with both my thumbs and allowed one hand to slowly brush back stray hair behind his ear. He leaned closer to me, his eyes both soft but harsh...as if he wanted to scold me but also wanted to make the moment last as long as possible. Pressing my lips together and dropping my gaze, I slid my hands back down to his shoulders before meeting his eyes again.

"Your eyes...they're turning the color of blood, Zero," I said quietly, Zero's face dangerously close to mine. Brief surprise flashed across his face before it hardened again in the usual expression. I dropped my gaze once more and gathered my curtain of straight, brown hair over one shoulder with a trembling hand.

"It's okay, Zero," I assured almost timidly, my voice practically a whisper.

I can't keep pushing him away. He needs me right now.

"Kaiyo-"

"It's okay, Zero. I promise."

I smiled, hoping to comfort him, Zero's eyes wide in shock because of my actions. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified. Even though I knew Zero, vampires in general petrifyed me; they were why my parents were dead and why I was haunted by nightmares drenched in blood. Vampires were the reason Zero's life fell to pieces and why he was forced to live a life he never wanted. Vampires did nothing but destroy. He could sense my fear and it was causing his hesitation.

Zero's eyes grew redder and his fangs became visible over his lip, inching closer to my neck. His hot breath puffed over my vunerable skin and I supressed a shudder. I closed my eyes in hopes of shielding how incredibly terrifyed I was; I was not going to allow my fear to prevent my helping Zero when he needed it most. He was not the Level E that ripped apart my parents. Zero was my best friend.

Just do it, Zero.

I instinctivly clutched his shirt, bracing myself for the sharp piercing of his fangs. It's what he needed, wasn't it? Blood. I couldn't deny him of that...not after all the times Zero had been there for me; he was the one that saved me from the Level E at Suki's, comforted me when Kaname and Yuuki left, dealt with all my moodiness and was always the first one to listen to me when I had a problem or concern. I couldn't turn him away now-even if it did mean my facing something I feared most.

Stop hesitating...just do it...please, Zero. For your own good, just do it!

"I...can't," he responded as if reading my thoughts. Zero pulled back, his head bowed and bangs hanging in his face, as if he were ashamed. "I can't do it."

I let out a silent breath, feeling my eyes widen at his statement. There was always a lot of eye widening moments between Zero and me...we had a tendency to genuinly surprise each other.

"Zero, you need-"

He placed a hand on my shoulder to silence me as he turned away.

"Don't worry, Kaiyo," Zero said quietly, standing up and taking a step towards the door. "I'll be fine. I am fine. Don't make yourself suffer...okay?"

"But I'm not-!"

He was out of the dorm and the door clicked shut before I had a moment to finish my sentance.

But...I'm not the one suffering the most, Zero.

I flopped back down on my bed, slightly defeated and stared at my ceiling. It was one of those moments where I wished the answer would simply drop from the ceiling, even though I knew it wouldn't. How in the world was I going to get through to Zero? Then again, I knew why he kept brushing me off...Kaname leaves, I'm being knocked in the face with perpetual information that is somewhat difficult to grasp and Zero is the one that's always there to help. He more than likely saw my feelings as spawning from gratitude or pity-be it self or pity for him.

Or maybe...?

"What if Zero doesn't love me like that anymore?" I shot back up, pondering whether or not to run out of my dorm and find him to ask. "What if he let go of his feelings and found another girl he likes?"

I paused, frozen.

Why does that hurt so much to even think about?

Rubbing my temples and feeling dizzy, I fell back on my bed.

I'm such a hopeless fool.

Because of the length, I'm thinking of adding only a chapter or two more then making a second part. This is ultimatly going to be the longest fanfiction I've ever written...hopefully I'll keep it interesting the whole way through. But, chapter 20 or so, I'm cutting it into two or three parts. Yeah...haha. I hope I'll be able to keep everyone's attention that long. But, either way, it'll be very fun to write! Please, if anyone has any critics as to how I can improve this whole story, kindly tell me. I love constructive critisim! Anything to improve, kindly offer.

As for everyone as a whole, thank you all SO VERY MUCH for reading and submitting feedback. I cannot ever tell you guys enough how grateful I am! All the kind words and motivation is beyond appreciated and I love how you all manage to find time to read and write back to me! I'm so blessed to have such awesome readers and subscribers! Seriously, if I could mail you all thank you letters I would! (That's actually a really good idea...wow. I sound like a stalker. XD! Sorry!) But again, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Did I say thank you? XD You guys are THE BEST EVER! I love you all and I plan on making this a wonderful fan fiction you will thoroughly enjoy. Thank you all so much!

Till next time, my lovely fan fictioness!
The ever so grateful,

~SilverNightRain08