Title: Nostalgia

Prompt: March 5/ Aren't I your dearest anymore?

Fandom: Vampire Knight

Character/Pairing: Yuki Cross, Zero Kiryuu, Kaname Kuran / Zeki, Yume

A/N: I figured with about 1000 years, some things had to change. I'm hardly the person I was five years ago, let alone 1000.

Summary: Time eats at everything. This was not an exception.

...

...

...

...

She ventured down, though the ruined academy and into its basement. Through the broken walls moonlight filtered in, brightening the darkened halls. How long ago had she been a student here?

Yuki touched the walls lightly, smiling faintly with the memory. So long, almost too long ago. Hundreds of years had passed since then and as with all things, this once loved building now abandoned. Then again, that wasn't the only thing that changed. Vampires, hunters, there were so few of either left. And only a handful remained that remembered what this school looked like.

"At least you didn't get to see it like this," she whispered. Kaien would have been heartbroken to see what had happened to his beloved school. "But it's served its purpose."

She turned now, toward the steps to the basement. The door that once hid its secrets from the student populace was now unhinged, swaying slightly in the breeze. Pulling it away, Yuki went down, remembering faintly how proudly Aido had once guarded it.

And at the bottom, Kaname waited. Hesitantly, she approached the ice.

This feeling, it was nostalgic. A finger traced his features on the ice—it was as cold as it was the day Aido made it.

"Kaname," Yuki breathed. The nostalgic feeling lingered. "It's been a while."

Centuries. Centuries of memories lay between what happened that day and now. She could never forget.

But she couldn't quite remember either. It had been painful, she knew. Still was, but in a different way. She could barely remember the person she was when she first stood here, staring at his face for days on end.

"Time really does eat everything." Yuki sighed, dropping her hand. "I loved you once. I know that."

Still did. But love had meaning meanings, from the romantic to the familial.

She stared at his face, at the features she had once known so well. "You look different, or is that just me?" Yuki chuckled quietly. "I'm happy now. Very happy."

"But you..." The smile didn't drop from her face. "One day you'll see what this feels like. This freedom to be happy, to love and be loved."

This freedom, without the burden of past sins and desires, without vampires and hunters alike.

In the distance, she could hear Zero patiently shuffling his feet. Age had finally started to affect him, though he refused to let it show. Not that he could hide it from her.

"I have to go now." She pressed a hand against the ice in farewell. "The world you'll see...I know you'll be happy in it."