The Dark Side

SUMMARY: (KxZxK) This story explores Zero's transformation into a vampire after he is bitten by Shizuka. Traumatized by his family's murders he runs away and finds himself captive in a brothel. He vows to escape and find his childhood teacher so that he can train to avenge his loved ones, but can he stay sane long enough to achieve his goal? Stubborn to a fault, Zero will need to learn to accept help from others if he is to succeed. Even if that help comes from a pureblood vampire.

After a slight 2.5 year hiatus this story has been heavily rewritten as of 08/03/2018. Some new scenes have been added in the first few chapters, and new chapters are forthcoming. I would love to hear what you think! - Cricketsong.1985

WARNINGS: This story contains a variety of adult situations including graphic descriptions of non-consensual and consensual sex, sexual abuse, violence, blood and other mature themes. This work is intended for ADULT readers over the age of 18 and is absolutely rated MATURE. I will not label chapters that contain these things, so expect that they will arise throughout the story. If you are uncomfortable with any of these themes please go read something else.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Vampire Knight or its characters. This fiction is merely for my own amusement and I don't profit from it in any way :(

Chapter 1

Zero and his father helped clear the table after dinner while his mother began to wash the dishes. His twin Ichiru went outside to feed the Kiryu family's dog. The silver-haired thirteen-year-old was glad that his brother had been stronger in the past few weeks. It was amazing really, since Ichiru was always falling ill. It had been that way their entire lives, so the whole family had noticed that Ichiru was feeling much better lately. Zero hoped that his brother was finally growing out of his childhood illnesses so they could train together to hunt vampires. That would be way more fun than Ichiru always watching from the sidelines while Zero learned to fight.

He looked across the table to his father as he stacked the dinner plates together to take them to the sink. His parents had been away on a hunting mission for the Association for the past few days, and this was the first night they had all been together for a family dinner since they'd returned. He could see tired circles under his parent's eyes, but they both looked really happy to be home again. It was getting rare that they could all be together like this, what with his parents being so busy with their work hunting rogue vampires. It was an endless job, and calls were becoming more and more frequent.

Zero was eager to join in the ranks at the Hunter's Association once he became old enough. His family's lineage was one of powerful vampire hunters, and Zero had every intention of following that tradition. He knew Ichiru wanted to do the same, and he pitied his brother for being too infirm to train with him.

"Dad? Master called earlier, he wants me to meet him after school tomorrow, so I will miss dinner, ok? He said he's going to teach me something new!" Zero was excited to learn a new skill, but he also expected that it would come with an ass-kicking (most of his Master's lessons did). Toga Yagari was definitely old school in his approach to teaching. Zero wondered at times if he just enjoyed beating him up, but he was starting to see that Yagari's unorthodox methods helped keep him on his toes. His reflexes and senses had improved significantly in the past few months of his training.

Before his father could answer him Zero felt a chill fill the room. By the way both his parents tensed he knew they felt the same thing. All hunters could naturally sense when a vampire was nearby. Before he'd been old enough to understand that feeling Zero had compared it to the rush you get when you almost fall from somewhere high up but catch yourself – a flood of adrenaline. Master Yagari taught him how to use that sense to determine how many vampires were nearby, and how powerful they were. Right now he was getting intense creepy crawlies; his stomach rolled with the sudden flood of sensation and the hairs on his arms stood on end. This was much stronger than anything he had felt before – it was a really powerful, high level vampire and they were intentionally letting their aura loose.

Just as it became nearly unbearable the door flew open, slamming firmly into the wall and sticking there. The oval pane of glass shattered into a thousand shards that rained over the floor and skittered into the corners. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Zero's mother dropped the plate she was washing, her mouth opening in shock. "Shizuka… Hio…" she breathed just loud enough for Zero to hear, then she ducked behind the kitchen island and everything sped back up again as Zero's father screamed at him to run.

Instantly she was there before him. Her white hair flew in a wind that seemed to surround her, depositing pink flower petals about the room. Zero saw her face, calm, emotionless, but there were traces of tears at the corners of her pale pink eyes. Zero only caught a glimpse of this and then she was whirling on his mother, reducing the kitchen island to crumpled sticks with a sweep of her hand. Zero's voice stuck in his throat as he saw his mother's eyes fill with realization. She never had a chance to cast one of her hunter charms, because she was yanked to her feet by her hair and a delicate white hand ripped into her throat and tore out her trachea and esophagus in one fluid motion. Blood sprayed in every direction, splattering over the vampire's face and clothes. Zero saw his mom's eyes widen in terror, then glaze over, unseeing. She grew limp and Shizuka threw her body to the floor, a raspy gurgle escaping her torn neck as her lungs deflated and she laid still. Blood began to seep around her in a growing puddle. Zero realized in horror that she was still alive; he saw slowing spurts as her heart pumped her blood out of the hole in her neck and onto their kitchen floor.

His gaze was torn from his mom by the sound of a gun cocking. His father had managed to get to the china cabinet on the opposite side of the room, where he'd retrieved a hunter weapon from one of the drawers. Hope flooded Zero briefly as he saw his father rush forward, pointing the gun at Shizuka and squeezing the trigger. His heart quickly sank when Shizuka easily dodged the shot and was suddenly across the room, ripping the gun from his father's grasp. It landed at Zero's feet, a twisted, useless hunk. His dad was now struggling in her impossible grip, kicking at her helplessly. His eyes were angry and defiant.

Zero's dad was a very brave and well-known vampire hunter, with a reputation for looking death in the face and not backing down. It meant he was feared and respected, but right now it was useless against this creature. Shizuka was a pureblood – the most powerful kind of vampire. Zero had realized it as soon as he'd felt her aura roll over him like a suffocating, freezing wave. He had no chance against her. He was only thirteen, still learning the hunter basics and completely lacking skills that might protect him from something as powerful as this monster. Still, he didn't hesitate and he ran to help his father, grabbing a fistful of silken white hair and yanking with all his might.

"Let him go!" Zero screamed, but his hands just slipped from her hair and she ignored him. He beat his fists on her, trying to pry her fingers from his father's neck to no avail. She cocked her elbow back and he felt his body flying through the air, landing halfway across the room on the dining table. It collapsed to the floor under the force of his landing. The wind was knocked from him, but he didn't waste a moment as he struggled to rise to his feet.

Zero's head spun as he tried to get his bearings. When he was once more capable of focusing his eyes he saw that his father hung limply in Shizuka's grasp. He was already too late to do anything. Shizuka offered Zero a small smile and a silvery little chuckle as she threw the corpse down to the floor and kicked it aside. HeeH saw his dad's head was hanging at a weird angle, his eyes blank and staring at nothing. His throat was just a hole in the front of his neck and blood slicked everything around them in a coating of crimson. It was surreal, like something out of a garish movie. It was too much blood, overdone. How could this possibly be happening?

Zero had barely moved from the debris of the dining table when he was dragged backwards by a perfect hand covered in red. He felt a new surge of panic and tried to pull free, even though he knew it was pointless. He'd seen how fast she could move. Nothing he'd learned from Yagari could have prepared him to deal with this nightmare. His fingertips scrabbled at the tabletop, trying to find purchase as he was dragged back to her.

She wound her arm around his waist, bringing him face to face with her fine features and stained lips. She was so close, and he could find no flaw on her skin, no imperfection marred her features. She cupped Zero's face in her palm and leaned into him, inhaling the smell of his hair. He felt bile rising in his throat, his stomach threatening to give in to the fear. He refused. He absolutely would not give this monster the satisfaction of seeing how scared he was. He was going to die in a few moments, he knew it, but he was a Kiryu. He wouldn't back down. He swallowed the bile, and instead spit into Shizuka's face. The little gob of saliva stained her cheek, clinging there obtusely as she met his eyes and wiped it away with the sleeve of her kimono. She was still smiling.

"You are so filled with hate, my child," Shizuka spoke against his cheek, her lips brushing his clammy skin, her fangs scraping at it. "I want to see your hate grow. You will suffer, like your family has made me suffer. Fill yourself with hate, become strong, and I will return to reap what I sow this night," she said in a creepy, detached voice. She pulled Zero's head back by his hair, and he felt her lips and nose brush against his exposed throat. She lingered there, a warm tongue tasting his flesh. His body shook with a wave of revulsion. He tried again to get free but couldn't evade her touches. The arm around his middle tightened until he could barely breathe, and now he began to feel real panic, despite his resolve not to give in.

Moments later pain bloomed from his neck as she tore into him violently, her teeth ripping deep furrows in his throat. He screamed in agony, catching sight of his mother's corpse lying behind the remnants of their kitchen island as fangs found deep purchase within his flesh. Shizuka's mouth closed hotly around the awful gashes she'd made. Zero's ears filled with the sound of his blood being swallowed away and with each draw he felt fire burn through his veins, his body screaming its violent protest. The world dimmed at the edges after what felt like an eternity, but in reality it was only moments. He nearly lost consciousness, squeezed breathlessly against her hard form by immoveable arms.

He fully expected for that to be the end of things, but she suddenly withdrew her teeth, twisting his hair roughly so he couldn't look away. Her eyes were somewhere between pink and crimson now, blood covering her mouth and chin, and staining her kimono red. The fabric was stuck against her breasts, soaked with his family's blood. Soaked with his own blood. Seeing so much of it outside of his body was almost more than he could handle. His head spun dizzily as he tried to focus on fighting her, but by now his body wasn't responding to his demands of fight and flight at all. His arms managed to twitch uselessly in her grasp.

Her eyes flared with some unrecognizable emotion and she threw him down beside his father's body and was gone. He heard the sound of a small tinkling bell as she left, flower petals swirling in her wake.

The silence that blanketed the room was only interrupted by his shallow breaths as he once more dared to take them. Several long moments passed, measured by the throb of his weakened pulse in his ears.

She was gone, but she would return. She had said… said she would come back…

A niggling thought interrupted all the others as he realized that he hadn't seen Ichiru since before Shizuka had come. He'd stepped out to feed their dog, and hadn't returned. Was he safe? More likely he'd been the first to die. Zero scrambled up, slipping in the warm blood that streaked the floor and everything else. Every nerve in his body was on fire and his neck screamed in pain, his blood still leaking from it and covering his chest in sticky, metallic red. Ichiru. Where was Ichiru!? His vision swam, dotted with white. He had lost a lot of blood, but he had to find his brother! He looked around, even checking outside but quickly found himself alone. His brother was gone, maybe he'd run away? Escaped safely? Or maybe she'd gotten him too…

Panicked, and unable to endure seeing his parents mangled corpses any longer, he ran from the house. On his way out he paused, looking back for a final moment. He was never coming back here. His family was gone and he would never see them again. Before more tears could blind him he grabbed a zippered black sweatshirt with a hood and pulled it over his bloodied clothes. His eyes fell on a picture of his family, framed on the telephone table beside the entrance. He smashed the glass against the doorframe and took the photograph from it, folding it in half and shoving it in his pocket. He left the horrific scene behind him, not daring to look back.

Zero fled as fast as his legs could carry him, out of the house, down the walkway, down the familiar street with its cozy little houses surrounded by flowers and fruit trees. He ran aimlessly, tears stinging his cheeks and the cool night air biting at his lacerated neck. He barely noticed where he was going, just as long as it was away. He came to less recognizable streets, where the houses were not so cheery and bright, and were closer together. Strip malls and low rises replaced bungalows, the sidewalks were cracked and strewn with cigarette butts and paper cups. The dizziness was threatening to stop the fleeing teen's progress now. His legs burned and begged him to slow down.

He clutched at his sweatshirt with bloody fingers as he slipped into an alley and ran straight into a dead end of dumpsters and trash. The bricks echoed with the sound of his hard breaths and his body trembled with adrenaline.

He didn't sense her following him, but at this point he had nowhere he was trying to escape to anyhow. There was nowhere to go even if he wasn't at a dead end. His mother and father were laying in pools of their own blood and nothing he could do would ever bring them back.

The thirteen-year-old clenched his teeth together as fresh tears streaked over his cheeks. He sank down beside a ripped sack of garbage, feeling the cold bricks digging against his back as he slackened, replaying the gory scene in his mind. He knew instantly that he would always recall the scene in perfect clarity – it was seared into his memory for life.

Zero pressed his back into the bricks, trying to stop the horror movie his mind kept playing with little success. He had an intense headache, and his vision was hazy and unfocussed. Blood. He'd lost a lot of blood. Was he dying? Why hadn't she killed him? Zero tried to make his mind work, but it was becoming difficult to think straight. He was aware of his neck throbbing with each beat of his heart, which he could hear loudly in his ears as blood pounded in his head. He raised a hand to the painful wound, and felt the open gashes where the pureblood's teeth had torn his flesh and left it raw and oozing. A sudden realization washed over him.

He had been bitten by a vampire.

A pureblood vampire.

He was going to become one of them.

He was going to become a vampire, and not just any vampire. There was a system of hierarchy that separated the different classes from one another based on the purity of their blood. Humans who were bitten by purebloods became Level D, the second lowest tier. In time, if they did not consume the blood of their maker, then Level D vampires inevitably degenerated into a state of animalistic hunger and madness known as Level E, or the End. As he had not consumed Shizuka's blood, Zero realized that his fate was already sealed. He would become the thing that he and his Kiryu ancestors were born to hunt; it was only a matter of time.

Zero suddenly felt burning hot as he shot to his feet in a panic. His heart's renewed thundering was a deafening din in his ears, but it couldn't drown out the awful truth.

Dizziness enveloped him before he even took a step and he lost consciousness, sinking against the bricks in a rumpled heap.

The period that followed was a blur of patchy moments spent waking in pain and confusion. Zero couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it felt like a lifetime. A chill settled quickly over him as he laid amongst the trash. He would wake to the feeling of freezing cold, realize what had transpired, and allow himself to slip back into the pleasant embrace of unconsciousness once more.

Eventually Zero became aware that he was no longer laying in the alley between the dumpsters. It was the smell – rather the lack thereof – that first alerted him to the change of scenery. Something soft was beneath his pounding head. He wasn't as cold anymore either.

I must be dreaming, Zero thought to himself, inhaling slowly and letting his eyes open. His lids were almost crusted shut with dried tears and gunk. He rubbed them and picked at his lashes until he could open both eyes, trying to bring the blurry world into focus. There was a small lamp with a peach coloured shade to one side of him, providing enough light to see that he was in a tiny room with ugly wallpaper on the walls. A window to his right was covered by a dark blue drape which was pulled shut, blocking out whatever was beyond.

This place seemed real enough, but where was he? He tried to sit up, pain lancing through him when he moved his head. His neck burned with a deep fire that seemed to radiate outwards. It was definitely real. He used his hands to push himself up and felt his head spin. His throat felt parched and his tongue was dry and fat in his mouth. There was a plastic water bottle sitting beside the lamp. He reached for it and drained half of it in one thankful gulp, immediately regretting the quick movements due to the pain they caused his injury. He took a second, more careful swallow and replaced the bottle on the nightstand. Zero looked down at himself. He was still wearing the same bloody clothes, and was laying on top of the blankets of a single bed. The only furniture in the room was the bed and the nightstand to the left of it, and a dresser beneath the window on the right wall. There were some clothes and towels folded on the dresser. There were also two doors, a small one to his left, and a larger one opposite the foot of the bed. The floor was a dark blue carpet that sort of matched the curtain.

Zero slowly swung his legs to the side of the bed, steadying himself on the nightstand as he got to his feet. He gingerly made for the dresser, where the clothes and towels were. Clearly they were meant for him to change into. He looked to the two doors. The smaller one was open a few inches. Upon closer inspection it revealed a restroom with a stand up shower, a toilet and a small vanity with a mirror. He flicked the light switch and a single bulb glowed over the sink. He walked into the room and looked into the mirror.

The face that looked back at him seemed years older than he actually was. His lilac-coloured eyes appeared sunken and were decorated with dark circles. His pale silver hair was plastered to his head in several places with dark crusts of blood. His cheeks had hollowness in them, and his lips were cracked and dry. There were many splotches of blood on his skin, hiding how pallid it was, and when his eyes came to rest on his throat he had to bite back the taste of bile as an urge to vomit overcame him at the sight. The wound was hard to see with all the blood dried over it but it was obviously going to leave an ugly scar. A reminder for the rest of his life of what had transpired the night his family was slaughtered by an evil monster. Shizuka's words echoed in his mind and he almost punched the mirror, but stopped himself, realizing he still had no idea where he was.

It was obvious that he needed to clean himself up before he did anything else, so Zero grabbed the towel that had been left for him and peeled his clothing off, having to rip his shirt free from his skin because it was glued there by dried blood. He stepped into the small shower and turned the water on, letting it soak into the blood all over him and wash it away. He watched the water running down his legs turn red until he was standing in a shallow red puddle as it circled the drain sluggishly.

As he showered Zero wondered if he was a vampire already, or if it would come on more slowly. In his teachings with Master Toga he'd learned much about vampires and how to hurt them, but there was limited information about the transformation of a human into a vampire. Most people bitten by purebloods didn't live to tell the story. Those who did became willing slaves to their creators after drinking their blood. The ones who didn't drink their creator's pure blood were doomed to become monsters ruled by insatiable thirst until they perished or were killed. Zero knew plenty about that; it was his legacy to hunt such monsters and exterminate them as his family had done for generations. Violence did not necessarily come naturally to the young hunter-in-training, but he had been taught to hate vampires his whole life and now he felt that hate morphing into rage as he again experienced the pain of his loss bearing down on him.

He poured some shampoo into his palm and began to wash his hair. Pink lather lifted most of the mess away and he scrubbed himself, using more shampoo and rubbing it over his arms and legs, trying to wash away every bit of blood that he could find. He gingerly touched the mess of cuts and scabs at his neck and tried to pick some of them away, but he had to leave most of it there or risk re-opening the wound. When he was satisfied that he was clean he turned off the water and grabbed the towel, drying his back, arms and legs before wrapping it around his waist. He looked into his reflection again. Now he saw how white he was, how his eyes had a dead flatness to them that he barely recognized. He looked tired and empty. He felt hopeless. What good could possibly come from this? He was alone now. Everyone he loved was gone before their time and he had to live on knowing that he was going to become like the thing that killed them.

At the tender age of thirteen Zero was still largely an innocent child. At least he had been until this moment. He realized that whether he was ready or not, his childhood was over today.

With a heavy sigh far beyond his years Zero turned from his reflection and retrieved his soiled jeans from the floor. He fished around in one pocket until his fingers curled over the folded photograph. He let the pants fall back to the floor, unfolding the picture, noting a few bloody fingerprints marring the surface. He looked longingly into the smiling faces of his mother and father, and into the eyes of his twin brother, Ichiru. He would not let their deaths be for nothing. He would become stronger, and eventually destroy as many vampires as he could until their deaths were avenged. Somehow, he would show any vampire who crossed him that the Kiryu family was not to be trifled with. He would never sink to the level of one of them. He would never taste blood, never allow that madness to overtake his soul. He would sooner die.

Zero abruptly folded the picture back up and left the bathroom to don the clean clothes that had been left for him. He tucked the picture into the drawer of the nightstand and slid it shut, putting aside the thoughts of his family to focus on where he was.

He strode towards the door of the room to find out.