Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or any of its characters or plot. I only own my OCs and the plot that differs from canon.

To: Guest from Oct 6, GoldenHourglass, ZippyZappy, AliceRuiLin, Mithya Aviana Cailin, BOSS02109, James Birdsong, Guest from Oct 15/18 (thank you for pointing out my mistakes! I'll keep your corrections in mind :)), Crystal Blue Butterfly, Dreamcatcher213, RavenKnightBlackRose, belladu57, Valen Goncalvez and llLittle Sll. Thank you for taking the time and leaving such kind and motivating reviews! They really warmed my heart and helped me to write! :D

A/N: Thank you guys so much for favouriting and following my story and me! I'm happy that you like Where The Flowers Bloom and hope that all of you readers will enjoy this chapter, too!

Chapter Five – A Craving For More

Koharu tried to remain calm as she slid out of bed and entered her bathroom, but without success. She was already dreading her situation.

The Pureblood felt the painful thirst most acutely in her throat, but she could also feel it in the rest of her body, even in her bones. The reborn woman had the feeling that if it continued for much longer, she would go crazy.

The want for blood was a lot worse than the craving for life energy she was used to.

Koharu knew that it was probably futile to drink water to quench her thirst, but she tried it anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't help at all. The craving for blood was still there.

Koharu had the urge to knock her head against the wall.

As if going through puberty for a second time and at a slower pace wasn't already bad enough. It was a small consolation that Koharu didn't have to worry about pimples and menstruation, though.

Yes, vampires apparently didn't menstruate, like most other mammals. It made sense in an odd kind of way. They required blood to live, so losing blood for a week once a month would be rather inconvenient, not only because other vampires would be able to smell it.

Koharu let out a suffering sigh. 'Ugh, this is going to be an absolute pain, literally and figuratively... Couldn't my vampire instincts have stayed asleep for a while longer?'

She wished she could just skip the next weeks.

Yes, weeks. Her maid, Honda-san, had been prudent enough to inform Koharu just the day before that it took a young vampire about a month to gain control over the impulse to feed.

Of course, the Pureblood couldn't leave the closer vicinity of the Ichijō Estate in this condition. She didn't want to risk accidentally coming across a human for obvious reasons. Koharu didn't even want to imagine what would happen if she entered a town in this state.

Per Ancestor Law it was forbidden to turn humans without their permission into vampires, because it had once ended in the human-vampire wars. Forcibly turning a human into a vampire was considered one of the greatest crimes a Pureblood could commit.

Yet, many still did it.

Shizuka, for example, had turned or killed the human slaves the Senate had supplied her with simply to feed on their blood. These slaves the Senate had bought for her had been her only blood source, so she didn't have much of a choice if she didn't want to starve herself.

The humans who'd survived Shizuka's bite and the blood loss turned into vampires, became the Senate's slaves, and in time degenerated to Level E because they didn't receive Shizuka's, their master's, blood. It was a truly despicable system and Koharu would have shared the same fate as Shizuka if she'd stayed in her cage, so she was rather thankful that she was freed by Kaname for whatever reasons.

Koharu threw some cold water into her face and dried it with a towel afterwards. When the Pureblood finally looked into the mirror above the sink, she was met with an image of herself with creepy, blood red glowing eyes instead of the icy cobalt blue she was used to.

Koharu wondered how it was even possible that they gleamed like this, but more than that she was disturbed by the memories that seeing those hungry crimson eyes brought back.

She had stared into eyes exactly like that in the past and what had followed that eye contact had been somewhat traumatising.

'Yes, yes...! Continue screaming for help and defying me like that! Just like Jūri.'

Koharu shuddered in disgust at the memories and the uncomfortable sensations on her neck the sight of her vampire eyes awoke and returned to her room, being resolved to spend the rest of her day in misery and underneath her silken blankets.

If she held out for that long. The thirst was impossible to ignore and she felt too hot to be comfortable.

Maybe she should call her personal maid Honda-san instead of waiting almost two more hours for her to show up?

Just when Koharu was contemplating what to do, her senses picked up the familiar presence and smell of another vampire who was soon at her door. It was about four in the afternoon and there was only one person who would knock at her door at this hour, or who smelt like that.

So very delicious...

Even with all of that distance between them, Koharu could hear Takuma's heartbeat from behind the door, the blood that rushed through his veins. Her throat got even drier in response and felt like it was on fire together with the rest of her body. She craved the young Aristocrat's blood more than anything else she'd ever wanted.

This was bad, really bad. Koharu was not ready for this.

"Koharu-chan, are you ready for our walk?" Takuma asked her, unaware of her internal struggle with her instincts.

She swallowed a few times but refrained from drawing too deep breaths because she would only inhale more of Takuma's scent if she did. Her control over her telekinesis slipped a little, which damaged the glass of her windows and made cracks in the furniture.

"Koharu-chan? Is everything alright?" Takuma must have heard the sound of the splintering glass and wood with his keen vampire hearing.

"...No," she replied with a hint of annoyance aimed at her body.

"What's wrong?" the Aristocrat asked worriedly.

"Vampire instincts."

"Oh!" he said in a tone of complete understanding and spoke up again after a few moments of silence. "Um... Should I wake up Kaname? Usually, family members help out when the craving for blood awakens in a young vampire. My parents and Ojii-san were the ones who helped me through my impulse period."

"..."

Well, she could definitely not rely on her parents to help her out, and Koharu wasn't sure if she should ask Kaname just yet because of what she might see in his memories. They would also have to wake Kaname first and he could be rather grumpy right after waking up.

"Or..." Takuma continued nervously, "...you could also drink my blood if you want."

Astonishment flowed through her. Was he really offering this...?

Koharu wasn't sure how to feel about Takuma's offer. Sure, she knew that for vampires it was a sign of closeness, affection, and trust to give your blood to someone, a way to share your feelings of whatever kind, but Koharu wasn't quite comfortable with that idea.

Her human past and past experiences of getting her blood sucked were influencing her thoughts about it.

Koharu was the most comfortable around and closest to Takuma in this household, and she liked the human-like vampire a lot. The mere thought of hurting him in any way was unpleasant, even if Takuma seemed perfectly fine with it or he wouldn't have offered her his blood.

If Koharu was being honest, a very greedy inhuman part of her also wanted Takuma's blood exactly because she liked her friend.

It was a very twisted, contradictory feeling that had to originate from her vampiric side. It unsettled Koharu that she wanted to hurt him even if it was just to drink his blood.

'Did I inherit this trait from the man who sired me? Or does every vampire feel this way towards the people they cherish?' she wondered. Koharu vaguely remembered reading about that in the manga.

The Pureblood must have taken too long to answer him, because Takuma continued, "I could also call Honda-sa–" Takuma's proposal was interrupted when the door to Koharu's room was opened by an invisible power.

She had dismissed her familiar at the door and, against her better judgement, decided to let Takuma in and accept his offer. Koharu couldn't resist for much longer and she wasn't thinking straight because of the thirst and her urge to drink blood.

Maybe she would regret this later, but there was only one thing she wanted at the moment...

"I would like your blood... if that's truly alright with you," Koharu said quietly as she crawled out of her blanket-cocoon and sat up in bed, brushing her messy silvery-white locks back. She was still wearing her high-collared white nightgown, but that wasn't unusual at this time.

Takuma smiled at her in reassurance as their gazes met and she could detect a hint of pink on his cheeks. "Of course it is! I wouldn't have offered it if I didn't mean it."

With nothing in between them his scent and the sound of his heartbeat hit Koharu full force. The urge to drink Takuma's blood was becoming overwhelming. Koharu clutched at her mattress hard enough to pierce through the fabric with her fingers, so she wouldn't lunge at the Aristocrat like a starved animal at its prey.

She watched Takuma as he closed the door and came closer and closer until he sat down at the edge of her bed. When the Aristocrat opened the first few buttons of his shirt and revealed the smooth skin of his neck area, Koharu could see the veins with blood that ran underneath it.

The thirst was unbearable but she gave him another searching look before she completely lost control over herself.

"Go ahead, Koharu-chan," Takuma encouraged her. "It's okay."

That was all the encouragement Koharu needed to let go, unable to fight the craving for blood any longer. She placed her hands on Takuma's shoulders and bit into his neck without hesitating or really thinking about her instinctual action. Her newly grown fangs easily pierced through the skin and drew blood.

An unknown but heavenly flavour burst across her tongue, and it was delectable enough that Koharu forgot what it was. She immediately lapped the liquid up and began to suck at the wound.

Koharu hastily gulped down the warm blood that entered her mouth. Finally, her dry throat was being soothed, and the bone-deep thirst she'd been feeling was being quenched. Koharu mentally sighed in relief as the painful craving began to subside.

Slowly, the borders between her and Takuma seemed to vanish, and Koharu could feel some of his emotions more clearly than ever. He could hardly contain his elation and joy at being able to help her and at being the one whose blood was being consumed by Koharu. The Pureblood could also sense Takuma's affection for her and a strong feeling of possessiveness that was directed at her.

She'd wasn't bothered by her friend's sentiments. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Koharu was very possessive of the people she cared about, too, and was flattered that Takuma would feel that way towards her and that her platonic feelings of affection for her friend were truly returned.

Apart from a few scenes of Takuma, Kaname and her, or just the two of them, she also saw a man and a woman in the teen vampire's memories that both resembled Takuma. Koharu had seen them on a photo before – they were his parents. She wondered if he missed them.

It made her think of Shizuka and her parents from her past life. What were they doing at the moment? Was her younger sister Julie fine? She'd be in her forties now...

Koharu took two more gulps of blood before she felt satisfied and removed her elongated fangs from the Aristocrat's neck. Blood trickled from the two small wounds she'd caused, and she licked it up before she even registered what she was doing. Not a second later the two holes healed right in front of her eyes.

Koharu's terrible thirst was quenched now and she felt more like herself and in control again. She noticed that the reddish tint to her sight was gone as well. However, now that her mind was clear, she felt embarrassed and a little guilty as she drew back to face Takuma.

He was paler than usual but smiled brightly at her, as if Koharu had done him a favour instead of stealing his life force from him. She knew from her own experience that getting your blood sucked by someone could be quite painful, so how could he smile at her like that? Was her friend really that happy that she'd fed on his blood?

Koharu internally sighed. 'Suck it up and don't be a whiny noodle about something that is completely normal for vampires,' she told herself.

It wasn't as if she didn't have enough time to come to terms with being a vampire, even if it hadn't involved blood drinking until now.

"Are you alright, Takuma-kun?" Koharu asked him a little sadly. "Did I take too much?"

He gave her a good-natured smile at her concern. "Oh, I'm fine, Koharu-chan. What about you? Are you still thirsty?"

Koharu shook her head.

"Great!"

"It looks like my assistance wasn't needed then," Kaname said while he was casually leaning against the door frame of Koharu's room in his pyjama, that consisted of a black shirt and beige jogging pants.

His hair looked more ruffled than usual, as if he'd just gotten out of bed.

"Good morning, Kaname! You're up early today. We didn't wake you, did we?" Takuma turned around to face him, as if the other Pureblood had not just appeared out of thin air.

"The smell of your blood was hard to miss," Kaname dead-panned with crossed arms before he turned his gaze to Koharu. "You should not leave the estate until the impulse period is over and you can control your urge to drink blood."

Koharu gave a nod in agreement, her expression becoming more grave. "After all, I don't want to risk coming across a human and doing something unforgivable to them."

Surprise flickered across Takuma's features before he alternated his gaze between the two Purebloods.

The Kuran ancestor regarded her with a long look. "It's good that you understand your situation."

Koharu left the two of them to get ready in her bathroom and quietly closed the door behind her.

Maybe she was being a little dramatic, but Koharu chose to wear her only black dress that day – one of the Lolita dresses they had bought a few days earlier – because it fit her mood.

Wearing black would also ensure that no blood stains could be seen on her dress if the thirst acted up and she needed to drink blood again. Her nightgown had gotten stained because she'd been a little messy while consuming Takuma's blood, and she didn't want to run around the house with visibly bloodstained clothes.

Kaname seemed to pick up on her line of thought and mood and was mildly amused about her antics for the whole morning, which Koharu didn't appreciate. She was going to hide that new dreary, depressing drama, that he'd bought on their shopping trip, in retaliation.

She also didn't appreciate that Ichiō offered to buy humans for her at lunch, so Koharu wouldn't have to rely on Takuma and Kaname to give her blood for the next weeks. They were just a few years older than her and still teens in vampire society's eyes after all, and Ichiō thought that it would be a troublesome situation for all of them if she relied on the two boys for blood.

Koharu was very angered by this though she could see the logic behind Asatō's reasoning. Still, it took every bit of her self-control not to glare at the Elder or let her control over her powers slip when she politely but firmly refused that offer.

While Koharu managed not to damage anything with her telekinesis even though her emotions were running high, the room got a few degrees colder. Kaname watched her the whole time as Koharu silently struggled to keep up her calm, composed facade in front of Ichiō.

Thankfully, Takuma disliked his grandfather's suggestion as well and told him so before he whisked Koharu off to his room once they were done with lunch.

The young Aristocrat distracted her with his manga, so he must have recognized her silent fuming at Ichiō and his offer, and was vaguely aware of how she felt about biting and turning humans now. Still, something else managed to bother her.

"By the way, Takuma-kun, you should really clean up your room," Koharu advised him as she glanced at the worn clothes that were strewn all over his floor.

'I guess that teen boys will be boys, no matter if they are human or vampire,' she thought in wry amusement.

Takuma smiled, not being bothered at all by the dirty laundry. "Oh, it's alright. You see, they're made of the finest silk from–"

"–That's not the point here, Takuma-kun," she interrupted him and gave him a strict look. "Don't leave collecting your worn underwear and socks to the poor maids, and put your dirty laundry in the laundry basket in your bathroom, please."

Takuma had the decency to blush and laughed sheepishly at Koharu's admonishment. "Umm... I'll try."

"Leaving that aside... Thank you for trying to distract me and understanding me," Koharu continued in a softer tone, "You see... the Senate supplied Okaa-sama with humans, or rather, sacrifices every day, that either ended up dead or became vampires who ultimately turned into Level Es. It saddened and upset me to witness that and to know that I would one day be forced to do the same as long as I remained in that cage. Yusuke-san, my mother's lover who was very kind to me, was also one of these sacrifices once and he really loathed being a vampire..."

She lowered her eyes. "I... I'd hate to do that to a human just to assuage my thirst for blood. That's why I'm very grateful that you and Kaname are willing to give me yours and help me through this period," Koharu revealed as she looked up at Takuma again.

Of course, having once been a human herself played a big part in this dislike as well.

The Aristocrat's forest green eyes had widened at Koharu's unusually long explanation and revelation, and he seemed to see her in a new light afterwards, or perhaps understand slightly better what made her tick.

"Koharu-chan... I'm happy you trusted me enough to share this with me," Takuma said and gave her a warm smile.

Later that day during their dance lessons, Koharu's thirst for blood acted up again. This time her dance partner Kaname was her willing victim and led her to a room close by so they had their privacy while Koharu fed from him, for which she was grateful for.

Koharu was also glad for her foresight – at least, the blood stains couldn't be seen on the dark fabric of her dress though a vampire could easily smell them.

In any case, drinking blood from Kaname was a little awkward though the heady taste of his pure blood was addicting. Koharu could understand perfectly well why a vampire would crave a Pureblood's blood while she was swallowing the luscious red liquid.

Once again Koharu was able to sense some of her victim's feelings.

She could tell from his blood that Kaname wished that it was another girl who was drinking his blood, as well as his longing and love for this other person who could be none other than Yūki.

Koharu felt Kaname's deep loneliness that was so similar to hers, but more like an ocean compared to her small lake.

He was also tired, so very tired.

Koharu recognized the sentiment because she'd felt like that once, too, back when she was human, when she was Lara. It was shortly before she'd died due to leukaemia, after battling against the illness for more than a year.

Back then she'd been tired after fighting for so long, and even though she'd wanted nothing more than to live, she was also relieved when her suffering, that also made her friends and family suffer, finally came to an end.

It baffled her that the Ancestor's feelings were so similar to hers despite everything he'd done and would do in the future if she didn't change something. Actively or passively.

Koharu stopped herself from consuming more of Kaname's blood once her thirst had been sated.

Although it might have simply been a result of seeing an image of her deranged 'father' pouring broken baby Kaname's blood into Ancestor Kaname's coffin, and seeing Ancestor Kaname's mummified form reflected in Ridō's heterochromatic eyes.

It was sickening and terrifying to watch how an actual baby got shredded like that.

She didn't comment on what she'd seen though Koharu felt Kaname's gaze on her as she licked his blood from her lips and blinked away the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

The female Pureblood wondered why he'd let her see that memory. She was pretty sure that Kaname was able to control what she would see through his blood.

She pondered about it for a moment before she decided how to proceed. Koharu was sitting next to Kaname on a sofa, but before they both got up, she did something that came as a surprise to Kaname.

She gave him a hug.

"You're not alone, Kaname-onii-sama." The reborn woman couldn't help but sympathise with him and his feelings , even if it might be foolish of her. Koharu wasn't made out of stone.

It was silent for a moment, but then Kaname brought up his arms around her and stroked over her long, open hair with one hand.

"Are you not going to ask me about what you saw in my memories, Koharu?"

This question didn't surprise her. He'd shown her his memories for a reason, after all. "...I'd rather not talk about that monster." Or what he did to Koharu's real cousin.

"Did it scare you?"

Did Kaname think she was talking about him? Koharu held onto the Ancestor a little tighter. He wasn't a monster just yet.

"Yes... I know that he is mad, but how could he kill a baby?" she whispered. "How can anyone do that?"

The other Pureblood didn't respond right away. "That was what scared you?"

"Isn't a complete disregard for life like that the most horrifying thing there is?"

Kaname drew back from her, so he could look her in the eye while cupping her cheek. The action was unexpectedly affectionate but not completely unwelcome. His hand was warm as he used his thumb to remove the few tears that trailed down Koharu's cheeks.

"You have truly surprised me since coming with me, Koharu. If I didn't know who sired you, I would have never guessed that you are the offspring of that beast."

"Thank you." It was a relief that she didn't resemble Ridō in any way that mattered.

"Are you not going to ask me what exactly you saw in my memories, or who I really am?"

"You're still the same morning grouch, who has an obsession with chess and a horrible taste in literature, that I've come to know over the past two months, aren't you?" she replied calmly but teasingly, having no need to hear his explanation.

"I see... What a strange child you are." His lips twitched though Kaname appeared mildly disgruntled about her description of him.

"Besides, I doubt that you would give me a straight answer. You love your secrets," Koharu added with a shrewd look at the Ancestor.

This time he gave her a small smile and let his hand sink to his lap. "As do you. Don't think I haven't noticed you leaving the Ichijō estate by yourself while a shadow puppet was taking your place," he said lowly. "Why do you practice fighting?"

"To be able to defend myself against that monster when he... comes for me again," Koharu didn't bother denying it, she was aware that Kaname had sometimes watched her training. "I can't count on someone else to protect me."

He eyed her with an unreadable expression as he played with a strand of her hair. "I could teach you how to fight if that's what you want."

"I want anything but to fight, Kaname, but if that is what it takes to stop Ridō, then I will." She hoped that Kaname would get the hint and would use her instead of further manipulating the Kiryū twins himself if Shizuka didn't go after them first.

Koharu needed to learn how to fight and defend herself one way or another anyway. She could kill two birds with one stone like this.

While Koharu felt sickened at the thought of having to fight or kill someone, she might do more than just leave Shizuka be. She couldn't influence what the older Hiō was going to do, but Koharu was already searching for the Kiryū twins herself to keep an eye out for them.

Koharu wasn't sure yet what to do about the future Hunters and would decide what to do with them once she'd found them.

In any case, her familiars were constantly searching for Shizuka and the twins around town parks with cherry trees.

"...Once you are able to leave the estate again, I will show you how Purebloods fight," Kaname declared, just like she hoped he would once she'd hinted at needing to fight her father.

Seeing that this was coming from Kaname, Koharu knew that the training would be no cakewalk, but afterwards she would hopefully know what she was doing and was prepared for the future.

No matter what course it would take.

In the following week Takuma was on a business trip with Ichiō, and Koharu suspected that it was a measure to purposefully keep Takuma away from her. The young Aristocrat felt very apologetic about it but couldn't defy his grandfather.

Kaname and her personal maid Honda-san helped her out during that time and provided Koharu with their blood twice or trice a night. She noticed that her vampire instincts always became stronger after sundown. That first morning had been an exception.

Honda-san's blood was okay but she was only a Level C vampire, so it paled in comparison to Kaname's or Takuma's. Koharu ended up drinking more of Kaname's blood because the thirst and impulse to drink blood acted up when he was around more often than not.

Koharu felt apologetic for taking the Kuran ancestor's blood almost all them time and for making him unable to leave her side to see Yūki, so she let the servants prepare another picnic for the two of them under the blooming cherry tree.

This time Koharu did the tea ceremony for Kaname.

While Takuma was gone, she also bribed the other Pureblood into joining her morning walks in the sun underneath her parasol once or twice and helping her with her gardening by promising not to hide his novels for a few days if he joined her.

The gardening was a new experience for him, too, because the flowers wouldn't wilt like they'd usually do when he touched them due to Koharu's power over them.

Kaname seemed intrigued by it. Koharu guessed that after living for several thousand years it was hard to find something you'd never done or experienced before.

They spent more time than ever in each other's company due to Takuma's absence and Koharu's dependency on the other Level A's blood. Koharu also played the flute for Kaname on occasion after he'd once asked her if she would play for him when he seemed to be a little stressed out about something.

Maybe it were the effects of Yūki withdrawal.

Koharu tried to cheer her cousin up and keep him from dwelling on depressing thoughts for too long as best as she could without being overbearing.

Of course, Kaname was aware of what she was doing, even though he didn't openly voice it. He probably thought it was her way of thanking him for helping her and providing her with blood. Or simply a way to cheer him up after what his blood had told Koharu.

He was right in both cases. She also felt bad for manipulating him into teaching her how to fight.

Despite of getting to know him more, Koharu still didn't trust Kaname and remained wary of his motives. She also missed Takuma a lot more than she'd expected and was excited when he returned with a suitcase full of new manga for them.

It didn't escape her attention how Ichiō was watching the two of them with a calculating gleam in his eyes when Koharu welcomed Takuma back with a fond smile, uncaring about their audience.

It took Koharu a whole month to get over the impulse period and become a proper Level A vampire. The Pureblood couldn't say how relieved she was once she had finally gained control over her impulse to feed when she was thirsty.

Koharu had also gotten used to the blood-drinking and the ever-present fangs in her mouth. Luckily, they weren't always as long as when she was about to suck blood and pierce through skin, but they were longer and pointier than the canine teeth she'd possessed before her vampire instincts awoke.

Now that she had the thirst under control, she could also consume blood tablets like Takuma and Kaname. Koharu was in high spirits when she drank her first glass of the water-tablet-mixture together with the two of them at breakfast.

She was severely disappointed when the bland liquid met her tongue. "..."

Koharu was supposed to drink this all the time from now on?

Sure, it seemed to quench her thirst well enough but it was so tasteless. Koharu had never thought that she would ever prefer drinking blood over consuming the tablets.

Maybe she was already spoiled.

"It takes some getting used to." Takuma interpreted her unimpressed stare at her empty glass right. "You don't have to force yourself to take the tablets, Koharu-chan. If you want to... you can continue drinking my blood," he proposed a little shyly because Kaname was in the room with them this time.

Wow, she really felt like a spoiled brat now. "Thank you for your offer, Takuma-kun. I do appreciate it and will keep it in mind. But I think I'll try to get used to the tablets first."

"Oh, of course."

Was it just her or did the blond Aristocrat seem a little disappointed?

Kaname didn't say a word but seemed to approve of Koharu's choice. Not that she needed or wanted his approval.

"Show me what you can do, Koharu," Kaname instructed her.

They were at Koharu's usual training place and were facing each other.

She was quite nervous and hoped that she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life by revealing what she was capable of.

Well... Koharu didn't have to show Kaname absolutely everything, did she now?

The ground underneath their feet began to rumble and shake.

A/N: I've cut this chapter in half so you could read this part earlier :) It would have taken even longer to update otherwise because I'm not done with the next part yet. As a result, not that much happened plotwise in this chapter, but more canon characters will appear in the next one~! Guess who?

Still, I hope you enjoyed the vampy stuff and the Koharu/Takuma/Kaname fluff! Things are going to change after the next part and the plot will move on~. Let me know whether you liked the chapter :D