Title: Observing the Way

Category: Anime/Manga » Vampire Knight

Author: Circle of Phoenix

Language: English, Rating: Rated: T

Genre: Supernatural/Family

Published: 03-29-10, Updated: 05-10-10

Chapters: 16, Words: 22,935

Chapter 1: Rido's Final Moments

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

The thing about the Kurans, even their infants could find a way to lend trouble in any plan. Especially for those who had thought them done and over with by the end of their own goals. The day a silver haired boy shot him in the chest; Kuran Rido gaped in open-mouthed horror. Oh, that was wrong on so many levels…

The baby had done the impossible and reincarnated himself into a Vampire Hunter.

Things had turned out smashingly well after that. It could hardly be denied there was some form of satisfaction in the violet eyes when his bullets tore through Rido's chest or that the boy seemed hardly perturbed to be facing off with his once ancestor afterwards.

Damn, did he suddenly feel sorry for the Kurans.

No matter what fate the people of the night had pictured ahead of them, he doubted it would be anything they desired.

That boy was going to tear them all apart and enjoy himself immensely as he did so.

As was proper for any trueborn vampire…

A child after his own heart indeed.

Chapter 2: Juri's Message

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

A baby is crying, he thought, his conscious mind stirring to the fore of sleep before he could catch himself. Pushing himself upwards, Kiryuu Zero cast his eyes about the room trying to find the source of the crying. The images that reflected back at him were fuzzy at best, flickering in his sight as stonewalls and damp air… The smell was nearly impossible not to recognize.

"Tomb. I'm in a tomb." He whispered softly as the baby's crying increased in ferocity. Spinning on his heel, the silver haired teen renewed his search with determination at his back. "Hang on, kid, I'll get you out of here." Picking up his pace, Zero fell back onto his training to track the crying baby. For all the many reasons he found himself waking up here, they became mere shadows in the light of another's need. No matter how hopeless he found his own situation, there was always that drive to do for others.

To protect others from things like himself.

From the vampires. That was why he hunted, he believed, so that no other person would suffer as he had at his or her malevolent hands.

It wasn't too hard to draw the conclusion into his mind's eye why there would be a baby in a tomb despite waking there himself. The vampires were usually behind everything when it came to these kinds of places. The theft was most likely to be blamed on a level E. The further Zero's mind stumbled in thoughts and footsteps, the closer he found his instincts leading him to the crying infant.

Spotting the flickering lights of torches lighting a dim opening, Zero crashed through with little thought that he was without a weapon or a plan. All his instincts were tuned to saving that child. It was only the dripping of blood hitting the floor that stopped him, his eyes taking in the blood red tint of the world.

Held above an open casket was a child, cradled in Rido's hands.

"Im… Impossible." Zero growled. "You're dead."

"He is dead." A woman whispered into his ear from beside him. Startling, Zero turned to look down at the speaker only to find Yuuki's face looking back at him. Despite the apparition beside him, the ex-human shot his face back towards the baby and Rido.

"Go away, Vampire." he growled at her already moving forward to wrest the child free from Rido's deadly grasp.

"You can't help the baby either, Zero-kun. Rido killed him many years ago. Long before even my Yuuki was born." The woman called out to him. "It isn't surprising though that you would remember this. If only we had known… I'm sorry for all the pain we have caused you."

Zero stopped, tipping his head to look back at the woman as her head tilted forward. Suppressed sobs spilled out from her, shaking her shoulders in grief.

"What do you mean? What is this?" He asked, torn in two by the images presented to his mind.

"This is your memory, Zero-kun, and I am nothing more the ash in the wind." The dark haired mirror Yuki answered him. Taking a breath of air, the vampire raised her eyes to meet his own. "If we had known what path your soul would take, we would have done everything in our power to protect you."

The moment she was finished speaking, Zero's heart thumped in recognition of her presence beyond the similarities to Yuuki. "No." He whispered. "No, that is imposs…."

"Nothing is beyond a pureblood. Especially a pure blooded Kuran, Zero-kun." she answered him.

"NO." he shouted. "I have no connection to you damned purebloods. Your kind destroyed everything, murdered my family, and stole my brother. It's all your fault."

"Yes and no." she stated. "You cannot deny the facts, Zero-kun. Blood will always call to blood in the end. You long to be with my daughter, just as you long to destroy the ones who hurt you. No ordinary mortal could resist becoming a level E as you did. That takes power from someone special. You were never meant to be a human."

"What are you trying to say?" Zero barked out, his eyes gleaming in the shadowy flickers of the torches.

"You are that baby, reincarnated as a Vampire Hunter. Others can sense it, even if they cannot recognize it quite yet." The grief had fled her voice as she stepped closer to the Hunter, her hand coming up to cup his cheek. "You are my son, reborn. The real Kuran Kaname, Kiryuu Zero."

Shock drove deep into his heart, driving him to turn back to the baby and Rido. Familiarity struck through him, tearing him free of his own body as the Vampire female cast him a knowing look right as he shot up in the middle of his own bed. Sweat clung to his flesh, chilling the hot summer air from his presence in the middle of the night. Clawing at his face, Zero rent the night with a mournful wail of denial.

There was no way any of it could be true… He could not be just like HER.

Chapter 3: Juri's Resources

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

Since the nightmare, sleep had provided no peace in it's elusive embrace. Shortly after the horrid experience Kiryuu Zero had taken steps to research the ever pressing realizations bearing down on his soul. Unsure of his own sanity and hesitant to contact anyone from the Association, the Hunter had finally determined the best bet would be to access old records on the Purebloods. Given his vow to destroy them however, he was unable to directly ask any questions. All of which had brought him to this step.

The one in which if he was caught would most certainly lead to a direct execution, more so for the fact he was a Level D. Snarling at the reminder of his circumstances, Zero slid his upper body through the open panel in the ceiling and dropped down to the floor. A smear of perfume laced vaseline across his upper lip hid the overwhelming scent of blood from his senses, a security measure for any inquisitive vampires.

Still, it wasn't entirely set up against Vampires either. There were those once in awhile thieves from the normal humans or traitors from the Association that needed to be dealt with in accordance to procedure. The gray walls and floors that converged around him were the least of his worries. Slipping a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket, the silver haired male unfolded it to read aloud the contents within.

A simple disarming spell, given to him by Cross after the confrontation with Rido for moments when he was cornered by other Hunters. Scanning over the words, Zero was quite unprepared for when his nightmare's apparition made her presence felt in the real world.

"That won't really work, Zero-kun." she said as she took on a nearly opalescent form. The shift of moonlight over her body caused the young hunter to stumble back, a tooth sinking haphazardly into his lip to prevent a cry of alarm.

"You." he murmured softly. "What are you doing here? Are you haunting me you wretched creature?"

Shaking her head, the woman pointed to the roof. "This place was built by the Kuran Clan nearly three thousand years ago. There is a spell that can release all the traps for you and no one will ever know unless they themselves are a Kuran."

Zero's eyes widened. "I don't need your help, beast." he growled at her.

A thin brown brow twitched on the woman's head. "You'll still accept my help though." She informed him. "My name isn't beast, by the way. It's Juri."

"Whatever." Zero answered her. "What help can you provide exactly?" So help him, there had to be a reason for this woman's presence here. Why couldn't she have just been limited to the nightmare? Why did she actually have to find a way to him now?

"Pay attention, Zero-kun. Kuran blood flows strongly in you because of Kaname and Yuuki. What you have should be sufficient for our means. Prick your flesh on your left ring finger and draw the name of your purpose in the air. That will give the wards a reason for your being here without unlocking all the seals. It will keep any guards or wards from knowing your true purpose." Juri said calmly.

Purple eyes narrowed at her at the mention of the Kuran name. With a hiss, he followed her instructions. The moment he was finished writing the last letter into the air, the world turned upside down as Zero sank through the floor and into some other place. A vast library answered his presence in the dark, gleaming under the light of a row of candles.

"What the hell is this?" he questioned.

"The Kuran family's library. So, your question was about us?" Juri asked, stepping out of the shadows when Zero spun to face her.

"How the hell do I get rid of you?" he seethed.

Juri shrugged at him. "When Yuuki left with Kaname, I woke up. The longer I was around you, the more corporeal I became until I was able to directly communicate with you. I suppose you can say every Kuran has a guide from a deceased member of the family. At least when they really need them."

"I'm not a Kuran." Zero snapped.

Giggling, Juri merely inclined her head. "You keep telling yourself that and maybe cows with fly over the moon."

Taking the path of least resistance, Zero chose to ignore the infuriating apparition by heading into the Kuran archives. There has to be something in here about reincarnation. He considered, taking steps slowly through the R section of the library.

"You know," Juri called out to him, "not all Kuran were capable of rebirth. Regeneration, sure. Even possession. Reincarnation was a certainly unique ability. Far more rare than those Kuran capable of using anti-vampire weapons. Though most Kuran had a habit of staying in the family line. I wonder what sent you to the Hunters though."

"From what that dream told me," Zero answered her, "I had plenty of reason. I was murdered by that damn Rido. It certainly didn't help that Shizuka paid my family a repeat visit either."

"Shizuka? She was certainly an odd girl. It's a pity what happened to both of you." Juri smiled at him. The expression she gave him was so like Yuuki's own that Zero's head snapped away from her.

"Leave me alone." he whispered to her.

"Can't. You need a proper guardian until you find someone who can teach you better." Juri claimed. "Don't worry, Zero-kun, we Kuran look after our own."

Zero shouted at her. "Stop that. I'm… I'm not one of those damned purebloods. I am most certainly not a blasted Kuran either."

But you were for a time. Juri thought back at him, keeping the words to herself as pain lashed her heart. You were for a time my son and in so many ways, you still are. My perfect son.

Watching the angry young man move about the library in his search, she couldn't help but reflect how so many would take his words to her. They would consider them to be cruel, ignoring the plausible reasons for his behavior. Many would purposely blind themselves to his own pain, just as he had done to others. Zero was a compassionate person, once you got past the pain that embittered him to life. There was a buried warmth there that would serve him well, if only he would allow himself to heal. That pain, she wanted to make it go away.

"My poor child." Juri said softly. "I will make it go away no matter how long it takes." As a Kuran, her word was her bond.

Shortly following her spoken words, Zero found what he sought. The second book was in his hand, the hidden library vanished and he was back in the room he started from. Blinking owlishly at the change in scenery, the hunter twisted about to ensure his presence secrecy. The soft footfalls of others in the hall had him moving far quicker than he thought. Ignoring the need to hide his point of entry Zero raced for the roof's edge. Hitting the slippery stone's landing with running feet, the silver haired hunter flipped for the wall.

Finding his point of purchase was more easily said than done when his fingers slipped on the damp stone. Sinking his fingers into the stone, Zero gave a sidelong look at the startled guards. As the men stared up at him, the hunter merely shot them a rueful glance.

"Intruder." One of them shouted out.

"Son of a…" Bringing his feet under him, Zero flipped over the wall and scurried for cover with a dreadful feeling in his heart.

Juri's eyes followed after him, slipping into the wall and out into the street beyond where she watched Zero break for the freedom of the sewers. Giggling at the boy's actions, the Vampire gave a moment to observe his followers in case the young hunter would need a better idea of what his pursuers might know.

"It was Kiryuu. He snuck into the building and he came out with something in his hand. A book of some sort." One of the guards was saying quickly into a microphone near his ear. "He escaped over the wall. We are in pursuit now."

"Oh, dear." Juri said as she released her presence in the physical plain back into the spiritual one. Be safe, my Zero.

Chapter 4: Stubborn Idiot

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

The hunt will not end until he was dead or they had a cause to back down…

Zero came to a shuddering halt in the depths of the sewers located beneath the town's foundations. For the moment, he was safe from the hunters. However, that did not negate the cravings for blood he now suffered from. Pressing his free hand to his leg, the hunter winced at the feel of warm blood on his limb. It would certainly slow him down, making him dangerous to humans if he lost to much.

Need a place to stay safe. Not the apartment, the academy, or anywhere they might think to look. The vampires… I can't trust them either. But where? As deep as his thoughts were, nothing in the world could have prevented his reaction when a mad scream of insanity flooded his ears. Turning his head to the side, Zero sidestepped a blow aimed at where he used to be. Reflexes kicked in and the hunter twisted until he had his hand around another's arm.

Red eyes glared back at him from the contorted face of a Level E.

"Perfect." he told the creature. "You must be mad to come after me."

His hand twitched, drawing the vampire closer to himself, to break the cycle for blood before it could truly start. Ignoring the pitiful screams from his intended predator turned dinner, Zero's fangs came closer and closer to it's neck.

Then the voice interrupted.

"How intriguing, nephew, the circumstances one can find you in." Snapping his eyes up in horror, Zero found Rido's dual colored eyes staring closely into his own. Much to his disgust the Thing continued to speak. "But you cannot deny the hunger, can you? The driving, boiling urge to consume everything in your path. No, you feel it just the same as I do."

The man had the gall to laugh at the stricken hunter's face when he shoved the Level E away. Drawing his Bloody Rose, Zero aimed and fired, repeatedly until all that was left of his victim was a pile of dust. Rido's laugh continued to echo in his ear as the teen turned and fled from his cover of safety.

"Deny it all you want, Nephew. You're just like me." Rido stated as he watched the youth run away. "It is only just beginning, my Keeper."

Zero screamed.

The echoing call of complete misery breaking through and echoing down the endless tunnels until only silence could deafen his ears. Red eyes filled his normal purple, the blood still dripping down his thigh to splash across dark grey concrete. Swallowing around the thickness of his throat, the hunter dropped weakly to his knees. Eyes unseeing stare directly ahead of him, red gleaming under the dim lights provided for passage in the tunnels.

The scream of denial boiled out once more, finding its way to those who hunted at night. In seconds, the Hunters had mobilized.

It was in this manner that Juri found him once more.

"Zero, run." she ordered from the shadows around him.

The silver haired head shook in denial, cutting short at the sound of shots from behind him. Aimed at him.

"Please, Zero, run." Juri called out, stepping forward towards him in hopes of getting him away from the danger. "They'll kill you."

"Go away." Zero shouted back. The rush of boots from the tunnel answered his shout, a light streaming in from the darker depths of another passage just before him.

"Zero…" Juri whispered. Closing her eyes for a moment, the woman nodded her head in an unvoiced confirmation. "I'm sorry, but you must run. Run now."

"No. I… won't. I can't." Violet eyes turned up to meet her own, glaring back at her with a hatred unrivaled by even Rido's. "Damned beast."

Juri twitched, her temper rising before she could clamp down on it and remember her former position in life. "Will you quit being so damned stubborn and run you brat." She snapped at him. Where the heck did he get that kind of willpower from I'll never know…

Further conversation faded away when a shot ricocheted nearer to his head. Survival instincts surfaced and taking the unheeded advice from before Zero ran ahead. Straight into the body of another and bowled them over. Before he could continue his fleeing, a hand grasped his ankle and dragged him downwards, rolled, and dropped right into the murky water alongside the concrete bridge. Overwhelmed by the sudden difference in environment, Zero's eyes shot wide. Feeling himself bodily slammed against the wall, the hunter was forced to look upwards into the shadowed eye of his master.

"Yagari-sensei." he whispered.

The man frowned at him, "You've got some explaining to do, you brat."

Chapter 5: The Other Book

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

Yagari's presence calmed the raging madness pounding Zero's veins long enough for the man to get them out of the sewers and into a safe house owned by Cross. The rose emblem that marked his neck was engraved on the man's own front door when he opened the entryway to allow them in. Surprise lit up Cross's face as his eyes met the image of the two drenched men and Zero bleeding from a leg wound.

Stepping aside, he gestured them into the entryway.

"What happened?" he asked them.

Giving Zero a withering look, Yagari answered. "Zero broke into the Association's Headquarters and took something. He hasn't said what. We'll need to get cleaned up and Zero needs some of that damned pills you insist on giving the Vamps."

"Right. After that, Zero, you need to tell us what you were thinking." Cross agreed, giving the boy hardly a chance to respond to them before he and Yagari were shuffled into opposing bathrooms. It wasn't long before showers and changes of clothes were provided when Zero raised his eyes to meet theirs.

Expectation was in his master's eye and questions in the eyes of the Headmaster.

"Well?" Yagari prompted. "Why'd you go there and what did you take?"

Perched on the couch beside her reincarnated son, Juri watched on in interest. It was certainly a surprise to Kaien's presence in the boy's life of course. Not as interesting as the amount of respect he gave his master though. Maybe if she had been human… Shaking off the thought, she continued to watch on when Zero began to speak.

"I'm not crazy." he stated. "A few weeks ago, when Yuuki left, I started having dreams about a baby crying. They always took place in this weird tomb. I remember the stench of that place. It was damp, musty, like something was rotting in there. I would always follow the same path and find myself looking at Rido. He'd killed a baby, held it above some coffin and was laughing about it."

Finger's curled tightly into his knee at the memory. "Then in the last dream a woman showed up. She insisted that the dream was some kind of memory. My memory… Then she called me her son." Pain flashed across his eyes as Zero's face dropped down, away from them.

"What did she look like? Did she say her name?" It was Kaien speaking, his body leaning forward until he was able to nearly touch his foster son.

"Yeah. She looked so much like Yuki. But there are differences." he answered. "She's here now too. Damned vampire."

"What's her name, Zero?"

Violet eyes flashed up to meet Kaien's. "Juri. She claimed it was Juri."

The man faltered, his hands reaching forward and pulling the Hunter closer to him. "Juri? Are you sure?"

"Yes." Smacking the grabbing hands aside, Zero stood up only to find himself driven back to his sitting position by the wound in his leg. "Damn it."

"Enough. Zero take some of the blood tablets and get some sleep. Kaien, we can discuss this later with him. The idiot needs to rest if we want more complete answers." Yagari stepped between them before any further action could be made. Pulling his apprentice to his feet, the elder of the two hurried Zero into a spare room and locked the door.

A fist pounded on the door for a moment before falling away and giving the man a moment to return to Cross. "Zero couldn't have known, Kaien and we have the item he took."

Interest flagged, Juri huffed to herself before stepping through the doorway to check on Zero. Finding him huddled on a single bed with Rido's self hovering in the shadows wasn't what she expected. The man seemed to be keen on taunting the child's bloodlust though.

"Leave him alone Rido." Juri snapped, dashing forward to push her elder brother away from her reincarnated son. "You won't have him again."

"To bad, little princess, that you won the first round." Rido growled. "But I've still got time. Just remember, the more he gives in, the more he's mine. You'll lose your precious little spawn in the end, Juri."

The vampire princess hissed at him, her hands pushing out in front of her as she thrust her power against her newly deceased sibling. Thrown back and into the wall, Rido disappeared before she could continue the assault.

"Why?" Zero asked, looking up at her. "Why are you following me?"

"I already answered that. Get some sleep, Zero-kun. I'll keep Rido away." Juri told him, running a hand through his hair to ease the stress of the night away. To her surprise the boy quickly gave in to the suggestion and dropped into sleep. "I will protect you, my Zero."

Going through the teen's abandoned clothing, Kaien shortly pulled out a book and turned it over in his hands. The title was the only thing he needed. "It's about the Kurans. All those born into the clan and what became of them." He told Yagari as he stood up. "I don't know what he intended with it, but to think the Association had something like this. It's unusual, right?"

"It's probable the Association didn't even know it was there, Kaien. The question is can we read it?"

"We should ask Kaname-kun first, Yagari. He'll need to know about this though we shouldn't mention who took it or why." Cross seemed to be interested in the book itself. A Kuran book, containing this kind of information. It had to be sealed at the very least.

Even as he slept, the visitors never stopped coming. This time Zero found himself sitting in a chair near a flickering fire across from a Kuran Kaname look-a-like. "Who the hell are you?" he growled.

The man smiled at him, a rather Yuuki-ish smile. The image brought a snarl to Zero's lips, unvoiced.

"I am Kuran Haruka. I guess you could call me dad though." He answered him.

"Like that'll ever happen. What is with you vampires haunting me?" The hunter barked, trying to come to his feet only to find there was no change in his position.

"I'm sorry, but you need to listen. You need the Kiryuu family registry before you will even be able to understand the Kurans." Haruka informed him. "As for Juri and Rido, that is their battle and you are the battleground. Your cravings for blood is the weapon. I implore don't give in to it. Should that happen, Rido will forever more become attached to your reality."

"What?" Zero's confusion grew by the moment before he found himself dismissed from the dream and staring at the roof of his temporary room.

"You're awake. Feel better, Zero-kun?" Juri asked, leaning over him as his eyes blinked at her.

"I need to go home and get the family record." he answered her. "Who the hell is Haruka?"

Chapter 6: The Thorns of a Rose: Kiryuu Clan

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

"Family text?" Juri inquired after the boy as he made his way swiftly to the door to check its status. Finding it locked, the youth crouched closely to the floor and began examining the lock for a solution to his freedom.

"Yeah." Zero answered her subconsciously. "That Haruka guy was insistent on that much."

"Did he say anything else?" she asked him. Did he say he missed me?

Pausing in his actions, Zero turned to face his former mother. "He said you and Rido were using me as a battlefield of some sort and my bloodlust had everything to do with it. What did he mean?"

A wall of silence met his question until he turned to face Juri. Her eyes were downcast as she struggled with the probable answers that she could only guess. "I don't really know exactly. Rido had an insatiable need for blood, far more powerful than even what a level E possesses. Everything I knew about him always came back to that. Purebloods have a habit of cursing their killer, Zero-kun."

"You're saying he cursed me?" he questioned with an indrawn breath.

"I don't know." Clapping her hands in front of her face, Juri went for a swift change in subject. "Let's get out of here and find that book you need, okay?"

A pair of purple eyes glared back at her.

"What?"

"Never mind." Zero groaned. She is insane.

Early mornings interruptions were forbidden just short of emergencies. Such was the predicament facing the Kuran household and all its inhabitants when Seiren answered the phone in her Master's stead.

"Good morning, Headmaster Cross. What can I do for you?" The urge to rub at her sleepy eyes boiled over on the young female as she awaited an answer.

"Put Kaname-kun on the phone. It's important." The man shouted back at her. "Hurry."

"Kaname-sama won't appreciate being disturbed, but I will do as you request." Biting back a yawn, Seiren placed the phone down on the table. Moving quickly to the bedchamber that housed her master, she knocked with dread.

"What is it?" the Pure Blooded Prince asked, opening the door a few moments later.

"Cross-san is on the phone. He said it was important," she explained.

"I'll take it in my office," he answered, stepping into the hallway and making his path to his office.

Picking up the phone from its cradle, Kaname was barely able to get out his greeting before Cross pounced on his eardrums. "Come to my house immediately. There's something I want to show you."

"Cross-san, I'm a good two hours from the town. What can you possibly have to show me that can't wait for a more appropriate time?" he asked his caller.

Silence greeted the other end of the phone before a new voice intruded into the conversation. "The Kuran families register."

No more hesitation was allowed to himself. Kaname answered him swiftly enough. "We'll be there by nightfall and when we do get there I want a better explanation."

"Understood, just hurry. There's more going on then we can even possibly explain on the phone."

Remarkable, Zero considered how I was able to get out of the house without them noticing. Shouldering the Bloody Rose's strap over his shoulder, the hunter hurried down the road to the train station. His family home was located in the rural areas of the town. An isolated place set some yards away from the more traveled sections as it were. A deep hood concealed his brighter strands of hair, glasses obscuring his violet eyes from anyone who might recognize them.

Being caught was definitely not going to be in his plans. Using a speed inborn to his cursed nature, Zero ran quickly, keeping his head tucked low when he came into the more residential aspects of the town. Here, many people would still be asleep or just waking up. As far as he was concerned, they could remain that way. Finding his old house was barely a challenge when he came to it.

Boards blocked the windows, door, and other entry ways since he'd last been here. Old police tape was falling from the front doors entryway and weeds had grown to nearly his hip. Flinching at the call of memories he had walking up those steps, Zero paused at the small porch where he'd first met Shizuka.

"Wretched creatures," he whispered as crouched down to look at the old stains of his blood. When it was fresh, it had painted the snow red. Now, it had darkened the warm colored wood beneath it black. Standing, Zero began removing the first of the boards barring entry. With the time that had gone by and exposure to the elements, it would have been easy for a child to enter.

The first snap of wood echoed in his ears.

"You were born here?" Juri whispered to herself as she wandered into the yard. Watching her reincarnated son remove each board, the woman had to smile. Despite the lack of upkeep on the place it looked rather homey. The kind of place she'd have wished to provide for her children, herself.

Zero's disappearing act from her line of sight might have concerned her a bit more had she not been waiting for it. Scrambling to follow him, the Pureblood froze at the line of pictures on the walls, the mantle, and tables. They just about everywhere. In most it was just two very similar boys, twins that smiled back at an unseen camera. In others were a man and woman, close together. The largest, the one that she stared at the longest took away her breath.

It was them. The family her baby had been reborn to and a sibling that looked so much like him it stole her breath. "A twin?" she asked out loud.

Lifting his head to look at her, Zero scoffed. "You'd have known that, I'd think. His name was Ichiru." Violet eyes glared at her in question.

"Was it Shizuka?" Juri asked him.

"It was me." He confided to her, bowing his head away and moving off into his parent's shared study. Guilt burned in his heart for that moment, forever branded into his soul by his own actions. Staring after him, she shuddered at the implications that could bear on one with a heart like his.

Why would he have to kill his own brother? Was it the Bloodlust that seeks out all the weaker levels? I don't know… Should I ask him? No. That would just make him angrier with me more than necessary. Zero-kun, how much have you suffered since Rido's sacrifice of your proper place as a Kuran? Shoving her thoughts aside, Juri followed him within.

Juri was left to blanch at the sheer lack of books and other informative measures upon her entrance into the house. "It's so bare."

"It's home." Zero countered. "Don't touch anything."

"Sure." Juri answered him, still looking at the painting that hung there for all to see. In that picture, her Zero was smiling. He had been happy here until the Purebloods stole it. "No wonder he hates us."

Ignoring the felt presence of the Vampire looking at his family, Zero began searching through his father's desk for the book he'd come for. Last time he had even seen it was right there, he remembered, the night before Shizuka's attack. His father had been telling him that the Kiryu's had a special secret that they had to keep from everyone. Especially the Hunters and Vampires.

What had been that secret? He'd never been told, his father saying he was still too young to understand. Did it have some bearing on what was happening to him now? The battle over himself that the Kuran male had explained?

Why my family registry? He thought. What's so important that the Kuran would tell me to come here and use it with their cursed book? Finding the leather bound tome he was searching for, Zero pulled it free from it's hiding place. Scrolled in silver was a vine of roses and thorns, the flowers taking on a slightly purplish hue towards the book's binding.

"Let's go, Vampire." Zero ordered, heading for the door before turning back to look at Juri. "What?"

Turning back to look at him, Zero stumbled back a step. After everything he had known of her kind, he had never expected this. Purebloods were a cruel, malicious species. They played games for their own whims and here this one. This particular one was crying.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks before she hurled herself into his chest. Bawling out loud, Juri began making exclamations of apology before he could even react.

"I'm sorry, Zero-kun. My Zero-kun, I am so sorry." she gasped through the sobs, repeating the same sentiment over and over again.

Confused, Zero acted on his upbringing and wrapped his arms loosely around her shoulders to try and bring some comfort to the bawling woman. His mother had instilled a gentleman's upbringing in her children before dying. It was this that Zero found himself relying on as he wondered what had brought the happy-like vampire to these tears.

"Why?" he asked. Shaking her head, Juri gave him no answer.

Chapter 7: The Orchids Broken Bough: Kuran Clan

Flames burned brightly in the fireplace warming the quiet souls of the room's occupants when the front door opened to admit the one responsible for their gathered presences. The flash of lightning behind him lent a brief glance into crimson bright eyes. Stumbling beneath the panting teen's body was a shadowed wraith, her face buried in the darkness provided by her hooded jacket. Glancing up at them, the woman frowned at the stillness provided in the room.

"You just gonna leave us standing here or are you going to help? It's pouring rain out there," she started, raising her eyes to meet the startling and bemused expressions of most of the room's occupants. Kaname stumbled, his eyes flickering to the Pureblood he had once called mother as she met his expression with one used to getting her way. "He needs the blood pills, Kaname-kun."

"As you wish," Kaname answered, unwilling to move lest she disappear into the night like the rogue vampire hunter she had brought in with her.

As the conversation was taking place, Yagari had freed the smaller creature from the hefty weight of his apprentice. Setting the silver haired teen on the couch, his master fell back when Zero pulled a book free of his jacket. "Master…?" he breathed out shallowly.

"Easy, Zero. You have to regain yourself first," he answered.

"That blasted creature… Her fault."

Juri winced, remembering the results of her colliding with her reborn son's body. Having found herself in physical form and swiftly overcome with bloodlust, she had bitten him. Ignorant of the consequences of her actions, she had drained Zero of his precious blood until he had bitten back. The blood exchange, although unintended, had given her a view into his own soul. A secret he never wanted to share now burned in her veins alongside her own.

"Zero-kun," She said, coming around the couch to sit on the floor beside him. "I…"

"Stop apologizing." Zero barked. "Just stop thinking about it."

Juri's head jerked backwards from the anger lashing out of the Hunter's mouth before he curled away from them. The need for blood… It was tugging at him even more now since the second encounter with Rido. Now, the darker apparition hung on the side of the couch only visible to the two of them.

Grinning at her, Rido leaned close to Zero's ear to whisper a darker taunt at the desperate vampire. "You can smell the blood in their veins, can't you? Yes, even precious little Yuuki is here. Kaname-kun's blood can even do in a pinch. Should I mention your master or that man Cross? Yes, he raised you. The other trained you. However, you have had a paltry bite of Juri's precious lifeblood as well. Perhaps you truly desire that blood. Give in to it, nephew. Release yourself into the freedom of unrestricted bloodlust."

It was nearly enough to prompt her snarling at Rido. Since Zero had taken her blood, Rido had clung to them like a barnacle gone mad. Every time she had tried to send him soaring through the walls like last time, had proved definitely fruitless. Now, all she could do beyond keeping the Hunter stable. Without altering her head to look at them, Juri repeated her previous request.

"Zero needs those blood tablets now. As many as you can spare." A pale hand dropped in front of her face, a glass of water held in it, tainted a dark red.

"The tablets dissolve in water." Kaname answered her. Giving him a quick nod of thanks, she gestured for Yagari to hold Zero up while she pressed the glass to his lips.

"Drink, Zero-kun." she whispered softly. "If you drink it'll go away for awhile."

The prompt was heeded, fortunately enough for Zero to drink without much argument. By the time he was done, the shivers across his skin had ceased and he had managed a few more of the blood tablets dry. Standing firmly behind the couch, Rido scoffed. "Those pills won't protect you forever, Nephew."

Zero snarled at the apparition in answer. The twist on his otherwise placid face knocked Yuuki back a step. "Zero, are you… alright?"

Until then, neither female had really paid much attention to the other when Juri's face turned to look up at her. She hesitated, moving over some to allow the younger female closer to the couch. When she did not close in, as Juri expected, she shot a concerned look down at the silver haired boy. His head was firmly affixed to staring down the glass he had used to drink the blood tablets.

Sighing, Juri nudged him. "It's only polite to answer, Zero-kun."

Jerking away from her, Zero snapped his eyes up to glare at her. "How many times do I have to say it? Stop acting like you're my mother."

Reaching out her hand, Juri firmly planted it on the back of his shoulder and held him there. "We've discussed that before, my Zero," she stated simply. "Reincarnation or not, you are my son, no matter how many lives separate you from us."

Beaming, she passed a look at her other children.

"Right, Kaname-kun?" Eyes met across the room, the former ancestor's own widening in alarm at Juri's unvoiced message. Who better than he knew the exact extent of Kuran powers?

Swallowing, Kaname stepped closer to Yuuki, her brows furrowing in suspicion. "Who are you?" she asked the woman. How are you so familiar with Kaname-senpai and Zero?

Juri's smile softened from mischief to maternal pride in seconds. "You've grown well, Yuuki-chan.," she whispered. "I know it's been awhile and everything… However, do remember what I said to you about umbrellas? Why they were so useful?"

Confusion crossed her eyes while Yuuki thought about it, before recollection brought reality to life. "How…?"

She was stopped from approaching by Yagari, who had finally been able to snap out of it. "How do we know, you are who you claim to be?"

Not entirely unexpected, she thought wearily. "I suppose you want me to create some kind of amazing proof of my identity? The truth is, the only one who can really know for certain are the ones who knew me best. We both know that whatever proof I can provide is in certain doubt."

"Not entirely." Kaname interrupted. "There is a way for you to prove your claim of being Kuran Juri."

"That would be?" she asked him.

"Only a pure blooded born Kuran can open the book that Kiryuu brought with him." Setting the indicated manuscript on the coffee table, he gestured for her to give it a try.

"Proof of blood, I see." Juri concluded, picking the time up into her hands and examining its cover for the blood seals. Tuned as they were to the members of her family, she had wondered how Zero would get the book open in the first place. Perhaps this was the reason she had taken on a physical form?

Sitting up, Zero watched carefully, the vampire that had led him to the book in the first place. Heavy in the hands of the matriarch, Juri settled on nicking her index finger and writing her name in blood across the binding. The click of a latch moving softly in the silence filled the room before the manual's seal fell away in a shower of gold.

Opening it, she set the book open upon the births of the Kuran clan family. As long lived as they were, the list isn't very long. Some of the branches ended abruptly while others tangled into one another until it reached the final generations.

"Is that proof, Kaname-kun?" Hardly waiting for an answer, Juri leaned over Zero and snagged from Yagari's loose grip the Kiryuu tome. Checking it for any unusual traps, the woman blinked at the sheer lack of protective spells. "What?"

Taking the book back from her, Zero glared. "If anyone other than a Kiryuu tries to open that book, they'll set it on fire."

"Oh. That makes sense. Kind of wasteful, but sensible." Juri mumbled as she watched Zero open the text to the beginning. Scanning it over, the Hunter set it down beside the Kuran. He barely skimmed the texts over when his family's own history bisected just as the Kuran Clan did and a portion ran over the side of the page. Scooting it closer to the other text, his eyes flicked back and forth. Over and over again until his breath ceased to exit his body.

It was Rido who laughed, who said it aloud for Juri and Zero alone to hear. "Oh, I remember that. Such a sordid little affair on precious, perfect Haruka's part. Before you went to that human's school. Do you remember, Juri? Do you remember the woman with the purple eyes that vanished because grandfather ordered it? She was quite beneath our kind. Still human, as I recall. That was until I bit her. Grandfather insisted that she not be allowed to live but the little bitch got away. Ran straight back to her family before she could descend to Level E. By the time we were able to catch up to her, little Kiryuu Kikyo died giving birth."

Laughing, the former vampire drooped over the couch so he could whisper into Zero's ear. "Just goes to say how powerful the Kuran blood truly is. The child lived. Such a mistake. We had thought the child dead with his mother. They had after all kindly given Haruka that woman's final message. Poor man. And here we are now."

"Once a Kuran, always a Kuran." Juri whispered in horrified truth with Rido echoing her. "Zero-kun?"

"How… How can it even be possible?" he asked her, turning his head to meet her eyes. "How the hell can that even be possible?"

Chapter 8: Ancestor, Mother, and Zero

Night influenced everything until the cracking of dawn broke apart the lingering clouds and brought with it fresh life. The entire ordeal had left all participants in silence when Zero had bolted for the room he'd used before retrieving his family's book. The Vampire Hunter had watched him leave only to give his own excuses shortly thereafter. What he left was unknown to all but Cross, having spoken only to him.

Yuuki herself had picked up the two books and was actively flipping through the contents as if trying to figure out the puzzle that had become her life. Like her, Juri sat on the couch, her hands firmly folded around a warm cup of rose tea, thinking. Leaning near the fireplace was Kuran Kaname, his eyes never leaving the door Zero had disappeared behind. If one knew him well enough, they would see the resolution in the man's shoulders to find out more about the unspoken events that had taken place.

It was Kaien Cross who finally decided to break the monotony with an early announcement for breakfast. As if by magic, the very words drew the silvery hunter from his cave and he grunted at Cross to stay out of the way. Smiling, Kaien did just that. The violet eyed teen merely harrumphed at him, taking stock of the contents in the fridge before setting to work.

"Five people in the house and you'd think one of them would at least have learned to cook." Zero muttered softly over the clank of pans and pots.

"I did." Juri proclaimed from the kitchen entry. "I might not be very good at things, but I can cook a mean fried egg."

Shrugging, Zero stepped aside to make room for her. The news from last night still weighed heavily on his mind and she was the only one capable of granting him an answer. "Did you know anything about it?" he asked. "What Rido was talking about, I mean."

"Yeah. Haruka never really spoke about the events, to be honest. One day, that girl had shown up at the house. She was so happy and then by the time she left, she was in tears. I know grandfather had something to do with it, because that was the same day he said Haruka and I were betrothed. It wasn't really a bad thing, you know. We'd always gotten along well." Juri answered him, cracking an egg over a sizzling pan. "A little less than six months went by when we got the news. That poor woman… She had died trying to give birth to a child of Kuran blood. In the end, Haruka went back to the Kiryuu Clan and tried to make peace with them. He was like that, you know. A war between our people would have made things harder than necessary."

"There was something like that in the family logs. Your Haruka gave the Kiryuu Clan a lot of money. No member of the family ever touched it though. It was strictly forbidden for generations and no one knew why." He shook his head at the irony. "Guess it's known now."

That's where it went too… Juri wondered glancing down at the eggs she was cooking. "Strange, I suppose, how these things can happen."

"You're telling me." Zero agreed, furrowing his brow at the easy acceptance of this woman in his life. She was just so… Yuuki-ish. The way Yuuki was before this. Shaking his head in amusement, the Hunter skimmed a plate of shredded potato into an oil ready pan.

Watching from the living room, the interaction between the hunter and her mother, was Yuuki. The girl's eyes watched with a wide fascination she had never held before. The kind of aura between them was completely surreal in the entire time she had known Zero. It was as if a part of him she'd never seen had come to life.

Juri had done what she could not and got Zero to open up to her.

How?

"Kaname, how did she do it?" she asked her brother, turning her head to look at the older pureblood. "How did she make Zero so happy?"

"It's not something I can really explain. The circumstances between Juri and Zero are unique, I believe. They harbor a knowledge they are not ready to share yet. At least, not with us." he answered, tilting his head as if observing something under a microscope. "Not yet."

"Kaname?" she whispered her words sliding away as the other stepped into the kitchen.

Leaning close to them both, the elder whispered to them. "We need to talk."

Jerking, Zero pulled away from the other two vampires to glare at the Kuran. "What could you possibly have to say?" he drawled. "Not that I'm interested."

"It's about you, Kiryuu-kun. I don't think this conversation will involve anyone else beyond those involved in those incidents." he answered him. "If that's alright with you of course?"

"It involves Kaien too. He was there, Kaname. Kaien is a part of this too." Juri answered him, turning the stove off and sliding several eggs onto different plates. "That incident, when Rido stole…" Falling silent, the matriarch cast a sorrowful look at the bristling Zero.

"What the hell does that bastard have to do with it?" he snarled, hatred distinct in his voice.

"Everything."

Chapter 9: Another Lesson in Creepy Logic

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

He stood there silently, like a sentinel watching over a person's daily activities. For someone like Zero, to be watched by one he despised with every breath in his body was nearly unbearable. To Kaname, it was something that just seemed to be natural. To watch the one who's life was given to him in another form, almost completely unaware of the true circumstances. It was not information he wanted Yuki to know. In the time since he requested a talk with the duo in the kitchen, Juri had single-handedly upset his plans to get the story sheltered between them.

Time had an interesting affect on those not yet used to the inescapable fate of eternity. For those who had lived longer than a hundred years, there was an extreme difference. Gone was the recklessness of that naïve time and replaced with a growing knowledge that they would continue to exist on. Even as old places gave way to new and new ended up old, they continued. On and on, it went until there was nothing but you left in the flow of time.

Only a fool wanted immortality.

It was completely ironic that the very one who defied it's touch just happened to be the one most embraced by it.

The most suited to being a vampire.

Kiryuu Zero, born to a clan of vampire hunters from a vampire's bloodline, would be the one to suffer the particular curse of immortality. A thing he had stolen from him and then never wanted back.

"Fate is a cruel thing, Kiryuu-kun." Kaname said to the youth that passed beside him, a laden tray of hash-browns in hand.

"Kuran, after breakfast. We'll discuss whatever you want." Zero barked, his body never even pausing to give the other vampire the time of day.

It was interesting what a Kuran was capable of even it he wasn't one completely by blood. Smirking at the typical answer from the silver haired teen, Kaname followed him into the dining room where everyone else was waiting. A level D vampire, born from a clan of vampire hunters, had more lineage in his veins then most nobles. He wondered, what place Zero would now have amongst their kind if the information was known.

Seating was arranged at the table in regards to who got along best with who. On one side was Zero and Juri, the latter sitting beside Kaien who took the head of the table, followed by Kaname and Yuuki. Sulking beside her brother, the younger pureblood kept glancing up and down from her plate to watch Zero smile so easily for Juri.

He's like putty for her. Yuuki's bemused thoughts stated, She didn't even have to try hard or anything… Why? She's supposedly my mother but she seems to be interested in Zero. Like he's a missing son or something. A pair of eyes on her snapped Yuuki from her thoughts to bring to reality Juri's watching her.

A smile graced the woman's lips when she noticed Yuuki paying attention. Unlike the ones she had for Kaname or Zero, this one was full of something different. Something, warmer… What?

"Sorry, I was wondering about something, Juri-san." Yuuki apologized.

"It's mom." Juri corrected.

"Ehh?" Startled by the easytone Juri used with her, Yuuki sat paralyzed. "Uhh, o… okay." She was awarded with a bigger smile from the older woman.

"Maybe you can help me tame these two, hmm?" she asked her daughter, a nod in Zero's direction and a finger flicking towards Kaname.

"I'm not a damned pet," Zero snarled, purple eyes flicking up from his cup of water to narrow on the mothering vampire. What is wrong with you? His brain demanded of Juri. He turned a glare on Kaname. "Is everyone in your clan like you? Never mind, I don't even want to know the answer."

An amused hmm came from the head of the table before Kaien waved a hand at Zero. "Juri-san, you should see the family photo albums. Their loaded with pictures of Yuuki, Kaname-kun, and Zero-kun." he announced happily, pulling one of the larger albums off the shelf behind him and onto the table.

"Cross, don't you dare." The vampire hunter warned, shoulders tensing underneath his shirt.

Yuuki herself snapped her head in the headmaster's direction. "Please, daddy, leave the albums out of this."

"By all means, Cross, enjoy yourself." Kaname interjected, amused with the double display of begging from the two younger vampires. Both shot a glare at him, Yuuki lightly smacking his arm.

"Traitor," she hissed. She barely missed Juri's movement before a hand was settled on Zero's shoulder. Almost immediately, the silver haired youth was calmed down. Though a half hearted glare was awarded to Juri for her efforts, she merely smiled back.

Then she took the album and flipped it open to the very first page. A photo, of Cross, Yuuki, and Zero stared back at her. Unsmiling purple eyes glared out from the photo, but there was something unusual about it. "Kaien, did you raise them together?"

"Of course. I'm very proud of both my children." he exclaimed. "And of Kaname-kun as well."

"Damn it." Zero muttered, pushing his plate away in disguised disgust. There was a moment of silence before Juri gave a giggle, pouring over a picture of a 'family' vacation. Planting an elbow firmly on the table, the hunter groaned the longer it went on.

What was it about parents, headmaster or not, that just insisted they had to humiliate their children? From the looks of content on the headmaster's face, he figured it had something to do with the reactions…

Must be.

"This is sickening." Zero growled out at them. "Didn't Kuran want to talk to us or something?"

"After pictures." Juri said firmly, flipping to the next page containing photos of Yuuki and Zero in their school uniforms. The picture had been taken on the first day of school, the silver haired teen staring darkly at the cameraman as Yuuki peeked out from around him. "You two went to the same school?"

"Yeah." Yuuki answered her. "Kaname-senpai went there too as a Night Class student."

"The children were gracious enough to act as prefects between the two classes of Night and Day." Kaien added in.

Blinking at them, Juri turned her head to stare full on at Kaien. "My school? You… Thank you, Kaien." she gushed.

If red could have a new color, that would be the headmaster's face. Snorting at the scene, Zero finally tore himself away from everyone else and departed for the study. "Gah, can they get any sicker." he snarled to himself, closing the door behind him.

Finding the lone chair near the window, Zero dropped into its embrace with a sigh of exhaustion. The last hours, having been spent in the company of the purebloods had been trying. All of his instincts were clamoring for their blood. Pure in power and taste, far greater than anything the blood pills could hope to give him. The very imagining of it was enough to cause his fangs to lengthen and his eyes to glow ethereal red.

"Damn them." he cursed into his hand, closing his eyes against his nature.

"Yes, damn them, Kiryuu Zero. Damn them, damn me, and damn yourself for all eternity." Rido's voice echoed back at him.

Tearing his eyes open, Zero's face twisted into a snarl at the close appearance of Rido right before him. Them man leaned casually against the window, light streaming through him in a twisted veil of a pure aura. "Rido." he hissed.

"Rido. Rido. Rido. Every time we see one another, that's all you can say, boy. Perhaps one of these days you might actually learn how to ask a proper question." the phantom taunted. "Give it a try. If the blood lust hasn't gotten to your head of course."

"Why are you here?" Zero growled at him, coming to his feet and putting distance between himself and the spirit.

"Ah, so you can speak. Good. I was getting a bit bored." Smirking at the Hunter, Rido dropped himself into the abandoned chair. "Now to answer your question. Why am I here? Well, we already know about the blood lust connection. How that pertains to myself and little Juri. What you want to know is why you? Right?"

"Whatever. Get to the point." Zero demanded of him, eyes flickering to the door as if forbidding any interference.

"You are a cautious one, even now." his stalker drawled shortly. "Now, to answer you. Do you know what oracles are boy?"

"Who doesn't. They're quacks who think they can tell one's future by looking into a crystal or reading a deck of cards. A useless art." he answered him.

"Not completely. I had my fortune read once by Haruka's helpless little human. Right before I sank my fangs into her throat for her audacity. She declared my life would be absorbed by blood, from blood, for blood. It would be coated red and it would never be quenched. As if I was the same kind of trash as a level E. The worst part of it, she said it would be their child who would end me. I sought to end that child first. I never imagined you would find a way to bring yourself back to life. In such a manner as to become a hunter…" Rido sneered at him in the final words. "Haruka's blood, Juri's love, and not just one but two siblings to keep you safe. That is truly disgusting."

Zero scoffed at him. "What's really disgusting is how you cling to others, Rido. You're dead. Move on already."

"So long as you live, Kiryuu Zero, that is impossible. You are the Keeper of our blood. A Kuran in soul, a hunter in body, and on the very edge of something we purebloods haven't seen since the ancestor passed into his next… no, your lifetime. Your soul carries with it the power to give life through your blood. That is what I want. Give me that and I'll destroy for you everyone who stood in your way of precious little Yuuki." Rido drawled, snapping to his feet to walk towards his nephew reincarnated. "I can get rid of the Ancestor."

"Not happening. If that bastard is going to die, I'll do it myself." Zero hissed at him, eyes clashing into a brighter red as Rido startled back. "I don't care who you are. That bastard's life is mine."

"Oh, you are definitely worth every last ounce of my eternity in damnation, boy. I'll have my way. Soon, I think." Rido promised before disappearing into the otherworld once more.

With putting the photo album away and the men in the house all moving to other rooms for some time to think, that left Yuuki and Juri in charge of cleaning up the kitchen. Both females were silent for a time before Yuki glanced up through her lashes to watch the woman she had once called mother. Hesitant she might be, she would find a way to ask all the questions inside of her somehow.

"You want to know, don't you? Why I'm so close to Zero-kun and not you?" Juri asked her, setting down the plates she had been about to carry into the kitchen. "What made him different?"

"It's not just that. It's more like… Zero opened up to you. I've tried for years and still he remained so distant from me." Yuuki answered her, glancing down firmly at her hands as they tightened around the glasses she'd been picking up. "What makes you so… special to him?"

"Ah. I see now." Juri answered her. "You know, I'm not sure how to explain it without you being a mother yourself, but I'll try."

Tilting her head at Juri, the younger woman was unprepared when her hands were suddenly freed of dishes and she was being led into the living room and sat on the couch. "I once had a baby, Yuuki-chan. One before Kaname and long before you." she began softly. "Rido took my son from me and murdered him before he was even a year old. I can't really explain why he did something like that however, regardless of the circumstances, Zero is my son's reincarnation. It's a little hard to explain to be honest with you. For one, I was truly not of this world and Zero's the reason I came back. He was the cause I should say. When he started to dream, it was because he was alone. He had no hope of salvation, I suppose, and that pain… it reached me even when it shouldn't have. I answered him and inadvertently drew Rido's attention to him as well. Shortly after my return to this world, Haruka found his way to Zero too."

"So, then what's going on?" she asked the woman. "You say Zero is the reincarnation of your dead baby and that he was the cause for your return to life. What does all of that have to do with Zero?"

"Everything. It all depends on Zero and his humanity. He's fighting a war for himself. For his future, for his life, for everything that is precious to him and I have no idea why." Juri answered her. "I just know it has to do with his bloodlust. As long as he can resist, he'll be fine. But if he gives in, Rido will gain enough power to come back and renew his efforts with more power than we can imagine. He'll consume everything."

Worry surged in the younger pureblood, her eyes raising to meet her mother's in open concern. "How can we stop it from happening?" she asked her, Yuuki's face drawing white in the lack of power they had in it all.

"I wish I knew." Juri answered. "I wish I knew."

"Yagari, did you find him? The thief, Kiryuu Zero?" the hunter was asked upon his entrance into the Headquarters.

"Nah, not yet. I've got his trail though." the man answered, glancing at his co-worker through his one good eye. "Listen, I need some information on a vampire I was tracking before this whole Zero broke in thing happened. The bastard's right tricky. Can jump bodies by drinking the host's blood or some such nonsense. My contact claimed it was some kind of rebirth power or something like that. We got anything?"

"Oh, man. I've heard of that. That's no power man. That's is a very powerful curse the purebloods used to use on the more energetic clans of hunters. Last time it was used was by a Kuran on a Kiryuu nearly twenty years ago. I think the guy's name was Haruka or something. Seems that the twins father went foul of the guy and he'd lost a kid or something. Not much is known about it, to be honest." The associate answered him. "That's an old vamp you're chasing. Need some help?"

"Nah, I got it. Thanks though." Spinning on his heel, Yagari left the building with anger fuming in silent quandary beneath his coat. Just how far were the purebloods willing to go to destroy Zero? Or maybe… it was to save him?

"What the hell was going through that man's head?" he asked the late morning air on his way back to the Cross household.

Chapter 10: Optional Order

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

It was finally time.

At Kuran Kaname's request, the hunter and his mother had taken seats alone in the study with him, leaving Yuuki to catch up with the Headmaster. The dark haired son of Juri sat in the very chair Rido and Zero had possessed mere hours ago. The silver haired hunter remained at attention, watching him with wary eyes while Juri held her tongue.

"There are obviously some things we need to discuss." Kaname began, feeling the bitter taste of the obvious on his tongue. "Things such as how to move on from here. It is apparent you don't intend to abandon Kiryuu-kun to his fate or whatever it is you choose to call it. Then there is the matter of why you are calling him your son. You share no blood connection other than through my father and your children's blood."

Juri started, her eyes focusing with unflinching steel on the Kuran leader. "You are just as much my son as he is, Kaname-kun. You, better than myself, know the power of what our blood can do. Unjustly, my son was robbed of his life and you were given a new one. That same son found his way back, no matter the circumstances, and into the life of a hunter. Do you think me ignorant? He remembered, just as I am sure you do."

The declaration of her claim was heeded, the Ancestor-son flinching at the reminder of how deceived the pure blooded woman in front of him had been. She apparently had learned the truth after her death. To be revived…

"Then what would you have me do? Kiryuu hates myself and Yuuki more than even I can describe. To claim him as one of us would only bring a scandal to our name when we least need it." Kaname argued.

"I ask you to do nothing. The world thinks me dead, let it remain that way for a time." Juri amended. "I'm not giving him up when I finally have him back and not just for myself, but for Haruka, too."

Zero frowned at the direction the conversation was taking, as if he wasn't in the room either. "Have you two forgotten the Association? That damned family record of yours I took out of there?"

"The Association has no proof you took anything." Kaname cited. "The only thing they know is that you broke into their headquarters. Even that can be dealt with, within reason."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the man, Zero snorted instead. "That won't work. The complex is set up to stop a vampire and others from coming in like that. They'll know I had to be the one to get in there with the cancellation of the outside wards."

"What about a test on their defenses?" Juri asked, rising to her feet in alarm. The Vampire Hunters could be brutal in their punishments. What might they do to her Zero?

Thinking and acting, there were only so many actions they might reasonably take now. Scooping up one of the white knight figures, Kaname turned it over his hand before his eyes alighted on the two tomes. The books had been given a temporary home on the Cross shelf since they were brought here. "The Kiryuu Clan holds a distant relation to our own." Kaname mused. "That can be used. In fact, I'm surprised none thought to use it before."

Juri gasped, delight turning her back to face the Ancestor-son in hopeful surprise. "What do you have in mind?

A twist in Zero's gut proceeded Kaname's answer to the hunter's dilemma.

"As a member of our Clan, regardless of the distance, Kiryuu-kun is entitled to certain rights. Despite his lack of knowledge or education, the manner of his protection, I'm thinking about is naming him a member of our house." Folding his hands under his chin, Kaname continued to think. "A distant cousin, with a unique position in fact, given what you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zero snarled at him.

"Bastard children of purebloods were made into nobles. Yet, you are not a bastard, just a mere lost cousin." The red eyed man answered him, turning his head to meet Zero's eyes. "A knight of the Kuran house, I suppose. It would put you on equal footing with most nobles and protect their status while giving you some protection."

"I'm a level D. You think they'll just accept that decision?" Zero asked him, defiance in his voice.

"You also have received both Yuuki's and my blood since your transformation. There is even a small trace of my father's blood from your ancestors. The fact I can smell my mother's blood on you is also in your favor. That is four members of our clan that have benefited you in your lifetime. There is still one or two more methods that can return you too the Kuran fold if I so chose." Kaname countered him, his unflinching face locking with the younger's own. "I'm giving you a chance to save yourself and your clan, Kiryuu. Take it."

A snarl from the level D was his answer, Zero's hands clenched into fists as he stared back at the Pureblood. "You are an ass." he spat. "A royal pain in the ass. What makes you think I even want your pity?"

"I don't pity you, Kiryuu. I do as the woman who raised me asked because I respect her. She has embraced you as a son despite your lack of manners and continues to act so. Regardless of that fact, you possess a unique form of power. A power like yours is heavily sought by the Society and Association alike. Now that Juri has returned, there is no other option but to bring you into our fold. Either as yourself as you are now… or I'll use my other options at my discretion." Kaname said, finally coming to his feet and stalking across the floor to Zero. "You possess the same type of powers Haruka possessed before his death. The ability to reincarnate another or yourself is certain to bring you nothing but pain."

"You are insane." Zero whispered at him. Rays of light slid across the hunter's paling face further into the conversation Kaname went.

Juri's face went dark the closer that Kaname trudged to the truth of things she had long thought lost to history. "Stop it." she ordered, stepping between the two males. "Let Zero-kun have time to think about your offer."

"Of course." Kaname answered her with a slight nod of his head. He had one last comment for the youth behind Juri. "This is more for her and Yuuki than yourself, Kiryuu-kun."

"Bastard." Zero yelled at him as he left the room.

Juri frowned at the tone in his voice. Turning to look at him, the matriarch raised her hand to his brow. Folding her fingers into a curled form, she flicked his brow. "Behave, Zero." she admonished him. "I am a lady, you know."

The silver haired boy merely snarled at her in answer. A laugh graced her lips as she turned away from him.

"Give it a thought, Zero-kun. I don't think I want to lose you again."

Chapter 11: The Kiryuu Solution: Bite Me

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

His life had become a pawn on a chessboard. The silver sheen of the Bloody Rose reflected back on him a distorted image of his own face. An hour ago, he had been given a choice to accept the Kuran's generosity and become an accepted member of vampire society. All for the females of the Kuran's household, of course. For some obscure reason, Kuran had decided to declare him a Knight of his house. A distant cousin, a protector meant to be protected…

Zero sank against the wall in deep thought over what that could mean.

The association… His entire life had been built and driven to its ends. For generations past, the Kiryuu clan had served its purposes and brought an end to many a level E. Here it was then. The reason his blood had been so keen to keep anyone from knowing the truth.

The association would declare them traitors and spies. The vampires would declare… what Kuran had or something else. To be born in a human family with the purest of vampire blood running through it… They were a rarity equal to a freak show.

"I'm the worst of them all." Zero whispered. "A born hunter turned into a freak like them and it turns out it runs all the way into my very soul. Did I ever really have one to begin with?"

Shifting the gun's barrel, Zero peeled back his lips to look at his teeth. The longer than normal canines that gleamed back at him forced a flinch. Dropping his arm into his lap, the silver haired hunter ground down the need to yell. He was not by nature a loud person, though the urge was strong to give in just once. Just once and scream aloud all his frustrations.

He would not though.

For the very reasons that made the damned Kuran act as he did, was the very reasons Zero kept his tongue in cheek.

He had indeed grown attached to Yuuki and even Juri. As in depth his was in his thoughts, nothing could have drowned out the approaching steps of another's presence. Given his unique heritage, Zero was on his feet and aiming the Bloody Rose at the door even before it opened. At Yagari's silhouette in the entryway, the gun was dropped to his side.

"Seems you've landed yourself in some more trouble." The man greeted him.

Tucking the weapon back into his holster, Zero motioned for the man to join him. "I discovered something about my family recently." He told the man. Yagari was his teacher. If anyone might be able to give him a solution, it would be him.

I hope that it will be one all find agreeable.

"Yeah. I found something great about them too. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Yagari informed him, stealing into the chair Zero had been about to take for himself. Giving the younger man a long look at a raised brow, he laughed softly.

"Age won't always benefit you, old man." Zero told him. "As for my family, it seems that Yuuki's biological father sired another on a female ancestor of mine. A half-breed who later on became one of the hunters of the clan and the reason we were so good at the job."

Yagari winced. "Man that sucks. Explains a few things, but that really sucks. About twenty or so years ago, that man you were talking about had a meet up with your old man. He sure as hell was not in a good mood and the Kiryuu have always rubbed the wrong way with the Kuran. Your pop got cursed because of some vampire thing gone horrifically wrong."

"Twenty years ago, the Kuran couple lost a child." Zero repeated. "Shit."

Standing swiftly, Zero began to pace the room as his shoulders stiffened. "There were three siblings in their generation. Rido, the eldest. Haruka, the middle child. Finally there was Juri, the youngest."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Yagari asked him.

"Do you know what the curse was?" Zero asked him, turning back to look at his sensei.

"I'm not sure. The information I gathered was just certain that there was a curse. What do you think, Zero? You seemed to have a few guesses already."

Shaking slightly from the sheer idea of what he was about to reveal, Zero stared his master in the eye. "Like I said, the Kuran lost a child. Kuran Juri is absolutely convinced that I am that child's reincarnation, regardless of the lack of blood ties between us. If that's the case, then it's possible curse we're discussing lead to Ichiru and my birth in the Kiryuu line."

"Or maybe it's just those purebloods playing head games with you." Yagari began, stopping when he saw the look of complete contemplation on Zero's face.

"They're not playing any games with me, Master. Of that, I can be certain. Kuran was quite serious when he told me he wanted to turn me into a Knight for his house. It's not something I want nor do I need." Zero conceded. "It was either that option or the other. He would see to it that I was… returned to the fold as it were as a Kuran. Neither choice is very appealing to me."

"Not to mention the trouble it'd stir up in the association." Yagari added.

Nodding, Zero clenched his hand into a fist. "None of the other vamps would like it either."

"So, what does that leave?"

"I can go to the Association, tell them I was after a vampire that's broken in and went after it." Zero started. "Since I did kill a level E shortly after the break in, it won't exactly be a lie."

Yagari stared at his pupil in surprise. "Huh. They would still arrest you on the spot. You already know about your probation and keeping your nose clean."

"Chances are I'll be executed on the spot." Zero agreed. "That's a chance I'm willing to take."

"Start a nice bloody battle after it too, huh?"

Zero struggled for the right answer only long enough to explain his thinking. "I doubt I am worth any kind of war to the vampires or the hunters. I am not really considered to be of any importance."

"Are you still so ready to die?" Yagari asked him. "I don't think so. You have just been backed into a corner and discovered a few things along the way. Use that and turn things back in your favor. Even if you are an idiot, I am the one who trained you. Use your blasted head already."

"Are you sure I haven't gone mad yet? I'm talking to the damned dead of the purebloods." Zero argued with him halfheartedly.

"Well, there you go. Maybe you should try seeking one of them out and figuring out what is going on. Perhaps that Haruka knows more about this situation. Take control back over your life, kid. You're a Kiryuu." The prompt from Yagari was met by a long silence.

Giving his eyes up for staring at the ceiling, Zero smirked. "You're right. I am."

"Good boy."

Remembering his father's lecture on that subject was indeed a lesson in life. Ichiru and he had just turned five and it was just after their lessons had begun if he remembered. His father had sat with them before bed and gave them a stern look. He had said a Kiryuu gave in for nobody and never gave up until the job was done. They were Vampire Hunters' no matter the circumstances and to hold true to themselves if nothing else.

"Dad…" Zero smirked after the word. "He was right. It does not matter what I was or what I became. I was born a Hunter for a purpose."

Getting to his feet, the younger hunter stepped out of the study and into the living room with his master right behind him. Standing loosely in front of the members of his family, Zero met the Kuran male's eyes with his own.

"Screw you, Kuran. I am a Kiryuu and I will do things my way. As it as always been."

Defiance was inborn into the members of his family. To do what it took and keep on going.

Kaname answered him with a smirk. "Well, that's your answer I suppose."

Juri felt a cold shiver go down her back at that very moment. Perhaps it was considered unwise of another to challenge a Kuran, but that did not seem to affect her Zero. He seemed to grow in the adversity he challenged from Kaname. "They're not going to fight, are they, Kaien? Yuuki-chan?"

"I dunno." Yuuki answered her, eyes widening sight of Zero standing in open defiance of Kaname.

"Well, guess you can really see the family resemblance." Kaien answered her with a grin. "Just like two brothers or what not…"

Zero's glare would have melted the poles if they could. As it were, it merely sufficed to silence Kaien before he could go further in his assessment of family resemblance.

Chapter 12: Countdown to Fate

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

Often employed to watch their newer hunter's performance in the field during their final assessment, retired hunters would sometimes take on a job of watching suspect members of their former fields. Following Yagari had challenged rusty skills to points of renewal and then some, yet it seemed as if no big surprise awaited them when he was discovered in the home of Cross Kaien. When it was confirmed that Kiryuu Zero was also in the confines of the home, the order was given.

Shock troops moved in first. Hunters new to the field were given first crack at arresting the youth. The commotion soon drew the attention of those on the Academy Grounds, even garnering a few more of the known students towards the house itself. When Kiryuu Zero was brought out in handcuffs a short time later, a single girl by the name of Wakaba Sayori fought her way to the front of the classes. Forcing herself towards the ornate fence that guarded the grounds, Sayori cast the arresting hunters an assessing glare before taking a stance with arms spread wide.

"Where are you taking him?" She demanded.

Leave it to the Hunters of old to be unreasonable old codgers…

"Best be out of the way, missy." She was advised. "The lad is a dangerous criminal we've been after for a couple of days now."

"Zero's about as dangerous as a newborn kitten." She countered him. "I'm not letting you take him anywhere with you."

Nearly spluttering at the impudent creatures assessment of himself, Zero settled for trying to glare her into silence. Failing miserably, of course. "Just go back to class, Wakaba. This has got nothing to do with you."

"Oh, hush. We're not just gonna…" She was silenced when a heavy hand fell on her shoulder and she was finally looking up at a Hunter's face. "What is it?"

"You're under arrest for obstructing justice." he said stiffly.

Blinking back at him, Yori cast her fellow classmate an odd look. "Guess I'll get to go with you now." she said.

"Don't sound so happy about it." Zero snapped at her, his brow already beginning to spasm at the idea of the girl even being close to him. Ever since Yuuki had taken to Kuran, Sayori had attached herself to him like a barnacle. "Someone should have told you Yuuki was back." Grousing about the fact changed nothing as they were both shortly led away.

Zero was perhaps the only person on the face of the planet other than Yuuki who could get away with that kind of expression when it came to him. The murderous glare on the Hunter's face after Kaien's statement had shortly been wiped away in the face of a solid bang against the Cross front door and the sudden flood of Hunters in the room. Everything had briefly fallen into chaos when they were faced with weapons aimed at their heads and demands to give up the 'traitor'.

Raising his hands above his head, Zero had given himself up before a word could be gotten in edgewise. Keeping his watchful eyes even with the captain's own, Zero had given himself up before the others could be hurt.

"They've nothing to do with what happened." Zero told him. "Arresting Cross or the Purebloods is simply asking for trouble and Sensei just got here. They don't know a thing."

"The words of a traitor have no meaning to us, Kiryuu Zero." The captain had answered. "Get that thing out of here."

The orders had been given and heeded, the vampires watching in stunned disbelief as Zero was led from the home in strict formation, the other hunters following silently behind them with weapons in covering position. Spinning on his foot, Yagari turned to Kuran Kaname with a demanding expression.

"If you were serious about saving him, then now would be the time to do it." Yagari spat out. "We've less time then it'll take to get him to headquarters."

Standing by was not something any of the people in the room were largely used too. Sure, there had been times when they were forced to do so, under circumstances that had become more intolerable. Yuuki had already palmed her Artemis, dragging the gleaming shortened weapon from it's hideaway position and giving the men a 'try and stop me' glare. As for Juri herself, the matriarch had already headed out the door, ignoring the beginning talking inside. Scurrying after them was Kaien, the man already determined to save his adopted son from the fate that awaited him.

"Best make some calls, Pureblood." Yagari shouted out, running after the warmongers.

"Indeed." The Kuran stated as he found himself alone in the room. Toying with the idea of following them, Kaname glanced to the window where he found the ever present Seiren watching the proceedings. "I'll need you call the others and inform them of the happenings. A meeting should be arranged between the Vampire Counsel and the Hunter's Association on the continued existence of the Kiryuu Clan. Do not be tardy, Seiren. I won't be pleased."

"Of course, my lord." The female answered, disappearing into the shadowed eves of the porch.

Priorities taken care of, with a thought, Kuran Kaname was beside his family, lover, and associates with nary a thought to spare for the one his precious ones were in straits over. Indulging this minor infraction would perhaps gain him a better understanding of the circumstances of whatever was happening in his carefully ordered world.

Here I am and here I will remain, condemned unto death like those souls I've hunted down. Echoing thoughts were his only company in that dank prison. Unlike so many other facilities that were used to house prisoners, this one was washed in solid white, black seals affixed to every space available. Heavy chains clung tightly against his skin, wrapped around his wrists like a boa constrictor. The white only served to remind him that his position was tenacious at best. Giving up as he had only prevented them from adding bodies to this cell. The heavy door that barred his vision from other prisoners was no help when he could clearly hear the loud voice of Wakaba Sayori protesting with every last ounce of her will his imprisonment.

What was it with females and him?

"They must all be clearly insane." he mumbled to the room. "At least the sane ones know how to listen."

Closing his eyes to try and rest, it was only a short time later Zero found himself once more in that place he had first met Kuran Haruka. This time, the man was standing in front of a fireplace, with his hands crossed over his chest. A painting had found itself above the fire mantel of a woman, two children, and himself. A photograph had also been set next to it. The faces that stared back at him widened his eyes in alarm. There was his parents, his brother, and himself as he'd been before Shizuka's attack.

"Memories are a funny thing, Zero." Haruka stated. "This place is a reflection of what's in your soul and in your heart. A part of you is trying to find a way to make everything fit, even though you try and deny it. I wasn't expecting you to come back so soon. What can I do for you?"

"Kiryuu Kikyo. What was she to you?" The statement had managed to make it past the anger and distraction of his mind while he struggled to separate himself from the shift in the room. Now wasn't the time to lose himself to anger.

The name brought a twinge to the man's face as he sighed. "She was a woman I once thought myself to love. At least, that's what we told ourselves until the day she found herself carrying my child. After that, I was forced to tell her what I really was. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, there would be no reconciliation of our houses."

"Juri told me she was happy about the child. That she'd told your grandfather and…" Freezing in his talking Zero's eyes widened as Haruka shot him a look of dismay. "She didn't know? But I thought she was…"

"Born into a clan of hunters? Yes. It was something I suspected but never cared to confirm. It was Rido who revealed that. He always did love to destroy anything that brought another joy. He lusted for misery as much as he did blood. A monster in wolf's clothing, as it were." Haruka stepped towards one of the chairs and sat down slowly.

"So, then neither of you knew the truth until after the fact. By then she was dead and the child had vanished. Did you think that the child died as well?" Zero made to move, surprised when he was able to follow the other towards the chairs and sit down himself.

"As much as any parent would want to know, it was for it's sake that I never bothered to dig further. Can you imagine what Rido would have done with the baby? The child of a hunter and a pureblood…" His eyes met Zero's a knowing light in them. "You know what the struggle must have been like for your ancestor, Zero-kun. Conflicted as you are, you possess the soul of a pure blooded vampire, a human heart, and the instinct of a hunter. Your blood possesses a power unseen by many outside our clan for very good reason. When you get out of here and are free once more, ask Kaname about the legend of our family. One to lead, one to continue, and one to keep the line while. Most purebloods only have a child or two before they quit. Kurans are bound by duty to produce at least three."

"So, why me? Why did I get the job…?"

"It is a power that is passed on with the death of the previous handler. Only one to a generation. Why do you think you were able to sense Shizuka so clearly? Your soul has always known what was in your blood. Something I wish I'd known while I was still alive." Haruka touched his hand to his heart, clenching the digits into a tight fist.

The answers were always leaving him more confused than the questions had. "How do you know so much about me?"

Haruka smiled at him. "How? It's simple really. Ichiru keeps me company when you're not around."

Ichiru… keeps him company?

Further conversation ground to a halt when his world suddenly turned to ice. Sputtering, Zero shot up from his resting position to glare at the person who dared to interrupt. The hunter that leaned down close to him dropped a bucket that had held icy water on the ground before stepping aside. From behind him came a member of the hunter's ruling party.

"Kiryuu Zero, you broke into this facility and took something from it. What did you remove?"

Purple eyes glared back at the questioner. "You've picked a bad time." he answered, his fangs already slipping from their hiding places to reveal themselves. "I've missed my daily dose of medication."

Rido's laughter renewed the chill in the room as the world turned crimson. "Yes, dear nephew, the hunters. Take the blood of the hunters and free yourself to return to Juri. Her blood, her blood has the power to free us both."

Head falling forward, Zero smirked in answer of the pureblood. "Speak of the devil himself."

The comment brought newer questions to the level D as his comrades began to badger him. Laughing to himself, Zero shook his head.

"The damned purebloods are here."

He could smell them over the blood of the humans occupying the same space as he.

No form of training could have prepared the poor individuals in the central hall for the entrance of a trio of purebloods and legends. Two women and three men stood darkly in the entryway, led by the very prince of all vampires straight to the reception desk. Giving the woman at the desk a slender smile of no real warmth, Kuran Kaname spearheaded the motion to get back what had been taken.

"Your people took something that belongs to me and I want him back. The release of the Wakaba female into my fiancee's care would likewise be helpful. Her father has quite an influence in the world of humans. Can you imagine the scandal of him finding out about our arrangements?"

The power of purebloods was not to be trifled with.

A shaking hand gestured for one of the messengers to summon the Associations leaders of the moment. "Please, wait one moment, sir." the secretary whispered.

"Of course." Bowing his head to her, Kaname gestured to the others to follow him to the waiting area. Sitting in a space of six chairs and other assorted furniture, the vampire overlord prepared himself to be badgered.

"How can you be so calm?" Yuuki whispered sharply in his ear. "They've got Zero and can be a tad bit eager on the trigger finger when it comes to vampires."

Kaname gave her a teasing smile. No answer, just that 'I know something' smile that can infuriate anyone.

"Stop that." Juri lectured, shooting him a mother's warning glance. "Don't tease your baby sister."

Feeling the first rush of winning against her brother's teasing, Yuki's mouth dropped open as she stared at her mother in surprise. She tells Kaname to stop and then she says something like that. No fair.

"Mean." she whispered, turning her head to watch the people in their surroundings. "Do you think they'll just give him back to us?"

"It would be unwise not to do so. They have no real proof against him except two men." A knowing smirk graced his lips as Kaname turned to watch Yuuki scout out the room. "Besides, there are other purposes to keeping Kiryuu alive now. Peace is only one of them now."

"What do you mean?" Yuuki asked, her brows furrowing together as she thought about where he was going with his line of thinking.

"Kiryuu is a distant relation of ours. That makes him a Kuran. While that might not make him entirely special, his awakening powers do. He's special to you and our mother as well. Like I said, Kiryuu needs to remain alive. For all of their sakes, let's hope they realize it." Kaname answered her.

"I want my son back." Juri growled at the small party, red-brown eyes flickering over the expanse of the hall. "If even one hair on his head is hurt I'll…"

Kaien frowned at her. "Please, calm down. Zero will be fine."

Sighing over the commotion, Yagari pulled his hat down low over his head and slumped. There was always a plan b.

Chapter 13: Humans: The Ultimate Predator

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Vampire Knight was created by Hino Matsuri…

Arresting the girl had probably not been well thought out by the ones who brought her in. A swift trial with an association appointed attorney had only garnered an ire from the young woman and her guilt was still being determined. Situated in the courtroom while awaiting her sentence, the judges and other officials had turned to a discussion on how best to deal with Kiryuu Zero.

Having listened to the list of crimes they had established against him, the young woman had vehemently protested the decision to simply 'eliminate' the nuisance before it could spread. Simply put, she'd gained their attention by yelling at them about humanity and it's disappearing hold over the rest of the world. Given the reasons for their occupation, the judge and his staff felt somewhat compelled to listen.

"That's not right." The protest ended with a gesture for one of the courtroom guards to escort the young woman out. "It's not right. You're treating people who used to be human like monsters. There is a part of that humanity in them. I've seen it in Yuuki-chan and in Kiryuu-kun. It's wrong to deny people a basic trial when their lives are dependent upon it."

Dodging the guards the young woman proved that she was more than slippery enough for them. Despite being a civilian she had like any sensible young woman taken the self defense courses offered at Cross Academy. Her teacher had seen her skill and suggested she take a few more personal lessons in her free time. Lessons that'd been provided by Kiryuu Zero after he'd spoken with the headmaster a few times.

"Child, all level D's eventually lose that humanity to madness. They must be put down for their own sakes and the human race itself. Now, you need to leave." Again the guards swiveled in her direction, leaving the girl to dodge around them and into the direction of a window.

"Then please show me proof that Kiryuu Zero has become a monster." Since being arrested on behalf of Zero she'd learned many terrorizing things. Things about the real kind of trouble people like Zero faced. The knowing that their very lives were ended from an act that was forced upon them… without knowing the true consequences, was horrendous. "Or give me the opportunity to represent him fairly. Just because they possibly lose their own sanity, does that mean we have to lose ours?"

The silent forms of the living bodies in the room were the only peace given before Sayori found herself restrained by the guards. Indicating for the men to give him a moment, the girl waited patiently for an answer.

"As you've argued, we will give you a chance to defend Kiryuu Zero from the charges brought against him. Not as a vampire or a level E, as you think this trial is about. Rather, you will defend him as if he were still a human. You've access only to the records concerning this state of affairs. Prepare as best you can. This trial will resume in the morning. Guards, take the young woman to see her client. I'm sure they can have a most interesting conversation."

From the very way the judge was talking, he had already determined Zero's guilt in the outcome of the trial. Narrowing her brows at his back, Sayori allowed the guards to escort her from the room and into the dungeons below the complex. As in the past, the more she learned about the Vampires and their predators the more she became determined to settle peace between their races. The lack of basic common decency was astounding.

"To think, they would try someone without even hearing them out. Can you believe that?" she growled at the guards.

Obviously she would receive no reply from them. Their only job was to deliver the prisoner to her destination. "At all times, a Hunter will remain in the room with you. Vampires like him aren't to be trusted. The calm ones are always the most dangerous." One of her guards explained, rapping on the door for another guard to permit them entry in the prisoner's section. The facility only housed three large rooms and a few smaller cells. Each door was heavily barred and locked as if they were in some kind of asylum for the mad. Raising a question pair of eyes to her keepers, Sayori stumbled into a room where Zero leaned heavily against a white stone wall dripping wet.

"Kiryuu-kun, are you okay?" she asked, jumping forward against her guards hold. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Wakaba…" he growled, raising gleaming red eyes to her face. Other men and women stood in the room, a safe distance from the creature they had chained up. A dark laugh sent a chill down her back as she wondered what was happening. "You shouldn't have brought her here. All she did was get in the middle of Hunter's business and refused to have her memory wiped. What's the grudge against her for?"

The man he was speaking was clearly startled by the sudden sway in the conversation, unused to the swift alteration of level E to something entirely different. "I suppose we should have expected it. Kiryuu, we are the ones asking the questions here. Where is the item you took from this facility?"

Laughing again, Zero removed himself from the wall, his tattooed neck taking on a dark glow against his pale skin. "Give me my blood tablets and I'll consider answering you."

Sayori felt her face paling, the blood draining away into awful fright as the young man she thought she knew revealed a horrible side to himself. Fangs gleaned from under his lips as he peeled them back in a snarl. "Are you sure it's wise to deny me even that basic necessity? Even the purebloods aren't that stupid."

A fist landed in his stomach before the man drew back away. "Again, where is the item you took from this facility?"

"Forget it." Zero spat out around the burning in his stomach. "It wasn't your property to begin with."

That was nearly enough to garner another set of questions until Sayori overcame her own horror at the sight present to her. "Get away from him." she yelled, jerking away from her keepers and sending a foot into the knee of Zero's interrogator. "Kiryuu-kun told you he needs the blood tablets. How can you expect anyone to answer questions when you won't even give them common decency. People like you are disgusting, you pig."

It could be argued that vampires and hunters were well practiced in the art of politics, given the nature of their cultures. Nevertheless, nothing could prepare either for the truly blood pressure raising sophistication one would meet at the hands of 'normal' people. The ignorant were just as bloodthirsty as the vampires and just as determined to destroy their foes as the hunters. Human politics had given birth to the cultures of the others for a reason.

At the phone call from the Hunter's Association to her father concerning her arrest and trial, a new branch of government entered their small confined worlds. As knowledgeable as they were about the normal lives of people, Ambassador Wakaba strolled into the Association HQ as if he owned the place. Striding past the vampires, guards, and other officials the man stalked directly into the office of the people in charge.

"Where is my daughter?" he boomed, his voice carrying over all other conversations like a death knell.

The scene prompted an amused snort from the quiet Yagari, watching the proceedings from under the brim of his hat. "It seems as if the Association has needlessly complicated things. All we need now is the VC involved…"

An amused and knowing smirk from the Kuran male amongst them brought him to a halt. "You sly devil." he complimented, nodding his head at Kaname. "When did you order them to get involved?"

"Shortly after the four of you tore off from the house. I thought it best to set things in motion before I tipped out hand." Kaname answered him. "Kiryuu and Wakaba are certainly worth my involvement at this time. Regardless of his personal feelings in the matter, I don't think he'll argue with it in the end."

Rolling her eyes at the coming conversation, Juri jerked to her feet and followed the Wakaba ambassador into the office of the people in charge. She was through with waiting for answers and the release of her Zero.

Bowing at the entrance to the ones inside, the Kuran matriarch gave men and women a pleasant smile. "I apologize for my rudeness, however, I overheard you speaking. You wouldn't happen to be miss Wakaba's father, would you?"

"Yes. Yes, I am." The man answered her. "Who might you be?"

"No one of such importance as yourself sir. I am Kuran Juri. Your daughter is a good friend of my children, I believe." Smiling at him, Juri sent a sidelong look at the Hunters to dare challenge her at this time. "I am Yuki-chan's mother. I was ill for quite some time and out of the country. I only recently returned and then this happened. I am dreadfully sorry."

"Madame, I am the one who should apologize…" The Hunters watched in increasing alarm as the Kuran wound the man into her web. The shining of tears in her eyes became the final draw as she stuttered out a sorrowful tale at how her boy had been taken out of his home and at gunpoint. He was further brought in by his own daughter's 'heroic' actions to prevent and save her son.

Everything they'd been prepared to launch was systematically shut down in less time than it'd taken to arrest Kiryuu.

All before the others in her group had even noticed her absence apparently.

The ambassador turned back with renewed rage on the Association. "I want my daughter and this woman's child remanded to our custody at once!" he thundered. Life had indeed turned it's mop bucket upside down on their plans. All they needed next was for a vampire to go mad on them and reveal everything else.

Deep in the bowels of the Associations complex and in its prisons, a woman's scream tore out past the guarded halls and echoed dully off of white stone walls. Red eyes glittered darkly in challenge bringing the Hunter's surrounding him directly into battle with the emerging form of a pureblood behind him. Dropping the body of his primary interrogator on the floor, the man still gasping for air, Kiryuu Zero leapt over him and into the body of the next.

His body solidifying into something corporeal, Kuran Rido stole a hand through the hair of Wakaba Sayori and jerked her back to him. His laughter breathed across her throat as he bared his fangs. Screaming again, the girl closed her eyes in fright, unwilling to watch what was coming next. Spinning on his heel, Zero gave his own assessment of the situation. Unlike Rido's lust for blood, Zero's had only ever been truly settled by just one thing.

The only thing anyone in the room could provide him aside from the ones unaware upstairs.

"Don't be so hasty, Rido." The Hunter drawled. "We've some personal business to discuss first."

Chapter 14: This One Bites

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to benefit from this work of fiction. Hino Matsuri created Vampire Knight…

Fear was a truly wonderful thing. It allowed one to learn to be brave, to survive, to find a hidden level of strength unlike anything ever felt before. On the other hand, it could be the most detrimental thing in the world. Like love and hate, fear sat deep in the mind of humanity to use as a tool in times like this one. Sayori's eyes widened at the tone Zero had taken with the pureblood vampire. The grip that was on her loosened as the younger male shot forward again, his speed terrifying alone, when she found herself hurled into the bodies in the hallway.

Her last sight of the Vampires was Zero's crimson eyes flicking back to Rido, a terrible grin twisting his features into a monster. Opening her mouth to scream, the sound strangled in her throat when the Hunters tore her away from the oncoming battle. The Pureblood and the Ultimate Hunter were at war for blood.

Hers, their own, and anyone who got in the way.

Feeling a hand wrap tightly around her wrist, Sayori was yanked by her arm towards the steps leading back to the main floor. Far be it from her to question what was going on when her guards started to shout for backup to hurry up and deal with the vampires. Everything in her world was swiftly descending into chaos as the girl found herself coming to a stumbling halt near the base of the stairs. A guard was telling her to run away from here and not look back. Eyes flickering to the man's back, she watched numbly as the man tore back up the stairs and into the fray once more.

"Zero?" she whispered, the name falling and catching the sensitive hearing of the purebloods in the lobby. Tears broke out from her eyes, trailing slowly from their tenacious perch on her lashes. Terror… What she had felt up there was terror at Rido's hands. Yet, when the one called Zero had moved, something else had stirred in her soul and she could not yet name the emotion.

How had he overcome that madness to free her from Rido?

"What's happening?" Sayori asked the air. "What was that just now?"

"Can you survive the wrath of your victims, Rido?" Zero questioned his elder stepping softly towards his foe with intent clearly written. The last time they had faced each other like this, the younger had his Bloody Rose in his hand. This time, he was alone with his blood lust and the cause of all his sorrow. Hatred burned in his gut for the very thing before him.

Rido's smirk drew an answering gleam from the other's still glowing eyes. "You are indeed the one I've been watching out for." Raising his wrist higher to his mouth, the Purebloods fangs flashed down until the crimson welled deeply from his own veins.

"It's what you've been hungering for." he drawled softly for the other's ears. "The pureblood unlike any other. The Kuran blood."

Arching a slender silver brow over his crimson eye, Zero laughed at him. "Is everyone in your cursed clan clueless?" Twisting his fingers into a fist, the hunter dashed forward to slam the limb into Rido's stomach.

Coughing past the surprise attack, the other jerked his elbow into the other's unprotected neck. A snap of bone nearly broke the deafening pound of blood rushing through the veins. Twisting back to face Rido, the hunter twisted the dark haired vampire's fingers tightly in his own palm.

Rido's fanged grin drew even wider. "Do you think a mere creature like you has the power to overthrow me?"

"Why not?" Zero asked him. "According to the rules, those who revive another vampire are the master, aren't they?"

All conscious thought seemed to come to a halting conclusion. Horror streaked through Rido as he stared down at the youth. A knowing smile answered his shocked state.

"That's right." Zero concluded. "I've done my homework since the last time we met vampire. I figured if I am going to be stuck with you haunting me, then I might as well assume some control over the situation. My encounter with Shizuka taught me that much. You cannot kill your master, revived or sired. How unfortunate for you, pureblood."

"Son of a…" Rido snarled at the boy with glowing crimson eyes. "What do you intend to do with me now, brat?"

"I thought you'd understand, Kuran Rido. Your clan's blood is the purest available. Given what I've learned from consuming it myself, a cure can be found for other level D's and E's by using that blood." Zero's smile grew darker. "From the growing horror across your face, you're beginning to understand."

Indeed, he was beginning to understand. He had been right before. This boy was going to change the face of all vampire society. "You are a beast in human clothing."

"I am nothing less than what your kind made me. A hunter soaked in the blood of pure blooded vampires since the day I was conceived." Leaning down towards the dead body of his interrogator, Zero shifted through his pockets until he found what he desired. The blood tablets fell easily into his palm and then into his mouth. "Terrifying, to behold the face of your prison."

"I wish you'd go to hell." Rido snarled at him. Jerking forward, he raised his fist to smash it down on the smaller vampire. Shifting to the side, Zero avoided the blow with an ease that belied his nature. There was a helpful fact that Rido seemed to be unable to connect once again with his frame.

"Shut up." he answered the other back. "Prisoners don't have a reason to talk."

She was found by the guards a few moments later, one of the newer men ordered to remove her from her collapsed position. Carried into the lobby the man was rushing her to the door when a small hand clamped firmly down on his arm. Looking down, the hunter found his eyes locked with the brighter eyes of Yuuki's round face and a tense expression. "Where are you taking her?" she asked him.

"Look, miss, it's best you and the other civilians get out of here," he answered her.

Opening her mouth to question him further, she halted at the sight of Kaname leaning close to his ear. "I smell blood upstairs. Why won't you be a good man and just tell us what is happening. We might be better able to help you."

The hunter swallowed. He really should not tell this person Association business. Really, he should not… "A level D was brought in earlier today. The association had something against him. The kid's one of our most talented agents, but he is a vampire. Many people in the agency does not want him taking a command position because of that. Therefore, they were planning to use any means necessary to get rid of him. Only, something went wrong."

"Yuuki… Rido is up there. He is alone with him. He's alone with Zero." Sayori whispered her legs shaking with the effort to keep standing as the guard had relaxed his hold on her. All eyes were on her in question. Unable to answer the how's and the why's, Sayori turned her head to look back at the stairs.

Chapter 15: The Pureblood Manipulation

Breaking down doors between themselves and the screams of a man desperate to get away was the only thing tearing itself through Juri's heart. After the girl Sayori had given her stumbled pleas for help the purebloods had taken the forefront of getting to Rido and Zero. Hopefully before her brother could do any form of damage to the youth. Taking the last step just scant inches before Cross, Yagari, or even Kaname, the matriarch of the Kuran clan froze at the sight that greeted her.

Leaning on a wall just outside the cell was a bloody and bruised Rido, the maddened vampire leader who had rained terror upon her small family less then thirty years ago. His dual colored eyes were lidded heavily and a length of chain had been whipped around his throat. Pale hands jerked the chain tighter as Kiryuu Zero stepped out from his cell to draw Rido back into his web of pain. The crimson eyes Sayori had cried about had long since disappeared. In their place was nothing more than a pair of lilac eyes bent on destroying it's prey.

There was no warmth in the hunter.

Everything Juri had thought she'd known about the hurting boy was swiftly being replaced by a newer knowledge. The child she thought she knew was a man who had been raised on hate forged from blood. Zero was a hunter… Nothing she tried to do was going to change that, was it?

"Zero?" she called out to the silver haired boy. Extending a hand, she wrapped her slim fingers around the bloodied fist that worked into confining his chain on Rido. "Zero, what are you doing?"

All hope that the younger incarnation of her son would answer was defused by his lack of physical response. His answer however would burn in her memory for the remainder of her existence. "Rido arranged for the death of Shizuka's lover. My parents were the hunters sent to wipe him out. In response she came to us and ate them. She took my brother and turned me into a beast for her own pleasure. That wasn't enough though. He had to cut out the last of the loose ends. He wounded my brother. He's the one responsible for my family's death."

The words… the words had once shown many signs of being choked previously to this moment. Now, there was nothing. An empty place had filled his body since his consumption of Ichiru's blood. "Because of him Ichiru is gone and won't be coming back." Zero snapped his free wrist, yanking the chain tighter around Rido's throat. "How does it make you feel vampire? Knowing that for all your sins you will suffer as your victims do?"

Cross and Yagari moved to either side of the younger man, hands settling on his shoulders to try and calm him. Kaname reached in and carefully pulled his mother away from the escalating mess of trauma and murderous outrage. "You should not be seeing this." he whispered to her. "Rido is not our concern any longer."

"It's not Rido I'm worried about." Juri answered him, reaching into her power to try and find some kind of answer. "Zero… is not as he should be."

"What are you trying to achieve with my brother, Kuran Haruka?" Ichiru asked. The other spirit paused, looking down at the human ghost.

"I wish to set the wrong things right." he answered the boy. A small smile tugged at the Kiryuu twins mouth as shook his head.

"Poor Zero." Ichiru sighed. "He's always been so soft hearted. Quite unlike a hunter or a vampire, you know. He wasn't suited for a life he was born into."

Haruka jerked in his direction. "Why do you ask what I intend to do with him?"

Ichiru gave him a sly smirk. "It's just that Zero's not the reincarnation of your son."

"What?" Amber red eyes narrowed on the violet eyed specter.

Ichiru met the eyes with his own. "I'm the reincarnation, Father."

Horror swept through the elder vampire as he began to understand. "He was born your twin…"

"And hunter twins consume the life force of their kin before birth. Not Zero though. Zero has always been too soft with our kind. So, I had to fix it. My brother didn't have the heart to kill the monsters your kind produces. It was my last gift to him, you know." Ichiru tilted his head at the man in question. "Do you think twins are one half of the same whole?"

"What are you saying?"

"Zero's entire life has been my weapon for revenge on your damned brother." Ichiru spat out. "Not that I was able to remember that until I up and died."

Haruka was in shock. Just how was that boy the Keeper of the Kuran bloodline then? Of course, there was the distant connection to his clan through his long deceased child. Was that the reason why? What was he supposed to tell the child the next time they spoke?

"You won't tell Zero a thing. Mom's good for him and he for her. Zero's always been smart. Now though he's hurting so much and Yuuki just up and left him. So, leave them be and let them have each other." The boy ordered. Taking the man's hand in his own, Ichiru began tugging him towards a distant light. "Sides, there are some people I want you to meet."

"You're rather manipulative, aren't you?" Haruka mumbled.

Chapter 16: Until the Last

"Why?" he asked, glaring through the thick pane of glass at the outside world of frosted white. A year ago, Zero had single handedly revived two deceased Purebloods and revealed the presence of Vampires to the political world of humans. Months of study, examinations, and trivial diplomatic consultations had given the nineteen-year-old male a chance to learn about things outside their sphere of influence. The rest of humanity was still in blissful ignorance about the Vampires and their machinations behind closed doors. Yet, now because of Sayori's father everything was shifting in directions long since untested.

As a third party, the human delegations held the best chance of settling all debates between hunters and vampires alike. To date the Purebloods answered for every converted level E vampire they sired and a required registration draft was submitted to the vampire hunters. The effects of his presence and abilities were long in dispute between all organizations. As a last surviving member of a vampire hunter clan, he was needed to keep that clan alive. As a member of the Kuran clan no matter the distance, he held a precarious position in the society of vampires. In the human world, he was nothing more than an object to be studied at their leisure.

Now, he was being asked to spearhead the talks for extended peace as President of the Vampire Hunter's Association. All of which lead to his current predicament in his life.

"Why would I be advocated to lead the hunters? I'm a damned vampire, Yagari." Zero snapped, spinning to affix his sensei with a gleaming purple glare.

Sighing, the man gestured to the open file on the table between them. "You've gone through all sorts of tests since Rido's confinement in this facility. You possess something many hunters and most vampires lack. The norms were the ones who pinpointed it. They want someone whose aims are not just an eradication of vermin. They want a solution to finally curtail and stop the level E's from becoming level D's. You were a born with your humanity intact and maintained it as a vampire hunter and a vampire."

"I don't needlessly torture an already pathetic existence." Zero complained falling into a singular chair set at a desk. "I don't get what the big deal is about this though. Why was I chosen in the first place?"

Yagari sighed. "You possess power." Explaining the details was fundamentally impossible. So many reasons had gone into choosing Zero even before the normal humans came into play. Given his choices in dealing with the Kuran Clan, it certainly cemented the obvious. Zero was not to be won over easily, not with his background. "Hell, Zero, even without the abilities you've obtained since high school you still possesses an unparalleled amount of abilities."

"I never once sought a position like the one I find myself holding, Yagari." the silver haired male muttered. "I'm being told that my duty is to be some kind of leader to a weakened and fractured group. The Vampire's counsel could crush the hunters in a single concentrated attack if they desired. It's not as if the normal humans can even stand a chance against them either."

"That's why we need you Zero. You have an understanding of all parties in this tangled weave. Your connections to the Kuran are almost as strong as the Kiryuu history is in the hunters." Yagari drawled out. Anything to convince this young man that he was the ideal leader for the Hunter has to prosper. "We need you to take the association in hand and forge a new future for us."

Remaining in his thoughts, Zero dropped his head back against the chair he sat in. Staring up at the ceiling, the violet-eyed male nearly sighed aloud his frustrations from the last year. "You're sure there is no better candidate for this?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure you are the best candidate we've got. You are certainly too stubborn and stupid to fall for any schemes the vampires might have for you. Besides according to their own rules you command two of the most powerful purebloods in their ranks." A fierce glare shot out from Zero has narrowed eyes.

"Don't bring Juri into that," he growled. "Don't even suggest such a thing to me."

A chuckle from his teacher answered the stubborn youth's ominous warning. "Sure thing, kid."

Parties were meant to be fun. Receptions were meant to be stiff. Dropping her chin into her palm, Juri pouted at her reflection in the ancient mirror. Since returning to the world of the living and finding herself truly without Haruka or Rido watching her every step she had become extremely lonely. Even given the frequent visits from Kaname and Yuuki, the elder pureblood had grown increasingly distraught over her newest plight.

Unlike in her previous life, Juri was given incomprehensible freedom to do as she pleased when she pleased. She had long since moved into an apartment just feet away from her reincarnated son's Zero's home. Having found the place slightly rundown, the mother in her had gone slightly hectic at 're-decorating' the very building. More like she had used her enormous wealth to have, the place completely over hauled and fixed up.

With the invitation to attend a ball given by Wakaba Sayori's father in honor of their esteemed guests, Juri was forced to await her escort until he was free to tend her. Out of all the people she had forged, a relationship with it had come out to be Cross Kaien. Over the last year, she had learned so much more about her children and how they came to be united. She was pleased that at least Yuuki had learned a joy to hold precious for the rest of her days.

"Kaien is certainly running late." she mused aloud. Fingering her pearl necklace, Juri sighed again. "I wonder how my Zero took the news."

"He'll be just fine, Juri." Kaien interrupted stepping through her door with a friendly wave.

Jumping around in her seat, Juri gave her old friend a long look. "Did you have to do that?" she asked him. "You forgot to knock, old friend."

A sheepish smile answered her accusation. "You look like a goddess, Juri." he said, altering the state of the conversation in a swift move she had come to expect from the man. Like the longer-lived vampires, Kaien had developed a quick wit to help him stave off the everyday repetition of his life.

"Why, thank you. Though we are now running late because of you." Raising her hand to the man for him to take, Juri rose to her feet with an unearthly grace. "Perhaps we should depart for the Associations' celebratory ball?"

"Oh, yes. It wouldn't do to arrive after the children, would it?" Because in all things, they were as much his as hers. Perhaps, just a bit more so. He had raised them after all and knew things about Zero and Yuuki he could never possibly share on a second hand basis.

It was a knowledge she could not bring herself to begrudge him.

"Then we shall depart. I am looking forward to the next semester at the Academy, Kaien. I'll get to share my dreams of peace in person." A smile for her friend's sake. He had kept his promise to her and perhaps she had begun to look forward to his visits even more.

"You're a wonderful teacher, Juri. Even more then that I do believe you are a wonderful mother. You alone have managed to bring Zero out of a place none of us were able to reach." Kaien answered her. Giving the vampire his arm, he escorted her down the hall and into the moonlit night.

Rewarding her escort with a hearty laugh, Juri smirked into the unforgiving night. "I merely found the things that all mothers know."

"Raiding his other family's house for embarrassing photos and memorabilia is hardly what some might call conducive to forming a family bond." Cross reminded her. "Though it does make wonderful material for showing others."

"Exactly." The agreement was hardly needed to be voiced as they were soon joined by Yuuki, Kaname, and the human girl Sayori. "Good evening children. Are you looking forward to the ball?"

The sounds of music rolled into the upstairs prisons that housed the weakened Rido. Red glowing eyes easily glared into the glazed and maddened orbs of the weak mad man. Crouching down in front of the chained creature, Zero scowled at the demon in man's clothing.

"Your treatment is better than what you accorded to your victims." he whispered. "You're kept sustained and sheltered from the sun at all times. You should be pleased that the blood you have so generously provided the association has actually proved fruitful in treating the madness of descent. Perhaps, in a few centuries, you might even regain your freedom. Though we are looking into making sure you can never victimize another family again."

"Nothing you can do will protect you forever, nephew." Rido whispered back at him.

"True." Zero answered him. "You should know by now that I'll be the one in charge of that. Thanks to your schemes I've gained everything I never wanted and lost everything I ever needed." A flash of his fangs brought a snarl from his prisoner. The mutual hate that flowed between them had been tested like this many times.

"You'll fall from grace, nephew. You are too much like me not too." Rido promised.

"If that day comes then there are those more than capable of taking me out." Zero answered him. "That is one contingency plan I insured myself."

Truthfully, his own student was coming along nicely. Wakaba was proving herself talented in the means of hunting and treating the vampires that remained loose in the real world. Intrigued as she had become with his world, he had naturally come to fall for her. "I pity you, Rido. That you will never know love simply because of your own obsessions." With that, the hunter departed, leaving the maniac to stew on his own life.

"I have a life to live."