A/N: Hello all, I'm just getting into the Christmas spirit with this story. It has nothing to do with my other stories and certainly won't be in the way of me making the other chapters of Being Mortal up. Now, I realized that I haven't done much with Kaname Kuran angst and this is sort of to make it up for it. And plus I up to 34 chapters online now and am currently looking for chapter 35.

The pairing is Zero and Kaname but it's more friendship and rivalry kind of thing...

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knights.

Warning(s): Maybe typos, I don't think there's any cursing but there might be (I don't remember) and there might be acts of OOC (Out of Character) but I promise, I didn't mean any of those.

Stalker

Summary: Kaname Kuran had always spent his Christmas nights alone, watching the fire burn in the emptiness of his dormitory until an unexpected late night visitor happens to walk by. Zero X Kaname.

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One-Shot FanFiction Story

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The holidays had finally arrived and at the very news of Christmas break right around the corner had everyone screaming frantically with one another. It seemed the school was buzzing with liveliness even more so than usual because of the fact that it was the night before Christmas break actually started. The Cross academy, full of both vampires and humans alike, was full of Christmas spirit and was flocked with squealing girls trying to rush out to buy gifts for just about everyone around them simply because they could.

And unfortunately, also in that crowd of wild girls, was Yuki Cross herself, the daughter of the headmaster which was, indeed, unusual for her character since she was always carrying herself so carefully and wasn't about to stoop down so low with the majority of the girls that made up the school itself. But because of the very reason that Yuki Cross was a girl was also why she got herself carried away in the joyous time of year that Christmas. She grinned from ear to ear and latched herself onto Zero Kiryuu who only grumbled and complained about the shopping that she was about to drag him into against his own will.

Although, Zero would never admit it, the brunette haired girl had him between her little fingers. Even when he forcibly reminded himself that shopping was only made for girls and any guy caught going shopping was a dead man, he found himself in front of a local clothing store and a handful of shopping bags in a blink of an eye anyway. He groaned inwardly and made a note to try and learn how to say "no" to a girl for future use.

When the two finally got back to the school, they were suddenly surrounded by angry looking girls and Zero immediately thought back to his gun that was in his jacket pocket. If his arms weren't so full right then, he would have shot all the girls who gave Yuki a funny glance. Yuki seemed to notice his heated glare and so opted that time to nudge him back to reality with her own shoulder, almost making him fall and drop the bags.

He twisted to the side and gave her a warning glare as well, though his eyes seemed to immediately soften when he looked at her, "Go inside and take these, Yuki."

Before she could protest he had already handed the bags over to her and started shoving her toward the doors. The boy closed it quickly after she entered and turned his death glare onto the flock of girls.

"Z-Zero…"

He looked in confusion as one of the girls stepped forward with a familiar determined glint in her eyes, "We…want to say…"

"We want to say…Merry…Christmas and we wanted to…to give you these," she reached behind her back and took out a large red box. Zero glanced at it, suspicious.

He took it reluctantly and stared at her, "Why?"

"Because…Because…You're like Kaname-Sama," one of the girls in the back replied.

He raised an eyebrow, "I find that insulting."

"B-But! It's supposed to be a compliment. Kaname-Sama is the best!"

Zero glared at them and before they knew it, he walked away toward the door and trashed the box out in the can on the way. The girls looked on, devastated, wondering what they said wrong. Who in their right mind wouldn't like being compared to the great Kaname-Sama anyway?

For once in their life, they actually thought they were doing the right thing and Zero just threw it away as if it was nothing. Never before had the massive crowd of the day-girl population been in shock. Now they all were thinking twice about the grumpy and moody silver haired boy.

Zero, who was inside the building, was stomping down the hall, glaring at anything that even moved. He had a feeling that today was going to be terrible, ever since he woke up. As he walked down the corridor that evening, he couldn't help but wonder why it was very quiet.

But of course, it was the start of Christmas break so he shouldn't have been that surprised. He found himself outside again, looking around for the flurry of girls that would sooner or later, gather at the other dormitory, and waiting with presents by their side, for the vampires to come out. Girls, especially the day class ones, were to be put flatly, idiots.

They were shallow.

They were ignorant.

And most of all, they were idiots.

Zero didn't even retrain back his glare as he saw one of the girls run up to the gates that separated the Moon dormitory from them. What was so special about vampires anyway? They were hideous, and they killed on instinct.

Zero hated them.

He absolutely hated them.

Because to him, they were evil.

They were so different with their abnormal abilities of healing, of killing, of eating. And what really made him angry was that he was one of them. He was abnormal with silver hair, with pale skin, with piercing grey eyes, with the evil instincts to kill…

He climbed over the gates and before he knew it, he was already standing in front of the double doors that led inside to the room of their dormitory. He was on enemy territory and he knew it. Was he completely out of his mind?

He shook his head before lifting his hand to knock on it. Then, Zero seemed to snap out of his daze and pushed the door open without another thought. It was unlocked. Why were they leaving the door unguarded?

Didn't they know that a vampire hunter stayed at their school?

He snorted, of course they knew.

Anybody that was an anybody knew Zero was a vampire hunter, a vampire killer.

That was what Zero lived for; made his whole existence for.

He took his gun out of his jacket, carefully. Maybe they wanted to die. But it was a funny little thought since, technically, vampires were said to be dead already. Though, the story books weren't true. They weren't true at all, everyone knew that.

Zero knew it.

The chairman most likely knew it.

The vampires knew it.

Vampires were like humans. They could feel, they had reflections, they had shadows, they could eat, they get thirsty; they were almost like humans. And they could certainly die.

So why did they leave the door open for someone like Zero to get in?

Did they not care to live anymore?

Zero smirked, if they didn't, then it was probably okay to shoot. He wouldn't hold back. Not for the vampires. Certainly not for them. It was just not logical for anyone to care for vampires. He didn't care for vampires. He killed them.

He wouldn't sympathize for any of them, no matter who was in here.

No matter what…

At least that's what he kept telling himself anyway. The silver haired hunter walked, carefully, up the stairs. He looked around him, almost anxiously. The room downstairs was completely empty, how weird.

It was as if the vampires just disappeared.

The thought made him frown.

What about Kuran?

Did he disappear too?

Suddenly he found himself in front of a room, looking nervous. Beads of sweat dripped down his face. He held the gun in front of him in one hand as the other hand gripped the knob tightly. It opened with a slow and loud creak and Zero looked through the crack.

There were movement in side and he noticed a few strands of dark, brown hair. He sighed in relief before moving to open the door even wider.

"Come in, Kiryuu."

His body jumped at the unexpected voice. That voice that he came to dread and at the same time, hate. His eyes narrowed and he kicked open the door to find the vampire man sitting calmly in front of the intense heat of the fire. The boy eyed him dangerously and carefully lifted the gun to point at his face.

He shouldn't have been so hesitant to pull the trigger.

He could do it.

One shot and it would all be over.

He lost the confidence as mockery seemed to dance in his rival's eyes. What happened to all that talk about killing the vampire no matter whom it was? But then, Yuki's face flashed in front of him, as if it was waiting for its cue. He dropped the gun and it hit the carpeted floor with a light 'thud'.

The brunette faced away from him. His eyes softened only by slightly, but Zero could tell. He watched the flaring fire in silence as Zero fidgeted next to him. It was quiet and Zero had to wonder if everyone else had gone home to see their family except Kuran himself.

"What brings you here, Kiryuu?"

His voice was quiet.

And Zero vaguely wondered if breaking into the dormitory was such a good idea in the first place. He noticed the man's eyes left the fire and was transfixed on him. The boy turned away, knowing that the vampire's gaze was still boring holes at his own head, "None of your business."

Right after he said that, he knew it was a complete lie. Who was he to barge into the vampire's territory, point a gun ready to kill him, and then say that whatever reason he had that brought him to this place in the beginning was not the owner's business in the least?

He shrugged helplessly as the man raised his eyebrow.

"I felt like killing something."

It wasn't exactly the truth but it was certainly not a lie either. Kuran must have sensed that as his shoulders seemed to tense up before looking back at the fire. He breathed out a sigh. He didn't pry, however, and Zero eased up.

"So why didn't you shoot me?"

Zero hesitated at the answer.

Why didn't he shoot?

"Because I couldn't bring myself to," he said honestly, feeling stupid for not having a better reason.

"I see."

They sat in awkward silence for a while. Neither knew what to say. Zero Kiryuu had no idea why he really came and Kaname Kuran had no idea why he let him stay. They just sat there, thinking before Kaname stood up and walked over to the closet to pull out a box.

Zero watched calmly, before comment, "Did you know, Kuran…that your fan club came to see me today?"

Kaname looked over his shoulders, an amused eyebrow raised, "What about them?"

"They said that I reminded them of," he paused for some type of affect, "You."

The man chuckled. He never really compared himself to Kiryuu. Why? Well the reason was pretty obvious right there. He never wanted to compare himself with the half-breed. And he was sure the feeling was mutual.

Still, now that he thought of it, maybe they were somewhat similar.

"That's funny," he replied back, "I never really bothered to compare you to me."

"Neither have I," the boy muttered back, "We're not friends after all. I would have killed you already, had it not been for Yuki."

"Of course," the man smirked, "If I haven't already."

The boy smirked back, clearly amused by his arrogance. It seemed that they would always be competitors to each other. That could never change between them. Even if they had met during different circumstances, he was sure they'd find a way, a reason to try and rip each other to bits.

But that thought then raised another question.

"Hey, Kuran," Zero called out, hopping on the plain bed.

The vampire looked at him quizzically, "Hm?"

"Would we have been friends if we haven't met through Yuki?" he asked, turning to face the ceiling.

The man went back to taking out the box again. He thought about it, calmly. Then he shook his head, "Of course not."

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Because," he paused and put the box on the floor, "You're a vampire hunter and I'm a vampire. Simple as that."

The boy looked at him, "What happened to believing all that pacifism crap?"

He shrugged, "That's humans and vampires. Vampire hunters only live to kill vampires."

"Maybe I wouldn't want to kill them under different circumstances," Zero muttered.

"Maybe."

Hours seemed to pass by quickly and as the two stayed in Kaname Kuran's room, it slowly approached midnight. Zero sighed, watching the vampire wrap up box after box. He was still wondering why the dormitory was completely empty except of his rival.

"Kuran…"

The man looked up, "Hm?"

"Why is it that your servant vampires aren't here?"

Kaname shrugged, wondering why Kiryuu was suddenly in the mood to talk. Usually the moody half-vampire wouldn't as much as glance at him. So what made tonight so different? What made him feel like asking so many questions that the vampire found him more annoying than he already was?

"You mean Aido and the others?" he asked back.

"Yeah, yeah," the boy waved it off, "Them…Why aren't they here to keep you company?"

"Because they are with their families," he said curtly.

"And yours?" Zero's ever growing curiosity could be the end of him.

"Not here."

"What do you mean? Of course they're not at this school."

"No…I mean they're gone," the vampire said, his voice sharp and slightly edgy.

The boy still didn't understand. What did he mean 'gone'?

"Gone?"

"Yes, Kiryuu, gone."

Suddenly, Zero's eyes widened in realization. He looked at the vampire, carefully, deciding to try and keep his mouth shut. He didn't know the vampire's parents were dead just like his own. That would also explain why Kuran chose to stay than leave with the others.

"Do you…" he started but found his voice trailing off.

"Do I…?" Kaname watched him with expressionless eyes.

And Zero found himself wishing that the vampire would express his feelings more. It would be easier looking back at angry eyes than ones that seemed to pierce his throbbing heart. It felt like those eyes of his was sucking his own soul right out of his body.

And he could do nothing but sit back and watch.

"Do you spend all your Christmas eves the same way?" he licked at his suddenly, incredibly dry lips.

The answer came shortly, "Yes."

Zero stared at him, surprised at the bluntness of the answer. His answer was straight-forward and seemingly without hesitation. And his voice was the same as always; hard, cold and uncaring.

"Do you ever get…lonely?"

Kaname looked at him, with those soft eyes. They looked hollow and dry, as if he was used to being alone. And he was used to the feeling.

"I do…"

That seemed like the first most honest thing he said to the hunter all night. He went to the dresser and picked up a dusty picture frame of a smiling three person family; his family. And as Zero looked at it, over the pureblood's shoulder, he noticed something different about the man before him and the little boy holding his parents' hands on either side of him in that picture; it was their smile.

One was more honest than the other.

And Zero felt his lips tug upward, just a little.

"So you can smile."

He turned to find the pureblood looking back at him. He shrugged, "If you can do it, I can too, can't I?"

Kaname smiled slightly, "I'm better at it than you."

"Che. If it's a smiling game you want, you got one," Zero said back, arrogantly.

"Fine then, Kiryuu."

They smirked at each other before Kaname spoke again, his voice calm and gentle, "Oh and Kiryuu?"

Zero grunted.

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, perplexed.

"For a not so lonely Christmas night," the vampire smiled.

Zero snorted, "Don't thank me. I didn't exactly come here for your sake," his foot tapped the gun that had been neglected all night long.

"What ever you say, Kiryuu."

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A/N: That was the end. It was long and probably draggy but it's there. I'm not continuing this because it's supposed to be a one-shot and so I made it long on pupose. Tell me if it was okay or not very much to your liking.