Hello everybody^^! This is my first time writing a story about Vampire Knight, so I hope to make new friends, and you, readers, will enjoy my story!

** The word "devoir" in this story means duty **

Full Summary: Kuran Yuuki never became human and stayed as a pureblood. She never went under the care of Cross Kaien, so she did not grow-up with Kiryu Zero. She fears and hates her uncle, Rido, for killing her parents. As she slowly enters the vampire's society, reality hits her hard and challenges the duties she has to fulfill. She's also getting confused with her relationships with other vampires (Night Class)—especially her brother and fiancé, Kaname. Can she survive and succeed?

Basically this story is my perspective of how Yuuki's life would have been if she stayed as a pureblood and faced the obstacles as she slowly meanders in the world of vampires. The story will focus on the vampires' side more, but the idea/concept of "humans and vampires living together peacefully" will still exist. Therefore, Headmaster Cross and Zero will make their appearances in the story but Yuuki won't meet them until much later in her adolescent years.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight—Hino Matsuri does.

Chapter 1: Night of Tragedy

.

.

It was snowing lightly outside the safe household of the Kuran family. Inside the Kuran's mansion, it was very warm with the odor of woods being burned at the blazing fireplace in the living room. One would expect that the Kurans would be cuddling together near the fireplace or reading their favorite books together on the sofa at this hour, but instead, they were spending quality time in a windowless basement.

Why was that? It was because of Yuuki.

Yuuki was the one and only beloved daughter of the purebloods Kuran Haruka and Juuri. In the vampire society, purebloods were the most powerful for their blood didn't contain a drop of human's blood—making their blood the purest and rarest of all vampires. Therefore naturally, purebloods were highly respected and envied at the same time.

There were greedy vampires out there who wanted to get a taste of Kuran's thick blood and gain more power from drinking it—which was common as it was always about power and rank in the world—vampire's or human's. People would do unthinkable and malicious acts to get what they wanted.

Yuuki wasn't ready to enter into this cruel world; she was still a naïve and vulnerable child. That was why her parents decided to hide her from their society until she was older and stronger. It was a selfish thing to do as parents, but they loved her so much and wanted to protect her no matter what, diligently making sure that almost every vampire in their society ignorant of Yuuki's existence… although, there were some rumors...

Today was December 26th, the day after Christmas for the humans. Even though they didn't celebrate Christmas, Juuri thought exchanging presents to one another would be fun and a great time to bond with the family.

"Arigato Otou-sama!" little five-year-old Yuuki hugged her father affectionately and smiled cutely. She loved every present she received from her father.

"You're welcome, Yuuki. Now open the box," Haruka gently instructed and watched her daughter's hands grasp the tiny black box he had gave her.

The box had an elegant design with Yuuki's full name engraved and silver swirling lines surrounding it. Yuuki slowly opened it and gasped when she saw a small ballerina figure in a dancing position facing a mirror. The figure had short brown hair and was wearing a white dress that reached to her knees.

"It's a music box, it can play music when a key is inserted in this area," Haruka pointed to one side of the box, "and you twist the key a few times."

Yuuki got excited upon hearing this and wanted to listen to the music. She then frowned when she realized she didn't have a key and peered inside the box to see if it was there—and it was. She grabbed the key eagerly, inserted it in the slot, and twisted it a couple of times.

Immediately, music poured from the tiny box and the ballerina spun in circles. The melody was peaceful and sad at the same time.

"What song is this?" Yuuki glanced up at her father with her curious round wine-colored eyes.

"Still Doll," Haruka answered and grinned, "do you like it?"

"I love it!" Yuuki exclaimed and smiled. She observed the ballerina figure's dance movements and wanted to follow her, earning a few chuckles from Haruka.

"Yuuki dear," Juuri called in a soothing voice, "I hope you will like this too." She held up a pink-colored plush bunny and tilted its head from side to side before finally bowing. She then smilingly passed the plush into her daughter's hands.

"Kawaii! Arigato Okaa-sama!" Yuuki embraced her mother with the bunny plush squashed between them.

Juuri placed her hand on top of Yuuki's head and held her child in a loving clasp. "I made it just for you. Will you take good care of it for me?"

"Of course! I will take good care of Usa-chan. Don't you worry, Okaa-sama!"

Kaname, who was sitting on a chair nearby, couldn't help but plaster a smile on his usual impassive face. His sister's childish behavior was too adorable and innocent. She could always brighten his day and was the only one who truly understood him.

"Gomenasai Yuuki," Kaname finally spoke and frowned, "I was going to give you this rose that blooms every ten years, but I didn't know how to preserve it when I saw it...so I—"

Kaname was interrupted when Yuuki walked over to him and enveloped her arms around him.

"It's okay," her sweet voice said, "as long as I have Onii-sama, I'm happy." She beamed up at him.

"Yuuki..." he mumbled and was slightly surprised by her actions. He returned her hug and closed his eyes as he felt blessed that he had Yuuki in his life.

Without Yuuki, he would have been lonely and miserable. His eyes suddenly fluttered open when he sensed an unfriendly guest approaching their home. He glimpsed at his parents and received a nod from them.

"Kaname, we'll be right back. Stay here with Yuuki," Haruka strictly ordered and stood up to leave the room. Juuri had cast a quick glance at her children before leaving the room to join her husband.

Yuuki scrunched her face in confusion, feeling a dark aura slowly seeping into the atmosphere. It made her uncomfortable. "Where are they going, Onii-sama?" she worriedly asked.

"I'm not sure…" He hesitated for he wanted to follow his parents but knew better to leave Yuuki all alone, especially at this critical moment when he was present. "They will be back soon." He cautiously observed the room they were in, which made him sigh inwardly.

Few pieces of classy furniture here and there. Portraits of beautiful landscapes hanging on the surrounding four walls, serving as the only windows to the outside world. This was indeed a boring room and Kaname pitied his sister that this room was her world.

"Do you ever feel lonely in this room?" the question slipped out of his mouth.

"Sometimes..." Yuuki admitted and buried her head into Kaname's chest. "But I know I'm not alone because I'll always have Father, Mother, and you."

Kaname patted her head with his left hand and reassured her, "You'll never be alone Yuuki... I'll always be by your side."

Haruka's blood scent soon flowed through the air and loud footsteps were heard outside of the basement.

"Otou-sama..." Yuuki immediately recognized her father's blood scent; nervousness soon crawled on her skin. "Onii-sama, it is... father's blood!" She tightened her grip on Kaname.

"Kaname." Juuri hollered and reappeared back into the room. A stern expression marred her usual kind face.

Yuuki released herself from her brother to let him stand up.

"Rido is back and your father is currently dealing with him." Juuri paused to let this register in her son's mind. "I'll be helping out him soon and I want you two to be careful." She looked down at Yuuki, gaze softening, and continued, "No matter what happens, please take care of Yuuki. I'm relying on you."

Hearing Rido's name, Yuuki shivered without noticing and wondered who he was. Kaname nodded his head as he knew what was going to happen. Their parents were going to fight off their evil uncle Rido and there was a slight chance they wouldn't make it back alive. After all Rido was a pureblood and purebloods' battle were extreme and intense.

Rido came for Yuuki as he wanted to devour her, so he could become stronger. He failed to take his sister, Juuri, as his bride because she had refused to marry a wicked vampire who she did not love.

As revenge, he wanted to make Juuri suffer and take her precious daughter's life. He was going to pursue his goal at any cost.

"I love you very much," Juuri pecked Kaname's cheek and hugged him. She then whispered into his ear, "You indeed had become our good son..."

Kaname's eyes widened a bit as Juuri pulled away reluctantly. She then knelt down to Yuuki's height and sadly grinned. "Yuuki, please listen to Kaname and behave well while I'm gone. Okay?" With the back of her hand, she caressed her daughter's face, secretly knowing that this may be the last time of seeing her. The thoughts of not being able to watch her grow into a responsible and beautiful lady threatened tears, but she immediately batted them away for she needed to stay strong.

"Okay, but Mother. Why is there Fa—"

"I love you and this will be over very, very soon. I promise," she embraced Yuuki one last time, "you will now go to sleep." She placed a hand on Yuuki's forehead and said, "I'm sorry, my love…"

Yuuki was confused at this and certainly did not want to take a nap. She opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. She began to feel her eyelids being heavy to lift up and darkness invaded her vision. Within the next few seconds, she became dizzy and fell forward to her mother.

"Sayonara…my darling."

.

Outside of the Kurans' Mansion

.

"This is unforgivable Rido. You have gone too far," Kaname's voice was cold and he glared at his uncle.

Rido just laughed bitterly and said, "Whatever we do, we will always be guilty because of our sins."

"You disgust me greatly and I shall put this to an end," Kaname picked up the anti-vampire sword off the ground. The weapon shocked his hand when the contact was made, but he ignored the minor pain. "You have disgraced us purebloods."

"And what are you going to do about it, my little nephew? Kill me? That's drastic." Rido scoffed and looked over at his seven-year-old nephew.

"With pleasure," Kaname spoke into the frigid atmosphere.

In a swift movement, Kaname charged at Rido and made an attempt to thrust the sword at Rido's chest, to stab his heart—but he couldn't and scowled. The tip of the sword was touching Rido's chest but it did not penetrate through it.

"Have you forgotten that you cannot kill me? I'm the one who resurrected you from the dead, Kaname." Rido chucked and was amused by his nephew's actions. "You're rather forgetful."

Kaname cursed under his breath and quickly devised another method to get rid of him temporarily. "Well then—"

"Onii-sama!" Yuuki urgently cried out and sprinted from the mansion, "I don't feel Mother's nor Father's presences anymore!"

Yuuki had just woken up from her short slumber and panicked when she had smelt both of her parents' blood. She was paralyzed in fear when she no longer felt their presence around her. They would never leave her...right?

"Ah. Look what we have here. The Kuran princess," Rido smirked and turned his attention at Yuuki. She was his target and he wondered how her blood tasted like. He couldn't wait to lay his fingers on her.

Yuuki's eyes locked with Rido, staring at his mismatching eyes. One blazing blue and one ruby red. It was creepy yet mesmerizing. The stare had frightened her and she felt all the energy of her body draining.

Kaname didn't like the situation as Rido could attack Yuuki any minute. He carried out his plan without a second thought and strode over to Yuuki. He covered her eyes with one of his hands. "You have to go now," he stated.

The next thing that Yuuki heard was Rido's maniac laughing. Kaname's eyes had turned bright crimson and lights were soon emitting from Rido's body. Rido's body started to crack and he mumbled something as he vanished into the night.

Yuuki would never forget the last sentence she heard from Rido before he left. It was:

"I'll show you a sweet dream next night…Yuuki."

.

Few days later…

.

"Yuuki…we have to go now," Kaname's soft voice echoed in the quiet hallways of the mansion. He stood at the doorway of Yuuki's room and watched her lifelessly turn towards him.

Her eyesight elevated to his and agony could be seen from her usual cheerful eyes. She no longer smiled ever since she discovered that her parents were never coming back. They died of protecting her and she felt guilty.

Kaname had told her countless times that it was not her fault and that their parents would be unhappy if they saw her like this. He knew that their parents' death had a huge impact on his poor sister and this would haunt her for eternity… It saddened him when he saw Yuuki like this.

Yuuki stared back into her brothers' eyes and saw pain mirroring. She took a deep breath and concluded that for their parents' sake… she would try her best and continue living as her parents wanted her to. She knew that her parents would always be watching over her and Kaname. She would be a strong and noble girl.

She also knew that her brother must be devastated as well and needed her. They only had each other now and it was important to stick together in this world.

A small smile soon formed on Yuuki's face for the first time in the past couple of days. She would fulfill her duty as a daughter and pureblood. She picked up her small luggage on the ground as Kaname held out his hand for her. She slowly walked over to him and covered his hand with hers.

I'll be happy for you, Onii-sama.

Authress' Note: Well, chapter 1 has ended and it was pretty sad… This was a more of an introduction to the story and I hope I did okay. The purpose of the family scene was to show how close the Kuran family was and how Yuuki's parents loved her.

Personally, I find it extremely depressing for a five-year-old girl to know that their parents died. It's very hard and takes a lot of time to accept the fact. So I hope that I didn't make it seem like Yuuki got over her parents' death so fast because she's still grieving over it (it's going to be for a while and you'll see how she will deal with it). It's just she's holding it in and doesn't want to cause more pain for Kaname (making him worried).

So what do you think of this chapter? Okay? Are the characters a little OOC? Constructive criticisms are welcomed.

January 12th, 2009

June 5th, 2013 [edited]