Here we go.

Warning: Story does NOT follow manga line.

VAMPIRE QUEEN

Ch. V

Speechless

"My name is . . . Kagome Higurashi."

As if a bomb had exploded, Yuki winced and looked away from her Prefect partner as the narrow, moonstone-colored eyes widened to nearly impossible extents and his head whipped around to stare at the Night Class student in shocking disbelief.

The Night Class students noticed Zero's reaction upon hearing the transfer girl's name. Aido nudged Akatsuki and whispered, "What's up with Kiryuu?"

Kagome stared at her old childhood friend, who was still frozen in complete and utter shock, lilac-gray eyes flashing with so many mixed emotions that she averted her gaze to prevent her guilt from rising up and eating away at her again from the inside out.

Yuki sighed and stepped forward and laid her hand on his shoulder, but received no response. Either Zero was ignoring her or he was simply too surprised to notice anything except Kagome.

"Ka . . . Ka –" Zero was unable to form any articulate words at the moment.

Kagome walked past him and up to Kaname. "This," she hissed, pointing her thumb backwards, "is exactly why I did not want to reveal myself."

"But at least he knows now," Kaname answered calmly, mahogany-red eyes locking on to Zero's frozen face.

"Does it matter?" Kagome muttered, brushing past the dorm president. "It doesn't change anything. I'm no longer the eleven-year old girl he used to know."

That seemed to snap Zero out of his dazed state. "Do back to your dorms," he told the Day Class girls, for once not having any bite in his cold tone.

The Day Class girls did so, curiously glancing back and forth between the argent-haired Prefect and the retreating backs of the Night Class.

Once they were out of sight, and for the matter, so were the Night Class and Kagome with them, Zero faced Yuki with a shadowed face. "You knew, didn't you?" he hissed.

Yuki refused to meet his angry gaze. "She told me not to tell you," the girl whispered. "Were we just hurting you more?"

"That . . . that demon can't be her!" Zero shouted. "No, I refuse to believe it! Kagome was human!"

"Was human," Yuki repeated, glancing at him. "She was once."

Zero's brows furrowed and his ever-present scowl darkened and deepened. "No. That isn't her. There must be more than one Kagome Higurashi out there and this one is a demon. She is not . . . she's not her," he muttered to himself, walking away from Yuki. "I'm going on patrol."

Zero . . . Yuki thought, watching him, her thoughts numbing her with remorse and shame.

Within the shadows of an empty house, a stiff figure wearing a mask over his eyes strode across the dusty threshold. He looked around at the vacated place, lightly touching surfaces that were thick with gray particles and old cobwebs. He looked . . . and remembered.

As he passed by a closed window, a faint glimmer of light danced upon his silver hair. His coat billowed behind him as he turned quickly into the hallway, going to the room situated at the end of the hall. A gloved hand reached out and brushed the dust off an old doorknob, gently turning it and ignoring the squeaky sound the door made as it swung open on unused hinges for the first time in four years.

The room was relatively the same, just missing a few things that the family that used to live here might have taken with them. The stranger sat upon the dusty bed, reveling in the familiar feeling. His eyes glanced through the holes in the mask and fixed its gaze upon a single picture frame sitting on the worn oak desk.

He scrambled up from the bed and took the picture frame into his gloved hands. He wiped away the thick layers of gray dust and looked down at the single photo, which contained a single girl and two laughing boys.

At long last he allowed himself a small smile as the tip of his index finger traced the lines of the girl's face. His whispered words were unheard by anyone but him.

"Kagome . . ."

As the Prefects stood upon the terrace overlooking the school grounds, Yuki could sense the high amount of tension radiating from her partner as he looked occasionally at a certain female in the classroom. His posture was more rigid than usual, his hands fisted in his pockets, his brows drawn into a wide V-line between his eyes.

The female turned and talked quietly to Kaname. Yuki felt a small stab of jealousy on her part, but shook her head to clear her thoughts. Kaname was just her savior, that incident was probably nothing to him. This made her feel a bit sad, but she ignored these fledgling feelings and focused on her primary duty.

Once again she saw two Day Class girls hiding in the bushes with one holding a silver camera. Sighing in exasperation that they couldn't get a clue, Yuki jumped from the terrace and swung down from a tree bough.

The Day Class girls turned to her as she landed in front of them. "It is past curfew and you are prohibited from being on the school grounds at night," Yuki told them, holding the white band around her arm for emphasis.

"We just want pictures," the girls sulked.

Yuki strode forward and held out her hand for the camera. The girls backed away, one clutching the precious device to her chest. "No way, Disciplinary Committee! This camera is mine!" she said.

And abruptly it was snatched away by the person behind them. The girls turned with ferocious rage to the person who dared, only for their anger to immediately vanish upon seeing Zero's dark, menacing glare.

"Go back to your dorm. If I ever catch you on the school grounds again when it is past curfew, I will give you detention," Zero said, stuffing the camera into his jacket pocket. "For now, your camera will be confiscated."

The girls ran off immediately, shooting Zero angry looks as they went.

Yuki sighed. "It's like this every time," she said to her partner. "They just don't get a clue."

"We cannot allow them to discover the Night Class's secret," Zero said monotonously. "Both you and I know that vampires do not show up in pictures."

"Well . . . for some reason the Night Class does show up in pictures," Yuki said.

"That's the bad part."

The Prefects patrolled the school grounds again once more before Zero went to the Headmaster's office to hand in the camera.

"Higurashi-san," Kaname spoke softly to the demon girl, not looking up from his book.

Kagome scowled through the darkness at him. "Don't call me Higurashi-san, Kaname-san," she said. "I hate being called by my last name."

"Very well, Kagome-san," Kaname said. "I am under the impression that Zero believes you are still just a fantasy."

"He does. I will need to reinforce reality, it seems," she said, looking out of the window where the two Day Class students were being confronted.

"Suppose he tries to kill you?"

Kagome paused for a split second, eyeing the Pureblood Vampire with barely hidden animosity. "Supposing will get you nowhere," she said. "Zero will not and cannot kill me."

Rich wine-red eyes met her steely blue-gray orbs. "I have been informed that Kiryuu Ichiru-kun will be arriving soon," he told her.

Her eyes widened a fraction. Ichiru . . . he's coming here? Why?

She voiced her thoughts.

Kaname answered, "To kill Kiryuu-kun perhaps? After all, he believes that Kiryuu-kun murdered his beloved Shizuka Hiou."

"Hiou? As in the Pureblood Vampire named as the Kuruizaki-hime?" Kagome questioned. "I highly doubt that would happen. Pureblood Vampires cannot be killed that easily unless directly contacted with the heart."

A faint smile quirked Kaname's lips up. "Do you know who killed her then?" Kaname asked smoothly, setting his book down.

"I have heard beliefs that Purebloods murder each other for the other's power," Kagome said, keeping her voice steady. "You did it, didn't you? I would imagine that Zero at least wounded her with that gun of his, and you saw your opportunity."

"Quite."

Kagome looked out of the window again, this time catching Zero staring at her with a hard, contemplative look. He looked away when their gazes locked.

Somehow Kagome almost felt disappointed.

But don't I like Ichiru? She questioned herself, averting her gaze from the fair-haired Prefect.

She no longer had a clear answer.

A silver-haired man sat within a darkened room filled with books, scrolls and other ancient texts. He was leafing through a thick, leather-bound volume on vampires.

According to this book, the man thought, it is impossible for a vampire and a human to breed. However, Purebloods and Aristocrats are able to breed with humans. Demons and humans aren't a problem of course.

The man got up from his chair.

Time to pay my little sister a visit.

Well, it wasn't very long, but this is a chapter, nonetheless. Today was the first day of school, so we won't have much work, but I have a quiz on Wednesday. Who knows when I'll update again? I most certainly can try. Any suggestions? Please tell me.

Please review, but DO NOT FLAME.

Thank you.

MangaFreak15