Falling

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the brilliant characters from the Vampire Knight Series. They belong to the one and only Matsuri Hino, my idol. I only own the plot (which is pretty amazing).

Warning: This story contains character death, maleXmale relations, and some very deep emotions.

Chapter One: Disease

The Pureblood sat there, feeling out of place amongst the humans that seemed to swarm him, their hunter backgrounds doing little to please him. He began to wonder why he was here, even though he knew, rather then tending to the one who needed him most. Tempted to ask the question but knowing better, the elegant show the Pureblood was able to so easily conduct began to take place.

Through the crowd of voices he could distinctly make out that of the one and only Zero Kiruu. His voice was calm, its coolness settling a part of Kaname he hadn't before recognized to be troubled. It was times like these, as random as they were, that Kaname found his mind thoroughly confused. Something about Kiruu, although he wasn't exactly sure what it was, troubled the Pureblood more then anything. It wasn't a terrible kind of trouble, but it definitely wasn't pleasant.

"Kaname-sama? Kaname-sama?"

It had taken the Pureblood a few short moments to realize that through the haze of jumbled voices his name was being called. Tilting his head upwards to glance at the owner of the voice, he found himself face-to-face with the one and only Headmaster Cross. Along with realizing that he and the Headmaster were, at some point, having a formal conversation, it also struck him that he wasn't in a meeting surrounded by hunters, and that Kiruu was nowhere to be seen…or heard. He was, after all, sitting in a cushioned chair with a stiff back and little patience.

What, he wondered, had caused his mind to wander so?

"Kaname-sama?"

Kaname looked up, once again, to be met by the worried eyes of the Headmaster, his concern unsettling the Pureblood the tiniest bit. "Sorry Headmaster."

Leaning back to once again sit in his seat, the Headmaster sighed. "What's with you these days?" The question was so informal and random that Kaname found himself blinking it away with confusion. "You haven't been yourself, Kaname-sama. The Nobles who have noticed are growing worried. I'm sure you can see how this upsets me."

"Of course, of course." He mumbled, trying desperatley not to trip on his words. His head was stolen by other thoughts, and he found that he was speaking in a blurry haze. "I've just been…" he stopped for a split second to consider his word choice, "dealing with other important affairs. My attention has been stolen. I'm sure you understand."

Nodding his head, but not looking at the Pureblood, the Headmaster mumbled a "yes". "It is obvious that your mind is not where it should be." Kaname, once again, found himself blinking. Sighing, the Headmaster stood up. "Next time you come, Kaname-sama, please come back with your head in the right place. I find no enjoyment in playing word games if you've lost your ability to win so easily."

Outstretching his hand towards the open door, the Headmaster closed his eyes and waited, patiently, for the familiar thump of the Pureblood's receding footsteps.

XXXXX

"Yuuki. Yuuuuuki!" Zero whined, rolling out of bed against his own wishes.

Pulling him up by the collar of his shirt, Yuuki stood him up straight and examined his posture with careful examination. "You look tired." She mumbled, almost as if she was talking to herself. "Where were you last night?"

Shaking his head, the silver-haired hunter sighed with impatience. "Yuuki, it's six in the morning, no wonder I look tired. And I was with you all night, remember?"

Yuuki shook her head, obviously not believing him. "You came back to your room at nine. Definitely too early for someone like you to go to bed. Where did you really go?"

"Yuuki, come on…"

"I'm not leaving until you tell me where you really went."

Although the thought was tempting, the hunter knew it wouldn't be smart to tell the girl where he had really been. Ashamed of the deed himself, he was afraid of what her opinion, obviously the most important, would be.

Grabbing her hands in his own and looking her straight in the eye he said, "I was here, Yuuki. I was tired last night. You even said I was out of it. I went to bed early…is that a problem? Don't you trust me, Yuuki?"

Blushing furiously, Yuuki looked down, choosing to look at the pattern in the carpet rather then into his eyes. "Sorry Zero. Sometimes I worry about you. I feel like a mother…"

"More like an overprotective sister."

Never before had Zero referred to her as part of his family, and the shock of it all warmed her to the core. The shyness that had come with his touch was replaced by a warm feeling she could only explain as love. "Oh Zero! You've never called me your sister before!"

"Yah, well, don't get to used to it."

Smiling with a child's innocence, she leaned forward and took the hunter into her embrace. "I trust you Zero."

XXXX

Yuuki stepped out of Zero's room quietly, closing the door behind her and leaning against it, the weight on her shoulders bringing her down. "Zero." She whispered, sliding down the cool wood until her bottom touched the floor. Her head fell to the side and exhaustion quickly consumed her.

It had been like this lately, her bursts of energy rare and always quick. She couldn't identify why she was so ill, her mood and physical ability changing drastically every thirty minutes or so.

"What's wrong with me?" She whispered, the question aimed at anybody who had an answer.

Her body, exhausted in every way, was finally giving in to the sickness that had been consuming her for so long. Having suffered for so long, she felt the weight that had weighed down her shoulders lifting, almost as if it had never been there in the first place.

Her throat, which had been dry since the first spell of illness, was gone, replaced by the rushing sensation of liquid that wasn't really there. In her mind the liquid was a shimmering crimson, satisfying every craving she had experienced since the beginning.

"Yuuki? Yuuki!"

The voice was so far off, so hard to touch, that she gave up on trying to identify it's owner. Whoever it was, was nothing to her now, nothing compared to the sweet bliss she was living in her dying moment.

It had been so quick, just an innocent visit to the boy she had grown up with, and it was all over. She didn't, of course, blame it on the boy. She figured it was simply because, after the gush of love that had come with being called his sister, her heart, to weak to bear the emotional tide, just gave in. The disease that had been killing her since the transition from vampire to human was finally taking her.

Memories of a past life, one much different then the one she had been most recently living, hit her with full force. She wasn't sure if she was crying, because although she felt the choking sensations of sobbing rock her body, the moist feel of tears was not there.

And then it was over. The memories were replaced by a deep, never-ending darkness that could only blind her in every way. Thoughts that had once been coherent were gone, words not even coming to her.

But through it all, through the darkness she swimming through, she was sure she heard a voice, still to far away to touch, beg for her life.

"Yuuki…Yuuki, please don't go!"

Please excuse any spelling/grammar errors. I spellchecked it, like, ten times, but just in case! Please inform me on mistakes in the story with spelling names and such!