Dear Father,

I'm sure by the time you read this I will already be gone. Don't worry, I'm not dead. I'm just going away for a while. I'm not going to disappear like I did last time. I just need some time away from everything…and everyone.

I know Airi's death has affected everyone severely and maybe I am acting upon selfish by leaving without saying goodbye, but she was my daughter. Kaname has Ruka and I'm not asking Zero to come with me. I don't want him to see me this way…

By now I am pretty much just scratching out whatever comes to my mind in this letter but I just want to say that I'm sorry for all the worry and grief I have caused you for the past year. But what's done is done, and we can't do anything about it so it is best that you move on as soon as possible. The sooner you do, the sooner I can come home and start fresh.

I'm not going to lie, I honestly wish I could curl up and die right now just to see Airi's face once more, even for a second, but I'm not going to take my life because I have other people who still need me. Cross Academy will always be my home, but when I return I won't return for long. I need to make my home somewhere else. I am eighteen today, after all.

Anyway, I'll see you…whenever. I love you father and I hope I do not hurt you too much through this letter.

-Love Yuki

Kaien held the hastily written letter on his desk, his thumb running over the uneven black patches where Yuki had dropped ink from the quill. His eyes continued over the one line "I am eighteen today, after all."

Why would she leave on her birthday, he thought. There was really no sense in questioning Yuki's motives, since she usually didn't have them, but Kaien could see the difference in the Yuki he had taken in from that snowy night twelve years ago, and the Yuki that was now gone without a word other than the chicken scratch on the parchment.

"So she really did leave?" said Kaname, entering the room. The Headmaster nodded lightly and closed his eyes.

"I'm not surprised," Kaname continued. "That night she was attacked by that vampire has nothing on the trauma she must have experience by seeing Airi…" His voice broke and trailed off.

"I know," the Headmaster finished. "But we have to trust she's making the right choice. I think she just doesn't want anyone to see her in this state."

His fingers skimmed over the paper and then halted at the feel of another piece of paper. He opened his eyes to see yet another letter, much more neatly written, but it was not from Yuki.

Headmaster,

I came in here and saw Yuki's letter. She's crazy if she thinks I'm not going to go with her so I wrote this in a hurry. I'll take care of her. That's all that need be said.

-Zero

Kaien sighed and shook his head.

"And to think at one point he was chasing after her to kill her," he said.

"Zero?" said Kaname. Kaien nodded.

"He's gone after her," he said. "Not to stop her. I think he just wants to help comfort her."

Kaname made a "hmm" noise as if he understood, which in a way he did. Ruka almost never left his side now except for now seeing as though she was asleep. She always was there, making sure he didn't fall too deeply into grief and loss.

Akane and her team had returned back to the Vampire Hunter Headquarters, so it was a bit less tense with one less gun, but for some reason, the tension had not gone down, even though Kaname knew of Zero's absence, along with the Bloody Rose. Maybe it wasn't necessarily Zero he loathed all this time. Come to think of it, he supposed he had learned to respect Zero in a way. Zero had been able to stick by Yuki's side and connect with her on a more personal level than brotherly and sisterly bond. That was probably where the jealously had come in.

A silent goodbye went out to his sister and Kaname closed his eyes, letting the past fall out of his mind.

The snow was beginning to melt around Yuki's brown boots as she trudged along the side of the cobblestone road. The town was deserted at this time in the morning and she wanted to get as far away from the Academy as she could. Her stomach grumbled furiously. She hadn't eaten in days. To her surprise, the parfait shop that she had come to know, love and attend regularly was open earlier than usual.

The sweet familiar smell drew Yuki to the door to see the waitress setting down a cup of coffee on a booth table in the back. The bell on the door jingled as Yuki hesitantly entered. The waitress turned up from the table and towards the entrance, shifting her weight to her left leg. The subtle movement revealed the customer she had been serving the coffee to.

"Somehow I knew you wouldn't be able to resist coming in here," said Zero, leaning against the wall of the booth. His long body took up the entire bench he sat on with one leg bent and the other relaxed, a familiar stance for him.

For the first time in a while, Yuki felt a small spark of warmth in her chest. Zero kicked his legs under the table and held his hand out for her. Yuki slowly approached and sat down next to him. The restaurant was still dimly lit. Everything had a grayish tint to it, making the gloomy morning blend in with the inside of the restaurant.

Zero took a sip of his coffee and wrapped his arms around Yuki, pulling her close in a comforting embrace. He gently placed Yuki's head against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm not letting you go alone," he whispered. "You were stupid to think you could go alone."

"How did you get ahead of me?" Yuki said flatly, staring at the steam from the coffee in front of her.

"The same way I've managed to find you all the times you were in trouble."

"Mhmm."

Zero paused.

"Happy birthday."

"Th...thanks."

Yuki leaned against Zero's broad chest, taking in his familiar scent. It seemed like forever that they had been here in this very booth.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" she asked softly, taking Zero's hand and tangling their fingers together limply.

"Like it was yesterday."

"I was scarfing down the parfait. I didn't even ask if you wanted to come here. I just drug you in here and plopped us down in this booth."

"Yea I wanted actual food."

"That was…" She trailed off for a moment. "…so long ago."

When I wasn't even aware I was a vampire, she thought. A few locks of hair fell past her shoulder. It was growing out again. Zero noticed where her attention was drawn to and took a lock in his fingers.

"I like it this length," he said quietly. "Not too long, not to short."

"I'll probably keep it like this," Yuki replied. "Too short isn't appropriate anymore. Too long… just brings back painful memories."

"If we knew all the things we know now then," Zero said, stroking the back of Yuki's hand with his thumb. "So where were you planning on running off to?"

Yuki shrugged and closed her eyes, breathing in Zero's musky scent mixed with the rich black coffee on the table.

"As far from Cross Academy as I can get," she whispered. Zero's arm tightened around her shoulders, pulling her closer, away from the world. She buried her face in his jacket, trying to resist the urge to cry again. She couldn't cry anymore. For so long she had cried and cried and cried, sometimes for the stupidest reasons.

Looking back, Yuki realized she had grown up a lot with what had happened to her. From being a ditzy student of Cross Academy to being the Kuran princess to being a mother, and then losing her only child, she had changed over these events. Everything had affected her in such an extreme way. She would gladly give away her recently acquired maturity to get her daughter back, but since that wouldn't happen, she would live up to her adulthood to the fullest.

If she had more children, which was just as painful to think about now, she would tell them about their sister, Airi, despite her short, strange story.

"Come on," said Zero, pulling Yuki into an upright position. "Let's go somewhere quiet. You don't have to be alone through this."

Yuki nodded and slid out of the booth. Zero put 400 yen down on the table and picked up his large bag that had been leaning against the wall.

They left the café once more as they had done two years ago, yet they were completely different people. And as Zero kept his arm around Yuki through their whole journey away from the place where they had grown up, Yuki couldn't help but look back once. The gothic towers of the Academy peaked over the tops of the buildings in town, as if to wave goodbye. Their shingles glimmered in the rising sunlight.

Yuki turned around, leaving her home behind for the second time. The first with Kaname, when she had still been reluctant and unsure of her life. This time, she left with a clear conscience and the true one she loved by her side. Yes, they weren't riding off into the sunset to live happily ever after.

Yuki didn't think they could ever truly have a fairytale relationship with their scarred and bloody past, but over time, after so many crossing of their paths, they finally were one unified path together. Where the path took Yuki she didn't know. But it was her life now, and it would be how she made it. Not her parents, not her brother, no one.

She was free.

The end...

A/N: Yes, it's true. The long series is over. I feel like crying now, but I had decided from the beginning that I didn't want a happy fairy tale ending, or even a really happy ending. I guess I'm going through a phase of creating scarred and hurt characters. I hate perfection in stories (maybe that's why I hated Kaname).

But anyway. For my thanks!

Thanks to...

Saranha de Angelo for the first comment. (And realizing my careless mistake on my very first chapter).

BorderlineCrazyHuman and stabpinmonkey for realizing my OOC on Kaname. Hopefully I fixed it to your satisfaction.

Michi4 (the writer of my fav ZeroxYuki story on here) for all your wonderful reviews.

XxSakura-HimexX for your hilarious reviews.

Whitewolfffy for your equally funny review by throwing a pie in Kaname's face.

DofD for your short sweet (every chapter) reviews.

BelleDayNight for your frequent reviews.

xXthenextbookwormXx for your strong will to not call Shizuka innappropriate names. ;-)

crawfish4 for your honesty about my constant cliffhangers.

And an EXTRA thanks to Wishing Rose for her creative assistance during my time of plot hole creating writer's block.

I love you all! Thanks for sticking with me through this whole dramatic and tragic journey. And hey, I might even make a sequel. (MIGHT, key phrase)