Helloo, my lovelies! I am still alive :D! So sorry for the mega-long hiatus! Been busy with first year University and procastinating :P But since it's the summer now I have a bit more time in my hands. Here's the long-awaited Chapter 3 of Cross Kindergarten!

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, you guys ^_^!

Happy reading!

3. Dress-up!

It has been two weeks since the start of term at the Cross Kindergarten. Zero has put up with those baby leeches for two weeks without hurting any of them. During that time, Zero has got the chance to know each and every one of those baby vampires in his class.

First, there was the trio which comprised of little Hanabusa Aidou, Ruka Souen and Akatasuki Kain. According to the Head teacher, all three of them are cousins which explained why the three of them are usually seen together. From what Zero has seen, the Hanabusa kid seem to be the really bright one out of the group - not that the others weren't, but Hanabusa was just a little bit more advanced than the others. Zero observed that he is always the first one to finish all the work sheets, and he is trying to conduct an "expewiment" in the sandbox. The kid knows what an experiment is before he could even pronounce the word properly! Unfortunately, wherever there is a genius, there's a troublemaker, and that's all in one kid. Hanabusa Aidou was also a troublemaker. Zero was shown this side of the baby genius when the blonde kid craftily told little Ruka Souen that a glue stick was a lipstick. This resulted in Ruka doing something very un-ladylike of a noble vampire daughter and Hanabusa earned a good kick to his boyhood, and a good scolding from Zero.

Then there was little Miss Bossy Boots, Ruka Souen, who practically told everyone in the class, including Zero himself once, what to do. She was an opinionated young madam often offering her own tidbit of her mind to ideas. She seems to bicker a lot with Hanabusa as they're both somehow stubborn and their opinions often clash, and for some reason, the two always fight over who gets to sit next to Kaname Kuran, one of the two Pureblood Kuran siblings in the class. From what the vampire hunter turned teacher noticed, Ruka often looks at Kaname with strange looks and Zero can't exactly put a finger on it. It's similar to one of those looks that a certain girl (he thinks her name was Shindo or something?)gave him on St Xocolatl's Day back in his high school days - the other look that he knew wasn't fear which he often gets. But then again, it's Zero, and Zero has the tendency to just dismiss those feelings that girls get. Other than that, Zero doesn't really mind her all that much. She is quite attentive in class and often listens and does what she is told.

The third in the trio was an auburn-haired boy called Akatsuki Kain. He is the tallest in the class and seems to be the mellowest out of the trio. Zero probably likes the kid the most out of the three. Something Zero noticed recently is that Akatsuki seems to be the peace-keeper for Hanabusa and Ruka's silly confrontations, and Zero also noticed that whenever he tells Hanabusa off, Akatsuki is the other kid who got told off along with the blonde boy. He is not the most enthusiastic puppy in the class - often found falling asleep in class, like a certain vampire hunter when he was still at school *cough *cough.

There was another trio (boy, vampire kindergarten kids sure are cliquey!) which consisted of a bouncy, sunny blonde kid called Takuma Ichijou who holds absolutely no resemblance to a vampire. He's just too...happy? Bouncy? Bubbly? Zero's pretty sure he could be a better vampire than the kid.

Then there was Senri Shiki, who the 21 year-old swear suffers narcolepsy. The kid was either asleep or whining for Pocky sticks to satisfy what Zero thinks is a very unhealthy obsession with Pocky sticks.

Finally, there was little Rima Touya who seems to follow Senri wherever he goes. They are inseparable and Zero learnt that from leading class activities. They are the happiest when put in the same group. Rima is very quiet, much like Senri. How the two are good friends with the sunny, loud Takuma, he has no idea.

Last but not least, the two Kuran siblings - Kaname Kuran and Yuuki Kuran. Zero was pretty sure Kaname harboured a silent grudge against him for God knows what reason. Other than that, Kaname is polite and usually listens to Zero and does what he is told, but for some reason the vampire hunter still gets bad "vibes" from the young Pureblood which causes his vampire hunter senses to tingle.

Last but not least, his younger sister and the youngest in the class, Yuuki, who Zero doesn't actually mind too much. She is enthusiastic, plays nice with the other children and trouble-free like her brother most of the time. One thing though, the child is clumsy as hell. The vampire hunter has absolutely no idea how many times he scrubbed spilt paint off the floor the past few weeks or how many times he has had to fill in the "Damaged Properties" form for the countless number of plant pots Yuuki has tipped over. But Zero can never find it in himself to scold her like he does with the other kids, like Hanabusa, which he finds strange. Maybe he is growing soft spending all this time with the kids or perhaps Yuuki is just too sweet and cute - but we all know that our dear vampire hunter would never admit to both reasons!

Today, Zero had a very stressful first half of theevening. All the children had to get an annual medical check-up for any infectious diseases little vampires are prone to. For example, Fangitis, an infection in vampire gums which only occurs once in the life time. Much like human chicken-pox. The check-up was done at the kindergarten, in the infirmary room. The children were summoned one by one into the room to get their blood sample taken by a trusted group of medics from the Vampire Council.

Now to Zero, when you have someone who hasn't fully mastered controlling his bloodlust looking after young vampire children who are probably afraid of needles and getting their blood taken with said needles and the fact that the children themselves have no full control of their bloodlust when they see their own blood, it was just the perfect recipe for disaster. Zero have absolutely no idea why Kaien would sign him up for this job. Doesn't his uncontrolled bloodlust make him illegal to look after the children? The vampire hunter now understands that whatever his family friend is trying to do to help him control the desire to kill, it is risky.

Thankfully, Kaien was there to back Zero up and they got through the first half of the evening problem-free, well, except the few who screamed bloody murder like little Yuuki, and Ruka who said, "Don't you dare touch me with that needle! Or my grandmother would poke her needles in your eyes," before kicking the poor nurse in the face, but other than that, all was good and the children were each given a lollipop candy afterwards.

After lunch, to take the children's minds off the ordeal they had to go through this early evening, Kaien brought out a big cardboard box. Zero and the children eyed the box curiously.

"What's in there, Head teacher Cwoss?" asked the doe-eyed Yuuki.

"Why, these are new costumes for you all to play with, my dear," answered Cross with a grin.

"Costumes!?" all the children said excitedly in unison.

"Unfortunately, there aren't enough costumes in here for everyone so we have to split you guys into two groups," the Head Teacher said with an apologetic smile.

The Head Teacher received a few moans and groans of disappointment.

"Now, now, children, don't get disappointed so fast!" Kaien assured. "The group which is not dressing up gets to go on a treasure hunt!"

"YAYY!" the group of small vampires exclaimed.

The children were split into two groups. Half the children went outside to do a treasure hunt with the way-too-overexcited Headmaster Cross as a way for the children to familiarise themselves with the kindergarten grounds. The other half stayed in the classroom with Zero and were allowed to play dress-up with the new kindergarten costume box! The dress-up group consisted of little Yuuki, her older brother, Kaname, the bright Hanabusa and few of their other classmates.

"Is there a wabbit one?" Yuuki asked hopefully.

"Eh...let me see," Zero rummaged through the costume box, in hopes of finding a "wabbit" costume for the doe-eyed child.

"Sorry, Yuuki, we don't have a rabbit costume," the hunter stated before he received a very sad expression from the little girl.

"How about..." Zero continued rummaging through the box, "a princess?"

"No," Yuuki replied with a firm shake of the head.

"Okay," the silver-haired man said surprised, "Then how about a fairy?"

"Nuh-uh," the young Pureblood shook her head again.

"Do you want to see in the box yourself and find something you'd like then?" Zero asked exasperatedly.

The little girl nodded her head. Zero poured out all the costumes in the box onto the floor to make it easier for Yuuki to look through the costumes.

After to what Zero felt was a painfully long ten minutes, Yuuki finally picked out a costume.

"Are you sure?!" the vampire hunter turned teacher asked, shocked at the girl's choice.

"Mm-hm," Yuuki nodded confidently as she held up the head piece of what seem to be part of a dinosaur costume. Zero sweatdropped but decided not to question little Yuuki's choice so long as the young Pureblood princess was happy. He then turned his attention to Kaname and Hanabusa who were trying to put their own costumes on nearby.

"What costumes did you guys pick?" Zero asked them.

"I'm a fox!" answered Hanabusa excitedly as he held up the headpiece of his costume to show Zero.

"That's g-great," Zero replied, taken back by the blonde child's enthusiasm.

"What about you, Kaname-kun?" Zero asked the oldest of the Pureblood siblings.

"I'm a lion," Kaname answered calmly. In some ways, Zero was not surprised by his choice. He heard from Cross that the kid will be King of the Vampire Society when he grows up. Like the lion, he is the King of the jungle - top of the food chain, ruler of all. Yet Zero found it hard to imagine that someone as small as this child will become the ruler of those blood-sucking monsters. Zero studied the Pureblood prince. The young child only just managed to reach Zero's knees. His eyes - red orbs filled with pure innocence which Zero knew will be tainted once he becomes the ruler of the Vampire World. The vampire hunter knew he should not care, but he could not help but feel a little sad for the child.

"Sensei...? Kiryuu-sensei?"

Zero snapped out of deep thought as he found little Kaname peering up at him, fully dressed in his lion costume.

"Yes, Kaname-kun?" Zero responded attentively.

"I'm done," Kaname stated as he waved a paw-cladded hand at his teacher.

"Wow, that was quick, Kaname-kun," Zero said surprised.

"You were just day-dreaming," deadpanned Kaname matter-of-factly.

A vein throbbed in Zero's right temple. The now annoyed hunter glared down at the little lion. Kaname took a wary step back from his teacher. Even the King of the Vampires was scared of the dark aura emitting from Zero.

"Remind me why I felt sorry for that little brat again?" Zero thought to himself.

Suddenly, a cry of struggle caught the attention of the young prince and the vampire hunter. Zero whipped his head round, thinking a fight had broken out between some kids only to find little Yuuki rolling around on the floor, short legs kicking about, struggling to pull the rest of her dinosaur costume up her body.

The silver-haired teacher laughed and approached the little girl to offer his assistance.

"You ok there, Yuuki?" Zero asked, amused.

"I can't put my costume on!" Yuuki cried out, frustrated.

"Yuuki, you know you can't dress yourself! Why didn't you ask for help?" Kaname asked his sister concerned.

"There, there, let sensei help you," Zero said attentively. He pulled the crumpled up body of the costume off Yuuki's legs.

"There's a zip at the back here, see?" Zero showed the Pureblood princess before unzipping the costume.

"Ohhh..." Yuuki responded with amazement.

Zero crumpled up the right leg of the costume, knelt down and ordered Yuuki to put her right leg through the hole. Yuuki placed a small hand onto Zero's shoulder for support as the young princess did what she was told. They did the same for her left leg. Then, Zero pulled the rest of the costume up her body and zipped her up at the back. Last but not least, the teacher grabbed the dinosaur head piece and gently pulled it onto Yuuki's head, completing the costume.

"Look, nii-san! I'm a dinosaur! RAWR!" exclaimed Yuuki as she held her chubby hands up into "claws".

"You look scary, Yuuki!" Kaname laughed.

"I'm not Yuuki. I'm a Yuukisaurus!" corrected the Pureblood princess before stomping "Godzilla-style" in circles.

"A Yuukisaurus?" Zero thought sheepishly to himself.

A small smile formed on the hunter's face as a tinge of warmth took over him whilst watching the children run, well, crawl for some, around the room in their individual costumes.

"Zero-kun?"

Zero turned round to find Cross with a camera in his hand.

"How about you take a picture with the children in their costumes?" Cross suggested with a smile.

"..."

"Come on, Zero-kun! Don't you see how adorable they are?!" the head-teacher whined childishly.

"Fine. But only because if I don't, I won't hear the end of it from you," huffed Zero.

"Yay!" the head-master squealed like a little girl whose just been told she's going to a theme park. "Right, children! Gather round, we're going to take a photograph!"

After the photo was taken, the children were allowed to play in their costumes for an hour before home time. Zero tidied the classroom as the children were doing their own thing. He noticed Kaname sitting by himself in the book corner reading a book quietly in his lion costume. As expected of the young prince- being calm and reserved unlike the other children who were running about the classroom being, you know, kids. Yet the teacher could not help but notice an air of loneliness around the boy.

"Kaname-kun, what are you reading?" the hunter asked, attempting to talk to the little prince.

Kaname did not give a verbal answer and just held the book up from his lap so his teacher could see the cover of his book.

Zero mentally sighed as he noticed the boy did not give him a proper answer. Sometimes, he felt like he was pulling teeth trying to get the boy to talk!

"Well, is it good?" the silver-haired teacher asked, hoping for some words for an answer this time.

"Dunno, just started reading it," Kaname answered absent-mindedly.

Zero sighed with resignation.

"Well, better than no words at all," he thought to himself sheepishly.

Just then, Yuuki, or Yuukisaurus, came running upto Zero.

"Sensei, I have something to tell you!" she motioned Zero to lean down closer towards her with her "claw".

Zero knelt down to listen to what the Pureblood princess wanted to tell him. Yuuki clambered onto Zero's shoulder and placed a "claw" next to his ear to shield her whispers to him from outsiders.

"I-"

"Sensei! I discovered something in my sand expewiment! Come and see it!" Hanabusa came running up to Zero in his fox costume and started tugging the hunter by the string of his apron to the direction of the sand box.

"Hana-kun, I'm talking to sensei!" complained Yuuki on the other side of Zero. She then pulled the teacher to her direction.

"Hey, you guys! Stop pulling me," Zero laughed as he was caught in a tug-o-war between the two vampire toddlers.

The next thing he noticed, a flash went off and Headmaster Cross was standing in front of him with the camera in his hands, grinning like an idiot.

"Aww, look, Zero-kun! They love you so much!" squealed the Headmaster. "This is going on the display wall in the reception hall!"

"Remember to kill Cross after home time," Zero mentally noted.

Time flies when you're having fun, as an hour has passed and it was home time! Zero got all the children to take off their costumes and dump them back in the cardboard box.

"Bye bye, sensei!" all the children called before emptying the classroom to their respective homes.

Zero let out a long sigh of relief. Today has been quite a long day, with the medical check-ups and all, but all has end well.

"Thanks again for today," Cross said with a gentle smile. "The kids are really starting to like you."

Zero shrugged his shoulders in response. He has to admit it though, the past two weeks have been pretty fun.

"Oh, and I'll try and get those photos I've taken today developed so we can put them up on display at reception!" the Headmaster said excitedly. "There's a really good one of you having fun with the kids!"

Something clicked in Zero's head.

"Oh yeah...that photo," Zero glared at Cross, eyes shone with a deadly glint.

"Haha...anywayhavealovelyweekendbye!" Cross said quickly and ran off before the young hunter could have his head.

Welp? If you guys haven't already noticed, this chapter itself was inspired by the cover picture of this story drawn by Hino-sensei herself ^_^ The photo of Zero with Yuuki, Aidou and Kaname dressed in their wee costumes, priceless :D!

And can't believe VK has ended D:! In my personal opinion, wish there was a little bit more to the ending but nevertheless, still a good manga :)! Let me know what you guys think about the VK ending :)

Most importantly, let me know what you guys think about this chapter by REVIEWING! And the usual, appreciate any tips on grammar and technical stuff - haven't been writing in a while so I'm a little bit rusty ^_^'.

Chapter 4 shouldn't take too long to come - I'm getting a good momentum from writing chapter 3 so hopefully should get it to you guys no later than a month.

Anyhoo, thanks for reading and love you guys! MWAH X!

Anyhoo, have a lovely day and see you guys next time! MWAH X!