Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Vampire Knight belongs to Matsuri Hino sensei.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

"All finished!" Yuuki smiled brightly at Zero, her fair skin flushing pink at their proximity.

Lily, one of the horses at Cross Academy's equestrian center, had gone mad when Yuuki tried to groom her. Zero, with his quick actions, had shielded her from the steel of the ceremello's horseshoes.

A crescent of dark red blood started to dot the new gauze that was fixed in place over Zero's injury. Yuuki trailed her fingers down the bare skin of his stomach, over the firm ridges, making him shiver. He could feel the ghost of her fingers long after they had been withdrawn.

"Thanks," he said gruffly, controlling his own blush.

Something shifted in the shadows, he was sure of it. Training his violet eyes on the spot where he felt the presence, Zero gave an experimental sniff. He moved his legs over the edge of the bed, his abdomen throbbing in pain. He chose to ignore it, especially since it did not help soothe his starving gut. Grabbing his school jacket from the coat rack, he placed it on, not bothering to close it as he headed for the door to the infirmary.

"Where are you going?" Yuuki asked, tilting her head to the side, eyes filling with worry. He shouldn't have been moving so soon, and she noticed his hesitation when sitting up.

"To find the Chairman, I'll be right back." he informed. "Thanks kiddo, stay here, I'll be right back." he added as an afterthought.

"Alright, anytime." she replied, buying the lie.

Once out of the infirmary, Zero sniffed the air again. The scent of the stalker was strong in the air, consisting of a mixture of sandalwood and amber with a hint of blood. It was somewhat tempting, definitely vampire.

Footsteps echoed down the hall to his left, alerting his other senses, starting the manhunt. He didn't have to worry about Yuuki, she wasn't the one bleeding, they would come after him if they were out for blood.

Upon rounding the corner, a sunset hit him full in the face. He shrunk back slightly, not used to it since he had been indoors for the better part of an hour undergoing treatment. The rays of the setting sun wasn't particularly effective on his vampire skin, but they did make it tingle. Prolonged exposure to strong sunlight would make it burn worse than hellfire.

Zero could feel eyes on him, not for the first time today, as he made his way down the corridor with Bloody Rose at the ready. A flash of white from the shadows caught his eye. He was close. This chase scene would end soon.

Running as quietly as he could, Zero noted that he was entering the territory of the night class. Classes had changed while Zero was being treated, Chairman Cross was most likely the one to handle the prefect duty today, and it was about damn time. He would have to really find him later to discuss him breaking Lily of her attitude.

He passed the doors to homeroom, which were open, giving a good view of the creatures dwelling within. In unison, all of the night class looked over to Zero with glowing crimson eyes.

"What are you doing here, prefect?" Aidou scoffed. "Come to offer yourself to us?" his eyes fell to the red bleeding through the gauze.

"How boring." Shiki muttered from his reclined spot. "It takes all the fun out of making him a sport." he cracked the end of his stick of chocolate Pocky for added emphasis.

"It probably wouldn't be as interesting as you'd expect." Rima concluded, finishing her own stick. "This is much more exciting." she counter-argued, taking the end of Senri's stick between her lips. She turned from her spot on his desktop to help him finish his stick, lips touching briefly with a smirk, both refusing to let go as the chocolate smeared on their mouths.

"Shameless." Ruka tutted softly.

Zero didn't pay attention to their ramblings. He sniffed the air there, keeping his lowered weapon ready. Ruka looked offended.

"Were you sent here to hunt us? Or did you want to make nice?" she asked skeptically.

"You beasts keep away from me." Zero warned, tone low and deadly as he backed away. His pursuer was not there.

"My apologies, mister prefect," a voice started.

Zero whirled around, gun at the ready. The night class swarmed him silently. Flame and ice were threatening whispers on his skin, fingernails drawing blood from his neck, a disgruntled Ruka stood in front and to the side of Kaname. The lazy twins probably stopped snogging in the classroom, as he could feel them hovering in the background.

Kaname used the tips of his fingers to lower the barrel of the gun.

"Just what were you planning on doing with that?" he asked with a sad smile. "Enough, please come with me." he turned to go down the corridor.

"Kaname-sama," Ruka started. He held up a finger to stop her.

"Enjoy class." he dismissed. With distrustful looks the rest of the night class filed back into the room.

Zero frowned, following the pureblood. He kept his weapon drawn, downwards pointing.

"Why were you spying on us?" he cut to the chase.

"'Us'?" Kaname mused. Zero noticed what he was implying as they walked out into the encroaching night.

"Yes."

"So then is there something between you and Yuuki?" Kaname quirked a brow.

"What business is it of yours?" he wrinkled his nose.

"Pardon me." his voice was amused. "I assumed -"

"Well you assumed wrong." Zero's voice sounded irritated at that fact. "Is this all you called me out here for?"

Kaname frowned, closing his eyes. He seemed to be mulling something over.

"Spit it out, vampire."

"You're one as well." an amused grin broke across his face, which quickly turned into a grimace. "She seems to hold an awful lot of your attention." he opened his eyes to spare a side glance to the silver haired teen. "Too much. I don't like you near her."

"Like hell." came Zero's snort.

Kaname's eyes narrowed in response. Was that jealousy Zero was sensing? Interesting.

"What we do on our own time is none of your business, and I'll thank you to stay the hell away."

Both of them knew he was referring to himself. He was drinking her blood that smelled curiously similar to the vampire next to him.

"Such brutal words, Kiryuu." Kaname whispered, eyes narrowing further into mere scarlet slits.

The silver haired teen waited for Kaname to depart, refusing to turn his back to the vampire. Being near the beast gave him chills, even now they raised his hair on end. Tingles ran up his spine in dread, that had nothing to do with the vampire.

A shrill shriek cut through the silence, bloodcurdling, feminine, familiar.

There was a race between the two men as they rounded corners, the night class peeking curious heads out of the classroom. Some deciding with hesitation to follow when the smell hit.

Blood, and lots of it. Dread gripped its vice-like fingers around Zero's heart.

Arriving to the infirmary, the door was closed, but the smell permeated, stronger than ever. With a swift kick, the door flew back into the wall, hanging by one hinge.

Before them was a sight that would haunt Zero forever - several lacerations graced the white skin of a young girl, her entrails splayed out before her as if they had just exploded from her center. Her auburn hair was darkened with her own blood, red pooling so completely around her little body. Eyes wide with fear, Yuuki stared blankly, unseeing at Zero's face.

Zero, in turn was rooted to the spot. He felt high, as if his mind and body were having serious miscommunication issues. He could barely hear Kaname's shouts at the night class to stay back, several having to restrain Aidou as well as themselves. He was the only other one besides Zero who had tasted Yuuki's blood. Not that many had caught on to the fact that he was a vampire too.

He couldn't even feel the mild burning thirst that should have flared up with so much blood in the air. He could only feel the trembling breaths wracking his lungs, becoming worse and worse. The scene suddenly started trembling, Zero trapped within his own brain, calm as can be as he watched the scene unfold. There were some arguments as the screaming started. No, no, he didn't kill Yuuki, so why was the screaming so close to him?

Belatedly, Zero realized that the sound of screaming was so close because it came from his own throat. It was an odd sensation that fascinated him to no end as his eyes remained unmoving from Yuuki's blank chocolate stare. He could feel an annoying pull on the top of his skull, unsurprised to find his fingers tangled in his hair.

No, this didn't make sense. Less than a literal five minutes ago she was smiling and blushing. Now? His head hurt trying to fathom what could have possibly happened.

Her eyes swum before his own, the chocolate glazing over more noticeably as the minutes passed like seconds.

Things had gone quiet before his senses faded to white, and the floor swirled up to kiss his face.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

Now that I have killed off the female protagonist, the relationship between Zero and Kaname can grow. I didn't want to start off with a lemon so soon, but now that things are all set up, there might be one as soon as chapter two, how do you feel about it?

Reviews: I would love you forever.