Kaname's ending.

XxXxX

Zsssst...

It was raining heavily outside the manor. The cold breeze brushed its tail along the soft skin of his face. He staggered at the soft touch, moving slightly to the left and the right, pulling the sheet over him as he slept on the bed. The windows were opened, allowing the wind to flow in. It was cold but it wasn't much difference to a vampire. Vampires were cold-blooded creatures sleeping in the comfort of the warm bed. The warmth of the bed was enough for him.

It was enough.

For him.

XxXxX

"I thought I will experience death but I guess, I won't get that chance any more."

She murmured something to soothe him but decided against it, "Are you upset with my choice? I won't fault you for choosing this path. It is true that death embraced us but it doesn't mean that our story have ended. We are still alive but we live in a different time instead of the previous timeline," she said.

"I am. When I closed my eyes, I thought that's the end of my life, permanently. I thought that everything would become peaceful. No more problems. But..."

Hesitating, she tried to calm him down, "Kuran..."

He gripped his hand and yelled at her, "Don't call me with that name! I told you before, didn't I? My name is Kaname!"

"...Yes. Yes, you did." Her voice sounded weak with his tone. "Please, don't get angry with my decision, Ku... Kaname."

He was silent when he got off from the bed, circled around her before turning to the door. "...I am still angry with everything," he said, opening the door and slammed it shut, leaving the bedroom suddenly cold with the woman alone inside. The rain outside was not helping to ease the tension inside his head. He didn't understand why everything have to be like that. "Why must I be erased completely from their memories...? I existed in their lives but now I am gone."

"Completely. The people that I cherished so much... They no longer have any memories of me... How cruel can that be...?"

He went downstairs and sat on the couch. There was no one, only furnitures greeting him when he stepped down the last step. He tried to think about everything, everything that happened in his first life and his second life... and now, his third chance in life. It amazed him that he was still able to remember the memories from the two lives, usually when one continued to the next stage of life, the initial memories slowly disappeared, little by little, bits by bits.

Was I too harsh on her a moment ago...? It was not her fault, after all it was my decision to embrace death, but when I learned that my existence have been wiped off from the memories of the people I associated with, I couldn't help but be angry with her... How could she do this to me...? I wanted to be...

...I wanted to be remembered, not be forgotten by the people that I cherished!

A knock came from the door of the manor and although he was about to get the door, the visitor entered by himself and made him appearance. "Kaname!"

"Shoutou...!" A slight cheer came from his voice, remembering how he missed his old friend for so long since they departed ages ago. It was memorable to be able to meet him again that time, even if Shoutou was inside his descendant's body but he knew, deep inside, his friend would always remain a good friend and a brother to him. "What are you doing here... without bothering to wait until I open the door myself...?" he asked, teasing him.

A shrug was all Shoutou could give him. "What...? I am used to entering your house even without your permission. By the way, where is Yuu-sama?"

"Yuu...?" his voice left a track, dismissing the question as if it never existed in the first place. Shoutou noticed his discomfort and interrogated him for that.

"Don't tell me you are fighting with your lady, again...?" he asked him.

A realization hit him. "Again...?"

"Yes. You fought with her earlier, you know, something about Hana-sama refusing to go to bed by herself unless one of you sleep with her until she's used to the darkness. As much as I find it strange that a vampire is surprisingly afraid of the dark, a child of the age of two should not be left alone. Understand?"

Hana is two years old...?

"Kaname?" Shoutou called him when he was silent for a moment. "I know that the two of you are new in this life of marriage but constant arguments over small things are nonsensical, not to mention that you are the King of Vampires and she is your consort. If our most beloved pair is not together, it's our loss. The best thing we need right now is less problems between the two of you and more loving, for the sake of your daughter and us, your people."

"The Great Elder gave his warning, so I am just relaying the message to both of you."

He didn't know what to say, Shoutou's words hit him hard but it made him realized that Shoutou didn't know that he already experienced his life with Yuu and his anger toward her was because of her deeds. He didn't like what she did to him but... this was his third chance of life... so. "I'm sorry about that. Yuu and I will fix our problems and settle down our indifferences. You didn't come here for fun, so what's the reason behind your arrival...?" he asked.

"Why...? I told Yuu-sama that I am taking your little girl on a trip so... I am returning her to her parents. Hana!" Shoutou grinned when the girl appeared.

"Dada...!" she cried, running toward her father even though she swayed a bit when he caught her. "I... I'm home!"

His heart swelled when he saw his daughter smiling cheerfully. "Welcome home, Hana. Did you have fun with Uncle Shoutou...?" he asked her.

"Yesssss!" she said, hugging him tight. "Where... mama?" she asked, her head turning left and right. "Dada...?" her eyes brightened with excitement.

Again, his heart swelled. "Mama is upstairs. I'll bring you to her, okay...?" he told her, returning her hug. "Shoutou, thank you for taking care of Hana."

Shoutou returned his thanks with a grin. "Not a problem. I like children after all! Oh well, off I go to my home, wife and children. They're expecting me!"

He rose, carrying Hana with him as they saw Shoutou left the manor. Before he started his journey, Shoutou told him, "Kaname, welcome home."

The words left him wondering if everyone knew that he was in his third chance in life... Could it be...?

XxXxX

They avoided one another for the entire day, at times meeting together for the sake of Hana but when the child was asleep, they continued. It was difficult to talk face to face with her without reminding himself of his harsh words toward her earlier. He knew he told Shoutou he would reconcile with her but at the moment, it was awkward and im[ossible to do anything. Plus, he had many questions in mind; one of them was, why was Hana aged two?

Hana was five when the tragedy occured, so why was he back three years ealier? While he pondered on the question, the door of his chamber slowly opened, making him instantly alert for the intruder. He didn't say anything, though, wondering if it's Yuu and any further action might cause the worse of him. But the sight before him temporarily erased him from his doubts and questions. "Yuu...?" he murmured, words trailing. He couldn't tear away his gaze from her; her body was exposed to his very eyes, every part of her body visible to his pair of eyes. "Why are you... Why are you dressed..." he didn't finish.

Yuu dropped the last piece of garment covering her body, revealing her naked self to him, her husband. "I... I know what'll happen in the next three years."

"...If we do something before that time comes, we can change the course of the future, Ku... Kaname."

"What did you mean by that...?" he asked, clearly understood her meaning but he wanted to hear it from her mouth. "What did you plan to do with me?"

With her disbelief eyes, he knew she didn't expect him to ask that kind of question but she has no choice but to answer him. With her naked without a single thread on her body, she dared herself to walk toward him and stood at the side of the bed, facing him as his eyes stared straight at her aching breasts. "I want you to make love to me, Kuran. I wish to be with child... so, Hana can have a brother or a sister, and we can have more..." she whispered, ignoring her use of his former first name. If he would get angry with her over that, she didn't care at all since it still referred to him and no one else.

"Please...?"

"Touch yourself then."

XxXxX

Half a year later...

"I am still upset with you, Yuu, never forget that."

Hugging him, she whispered, "I will never forget your words, Kuran. I love you."

He sighed when she called him with that name. "How many times must I tell you–"

"–Kuran is still your name, my love. Even if it's now our family name, it is still your name. As much as I am fond of it, I am still enjoying your old one, please."

Her smile defeated everything he wanted to say to her. "If it's your choice, I can't say anything else then. Yuu, how far along are you...?" he asked.

"What is your prediction...?" she teased him, rubbing the back of his neck with her tender touch. He has a weak spot behind his neck and whenever Yuu touched that specific place, he groaned in pleasure and demanded for more. "I am more curious whether it is a girl or a boy. What do you think?"

He sighed. "It is an endless question if we are to answer to that one, my dear. I am hoping for a boy, though," he whispered at her.

"Why...?" she wondered at his declaration.

"I wasn't able to hold my own son for the first time so I wanted to experience that chance. Please, love?" he pleaded with her, his eyes gazing hers.

Blushing with embarrassment, she touched her forehead with his and whispered, "If we don't get a son like you expected it to turn out, what will happen?"

"We'll make more babies then, what else do you want to say to that?" he told her without any shame on his face.

"Kaname!" she yelped in surprise as her eyes widened. "That's so embarrassing!"

He laughed at her reaction and hugged her close to him. "Why...? You were the one who said that we'll have more after Hana has a brother or a sister. The more the merrier, right? It might take longer since it is difficult but I am happy that you conceived two months after you asked me to make love to you."

"I beg you, please don't say anymore!" she said, her head on his neck as she tried to control her laughter. "I didn't know what I was thinking!"

"It was bold, my love, but I enjoyed seeing you naked." He touched her face and brought it to the same level as his own while he traced the outline of her lips with his tongue, her body locked under his strong arms. "I enjoyed watching your performance under my command, Yuu. When you touched yourself, I am aroused by every little movements you made with your small fingers. Do it again, for me, my love...?" he asked her, taking her hands and sucking each finger as he watched her with many things inside his mind. He was pushing her to her limits and he didn't care of the consequences. "My dearest love...?"

"But I am pregnant...!"

"Please...?" he begged using his sultry voice.

She couldn't bear to stare at the eyes of the beautiful husband of hers and fell defeated. "Aaahn."

It was the first of many times that he was able to laugh without feeling guilty.

XxXxX

"I did it because I didn't want her future destroyed. You were unforgettable, Kuran, you were the man who stayed in one's memories until they died but I didn't want the same thing to occur to Yuuki. As much as I didn't like her, she's our descendant and it was my obligation to make sure that the last one of our family continued her life without the cruelty of life and the sadness of death. Your death left a big impact in her life. When she begged me to revive you from death after I killed you... I hesitated, wondering whether I should fulfil her wish or speak lie to comfort her. I was at a crossroad, a difficult choice to do."

She continued, "There were only two outcomes if I were to choose between your death or her happiness. If I chose to fulfil her wish, it would mean pain for you but if I chose you, it would mean suffering for her. Both outcomes were not in favour of anyone and to ask me to decide was even worse. You would have forgotten the memories from your first and second life and it would be problematic when the memories suddenly rushed into your third chance in life, the guilt and pain would have killed you the instant you regained them. I... I couldn't bear for that to happen to you, Kuran. You have always valued your memories, you told me that often, it's what that made you the real you. But Yuuki... I saw the desperate wish in her eyes and I couldn't bear to hurt her."

"I knew the inevitable so I decided to gave her the last hope for her desperate wish until she realized that everything was only an illusion. It was the least I could do. It was selfish to suddenly take it away from her but it was done for her own sake. If I hadn't done that, she would live in an endless fantasy. A fantasy about the two of you. She wouldn't be able to focus on the Peace Treaty of Vampires and Humans, and she wouldn't be able to do anything at all."

"You might no longer be there in her memories but you would always linger in her mind; forever and always. I would never take that away from her."

Kaname listened to Yuu's words and slowly began to understood her feelings. She was jealous of Yuuki but it showed her care for her. ...Thank you, Yuu.

It was the end of their story.

XxXxX

(END)

XxXxX

A/N: Sobs. It's finally the end of the story!

Initially, I wanted to question the meaning of 'contradiction', but I decided that it's best left behind. Since both Kaname and Yuu didn't know the meaning of contradiction even though they used it often, ir's up to all of us to determine what's the meaning suitable for the story. I didn't know, of course. But the story isn't about contradiction, it's about facing your fears and decide what to do with your life in the end. Kaname is satisfied that he has embraced death but learning that his existence has been erased completely from the memories of his beloved people, yes, his friends and enemies, all of them, it hurt. Yuu's explanation gave him a reason to hold on and he finally understood why she did it like that. It was for everyone's sake. After all, it would not be just Yuuki, how about the vampires...? Kaname held a special meaning to each one of them, had his memories remained in each one of them, it would hurt them more.

Thank you for taking your time to read this story. It has been a pleasure. Forgive me for the absence of smut, I gave you the teasers only. Hehe.