Death and sacrifice...

XxXxX

The door was slammed open as Kuran rushed to see his wife. He finished his meeting earlier and was ecstatic with the news he brought for his beloved wife. "Yuu! Yuu! I have a wonderful news to tell you!" he cried. He rushed passed the bedroom and stepped a few steps backward and saw his wife, dazed like the first time they met. He went to her slowly and lifted her from the floor. "I'm home!"

"Kuran!" she cried, pushing him to let her go. "What is the matter? You are really excited, your face is shining."

"Even better!" he beamed. "We had a meeting and the Great Elder granted us the right to choose our first name! Everyone had a hard time deciding a name for themselves but all of us managed to get our names. Do you know what's mine? It's Kaname! Kuran Kaname!" he said, showing his beautiful smile.

Yuu looked at him in shock before she smiled. Kuran never appeared this delighted and happy throughout their marriage.

She touched his cheeks and rubbed her hands against it. "I don't quite understand. If your name is Kaname, then what happen to 'Kuran'? Is it forgotten just like that? Oh dear, I don't think I can accept that." Yuu spoke the truth. If 'Kuran' was removed as his identity, she wouldn't be happy. After all, it was his actual name. To simply erase the name that was meaningful, that...

Kuran chuckled and rubbed his forehead against hers, he loved doing that. "Of course not. 'Kuran' will become a part of our names, Hana's and our future generations. It will become our family name, Yuu. The Kuran family," Kuran said, imagining his large family.

"I... I see." She chuckled with him. "No wonder why you're so happy. Now your name will be passed down to our generations until the last Kuran dies. Oh, I hope our family will last long. Don't you hope so?" she asked.

Kuran hugged her and said, "Of course I wanted our family to survive, no matter how small the number of Pureblood vampires from the Kuran family shall remain in the future. I just hope they know who their ancestors. You, Kuran Yuu and I, Kuran Kaname."

"Yes."

"So, can I ask you a favour?" Kuran asked, pulling himself away from his beloved wife. "You're beautiful today, Yuu," he commented.

"Certainly." Upon hearing his comment, she blushed. "And you are handsome, despite covered with sweat."

"Vampires don't sweat," he spatted before he himself blushed when she pulled a lock of hair. "Yuu–"

Yuu smiled as she played with his hair. His hair was short but thick. She loved running her fingers through his hair. It felt good. "Grow it longer. I think you look more like the Devil when your hair is longer."

"What Devil? I'm the King of Vampires." He tried to remove her hands from touching his hair but she slapped those hands away.

Her feet tip-toed as she licked his jaw. "I want to see you in long hair, although mine is always longer."

"Do you have a special connection with hair, Yuu? I love your hair, it's soft, silky and dark." His right arm pulled her back to him as she enjoyed licking his jaw while his left hand played with her hair. "Yours a bit curly at the ends."

"Who said? Yours are curlier. Mine is wavy. The hair never listen to me, it always have to move to its own direction."

He laughed and forced her head to face him. "Why are we having conversation about hair? I thought we're talking about a favour."

"Oh, I don't know. I hope our descendants have hair like yours. Hard to manage but worth the appearance. You were saying?" she asked.

"A favour, Yuu." He placed his fingers in front of her mouth to prevent her from licking his jaw. "Listen. From now on, I want you to call me as Kaname, not Kuran. Everyone else will continue to call me Kuran. It is formality but you are my wife and as a token of our love, I want you to call me Kaname. Please?"

"A token of our love?" she asked.

Kuran nodded. "Yes. Our love."

"Then," she began, wondering of her answer but her answer was a surprise for Kuran. "No. I will not call you Kaname. Even though your name has become our family name, I will remain in calling you Kuran, no exceptions. I refuse to change the way I call you because this is our token of love. Kaname has no meaning to me, yet." Yuu stood proud, her words strong and firm.

"I don't understand. Do you hate the name so much? If you dislike it, I can always ask the Great Elder to change–"

"No!" she snapped. "I like Kaname. Kuran Kaname is a perfect name for a vampire like yourself."

Kaname slummed against their bed. "Then why, Yuu?" he asked. "If it is like this, nobody will call me Kaname. I want someone I treasure to call me Kaname and that person is none other than you, Yuu. I know that Kuran is my real name but now that my name is Kaname, I want you to call me as Kaname. Is that even wrong to ask from you, my dearest?" he appeared to be pouting and Yuu's heart sore.

"Don't pout, you'll make me feel guilty," she told him, sulking.

"I'm doing it on purpose, love." He took her hands and brought her to the bed, just behind him.

"Unbelievable." She said, laughing at his attempt at jokes.

"Still, in our private moments, call me Kaname. Once or twice a day? When you're angry, sad or happy? I want to hear it from your lips."

"Deal."

And they sealed it with a light kiss.

XxXxX

Yuu felt the soft wind brushed against her skin. She paused on her tracks and looked at the falling snowflakes. "Hana, did you see that? It's snow."

Hana turned and looked at her mother. "Snow!" she squealed. "Mama, it's snowing! It's snowing!" she cried happily.

"Be careful, dearest." Yuu smiled as Hana ran toward a pile of snow and jumped on it.

Hana was Kuran and Yuu's daughter, born a few years earlier after a lot of failed attempts to create a child. Both of them took the Great Elder's words seriously and admitted, trying to have a child would take more than expected. A lot of patience was required from both sides but the joy of having a child was memorable. Hana's arrival to the world was greeted with the sight of her smiling parents who were glad that they have an heiress to their legacy and Kuran's throne. Although Hana was not a male, Kuran cared less about that. He said it himself, "We male vampires do not give birth to children, it's our women that did all the work. If I have to choose between a male and a female, I'll say, a female is my choice."

"Mama! Come and play with snow!" Hana's cheerful voice took Yuu back into reality.

"Oh, Hana. It's getting late. Let's go home. I didn't tell your father that we went out to buy things. Also, make sure you hide your sweets in a safe place. Your father is very sensitive with your nature to eat a lot of sweets. He said if you eat too much, your teeth won't be strong enough to hunt. Remember?" said Yuu, reminding her daughter about Kuran's warning. "We hunt to survive. It's our nature."

The small girl began to pout and replied, "The words that only a person as scary as papa can utter, of course I won't forget!"

Yuu chuckled at her daughter. "Your father is not scary, Hana."

"Papa is the King of Vampires, you are his Queen. Out of all vampires, they chose the scariest and most feared vampire as their king."

"Meaning?"

"Papa is scary, of course! Or else he wouldn't be the king."

"Hana," Yuu scolded her daughter. "You listened to those nasty rumours, it hurts my feelings. Your father is a wonderful person. He's kind and–" she stopped talking when she saw a group of men consisting of three to seven men walking toward their direction. Sensing danger, she called Hana to come back to her. Hana, noticing her mother's crooked eyebrows ran back to her, whispering, "Are they bad people?"

Yuu was about to deny her daughter's question until she saw one of the men's face. Having the ability to read people's face, she knew they were not up to good and the way they moved toward Hana and her, it was just the beginning. Although they were not vampires, they were humans. The bad side of humans. "We'll use the long way to get home," she told Hana, her voice silent.

Hana nodded and together, they held each other's hands and walked, hoping that they pass the men without complications. A minute later, Yuu was positive they were not the group's target but she was putting her trust too early. The leader of the group spoke and his words made Yuu flinched.

"Is that a beautiful woman with a small child?" he asked.

The other man said. "Yeah. A woman and her child. Still, I wonder if it's her child. She's too young to bear a daughter that age."

"Perhaps the girl is her sister? But damn, look at her curve." The man's statement was followed by a teasing whistle. "Delicious."

The leader replied, "I wonder how she is in bed. Interested, boys?" Their screeching laughter made Yuu feel disgusted. "We can share."

"Oh, yes."

Yuu changed her mind about the men. They were targeting her and the presence of Hana did nothing to them. She didn't need to turn around and study their faces. From their voices alone, it was obvious their stupid, mindless heads were filled with images of lust. Not just a woman, it was the images of her. Disgusting, she said aloud in her mind.

She tensed when they circled around her. Holding Hana to her lightly, she decided, "What do you all want?" her icy tone flared.

The men laughed. "Oh, come on, lady. No need to be feisty. You're really beautiful."

"Stay away. I'm not interested in your advances. I'm married." She knew it was the wrong time to declare her marriage to these men, they wouldn't listen, thinking she was lying by using her own daughter to be her daughter. "Please excuse us. We need to get home." She passed through the men but one of them grabbed her right arm as she heard his words, "Come on, you have time to spare, right?"

"We're sure your husband won't mind," the other man grabbed her other arm, slightly brushing her soft hand with his course, ugly ones.

Yuu was about to blurt out that her husband was the King of Vampires, no one else, but realized that said husband's status didn't apply within human grounds. These humans knew about the existence of vampires but she's not risking Hana and her safety as Kaname didn't know they went out without informing him. Their status as vampires royalty was only in name. Kaname preferred the solace of his wife and child, their house which was a gift from the Great Elder and no protection since he could protect all of them.

However, perhaps now was the time to have a bodyguard in situations like this!

Swift but delicate, Yuu placed her hand against one of the men's chest and slammed him against the wall with her force. The great impact from the force resulted in the bloody mess on the men's chest, a lot of broken bones and the smash on the wall. The rest of the group cried in surprise at the instant death of their member and looked at Yuu with fear.

"What... What are you?" the leader asked her, his voice mixing with anger and fear.

Yuu's eyes began to glow as she glared at the group. "If you care about your life then scram before it's too late!" she hissed. She quietly turned to Hana and asked her to hide at a safe place. Hana left her mother's side and went to hide behind the boxes but the men saw her and they ran after the child. Yuu yelled at them to leave her daughter alone. They didn't listen.

As their hands came close to Hana's head, their bodies were slashed into pieces, resulting in blood spurting from the bodies around Hana's hiding place. "Ah... AHHHHHHHHHH!" she yelled at the gory sight and scooted backwards. "Mama!" she cried for her mother but Yuu was busy twirling and jumping around, slashing the men with her fingers as she killed them. Her movements were delicate but it was deathly.

"ARGH!" the last man screamed before he fell on the ground, death from the loss of blood.

Yuu stood upright and stared without emotion at the dead bodies. "Disgusting humans, what a waste of blood," she murmured before laughing. She didn't bother licking her bloodstained hands. Their blood would taste like poison or decayed flesh, disgusting to a vampire like herself. She didn't even care about her bloody clothes, the destroyed items she bought and how the scene looked like hell. "Oh well, this is a warning to them."

"Mama," Hana's weak voice called her and Yuu turned to see her frightened daughter shivering. Yuu's eyes returned to normal and she went to retrieve her daughter. "Mama, that was scary. So scary!" she told her mother, clutching her mother's dress tightly as she started crying.

Yuu hugged her daughter and calmed her down, making sure her bloody hands did not touch Hana at all cost. "It's alright. They deserve it."

Everything was for her child, nothing else. She didn't plan to kill any of them. She killed the first one to show the humans the consequences they would get if they continue to harm them but they insisted in continuing with their assault. Hana was her precious, only child with Kuran. If these dirty humans touch her daughter, she wouldn't forgive them and herself. Kuran and Hana worked hard to give birth to Hana. If their precious child...

"Mama, I felt the wind." Hana whispered to Yuu slightly pushing her to feel the soft wind. "The sky is dark, too. Can we go home? I'm scared."

Yuu rose, leaving her daughter and looked at the sky. "Oh dear. That's the sign of blizzard. Yes, Hana, we have to get home!" she said, wiping her hands on her already stained clothes, took Hana's hand and rushed to the mountains where their house was located. "Hurry, Hana! We have no–" she shrieked and dropped to the floor. Hana fell as well and wondered what was wrong.

"Mama?" Hana called, shaking her mother before the rough wind passed her, prompting the child to look behind them. "Mama! Blizzard is coming! We have to get going!" she cried, pulling her mother to stand up before she froze and saw blood flowing from her mother's back and a dagger. "Mama? Why is there a dagger on your back?" she asked.

The wind was getting stronger and snow began to fall on the ground. A heavy snow hit Hana and she dropped to the ground. "Oww!" she cried. Realizing this, Yuu pulled her daughter and placed her under her embrace as Hana questioned what was wrong. "I'm sorry, Hana. Somebody really don't want me to escape from my crime. They have to stab me." She pulled the dagger out from her back and groaned in pain.

"I don't understand, mama. Nobody was near us a moment ago, how were they able to stab you?" Hana questioned.

Yuu shook her head, weakly smiling as she pulled her daughter for a tight embrace once more. "Hana, listen to me. I have a little bit of time, so I want you to listen and tell your father that I love him and you. Hana, be a good girl. Don't bring trouble to your father because once I'm gone... You have to listen to your father." She coughed and dropped the dagger by her side. "I am sorry I cannot take you somewhere safe but my legs are numb and my body won't listen to me anymore. I have no other choice and I hope that you'll survive this harsh blizzard."

"Mama?" Hana's voice erratically became weak as Yuu pulled her tighter and she began to suffocate. "Mama, I can't breathe!" she squeaked but Yuu's eyelids began to close and her heavy weight forced Hana to be trapped underneath her. "Mama! Mama, wake up, please! Mama, please don't die!" she gasped and tried to push her mother to her side but failed. "Ma... ma..." Hana's voice became weak before she lost consciousness.

In Yuu's faint mind, she was able to see the white snow before it was drenched with the colour of her blood.

The red snow... On the white snow.

My blood... and the snow.

My love... This would be our last meeting.

I am sorry that we did not have a proper goodbye.

"Goodbye... Kuran... Kaname."

And her eyes closed.

XxXxX

Kuran's mind was restless as he sat at the end of the oval table, placing the Great Elder at the opposite end of the table and the six Pureblood vampires on his two equal sides. On his left, from the farthest sat Ouri, Shirabuki and Shoutou while on his right, from the farthest sat Hanadagi, Hiou and Touma. As the seven vampires debated on what was the plan to attack the vampires and humans opposing them, the only thing Kuran said was a sigh.

When he gave his third sigh, the vampires quietened and looked at him in wonder. The Great Elder stopped thinking and gazed directly at the young King of Vampires. "What is on your mind, Kuran? You seemed restless," he asked, waiting for his reply. When Kuran appeared to be clouded in his thoughts, he raised his voice and called his name. Once. Twice. Finally, he said, "Kuran!"

Kuran snapped and jolted from his seat, looking surprisingly at the eyes of his comrades. "Yes, your Great Elder?" he asked.

"It is my question you should be answering, not by providing me with another question, Kuran." The Great Elder was stern and Kuran realized he was left out in most of their discussions. "If I question you of what Hanadagi has suggested about the war, I wonder if you're able to give me an answer? Hmm? Answer me!"

"No, sir." Kuran shook his head.

"If I tell you that the enemies have postponed the war, will you believe in me?" the Great Elder asked.

"No. Eh, what?" he asked, eyes directly looking at the Great Elder. "They didn't wish to proceed with the war? I thought despite the blizzard, they would continue to attack us. Why with the sudden change of mind? Are they crazy, thinking of sparing the humans? They're different than before!"

Touma sneered, "Apparently those idiots are cowards. Such a shame. I am looking forward to taste the blood of traitors."

"Instead of a blizzard, we had a heavy snowstorm." Hiou provided the explanation knowing that Kuran had no idea of the weather changes if his mind was full of something unknown. "Now the storm has calmed, for now. Our meeting today is to discuss whether the enemies will make a move or will they wait until the storm is gone for good. Ouri and I thought that perhaps the enemies will come to attack but the rest are still undecided."

Kuran nodded and thanked Hiou for his explanation. "Even Hanadagi too cannot make a decision? Whether the enemies will come to attack or not? Touma as well? It is strange seeing that you are hoping for a war. Shirabuki, what about you? I am sure you are able to give an answer. And Shoutou, how about you?" he asked.

The Great Elder instead said, "I suppose they are waiting for your answer, Kuran. You are the King, after all. If you think they will come and attack us, then we will believe what you said and prepare for the worse. If you think otherwise, then we will standby. Your choice doesn't matter much but as the King of Vampires, we want to believe in your judgement. So?"

Kaname felt a heavy burden just hit him. Slowly, he bowed his head and said, "I do not have an answer because I am not clear of the situation. Great Elder, it is true. My heart is restless. It is as if there's something that isn't right. If I don't go and search for the answer, I may never find the result at all. However, I do not know what it is that I am restless about."

The six Pureblood vampires looked at their King with their own feelings. The Great Elder closed his eyes and finally, he stated, "I give you permission to leave this place and return to your home to see if the Queen and your child have returned or not. Your first search was a failure, therefore I am giving you permission to look for her. Go now, Kuran."

"But! I cannot possibly leave this meeting!" he protested.

"What can you do in this state of yours, Kuran? You'll do nothing good. Your mind is elsewhere, thinking of your wife and child instead of the war. I understand you are worried but if you continue to stay here, you'll ruining yourself. I let you go to search for your family. Go on. If anything happens, you'll know what to do but we'll take care of the main problems. Understand?" the Great Elder's voice rose.

Kuran rose from his seat and nodded. "Thank you, sir." He pushed the chair away and rushed to the door as he jumped and transformed into a bat to search for Yuu and Hana. Although he didn't understand why he was having an odd feeling regarding his small family. Everything was all right. The snowstorm came and hit the areas, but Yuu and Hana would be all right. Won't they?

"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Shoutou quickly rose and rushed after Kuran.

Touma turned and shouted at Shoutou. "Hey! It is none of your business. We need you to decide the next step. If the enemies come to attack, then–" he was cut out by Shoutou for the first time, who replied, "It is my business! Kaname is my friend! If the Great Elder places his trust in Kaname to know what to do when the enemies attack, I am given the same trust as well! Right now, things may not be what it seems! I want to be by his side..." he paused. "Because if he feel something is wrong... Then I too, feel something is not right!"

With the declaration, Shoutou ran to the door and disappeared.

Touma looked in surprise and faced the Great Elder. "How can you let the idiot Shoutou go after Kuran? And why is it that he's happy using Kuran's first name? What are they, the best of friends? That's ridiculous!" he said. "Kuran is the King of Vampires whilst Shoutou is nothing compared to the Great Elder's wisdom!"

A chuckle came from Hanadagi's end. "I see someone's jealous, everyone."

"I am not!" he yelled but instead received a heavy laugh.

"We have a joker among us, who knows!" Hanadagi said as others laughed once more.

"Hanadagi! Enough with your sarcastic jokes!" Touma slammed the table as he said that.

The Great Elder calmed the intense situation and said, "Touma, calm down. Kuran and Shoutou have left to search for the Queen and the young princess. Both of them are younger than you and everyone else. If we look at the situation, you are the youngest one so far. It is alright to have amusement like this. It takes us off from the sight I do not wish all of us to see."

The five vampires paused and looked at the Great Elder. "Pardon me, sir?" Hiou asked.

"Did you see something earlier? Is it about the war?" asked Shirabuki.

"Or could it be more than that, the Great Elder?" it was Ouri's question.

The Great Elder looked at Hanadagi, "What do you think, Hanadagi?"

They exchanged a few looks as Hanadagi smiled and five seconds later, he turned grim. "It is about Kuran, the Great Elder."

"Kuran?" The remaining four asked him. "What about Kuran?" Touma asked.

"However, I don't know what you have seen, sir. Would you be so kind to tell us about it? What exactly will Kuran and Shoutou find in their search?"

The Great Elder sighed. "It doesn't matter what I've seen. I... I am just wondering what will Kuran's reaction be when he finds out about it?"

All of them remained silent as they waited for time to pass and Kuran and Shoutou's return. But. . .

XxXxX

As Kuran and Shoutou's flight took them across the town to the Kuran's home, they could see the heavy snow covering every inch of the ground and buildings. "I wonder if there's humans buried alive under the thick layer of snow. What do you think, Kaname?" Shoutou asked with a wide smile plastered on his face. It was definitely not a vampire thing but it was that or nothing else. Kuran was silent since they departed from the base, making Shoutou began to worry that his friend's cloudy mind was taking over his entire self.

Kuran spared a look at the surrounding and noted that everything was white, think and fluffy. He sighed before jumping higher than Shoutou. "I don't give a damn. Humans are foolish creatures after all." With that, he turned facing his path and disappeared, making Shoutou rushed after him.

"HEY! Wait a minute!" he cried.

XxXxX

The sight of the empty house gave a bad sign to Kuran. He looked around for the presence of his wife and child. The last time he visited the house, it was warm, indicating that Yuu and Hana just left the house to wherever they were going. It has been several hours since then and as he stepped on the floor, it was cold. The snowstorm might be the cause but it was impossible for a house to be cold when there's occupants, which left only one answer . . .

"They are not back yet," he stood there, feeling defeated. Where on Earth could these two be? It was late, the snowstorm just ended and might resume its destruction once more while the intense panic began to cloud his mind. It was terrible, so unpredictable . . .

"Kaname, what are we going to do? We can't go back if we cannot find Yuu-sama and Hana. Yet, where could they be? It's already late." Shoutou went forward to see if there's presence of the woman and child but he couldn't feel anything. Hana was a bright child, so full of life that it was easy to know that she wasn't there since he couldn't feel her presence. "Hana is definitely not here."

Kuran slumped against the wall. The panic began to fit themselves inside the corner of his mind. "Where could you two be?" he mumbled.

Shoutou looked at his friend and said, "Calm down, Kaname. I'm sure we'll find them, even if in this heavy snowstorm. It has ended for now, I think we should search for them while the weather is fine. I don't think we have much time!" he pulled Kuran's arm and dragged him out for a search and rescue mission. "Remember! Don't lose hope! It's your wife and child we're searching for!" and Kuran knew that he'd given his leadership power to Shoutou. He was in no state to take the lead.

"I hope we'll find them. Hana, at least." Kuran and Yuu promised each other that if there was trouble ahead of them, they would give up their lives for the sake of Hana, their one and only child. It was not a problem for them, it has taken them a lot of time to conceive Hana. To lose her for such petty sake, both of them wouldn't be able to accept it. That was why, if Yuu and Hana were missing, if he could find Hana, that was enough for him. Losing Yuu was heartbreaking, he knew... but to lose Hana, it was more than that!

They landed on the roof of one of the buildings. The roof was covered with snow and it was hard enough to find a hard area to stand on. Shoutou walked a few steps to his left and flinched when he stepped on something soft yet hard. "Eeeek!" he cried. "What did I just step on?" he stepped backwards and bumped into Kuran.

"What is it, Shoutou?" Kuran asked, one brow raised as he peeked behind Shoutou. "Certainly it's not a human flesh or something."

"HUH? Kaname, is that even possible?" he turned and looked in panic. "Why don't you go look whether it's a thing or..."

"What a coward, you fool." Kuran pulled Shoutou behind and went to the location. He saw Shoutou's footprint and realized the presence of a hand near there. Brushing the snow further, it revealed a dead human. Judging by the condition of the corpse, Kuran guessed that he was dead a couple of hours ago. "I was right and it is possible."

"What is possible?" Shoutou's asked, he was not certain.

Kuran turned and said, "It is a human. He's dead but the frozen snow stopped his body from decaying. You stepped on his hands. No wonder why you found it gross. At least it's not his legs or his chest. That is..."

"Ugh, I refuse to listen anything from you!"

A chuckle came from Kuran's end as he rose and looked around. "I suppose it is possible for humans to be trapped under the snow."

"Who knows. I wonder why they didn't run when they had the chance to do so?" Shoutou asked.

"I wonder as well. But–" both Kuran and Shoutou turned their heads to the source of the noise. "Did you hear that, Shoutou?"

Shoutou nodded. "I believe that I heard a wailing of a child or something."

Kuran lowered himself to listen to the faint sound. "It is more of a... crying. The cries of a child, Shoutou!"

"A child? But... where could the child be? This entire area is covered with thick, heavy snow."

"Earlier you said this is a search and rescue mission. I told you, if the least we can do is find Hana, then I am grateful. Perhaps the cries came from Hana? They're not at home therefore it means they could be anywhere in this town!" Kuran said, his heart racing. He jumped off from the roof and ran to search for Hana. He knew where his daughter could be but couldn't grasp her scent. "Hana! Hana!" he cried.

Shoutou went to another direction, carefully moving out of the way of the corpse and searched for Yuu and Hana. "This thick snow, how I wish you disappear!" he hissed and heard the cries again. "Kaname! I found the place! It's here!" he cried.

Kuran instantly appeared by Shoutou's side as they looked horrified of the scene before them. Covering his mouth, Shoutou felt what he saw was the ugliest of all things. Kuran stood there motionless as he looked at the bloody scene. Most of the snow has covered the ground area but the trace of blood was visible. He noticed a few bodies laid dead; one against the wall, a few others around the boxes while the rest was everywhere.

"What the hell is this, Kaname?" Shoutou questioned in shock. "Did a murder just occur before the storm came? This is too much!"

"Judging by the way their bodies were placed all over the place, I say that someone gone mad and..." Kuran stepped forward to the middle of the area and stopped. "Why is there a big lump over here? Hmm?" he crouched and stared deep at the lump. Brushing the snow away with his hands, he noticed blood was beneath the snow. "Shoutou... There's a body here as well."

"Huh?" Shoutou turned and watched Kuran brushing the snow from the lump. "Kaname, the cries! It's getting louder and it's nearby."

Kuran's hands dropped to the ground as he saw what he has revealed. "It's already here, Shoutou." That was all he said before he reached out his hand and called out for his daughter, trapped beneath her mother's weight. "Hana, it is alright now. Papa is here. Everything is alright."

Shoutou turned to his words and rushed to his side. "Hana!" he cried. "You're alive!"

"Papa!" Hana's weak voice suddenly became loud as she tried her best to get out from her mother's grasp. "Papa! Papa!" she wailed.

"Hana, a moment." Kuran carefully lifted Yuu's body to allow his daughter to escape. "Be careful, dearest. Go to Uncle Shoutou."

Shoutou opened his arms to get the child and as soon as she managed to escape, she went to him. "Goodness, how long were you trapped there? Poor child!" he patted Hana as she cried. "Kaname, how's Yuu-sama. She's alright, right?" he asked, his face beaming.

They've found Yuu and Hana, at last! However, a few minutes passed and Shoutou began to feel sadness coming from Kuran. He faced Hana as she sobbed. "Mama... Mama is..." she sobbed and started crying again. "Mama!" and that was all in her mind. Shoutou turned his gaze to Kuran and realized that the only one who survived...

"You remembered that promise." Kuran placed Yuu's head on his lap as he lowered himself to her beautiful face, the tears falling out. "Oh, Yuu. You saved our child's life but for the cost of your life. My Yuu, my love. You cannot leave me this soon. Not now, I need you." He stayed there in that position for a long while, until Shoutou reminded him that bodies of the vampires who'd die would not survive long enough. Once he or she was dead, the body would disintegrate from flesh and blood into sand.

Slowly, Kuran lifted Yuu in his arms and said to his daughter, "We'll go home, Hana."

"I'll carry Hana, you'll carry Yuu-sama. Don't rush, Kaname, even the worst of people know that you need time to mourn for your loss. I know that there is nothing else that I am able to offer except my apology for what happened to Yuu-sama but I am not going to say anything. I know you. If you're sad and hurt, I don't want to rub your wounds. It'll hurt you further. However, do not worry, we will investigate this incident and make sure that we'll find the answer and perhaps who was responsible for this. I am sure that Yuu-sama's death is not an accident," Shoutou assured Kuran.

Kuran nodded as he lifted Yuu and walked away slowly. Yuu was not heavy but his heart was heavy. He didn't want to hear anything about Yuu's death. There was nothing that could bring her back to him. Even if she have to leave him, it was not supposed to be like this! The last time he saw her was early dawn, her smile was beautiful that Kuran was willing to ditch the meeting and stay by her side, gazing at her.

And now... And now...

Shoutou carried Hana and began to follow Kuran's trails but he stopped when he hit something on the ground. "Ah!" he said and looked down, his eyes widened when he saw a dagger with traces of blood at the blade. He paused to think of the connection and found himself saying to Kuran, "Kaname! I found a dagger. It's smeared with blood. Yuu-sama has a wound on her back, this dagger may be the weapon used to kill Yuu-sama!"

Kuran turned around, gave one look at the dagger and shook his head. "It's impossible, Shoutou. Vampires don't die from human weaons. We're immune to them, even if they wound us, we're able to heal. I don't know what killed her but I don't want to think about it. I just want to go home," he said, tired.

"Understood. I'll be with you, soon." He started to leave but Shoutou couldn't get the possibilities of the dagger being the weapon to wound Yuu, thus he turned and took the weapon, not when the weapon started giving shock to him that he hissed in pain. Taking a cloth from his pocket, he wrapped the dagger with it and together with Hana in his arms, he rushed toward Kuran. This is definitely not a normal dagger, I'll show Kaname once everything returns to normal, but now... I have to let him take his time with Yuu.

It's the least he could do.

XxXxX

(TBC)

XxXxX

A/N: And... We're not over yet.

Did anyone see chapter 59? Words said that Touma has made his appearance, I am not sure if it is Touma but with that kind of power, it's Pureblood, no doubt. Well, I began to have random images of Ancestor of Touma (as opposed to the Ancestor of Kuran!) making his appearance in the later chapters of Daybreak, playing a very specific role but I'm not revealing what it is. Right now it's March and chapter 60 is supposed to come in April, so if there's progress in chapter 60 regarding Touma's personality, I'll think about his role. Apparently, Touma really desire war and blood, just like his own ancestor, fufufu.

I'll try to complete the FAQ, one day. I'll place the link in my profile once it's finish! Btw, in case all of you are interested; in Ancestral Past, Kaname is known as Kuran by his comrades (except Shoutou), family and I, but when we're back to the present, I'll return to his usual name, Kaname. I don't really know if chapter 4 will conclude the Ancestral Past but if it doesn't, just bear with me. I'm not done with the Ancestral Past, yet!

Teaser for chapter four:

The death of the Queen of Vampires changed the way Kuran thought of his enemies while Shoutou's detemination to relate the dagger he found with Yuu's death proved to be successful...? The war that was stopped... there was a reason behind it? Kuran was not willing to let the fools escape from his grasp! ~ atemu.

Read and review, thank you!