Not as Simple as Black and White

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Chapter 1: And so I Lost You

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Heavy pants escaped a pair of lush lips as slender, milky legs ran past abundant bushes and trees. Wild, frightened eyes glanced everywhere, looking for certain anomalies that didn't belong. She panted heavily as she continued to run, not bothering to stop in fear that if she did, her life would most likely end.

She didn't know why they were after her. What had she done to deserve their hatred? Was it because she was different from them? Was it because their leader had fallen in love with someone like her? She didn't know, but she guessed that it was the latter.

She let out a cry as she tripped over a large root from a tree and fell down. Her tired body was sprawled out, her back visibly heaving up and down as she tried desperately to breathe for air. She needed to get up, she needed to keep moving or else..or else she won't ever see him again! She forced herself up, swaying a little from the head rush she felt. She shook her head and broke into a run. She didn't know how far they were from her, but she knew that if she dared to hesitate or take a break they would surely catch up to her.

He walked through the gate, his hands in his pockets, as he looked at the sky; it was going to be night fall soon. He resumed his walking, hoping that he could leave quietly but....

"Zero! Where are you going?! You haven't tried my special sauce!"

Zero Kiryuu rolled his eyes as he stopped. He looked back to see Kaien Cross waving from the second story window. He was such a nuisance at times. With a heavy sigh Zero turned around, looked at Kaien, and continued walking away, ignoring his banshee shrills. That guy....

"ZERO! MY SAUCE! MY SAUCE, MY SAUCE, MY SAUCE!" Kaien hollered. Seeing that Zero wouldn't turn around, his shoulders slumped and he gave a small huff. Now who would try his special sauce? His eyes brightened as he gasped and spun around, looking for his next victim. "TOUGA! TOUGA COME TRY MY SPECIAL SAUCE!!!" he hollered as he ran down the stairs.

Zero let out another sigh as he walked toward town. He needed to check in with Sayori, and more importantly, to see if that damn rogue vampire hasn't tried anything against her. What was his name? Hanabusa Aido? Whatever. He didn't need to fully remember his name.

"Zero."

Zero stopped and looked up. He saw Toga, his former mentor, leaning against one of the trees off the side of the walk path.

Touga threw his cigarette to the ground, stepped on it, shoved his hands into his coat's pockets, and walked over to him.

"What is it?" Zero deadpanned.

"Checking up on Sayori?"

Zero stared at him before looking to the side. "If you know, why are you asking?"

Touga snickered. That kid, he was so anti-social and brooding all the time. But he couldn't really blame the kid, hell, if his parents were murdered by vampires, he'd be like Zero is all the time too.

Touga chuckled as he lifted his hand and gave Zero's hair a ruffle. "Lighten up kid, you're only seventeen. You're too young to be so brooding all the time."

Zero said nothing as he stared down at the ground.

Touga sighed as he pulled his hand away from Zero's head. "So, why was Kaien hollering your name?"

Zero looked up, a slight smirk on his lips. "So you heard that huh? He wanted me to try something he made."

Touga flinched. "Food?"

Zero shrugged. "It might as well be."

"Dammit, he's probably looking for me right now," Toga muttered. He titled his head up to look at the sky, and then looked back down at Zero. "Well! Might as well go with you. Kaien is going to annoy me to no end if I go back. And to think he was legendary," he muttered to himself.

Zero said nothing and resumed his walk to town when he heard a feminine shriek. He half turned his body to look behind him, his eyes focusing on the woods near town. He glanced over at Toga to see that he had done the same.

"Do you think it's...?"

Touga nodded. He unsheathed his sword from the scabbard that was tied around his waist. "Go on ahead Zero I'll--" he had no time to finish because Zero was long gone. He rolled his eyes and exhaled. He was starting to think that maybe he had taught Zero a little too well.

She yelled as she skidded along the ground, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. She coughed as she tried to sit up but was immediately pushed down by an overwhelming force. The small pebbles and clumps of dirt pressed painfully against her back.

"Stupid Yuuki, did you honestly think you could outrun us?"

Yuuki opened her eyes slowly, drops of sweat slid down the side of her face, as an icy coldness invaded her veins. They caught up....

She cried out as someone pulled her to her feet by her shirt. She looked up to see that Ai was the one that was holding her. "Ai..."

Ai looked at her with contempt. She despised this stupid girl. How dare she seduce her master? She growled as she threw Yuuki into the circle that the other five companions of hers had formed.

Yuuki propped herself up with both of her hands. Her hair was spilling over her shoulders, her dress was torn, and her body was covered in scrapes and cuts. She refused to look up, she wouldn't look up. She knew that there were six of them, and she knew she had no chance. She lifted her head to only see straight ahead. All she saw was their feet, nothing but their feet....

Kaname....

"Ai, what should we do with her?"

"What did master tell you Ai?"

"Master wants her back alive..." she said, seething anger intermingling with her answer.

"But what about our master Ai? Our master wants her--"

"I know exactly what our master wants Aya! I don't need you to tell me that!"

"Well then? What shall it be?"

Ai looked down at Yuuki's disheveled form. She was so feeble, so pathetic. What could her master possibly see in her? Why would he even want her? She was a disgusting human who was easily breakable. What went through her master's mind was an enigma to her, but what she did know was that he would not be pleased with the next course of action she took.

"Aya, Misaki, grab her."

Yuuki's eyes widened. She scrambled to her feet immediately only to be seized. "No! Let me go! Please! Aya, Misaki, Ai! Ai stop this! I did nothing to harm you at all!" she cried.

Ai's mouth clenched. She took three steps and slapped Yuuki with the back of her hand, forcing Yuuki's head to turn to the side.

Yuuki's pleas halted. She stared at nothing as a line of blood formed on her right cheek.

"You stupid bitch! You did nothing to harm us? Don't think you're a saint! You come waltzing into our house, seducing two of our masters. And yet you say you did no harm? You were causing our system to decay, you were going to break the pure blood chain!"

Yuuki's eyes widened. Seducing? She didn't seduce anyone! " I seduced no one!" she yelled.

Ai stared at her, her eyes turning a dark red.

"I seduced no one...." she repeated, her strength wavering. "Kaname wasn't seduced, I didn't seduce him. It just happened! He saved me and then...and then I..." she trailed off, her cheeks becoming hot. Her relationship with Kaname happened naturally, there was no seduction. She loved him, she adored him, she was grateful of him. Her feelings towards Kaname were pure, not purposeful or containing a hidden agenda.

Ai snarled as she grabbed strands of Yuuki's auburn colored hair and harshly tugged at it. Yuuki's head jerked towards Ai's glare. "You are really starting to piss me off," she hissed.

"Ai! Don't be irrational! You know what we have to--"

"Shut up Aya!" she snarled.

"Ai, listen to what Aya says. We can't allow you to act upon your redundant irrationalities. We have a job. We must finish it," Miaski's voice was mellow, but it had a certain edge to it, causing Ai to stop.

Yuuki let out a shaky breathe. What were they planning to do now? What were they--

"Throw her off the cliff," Ai ordered.

Aya and Misaki tightened their hold on her upper arms and dragged her forward, towards the edge of the cliff.

"No, please, stop, stop!" Yuuki struggled against their hold, but with all her progress, she might as well have been struggling against a rock because she couldn't budge, not even a little bit. She grunted and pleaded, hoping that maybe one of them would help her; there was no one.

Ai just grinned as she crossed her arms over her chest. Serves her right, she thought. The annoying little pest would finally cease to exist.

Yuuki cried as she reached the edge of the cliff. Her eyes widened as she looked down, a sense of dread and fear seizing her. It was so far down...She looked up, her eyes scanning the vast amount of land laid out. She could see the town and the endless rows of trees. This was it, this was the end. A gust of wind blew in her direction, ruffling her shoulder-length hair.

"Aya, Misaki, let go of her; I'll be the one to push her off."

Aya and Misaki did as told and moved.

Ai walked towards Yuuki, her movements cat-like. She walked to a stop behind Yuuki, uncrossing her arms and brushing her hair to the side with her right hand. She lifted her left hand and gripped the back of Yuuki's neck. She then proceeded to grip Yuuki's right shoulder with her right hand.

"Dear little pest, I'm afraid your time is over," Ai lowered her head to Yuuki's left ear and hissed, "And I couldn't be any fucking happier." She dug her fingernails into Yuuki's right shoulder, causing blood to surface.

Yuuki let out a cry, closing her eyes as the pain increased.

"Hn," Ai pulled her fingernails out of Yuuki's right shoulder and let go of her neck. "You just prove my point; humans are nothing but little fucking pests that are easily injured." Ai brought her right hand up to her lips and licked the blood that was on her fingers.

Yuuki didn't look back at her. She kept her eyes closed, holding her right shoulder that was bleeding profoundly.

"Well Yuuki," Ai sighed, as she dropped her right hand to her side, "I think it's time to end this right?" She smirked as she leaned forward. Oh was she going to enjoy this.

Yuuki kept her eyes closed, tears streaming down from them. Behind her closed eyes she envisioned Kaname. She remembered everything between them. She remembered his brown hair, his deep, brown eyes, and his soft and gentle voice. Kaname...

She felt Ai coming closer to her, and felt her hand press against her back. Kaname, I'm...Sorry...

"Hold it right there."

Yuuki's eyes snapped open and she turned her head to the side. A couple of yards away a boy stood, his eyes holding a murderous glare, and pointing a gun at Ai. She stared at him, taking in his light lilac eyes and his silver hair. That boy....She felt like she's seen him somewhere....

Ai looked at him, blinked, and then laughed. "Do you honestly think you can stop me with something like that?"

The silver-haired boy stared at her, his glare unwavering. "You're wrong if you assume that it's a normal weapon," he said.

"Ai," Misaki spoke up, "I don't think he's just any guy."

Ai looked at Misaki. "What do you mean?"

"He means that I'm what hunts monsters like you," the guy in question said.

Ai turned around to fully look at him. He seemed normal to her, unless she overlooked something...Her eyes widened. "Vampire hunter," she hissed.

The guy gave a small smirk. "I was wondering when you were going to figure it out." He squeezed the trigger, shooting in Ai's direction.

"Ch!" she vanished before the bullet could hit her.

Yuuki turned around, looking on at what was happening. It was then that she realized that with this interruption, she could escape." She broke into a sprint, running past the silver-haired guy.

He glanced at her with the corner of his right eye as she ran. He couldn't help but feel that he's seen her before...He immediately pushed the matter aside, focusing on the fight before him. He kept on shooting, managing to kill two of them.

Ai glared at him, her fangs bared. How dare this scumbag kill two of her members? And then there was the matter of Yuuki. Because of him she...

"Ai, go after Yuuki. Aya and I will take care of him."

Ai looked behind her to see Misaki and Aya standing, their eyes set on the vampire hunter. She nodded before breaking into a sprint.

"Where the hell do you think you're—" but the vampire hunter didn't manage to finish because Aya and Misaki both lunged at him. He was about to block them when he felt something wisp past him.

Aya and Misaki both fell back, landing gracefully on their feet.

"You seem to look a little helpless Zero, need a hand?"

Zero looked over his shoulder to see Touga standing behind him, his sword in his right hand and his left holding his lit cigarette.

"Why don't you go and help that girl that ran away eh? I'll handle these punks."

Zero nodded and ran in the direction Ai and Yuuki ran in.

Ai dashed through the woods, dodging tree branches, bushes, and visible roots. She wouldn't let Yuuki get away.

Zero sprinted forward, hardly showing any signs of excursion. He could see Ai not too far off ahead. He sped up, his gun held tightly in his right hand.

Yuuki panted as she ran, ever so slightly glancing over her shoulder to see if they were behind her. She was pushing herself to run faster, trying to get as far away from them as possible.

"Yuuki! You can't escape! I can see you! I can smell your fear!" Ai's voice ricocheted.

Yuuki bit her bottom lip, not bothering to turn around. She knew, she absolutely knew that Ai was at least a couple of yards away.

"Yuuki! Get ready to play!" Ai called out. She sped up and jumped into the air. She was about to dive for Yuuki when a bullet ripped through shoulder blade. She let out a howl of pain as she fell onto the ground.

Zero ran to a stop, standing a yard away from her. "And so the bat falls..."

Ai growled in pain. There was no way in hell that he'd win. With a snarl, she jumped to her feet and continued running, dodging the bullets that Zero shot at her.

"Tch!" Zero stopped shooting, seeing that it was futile, and sprinted after her.

Yuuki continued to run. Her sides were aching and burning, and her legs felt like rubber. She was grateful that she had stumbled onto a downward slope, it helped accelerate her running even more. She was half-way down the big slope when she felt something push her.

She let out a yell as she fell forward, tumbling down, gaining scrapes and cuts all over her body. She closed her eyes and hoped that she would soon stop. It did, but with a terrifying crack and agonizing pain.

Ai looked down at Yuuki from the slope, a satisfied grin on her lips.

Yuuki's body was slumped against a medium-sized rock, blood was trickling from her forehead down the side of her face, and her arms were slack at her sides.

Mission accomplished. She turned around, ready to leave when Zero arrived.

He glanced at Yuuki then glanced at Ai. "You filthy creature," he raised his gun and shot her twice.

Ai's body jerked with every bullet. She dropped on her right knee, her breathing heavy. "Damn...vampire...hunter..."

Zero looked down at her. "This is your end." He lifted his gun and pointed it at her. He was about to pull the trigger when—

"What the hell?" he dropped his hand, letting it fall next to his side, and looked behind him.

There standing behind him was Misaki, holding a bleeding Ai. Misaki stared at Zero, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Hunter, we shall meet again."

Zero said nothing as he saw them disappear. He brushed the matter aside and rushed to Yuuki's side. He knelt down and gently picked up her head. He narrowed his eyes; her head was bleeding.

Yuuki opened her eyes half-heartedly. She was tired, extremely tried. Where was Kaname? Where was he? What was the silver-haired boy going to do? Wait, was he speaking to her?

"....hear me...? .......there....."

".....okay?...."

".....ga."

There seemed to be another voice...Yuuki strained herself to hear, but she couldn't. Her eyelids were becoming too heavy and the agonizing pain was dulling.

Touga squatted down to examine her. He gently held her chin and moved it to the left and then to the right side. "Dammit, looks like we'll have to move her after all."

Zero nodded. He gently lifted her up, careful not to move her head.

"Let's hurry Zero, she's losing too much blood."

As they carried her, Yuuki let her mind wander to Kaname. She wanted to cry at the thought of not seeing him, she wanted to be able to be near him. Why won't he come back? Her eyelids dropped until finally, they closed upon her. The last thing she saw was the silver-haired boy's face being replaced by that of a younger version of him.

"Kaien! Kaien where are you?!" Touga called out as he rushed in, Zero trailing behind him. "Kaien!"

"Yes~?" Kaien waltzed into the living room, but froze in his steps as soon as he saw the bloodied Yuuki. "What on earth?"

"Quite dawdling and help us!" Touga snapped.

Kaien shook his head and nodded, a completely different persona taking control over his features. "Zero, get her upstairs, hurry! Toga, get some washcloths and warm water."

Zero walked up the stairs, into one of the vacant rooms, and placed Yuuki gently on one of the beds. "Kaien, what are you—" he looked up to see Kaien pulling his sleeves up and washing his hands in a bowl of hot water.

"Step aside Zero."

Zero did as told, and he walked to the doorway, where he proceeded to lean against it. As he looked on at Kaien tending to the girl, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her before. When he first saw her, he was struck with the feeling that he knew her somehow, but where? And when? And more importantly, why were those vampires chasing after her?

"Zero."

He looked up to see Toga standing beside him. "Do you know why those vampires were chasing her? I know it wasn't just to feed off of her."

"No," Zero glanced back to the girl, "I don't."

"Hmmm," Toga lifted his hand and stroked his chin. Could it be that the girl was.....

Kaien lifted his head, wiping off the sweat with the back of his hand. "It's done," he said. He stood up from the stool, and walked toward Zero and Toga. He looked at them both before proceeding with his diagnostic.

"It seems that she suffered from an impact, as you obviously know, and it doesn't seem to be that deep. I managed to clean the wound and bandage it up. I also managed to clean and cover up any other wounds. The wound in her shoulder will take at least a week to fully heal," he paused. "Do you know why she was attacked?"

Both Zero and Touga shook their heads.

"I see...."

"Do you think she'll be attacked again?" Zero asked.

Kaien looked at him. "Yes, I do."

"Well, how about we just ask her then?" Touga suggested.

"Yes, that would be best. We should wait until she's woken up to question her, for now, just let her rest."

"Master Kaname, are you fine? Do you need anything else?"

Kaname looked up, his brown eyes sincere. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"With pleasure," the maid bowed as she walked away.

"So, Kaname, what do you think of this new place?"

Kaname looked out into the forest, clearly seeing the wide lake that was near the estate. "It's nice Ichijo, maybe one day I'll bring her here."

Ichijo chuckled. "You mean Yuuki? I hope you do. I want to meet this girl who brought you, a pureblood, head over heels for her."

Kaname smiled. "I will, after I propose to her, I will." Kaname turned back to his hot tea. He lifted the tea cup, only to have the handle break off, causing the cup to fall onto the table and shatter. He blinked, astonished that it happened.

"Oh crap," Ichijo sighed. "I'm sorry Kaname, I'll go and get the—"

"No, it's fine," Kaname said. He continued to stare down at the shattered cup, not liking the feeling that he was getting. Yuuki...

"Oi! Zero! Touga! She's up!" Kaien called out from the top of the stairs.

Zero and Touga looked at each other before going up the stairs. Zero was the first to enter, his gaze landing upon a scared brunette.

"Wha-what do you want? Where am I? Who are you?! I...I don't..." Yuuki whimpered, clutching the dull blue blanket tightly in her hands.

"I hope you don't mind disappointment boys," Kaien sighed.

Zero narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Touga stood beside Zero, a frown on his features. "What he means kid, is that we're not going to be able to get answers from her."

Kaien looked back at them. "She has amnesia."

Well, that took me flippin' weeks to write. Yeah, I'm exhausted now and I kinda want to sleep so I'll catch you guys later.

Also note that yes, it is AU.

Also note that no, I do NOT own Vampire Knight (Thought if I did....*sigh*).

However, note that I do own Misaki, Ai, and Aya.

And yes, I am back from a very long hiatus. Very long. Oh god. I have so much to update *slams head on desk*