I Have To Protect the One I Love Most

It had been a year since the fight against Rido, but it feels as the time has just slipped away…Yuki thought to herself as she put her books away. She had just finished her lessons with Aido and was in the study, underneath the mansion; which also meant she had no windows to look out of. She sighed to herself as she smelled the rain outside. Aido was nowhere to be found, he probably went to go see Yori, she mused. She paused outside the door and smelled the scent of pine from somewhere in the house. Smiling to herself she went to find the source.

"Kaname-sama, you're back!" Yuki cried as she flung herself into his waiting arms.

He hugged her tightly, breathing in her scent which he often said smelled of roses. "I will have to leave soon, but not until tomorrow." He said sadly.

She sighed then looked up at him imploringly and said, "Why must you always leave?"

He met her gaze and repeated the phrase he had often told her, she knew he always meant it every time, "So that you will be able to go outside, you shouldn't be kept prisoner here in the first place."

"For the last time, I'm not a prisoner and don't think of myself as one so stop defining it as such. You'll be happy to hear that I'm improving in my lessons." She said happily while grabbing his hand and leading him to the sofa to sit down.

He sat down next to her-not letting go of her hand- and said, "That is good news, seeing as how you always stayed up late when you were young."

Yuki stuck her tongue out at him and said, "Very funny nii-san. Have you seen headmaster…" Yuki paused for a moment. "Have you seen my father lately?"

"Yes I have, he sends his love and I'm also happy to say that you should be seeing him soon if everything goes according to plan." Kaname said cryptically, as was his way.

"Ha ha, everything almost always goes according to plan with you pulling the strings." Yuki smiled adoringly at him so Kaname decided to let the "almost always" slide.

Then they heard a gunshot outside, "COME OUT HERE KURAN!"

Yuki gasped; she'd recognize that voice anywhere, "Zero…."she murmured faintly.

Kaname looked angry, more angry than Yuki had ever seen him. "Yuki, hide now. I will not let him hurt you anymore." He said firmly.

"Kaname I'm not leaving you. And Zero never-"

"Yes he has hurt you Yuki. Did he not savagely tear into your throat nearly killing you? Or how he pointed Bloody Rose at you one the roof of the school? I understand that he holds part of your heart Yuki, I don't want to cause you any more pain but so help me if he tries to do anything to you it will be the last thing he ever does." He said as his composed mask crumbles letting me see the struggle inside of him to protect me warring with his instinct to kill Zero.

Without warning he picked her up bridal style and set her down on a couch inside the study. She refused to let go of him. "Yuki," He said sighing despairingly. "You have to let go."

"NO!" Yuki cried, tears streaming down her face. "I'm never going to leave you alone again!" Kaname was shocked at hearing this; wordlessly he bent down over to stroke her face with his hand. He pulled her to him and kissed, as kiss so full of passion it was as if it was the last time he thought he would ever touch her.

Then with blinding speed he left the room and locked her inside. "KANAME!" she screamed, beating against the door with her hands. She sank down on her knees with her head against the door. She could hear what they were saying outside.

"Where is she?" Zero asked as Kaname descended the step alone.

"Where she is, is none of your concern." Kaname said to him as they face each other; only about 5 meters apart.

"After I kill you I'm going to find her then tell her how I truly feel about her. It's true isn't it, that she can't be satisfied with your blood because of her attachment to me?" Zero said imperiously.

"If it is her wish then she may go with you. I will do nothing to stop her, but if you are set on killing me then you will never touch her." Kaname said with a chilling voice.

"I'm going to make you pay for turning her back into a vampire!" Zero shouted.

Yuki couldn't take it any longer; she started throwing furniture at the door. She could hear gunshots and the smell of blood in the air. It might just be Kaname using his pureblood powers but I can't be sure, Yuki thought to herself. The door finally broke and she ran as fast as her legs could take her up the stairs.

Horrible images filled her mind as she ran the length of the hallway and pushed open the heavy oak doors. The ground was wet from the light shower earlier, there was a humid feeling in the air. Kaname had indeed used his pureblood power and was manipulating his blood into the form of a huge claw. Zero had bloody rose pointed at his chest. Kaname turned to look at her and Zero, seeing his opportunity Zero fired the gun.

"NO!" Yuki screamed and everything in her mind went blank. All she knew was that she had to stop that bullet from hitting Kaname. She suddenly felt and intense rage caused by her instincts, no one was going to hurt the one she loved. As if in response to her rage her power came out in full force and all the trees surrounding the area had deep gashed cut into them while the bullet fell to the ground in shards.

She ran in front of Kaname much like she had before, except she was facing Zero with an unfathomable look in her eyes. "I will not let you hurt him." Yuki said with such malice that Zero took an involuntary step back.

"Kuran, release her from your control. You made her your puppet." Zero said. The Yuki standing in front of him was so different from what she had always been like.

"I'm not his puppet! I'm here of my own free will and Kaname would never do something like that to me. Much less make me come and stand between you two."

Zero had to agree to that. Kuran, no matter what he was, would never put Yuki in danger if he could help it. "Then listen to me Yuki, he is evil. Come with me, I love you. I always have."

Yuki shook her head sadly, "Zero, it's true. I do have a place for you in my heart, but I will always need Kaname. And you are my best friend, nothing more."

Zero shook his head, "You brainwashed her didn't you Kaname? Even after everything we've been through you pick that evil, manipulating, lying, leech-"

Yuki finally lost it. Zero could tell that he had pushed her too far. "Evil? Did Kaname ever sink his fangs into me and continually drink my blood till I couldn't walk without fainting? Did Kaname ever tell me he was going to kill me and others of my kind? No! He suffered through years of loneliness and still managed to let me live the life of a human girl for as long as he could."

"Yuki…" Kaname said.

Yuki looked at him and said, "I told you before, I'm not going to leave you alone again." Turning back to Zero she saw him shaking violently, as if he was falling to pieces inside. "Zero, leave; or else you will leave me no choice."

"Ha! No choice you say. You always had a choice Yuki and you picked him. Now it's too late." And with that Zero pointed the gun at her.

Lightning fast, Kaname's blood claw grabbed Zero and held him in midair. "I told you before Kiryu, if you ever tried to hurt her I would kill you. You failed, in the end you finally betrayed her." He turned to Yuki and beckoned her to him. She went and buried her face into his chest. She tried not to listen to Zero's cries as Kaname drew the claw tighter and tighter. Then finally, with a sickening crunch something fell and both of Kaname's arms were around her; comforting her.

"It's okay Yuki, he's gone; you can turn around." He said soothingly.

Yuki however remained where she was and said, "I can finally let him go…."

Kaname picked her up and carried her into the house. He placed her on a chair in her room and kneeled in front of her. "Yuki, are you going to be all right? If you can't forgive me for doing that I completely understand."

Yuki shook her head sadly at him. "Of course I can forgive you. If he had hurt you I would've done it myself."

"Don't lie to me, I know how much he meant to you." Kaname said while searching her face for the anger he expected to be directed at him.

"You mean so much more. I love you and even thought Zero said he loved me I just think he was obsessed. I was the one to show him how to live again after his parents died. That must have had an impact on him." After saying this Yuki swayed dizzily and Kaname gently caught her and laid her on the bed.

"Go to sleep Yuki, your exhausted." He started to leave but stopped at the sound of her voice while he paused at the door.

"Promise me that you'll be here when I wake up." She said. He chuckled without humor at how easily she was able to see through him. He had been planning to leave her for a while so she could grieve without regret over Zero.

"I promise." Then he walked out and closed the door behind him.

The next day Yuki woke up and she ran out of her room to go find Kaname. As she was rounding a corner she ran into something, or rather someone. "Yuki, are you alright?" Kaname asked worriedly.

"Oh, you're here! I thought you might've left." She said, relieved to find him. She threw her arms around his neck and listened to his heartbeat.

"….then you're not sad about Zero?" Kaname asked.

"I am a little, but I know that if he had continued to live he might've become twisted and warped, he might have become like Rido for all we know." Yuki said to him.

"I'm glad you're ok." He said. She didn't answer. "Yuki…? Are you thirsty?"

"Yes. I'm very thirsty."

"Yuki, you can have my blood. Please don't try to deal with it when I'm here." She nodded and he kneeled down and let her unbutton the first few buttons on his shirt. She brushed his hair away from his neck and leaned down.

She lightly kissed his neck where his pulse beat the strongest. She used her fangs to pierce his skin and started to drink deeply. His blood tasted even better than she thought was possible. After another thirty seconds or so she stopped drinking and wiped the blood of her lips.

Kaname looked up at her face and was surprised to see the look of serenity on her face. "What is it?" He asked her.

She smiled and said, "I'm not thirsty anymore." It took a moment for Kaname to process what she had just said and when he did he quickly got up and hugged her; never wanting to let go.

When he released her she grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs she stopped in front of a large window that showed a view of the forest. She hugged him and sighed in contentment. "I could stay like this forever." She said to him quietly.

He hugged her back and kissed her hair and said, "Don't worry, we have plenty of time."

The pair quietly gazed out the window, bracing themselves for the trials that face them: negotiations with the Vampire Hunting Society and the debut of Yuki as Kaname's fiancé to name two. No matter what happened the moon would still rise, the roses would bloom, and they would be together. Nothing else mattered.

Authors Note:: I know the ending is kind of cliché and that Yuki should have mourned a little for Zero but I just wanted to move the story along and the fact that I am not a big fan of Zero is a big part of it. Review please!