Sorrowful Reunion, Bitter Separation

Kirei, do you know?

You are like the snow, beautiful and soothing. Yet, you can be cold and harsh at times.

Even so, this neither stopped me from reaching out to you nor looking away from you.

Before I knew it, I had formed an attachment towards you.

You are everything to me in this world.

After all, it is you who had pulled me out of the pit of despair that I had fallen into.

You have given me so much, but I have nothing to offer to you in return.

All I have is this deep feeling of affection towards you.

Despite that, I did not possess the courage to offer them to you.

I fear rejection.

Having experienced countless rejections from humanity, I don't know what I will do if even the one who had saved me from the resulting despair had rejected me.

I would be utterly broken if that were to happen.

Moreover, I couldn't bear to lose our current close bond.

I couldn't bear to lose you.

As long as we can be together as we are now, I am contented with keeping these feelings buried deep within me.

I am such a naïve fool for thinking that way.

Because in the end, I still lose you.

"Kaname!" chided a woman with two small braids at the left side of her currently frowning face.

Unsure of what he had done to irked the beautiful woman, Kaname merely blinked at her with a blank expression on his face. His indifferent reaction seemed to make the woman even more annoyed as her almond-shaped eyes narrowed into a stern glare. At this point, it was obvious to anyone that it will be unwise to remain silent.

Therefore, Kaname asked in his usual impassive tone, "Have I done something wrong, Kirei?"

"What do you think?" the woman named Kirei asked back as she stepped forward to stand at less than an arm's length away from him.

Even though his facial expression was as calm as always, Kaname was actually feeling uneasy due to the closeness between them. Even though the uneasiness was not as much as he did when he was close to someone else, he was still tempted to take a step back. However, he refrained himself from doing so because it will not only be rude, but it will certainly upset Kirei as well.

"I don't think I did anything," he replied candidly, his expression unchanging.

After hearing his blunt reply, the expression on Kirei's face became harsher, if that was even possible. Her wintry blue eyes were piercing into his wine-colored orbs like pointed daggers. Any normal man would have shuddered or withdrew from that piercing cold gaze, but Kaname stood his ground and looked straight back into her eyes. Even though he knew that she must be terribly upset with him at the moment, he didn't and couldn't feel intimidated by her. Perhaps, it was because he had become accustomed to her temperament after all the time that they had spent together as mentor-mentee and also as comrades-in-arms.

"Kirei, I –"

"Hush!" she silenced him curtly, which stunned him for a moment.

Before he could regain his composure, the beautiful hooded woman had reached out her hands to the side of Kaname's face… or to be more precise, she had placed both of her index fingers on the edges of his lips before she lifted them upwards to forcibly form a smile on the emotionless Pureblood's face. Kaname was certainly shocked when she was doing this, but he didn't show any signs of disapproval. Truth be told, he had never rejected Kirie in any manner.

Coupled by the fact that Kirie was the only person who Kaname would treat less aloofly, it was not surprising that some of the other Purebloods will ridicule Kaname behind his back by saying that he was Kirie's lap dog… Not that he cared about what they were saying about him behind his back. Instead, he was just worried that their words will upset Kirei if they ever reach her ears. The last thing he ever wanted was to see her unhappy because of him.

"You look better when you smile," she complimented.

Seeing the awkward smile on Kaname's face seemed to have alleviated Kirei's grim mood as her stern gaze softened into one of tenderness and her lips curved up slightly to form a pleasant smile. With her index finger still lifting the edges of his lips upward, she spoke in a genuine tone, "It is a rare chance for us to have a stroll away from the sanctuary at our own leisure. You should look happier."

Happiness…

When was the last time he had been truly happy? He couldn't remember. All he could remember were the harsh rejections, the senseless accusations, being hated, being feared and most of all … being so terribly alone.

"After what you have been through, it must be difficult for you to do so."

Kirei's voice had brought him out of his unpleasant reverie and he noticed that her voice held a tinge of melancholic empathy as she removed her fingers away from his face. It was as though she was feeling a part of his pain at that time. With one hand cupping the side of his face and the other hand lowered to her side, she then added, "Even so, I sincerely prayed that the day would come when you could smile from the bottom of your heart and that I would have the opportunity to witness it."

Although his usual blank expression had returned on his face, he felt a tiny urge to smile.

At that moment, he really wanted to smile for her.

Kirei, it's been such a long time since you …

When I was forcefully awakened by Rido in this era, how can I naively think that you had already found peace after these past ten thousand years? After experiencing such a long existence, I should have already past the point of naivety ages ago. Therefore … how can I overlook such a blatant truth?

It is impossible for you to be at peace as long as the Parent metal exists.

Your consciousness had been passed onto the Parent metal within the eternally burning furnace. The fragments of your consciousness will continue to exist in this world as part of the anti-vampire weapons. Without a moment of respite, you will continue to witness endless carnage and bloodshed through those weapons… Becoming an existence that is much more cursed than the life that we were born with.

It is all my fault.

Being the person who discovered this method, I am the one who should be the sacrifice, not you.

I should have noticed your intention sooner and stopped you. After all, we have always fought in battle together. We have always watched each other's back. Therefore, it was completely unlike you to suggest that we fought separately on that day. Furthermore, you have also been behaving suspiciously before we parted.

Yet, I ignored those visible signs and the uneasy feeling that was gnawing at the back of my mind.

How can I be so foolishly careless and blind?

In a way, I had sent you to your death and I will never forgive myself for that.

When he first stepped foot into the Hunter Association's main headquarter, he could already felt it stirring deep beneath the ground. The Parent metal, that is. He knew that it wouldn't be long before the never-ending flames of the furnace be extinguished and along with it, the Parent metal.

If she was still the same as the person he had known in his long forgotten past, Kaname knew that she will definitely struggle to survive with all her might. She will certainly not go out quietly, especially when she had been so determined in protecting humanity when she was still … alive. Moreover, coupled with the deeds that Sara had been committing recently and the fact that said Pureblood was within the Association's headquarter, it will only be a matter of time before she reached out from the furnace and went on a rampage.

Therefore, he had come to put her, the Parent metal, to rest.

Yes, killing Sara was one of his reasons for coming to the Association's headquarter, but it was not the main reason. She… Kirei was and has always been the most important thing to him. Before he had fully regained his past memories as the ancestor, the only thing that mattered most to him was Yuuki. However, after regaining his memories, he knew that was not true. Although his memories of Kirei had always been filled with bittersweet joys and deep regrets, he can't deny that his love for her is more profound than the feeling of affection that he held towards Yuuki.

Yuuki may have considered him to be the beginning of her world and everything that was revolving in it, but to Kaname, Kirei meant the same thing to him. Even though he had nothing to do with her in the first place, she had saved him when he had given up on himself, nurtured him when he had been so broken, teach him everything that she knew about being a vampire and comforted him when he was almost consumed by despair and madness.

As far as the Kuran ancestor knows, love has always been a complicated and irrepressible thing as you can never decide who you will fall in love with and there was never a logical reason for falling in love with someone. Although that is an irresponsible thing for him to say, it is the truth and Kaname knew that he was right as he watched Takuma reaching out desperately towards Sara, who had been pierced by the rampaging Parent metal, even though his hand were seared terribly from merely brushing against the metallic tendrils of the Parent metal.

I need my fragments… I need to take back my fragments.

Hearing the frantic thoughts of the Parent metal, Kaname's eyes widened in surprise. It had been so long … So long since he had last heard her voice. As he tightened his grip on the anti-vampire saber, he looked at Yuuki, who was still confused from the current change of events. It was amusing for them to be standing close to each other now, especially when a few moments ago, she was so resolute in killing him in order to stop him from massacring all the Purebloods. Of course, he knew that she wasn't completely willing to do so and that he was the one who had forced her to reach such a difficult decision.

As always, he was the one who had brought her great pain and sadness.

Sighing inwardly, Kaname lowered his hand, which was holding the anti-vampire saber, to his side. His movement stirred Yuuki from her stupor and she turned to look at him with eyes that are filled with nothing but anxiety. Their eyes were locked to each other for one brief moment before Kaname turned and walked towards the direction where the core of the Parent metal was situated.

"Wai-"

Yuuki was interrupted when the tendrils of the Parent metal erupted from the ground in front of her and effectively prevented her from following after Kaname. Like the roots of a wilting plant that are seeking for water, the tendrils quickly latched onto Zero's Bloody Rose, Yuuki's Artemis scythe and Kaname's anti-vampire saber as they attempted to wrench the weapons away from the trio's grasps.

I am cooling down… If I don't take back my fragments …If I don't take back my powers…

Kaname felt a slight ache on his chest at hearing her fragmented thoughts, which were filled with pure desperation and fear.

"Kirei," he whispered in a pained tone, partly wishing that she could hear him.

Suddenly, instead of focusing on retrieving the weapons, the metallic tendrils had surrounded Kaname with their pointed edges being just a few inches away from his body. Even so, Kaname didn't move or show any sign of resistance. It was not because he believed that she wouldn't hurt him. Instead, it was because Kaname was willing to let her take his life. After all, he was the one who had brought this cruel fate upon her. Therefore, if she wanted his life as compensation, he would be willing to offer it to her.

"Yuuki!" The tendrils must have targeted Yuuki as well since Kaname could hear Zero yelling behind him. "Its targets are the weapons and you Purebloods!"

I can't allow myself to cool down like this…Until I fulfill it… I won't be destroyed until they have been…

He could feel her presence in front of him. It was growing stronger by each passing second. In fact, he could partially make out her incorporeal form among the countless masses of extended tendrils. She had looked so … weary and weakened, just like the time when they had their last conversation together. The only difference between then and now was that she doesn't appear to see or recognize him. She merely looked through him with glazed eyes, as if he was an apparition instead of herself.

To destroy Purebloods who draw others into the darkness… That is the meaning of my existence…

To say that Kaname wasn't hurt by what he had seen and heard would be a complete lie, but nothing hurts him more than knowing that her consciousness have been so corroded by the passing of Time that she not only couldn't recognize him, but she even caused needless destruction and harm to the Hunters and the innocents that she had sworn to protect with her life. To make matters worse, she didn't even realize that herself.

This is my fault. I am sorry, Kirei. I am so sorry.

That single line of thought was going through Kaname's mind as he closed his eyes.

"You have already done your best," Kaname spoke out in a calm voice, in spite of being in a life-threatening situation in which his life could be ended anytime if the tendrils had decided to pierce him.

"Ten thousand years…"

He paused and opened his eyes as some of the peaceful memories of their time together in the past resurfaced to his mind. Considering the current situation, those fond memories brought him nothing but misery and pain as they reminded Kaname of the precious moments that he had lost and emphasized to him just how much things had changed for the worse since then.

"It's more than enough. So, please rest in peace."

Placing a hand to his heart, Kaname then looked up to her incorporeal form and said in a clear and determined voice, "I will succeed you."

He noticed that her eyes widened in surprise at hearing those four words. Moreover, she was currently looking straight at him, instead of through him. Perhaps, her consciousness wasn't as broken as he had thought.

Even after becoming the Parent metal for nearly ten thousand years, a part of her past self still existed.

With that thought in mind, Kaname mustered all of the strength within him to put on a smile, which appeared melancholic, as he continued, "So, it's alright for you to let go of this burden, Kirei. I will be fine in carrying this burden on my own and I will protect everyone in your place. That's why… There's no need for you to worry about anything anymore."

By the time he finished his words, the expression of Kirei's face was one of concern, sorrow and longing.

Kaname.

She recognized him.

Kaname.

She called his name, the name of her beloved hometown that she had given him.

The tendrils that were surrounding Kaname had immediately backed away as her incorporeal form floated closer to him. She looked as if she was on the verge of crying, but her eyes were not brimming with tears. No matter the situation, she had never allowed herself to shed tears. She was too tough for that. Even so, it was this resilient spirit of hers that Kaname admired the most.

Slowly, she reached out a hand and touched the side of Kaname's face gently. There was no warmth in her touch as she lacked a living physical form, but Kaname could still feel the warmth based on his vague memories of the past and he leaned in slightly to her intangible touch. Seeing that, a bitter smile crossed Kirei's lips before her incorporeal form gradually vanished from his sight. Following that, the metallic tendrils of the Parent metal slowly crumbled into pieces, signifying the smothered flames of the furnace and the end of the Parent metal.

Watching the crumbling pieces of the metallic tendrils, Kaname was reminded of the time in the past when he had watched Kirei's motionless body crumbling into ashes in front of his eyes.

Once again, he had watched her die.

Once again, they had silently bid each other farewell.

However, he knew that this would be the last time.

This was because Kirei was truly at peace now.

Although relieved, that thought had also left him with an empty void in his chest.