A BOUQUET OF WHITE LILIES

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Romance/Family/Friendship

Rating: T-16 (rating may go up in the future)

Warnings: cursing, war themes, and mentions of character deaths

Pairings: various; BL, shojo-ai, hetero, but it mainly revolves around KaZe

Disclaimer: Vampire Knight does not belong to me and neither does any of its characters. I do not own any of the references to other series either, but I do own the OC's that appear in this story, as well as this story's plot.

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Scene 1:

Look inside and you'll find...

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Zero was seething at the sight of the Noble vampires surrounding him. What right did these vampires have in telling him what to do? Apologize to Kuran? Show respect to the king of these bloodsuckers? Ha! He'd rather take a bullet from Bloody Rose and turn into dust than bow down to that arrogant Pureblood. It took a lot of effort on his part to not pull the trigger of his gun and kill that idiot blond.

"Ne, Aido, Kaname-sama told us not to do this," Shiki said with his usual monotone voice. Beside him, Rima nodded but didn't utter a word, only looking at the entire ordeal with an indifferent expression.

Yes, do be a good little vampire and listen to your dear master, Aido. You'll live longer that way. Zero's eyes narrowed when he felt a cool feeling slowly creeping up his legs. That blond really wanted to get shot that badly huh? Well, who was he to refuse? He was about to give a warning shot - with Kain seeing it and going to stop him - when suddenly, a loud rumble permeated the area.

Everyone looked up and saw the evening sky bleed a nocturne black. Dark clouds clustered together in one large swirling mass, and at the center, a faint light glowed. The air hummed with an unnatural power, causing all the vampires and Zero to feel a chill run down their spines. The small glow then burst brightly, bathing everyone within its reach, and the students had no choice but to cover their eyes to avoid being blinded. As the intense light deemed down, a loud crash followed, causing everyone to stumble.

"Wha-what the hell!?" exclaimed Aido as he started to gain his bearings after everything called down. Zero slowly opened his eyes and began to stand up with shaking legs. He leaned his hand at the trunk of a tree for support before surveying the damage, which truthfully wasn't as big as he thought, at least to him it wasn't. It wasn't like he would be the one to pay for all the damages in front of him; ruined bushes, overturned rocks, patches of upheaved grass, as well as a few broken trees. Not to mention that large crater at the cen - wait, what!?

Yup, there was now a fucking huge crater at the middle of the forest.

"Is everyone alright?" shouted a voice he was well acquainted with. Yuki burst into the scene, along with - Zero held back a growl - that damn Pureblood. Of course, why should he be surprised that his Highness was not far from Yuki? "Zero, what happened? Are you alright?" she questioned her partner as she started fussing over him like an overbearing mother hen.

"I'm fine Yuki, and so is everyone else," he replied, knowing really that the Nobles were quite alright. Unfortunately. The brunette gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. But what exactly was that?" She turned her attention to the large crater, and being the curious kitty that she was, started to move towards the edge of the hole. Aido too, being as curious as her, followed her example and headed himself towards the object that was still glowing in a faint light.

"Hey wait, Yuki!" Zero exclaimed as he hurried to make sure the idiot girl didn't get hurt by whatever fell from the sky. Kaname wasn't far behind him. Everyone gathered around the crater but didn't go farther than 7 feet from the glowing object. Whatever it was, it gave off such pretty lights that Yuki couldn't help but edge closer to the item. She was suddenly pulled back and met the disapproving eyes of her adopted brother.

"Zero?"

"Don't go near it, you don't know what that thing is. I'll go see, so stay here." He glanced at Kuran to give him a reluctant nod. The Pureblood returned it briefly and made sure Yuki decided not heed Kiryu's warning. At least with her, they both came to an agreement. Her safety was his most priority, so Zero didn't care when both Kain and Aido decided to follow him and check the glowing object.

"A book?" Aido piped up in question.

It was a book.

More specifically a tome covered in glowing ringlets of white colored runes to be exact. How utterly cliche, Zero thought, but still, magical runes were protecting it. The blond made to go and pick it up, but he gave a yelp and fell back when he felt electricity shock his hand.

"Hanabusa!" cried a startled Akatsuki. The blond winced at his momentarily tingling hand, but then waved off his cousin's concern.

"I'm alright, it just surprised me. But man, that was some powerful shock. What gives anyway?" he huffed.

Zero just rolled his eyes at the childish display, and turned his attention back to the book. The ringlets that were earlier glowing a burning red, were now back to their original white color. He narrowed his eyes at the writing of the runes, and for some reason, had a notion that they looked familiar. He felt a tug at the back of his head, and his awareness suddenly started to haze. Even with his foggy mind, he managed to hear someone suggest someone else to try.

No! A voice rang out in his subconcious. Only you can touch it! Touch it! Zero really wanted to tell that voice to shut the fuck up, but his body was moving without him realizing it. Everyone paused when they saw the silver haired prefect walk up to the book and touch it. For a second, the runes glowed a warning crimson, before settling back to white and then disappearing. Zero blinked, his awareness returning.

"Wha-?" The hunter looked in confusion before his eyes rested on the object in his hands. It was really a beautiful book; lavender as its base color with fancy silver edges, and a large white plated dove, outlined with silver, was engraved at its center. A small topaz stone encased the clasp that was needed to open the book, and the pages seem to be trimmed in black. But for some reason, it felt lighter than it should have been. "How?"

"That's what I want to know Kiryu!" exclaimed a glaring blond, both upset and suspicious with the ease the hunter managed to dispel the runes. Normal, common runes were blue in color, and although uncommon, it wasn't unheard of for them to be any of the other rainbow colors. But white?

White runes were mainly the signature colors used by Pureblood families. However, there were a select number of noble families that were able to use the same color, and those runes could only be dispelled by said vampire families. It was the reason why he tried to pick up the book, as his family were one of the few who can produce white runes. So how had Kiryu, from a HUNTER family, be able to dispel them?

"Yes Kiryu-kun, please do enlighten us at such a possibility."

At the sound of the Pureblood's voice, Zero glared. Hell if he was going to tell them that a stupid voice in his head told him to pick up the stupid book. He didn't want to give them any more ammo to throw back to his face, especially if it's something that would make him sound crazy. But those were white runes that protected the book; Zero very well knew why Aido was giving him the 'evil eye'. It was well-known that only Purebloods and a selected number of noble families could produce white runes...but that wasn't the whole truth.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kuran-sempai," he replied cooly to the vampire who had a glint of displeasure in eyes. He didn't give a fuck.

"Like hell you do Kiryu!" yelled Aido. "Only high-ranking vampires can both produce and dispel white runes. You shouldn't be able to!" Zero just glared. He was about to spout a retort back at the spoiled blond, but Kuran beat him to it. And he was floored with what the other said.

"On the contrary Aido, that isn't exactly true." Both Zero and Aido's - as well as some of the others'- eyes widened, but each with different reasons. Yuki just looked on in confusion.

"What do you mean Kaname-sama?"

"It's a rather tight lip secret of the hunters, but they are capable of producing white runes. There are only a handful though, like the Kiryu line. Am I not wrong Kiryu-kun?" Kaname inquired with a polite smile, one that Zero wanted to rip off his pretty little face.

"How the hell do you know that!" It was more a demand than anything. It was a hunter secret for a reason dammit! Both Aido and Ruka hissed at him for his tone of voice, but did he care? Of course not. Kaname held Zero's eyes for moment, contemplating, before answering back with a question.

"Did you know, that the Headmaster can use white runes as well? It's how I knew about it." He was inwardly delighted at the sight of the gob-smacked expression on the hunter's face. It was rare that he was able to produce this expression on Kiryu himself, as only Yuki and even the Headmaster, had been able to make it. It almost seemed...cute, for a lack of better words. It became even more entertaining when the shocked look morphed into one of murderous rage, not aimed for him or the nobles, but for the poor headmaster. He had to silently apologize to Kaien, but he didn't want to waste such nice entertainment. Without another word, Zero stalked off towards the direction of the headmaster's office, book in hand.

"Wa-wait, Zero! What about the hole in the ground!?" exclaimed Yuki as she hurridly followed her fuming partner.

"HELL IF I CARE, I AIN'T THE ONE PAYING FOR THE DAMAGES!" the hunter yelled back.

"That bastard Kiryu, rubbing off Kaname-sama like that!" Aido seethed as he gritted his teeth in anger. Ruka wasn't far off in wanting to teach the hunter a lesson in ignoring their Pureblood as well, but unlike Aido, she wasn't stupid enough to face a hunter of Kiryu's caliber by herself. She wasn't suicidal and had more self-perseverance than the idiot blond.

"Well then, shall we follow?" Kaname chimed in as he motioned towards the direction the two disciplinary members went. He didn't bother seeing if the others would, knowing that they would come with him anyways.

The headmaster of Cross Academy was currently taking a tea break from his long hours of sorting and writing up all the paperwork that had piled up on his desk. And what a great tasting tea too, so heavenly and refreshing to a weary body such as his. He'd have to give some to his two adorable children after their patrol. It would sure help them to sleep more peacefully, especially his grumpy faced son.

He was confused though earlier, as a small earthquake had occurred not too long ago. Even if it ended as quickly as it came, it still caused a bit of panic to his Day students. So, being the kind and loving headmaster he was, he had gone to the dorms earlier and reassured everyone that no emergency procedures were necessary to take. He was worried for the safety of his two children, but he knew that both Yuki and Zero would be fine, and that they would come back to report anything dire to him immediately. Just as he was about to take another sip of his delicious tea, a loud crash from the front door made him drop his tea-cup, spilling its contents on the carpet floor.

"My tea!" Kaien wailed at the sight of his lost drink. His office door than slammed open, and the man gave a shiver at the dangerous, black aura his adopted son was emitting. And was it just him or was it even more sinister than normal? Yuki appeared behind him, and was trying to catch her breath.

"Ah, Chairman, are you alright?" she inquired as she hastily aided her father up form the floor. "Did the shaking do that?" Yuki motioned to the spilled drink. "Don't worry I'll clean it up." Kaien instantly lit up like a Christmas tree and hugged his precious daughter.

"Ah Yuki, my beloved daughter, my joy, my light!" Yuki sweat dropped as she slowly patted his back. Both jerked towards Zero's direction when said prefect slammed the book on Kaien's desk. Oops, it was bad to ignore the boy when he was this angry.

"Eh heh, what can I do for you my darling son?" The headmaster yelped when the silver-haired boy's fist smashed a hole in his desk. "Mou, Zero-rin, this desk was brand new too!" he sobbed.

"Does it look like I care? And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not your son, and to not call me with that ridiculous suffix? Now you have better explain yourself quickly Chairman!"

"Eh, Zero-rin, what's with the sudden hostility?"

"Ah, I believe I can answer that Headmaster," spoke a deceptively silky voice from behind Zero. The hunter glared darkly at Kaname, but the other chose to ignore him and instead turned to Kaien. "It would seem best that we explain from the start on what transpired earlier. Kiryu-kun, I ask for you to keep yourself in check for the moment, if you would?" He was met with defiant amethyst eyes, and Kaname was preparing himself for another pointless argument, but to his surprise, the other relented.

"Fine!" He turned away and leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Kaien only gave a questioned look but smiled serenely.

"Of course Kaname-kun. And I see some of my other Night students have come too. Come in, come in and make yourself comfortable. Mind the papers and the hole on the desk, though. Would you all like some tea? This particular blend is really quite delicious, and it helps with exhaustion. It looks like you need it."

"Thank you Headmaster, I wouldn't mind indulging in some," replied Kaname as he was handed a cup. Kaien inquired to the rest of the Night class. The others, wanting to be polite in front of their lord as well as the headmaster, accepted as well. Yuki quickly went to clean up the mess on the floor, but Zero - whose temper was starting to simmer down a bit - decided to interfere and told her that he would be the one to clean it. After all, knowing her clumsy self, she'd end up slipping and bang her head on the desk or something.

"Ah, Zero's a good boy today, helping his father clean up his mess and protecting dear sweet Yuki from injuring herself," Kaien praised the teen with sparkles around him and in his eyes. He received a menacing glare and a tea stained rag to the face. Everyone just stared, some with bored expressions, some amusement, and some in baffled astonishment. Really, how rude can the prefect get by doing something like that to their own father? Adopted or not. Yet another thing to dislike about him.

"You know you shouldn't wind him up like that Chairman," commented Yuki as she handed her father a clean hand towel to wipe his face. "Especially since he's still mad at you."

"But dear Yuki, I don't even know what I did wrong. I'm positive I've done nothing to deserve such anger from my precious son. You were about to tell me all about it right Kaname-kun?" Said vampire sipped at his tea - which was indeed delicious - and gave a brief nod. He then began to tell the events that transpired a few minutes ago. Needless to say, Kaien began despairing over the damage expenses needed to fix all the mess one innocent looking book created. After the ex-hunter composed himself, the focus was now on said book that was resting innocently on his desk.

Kaien reached out a hand to the book, but just as his fingers touched it, the white runes from before appeared and immediately turned an angry red. He quickly retreated his hand just before sparks let off.

"Father!" cried out Yuki in worry. She was given a smile of reassurance and she calmed back down. Narrowing his eyes, Kaien concentrated and in no time at all, his hand glowed white and reached out again to the book. Everyone watched in fascination as, instead of trying to touch it, he started writing runic alphabet around the tome at a safe distance from the opposing white runes. Kaien's own runes gave a low hum, but soon disintegrated into dust. He sighed in slight disappointment.

"So, you really can use white runes," breathed Zero. Kaien nodded.

"Yes, my family was one of the hunter lines to be able to produce them. To answer your inquiry Zero, no, I did not tell Kaname-kun about my ability to use them. If I would make a hunch, his parents probably did. Am I right to assume as much?" he questioned the Pureblood. Kaname merely smiled apologetically.

"Forgive me, but you know my mother Headmaster, she was a bit of a chatterbox. Sometimes she would say things she shouldn't within hearing distance."

"Ah, but Juri had told me of your habit of eavesdropping as a child Kaname-kun. Such a bad little boy," chided Kaien in jest. Kaname merely chuckled, not even politely rebuking the remark. Some of the others watched in attentive awe as both their lord and headmaster traded friendly jabs and small talk at one another about fond memories.

Yuki was practically delighted in hearing more, but Zero was a bit unsettled about it. It wasn't like he never saw the two be all chummy before, it was just that they were talking about something he thought was too personal to share, right in front of the others. And by the looks of it, the nobles might be sharing his mindset at the moment. He shivered at such a thought. Not only that, the answer to his other question was ignored, but for now he'll let it slide, as his curiosity about the tome was larger.

"Were you trying to find out if your signature matched the runes, Chairman?" he cut in, not feeling guilty at all that he was being rude by interrupting them. In his own roundabout way, he was trying to get the two back on track. Reminiscing about happier memories could wait after their current problem. Realizing what the teen just did, and getting his message, Kaien offered an apology and answered.

"I was, but it seems that it does not. However, I managed to feel the rune's signature, and nowhere did I feel of any vampire aura engraved in them, so that eliminates it to a hunter family. You were able to dispel it easily Zero, as what Kaname has told me, so I believe only you can open the book."

Zero stiffed at that. Was the ex-hunter actually telling him that the signature was of his family line? But that's impossible, he was the last! He had no living relatives, and as far as he knew, he had never seen the book before, let alone created the runes. He could tell that Kaien thought so too, as well as the others, but...just the sheer possibility...

His guardian gave him an encouraging gesture, and Zero slowly walked towards the desk. He glanced down at the seemingly innocent tome, and with a tentative hand reaching out to the book, he willed his fingers to glow a faint white. He didn't do this often, as he preferred not to waste any of his energy on spells when hunting level E's, so it took him a bit of time to call out his powers. Once lit, he drew several white runes around the book like how the headmaster did, and waited as the runes clashed with the book's own runes.

His breath hitched when his runes finally melded with the book's, and instantly the protection around the book shattered like fine white glass, this time, permanently. The clasp on the book also opened with a small click, indicating that the inside contents were now accessible to be read. Everyone stared in disbelief, more so Zero as he turned wide eyes at his guardian.

"It's not possible! I'm the last! There's no way the signature of those white runes could have been of my line!" he shouted, near on edge of being hysterical. Kaien only look back with serious eyes, eyes that was all business and no-nonsense. For some reason, seeing those eyes calmed Zero down a bit.

"But it is. There's no mistake Zero, you've seen the proof right in front of you." Zero really didn't want to believe it, but as the ex-hunter had said, the proof was right in front of him.

"But how?" the silver-haired teen whispered in obvious distress.

"Maybe...maybe there's a Kiryu that went into hiding?" Yuki surprisingly offered. She hated when Zero got upset like this. His lost expression reminded her a little of 4 years ago, when he first came to live with her and the chairman. All attention turned to her and she immediately flushed. "We-well, it could be possible right? What's to say a family member didn't like the idea of being a hunter and decided they wanted out?"

It really did make a lot of sense, Zero thought, but he still doubted that someone from his family would want to bail out and disappear like a ghost. And even if they didn't want to be the ones to end a level E's life, they could have been a supporter with spell-casting to bind them still so that another hunter could finish them off. Plain and simple...but, why did Zero have this weird feeling that this wasn't the reason?

"In any case, now that the book has opened, we may as well see what's inside," Kaname spoke through Zero's preoccupied mind. Eager to see what the hell was inside such a well guarded book, Aido went up to open it, not listening to his cousin's warning. But before he could even touch it, Zero pulled it away from his reach.

"Hey, what gives Kiryu?" growled the blond.

"What gives you the right to touch other people's property without their permission, vampire! This book belongs to my line, so clearly, I should be the one to open and see what's inside. Be a good boy and sit back down!" He exclaimed back with a harsh glare.

"Why you!"

"Aido." Said blond stiffened when his lord's voice called his name. He glanced back and saw an unpleasant gleam in the Pureblood's eyes. "You are being rude. Kiryu-kun's correct. With the book belonging to his family line, he is entitled to be the one to open it first. Do sit back down."

"Y-yes, Kaname-sama." Dejectedly, the so called prodigy sat back down next to his exasperated cousin and Ruka, who gave him a smirk.

"Serves you right," she whispered hauntingly. She ignored the icy glare sent her way.

Zero at the meantime opened the book and was surprised in what he saw. No wonder it was so light, the tome was hallow, and placed neatly inside was a small stack of letters tied together, and a single laced gift bag. He showed his findings to the others and placed the tome back on the desk. Yuki saw the gift bag and made out to reach towards it to inspect the pretty package. She then gave a gasp when white runes suddenly appeared around the bag and Zero quickly grabbed her hand just in the nick of time. The runes disappeared, but a low hum could still be heard. Yuki breathed a sigh relief.

"Thanks Zero."

"Don't touch anything yet before I finish looking through these things," he lightly scolded her. She nodded and stood back in slight shame. Zero turned back to the still humming bag. "So, this one too huh?" Like how he did with the book, his fingers glowed and he started writing runes over the bag. But what happened next surprised everyone. Instead of melding with the bag's rune's, Zero's runic words immediately shattered. "Wh-what?"

"It didn't meld together. Does that mean this one isn't of Kiryu-kun's line?" inquired Takuma. Zero gave a frustrated sigh. So the book belonged to his line, but this bag didn't? Then what about the letters? He quickly performed the same thing on the stack of letters, but they too broke apart.

"This one isn't mine either. I felt both of them though. The bag is definitely a hunter's signature, but the letters are of a vampire's line." Everyone perked up on that.

"So, that means that maybe one of our signatures can dispel these runes. Let me try first," piped an ecstatic blond.

"No," was Zero's immediate respond. Aido gritted his teeth. Again Kiryu was getting in his way. What was it this time? "I felt it. The letter's signature was of a Pureblood line. Which one, I don't have a clue." His attention had been on Kaname the whole time he said that. Aido paused and glanced at his lord in wonder.

Russet colored eyes stared back evenly at the prefect's own - he would never say it, but they were beautiful to look at - lavender orbs. No doubt both were wondering if the runes were of his bloodline. Kaname, with a bit of trouble for some reason, turned his gaze away from Kiryu's eyes, and redirected them on the bundle of letters and hovered a hand over it. He didn't need to write the necessary runic alphabets for him to know if the signature was of his line or not. All he had to do was concentrate his powers and...

Slowly, cracks appeared over the rune protected letters, and then shattered, the pieces then dissolving into thin air. The vampire blinked in mild astonishment before touching the letters and taking them out of the tome. Instead of turning to Zero, he turned his attention to the headmaster.

"It seems this one belongs to me. Now all that's left is that one," he motioned to the still humming bag.

"We can leave that one for later. Right now, let's see what's in those letters," Zero spoke up. Kaname sharply turned his gaze to the hunter, raising an eyebrow.

"Wasn't it you who said earlier that no one has the right to look through other peoples' things without their permission Kiryu-kun? Are you going back on your words simply to want to feed your own curiosity?"

"I do have the right to know what's in them!" Zero growled back, his eyes light with fire. "They were inside this tome that was protected by MY family's line. I don't even know why or how something from your line is in it!" Kaname was about to retort something back, but a sudden cry of excitement reached their ears.

It was the headmaster.

With the bag open.

Everyone stared, more so Zero and Kaname who had now dropped their upcoming argument. Kaien saw each of his precious students' expressions and gave a grin back.

"Well, it looks like we know who the bag belongs to now."

TBC...

Author's Notes

Well here's another plot bunny that's been begging for my attention, but with Vampire Knights that I am currently reading fics on, mainly for good KaZe stories with very little to no Yuki bashing(which is really hard). This was supposed to be a one-shot with a style that felt like one was reading a journal, but well, you know, ideas always run wild and, here we are with another multi-chapter story.

I have read the manga more than once, but, even though I like Yuki and the pairing of ZeKi, I can never stomach YuMe as the main focus UNLESS if it's a side pairing or if it will change later on. It's not because they're siblings(I like Ichiru/Zero after all), it's because I can't see Kaname ending up with anyone EXCEPT the Ancestress, and especially Zero. So seeing all those YuMe interactions that either hint or go beyond sibling love(mainly on Kaname's part), make me uncomfortable to the point it's hard for me to re-read the story again. I try though, really I do, so it's become kinda bearable.

For some weird reason though, I don't mind threesomes between the trio. Probably b/c ZeKi and KaZe are in it lol Zero is after all my favorite character in the series.

So where am I going with this? I'm completely new to writing stories for this fandom, so I might get faulty with events happening in periodical order, or maybe some of my information will get skewed here and there. When that happens, I hope you don't be too mean to me and instead be so kind to correct my lack of knowledge.

I tried my best to make them IC too, but Kaname is proving to be difficult; his character's very deep and have so much layers to his persona. Again, I hope you don't criticize me on it too much.

NEXT:

"My name is Sayori -

Kuran, Sayori to be precise."

Scene 2:

Greetings from a Daughter

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Please read and review!