A/N: Alright so this is the last installment of this fanfiction whee! I actually finished one holy shit! There's not much to say here other than I hope you guys enjoyed this if you have any suggestions, comments, requests, etc. please either leave it in a review or PM me directly. From here I'll be working on Sayo which is a KainxZero shipping if you're into that aaannd ya know I get to kill some more people. Aside from that I'm always working on fanfictions and I love hearing what readers like reading about otherwise what's the point of posting anything on here? Happy reading as always and thanks to everyone who read and or reviewed they're much appreciated! ~Rena-chan
Ch.3: When Roses Die
"What?" Kaname was the first to speak, possibly the most unintelligible thing he had said in his lifetime but it couldn't be helped, he was confused and dare he say shocked at the actions of his sister.
"You heard me, nii-sama, you take a single step and I kill him. Now then, Zero, where is it?" Yuuki questioned, her voice turning sweet and nearly sickly. Kaname had wondered if his sister had always been crazy or if this was a recent development.
'What is she talking about?' Takuma wondered though he made no move to do anything seeing as it would be dangerous for him and Zero who was in immediate danger at the moment but not like he initially expected.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Zero replied, eyes clear defiant as the others were used to seeing, though this time when they flashed there was a hint of silver in his eyes.
'This isn't going to end well...' Kaien mentally sighed as he tried connecting the dots. Before he spoke up however Touga did it for him.
"If you will please explain, girl, just what the hell you think you're doing." he gruffed, he had been through hell and back again with Zero but not even he thought the girl would turn on them. 'Kid never gets a break does he...' the man sighed to himself.
"Zero has something here that I want, this was the only way to get it. Though I initially planned to avoid any witnesses, you were never supposed to write that damned letter." Yuuki hissed turning to glare back at Zero.
"You shouldn't try to manipulate people's emotional states. If you think that you can control everything about a person without flaw then you're an idiot in more than just math classes." came the retort which Aido let out a snort at, sure he never liked the perfect but tutoring Yuuki in math was beyond impossible. He didn't think it possible for a pureblood that shared the same blood as Kaname to be so stupid.
"Manipulated? You manipulated Zero into coming all the way out here? For what motive?!" Kaito growled from his place in front of the doorway leading to the side room.
"Because dating back, the Kiryuu clan is a clan of guardians. I assume everything in this room up to this point has been kept since their clan came into existence. There is something here you want, but I don't know what it is." Kaname frowned trying to keep his head level as the two people he had been looking after all this time were both in danger.
"How did you know that?" Zero questioned with a raised eyebrow, he hadn't been down here since he was told about his family history in childhood by his father. He was careful not to let out any indication of what was in the room or that he even had access to it. 'And now a group of nobles, two purebloods, an ex-hunter, and two active hunters know about it.' it was almost enough to make him want Yuuki to pull the trigger on Rose sooner rather than later so he didn't have to face the consequences of what could spiral from this.
"I was told when I was given the information necessary to find you. By your mother." Kaname replied, reaching his aura out subtly so that Yuuki didn't take notice. Flicking his eyes to Takuma he spoke clearly. "I want all the nobles, and hunters, to return to Cross Academy immediately. We are putting the vampire, hunter and human societies in danger by being here as we are. Understood?" he questioned though he didn't turn to face any of the people behind him.
"Yes, Kaname-sama." the chorus of nobles replied before they made their way out the door quickly. Kaien too nodded and left without another word, leaving only Touga and Kaito to stubbornly protest the pureblood.
"Takamiya-kun, Yagari-san, if you please will follow the others." the older pureblood requested of the two, feeling his head being burned by a pair of protective eyes.
"Kuran, if you do anything stupid, you can promise your head will be off before you reach the academy gates." Touga warned before motioning for Kaito to lead them out. Though lightly protesting the younger did as he was told by his master.
"Shut up, it's not like you care anyway, you're so intent to keep yourself inside your hole of a lifestyle with all your nobles at your beck and call twenty four seven. So what if I kill the level E, I don't need him and neither does anyone else!" Yuuki shouted back, causing Zero to flinch, it wasn't as though he didn't know Yuuki was fully capable of protecting herself, but to hear her call him a level E...that stung a bit more than he expected it to. Apparently Yuuki noticed his reaction as well as she smirked cruelly. "What, I thought you were used to being called a level E, it's what you are after all, something not even the lowest of humans would want hanging around in their back allies." came the hiss, Kaname could have killed her that minute. She had no right to speak that way. And Zero, why wasn't he saying anything to defend himself?
"Look, if you want to kill me that's one thing, I'd let you seeing as at this point there's no reason for me to keep living. However, because you know the location of this place I cannot simply allow you to walk around freely. You have no idea what the right information in the wrong hands could do to our world." Zero eventually spoke, though he didn't make a move to free himself of Yuuki's hold, Kaname noticed that rose vines were starting to climb the wall behind them. Casting a look at Zero briefly he watched as the teen's fist clenched every now and then, and Bloody Rose seemed to be reacting to his call.
"Yuuki, no matter your means of coming to this place, of forcing Kiryuu-kun to come to this place, there will be rave consequences for your actions. Now, if you will take that gun down, we can resolve this civilly." he attempted to calm his sister down, but it wasn't working in his favor as her hand wrapped around Zero's throat and started squeezing. 'She's going to try and suffocate him.' the older realized, in his head he knew he should solve this differently, that violence wasn't the answer to this type of problem. But his head was soon taken over by an immensely powerful feeling of rage towards the younger pureblood. She was killing someone in cold blood for no reason other than her own selfish desires. Not to mention it was the person who had been keeping her safe all this time before she was returned to her true nature as a pureblood. It wasn't Kaname that was there for her all the years she had grown up, he didn't tutor her through grade and middle school all of that was done by Zero. Not because he was told or obligated to but because that was just Zero.
"Why do you even care, you're only keeping me alive for her sake aren't you?" Zero questioned though his voice was choked from lack of oxygen turning to the older vampire, he assumed Kaname had his own reasons to keep him alive but he always thought his main purpose was to be the 'white knight' for Yuuki in Kaname's twisted chess game he called life. Yuuki snorted and Kaname inwardly winced at that statement.
"For my sake? I wish, then you would have been dead a long time ago, I don't need you in my life. I'm a pureblood and you're nothing but a degrading level E." Yuuki snipped, sounding to Zero more like Ruka than the Yuuki was used to. He supposed he should have expected that however, more than her response though he was waiting for Kaname's.
"While initially I did keep you alive for Yuuki's protection, now that she is indeed a pureblood clearly there's no need for you in that role. However that doesn't mean I wish to senselessly kill you either, there is still much to be done in this world." the older brunette decided to cut himself off there before he said something he would regret. He then noticed that the vines on the walls were beginning to turn black. 'They're dying.' his brain supplied, flicking his eyes back to Zero he watched as the vampire's eyes were starting to gloss over. 'I can't let this go on any longer.' he decided, Yuuki had gone much too far, he would not let Zero die here. "Yuuki, if you refuse to let Kiryuu-kun go I will have no choice but to force you." his tone was straight, firm, and to the point. This was not a game. He would kill her if he had to.
"You never cared for me as you should!" she shrieked back at him, Bloody Rose was cocked and her finger pulled the trigger.
"I know." he whispered back before the sound of Bloody Rose reached his ears and blood gushed from two bullet wounds. One in Yuuki's head and another at her heart. The pureblood princess fell to the ground as red rivers covered the floor. Kaname stared down at her, soon Zero was at his side watching as well.
"Why didn't you let her kill me, and don't bullshit me Kuran, tell me the actual reason." Zero asked, though his voice was low and tired, the silverette kneeled down and closed Yuuki's eyelids before her body turned to a pile of ash. Kaname watched without saying anything at first, his head was in turmoil, he was supposed to love and cherish Yuuki more than anything. And yet, he couldn't stand to see her holding that gun to Zero's head. The same gun he had stared down countless times over the past how many years? And yet the two days he hadn't received a single glare from the perfect he had felt more off than he had in his lifetime.
"In all honesty, Kiryuu-kun, I don't really know." he eventually answered causing Zero to turn and look at him curiously. They held each other's stares for a for moments before Zero nodded and stood again.
"This isn't going to be easy to break to Cross your realize." he began while looking around the room. He'd have to figure out some way to seal it all again soon.
"Yes, but we can deal with that once we're back at the academy. Right now we should focus on getting there." the pureblood replied motioning to the slowly dawning sun. If they were lucky they'd make it before it fully rose into the sky. Zero once again nodded and motioned for them to head out again. As he closed the door to his former house behind him Kaname pulled the key out of his pocket and held it out for the younger vampire. "You should take this back, you are of the Kiryuu clan after all and as you said, we wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands." he explained.
"If all you say is true and my mother gave it to you then keep it. Kiryuus don't do things like that for no reason. Besides, I won't be around forever to protect what's here. Eventually, you'll be the only one who remembers the location of this place. My mother trusted you with something arguably more important than anything in the hunter world, she had a reason for doing it, and it's not my place to go against her. Just don't fuck it up." Zero replied, a slight smirk falling across his lips before he turned and walked into the woods back towards Cross Academy. Kaname stared after his retreating form until he could no longer see it. Zero trusted him. For reasons he could not explain, despite that he had just witnessed his sister's death, he felt like he was glowing on the inside.
'Thank you, Luna-san.' he bowed to the gentle breeze before following where Zero had gone.
A/N: Holy mother of roses it's ended! And here's my list of thank you's; thank you to everyone who has favorited and or followed this story from beginning to end, thank you especially to those of you who reviewed it was really great knowing that people actually were enjoying this story as I enjoyed writing it. I do apologize that I didn't really do any pairings per say but I think it's kinda heavily hinted throughout that Kaname and Zero will in the future become a thing. Speaking of the future, I only have 118 more fanfictions in my library (I started a few more while writing this one) if you'd like to read them and/or have suggestions or requests of pairings, AU'a, or oddball things you want written for please don't hesitate to tell me! I love it all and there's little I don't write about. Thanks again to everyone and I really hope you enjoyed this! Keep Calm & Fanfiction On ~Rena-chan