-Half-hearted Vengeance-

~disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight…it belongs to Hino Matsuri-sama…

~random notes(?): LOL, I didn't expect that I'd write this story so soon! I mean, I haven't even finished my first VK fanfiction [Playing Matchmaker], yet here I am, writing another one! XD. Damn plot bunnies, they just won't leave me alone. XD. And to top it all off, I've already told my Katekyo Hitman Reborn fanfic readers that I won't be writing for a while…They'll probably kill me if they found out I've been doing this instead. XD

~summary: On the night when he thought he had lost everything, a mysterious woman walks up to him and offers him one thing: vengeance. Unbeknownst to him, a deep secret involving his relationship with the woman will also unfold along with the signing of their covenant…[Inspired by a short story I've read in a vampire story anthology book, although it is very much different…except for the theme of vengeance. XD]

~warnings: slightly AU, OOC-ness, violence, yaoi, incest…and the usual stuff you see in rated M stories. ;P

"But now they are equal, if not in life, then in death;

the men have joined the women in their feast of fear,

eating the bread of suspicion and drinking the wine of terror.

And blood runs rivers in the streets."

--"Blood Feud" by C.W. Johnson

Prologue: Bloodied Night Sky

The night sky was blanketed with the deepest and darkest shade of the black. Only but a few stars hung loose from the heavens. And the moon—yes, the perfectly pallid moon—was staring down at all who dare stand beneath it; almost as if taunting anything and anyone that nothing could withstand its eerily hypnotizing splendor. But tonight was different. In the distant horizon, there stood a small white house; far from the suburbs. It stood tall and proud, despite its lack of magnitude—seemingly daring the moon to come down from where it is resting and to crush it to nothing but mere smithereens on to the ground. Looking closely at the said house, one might assume that it is but an ordinary building—except for the unusual quiet that surrounded it. This quiet might have been there for the very reason that nighttime was a time made for normal humans to rest and recuperate.

But that was not the case.

On the outside, nothing seems out of the ordinary or out of place. But on the inside, the distinct and unmistakable metallic scent of blood was heavily suffused with the air; the same dark liquid adorned the white-washed walls and flooded the wooden-tiled floor. The source of this supposedly life-giving elixir was two dead bodies—a man and a woman—which lay not far from the tall, arched doorway. The woman had long, honey-blonde hair held back in a modest ponytail, while the man had a shock of naturally-silver hair. There was no mistaking it; the two corpses were clearly identifiable as the Kiryuu couple. Their weapons were still clutched in their cold hands; showing that the two had desperately but unsuccessfully tried to defend themselves before the inevitable had happened. What was strange, though, was the fact that the bodies showed no sign of injury except for the single wound to their chests—precisely aimed at their hearts; almost as if someone plunged his or her hand inside and fiendishly took out the said organ.

The silence was then broken by a soft, pathetic and piteous sobbing. On the far end of the living room, a young boy of thirteen was kneeling on the carpeted floor. He has silver hair—a distinct trait of the Kiryuu family—eyes the color of silver mixed in with amethyst, and skin which could put shame even to the moon at its whitest form. Another boy lay on his lap with the same features as he; only paler due to the copious amount of blood he had lost. Tears began to fall on his cheeks once more as he held the limp hand of his younger twin. He felt helpless; pathetic, even. He could do nothing but watch as his other half die. What was worse, though, was the fact that his brother's eyes—deadened and glazed over—were hauntingly fixed upon his own; it was like looking into the mirror of the soul, except that the soul therein was now long gone.

How could this have happened? The resounding thought repeated over and over as he looked back at the events only but an hour ago. They were just going on about the daily routine of their family, which was no different than normal people's lives. They were just a happy, simple family. Well, except for the fact that they are vampire hunters. But still…why this? True, as a vampire hunter clan they have expected that this event would inevitably come to pass; it is their destiny. To be hated back with the equal ferocity by the very beings they have deemed their enemies ever since the two opposing races have appeared on this world; to kill without questioning what the higher authorities have decided upon; and most of all, to live and die for the purpose of fulfilling what the blood that runs within their bodies that which was required and expected of them. It was a brutal and unseeing world—incapable of neither heart nor empathy. To put it simply, it was a blood-ridden life wherein the rules are as simple as kill or be killed.

It may have been a life strewn with blood and carnage, but to Zero, it was the only life he had known. It was the only path he had known to walk upon. It was where his happiness had been, despite of the brutality of it all. Yes, that's right. It was. But now…now there was nothing. Nothing he could do; nothing he could live for. He felt as if he were a puppet that had lost its strings—strings which gave it the life it needed to fulfill the purpose of its existence. If only he had died together with his family…Perhaps then, he wouldn't have needed to suffer this much pain…

Just as the thought of ending his misery crossed his mind, the front door of their house flung open with a force strong enough to shatter it into pieces. A beautiful woman in an elegant white kimono emerged and stood in front of the young boy. She has long silver hair and her pallid eyes betrayed the sadness her face refused to show. The air she carried around her was something unmistakably familiar to the young boy—the scent of a vampire; a pureblood to be more exact. She then knelt in front of him and tried to reach out her hand to touch his cheek—an act of reassurance, perhaps—but he just slapped it away with his hand; trying to be as rude as possible to this beautiful stranger. It was vampires who murdered his family, after all. Why should he even bother with another one trying to show him some kindness?

"Don't touch me, vampire! Why have you come here in the first place? To rub salt into my wounds or to finish what was started by your companions?" He then added, almost as silent as a faint whisper, "If it's the latter, I don't mind…Nothing means anything anymore…"

The woman suddenly enveloped him in a warm embrace, leaving him in surprise. He felt no hostility from her despite the words he had said. Somehow, she feels familiar, like a distant memory…

"No. You have it all wrong. The reason I came here was to warm you of the impending danger. But I was too late…I'm sorry…" She gently held his face in between her slender hands. "The only thing I can do right now is to take away your pain. I can give you what your heart want the most. It is deep, burning vengeance that you desperately want, is it not?"

"Yes…I want…I want to avenge my family…and myself." Zero now dare look into her red-tinted gaze with his own silver-amethyst one. He knew that he should be afraid, but there is something about this vampire…something he could not put a finger on…

"Tell me, my child. Is it truly what you seek? The path of vengeance comes with a price and it is not lightly taken by anyone. Knowing this, are you still willing to embrace it?"

"I do not care. Even if the price is my soul, I will never relent." He laughed mirthlessly. "If I have a reason to live, it is through revenge and revenge alone."

"Very well. But remember this: never ever lose sight of the path you will now take." With that, she slid her hands free of the young boy's face and placed them upon his shoulders. Her tongue lingered on his pale neck for a moment before she slowly sunk her fangs and drew in his blood. She had always wanted this. Eight years is long enough. She had waited and waited for this moment. She had wanted him to live a normal life, but it was not to be…She convinced herself that this was for the best; that there had only been this option from the beginning. At least this way, I…

Zero let out a muffled scream as the fangs drew deep into his skin—into his jugular vein. The pain might have been overwhelming but the pressure he felt build up inside of his head was greater still. The moment that the vampire woman began to drink in his blood, a torrent of unbidden memories started to flood into his mind. Events that were once but lost into the passage of time flowed into him relentlessly, and he felt that he might lose his sanity then and there; just like a deranged madman. Then the pain was gone. Tears began to fill his eyes uncontrollably as the woman pulled out her fangs and held him in her arms. He now understood. He now remembers who this woman was; why she felt so familiar to him. Silently, he wrapped his arms around her as well, returning the embrace. Yes, this woman…She is Hiou Shizuka, the pureblood princess, and his…

"Mother." The word softly rolled from his tongue as he continued to cry on her arms.

"Hush now, my son." Shizuka said as she caressed the silver locks of her son which was identical to hers. "Soon, the world will have to pay its due; soon sweet vengeance will be ours…"

~end of prologue

Yay, I finally finished writing this in two days (without drafts)! XD. I know I should be working on my other fics right now, but I just can't resist not writing this. XD. I'll probably update this and my other VK fic around next week, probably…XD. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it! And please tell me what you think!! =3