A/N: This is the FIRST of the rewritten chapters of The Days of Insufficient Darkness that I have completed so far. Personally, I like it much better than the original (See my profile more information on why I am rewriting this fanfic.). None of the other chapters of the series have been edited yet so do not be completely alarmed when the second chapter seems to have nothing to do with this one. A notice will be placed on the rest of the chapters as they are completed.

WARNING: The rewritten version of this entire fanfic has CHANGED. Many plot points, views of character, and character back stories are completely different so reading carefully is advised.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, and I never will.

The Days of Insufficient Darkness

-Chapter 1-

First Impressions are Crucial

Victoria's POV

My definition living and most people's definitions of living are quite different. Most people think that living is being able to withstand what life throws at you. My definition of living is taking what life throws you and throwing it right back. Being surrounded by a group of bloodthirsty vampires is a perfect example to show this. Most people in my situation would hope for survival and pray to some god that they wouldn't die. I, on the other hand, didn't pray to any nonexistent god or hope I wouldn't die: I ensured I wouldn't die. I seem to be getting ahead of myself a little; an explanation seems to be in order.

Well, my name is Victoria; Victoria Keira Youngblood to be exact. I'm 15 years old. Today, I was supposed to begin attending a private school by the name of Cross Academy. That didn't really happen according to plan. Sadly, I got lost on my way to the school and ended up getting lost in a labyrinth of sidewalks and stairs in the town nearby. I'm so intelligent aren't I? When I was trying to find my way back to some type of inhabited road, I noticed I was being followed. I wasn't being followed by just any creep, no; my luck was not good enough to get some normal criminal stalking me, I was being followed by a vampire. From the putrid smell of him, he was a Level-E vampire; poor things Level-E vampires. I was beginning to feel uneasy as the minutes ticked by; my Level-E stalker still following my trail. After nearly ten minutes, I couldn't stand it any longer. My mind was screaming 'Danger!', but I placidly ignored it, like I usually did, and turned around to greet my unwanted guest.

The guest's overall appearance was noticeably disheveled; he had a short, greasy black buzz-cut, a ragged suit that must have once been pristine and well kept, a pair of precariously placed glasses, and wearing, obviously, a murderous smile. Rule number one: Do not try and intimidate me.

"Hello, my dear," he cooed, his voice vibrating in the creepy way only a Level-E's could. "What are you doing out on the streets all alone?" The creature inched his way closer to me as he spoke; stopping only a few feet from me. Rule number two: Do not violate my personal space.

"Oh, you know the usual," I answered back nonchalantly, "trying to get to school, running into psychopathic Level-E's." He stared at me blankly for a few moments until his eyes glinted scarlet. Rule number three: Do not underestimate me.

"Well then, seeing as you are going about things as usual, would you allow me to suck your blood?" His voice seemed desperate and filled with animal-like longing as he pounced on me. Rule number four: Do not ever try and attack me unless you have a death wish. Those are the four rules I have that should never be broken by anyone. He broke them all so I gave him no mercy.

I reacted instinctively, pulled out an ornate, silver dagger with a deep, red jewel on its handle from the sleeve of my trench coat, and stabbed him straight in the heart. The pathetic creature, now crumpled to the ground, stared up in awe at the weapon in my hand as his body began fading into dust. The simple dagger I had held moments before had transformed into deadly, curved, double edged sword. One blade was pure white and the other blade was pure black; the crimson jewel on the hilt glowed ominously.

"May your soul be spared from the condemnation this pureblood has forced you to bear," I whispered into the wind, knowing it would be the last words he would ever hear. I sensed more condemned souls all around me making their way towards me. Someone in Hell must enjoy seeing me suffer. I just know it.

You all must still be completely confused. Let me explain a little more. I am a junior in high school because I skipped a couple grades. I only have two known living relatives, and both are my uncles. My guardian is my uncle Avery Brooks who works in architecture. He has raised me my entire life. His field of work has us moving around constantly. We just moved to a small apartment in the heart Japan this week. I wasn't going to be living with him there, though. Instead, he decided to send me to Cross Academy, which was located near a small town but virtually in the middle of no where. I couldn't be grateful enough that he did. I absolutely loathed cities, and Tokyo was no exception. I preferred the wide open countryside. I am not a normal teenager, that is pretty obvious by now, but I'll get back to that later.

I ignored the vampires that I knew were almost upon me and continued on my path to the main road; the stench from them all was horrible. By the time it was in sight, my way was already being blocked. The figure blocking my path was a seemingly innocent small boy with dark brown hair and two different colored eyes: one a piercing red and the other a pale blue. A sickly sweet smell emanated from him as well as a powerful sense of darkness and power. I covered my nose with the sleeve of my coat at once; the scent seemed to burn my nostrils.

I brandished my blades. "So you're the vampire running the show here," I commented in a bored tone. "I'm surprised you showed your face." The pureblood did something that only an arrogant vampire like him could have possible done in a situation such as this: he began laughing uncontrollably; an evil cackle no child could have possibly produced. As he laughed, Level-Es began surrounding me; their eyes full of bloodlust.

"You'll do perfectly," the creepy kid purred as his eyes joined those of the creatures surrounding me. When the first wave sprang, they were dust in a heartbeat; stabbing someone in the heart can do that to a vampire. I spun the double bladed sword in my fingers and locked by eyes with the pureblood.

"That was pretty pathetic," I mused, "Is that the best you can do, pureblood?" I spat out the last word with venom, goading him.

The kid raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? Then I'll just have to give you more of a challenge." With a wave of his hand, the Level-Es around me seemed to multiply; oh, me and my big mouth. Waves after waves of dust assaulted the air every second as my blades spun around me aimed to kill. That is until one of them roughly knocked it from my hand and across the alleyway. I began backing up slowly as they began cornering me. The boy sat up on a building looking down at the scene sadistically; his smile growing seeing my dilemma. His cackle reverberated around me as I backed into the end of the alleyway. They all thought I was a goner now; big mistake. I reached into the inside of my trench and a smirk filled my face.

"Not so fast, buddy." Gunshots echoed throughout the labyrinth as the vampires around me turned to dust; it's always a good thing to have more than one weapon handy in a time of dire need: I've had to learn that the hard way. I was panting heavily by the time that his army of Level-E vampires had been obliterated; leaving him to sit on the roof of a building inspecting the warrior who destroyed his whole army without a scratch. Well, I wasn't the picture of picture of perfect, though; my black trench coat was covered in bloodstains, not one drop my blood of course, my dark hair was messed up as hell, which was not that unusual, and I was sweating bullets: yeah, I was a freaking supermodel wasn't I?

The remaining vampire allowed me to retrieve my dagger from the ground and replace my guns into their holsters before gliding down to block my path to the road, again. The hand went to cover my nose again as his nasty scent filled the air. A hungry look was plastered on his face; he was ready to enjoy his meal. Not good. My mind screamed at me to escape, and I probably would have if my phone hadn't decided to ring. The chorus of Teenager by My Chemical Romance reverberated around the alleyway: Avery's ringtone.

"Would you prefer it if I gave you a moment?" the vampire asked in an amused tone. I reached into my jacket, retrieved my Bluetooth, and placed it in my ear.

"Nah," I responded lazily as the dagger in my hand turned back into my trusty double bladed friend, "I can multitask." I pressed the answer button on the earpiece just as the pureblood decided to strike.

"Yes, Avery?" I asked annoyed while jumping onto the rooftop of a tall building to avoid the pureblood's attack.

"VICTORIA!" I grimaced at the squeal; how could this man possibly be my uncle? "How is the school? Did you get your suitcase that I sent there? I bet you must love it there so far!" My uncle's overly happy voice pestered me, "How are you, dear?" The creepy kid gracefully joined my on the rooftop; his smirk growing wider as he begun listening in on the conversation.

"Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to the school yet. And I'm not in the greatest position to talk right now, Avery." I just barely avoided the whip of blood the child flung at me.

"WHY NOT?" His voice screamed into my poor little ear, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN'T IN THE GREATEST POSITION TO TALK?" The whip made its way back to me, and I had to do a back flip in order to avoid it; how fun.

"Well to put it simply, one of your cousins decided to seek a little family reunion with me," I hissed, "and he decided to bring friends." The line went silent as I used my weapon to keep the child off me, but instead he perched himself on it. I pulled out one of the guns from its holster and had to shoot it directly into the pureblood's head to get him off. He jumped back and stood in front of me; blood trickling down from the wound in his head. A toothy grin appeared across his face as a strange red electric current ran along his head.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" Avery's voice yelled desperately from the Bluetooth. I stood there blankly taking in his words. Avery never directly told me what to do unless it was a life-or-death situation, which apparently this must have been. I wasted no time.

"Roger that, old man," I responded into the Bluetooth and ended the call. "I'm sorry, Rido," I spat out the pureblood's name, which caused his left eye to twitch, "but I've got other plans to attend to." I backed up until my feet touched the edge of the rooftop. "Sayonara," I whispered as I leaned my weight backwards and dropped of the building. Falling off the top of a building to most people would freak them out entirely, but it gave me and adrenaline rush; the air rushed past my figure. At the last minute, I flung out my wings and flew above the rooftops towards Cross Academy. I'm not joking; I literal just flew away; on wings. Flying is a wonderful experience; you should really try it some time; it washed away all the unpleasant feelings I had from the assault I had just been attacked by. The look on his face was priceless as he saw his prey escape his grasp so easily; I really wish I could have made that my screensaver.

Now, we come back to the fact that I am not a normal teenager. The fact that I didn't die when placed in a life-or-death situation and the fact that I have wicked fighting skills probably already gave away something about my self: I am a vampire hunter; no joke. I have a certificate, a tattoo, and a shiny badge to prove it. From what I hinted about my Uncle, you must have already guessed another thing about me: I am a pureblood vampire; well to be accurate, half of a pureblood vampire. My uncle Avery also happens to be a pureblood vampire. In addition to being a walking bloodthirsty animal, I am also half angel, which would explain the wings. I believe nephlim would be the accurate term for what I am. Although only Avery, my other uncle, and I know that. To the world, I am simply a human; even the fact that I am a vampire hunter is unknown to almost everyone except the head of the Hunter's Association who gave me my certification. This is because I wear a seal to keep my vampire side under wraps at all times; the seal I wear is in the form of a necklace with a black heart pendant made from obsidian, by the way. I also consume blood tablets which are disguised as 'medicine'. The real reason Avery and I always traveled around is to keep me hidden from the vampire community; apparently we had not gotten the desired affect in Japan so far.

That should explain how my day went. I was hours late for the appointment Avery had set up with the Chairman of Cross Academy. I was exhausted and covered in vampire blood after being attacked by that battalion of Level-Es. Not exactly my ideal Monday. Knowing my appearance was less than suitable, I reluctantly swooped down to a lake only a few miles from Cross Academy, which I could see in the distance, to inspect the damage. I looked like Hell had just spat me up. My once messy, layered, brown, almost black, spiky hair was matted with dried blood, dirt, and sweat. None of my clothes were spared from blood splatters. Even my vampire hunting weapons shone crimson with blood. What a bother. I couldn't possibly show my face in this state. I stepped into the crystal clear water of the lake, ignoring how freaking cold it was, and stood there for a few minutes. A bright light engulfed my figure momentarily, but it disappeared just as fast as it had appeared. When I stepped out of the water, I was completely clean and dry as a whistle; there are some perks to being a bloodsucking monster, eh?

I returned the glistening dagger and guns to their usual places and prepared to continue on my way. My black wings with white tips emerged from the invisible slits in the back of my trench coat, and I continued to the academy entrance. As I dropped down from the now dark sky, with my wings pulled in against my back, I climbed over the school gates hoping the Chairman wouldn't mind me arriving at the school so late. The actual school was quite spectacular; the grounds contained a large, dense forest. I walked down a brick path until I reached a group of buildings which must have been the main school. From there, I could see two separate buildings built out in the actual lake which must have been dorms. A map seemed to appear in front of me at the crossroads. Apparently the main school was built on the edge of the lake and two dorm rooms, the Sun Dormitories and the Moon Dormitories, were separated out on the lake. The entire layout of the school was on the map showing every floor and room in the school except for the Moon Dormitories which wasn't labeled. I marked all of the exits in my head for future reference; you could never be too careful. I strolled down the pathway into the actual school until I reached the Administration building where the Chairman's office was supposed to be located.

Just before I entered the building, a wave of sickly sweet aroma seemed to attack my nose. I began coughing violently at the sudden atmosphere and was unable to stop for a few minutes; I felt disgusting. Why were there vampires on the grounds of Cross Academy?I shook the thought from my head, ignored the sickly sweet smell, and made my way toward the Chairman's office. It only took a few moments for me to locate it, and it took all of my self control to keep from starting to cough violently, again. I placed my sleeve in front of my nose to protect it. I was about to reach out for the handle of the door but stopped as a heard the voice of someone I had hoped to never have the displeasure of meeting: Kuran Kaname. How screwed up could this day get? Apparently very screwed up.

"Chairman, there was a massive Level-E attack in the town, today. By the time my sources had arrived on the scene however, they could only find splatters of blood from the vampires, dust, and the unmistakable scent of Rido." The pureblood paused for a moment to let that information sink in. A chill rippled through my body, and I had a bad feeling that he had noticed my presents. He continued as if nothing had changed, "The attacks on the town have increased drastically ever since Rido has taken to inhabiting the bodies of lesser vampire." At least that explained a little.

"I just hope the new student is alright! She was supposed to arrive here hours ago!" Another voice whined in displeasure. The voice vaguely reminded me of Avery. This must have been the Chairman.

"They seemed to find traces of an unusual scent in the area," that must have been me, "but why don't you just ask her Chairman?" That bastard; just another reason I hate purebloods; I'm such a hypocrite. The door to the office ominously creaked open to reveal me to its occupants. Kuran looked exactly as he had in photographs I had seen of him. He had long dark hair that ended just above his shoulders, he was tall, wore a magnificent white school uniform, had no expression on his pale face, and his eyes were the color of wine; they seemed to be sizing me up. The Chairman was sitting on an antique wooden desk; he wore a strange green shawl and had his strawberry blonde hair in a long ponytail.

This wasn't awkward at all.

Kaname's POV

He could sense her on the grounds immediately. He knew her scent well. It was the same intoxicating scent that he had noticed in the town where the Level-E attack had occurred. Aidou had even had to be removed from the scene by Kain because the girl's scent had taken a toll on him and made him lose control; how bothersome. This girl would do one of three things: 1) ruin his plans entirely 2) become a pawn in his chess match or 3) just watch things unfold. He had to be careful around her. The fact that he had no idea if she was a human or not did not help ease the strange sensation this girl gave him. He chose his words very carefully indeed as he felt her presents outside the door; knowing that she was listening intently to the conversation. He did not doubt for a second that the Chairman would not supply the right words.

"They seemed to find traces of an unusual scent around the area," he spoke in a bored tone, "but why don't you just ask her, Chairman?" He supplied as he used a miniscule amount of power to open the Chairman's office door; giving her a grand entrance into the conversation. Kaname put no look of surprise on his face like the Chairman did next to him, but he was caught slightly off guard by her appearance. There was about two inches of a height difference between the two, the pureblood being the taller. She wore dark wash jeans, an overlarge t-shirt with a British flag on it that revealed her left shoulder, a black tank top under the overlarge shirt, a fitted black trench coat that ended at her knees, a pair of jet black combat boots, an assortment of layered necklaces, a pair of black stud earrings in the shape stars, and an annoyed expression on her tan face. Her spiky hair was obviously brown but glistened black in the darkness and ended at her shoulders. Her honey colored eyes glared at Kaname. Hmm… I wonder why she isn't covered in blood after defeating so many vampires…

The two humans both stood there for a minute: the Chairman was in complete shock, while the girl studied the room until her eyes settled to glare at him. She must be a hunter to have been able to defeat so many Level-Es and escape Rido without a scratch, and a powerful one at that.

Kuran finally decided to break the ice, "If I am not mistaken, you must be Victoria Youngblood-san, correct?" His voice was just as blank as his poker face.

"Correct; I am Victoria Youngblood," she stated matter-of-factly her eyes still staring into the pureblood's with disgust.

The Chairman, finally coming to his senses, ran over to 'glomp' her tightly while saying something along the lines of, "I'm so glad you're okay!" Victoria quickly sidestepped him causing the Chairman to fall flat on his face. She continued to inspect the room. She has very fast reflexes. Strange. I better keep my-

Faster that Kaname would have expected a mere human to, the girl drew a gun from her jacket, attached by a metal chain, and pointed it at his heart. So she's a hunter; interesting…

Victoria's POV

I got a strange satisfaction from having a gun on the famous Kuran Kaname. It made me feel powerful; not that I already wasn't. I was sick of purebloods today; first Rido, then Avery, and finally the famous Kuran Prince; I am such a hypocrite. I ignored the Chairman's scream of protest and released the safety; my finger itching to pull the trigger, but it was a blank: I just wanted some answers and this seemed to be the easiest way to get some. Kuran had a smile on his face; apparently he had noticed my rouse and found it quite amusing. I was surprised that the Chairman did not realize I was just bluffing because I read once that he used to be a famous vampire hunter; shame; seemed like the only person that would get my little show would be Kuran. Just wonderful; I was trying to be a comedian here not a psycho killer.

"Hey Chairman," I began to ask menacingly getting ready to hear some sort of explanation but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Chairman?" a high-pitched voice wondered in a sing-song fashion.

"Yuuki!" the Chairman cried, "Go get help! Quick! Get away from here!" Like that was going to happen. Instead of following the Chairman's orders, the door burst open, I still don't recall anyone closing it, and with my lightning fast reflexes I pulled the other gun, which was also a blank seeing as I had used all of my shells on those damn Level-Es, from its holster and pointed it towards the door; the Chairman didn't even have time to blink. Two figures appeared into the doorway; both vampires. How many damn vampires were at this messed up school?

The guy, who was about half an inch shorter than Kaname, had his gun pointed at Kuran, too. His pale lavender eyes inspected the scene until he saw that my gun was already pointed at the pureblood. Then he noticed my gun pointed at the girl, and he moved his gun to point at me instead. He appeared to be a Level-D vampire, but from the looks of him, he was beginning to change into a Level-E. He wore a different uniform than Kuran; his was black instead of white. He had rather long, silvery hair, which reminded me of moonlight, some strange piercings on his ears, and a hunter's tattoo on his neck that kept him from completely reverting into a monster; it was the same color as his eyes. He reminded me of someone...wasn't he one of the cursed twins the vampire hunters the Kiryuu's had? Most likely; I think he was a hunter, too. I believed his name was Zero or something along the lines of that.

The girl, whose name was apparently Yuuki, was very short in comparison to everyone in the room. She had stringy, chocolate brown, shoulder length hair and large redish brown eyes to match. She wore what looked like the girl version of the school uniform with a short anime skirt instead of decent pair of pants, long annoying sock, and streamline brown boots. An unusual scent came from her; she seemed neither human nor vampire. As I surveyed the scene I noticed how startlingly similar both she and Kaname looked next to each other; like siblings. The answer hit me quite quickly; she was the hidden Kuran Princess. I had read about her in the Hunter Society's library. Her memories and powers had been hidden by her mother's sacrifice.

What a queer group. To top it all off, everyone in the room wore a different expression: The Chairman's was of shock to see that Yuuki had flat out ignored him, except for the part about bringing help which apparently was the Level-D; Yuuki's face had an expression of horror and shock at the fact that I had my gun pointed at Kaname who she obviously seemed to like, creepy…; Kuran's expression was still amused but laced with dark anger at the fact that my gun was pointed at the girl; the one I assumed was Kiryuu Zero had an indifferent expression on his face, but I knew he was also fuming that I had my gun on the girl; what a wonderful love triangle; my expression…I was most likely trying not to crack up at how sad this all was; so much for good first impressions.

The first one to come back to their senses was Yuuki. "Kaname-sempai!" she squealed trying to run forward to protect Kuran, but she was stopped by the Level-D. Instead of moving my gun to point at him like he was trying to get me to, I kept my gun pointed at Yuuki and release the safety. His face was priceless. Apparently this was enough to get Kaname to realize that the gun held no ammo because he relaxed slightly and applied his poker face as usual. I turned my attention toward the Chairman.

"I never got the memo that I was enrolling into a school full of vampires. Is it me or am I missing something, Chairman?" I whispered menacingly causing all eyes to focus on me; it was an unpleasant but necessary feeling. Everyone except Kaname looked shocked at my knowledge of the vampires at this school; Kuran only looked impressed; yay.

"So you were the one that killed all of those Level-Es. That would explain it," Kuran seemed to think out loud; no doubt he had already had known that but just felt like it was necessary to enlighten the others; the bastard.

"Correct again, Kuran," I responded, imitating his monotone; only he noticed this though just as I had wanted. Silence greeted my words. A silence that was again interrupted by Avery; he really does have bad timing when it comes to these kind of things. His ringtone echoed around the silent office until I dug the Bluetooth from my pocket, placed it in my ear yet again, and pressed the button to answer the call.

"I've got a bone to pick with you, old man,"' I growled into the earpiece, keeping my ammo-less guns poised on Kuran and the Level-D. I could hear him sigh over the line.

"So I'm taking it that you've arrived at Cross Academy," he answered softly.

"Yep, I've arrived here all right," I answered quietly. "Now are you planning to tell me what gave you the bright idea to send me to a school full of vampires, Avery?"

"Well first off, not everyone there is a vampire, Victoria. The school has both vampires and humans that live and cooperate together. Secondly, the vampires there are not aggressive, dear. Third, Cross Academy is one of the most protected placed you could possibly stay. Fourth, the school is far away from the big cities I know you hate. And finally, Cross said he could use more protection at the school, and you seemed to fit the bill."

"So basically, I have no choice about staying here until you deem fit for us to leave again, and the security here is suppose to ensure I do, right?" I clarified with him seeing the entire room drinking in our conversation to try and make some sense of the situation.

"Yep! Isn't that fantastic?" I sighed dejectedly. Damn purebloods and their strange logic.

"No, that is not fantastic, but it seems that I have no choice in the matter." I ended the call and lowered my weapons placing them back in their homes. "So is anyone going to show me where I'm staying?"

"I will," Kaname answered simply gesturing for me to exit the room with him.

"Brilliant." I was about to make my way for the door when a gunshot shoot through the air at me. Instead of hitting me like the shooter had wanted, I plucked the bullet out of the air and twiddled it in my fingers. The three stared at me in complete and utter shock as I pushed past the two in the black uniforms and exited the doors followed by an amused pureblood. I was about the leave them when I recalled something they would find important. I poke my head into the doorframe.

"You all knew that my guns were out of ammo, right?"

That was much longer than the old one... and it only took me one Sunday to completely write it. SKILL. Not really...

Anyways, I've been meaning to apologize to all of you who read this fanfiction for the LARGE delay in new chapters for this story. I could come up with a bunch of excuses why, but what would that accomplish?

I am planning to continue writing this fanfiction as soon as my rewriting is done so be expecting more chapters in the near future.

So how do you all like this rewrite so far? Do you hate it? Love it? Want me to write more? Want me to shut the hell up? Well I can't possibly know that unless you REVIEW. Critiques and comments are welcome but know that flames will be completely ignored no matter what their worth.

~Maximum Vampire~