Vampire Knight: Innocence

Night 3. Memories in Blood [Part 2]

It had only been a week since Detective Takkashi Kasuga brought Zero to Kaien Cross's house. And Zero was now standing in front of the mirror, trying to fix his black tie. He made sure his collar was somewhat neat and his black suit was clean. Zero had a neutral look on his face as he got dressed. His frown seemed to be plastered to his face and his eyes had lost their shine. As far as Zero was concerned, he had nothing to live for.

A knock came on the door, "Kiryuu-kun? Are you ready?"

Kaien Cross. The man that was now responsible for him. This man was nothing like his father. His father knew when to be serious and be fun. His father only acted like a fool when his friends were around, not all the time like this Kaien Cross. Kaien Cross was a joke. Zero threw open the door, only to find Kaien Cross standing there in his own black suit and tie. Zero walked past him, going to where the cab was probably parked, ready to take them away. Kaien Cross walked behind Zero, keeping an eye on the boy. Zero noticed Yuuki Cross peeking around the corner as her Care Taker stood behind her. Yuuki nodded at Zero.

"Good luck, Zero-kun," she whispered.

Zero ignored her and carried on walking. Kaien Cross smiled at his adopted daughter as he opened the front door and allowed Zero to walk through first. Zero strode through the front door into the winter air. The cold wind biting his skin, the snow crunching beneath his black shoes. Kaien Cross led Zero to the cab, opening the door and allowing Zero to slide in first. Zero leaned against the window as the cab pulled away.

The car ride was nothing special. In fact, Zero wished it would go on forever. But when he opened his eyes, he saw a crowd of people. All of the Vampire Hunters, all of them here for his parents' funeral. Kaien climbed out of the cab and waited patiently for Zero to slide out the cab. When Zero finally got out of the car, his eyes landed on the Church where all the Vampire Hunters gathered. The Hunter's Association had put this together, funding for everything. Zero was grateful. He didn't know how to repay the Association for doing this.

"Kiryuu-kun?" Kaien muttered, looking down at the boy.

"I don't want to go inside," Zero said angrily. "All they are going to say is 'I'm sorry' and I don't want any pity..."

Kaien nodded, "Then go upstairs. I'm sure everyone will understand."

Zero looked at Kaien who was wearing a kind smile. He nodded once and followed the former Hunter to the front of the Church where Zero then vanished from the Chairman's sight. He knew no one would be inside the Church yet. Zero opened the door and snuck inside. He was grateful for the solitude then he froze when he noticed a lectern decorated with millions of lit candles and a podium where the priest would lecture and in front of the lectern, smooth mahogany wood with gold handles, two coffins. Zero swallowed hard and silently walked towards the coffins, knowing they wouldn't be open because the Viewing would only be after the funeral. As Zero approached the coffins, his fingers grazed the smooth wood. Both had gold emblems showing their names, Kiryuu Senji and Kiryuu Azumi. Zero bit his bottom lip so he wouldn't cry. Zero froze when he felt a powerful presence behind him. He whirled around and came face to face with a man with a grave expression on his face. His hazel eyes lighting up slightly when he saw Zero. This man was his father's best friend... Wana Sudikako. Like Zero, he was all dressed up in black. Wana stood forward and pulled two red roses from his jacket pocket and set it down on the two coffins. He smiled slightly.

"Your father never likes roses...although, he always presented them to someone," Wana said sadly. Zero watched him tap his father's coffin and move to sit down in the first row of the smooth wooden benches.

Zero stared at the man for a long while before he moved to stand in front of him. Zero swallowed hard before he spoke, "A...a Pure Blood killed them. She...she had long silver hair, like mine and red eyes...," Zero swallowed hard. "Is someone going to hunt her down?"