Episode 13: Crimson Chains

Deep Crimson Chain (深紅の鎖 Shinku no Ringu) is the thirteenth episode of Vampire Knight.

Recap
Now that Shizuka is dead, will Kaname be revealed as the murderer? And when Zero falls into bloodlust, will he turn into a Level E?

Summary
As Shizuka dies, Ichiru cries and they share flashbacks of their past. Ichiru has been in love with her since they first met. Shizuka ignored his feelings and refused to turn him into a vampire but freely gave him her blood. Even now, Ichiru offers his blood to save her, but she rejects him. Fond of Ichiru, Shizuka cannot curse him like that. Seeing Ichiru cry though, she tells him that they will always be together and pulls him towards her. Zero finds them as Ichiru is licking the remains of something from his lips. Shizuka’s corpse dissolves into the air. Meanwhile, the puddles of her blood everywhere have stimulated Zero’s level E impulses and he collapses. Ichiru taunts him and leaves. Then, Yuki and Kain arrive but only see the Headmaster in the room. He explains that Yagari took Zero safely away. The next night, Kain returns to Kaname with Aidou to report what he saw. Kaname says that even though he doesn’t think Zero would kill Shizuka, that’s how it will look to the Senior Council, to whom he must report the incident. Aidou thinks about Kaname being the murderer and about both Kaname’s and Shizuka’s motives. After departing, he relates to Kain that in the past, Shizuka fell in love with a human whom she turned into a vampire and escaped the prison she was being kept in. Even though the ex-human was not a Level E yet, the Hunter Society put him on their extermination list and the Kiryuus killed him. Ever since her revenge, the Senior Council has hunted her and labeled her as "mad" because she went against their policy of peace with humans. Aidou then wonders why Shizuka risked coming to Cross Academy. He thinks about how both she and Kaname sought each others’ blood for power to defeat an unknown foe. That night, only Rima and Shiki attend class, and Shiki tells her he has been feeling ill recently. Meanwhile, Yuki is patrolling and meets Kaname. She says she is worried about Zero. Jealous, Kaname nevertheless leaves to visit Zero, who has been chained in a dungeon-like cell. Zero is losing to his Level E instincts. Yagari and Cross were visiting Zero before Kaname came but rushed away upon hearing a disturbance, suspecting that the Senior Council had come. For Yuki’s sake, Kaname gets Zero to drink his blood, saying that his pure blood will save Zero from madness. All the vampires are startled when they smell Kaname’s blood.