Yuuki did not exactly know what had happened to Zero but from what she had heard from the headmaster she knew that things were serious this time.

That being the main reason why she was running through the cold winter streets at a speed that would shock most humans and hell, maybe even a few vampires.

She had been stubbornly running for a full two hours now, ignoring the sharp pain in her sides and the continues throbbing of her feet that were being mercilessly tortured by the abnormal speed the human girl was running at.

Her mind was set on one thing and one thing only as she kept running forward, her knuckles turning an incredible white as she dug her nails into the palms of her hands, bringing forth the crimson blood that had been an important thing to most of the people around her.

"Hang in there, Zero. I'm coming. I'll be there soon. Please, just hang in there!"


Chapter one, a voiceless cry.

"How are things?"

Kaname Kuran looked up as headmaster Kaien Cross walked into the room, a bouquet of flowers in his hands as he glanced over at the unmoving form on the small hospital bed.

"Nothing has changed. He's still unresponsive," Kaname answered as he let his eyes land on the form on the bed as well. "It's surprising that he managed to survive such a thing."

"You were lucky to have found him on time. It would have been quite troublesome if he had been found a few hours later," Kaien said as he filled a vase with water and put the beautiful bouquet of roses in it. "What he did was incredible."

"Do you know his motive?"

Cross frowned slightly. "No. I mean, I do have an idea but it's just a hunch. I'm not sure why he did such a thing."

Kaname shifted his gaze to land on the red and white roses Cross had brought with him as he slowly nodded his head. "Does Yuuki know?"

"I've told her that he is in the hospital but I didn't tell her any details. I thought it would be best for her not to know."

Kuran's gaze followed Cross who was now moving through the room. "She will find out eventually."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that she has to know just yet," Cross spoke as he sat down on the edge of the hospital bed with a sad frown. "She'll be heartbroken."

Cold. I'm cold. Snow? No. Just cold. Freezing.

… Where am I?

It's dark. Too dark. I can't see.

Where is this place? How did I get here?

It's cold. So damn cold!

"Zero?"

That voice. Who is it? Where are you?

Show yourself!

"Kiryuu?"

Kuran? No. It can't be. Why would he be here?

Wait. Where is 'here'?

Where am I!?

"Kiryuu!"

No! Stay away! Leave me alone!

Get away!

"Zero, calm down!"

No! No! Leave me alone! Get away! Don't touch me!

I'm freezing. It hurts so much. God, it hurts!

Help me! Please, someone, anyone!

"Zero!"

… Yuuki?

Yuuki! Yuuki! Help me, Yuuki!

Make the pain go away, please!

Yuuki!? Yuuki!!

Yuuki stared wide-eyed with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Zero, her Zero, was tied down to the bed, his neck and hands completely covered in bandages with various tubes and IV's sticking out of him from different places.

"Zero!" She cried out when the male started trashing about and writhing in pain.

"Yuuki, calm yourself," Kaname spoke as he wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl, shielding her from the sight of Zero. "He's been injured."

"W-what happened to him? Why are there so many machines? Is he even still breathing by himself?! Tell me, Kaname-senpai!"

Kaname stared down at the girl with sad eyes. Never in his life had he felt more sorry for her then now at this very moment. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he lay his hand on her forehead.

The girl's eyes widened. "What- ?" Before she could even finish her sentence, darkness quickly overcame her and dragged her into unconsciousness.

Kaname caught the girl as her body went limp and protectively held her close to his chest. "I'm terribly sorry, Yuuki," the male whispered as he lay her down on a chair, covering her up with his coat before he turned back to Cross who was still standing besides Zero, making sure the male would not harm himself in any way.

"He's hurting," Cross spoke softly as he lay his hand on Zero's forehead, checking his temperature. "His fever is up again."

Kaname let out a sigh as he walked forward, leaning over the pale boy. "It was to be expected," he said as he put his own hand over Zero's forehead, not to check his temperature but to put him into a state of unconsciousness as well. At least that way, he wouldn't feel the pain.

Cross watched as Zero's face relaxed and his body went limp. He was afraid of what would happen the next time the male would wake up. He was already far past his limits, after all..

"It's late. Why don't you go rest?" Kaname asked when he entered the room, finding Cross still to be sitting in the same spot he had left him, five hours ago.

Cross smiled tiredly. "I'm their beloved father, after all," he said, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the feeling of tiredness. "I couldn't possibly leave."

Kaname leaned against the wall with a soft 'hm'. "I could watch over them. Go walk outside. Get something to eat or drink. You look pale."

Cross' smile widened before it slowly started fading. "If he wakes up and finds you next to him, it will only make the situation worse."

Kaname let out another 'hm' as he pushed himself away from the wall and sat down next to Yuuki, gently stroking her hair in affection.

"Kiryuu will start craving for her blood again soon. The only problem now is that his throat is too damaged for him to-"

At that very moment, Zero's eyes snapped open and he fought wildly against the bindings holding him down. His mouth opened wide to voice a scream, but no sound came out, leaving the male to panic and thrash about even more.

"Zero! Calm down," Cross said firmly as he grabbed the boy by his shoulders, afraid that Zero's struggling would make his injuries grow worse. "Zero!"

The male didn't listen, however, and pulled at the bindings as hard as he could, his vision blinded by pure fear and panic.

"Kiryuu."

It was that voice, that damned voice that made Zero stop his actions and slump back down onto the bed. It was that voice that made his body go completely limp.

Kaname stared at the boy with a cold glare, his hand still stroking Yuuki's hair. "You'll wake her up."

Zero's eyes glazed over in guilt when he caught sight of the female peacefully sleeping on the chair across the room. He faintly remembered having heard her voice, her frightened, panicky voice.

"Zero!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Zero wildly shook his head, trying to get that voice out of his head along with the image of Kaname holding Yuuki in his arms. He wouldn't allow it. Never.

"Zero," a voice to his right spoke, causing his eyes to open and look at the man sitting there. Headmaster Kaien Cross. "Do you remember what happened?"

Zero's eyes widened.

A distant memory. His reflection. Laughter. Pinkies clasped together. A promise. Broken. Shattered. Needles. Pain. Hurt. Blood. Blood. Blood.

Zero shook his head, opening his mouth to speak but only to find himself wincing at the pain of using his throat. Pain.

"You can't speak. The needles have damaged your vocal cords."

Zero stared at the man in shock. He opened his mouth again but stopped when another flash of pain ripped through his throat. Hurt.

He glanced down at his hand, for the first time noticing the bandages there, and found numerous black stains covering the once white bandages. Blood.

Cross followed the boy's gaze and smiled sadly. "Your hands were bleeding pretty heavily. It stopped now, though."

Zero narrowed his eyes and gestured toward the restrains keeping him bound to the bed, an unspoken question that was answered by Kaname.

"They had to tie you down. When I brought you in you were delusional and tried to attack various people. The pain in your throat made you mad. We were afraid you would harm yourself or anyone else."

We. Zero hated how the pure-blood bastard had spoken like he was genuinely concerned about his health. It made his blood boil.

Kaname, who seemed to have read Zero's thoughts, moved closer to the bed and stared at Zero with a mixture of sadness and worry in his eyes.

"I found you out in the snow. Your hands and throat were damaged badly and you were suffering from mild hypothermia. You were covered in blood. When I tried to approach you, you ran away. You collapsed halfway down the road."

Zero felt his throat dry up as he took in the information. He wanted to swallow and moisten it but it seemed impossible. He couldn't swallow.

"When I had brought you in to the hospital, they examined your throat and hands," Kaname went on. "Your hands had small puncture wounds in them. So did your throat. The wounds were about the size of a needle."

Zero felt nauseated when Kaname spoke. He wanted him to stop. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to hear it. Stop..

"In your stomach," Kaname continued, his eyebrows furrowed together in a deep frown, "they found nearly a thousand needles."

"It's a miracle you've survived."

ToBeContinued?

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