I don't know where YaoiOkami thought her story would fly but if she doesn't mind I'm running away with it to make this short oneshot...

Aftermath

It had been nearly a month since Shizuka had come and gone. A month since Zero had been able to sleep without nightmares or other equally uncomfortable things. He had tried to avoid any reminders of his past- even going so far as to cut his hair and add some more piercings in his ears. That had caused a shock, no one in school had known that his silver hair naturally spiked when it was too short. He still hadn't been able to discover where the pureblood vampire and his long haired twin had vanished to and that bothered him. What were they up to anyways? After four years she shows up, offers Yuki a deal to trick her into getting close, then in exchange for the girl's life commands the two male vampires to...

The prefect dragged his attention back to the classroom, away from that memory, with a slight blush. He was actually awake for once- mostly because he worried about freaking out in class over nightmares he couldn't avoid anymore. He never screamed but he knew he thrashed like a demon. The sheets were often torn as proof to that.

Zero's lilac gaze flickered to Yuki, who was sleeping peacefully, and he frowned a bit. He hadn't been able to meet her eyes since then, and she still blushed slightly whenever she was near him or Kaname. Kaname...

The hunter looked back out the window towards the Moon Dorms. He couldn't look any of the four vampires who'd been there in the eyes, something that aggravated him a bit. The vampires hadn't seemed all that bothered by it, though he did notice that Hanabusa sulked at him a bit more for a while and Kaname's eyes seemed to follow him more closely. He knew why it affected him so badly though. He also knew that the vampires probably didn't understand why it did. His brother would know- and that thought alone nearly made him growl. Would Ichiru tell Shizuka? Would they laugh at him for his new predicament? He knew he should tell the Association about what had happened but he continued to delay. It wasn't something he wanted to deal with just yet.

Zero brought his attention back to the teacher in an attempt to stop his thoughts from wandering any further. A few minutes later a sigh left him as he concluded it wasn't working. A spot on his right thigh throbbed with an emotion that wasn't his own...

~*O*~

Kaname frowned down at the paperwork he was supposed to be doing. Unfortunately the pureblood found himself unable to concentrate. He'd spent a good deal of time this last month trying to locate Shizuka but had had no success. She was hiding until she was ready to make her next move and apparently he had no way of finding her until she chose to be found. Though Maria had shown up back home safely and surprisingly healthy. Kaname was certain that she'd come for Zero again but wasn't sure what her goal was as he hadn't figured out her motive for her last move- if there was one beyond personal satisfaction... Zero...

Kaname tipped his head back, staring blankly at the ceiling. Things had been difficult since the night Shizuka had left. Hanabusa had been a bit jealous at first but Akatsuki had settled him much to Kaname's relief. Thankfully Takuma was still calm if concerned and he didn't blame the noble. The things that they had witnessed could cause serious problems if ever discovered, after all the hunter was now marked as his mate. But still... He couldn't bring himself to regret it. And not just because they'd saved Yuki's life.

The brunette often found his mind replaying those last few moments- the way Zero had looked when he came. No anger, no despair or resignation. Just bliss. It had been wonderful to witness. And heart breaking to see it gone. He thought sadly, it had been in those few moments that he'd finally seen Zero as more than just a rival for Yuki. For just a moment, Zero had seemed... well... beautiful... He finally decided. At least as much as any male could be beautiful.

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, Zero's mood had gone severely downhill since the incident. He was angrier than he had been before and he also feared what would happen next (even if he refused to admit or openly show it) and needed an outlet. Hating vampires as much as he did, the Night Class was the closest one. The pureblood had done what he could to let the Night Class know the situation so they would be prepared for the silvette's behavior and so they could be on guard against Hio's schemes. Well he hadn't told them everything, naturally. He wanted Zero to live and telling the nobles that night's exact events could be counterproductive.

It was frustrating that he'd had to tell them about Zero being bitten (he'd never intended for anyone to know) but Kaname had made it perfectly clear that he was not to be treated as a Level D. The boy had been through enough without having the Night Class look down on him. Besides the Kiryu family had been a family of powerful hunters. Level D or not, that fact demanded some respect and Kaname refused to see any of his followers dusted because of Zero's temper and their own attitudes. Even he'd left the teen alone. Although it was only partially because of what he'd been through and was now going through. The real reason for his behavior (though he wouldn't admit it to anyone) was because of what had happened.

The pureblood felt his fangs lengthening as his thoughts once again strayed back to that night. They ached against his tongue and he wanted desperately to bite someone, preferably Zero. But he couldn't do that, the boy hadn't let him with arm's reach since then. Sighing Kaname got up to get some blood tablets while trying to get the taste of the silver prefect out of his mind. Hardly appetizing in comparison but necessary for his life style, particularly at the moment.

He remembered a night years ago, before the Night Class had made the blood tablets, when he'd craved blood- Yuki's then- and had taken Ruka's in her place. He wouldn't do that now but how he longed to. How is she handling this? Kaname wondered. He didn't see much of Yuki on a one on one basis, though he had noticed that she blushed and had trouble looking at him at first. She seemed to have gotten over it now for the most part. She still blushed though. No big surprise there considering what she saw. How does one react when they witness the person they love lay with another they care for when the two obviously hate each other?

It was a difficult question to answer, especially when the feelings begin to change after the act. He still loved Yuki but it felt more platonic now. Not quite a brother's love, but dwindling to it quickly. But for Zero... He wasn't sure what he felt. Before it had been easy- he been jealous of his easy relationship with Yuki. Jealousy had turned to a hateful type of anger over time and now that had turned into something else. It wasn't love- not yet anyways. Maybe it was lust, or a type of obsession. He wanted to see him with his mask off and guard down again. Needed to see him like that. No anger or hate or despair. No scowls or glares. Just Zero. Calm, beautiful. Finally with some sense of peace- however breif it had been.

Kaname slumped back into his seat, thinking, wondering, even pinning a little. Would it be much different to see now that Zero had cut his hair? The new hair cut and added piercings gave the prefect a more wild look and some of the Day girls had briefly thought of giving Akatsuki's nickname to Zero instead. (Zero hadn't let that idea live though.) And part of the pureblood wanted to share that wildness, it hadn't really crossed his mind to tame the free spirit. Just to be part of it- in one sense in any case. He hadn't really gotten to enjoy the act last time, too worried about Yuki's life. So many questions buzzed through his head and eventually he went to his bed. The vampire needed to try to get some sleep for class that night. But if he was being honest, he knew he wouldn't be sleeping any.

~*O*~

Zero stood on his side of the aisle across from Yuki. His aura was unintentionally dark and that kept not only the girls behind him back, but those in front of him as well- though the few who had created a fan club for him were bold enough to stand within arms reach. Yuki seemed quite relieved for the reprieve but she was worried about her friend, not to mention the girls (and a couple guys) who "loved" him. He'd been so moody lately but it hadn't scared any of them off yet. The one he'd once saved from a dangerous fall was the most determined along with the girl he'd carried to the infirmary when a vampire had drained her to anemia without her knowledge. That had happened shortly after Shizuka left, and had caused a bit of trouble with her relationship with Kaname. His expression reminded her of when he'd first been brought here. Yuki just hoped it wouldn't be that bad this time around.

She heard the gates to the Moon Dorm open, along with the high pitched screams of the Night Class' fangirls. Neither helped her friend's mood. In fact she was sure his aura just got a bit hostile...

Kaname was quite aware the hunter's foul mood and judging by the tenseness of the vampires around him, they were as well. The Night Class had done well to stay out of trouble since their Dorm President's warning about the recent happenings. Though none of them particularly liked the silver prefect, they did heed Kaname's order to respect him as a hunter from a powerful line. And though they had been raised to look down on Level D vampires he'd made the point of mentioning that they were at the academy to promote peace between the races and Level D's were those who had been part of one world and brought into the other. He'd also reminded them that this Level D had never hesitated to point his Bloody Rose at any of them, himself included. Which had effectively silenced any protests the nobles may have still silently had.

Hanabusa glanced at his cousin while he cheerfully greeted the girls. Akatsuki and he had always been close but since Shizuka's arrival he'd been practically glued to the smaller male's side. Surprisingly enough, Hanabusa found he enjoyed the attention in an annoyed kind of way. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself but it was nice to know Akatsuki cared so much. Usually he was so disinterested in everything.

A few steps behind Kaname, Takuma waved to the Day Class girls while watching the pureblood's back carefully. He noticed the older vampire's head start to turn toward Zero for just a fraction before Kaname looked over to Yuki instead.

"How are you tonight Yuki?" Kaname asked gently, noting the blush she had. He forced himself not to look over at Zero, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep his expressions controlled if he did.

"I'm fine Kaname. Thanks for asking." Yuki was quite proud of herself for not stuttering once. She saw Zero frown and blush slightly, though his dark aura didn't change. Akatsuki and Hanabusa also saw the silvette's reaction to their leader's proximity but Takuma was still studing the pureblood.

Kaname smiled at her and started walking again. He again fought the need to see Zero- and failed, looking up at the same time the prefect looked over at him. Their eyes held and the vampire watched an unreadable look flicker through the violet eyes before Zero's blush darkened and he looked away. Kaname found himself bewildered by the emotions he'd seen in those pale eyes, but decided he would find out what he'd been feeling later.

Zero stared at the ground as the vampires continued on their way. The hunter scolded himself for acting so... so... so girly. Honestly, the vampires didn't even know what had happened from a Hunter's perspective. And he kind of hoped they never did. Kind of.

It took little time after the Night Class had left for them to get the Day Class girls back to their dorm. Though Zero's own fan club had followed his orders without hesitation anytime others usually needed some coaxing but the rest followed today due to the dark aura he was still emiting. Once they were alone Yuki cheerfully skipped to his side. "Neh, Zero, do you know what that paper was earlier?"

Zero tossed her a incredulious side glance. "You mean the one you signed? Didn't you read it before you signed it?" The male prefect turned to face the girl more fully while he spoke. Really, didn't she know better than to sign things blindly?

"Well yeah, I read it." Yuki said a bit sheepishly. "But it was worded so confusingly, I couldn't tell exactly what it ment. I was only able to tell that it had to do with you and Kaname and maybe some kinda trouble that needed to be avoided..." The girl looked up at him through her bangs and pouted. She had just wanted to help the two most important people in the world to her. Had she done something wrong?

Zero's expression softened a bit. He hadn't ment to make her feel bad. He knew she never would have done something to hurt him or Kaname on purpose. But then her full answer sorted itself in his head. "Was there a crest in the top right corner?" The hunter asked with growing apprehension.

Yuki nodded cautiously. She was glad he didn't seem angry anymore but his mood hadn't exactly gotten better. "Yeah, it was a sword with six angel wings." Yuki almost regreted the words that she spoke as Zero's face paled even more (she hadn't even realized that was possible with how pale he already was) and looked absolutly horrified. She didn't even have the chance to ask what was wrong before the silvette had shot off, running full tilt towards the class rooms.

Zero prayed he'd be able to get there before the messanger. Of all the things Kaname needed to know, the information most likely unwittingly confirmed by Yuki was not one of them. I can't believe you did this Ichiru! His mind shouted, wondering what game his twin was playing with this move.

~*O*~

The vampires all looked up curiously when someone calmly walked into the room. Most easily picked up on the calm hunter aura surrounding the young man. But what was a hunter doing here? They wondered.

"I have a message to deliver." The man said lowly but clearly to the teacher knowing everyone in the room had keen enough ears to hear what he'd said. The professor looked startled and shifted. There was something that unsettled him about this man but he couldn't say what. He often had a similar delima with his own students.

"Of course. Who is it for?" He inquired mildly. Unlike the rest of the people in the room he, as a normal human, didn't sense the swiftly approaching presence. Several of the vampires tensed once they recognized the one who was coming. The hunter looked shaken for a moment before he quickly started to answer.

"Kuran." He managed to bite out before the door crashed open. All eyes turned to the silver haired teen in the doorway. Most of them realized that it was the first time they'd ever really saw him look afraid.

"Don't even dare, Sai." Zero threatened the other hunter, quickly pulling himself together enough to give a decent glare. He'd recoginized the arua on his rush here. It seemed like he hadn't yet told Kaname the message. And Zero had every intention of keeping the pureblood ignorant of this.

"I have orders. He has a right to know." Sai defended weakly. Zero had always intimidated him when they were younger, and knowing what he was only made it worse now that they were older. Zero stalked closer.

"I don't give a damn about your orders. He doesn't need to know this- it's hunter business not vampire." Zero flushed slightly with embaressment and anger. He couldn't believe the Association was actually doing this! What were they thinking? What kind of game was this he was caught in? Sai scuffed his feet, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on them.

"Hunter buisness or not the fact remains that his ignorance could cost you your life and the..." He paused, concious of the human who didn't know about vampires present, but quickly decided too much had been heard for him to be left with his memory anyways. "The Association is not ready to loose you just yet Zero."

"I'm quite curious now." Kaname's calm voice brought the two hunters' attention back to those around them.

"No!" Zero hissed out viciously, covering Sai's mouth before the idiot could say anything. The other immediately began to stuggle for freedom.

"The man has a message for Kaname-sama, how dare you interupt!" Ruka shouted at him, finally having had enough of the prefect. Yuki appeared at the door, panting heavily and leaning on the frame for support. Her wide eyes swept the room, trying to gauge the situation she'd just ran in on. She lost her chance to calm things down when Sai freed his mouth.

"He's your husband Zero, he has a right to know when your in danger!" The freed hunter growled back. There was a shocked hush that consumed the room. Sai had enough time to meet Zero's murderous gaze before his senses registered the pureblood that now stood at his back.

"Ichijo, Aido, Kain, and I must leave to have a talk with Yuki, Sai, and... Zero." Kaname flicked his eyes over to the prefect when he paused on his name. The nobles he'd called came to stand with him. The others had received the silent order to take care of the teacher's memories and keep things controlled.

~*O*~

The six teens moved to a room farther down the hall, where they wouldn't be heard. Zero leaned back against the teacher's desk, his back to the board. Yuki stood by his side with the four vampires standing next to her side by the door. Sai stood in front of them, his eyes flicking nervously across there faces.

"Husband?" Hanabusa demaned when it seemed like no one was going to do anything but stand there.

Sai flinched when Zero's eyes flashed but stubornly steeled himself against the stronger hunter's displeasure. "Yes. By Hunter tradition the two of you are married. Yuki and Ichiru have signed as witnessses."

The vampires glanced at the confused girl who whispered to her friend, "Is that what the paper was about?", then moved to look at the nodding silvette. Zero sighed and meet their gazes, knowing they'd want an explination.

"Hunters as a whole do not conform to any solid religion. Since most marriages are religious based we have our own way of doing things." Zero noticed Sai turned to look out the window with a slight scowl on his face. Hunter traditions where not usually shared or explained to those who were not hunters themselves or married to one. "Since war was more common back then and the chances of death was high, the wedding part of a marriage was not so important. The 'consumation' of the relationship was important though, to keep the blood lines alive, and that became the wedding itself. There was supposed to be at least one person to witness for each side. Ichiru for me and Yuki for Kaname in this case. There was usually a figure of authority as well, which in our situation was likely Shizuka.

"The paper Yuki signed was to confirm that she had witnessed the wedding between me and Kaname. The Hunter's Association has now decided that Kaname and I are officially married- though I can't figure out why..." Zero trailed off with a frown.

Yuki blinked up at him her eyes wider than ever. Married? Part of her heart broke at the thought, though she hid it with her shock. A small strangled sound caught her attention and she looked over to see Aido face. The poor blond looked like he'd been shot. His taller cousin looked as shock as she did and so did Ichijo, who's mouth had dropped open. Kaname just stared for a few moments before he blinked his eyes back into focus.

"You have not explained how your life is in danger..." Kaname noted aloud after everyone had gotten the chance to absorb the information. He himself was quite intersted in learning more about the hunters and their society as so little was known about it. The hunters were even more tight lipped than the vampires, who had opened a bit in the spirit of peace. Sai turned back to face them when it seemed Zero was reluctat to answer.

"Vampires form Blood Bonds. Hunters form Soul Bonds. The bond between the two of you is incomplete and as a result Zero's soul is trying to support it alone. If this continues for too long his soul will burn out and he will die." He spared a close glance to the hunter being spoken of and noted he seemed more tired than he should be- even with his wild sleeping scheduel. Sai wasn't the only one who'd noticed now that it had been said out loud and the silvette felt several worried eyes on him.

"How is the bond completed?" Kaname asked in concern. He'd not told the three that Zero was his mate by vampire traditions yet, but if they refused to answer he would. And he was fairly certain Zero would do just that...

"It's not important. It will take several years for me to burn out in any case." Yep. Kaname frowned at his bondmate's oh so predictable response, which had cut Sai off from answering. The pureblood held in a sigh.

"It is important. You are not just my mate by hunter traditions but by vampire traditions as well." Kaname moved to stand before the startled silver prefect, his hand drifted down to brush where he'd bitten him. "This bite marks you as my mate Zero. And it is my resposibility to take care of my mate."

The prefect blushed and shivered when the vampire's fingers brushed against the healed bite. Quickly he shook his head. "But it didn't mean anything. This bond shouldn't exist." He insisted stubbornly, raising his eyes to meet the possessive gaze of the vampire. Shock ran through him at the strength of that look.

The brunette vampire growled low in his throat. "You are mine regardless..."

Zero couldn't find the voice to disagree...

~*O*~

One shot complete. Nothing too bad here...