Kiryuu Zero thrust the door open, and Kurosu Yuki's sepia-toned shoes quickly clacked onto the hard, stone pavement inside. She knew that Zero wasn't exactly a "ladies first" kind of guy (not with her, anyway), so she took decisive action.

"Hello?" she called out spiritedly. Her cheerful demeanor pierced the thick, dark aura in the small shop. Not only did it look like a shack, but it was very unclean and ungodly hot inside. There was nowhere to sit and wait, so the Disciplinary Guardians remained standing awkwardly. In sight were numerous animal carcasses stretched open behind the front counter. They were the only creatures around the place. No one answered her.

"Let's just go," Zero grumbled.

Yuki's dark hair whipped as she turned to her companion. "No! Of course not! Didn't you hear Headmaster? He's making gyoza dumplings tonight!"

"'His style.'"

"WHATEVER!!" Yuki huffed. She faced away from him, into the dingy butcher shop. Just because it was true that Headmaster Kurosu's style of cooking was quite obscure in taste didn't mean that Yuki would give up on the pair's last errand for her adoptive father. Just a few more minutes, and they would be on their way back to the Academy. But first, they needed the—

"I hate pork, you know," Zero lied.

"Oh, be quiet, Gloomy, and help me find someone," Yuki snapped. Her head turned this way and that, looking for any sign of an employee. "Hello…?" she called once more.

Zero huffed and held his head; he was starting to ache…

"Zero?" Yuki requested without looking at him. "You should close the door. You'll let bugs in here; they're attracted to the meat, you know."

Zero silently complied. The instant the rickety portal was shut, all of the daylight was stolen from the room. Yuki's pupils dilated quickly to try and see, but she could not make out a thing. The only noise heard was the clicking of a loose ceiling fan, helpless to cool the room against the dread damp, summer air.

Yuki sighed, and though even the concrete floor wasn't visible to her, she plopped down cross-legged to await service. "Fine, Zero. We'll stay here for a few more minutes. If we don't see someone soon, we'll head back. Okay?"

Zero did not reply; he grit his teeth together and groaned as he clutched his forehead. Ugh, when had he last conceded to eating one of those filthy blood tablets?

He could never be relieved. No matter what, his unnatural lust drove him ill.

In the congested dark of that grimy butcher shop, the humidity sluggishly wafted. It carried along many scents, most of them putrid. Yuki found herself covering her nose, gasping sometimes when she stopped her breaths a little too often, but she figured that she would wait it out a little longer for the Headmaster's special dinner that night. But not much longer.

In the atmosphere that stunk of death, Zero coughed repetitively. Damn…

Out of all the smells that whisked past his nostrils, the bittersweet, thick aroma of Yuki's blood permeated his instincts the most.

"Agh…"

"Zero? You all right?"

"G-guh…yeah, Yuki," he sputtered. It was all he could do to hide his shaking and keep his cool. He started to perspirate. Why couldn't they just leave this goddamn pit already?

The girl's elbows sat lazily on her knees, and she sunk her head down so she could prop it up with her fists. Yuki then returned to stare obliviously into the darkness of the store, where everything was black to her anyway. She was only trying to be noble, attempting to carry out her duties as best she could.

But Zero was suffering more and more every second. He quivered and shut his eyes tightly, trying to get a grip on himself. All he had on his mind was Yuki's blood, and it was beginning to completely overtake him. She's only four steps before me...Nnh...

An image dashed across his mind...

A breeze blew by Yuki, ever so swiftly. "Zero…?" she called. He did not answer.

Her eyebrows furrowed together. She suddenly felt even more uncomfortable…

"Ah!!" Someone had grabbed her by her neck from behind. Her expression contorted in a wince, she wheezed past her restricted windpipe as best she could. Gasping, she pleaded, "Zero! H-help me…ahh…"

This time, a response whispered from behind. The words slithered into her ear…

"Forgive me, Yuki…"

This fantasy had become actuality without the vampire even realizing it. There he was, inches away from her pale, thin-skinned, succulent neck…

Yuki cried and shuddered when she heard his cavernous, icy voice. She realized exactly what was happening, but why hadn't Zero told her how deliriously thirsty he was…for her?

In a freak instant, when Yuki tried to take a deep breath, she found that her throat was no longer hostage. With a large intake of the revolting air, her right hand flew to the skin just above her collarbone. A wind blew past her, and she heard his footsteps rush away from her.

"Zero!!" she yelled out to him, begging for an explanation—something—that would make sense.

Huffing all the way, Zero rushed back to the space near the door. He whipped the creaky exit open and broke through into the daylight outside.

"ZERO!!!" Yuki shouted again, scurrying to her feet to catch him. The sparse people here and there on the street stopped and stared at the tall, platinum-haired boy holding his mouth with an unpleasant expression scrawled across his face.

The street was uneven, the buildings were scattered in no particular order in Zero's mind. He was intoxicated on the lament of something he had resisted, and now his pent-up shame overrode all of his previous feelings. After his eyes darted all over the area, he finally found the direction that he was hoping to go. His feet erratically plodded eastward.

Yuki ran after him, tears streaming behind her. She didn't know where in the world he was headed, but she knew that she had always promised that she would stop him.

And she feared the worst for her poor friend Zero, bound to the curse of bloodlust.