"Remember, son, the Kurans are our worst enemies. If you ever come across one of those monsters that call themselves royalty, kill it on sight. They aren't human, Zero. Always remember that."

The silver haired boy with lilac eyes stared solemnly at his father, who sat at the foot of the six year old's bed. Zero nodded slowly, his child's mind still too young to understand the ancient hate that ran in his veins, the ancient war he was already playing part in.

"I won't forget, Papa."

"Never trust a Kiriyu, Kaname. They're evil demons with black hearts. They have no compassion, and will kill you on sight even if you have done them no harm. Just stay away from any densely populated human town and you should be safe. The Hunters will destroy you if you even set foot within a human town. Beware of them, son."

The seven year old vampire prince stared wide eyed at his mother, who stood at his bedside with a serious expression on her face. His chocolate-crimson eyes suddenly closed, and his mouth turned up into a smile.

"Hai, kaa-san. I'll never trust one of the Hunters. They're evil. Right, Kaa-san?"

His mother smiled sadly and ruffled the boy's chocolate locks.

"That's right Kaname. They're your enemy. Don't trust them, whatever you do."

The huge, ancient bell tolled for the final time as a lone teenager ran at full speed down a hallway. He had a book clenched in one hand, a silver gun at his hip, and a look of intense determination on his face. His short silver hair flew out behind him as he rushed headlong around a sharp corner, barely avoiding smashing into one of the stone walls that lined the corridors. With a mental wince at the thought of himself faceplanting into the wall, the boy continued to dash down the halls, nearly missing a few important turns, and stumbling once or twice over the ornate rugs on the floor.

The teen skidded comically around the final corner before stopping at a heavy wooden door, carved intricately with the Hunter crest: two anti-vampire guns crossed over and open eye.

With his hands on his knees and gasping for breath, Kiriyu Zero mentally damned his teacher to the deepest depths of Hell. He, after all, was the reason for this insane marathon that Zero had run. With another string of silent curses, Zero straightened slowly and knocked loudly on the door in front of him.

"Come in." A chipper voice sounded from within. Zero rolled his eyes quickly before opening the door and walking silently through.

The room he had just entered was probably the most strangely decorated room he had ever seen in his life, or ever would see. The walls were draped with old photographs, all of which contained either a smiling girl, a man with a cowboy-like hat and wild black hair, or – much to Zero's dismay – his own pale features. The floor was made of different colored tiles, seemingly glued together by a blind child. The only two pieces of furniture in the room was an immense desk and an equally immense chair behind it. A chair that was, surprisingly, empty of its owner.

Zero quirked his eyebrow as he stared at the vacant chair, before he heard a loud creak behind him. He whirled around quickly, just fast enough to see the large door swing shut seemingly on its own. Before the teen could register what had happened, he heard a small cough from behind him. Whirling around again, he noted in disbelief that a man was lounged back in his chair, feet up on the desk and sipping a cup of tea, as if he had been there all along.

Zero felt the vein in his forehead start to pulse, and he pressed his fingers to his temples and counted to ten. After he had one this about twenty times, he opened his eyes and glared at the man in front of him, who was still lounging and sipping his tea.

"Headmaster Cross…what the HELL are you doing?"

The man looked up as if surprised that the boy was even there.

"Ah…Kiriyu-kun, I didn't even notice you come in." Zero felt his irritation rising once again, and gritted his teeth in frustration.

Seriously, how old is this guy? 20? More like 4….

The silver haired teen held up the book he still held clenched in his hand. "Yagari-sensei told me to get this to you as soon as possible. He said it was extremely important."

The headmaster looked at the book in interest, got up from his chair and skipped over to where the teen was standing, holding the book at arms length as if it were infected with a contagious disease.

"Oh, Kiriyu-kun, thank you so much~!" The man proclaimed, his long blonde ponytail swishing back and forth. Zero shuddered and practically threw the book at the man.

"There you go. I'm leaving now."

As he turned to leave, he heard the headmaster squeal in delight.

"Oh, Yagari, you're so kind! It's the latest addition to my favorite series~! Oh, Kiriyu-kun, tell Yagari…"

The silver haired teenager never heard the end of the order, as he had rushed headlong from the room to go find his sensei, and brutally kill him for sending him on this 'important' errand.

"Kaname-sama! …..Kaname-sama!"

The bored looking teen swept his gaze over the room packed with elite vampires and stifled a yawn. He realized that someone was whispering in his ear, and he supposed he should be listening.

…At least he should know who it was, right?

"Kaname-sama!" The voice sounded again, even more impatient this time. Kaname sighed irritadedly and looked over to his right. Aidou, his closest friend since practically birth, was glaring at him with a pink earring dangling between his fingertips.

"Yes, Aidou….what are you doing with that? I've been looking for it all day…."

Aidou's expression didn't lighten. "Very funny, Kaname. I found this in my ear just a few minutes ago. I don't suppose you know how it got there?"

The vampire prince couldn't help smirking. He knew very well how the earring ended up in his best friend's ear. "Oh, I haven't a clue, Aidou…I suppose you put it there this morning before the party?"

You could almost see Aidou's temper rising. His sapphire eyes sparkled accusingly as he waved the earring in front of the pureblood's face.

"Yeah, well let me tell ya, Kaname-ouji-sama, but I most definitely didn't put this in this morning. I might wear earrings, but not this – " Aidou blushed when he realized what he said, and Kaname's smirk grew lager. He loved toing with Aidou. It was just so entertaining.

"A-Anyway, I also wonder who could be the culprit, Mr. I-can-move-things-with-my-mind-and-I'm-really-bored-lets-screw-with-Aidou-again-Kaname-sama."

Kaname sighed again, bored with the argument already. "Yeah, it was me. Congrats, Aidou. It's really you're fault for not noticing faster. Did you think those girls you were talking to were laughing at your jokes? They noticed it, but you didn't"

Aidou opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. Finally, he stormed off through the large crowds that were still milling around, even this late in the party. Kaname rolled his eyes at his friend's dramatic exit. He'd apologize later if he felt like it.

I wish something exciting would happen. I'm getting bored with party after party. I'm almost wishing the Kiriyus would attack again…then at least I'd have something to kill…

Kaname slouched deeper in his chair at the front of the room, resigning himself to another long, boring night of dancing, eating, and boredom.

When will something exciting happen around here?