Prologue:

Zero clutched his mother's hand tighter, using her warmth as a reminder as to what they were about to be do. He hadn't wanted to come with her in the first place, but with his father out of town for a job, she had easily guilt tripped him into tagging along.

It had been years since he last remembered seeing his twin. Two years ago, when his father and his brother left, Zero remembered only the tears in his mother's eyes and the painful feeling of guilt in his own chest. For some reason, he had always blamed himself for anything that had occurred to Ichiru, often times when he wasn't even around his other half. But now that he'd been separated from Ichiru for so long, Zero felt like he had never truly known his twin and, shockingly, he was nervous about seeing him for the first time since then.

"What's that face for, little Zero?"

The ten year old boy gazed up at his mother, a beautiful figure in his child mind, and witnessed her dazzling smile. She would often tell him that he would scowl too often and that his face would eventually freeze that way if he wasn't careful. But despite loving and trusting his mother till the ends of the Earth, he never did believe her when she said that to him. Now, as they walked hand-in-hand down the deserted street of their hometown, he could see himself looking inquisitively at the pavement, seeking all the answers to his questions from the dried cement he tread upon, and apparently, his mother had seen him as well.

"There's no need to be nervous, Zero." She always did that—talk as if she was reading his thoughts. It had spooked him for a while, but when he had confronted her about it, she had just laughed until tears streamed down her face and told him it was nothing but a motherly thing. "If anything, Ichiru will be ecstatic to see you. He talks about you all the time from what your father says." She smiled at him, reassuring him with her warmth, and they walked on, passing the occasional person.

With Zero's mind freed of all doubt about his brother, he let his mind wander for the remainder of the walk. Each individual that he and his mother passed was analyzed by the boy, at least as much as a ten year old can analyze. With the Virus making its way around the cities, the citizens were becoming more and more health conscious. And paranoid. Almost half of the people they walked by kept a cloth or a mask over their mouth to negate the toxin carried through the air.

"They're not protected at all," his mother muttered.

He knew this. His mother continually told him of the epidemic floating around the more populous portion of the cities and of how the people who obtained the disease were too evolved. It was random mostly: it is one facet of genetics that has remained true. For those who were born without the correct sequence of proteins within their DNA structure, the disease, once encountered, would eventually wipe them off the planet.

Many of the hunters that came before him, his mother's generation, had succumbed to the epidemic before the planet's scientists could figure out the cause of the selectiveness of the virus. Zero and the rest of the world, actually, now knew why. The virus was actually thousands of years old; no society on the planet had any record of any outbreak as picky as this. However, once the historians, scientists and all like minds finally began collaborating, it was perhaps a year before it was discovered within the old tombs of the ancient civilizations. It was the same in almost all cases: the society would be warring, people would die by the hundreds each day, and eventually, the foul decomposing bodies triggered the activation mechanism within the virus cell, awakening it.

At the time, only a select few humans actually knew of the vampires: namely the hunters. So, not one of the awarding winning scientists and historians could determine the exact cause of the virus' reawakening, until a certain group of vampires stood up in public announcing their existence. Well, one can imagine the uproar that was created. Most, if not all, prominent figures in every society avidly denied the vampires and everything to do with them; until the hunter's also stood up and, for once, agreed that it was about time the world knew. Consequently, the vampires and hunters were at a peak in the war, accumulating thousands of deaths each year on both sides.

The equation fit: warring communities, deaths up the wahoo, and thousands more easily succumbing to the novel virus running rampant in the streets.

"Zero—we're here, kiddo."

The little boy looked up from his thoughts just as soon as his mother stopped in front of small house in the middle of nowhere. It was a boring grayish colour with only a few windows, shaded, so neither he nor his mother could peer inside.

He watched for a moment as his mother walked up to the door, not sure if she was serious or if she was just making it seem so. She knocked; he waited.

And waited.

Then he heard the latch click, then the lock mechanism retract back into place. The door opened just enough for a figure to appear, but not be completely visible to the naked eye.

"Che c'è? —"

"Hello, Cross-san!"

It was a strange sight to say the least. The tall blonde man that burst from the door frame ran out with nothing but pajamas and a shawl on shouting nonsensical greetings in what sounded like gibberish to Zero. But his mother was just as enthusiastic as he was, spouting words he'd never heard from her mouth, or anyone else's for that matter. The two of them hugged, giggling like the school girls his mother used to tell him about.

It was stranger still, when 'Cross-san' came up to him and, of all the things for him to do, hugged him. Zero was not used to random people embracing him, but then again, most people weren't.

"Cari amici benvenuti."

"Come siete, Cross?"

"Meraviglioso! entrato, entri."

At this his mother smiled warmly at Zero, took his hand, and led him away from the strange man and inside, signifying the end of the conversation.

The interior of the shady house was no better than its outside appearance. The entrance way was simple enough, but Zero could see the deteriorating wood starting to fall apart. His mother led him through a door immediately on their right, and into the kitchen/dining room area. Zero could feel the enmity growing within the pit of his stomach. It was yellow. The whole freaking room was painted an obnoxious sunshine yellow.

"You like?"

Zero turned and frowned at Cross who stood idly in the entrance to the kitchen area. His smile was grating Zero's nerves unlike anyone the boy had ever met; were all people truly this irritating? He couldn't imagine this hyperactive man, who looked middle-aged in appearance, could do to his timid little brother.

"It doesn't seem any different than it was the last time I was here, Cross," his mother ushered Zero to the round table in the far corner of the room situated by three fairly large windows. She sat down in one of the five chairs surrounding the table and pulled another out for her son.

"No, no. I repainted last month! Just a touch up really, but I guess some people just don't have the correct eye for detail."

Zero tried his hardest to analyze the crazy man in front of him. He seemed to know more than one language, obvious by his fluent usage of both Zero's native tongue, and one that his mother also seemed to know and be able to use. Clearly, he wasn't as stupid as his apparent façade illustrated. The need to please those around him emanated from the man's every action, but Zero could sense an underlying aura of authority and prowess that stemmed from experience and innate charisma. There was so much more to this man than his appearance gave.

"Zero?"

He looked up from the crack on the wooden table he'd been staring at and focused on his mother. She was looking at him lovingly still, seeing his need to know all about his surroundings, but still she kept her mouth closed on the matter. Instead, she brought the next best thing to his attention.

"Would you like to see Ichiru now?"

The boy's eyes lit up immediately. His anxiety about meeting his twin vanished. His decade old mind only wanted to be reunited with his other half; the mysteries surrounding Cross be damned. He nodded enthusiastically, making his mother laugh.

"He's upstairs waiting for you. He was so excited when I told him you would be visiting." Cross mused, crossing his legs as he sat at the table.

Zero looked at the strange man giggling to himself at the table, murmuring something about how adorable the two boys were when they were together. Zero truly did not know what to make of this man-child. He shook his head and left the room, before he was intoxicated with the silliness emanating from Cross.

The house had two stories from outside, and perhaps a basement, but Zero found a staircase only ascending and decided it was his best bet. As he climbed, he noticed the drastic change the interior design undertook. It was as if a lunatic… Cross, had planned out the decoration for the lower story and a person of completely different personality took the liberty of doing the upper floor. Instead of a blaring yellow paint job, the walls were a calming striped wall design, looked professionally done, based on Zero's experience with the kitchen below him.

It was slow going for Zero as he examined the various paintings and vases that he passed. From what he saw downstairs, he was shocked to say the least by all the glamour he found around him. He couldn't wrap his head around how the inside of the house seemed so much larger than how it was on the exterior. He tried not to think too much since he'd approached the house in the first place, his thoughts providing him next to no comfort at the moment.

After passing multiple paintings featuring nothing but the old country-style homes surrounded by fields, mountains and rivers, Zero finally made it to a door. It was the only one he'd seen so far, at least on the upper level; it was rather plain looking: wooden, the lines of the tree it was supposedly from stood out against the stain of the rest of the material making the wood seem much more sturdy than it truly was.

Zero didn't know what exactly he was planning to do; it seemed wrong for him to just walk in and announce to Ichiru, if he was indeed residing within the room before him, that he had arrived and wanted to talk to him right away. But he also didn't want to just knock and say the same thing. Invasion of privacy was something he didn't enjoy, and he was sure his twin would feel the same way.

He deliberated for a minute, trying his best to decide quickly.

"Cross!"

Zero started as the voice carried through the door louder than he thought possible.

"Seriously man, if your just going to hover outside my door all day, at least keep your—"

Ichiru paused. Zero blinked. Both boys stared at the other, unsure of what to do next.

"Hey kiddo, have you found..."

Zero turned from the mirror image staring him in the face to see his mother standing at the top of the stairs. She glanced at her elder son, then at her younger, a smile beginning to form on her youthful features. "Ichiru dear, how are you feeling today?" she spoke to him with the same amount of love littering her voice as she did with Zero. For him, it relieved some of the anxiety from his mind. At least they aren't playing favorites.

"I'm doing better this morning, thanks to the medicine Cross bought for me yesterday. But my head still hurts when I move around too much."

Zero looked back at his brother, wondering why he was so sick all the time. That was one facet of life before their solitary that he clearly remembered. The two of them would always play outside in the summer, chasing rabbits and hunting for bugs they could show their mother. But they were never outside for more than three hours a day because Ichiru would start to cough and wheeze, his lungs sounding like they were giving out as he stood. It was even worse when the weather got colder, and where they lived, the winters were long and the summers were short. It was always difficult for Zero not to dote on his younger brother due to his prone to illness. He felt like such an important and responsible older brother.

"Make sure you're taking care of yourself. Don't want to be pushing yourself too hard now that you're finally showing some progress."

Ichiru nodded to his mother, smiling to reassure her of his obedience.

Zero saw the mischievousness gleaming in his brother's eyes and reached his hand out, taking Ichiru's in his own. He turned back to his mother, smiling at her just as his twin had done, reassuring her with his eyes. Apparently she got the hint, as she muttered something about going downstairs to keep Cross out of the kitchen and when Ichiru turned to walk into his room, she glanced back over her shoulder and winked at Zero.

With the door safely secured and the two brothers comfortably situated on Ichiru's bed, the two of them dropped all facades previously worn and grinned. Ichiru leapt from his position on the bed and tackled Zero to the ground with a giggle and a hug. Zero returned the favor with a well-placed smack to his sibling's lower back. It was just like before, the two of them playfully fighting it out, Zero making sure to keep away from his younger twin's weak spots.

The two brothers struggled on the bed for a minute, Zero and Ichiru fighting for the right to be on top: bragging rights for the day. Whoever won that day would have to do everything the other told him to without complaining and more importantly, no tattling to mom or dad. Zero was more than capable, but most times he let his sibling win. Now, however, neither was thinking of bragging or tattling or even ordering the other around; it was just their playful way of releasing any and all tension the situation could create.

Zero, undoubtedly, ended up winning the struggle; he sat on his younger twin's lap, his left hand grasping the two wrists of Ichiru above his head, "I win, Nii-san."

Ichiru had no control over his body. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, all of his senses were cut off. He didn't know what was happening to him. He heard his brother's voice above him, but it was faint, an ocean of silence separating him from his other half.

"Ichiru? Hey, wake up man!"

Zero rocked his still brother's form back and forth trying awaken him. It hadn't been his fault this time! He'd done nothing to any of Ichiru's weaker spots on his body, he hadn't been too rough with him, and he hadn't even been sitting on him! Was he still sick from before? Was it a new illness that he knew nothing about? He didn't know—he didn't know anything! He felt his heart rate increase drastically, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Ichiru! C'mon, Ichiru! We just saw each other for the first time in years, you can't go passing out on me!"

Zero glanced at the door, hoping to see his mother or even the man-child Cross standing there smiling at him, or Ichiru smiling up at him, laughing at his overreaction. But there were no adults to help him, and his brother—

The boy's heart froze; he couldn't breathe. Out of the corner of Ichiru's mouth, oozed a black liquid. There was no sound, only the rancid smell of rotting meat mixed with overripe fruit. Zero closed off his nose and mouth, keeping the vomit-inducing stench from his senses. Then it came again, this time from his brother's closed eyes.

Zero couldn't hold it in any longer; he screamed.

The door shot open and both his mother and Cross appeared in the doorway. One glance at the situation and his mother was at his brother's side and Cross was holding Zero upright away from the bed.

She worked quickly; she resituated her youngest so his head was propped on the five or so pillows at the head of the bed, then she grabbed a napkin from her pocket and dabbed at the fluid until it was clear. A vial of murky red liquid appeared in her hand next. The top came off and a long needle, at least by Zero's standards, was revealed. His eyes widened but he couldn't look away as she quickly found a vein in his brother's arm and injected the whole concoction into his body.

Zero couldn't move as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. He remembered Ichiru always being sick, but this was too much. His brother had never coughed up blood let alone that—that…

"Cross! Get him out of here!"

He felt strong hands steering him away from Ichiru, his chest heaving with each rasping breath. He tried to resist but the grip was something fierce and he couldn't break it. The last thing he saw was his brother arching off the bed; the last thing he heard was his brother screaming in pain.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The virus was never given a name. Nobody bothered to come up with anything creative like the Swine Flu or the Mad-Cow Disease, instead it was just The Virus. Everybody knew what people were talking about when it came up in general conversation and the agencies that were working to create a cure had its official letter-number-combination identification which was never released to the public.

The Hunter's Association and the Vampires had officially come out to the public about a century ago which had created an uproar to rival that of the outbreak of the Virus. Hordes of people completely denied everything that had be revealed, others were either completely frightened or pissed that an unknown war had uprooted an ancient virus that killed millions of people in just a few years. Skeptics and paranoid united to demand a real explanation from the power nations of the world.

But by that time, each nation's Head of State had acknowledged the existence of the vampires and the presence of the hunters. The nobles and the remaining purebloods had holds over somebody extremely powerful in every power house of the world and used that power to keep any sort of rebellious humans in check.

After the initial two years of mass panic and nightmare situations for clean-up crews, the hunters and the vampires had their treaty officially put into place. The two groups worked together to keep the after-effects of the virus in check.

The selection process that the virus undergoes once it infects the body takes up to at least two weeks and up to a year to complete. After it takes over blood cells it rapidly multiplies, just like any pathogen. Thousands of cells then all attack at once. The infected individual's DNA has evolved past the point of being able to defend against the ancient virus and the body eventually gives out.

People infected start to feel weak and nauseous before anything else. Next comes the discoloration of the skin: the infected turn a deathly pale or a very unhealthy grey. After another week or so, the real scare occurs. The orifices of the body begin to seep a black muck that is the liquefied internal body matter. Then, they die.

It is only in extremely rare cases that a person is infected at an early age and lives past a decade.

At least that was what Zero's mother had told him the day after they had went to see his twin brother.

Chapter 1

"Hey, there he is!"

"Oh my gosh, you're right!"

"I don't see why everyone is making such a big deal outta this guy. I mean he's just like any other guy here."

"No way! You obviously don't understand who he is!"

"Yeah, he's like a god around here."

Zero Kiryuu walked through the hallways of the Hunter's Association with a scowl plastered on his face. He didn't enjoy hearing about other hunters idolizing him over something that he found easy. Hunting was in his blood after all, as it was with all the hunters.

The rather loud whispers continued as he passed by the two girls and the one boy, the females giggling as he walked by. He suppressed the urge to smash their heads together and continued onto the meeting with all the high class hunters and the ruling pureblood and his noble advisors for the vampires.

A conflict was arising between the humans and the vampires again. The country Acron was asserting that an army of vampires had invaded their country unannounced. They proclaimed there had a been a full scale attack on young children throughout the small country with many of them turning into Level-D vampires without their consent. Also, an extremely long list of disappearances had accumulated over the past couple weeks. In order to keep the humans appeased and to keep the vampires from overreacting to the accusations, the Association had been called to help resolve the issue.

Zero arrived to the meeting just as soon as the blonde haired president—that spastic man he had met when he was ten—walked out of the room.

"Oh, Zero-kun. I'm glad I caught you before you went in there."

Kaien Cross was not the same man he'd been those ten years ago when Zero had first met him. No, after the…incident with his younger twin, the man had changed a complete 180 degrees. He no longer bounced around like a school girl in love, Zero had seen his house recently and it was very sophisticated looking, and he had dropped the complete innocence act entirely. Now he ran the Hunter's Association in place of his predecessor with strict enforcement of regulation but a caring and understanding personality. He had watched Zero grow from a mere apprentice to the top hunter in the entire society.

"Just so you're forewarned, these vampires that are coming are a little protective of their leader." Cross patted Zero firmly on the arm. "Remember, they aren't the same beasts you hunt on your missions. They work for the same things we do on a base level, they just do it differently."

A scowl plastered itself on Zero's face. He knew why Cross was telling him this and he didn't like the fact that he was being reminded of something so obvious.

"I may be angry at vampires, President Cross, but I know the difference between a Fallen and a high ranking noble or pureblood."

Cross smiled at his ten-year apprentice's response and clapped him on the shoulder once more before turning to leave and stopping, "Don't go in just yet, Zero." When the silver-haired hunter gave him that look of confusion he chuckled, "I just don't want you commanding the meeting without me even here to do my job."

"I don't think that would be a problem, Cross."

The elder hunter shook his head and sighed, "You don't realize how much charisma you emit, Zero. Just wait until I return from my office, I won't be very long."

So Zero watched him run the exact way he'd came as he stood outside the door to the meeting room alone.

Some of his fellow hunters passed by occasionally, many of them younger girls who had developed an irrational crush on him. They would point and giggle as they walked by and he would blatantly ignore their very existence. It was something he had had to deal with since he had developed his reputation as the top hunter.

The Kiryuu clan had been among one of the first to undergo the change that their progenitor had offered the humans so long ago; their tie to the anti-vampire charm in their blood was the strongest in the Association so it was only natural for Zero to excel at his job. Other people called it pure talent, but Zero didn't quite believe them. Of course, it didn't hurt when one is trained by the legendary "Fangless Vampire."

Zero shuddered at the thought. He would have never thought that the nearly psychotic man he'd met ten years ago had such a reputation. His mother had never mentioned Cross to him or when he was around. His old teacher, Toga Yagari, hadn't mentioned him either. Cross was an enigma to him, but he wasn't hard to get along with.

He was jumped from his musings by a flare in his senses. He hadn't realized he'd closed his eyes until he opened them and deadpanned at the four vampires that were in front of him.

There were three males, two blonde and one a brunette, and one female, with grey hair not unlike his own silver locks. The blondes, one with kind green eyes and one with chilly blue ones, and the female were the nobles. The brunette screamed in his senses as a pureblood and the air of regality was hard to miss. He stood in front of the other three, flanked by the two blondes and the grey-haired vampire behind him.

The pureblood's burgundy eyes locked with his and he curtly nodded his acknowledgement before he feigned disinterest and began awaiting Cross' return once more. He didn't see the small upturn of the pureblood's lips at his behavior before the four of them entered the room.

Not too long afterwards, Cross arrived, slightly out of breath.

"Okay, I've got the notes for the meeting! We can go in now."

Zero shook his head and smiled as he followed his mentor into the room. Alright, so Cross didn't change completely. Sometimes he was still a total airhead.

Inside, the vampires had taken up seats nearest the door on one side of the long table that occupied the majority of the room. Chairs surrounded the table with two larger ones occupying the two heads of the table—the pureblood was sitting in one and Cross was headed to the other. Out of courtesy to the guests, only four hunters were in the room: President Cross, Zero, his fellow hunter Kaito, and one of Cross' advisors Myron.

Just like the vampires on the opposite side of the room, Zero and Kaito were standing on either side of Cross' chair and Myron sat on his right.

"Kuran-sama, it is nice to see you again, though it is a shame it is under such circumstances."

"I agree, Cross-san, but this is a matter that must be dealt with swiftly and precisely." He paused for a moment, and then as an afterthought, "And please, don't add formalities now after all this time."

Zero paid little attention as the meeting between the two races dragged on. He really saw no reason for them to be there for more than a couple minutes at least to discuss the pros and cons of different plans and scenarios, but apparently he was sorely mistaken. Cross and the pureblood known as Kuran spoke for two hours about possible plans of action, means, funds and consequences for each one. Occasionally, the grey-haired female vampire—Seiren he thought he heard her name was—or Myron would chime in an idea or a missed point. The two blondes kept silent and, to Zero's amusement, kept an extremely close eye on him in particular.

He could tell the meeting was drawing to a close when the blue-eyed vampire glared at him every few minutes then fidgeted before glancing at the clock.

"I will send my best to accompany you then, Kaname-kun."

Cross pushed back his chair, forcing Zero back to the reason he was here and not sleeping. His mentor turned to him and smile wryly; Zero, having missed the entirety of the meeting, shook his head slightly, his amethyst eyes wide in confusion. Kaito nudged him forward, and his legs carried him after Cross who had crossed the room and was shaking the pureblood's hand.

"This is Zero Kiryuu, the top hunter in the Association." The President turned to his pupil, "Zero, this is Kaname Kuran, the vampire prince. You will be traveling with him to Acron to find out what's been happening, why, and by whom." Zero's confused mind caught up rather quickly and he narrowed his eyes at his superior. "Don't give me that look, I'll be giving you a full briefing in my office in twenty minutes."

"President Cross, that doesn't seem to be a very good idea." Kaito said from where he was still standing.

"Why not, Takamiya-kun?"

Kaito narrowed his eyes and stormed over to Cross with a huff. He leaned in close and whispered, quietly enough so that the vampires couldn't eavesdrop, "What about Zero's condition? And next week is not exactly when he's in his best form."

A rare occurrence—Cross turned and glared directly into Kaito's eyes. The commanding aura of the Fangless Vampire filled the room and Kaito dropped his head to save the room from a fight breaking loose.

"I've taken everything into consideration, Kaito, and I still believe that Zero is the best choice for the job."

He turned and nodded once at the vampires, Kaname in particular, gestured for Myron to follow him and left the meeting room.

"I'm sorry, man," Kaito turned to Zero and saw the worry blatantly shining in his eyes and in his posture, "I tried."

Zero shook his head, not wanting to discuss this matter in front of the four vampires staring at the remaining hunters. Why they hadn't left already was beyond him. He could see the two blonde nobles talking in whispers about something. They weren't what Zero was really wary of though. He could sense the pureblood's eyes boring into his back; he certainly wasn't trying to hide his curiosity. It was disconcerting too when he sighed audibly before too leaving the room with his three nobles in tow.

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't be letting stuff like that get to me anymore." Zero finally said when the door closed and he'd heard the last of their retreating footsteps.

The two of them stood in the room for a few more minutes, silently counting down until Zero's full briefing was a hand. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a comforting one. Zero knew that many of the hunters knew of his handicap, condition, disorder, whatever they wanted to call it, but nobody really spoke of it. The topic was almost as taboo for the hunters as drinking pureblood was for vampires. Zero had a firm hold over the hearts and spirits of the hunters even if he didn't actually realize it; he was respected completely throughout the Association.

After a while, he sighed and smiled at Kaito before too leaving the room. He closed the door behind him and heaved one more sigh before glaring at the person leaning against the exact wall he had been not two hours ago.

"Why are you still here, vampire?"

Kaname Kuran smirked at the ferocity in the hunter's voice. The hunter had caught his eye when Takuma, Aido, Seiren and he had finally reached the designated room for the meeting. He'd seen him once or twice when it was necessary for him to invade the hunters' sanctuary, but something was different about him now. He couldn't put his finger on it and it was bugging him to no end.

"I figured you and I could speak a little before we fly off into potential enemy territory, but if you'd rather go in blind, that's fine too."

"We'll have plenty of time for niceties after I've been briefed." Zero pointed out, "Excuse me, I have to go speak with President Cross."

The hunter prodigy marched off, leaving the pureblood behind, staring at him from the outside of the meeting room.

"Zero, I don't want you worrying about anything like that while on this mission."

Cross' office was full of random junk, funny-looking paintings, knick-knacks, strange artifacts, that Zero liked to look at when he was obviously not happy with what his mentor tells him. He's become rather fond of one particular painting of and old-religion's angelic figure taking out hundreds of what looked like demons. It reminded him of the world they currently lived in.

"I've taken care of all the necessary precautions and even sent ahead some extra supplies to where you'll be staying in Acron."

Zero continued to blatantly ignore what Cross was telling him. He didn't want to acknowledge that we was actually taking the information in despite his lack of appropriate listening courtesies. He didn't want this week to continue. He didn't want anything to do with this Acron mission. And he certainly didn't want to have to accompany Kaname Kuran.

"Zero, are you even list—"

"Of course I am, President Cross." He interrupted. He finally turned his body away from the depressing painting and allowed himself to look the powerful hunter in the eyes. "I understand how important this mission is, to both us hunters and the vampires. I heard every word you've said the past ten minutes about the how, when, where, why and what." He paused as he made sure he did actually know all these details about his mission, but continued after classifying Cross' words in the correct categories. "I know this week is on average the one where I screw up the most, but I've made a resolution to not look weak in front of this vampire."

After he was finished, Cross smiled at him and handed him a manila folder. "Then I guess that you should get ready to go then. Here's all the information I just gave you."

Zero thanked him and proceeded to head in the general direction of the exit. He was almost to the receptionist's desk when something caught his attention and he grimaced. He glanced at the exit then decided against it and veered to the eastern most part of the building to sate his curiosity. The usual occurred as he walked, there were rather loud whispers and a few giggles from younger female hunters, but Zero didn't hear any of it. Instead, his mind naturally wandered to his newly assigned mission.

Acron wasn't that old of a country, and it wasn't very impressive in size either. The population was a measly ten thousand and would register extremely low on any international scale of importance except for the insane amount of resources available and exports that the country produced. This supposed attack on the country could mean hell for the hunters and the vampires. If people started to believe that an invasion was ordered by the vampires, they would demand the hunters take some sort of action. Another war was not what the world needed at the moment.

The string of child turnings and disappearances was what they, he and his partner… had to deal with. In order to appease the human population, they needed to clarify that a single vampire was behind the turnings and perhaps a group behind the disappearances. The problem?—the children who were turned have no memory of the vampire or of ever even leaving the house the night they were bitten. Also, that part of the world had no resident pureblood to pin the whole thing on, so it could potentially be any of the small remaining pure vampires. Even more troublesome, was the terrain. Half of the country hadn't even been accurately mapped according to the report and the mountain range that ran through that half of the country had countless cave systems and fog issues, meaning that safely traversing the area would be extremely difficult.

All of this he could deal with. What he didn't want to deal with was being stuck in a foreign country with a vampire that he didn't even know. He huffed in annoyance when he thought of Kuran waiting for him outside the meeting room. Yeah, right, all he wanted to do was get to know him. It was obvious the pureblood had ulterior motives—he wasn't fooling anybody. This pureblood sure was full of himself.

Then again, aren't all high class vampires full of themselves? They always were and even more so since their bodies were naturally mutated and the Virus that swept across the world—which still hadn't gone dormant even though peace had been established for about twenty-five years now—couldn't penetrate the cells in their body. It was as if Nature was hinting at their superiority in a roundabout way. And the slight compliment had definitely gone to the vampires' heads.

Zero stopped abruptly, making the person behind him grumble angrily before walking away. The Virus… it was something he tended to keep his mind away from. The death toll had increasingly decreased ever since the Great War between the hunters and the vampires had come to an end. But it was still there and still very much a threat to any living human. The general hope around the world was that it was on its final lap and the dormant stage would reinstate itself once more within the next couple of years.

For his mentality's sake, he hoped to any god that they were right. Thoughts about the Virus always got him in the worst of moods. For the twenty years he's been alive, the Virus hadn't been very kind to him. First, before he was even born, it had taken his older brother from him. Then, when he was eleven, the Virus took his teacher, Yagari Toga. One year later, his mother was taken, and four years after that, his father followed.

His parents succumbing to the Virus was devastating by themselves, but he didn't actually witness them. His teacher falling to the Virus was tragic as well because then he had to train with crazy Cross, but he hadn't actually seen that either. His older brother he could barely feel anything for, but still, he was family and it was depressing that he died before Zero ever got to meet him.

All of these deaths affected him greatly at the time, and still to the day, have kept him up at night. But these weren't the one that he saw, that he smelled, that he heard. His chest felt tight as his breathing become labored and he could feel his lungs screaming at him to inhale. He couldn't though for he was back in that well-furnished room, on that incredibly soft bed, gazing down at his dying twin.

He shuffled backwards until he hit the wall. Luckily, there were no other people in this hallway at this time of day and he gladly slid down until he rested on the floor. Breathing was difficult but manageable for now. He hated this week, and every memory and feeling that went along with it. He hated having to deal with it when he should have moved on years ago. He hate being this weak. And he especially hated having to spend his weakest week with a fucking vampire.

This mission is going to suck.

Zero calmed his frantically beating heart for a couple minutes on the floor. He didn't want the unwanted guests to sense his distress before he had the chance to even see them. That and he didn't know if he could suffer another attack like that and have Cross still give him this mission…

A very encouraging and soothing voice in his head was whispering at him to have a panic attack in front of the President so he could actually get sick leave to stay in his apartment until the week had passed. He got up and pushed the nagging idea away.

The last thing he wanted to do was look weak in front of Cross or anybody of importance in his life. He had to be strong for the both himself and them, after all.

He kept walking towards the blaring presence about two hallways down from his current location. He could sense them now, but he kept his aura in check so as to not alter them too soon to his own approaching footsteps.

"Seiren, I need you to arrange suitable boarding arrangements for my trip to Acron. The hunters agreed to paying the airfare as long as I took care of the lodging."

"Of course, Kaname-sama."

"Aido, make sure to keep the vampires in town under control. With my presence thousands of miles away they're bound to get riled up."

"Anything for Kaname-sama."

"Takuma, please keep my company running smoothly. Refrain from calling me also, unless the situation is unsalvageable only then will I step in."

"You know you didn't need to ask, Kaname."

Zero was shaken from his thoughts as the four vampires came into view once more. He was sure that the meeting had ended over half an hour ago, and that their business here was complete. No hunter seemed to want to confront them though as they walked down the hallway, undisturbed while the young hunters kept to the walls in groups.

It was a good thing that Zero had no qualms about approaching vampires that were not allowed.

"Hey, Kuran!" he yelled across the hall, "Why are you still here?"

The white noise in the hallway immediately died at his appearance. The hunters froze in their movements and watched their idol hunter apprehensively. The four vampires also halted their walk towards the eastern exit. He could feel the anger rising in one of the blondes—the one with freaky hair—but he chose to ignore it in favor of watching the pureblood's reaction.

At first it seemed as though he was just going to ignore Zero and continue on his way. But he wasn't disappointed when Kaname Kuran turned around and smirked at him. His eyes held hints of amusement and annoyance, but other than that they were unreadable.

He stared at Zero for only a few seconds, but they seemed to drag on into infinity. "Kiryuu-san, if I told you that," he paused and smiled broadly, his fangs revealed intentionally and his eyes blazed a dark crimson, "I'm afraid there would be no more need for you."

And before Zero, or any of the present hunters, could react, Kaname and his three followers were out the door.

"What the hell is that vampire's problem anyway?"

Kaito only shrugged as his long-time friend hung on his shoulder as they walked slowly away from the bar.

"I mean, nobody actually says stuff like that!" Zero's words were slurred so badly to the point that he sounded foreign to passerby's ears.

Kaito sighed and just muttered an affirmative and continued dragging Zero towards his apartment.

Zero, needless to say, was not a happy drunk. This was the only time of the year that he allowed himself to imbibe excessive amounts of alcohol. He had reason to drown his troubles this time too, because apparently, he would be leaving for Acron in not two, not three, but one measly day. One day which, at the bar, turns to five hours lickity-split. Zero wasn't even remotely ready to get on a plane in five hours. He was barely going to be in dreamland in five hours let alone awake and rearing to hunt some rogue vampires with THE pureblood.

Oh yeah, Zero had heard. After confronting him in the hallway like he did. Cross insisted that he had told Zero during his debriefing, but it wasn't in the file so Zero ignored Cross' claim.

Prince Kaname Kuran—basically the leader of every vampire in existence. Only purebloods could challenge his authority and even then it was rare for them to try it outright. Kaname's position had a catch though and that was his age. Apparently, he wasn't that old for a vampire or a pureblood and his ability to command respect from vampires that have been living for hundreds of years was difficult. Many of them believed he could be molded into something that would work for what only they wanted. Others just denied he had any real power besides being the only son of the Kuran family. Either way, Kuran had a lot of troubles with his own kind, which was why he did manual labor every once in a while: to rally the troops, so to speak.

"Zero, quit stopping, I want to crash so badly right now. Just keep moving!"

At Kaito's prompting, Zero stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry.

The immature response that bubbled out of him made the both of them fall to the concrete in a fit of drunken giggles. People snickered and pointed or they shook their heads and continued walking, but either way, the two hunters were drawing a lot of attention to themselves. It was only a half a minute of not-stop chortling when a boot lightly struck Zero's ribcage.

"Hey, the hell are you two doing?"

The two hunters looked up at the face of their senior, Myron, glaring down at them. Zero couldn't resist another set of snorts, but soon quieted after another, harder, kick in the ribs.

"Get up ya two idgets, and walk your asses to the complex."

They fell, tripped and shuffled their way onto their feet, where Zero swayed a little too far, and fell once more, taking Kaito with him. The laughter didn't come this time, as Myron scowled at their idiocy before walking away.

"You two better be back in your apartments in an hour or I will tell Cross to cut your pay!"

Zero and Kaito stared at Myron's retreating back for a couple minutes on the ground before the full statement truly hit their brains. And when it did, they were off the ground and on their feet like cats before they took off down the road at a full sprint as if all of hell were chasing them.

They were sweaty and exhausted by the time they reached the front door to the apartment complex where they both lived. Zero was damn near throwing up everything he'd eaten in the last eight hours as he hunched over the garbage bin outside while Kaito worked on opening the lock.

He didn't know how long it had taken them to run however many miles it was to their homes, but he was sure they had another fifteen minutes to spare. Which didn't make sense in his still hazed mind, because he was sure they had tripped more than once through the park, and they had taken a couple wrong turns here and there.

But he checked his phone, and sure enough, ten minutes remained on their time limit to full pay.

When Kaito finally mustered up the coordination to unlock the front door, their time was down to seven minutes and they weren't about to waste any of that with idle chatter. Zero left Kaito on the second floor and proceed to the fourth where he took as much time unlocking the door to his apartment as Kaito had taken with the front entrance.

Thank Lady Luck that he was closing the door when he heard the sure sound of Myron's heavy boots heading up the stairs.

AN: So this is just experimental. I've had this story written for over a year now, and it's been sitting in my stories' folder since it's completion a looooong time ago. I honestly do know where this would go, but I don't think I'll update all that often because I NEED to finish Business Terms. Coming of Age is... coming along but it isn't high on my priority list and honestly my love for it has dropped ^^; Anway I hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to let me know what you thought!

And don't ask about the ending of this chapter O.O I just really wanted to write a drunken Zero *hearts* and forgive the death of Yagari and the name of the new hunter... I needed another significant death in Zero's life, and the first name I had was Kagari... and I didn't realize that's Yagari with a freaking 'K'! So I went with the next name that popped into my brain ^^

Also, the Italian might not actually be correct because I'm a struggling language student who hasn't been able to actually study Italian yet so Google translate is my friend who only really speaks English. Please forgiveth me!

Cross and Zero's mom's conversation SUPPOSEDLY translates to:

"Che c'è? —" (beginning of "who is it?")

"Cari amici benvenuti." (welcome dear friends)

"Come siete, Cross?" (How are you Cross?)

"Meraviglioso! entrato, entri." (Wonderful! Come in, come in)