Author's Note:

So I've been watching and reading a lot of Tsubasa and Amnesia lately. I decided to take a break and revisit the Vampire Knight fandom. Well, this is the result of such a strange mixture. The plot is a bit . . . loopy. Once the story really gets going later you will see what I mean. Oh, it is also an AU.

SUMMARY: A disturbance in the natural order of things starts a domino effect of far-reaching and powerful consequences. Both Kaname and Zero are unable to escape the results. And they find themselves ensnared in an intricate web of fate and freewill.

WARNINGS: Rated M for violence, language, and sexual content. Read at your own discretion.

PAIRINGS: Kaname/Zero, Yuuki/Akatsuki, Cross/Yagari

Don't flame for something I already warned against.

This is unbeta'd. I apologize in advance for any mistakes I didn't catch.

Read and review.

Ensnared

Chapter I: Opening

Zero Kiryu knocked on the gate with a tight fist, loudly, for several beats. His tall figure was held in a stiff stance, sticking out among the deserted surroundings of the Moon Dormitory's entrance. It was mid-day, so none of the screaming sea of adoring teenage girls were around. All the better, in his opinion.

The iron doors stayed shut, but the gatekeeper appeared behind them. The old weathered man shuffled forward until he stood just a foot away, his cloaked body bent in a case of bad posture. "A day student come to visit the Night Class?"

Zero ignored the tone of disapproval in the scratchy deep voice. He reached into the inner pocket of his school issued blazer and pulled out his disciplinary committee arm badge. "I have clearance from Headmaster Cross to enter."

"Of course you do." The gatekeeper produced a heavy looking old-fashion key, slotting it into the lock on the inside of the door. "In spite of that privilege, I advise you to proceed with caution and tend to your business quickly young man. Nothing good lies beyond these gates."

Zero wasn't dissuaded. Something was tugging at him insistently – had been for a while now. He had to go in. "Understood." He stashed away the armband once more. "This shouldn't take long anyway."

It wouldn't, Zero told himself, it was a simple in-and-out visit. He was only going to find an answer. The confrontation had been put off long enough.

As he approached the Moon Dormitory, the foreign smell of the beasts that lived inside started to waft into his nose. Their luring scent set off alarm bells in Zero's head. A few beads of sweat slowly slipped down the back of his neck, cooling his overheated body. The hunter instincts he was born with and nurtured through his entire life were screaming inside him. Danger was close by.

When Zero went to knock on the massive arched doors, he was surprised to find them opening. Aido Hanabusa stood blinking sleepily at him through the small crack. The vampire noble's ice blue eyes narrowed upon registering Zero.

"What do you want?" Hanabusa's curtness was expected, as was his frosty tone. It was a well-known fact that there was no love lost between him and Zero.

Before Zero could respond, a second voice spoke from behind the vampire. "The Dorm President said to greet the guest, not bark at him, Hanabusa."

Akatsuki Kain, another vampire noble from the night class, appeared behind Aido. His gaze immediately landed on Zero, staying there throughout his attempt to talk his cousin down. What had Zero's attention though was what the other vampire had said. Apparently, his arrival was expected.

"So what are you two then, he welcoming committee?" Zero asked with his usual abrasive voice. If he was being manipulated into this, he was not going to be nice or quiet about his displeasure.

"You could say that." Hanabusa's restraint was obvious. He wasn't thrilled with these turn of events either –a simple deduction Zero made as he was allowed through the front door.

Zero felt the familiar tingle that lanced up his spine as he moved further into the dorm. It happened whenever he was in the presence of vampires. A hunter was only good as his repertoire of skills, which included the ability to detect them. And right now, his senses were going crazy being in their lair.

Zero glanced around, noting the windows were all blocked off to minimize the daylight. It also hindered surveillance. "Thanks, but I don't need babysitters. Especially you two. Just tell me where Kuran is and I'll be on my way."

Both Hanabusa and Kain looked uncomfortable. Kain, upon a second glance, appeared more lax of the two; his hands were shoved in his pant pockets and shoulders sloped loosely. The other vampire was incredibly tense with a vexed expression.

It was only after observing those details that Zero became aware of what the problem was. The air around them was thick. It settled on Zero like deadweight. There was a tense, anxious undercurrent that swam around the room. He had never felt anything like it before.

At that moment Akatsuki spoke. "Dorm President Kuran is in his room: second floor, to the right, last door in the hallway. You can't miss it."

Zero nodded. He didn't want to speak more than he had to, particularly with such a strange, perverse vibe in the air.

When Zero reached the obscene-sized doors, he paused. For a breath of a moment, he double-checked that he had Bloody Rose with him. The gun's weight was secure in his inner jacket pocket. He also did a quick scan of the surroundings again. That odd dampening feeling lingered more heavily where he was.

Pushing aside his unease like Yagari-sensei had taught him, Zero stiffed his spine and knocked. Only, as soon as his knuckles touched the surface, the double doors swung open. The large office space beyond was revealed to him for the first time.

Everything in the room was high quality. It was exquisitely decorated with black accented walls and ceiling, crown molding, and lavish black drapes. The massive mahogany desk situated toward the far corner of the room immediately drew Zero's eye. A high-backed, comfortable looking chair sat so the corner walls were behind it. And to the right of the impressive display was a welcoming fire place. In short, it was a room tailored perfectly to the vampire king it housed.

Sitting on a silver-trimmed, black-cushioned chaise lounge was the royal leech himself. Kaname Kuran, the purest of purebloods, lazed like a regal panther on his throne. The vampire's deep brown eyes met Zero's when they finished the citric of traveling down and up his body.

Zero's world froze when his gaze locked with Kuran's. At first, Zero thought it a cheap trick that he used. However, when he noticed that Kuran was just as transfixed as he was, Zero had to rethink the entire situation. Something was off.

That bizarre sensation from earlier lashed out at Zero. It was as if it was some physical entity without a form. Curling around him, he felt it tug and coax him over the threshold and completely into the room.

The doors swiftly closed behind him. With his heightened hearing, Zero noticed a heavy sounding lock was flicked, sealing him inside the proverbial dragon's den. Instantaneously, his hunter senses snapped to full alert. His vision became clear and honed. The smallest of insignificant sounds flooded his ears. Zero's sensory system was on overdrive, taking in all data necessary to begin plotting moves in advance.

Kuran's depthless eyes gazed into Zero's. A knowing intellect burned there. It was then that he realized the true face of the vampire in front of him was not as blandly evil as he thought. Kuran wasn't a linear mind with one simple plan and goal.

Kaname Kuran was the reigning king of any chessboard, physical or otherwise. And Zero had just unknowingly moved himself into position to start a dangerous game. Suddenly, he was no longer the hunter knight but the hunted pawn left with limited options and unable to backtrack. There was no escape.

Checkmate, Zero thought grimly.

There was a tense silence that filled the room. Something more was just under the surface of this strange situation, though. Zero could sense it. Something was . . . different about this encounter. He was different.

From Zero's quick perusal earlier, he hadn't detected anything weird about the pureblood – well, weirder. The oversized bat in disguise had always frayed his nerves, but that was it. His hunter senses were being overloaded by Kuran now, though. He imagined a cat with its fur brushed the wrong way felt a similar feeling of discomfort.

Kuran's pointed chin lifted slightly from the palm it had been resting on. "So you have finally caught up, have you Zero?"

"Caught up?" Zero questioned. His brows knit together in confusion.

"Mmhmmm," purred the vampire in a deep, low register. "You have finally noticed something is off. Haven't you?"

Yes. Zero had known it consciously for a minute. But had subconsciously been aware for some time now. Little things had been nagging at him. Odd occurrence for the last month had been piling up at his feet, begging to be asked about. Like how Kuran had suddenly found the stamina to walk around in broad daylight.

It was what brought Zero the Moon Dorms originally. He wanted to know. What was going on with Kuran's bizarre behavior as of late? The vampire had become increasingly active during the sun hours, was reportedly relying less and less on blood tablets, and his very presence seemed saturated with a new kind of strength.

Had something happened?

Kuran sighed, growing bored of waiting for Zero to speak. "You're here to ask me something. What is it?"

Zero's heart stopped. Damn it! Was he that easy to read? Or did Kuran somehow able glean that information another way?

"Don't look so surprised. I could sense your agitation and curiosity from some distance away." Kuran narrowed his eyes in thought. "On the outside you might be calm and in control. However, on the inside you scream your thoughts very loudly. It gives me headaches."

Zero glared back at the lounging vampire. He barked out, "Go to hell!"

"Already there. With all your shouting and ranting I might as well be," said Kuran smoothly.

"What does that even mean?" Zero asked angrily.

"For such an intelligent little hunter you certainly are thick as mud."

Zero clenched his fist. That last comment was a not so subtle insult to his lineage. In hunter culture, those from less than preferred breeding and unable to perform their duties for the Hunter Association were considered to be no better than mud on someone's boots. "Stop changing the subject! And answer the damn question."

"It's a simple skill really, reading minds," Kuran said slowly. The vampire rose from his pillowed seat and came to his full height. He was a bit taller than Zero recalled him being. "Unfortunately for most, it's a trade lost in time."

Zero's lips thinned. "Lucky for me, you rediscovered it."

Kuran remained quiet, something Zero noted to himself. If his hunch was right, the vampire was just toying with him. Waiting for something. But what?

"You said earlier that 'something was off.' Mind explaining?" Zero asked again, the pitch of his voice lowering with annoyance.

"You are a hunter," Kuran crooned beguilingly. "The veins in your body hold the purest, most potent blood of your kind. Use your given birthright and figure it out."

Zero was taken aback. The Kiryus were a very old hunter family, and considered to be the best stock of the lot. Every weapon and technique and training each member received was crafted, tailored to destroy the predator the hunters called prey. However, Zero didn't remember any particular "birthright" being part of their inheritance.

He wanted to believe Kuran was wrong. But what stopped Zero from reaching that conclusion was a comment the crowned leech said earlier. Kuran had made reference to a very old derogatory term. Not just old though, but primitive. It's discontinued use outdated even the eldest vampire alive currently. The only place it was ever mentioned was in a four-hundred year old diary detailing the hunter culture of the distant past. A diary belonging to a Kiryu hunter that was long dead. It had been destroyed when Zero was a child during an accidental fire.

If Kuran had somehow known such an aged factoid, what was to say he didn't have other bits of information? Zero was skeptical, still. A vampire knowing something about a secretive and guarded hunter family that an actual member didn't know about? Improbable.

But entirely possible, a voice said in the back of Zero's mind.

While Zero had been distracted, thinking, Kuran hadn't been so idle. Slowly, the vampire had approached him. It wasn't until he was two feet away that Zero noticed what was happening in real time.

Before Zero could blink, Kuran's long arm had reached out and coiled around his waist. An iron-like hand with a glacial touch clamped down on the back of his neck. Zero was instantly immobilized. He couldn't struggle an inch. The grip Kuran had on him was tougher than steal.

When Zero did try to move away he received a swift reprimanding. Cold, elongated claws scraped warningly against the soft, exposed flesh on his nape. The inhuman talons rested there for a beat. Once the threat was made, they relaxed into a gentle embrace. It was far too intimate for Zero's liking.

"Lesson number one," Kuran's soft tenor voice rumbled in his chest, which was pressed up against Zero's. "Don't think for one second you are capable of escaping me. My reach is inexhaustible. Run from me again, and I will track you, find you, and drag you back to my side."

"Wh – what are you talking about. Ouch! Why the hell are you clawing me?"

Kuran bent toward Zero, dark eyes hooded. The vampire's breath stung his nose with the scent of cinnamon and other sweet spices. "Are you saying you don't remember?"

A feeling of déjà vu danced in the back of his head. "Remember what? I don't know what you think is going on, but you clearly have lost your damn mind!"

Kuran didn't let go, just squeezed tighter. Zero felt panic start to fill his stomach. The hunter senses embedded in him were shrieking like never before from such close and dangerous proximity. He had to do something. He had to get away.

Thinking quickly, Zero ran over his knowledge of vampire physiology. He wracked his brain for a vulnerability he could use at such close range. Vampires were known for their physical strength, endurance, speed, and heightened senses. They were far more durable than humans. So muscling his way to safety was out. Even if he got away, he couldn't out run one. So somehow, he had to incapacitate the juggernaut of all things living. I'm truly, royally, fucked.

"Mmm, I'd have to agree with that assessment, in more than one way," murmured Kuran, into his ear. Soft, chilly lips brushed against one of his piercings.

Zero released an undignified noise as he was picked up, bridal style and carried away toward a door opposite the wall with the fireplace. Having scanned the room earlier, he knew that wasn't the way out.

As it turned out, it was a bedroom. Zero's eyes bulged at the sight of what was in it. Obviously there was a ridiculously sized bed. But that wasn't what worried him. The cage made of thick steel bars was a little more disconcerting. Just a bit.

"Uh, what the hell are you doing?" Zero asked with alarm edging into his voice.

Kuran's eyes lazily rolled down to look at him. "I'm ensuring your safety."

"My safety for what? Last time I checked you hated me as much as I hated you. Why the sudden change in attitude, Kuran?"

The vampire's lips pressed into a taut, pale line. "I think you need to search your memories again."

"You're talking in riddles. Just answer me, what is going on?"

Kuran placed a hand over Zero's forehead. As he started to slip away into blackness, he heard the whispered words, "Nothing that you haven't already experienced."