A young teen tied his long silver hair into a messy bun and pushed himself onto the ice. The cool air of the rink comforting him as he made his way to the center of the rink.
Zero took a deep breathe and started to skate. Gaining enough speed he leaped into the air and doing four rotations and landing cleanly. A quad Flip. Zero then did a quad axel. He landed a bit unsteadily on his right blade. He steadied himself.
Zero skated over to the speaker he brought with him. He put on one of two songs. On Love: Agape. The song one of his idols, Yuri Plisetsky, performed for his senior daybute.
Zero waited for the track to play before he began to skate. As the music began Zero tried to look as delicate and innocent as possible. Things he never was. The familiarity of the routine helped him feel confidence in every move he made. As he neared the point of the program where he would do a sit spin he took a deep breath. He had changed the ending pose to something more vunarable. He ended the routine with his arms wide open and palms facing out and his head bowed in submission. He was opening his heart to his imaginary audience and leaving himself at their mercy.
He dreamed of being a proffesional ice skater but didn't have confidence in his abilities. To him, he will never be on same level as Viktor Nikiforov once was or be anywhere close to showing the same abilities as Yuuri Katsuki and Yuri Plisetsky.
Zero was breathing hard and could tell he was not going to be able to do the second program. He skated over to stop the next song and grabbed his water bottle. Suddenly he heard hands clapping.
"That was amazing, Ro." A familiar voice says.
Zero looked up smiled slightly at his older brother's form in the bleachers.
"You always say that, Ichiru-Nii."
"But its true, ototou." Ichiru, the oldest of the Kiryu twins, smiled.
Zero blushed lightly. Damn it all! Ichiru knew he liked being praised.
"Zero, what's wrong?" Ichiru asked. He had noticed the sad look on his brother's face before he spoke to him.
"It was nothing, Nii-San." Zero looked away. Then he felt arms pull him into a warm hug.
"Zero remember, you can tell your Nii-Chan anything."
"I know. I'm fine just feeling tired is all," Zero let go of his brother and sat on the bench and took off his skates. He released his hair from its bun.
"Okay. Just remember to," Zero cut him off.
"Braid my hair so it doesn't get in my mouth. Make sure to eat before I sleep. And Say goodnight to my Nii-San." Zero recited rolling his lavender eyes.
Ichiru chuckled. "You are getting better at remembering. Go rest. I'll put your things away."
"Thanks, Ichi. Goodnight," he waved as he grabbed his phone and left.
Ichiru smiled and waved. As his brother left his smile widened. He pulled out his own phone and went to his camera roll. He chose a particular video and posted it on all his social media accounts.
Zero was going to murder him later. Being shot or pierced with the Bloody Rose or the Rose Whip was not his preferred ways to die.
Zero has always blamed himself for that fateful winter night. The night Shizuka killed his parents. He was so young and helpless. The weaker twin. He wasn't as strong as his Nii-San. Yes, he was the smarter of the duo but he held too much naivety and trust for his own good.
That night seemed normal at the start. Ichiru and himself were being tucked in per usual by their mother. She made sure Zero had dried his hair properly. Their father stood in the doorway and smiled at the nine year Olds.
Their mother stood up and walked over to the door. She switched off the light and left with their father. Zero was the weaker twin physically but his natural hunter senses were heightened.
Zero sensed her before Ichiru did. He always could sense her aura. Shizuka carried a sad and lonely air about her and Zero sympathized with her. This time she seemed, off. He felt her madness and anger is powerful waves.
Zero shook his twin awake and Ichiru tenses and jumps up. He had just sensed the Pureblood. Ichiru gave Zero an alarmed look when they heard a crash and a women's scream. Both knew it was their mother.
What the twins saw when they rushed downstairs frightened them.
Their mother lied dead on the ground with two deep bite marks in her neck. Their father was fighting off the kimono clad pureblood vampire. Ichiru ran forward picking up their mothers katana and slashed at the vampire. He was knocked to the ground and knocked unconscious.
The vampire turned her head towards Zero. She gazed at him for a second. Her eyes were slightly pink around the iris' and held sadness and grief within them. She quickly turned towards his father.
"It seems that my revenge is almost fulfilled, Chizaki Kiryu. Now," Shizuka walked towards a frozen Zero and grabbed the young boy. "Its time I finished this."
Shizuka went behind the child and sunk her fangs deep into his neck.
"Zero!" A gunshot was heard and the pureblood let go of said child. She looked towards Chizaki and growled lowly.
"Filthy hunter," she walked over and stepped on his hand then kicking the gun away. "It seems that leaving you to suffer isn't enough."
Before Zero passed out he saw Shizuka sink her claws into his Father's chest.
After leaving behind a small bottle of her blood next to Zero the pureblood fled not realizing that Ichiru was still alive.
Zero still had nightmares of that night. Nightmares that only got worse when that woman used Maria Kurinai as a vessel to infiltrate the Academy. Nightmares that began to subside briefly after Shizuka was killed but came back and still haunt him.
Zero made his way to the Headmaster's house on Academy grounds. Cross was at the Association until eleven and it was only eight. All Zero wanted to do was watch his recording of the GPF from last year and go to sleep. Then he remembered what his twin told him. Zero went to take a show and washed his hair. He dried his and threw on some silk pajamas Cross had got him for Christmas the year prior.
Walking into Cross' kitchen with a towel around his neck, Zero went to the fridge to get a small bottle of milk. He failed to notice the two vampires sitting at the table eating pocky before one of them spoke as he sat the bottle down onto the counter.
"Zero, drinking milk will not make you any taller."
Zero let out a (manly) scream and whipped around glaring. "What the hell, Rima and Senri!?"
"Its not our fault that you are oblivious nowadays. I swear Hana is rubbing off on you," the blonde says, her eyes filled with mirth.
"S-shut up, Rima!" Zero blushed and looked away. "And stop making jokes about my height!"
Wasn't Zero's fault he was only 5ft 3.
"Rima, don't make fun of Zero. Its not his fault he has not hit a growth spurt since he was like thirteen," Senri smiles pointing a pocky stick at Zero.
Zero stuck his tongue out childishly at the duo.
"Where is Hanabusa anyway?"
Rima and Shiki shared a look.
"He is being yelled at by Kaname-Sama," Rima says.
"He insulted Yuuki-Sama and made her cry," Shiki finished.
"He is always in trouble," Zero sighs. "He never learns."
"Anyways, Zero have you been feeding?" Rima asked. She noticed how he looked paler and weaker than usual.
"I haven't had blood in like two-three weeks," Zero says looking away.
"Zero!" Both Rima and Shiki glared at him.
"Zero, what have I told you about not eating?" Rima gave him a pointed look. "You know you have to come to either Shiki, Hanabusa and I for blood at most one to two times a week."
"Ri-" she cut him off.
"Don't. I know your still coming to terms with being a vampire. I get that but you must understand that we are here to guide you. We're your friends. We will always be by your side."
"Rima," Zero went over and hugged her and was pulled into her lap.
"Drink, Zero." Rima gently guided his head to her neck. Zero slowly sank his fangs into the soft flesh of her neck. She flinched a little then relaxed as Zero had began to take small gulps of her blood.
After taking his fill of her blood, Zero retracts his fangs. He laid his head on her shoulder.
"Thank you," Zero says quietly. Rima says nothing as she rubs his back soothingly.
Shiki smiled at the duo. He always found it cute when Zero fed from Rima. Rima acted so motherly towards their friend and Zero was so cuddly after feeding from her.
Zero has changed so much since that time. He was softer and more open. He still was stubborn but he was less trigger happy. He smiled more around his friends and family. He'd become more, less resistant, to feeding. As long as it was not Kaname or Yuuki.
Shiki took out his phone and snapped a quick photo of the scene infront of him and sent it to Yuuki,Hanabusa,Takuma, Ichiru, and Ruka. They all replied with how cute they were with lots of heart emojis. Hanabusa kept on texting him how Zero was the cutest person in the world.
Shiki shook his head. Hana was hopeless and Zero was oblivious.
Heavy, huh? Point out any spelling mistakes.
