A/N: I want to thank you to those who commented on the story~! Now, this story is a bit fast-paced from this point but will soon resume the normal pace in the next chapter. Either~ way~! Please continue on supporting Kiryuu's story as we move on here in this second chapter!

Zero: You changed my attitude.

Me: I need a softer side from you. Bite me!

Zero: *raises eyebrows* Where?

Me: Not literally, yeesh! Can't you understand the term 'figurative'?

Zero: Disclaim, disclaim and disclaim.

Me: *sighs* I don't own anything, even this fucking annoying character Zero, except Yukina.

Zero: You said something?

Me: Nope! Nothing at all!

Yukina sighed from her window at the new house Zero had bought just a while ago as she gazed upon the lawn where a black car parked to reveal someone with the most air of arrogance she had ever met while Zero talked to Yagari and shook hands. After quite some time, their silhouettes dispersed and Yukina found herself hearing Zero's voice calling out to her.

Yukina exhaled loudly and yelled back, "Coming, Z-kun!"

Yukina rushed out of her room and ran quickly down the flight of stairs. There, in the living room, stood a man with a frightening aura of arrogance.

"Why, hello there, Yuki," Kaito grinned at her ruthlessly. "The last time I saw you, you were still an annoying six year old brat." He observed Yukina for a moment as Zero placated a scowl on his face at Kaito's suggestiveness.

Yukina replied coolly despite the dripping venom, "Kaito. The last time I saw you, you resembled a porcupine with an arrogance of Hitler himself, and that seemed to have never disappeared."

It was Kaito's turn to scowl as Zero let out a howl of laughter from his lips. Zero moved to her side and patted her back with approval while Yukina's inner thoughts on Kaito's embarrassment sent her the emotion of smugness.

"Now, be a good girl, okay?" Zero warned her sternly, not to scare her, but to give Kaito a good start as he planted a kiss on her head, inhaling her scent deeply as his eyes slowly darted from its usual purple to crimson.

"I will if he stays a radius of eighty degrees away from me," Yukina replied loud enough for Kaito to hear her resentment at his presence inside the new area, not noticing Zero's change.

"The feeling is quite neutral," Kaito said simply, more focused on Yukina than on Zero.

Zero released her and pinched her cheek lightly as he turned around and walked out of the house.

Awkward stillness hung in the air as the two fought figuratively to the death at who gets to sway their gaze first. Annoyed at the even tempo they were at, Yukina decided to call it quits and said, "I give up, dammit. I'm going to my room."

As she headed up the stairs, Yukina assessed their situation properly, like how a chess master would do.

Zero and I always move around. I think it's part of being a hunter because he gets assigned in different areas from time to time, and it's hard to stay in one location. May its a hunter's instinct, knowing that someone would want revenge or something, so this could explain why I have Yagari-sensei for a teacher since he could help with the moving and could supply me with enough education without the need to be paid, I think. But why a secluded place all the time?

Yukina slumped herself against her bed, thinking deeply to herself.

Is Z-kun hiding from someone?

Soon enough, she dozed off in her bed, still deep in thought that drew out a nightmare. There she stood, watching a very pretty woman stabbing herself with a knife, begging someone to watch over her child as she bled to death and faded to ashes.

Yukina shot up from her bed with a scream and Kaito came rushing through the door. His hand was already holding an anti-vampire weapon and he shot Yukina a wary look.

"Do you know what time it is?" he asked cruelly.

Yukina stood up and trembled, "No one asked you to barge in. Y-you came in y-y-yourself."

Kaito looked at her with doubtful eyes and said, "You're crying?"

Yukina shook her head, "Of course not. I have tears so I am definitely not crying." She sniffed and rested her head against the pillow and turned her back on the said man. When the door closed, she thought that Kaito would have left, but felt someone sitting down on her bed.

"A hunter," he said, "should face every fear of his or hers. You cannot become one if you're not strong enough."

Yukina rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes, but Zero doesn't want me to be trained in that aspect. He'd rather have me locked up inside secluded places so that he doesn't have to bother worrying about me and all." This was of course, was meant to be an understanding to Yukina, but to Kaito, it was a challenge he was willing to face.

The next moment he spoke, there was a tinge of a smile on his face. "I'll train you so that Kiryuu wouldn't have to look at you as a pathetic excuse for a hunter starting tomorrow. Good night."

A soft kiss. The soft movement of the bed and a silent sound of the door closing sent Yukina into confusion. She sat up from her position and faced the door, bewildered at Kaito's attitude. It was a side of his she hasn't heard of or seen in the years she had known him.

"Idiot Kaito," she blushed, feeling a sudden attachment towards the thirty-five year old man.

The following morning, the sudden blast of sunshine burned through her vision. Kaito was standing there in a very casual outfit by using a grey shirt with a brown overcoat with black pants and rubber shoes.

Well, she squint, at least his fashion sense is high.

"Get up," Kaito's voice said sternly. "Today, we should hunt."

"Huh?" was the first thing Yukina said, rubbing her eyes, still half asleep. She stretched out her arms and replied after a yawn, "but, the poultry's well-stocked in the fridge and Zero did tell me not to get out of the house."

"Yes, but there's a loophole in every rule," Kaito replied. "You just have to look for it. When he said that you can't get out of the house, he instructed you, not me, so if I want to take you with me, it's a given fact that you have no choice but to agree."

Arrogant person, Yukina glared as she got up and went for the cabinet.

Then she recalled that Kaito was still inside the room. Furiously, she blushed and stuttered, "G-get out of my room! Can't a girl get some privacy?"

Kaito smirked and waved her off as he exited the premises. Feeling more comfortable, Yukina chose her normal sweatshirt and paired it up with leggings and sneakers. She bundled her hair into a ponytail and proceeded downstairs to where Kaito was awaiting her when she accidentally tripped over a piece of rock stuck to the ground. She expected Kaito to catch her, but he only frowned and stood there, watching the way she dusted herself.

Yukina blushed with embarrassment.

"So," Yukina looked at the ground while talking, "how do we hunt?"

Kaito gave her a very small pistol big enough for her hand. When she lifted it from his, she felt the heavy weight of the six-bullet pistol and frowned at the object.

"You won't have me to teach you," Kaito said. "Instead, you're going to learn by experience. I'll be keeping an eye on you so you won't get lost or do anything." Kaito went over somewhere and took out a Japanese sword called a katana as his own weapon.

"But, how do I use this thing?" Yukina pondered aloud. "I only see Zero holding it from time to time when he cleans his, but I never have seen him fire the actual gun."

Kaito inhaled deeply and sighed aloud. He briskly took the gun from Yukina, aimed for a tree and pulled the trigger, making the said girl jump from her place. Eh gave her back the heated weapon and said, "I'll be close by, so, just whistle if you could." Kaito stalked off to the right and Yukina protested, "But you said you'd watch over me! Kaito-san!"

Yukina glared at his shadow and left herself to deal with what Kaito called hunting. Without any experience, she would definitely have a hard time with her own situation, yet, she was determined to show to his face that she could become a good hunter like Zero.

As she stumbled through the thickness of the forest, Yukina tried to search every nook until late in the afternoon where thirst and hunger overcame her.

"Water," she said hoarsely as she began to slump against the soil.

She suddenly felt warm hands lifting her up and sending liquid into her mouth. Regaining her consciousness, Yukina looked up and saw a man with wavy brown hair and blood-lustre eyes so much akin to hers that she couldn't help but stare.

"Um," was all she could say.

The man smiled at her and asked kindly, "Are you alright?"

Yukina nodded, "Yes, sir."

The man helped and dusted her off and said, "You seemed to be lost, little lady. Tell me, are you alone here, Ms...?"

Yukina cautiously yet politely replied, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

The man placed a finger on her lips and said, "It would be our little secret. Now, will you please tell me?"

Yukina hesitated. What should she do?

Finally deciding, she said, "My name's Yukina, Kuran Yukina."

The man raised his eyebrow. "And your parents?"

Yukina bit her lip.

The man smiled kindly at her.

Well, he seems trustworthy.

Yukina shrugged. "My mother died while giving birth to me, and I never have met my father, but my mom's friend is looking after me. He had done so since I was a baby and I find myself truly lucky to be under his watch." Then a question popped up from her mind. She looked innocently at the man and asked, "Do you have any children, Mr...?"

"Kaname," the man said gently. "Just Kaname and I don't have any, though."

Yukina nodded when the sound of a rooster's crow lifted her from the spell of the man's voice. She looked at the sky and adamantly apologized.

"Kaito-san would be looking for me by now – he's a friend of my mother's friend, by the way," she added as she rushed out of the scenery. It took her a while to backtrack where she came from and by the time she arrived, a very irksome Kaito greeted her.

"Well?" Kaito arched an eyebrow.

She shrugged and passed him the weapon, muttering, "I'm not much of a gunner."

Kaito shook his head and replied, "That could have been your own food for the rest of day, and seeing that you didn't do well on your first day," Yukina opened her mouth in frustration but was cut by Kaito, "you are going to bed without food until you learn."

"Go ahead," she said angrily, her voice darkening and lowering a few pitches.

She felt something within her stirring inside. It was anger unlike any other, and, it was as if something's calling her to call forth something she couldn't discern.

"What?" Kaito's voice lowered dangerously.

Yukina raised her head and stared into the man's eyes and replied, "You are only a hunter, Kaito. You don't have the right to tell me what to become and what to do with my life. I might be a child and a child I am both in body and mind, but I will stand by what believe in, Kaito."

Kaito's face contorted and he said aggressively as he could, "You little bitch. You are very much like that pureblood father of yours. Cocky, arrogant and self-righteous, your family had always been."

"What?" Yukina's eyes widened.

Kaito's face turned into a grin of pure cruelty when he said the next words. "Kiryuu didn't tell you? Ha! It's no wonder! All of the symptoms pointed to the fact that he's in love with you, and in order for you not to notice, he's tried to keep a safe distance from Kuran Kaname's sweet and endearing daughter. Imagine. A pureblood's daughter!"

Yukina's eyes widened. "Kuran... Kaname... Kaname...is...my father..."

Yukina tried to process everything in her head of what Kaito had just said. Kuran Kaname... Mr. Kaname...could he be her father?

A light clapping sound echoed and their attention diverted towards the very man Yukina saw prior to the current event. A smile of unnatural beauty that covered the man's unique face, but in his eyes was anger.

Kaito instantly drew Yukina behind him, pointing the pistol towards Kaname.

"Very well done," Kaname said. "Yuuki must have hidden her the moment she was about to give birth. No wonder I see the resemblance."

"Mr. Ka –," Yukina was about to say something but was cut off by Kaito's deadly aura.

"Kuran," Kaito hissed.

Yukina clutched Kaito's arm and said, "Kaito, this is...?"

"The reason your mother died," Kaito hissed back and whispered, "Run to the cottage. Don't go out." Kaito clutched her hand back as she turned around and rushed up towards the house back into her room. She hid herself inside her cabinet, which was practically big enough to encompass her whole body.

Gunshots could be heard and Yukina bit her own hand to hide her fear until she bled, making her cuss lightly out of spite.

He's a vampire, and he would smell my blood if I don't do anything about this.

She sucked her wounded hand and flinched at the metallic flavour.

Footsteps from the stairs could be heard and Yukina stiffened. They were light, unlike Kaito's usual heavy charade. Finally, the door to her room opened and Yukina stiffened even more as a sweet voice caressed her ears.

"Yukina," Kaname's voice filtered. The footsteps slowly creaked as he moved closer and closer to her hiding place. "Yukina...don't be afraid of me."

Yukina bit her hand harder and felt herself shivering with more fear.

Calm yourself, Yukina, she encouraged herself. Calm down. Just think. What would a hunter do?

Yukina fumbled for something inside her cabinet and found her penknife that Zero gave her just a month ago. Clumsily, she opened the object and held the weapon with both of her hands. She was shaking from head to toe and she knew that he's bound to notice.

Kaname opened the doors to her closet and Yukina rushed head-on with the knife, but Kaname held her hands with his vice grip, making her yell and wriggle in pain as she released the weapon.

"Yukina," Kaname said lightly, "don't fight me."

Yukina gritted her teeth and replied scathingly, "I might be weak, but I don't bow down to anyone."

Kaname's face turned to frustration as realization of Yukina's stubbornness came to full circle.

A gunshot rang through the entire room and Kaname staggered from his position, letting him release the girl who rushed directly to the silver-haired hunter, yelling, "Zero!" while Kaito paddled behind him.

"Stay away from her," Zero glared.

Yukina accepted Zero's overprotective embrace with Kaito behind, managing a wound. She turned her gaze to Zero's comrade and asked worriedly, "Are you managing, Kaito?"

Kaito nodded and panted back, "I'll be fine. It's just a scratch."