Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I just play with the characters to suit my own twisted desires.

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and the favourites! This was actually intended to be just a one-shot but... you twisted my arm. :)

Kaname shot Zero an elegantly-raised eyebrow as soon as he noticed the impish half-grin on the silver-haired boy's face.

'What?' He demanded.

Zero merely shook his head and turned his gaze back to the chessboard. The grin soon vanished as his thoughts took over.

'You did the same thing yesterday,' he finally offered, giving Kaname's eyes a moment to dart over the pieces and realise where he had gone wrong.

'Ah.'

'Checkmate. Again.'

Zero sighed and leaned back in his chair, his smug posture directly contradicting the searching look in his eyes. For Kuran, master of strategy, to lose not one, not two, but three games of chess to him, Zero, master of brash decisions, was rather disconcerting. The prefect studied the vague way Kuran was gazing at the board, as if trying, but failing, to clearly see how he had lost. Zero could see that Kaname was still not himself, and hadn't been so for a good few weeks. As the day of his ex-guardian's visit drew closer and closer, he had grown even more distracted, and frankly, it was no surprise that he had lost an insignificant game of chess. From what Zero could gather, such a thing probably paled in comparison to what went through his mind every time his pureblood companion thought of... whatever it was he had spent so much time tormenting himself over.

After a moment, the pureblood gently swept the board aside, and leaned back in his own chair.

'That's enough for today.'

Zero snorted. 'I should've known you damned purebloods were sore losers.' There was no venom behind his words, however, and they both let the empty accusation dissipate in the air, sharing a comfortable silence.

During the five days of their closer-than-usual acquaintance, the pair had found more potential in their friendship than they had previously imagined there could be. That first day, those first games of chess in the Moon Dorms, had been rather uncomfortable, to say the least. And that'd had everything to do with not Kaname or Zero's presence, but the imposing, stifling aura of the vehement nobles surrounding them. That first day, to Zero's chagrin, Kaname had allowed both Ruka and Aido to join them, resulting in a silent, glare-ridden bout of chess that felt more like a Mexican stand-off than anything else.

Why Kuran had asked the two nobles to stay, Zero couldn't say. Perhaps he hadn't fully trusted Zero then. Perhaps he was just being polite. Either way, the next time the prefect visited, Kaname had insisted that they play alone and without waiting to hear the protest from the nobles, had practically ordered Zero to his rooms and promptly shut the door. Obviously, he had seen the error in his earlier decision.

Since then, Zero had visited several times, and they had tentatively begun to make conversation that didn't involve threats or taunts or Yuuki. In fact, they had found that they could talk quite comfortably with each other. Zero had been surprised at how ordinary Kaname could be, when he wasn't surrounded by watching, waiting eyes. He had expected to have to put up with a spoiled prince, as demanding as he was cold, but he was quickly learning that Kuran was far from spoiled and more considerate than even his attitude towards Yuuki signified. Not that the pureblood had lowered his guard at all for Zero; on the contrary, he was still as elusive as ever if he wanted to be. But it was clear that in private, he had a quiet, down-to-earth air about him that contrasted so much with his aloof, public self that Zero had felt rather disorientated for the first few visits. Their huge difference in social status seemed to mean nothing to Kuran, which made the prefect wonder more than once exactly how he viewed himself. What was a pureblood, to this young man, if not a superior being to command respect and subservience?

Indeed, after considering all of these things that he had learned about Kaname, Zero had to wonder how much of it was affected by whatever had been bothering him for the past few weeks. To be honest, the more he learned, the less he knew. He hadn't known the real Kuran Kaname before their 'friendship' began. Nor did he know now. What he knew for sure, however, was that he wanted to find that person, the real Kuran Kaname.

And he wanted to find whatever it was that had made those cracks appear in his noble mask.

* * *

'Kuran.'

'Hm?'

'How long will Ichijou's grandfather be here?'

Kaname's hand froze in the middle of turning a page in his book. They had long abandoned chess for that day, and had been sitting in silence for a couple of hours, the pureblood reading and the hunter dozing before diligently polishing Bloody Rose, earning disapproving looks from his companion.

The winter holiday had officially begun that day as soon as classes had ended, and the exodus was in full swing. Zero, sitting by the window in Kaname's room, had watched as the Day Class students filtered out through the gates. In contrast to the bustle and chaos outside, the Moon Dorms were unnervingly silent. The Night Class had left the day before, and Kuran was now the only occupant.

Kaname tensed. 'Six days.'

'Why didn't Takuma stay to see him?'

'Perhaps he had other plans.' Kaname tried to appear casual, but the prefect suspected he wasn't being completely honest. Nothing new, there.

'What does he want, anyway, coming here?'

There. That look. The bewilderment that had sprung into Kuran's eyes for a split-second, that was what Zero had been aiming at. This was as close as he had come to uncovering the reason the pureblood was so damned - dare he think it? - afraid of Ichijou's arrival. That look of shocked helplessness spoke volumes that Kuran himself never would.

As if realising he was giving himself away, Kaname turned his eyes back to his book, blankly scanning the page. When he didn't reply, Zero decided to press further.

'I mean, you aren't on good terms, are you? I know that much. A surprise visit like this is kind of strange.'

'You may know that much, Kiryuu, but you don't really know anything.' Zero blinked at the iciness in his voice. 'You haven't even met the man before - how can you judge his actions? You, a mere student, a mere boy.'

Zero bristled. What the hell? He knew that this was as far as he could push Kaname, but... 'I'm not blind, Kuran. And I'm not stupid. Would it insult your pureblood sensibilities too much if I told you that you seem plain scared of him?'

A sharp crack suddenly pierced the air and both boys froze, eyes darting to the source of the noise. Running down the center of one of Kaname's windows was a jagged crack. Zero whipped his gaze back to the pureblood, suddenly feeling extremely on edge. He expected to be met by blazing red eyes, fangs, a suffocating aura, and then perhaps, death, but found
nothing of the sort. Kaname was frowning at the mirror, as if blaming it for the crack his anger had caused. He seemed to be consciously calming himself down, replacing his mask, when he abruptly looked back at Zero almost apologetically.

This time, the silence was almost unbearable, and Zero found himself wanting to do anything - anything - just to break it. Even sing. When Kaname finally spoke, Zero's relief was palpable.

'Do I really seem that way? Scared?' The pureblood's voice was quiet, if a little shaky, and Zero allowed himself to relax a little.

'Well. Yeah, you do. A little.' There was an awkward moment when Kaname seemed unable to work out a reply. Before he could do so, the hunter added, 'I'm sorry for prying. It's none of my business.'

Even though, he added to himself, your reaction just now was far too much for so little, Kuran. There's no denying something's up now.

They each went back to their own devices, the atmosphere in the room not quite as easy as it had been not five minutes before.

But if one good thing had come of their little altercation, it was that the silver-haired vampire found that his resolve had hardened. When Ichijou arrived tomorrow, he would be there, beside Kaname.