So, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I went to a Backstreet Boys concert last month. I mean, I love them and everything, but the last time I saw them was about 12 years ago. That shows just how old I am...

The doorbell rang.

Zero lifted his head off the arm of the couch. He was bored and had been fighting off asleep for the past fifteen minutes. His and Ichiru's parents were getting ready to leave on another assignment, so Zero passed the time by sitting on the couch, watching his parents pack the necessary essentials.

His father opened the door and ushered a man inside. The man was young, at least a decade younger than his father, but nearly just as tall. He had curly blue-black hair, cropped just below his ears, with eyes so blue that Zero associated the color with ice or the sky.

The stranger greeted his father warmly, his father returning the welcome and treating him like a member of the family. They talked for a few minutes, too quietly to be discernible conversation, until the man suddenly turned in Zero's direction.

Zero didn't feel anything troubling when placed under the stranger's gaze, but something about him piqued Zero's interest, a connection to the man that he could not begin to fathom. He wished Ichiru was with him now; maybe the two of them could have figured it out.

Ichiru had developed a small fever during the night (a mild reaction from the immunization shots he and Zero had received during the day), and being too uncomfortable to sleep, he had taken an extended nap in the morning when his temperature had dropped some. For all Zero knew, Ichiru was still sleeping, but as he had yet to see his brother, Zero couldn't be completely certain.

As if on cue, Ichiru meandered into the sitting room from the hallway. He seemed to be feeling better, but his cheeks were still dusted lightly with pink, and he wore a light jacket over his pajamas, as though he was cold. He yawned and pulled himself on the couch beside Zero.

"Zero-nii," Ichiru started, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "who's that?"

Zero shrugged and turned to his brother. "I was going to ask you."

oOo

Zero sat wedged between Ichiru and the stranger on the bench. The man, Yagari Toga, had been left in their parents' stead as the boys' designated babysitter. He was a young Vampire Hunter, too green to be sent on actual hunting assignments. Today, his assignment was to watch Zero and Ichiru through the night until their parents returned.

After several minutes of Ichiru reassuring Zero that he felt well enough to play and patiently waiting as Toga checked his temperature three times, Ichiru had finally been allowed to go out into the snow. Now Ichiru, dressed in a heavy jacket and a scarf to protect him from getting chilled and to help Toga distinguish between him and Zero, grabbed his brother's mitten-covered hand and pulled him away from the bench.

"Zero-nii, Yagari-san is a Vampire Hunter, right?" Ichiru whispered once they were out of earshot of Toga.

"Uh huh."

"Then why isn't he hunting vampires with Mommy and Daddy?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Zero smiled as Ichiru shook his head fervently. "The Association probably doesn't think he's ready yet."

"You're wrong."

Startled, the boys spun around, Zero standing protectively in front of Ichiru. Toga had snuck up behind them, his boots silent in the powdery snow.

"What do you mean?" Zero asked relaxing some, but keeping Ichiru behind him.

Toga looked down at them, eyes narrowed. "You're cursed." Seeing their unchanged expression, he said, "It means you're bad, poisonous, unlucky. Hunter twins are rare; they usually don't survive to term. You're supposed to be dangerous, to vampires and to Hunters."

Zero and Ichiru weren't paying attention—Toga had lost them at the word "bad." They didn't understand anything else that Toga said to them, but the word "bad" had always had a negative connotation. Being bad meant receiving punishment, like losing privileges or favorite toys or being put in the timeout chair.

Ichiru had already burst into tears, his face hidden behind his hands. Zero patted his shoulder consolingly, but he wiped at his own eyes convulsively, stanching his own flow of tears with his mittens. Despite his sniffles, he managed a tiny glare, for himself and for Ichiru.

"Does that mean that the Hunters don't like us because we're cursed?" Zero asked. "They've never even met us, how can they—?"

Toga knelt down and placed his hands on each of the boys' shoulders. He squeezed Ichiru's shoulder reassuringly, as the boy had been overcome with renewed weeping at Zero's previous question.

"You're cursed or you're not," Toga said gently. "It doesn't matter to me. This is the first time I've ever met you and I think you're both great."

"But the Association doesn't?" Zero asked. He loved and idolized the Hunters Association; they were an elite group of vampire slayers, like his parents.

Toga shrugged. "I honesty couldn't tell you. Lately, my views have begun to differ slightly from theirs."

Cursed.

The word made Zero feel like he was a disease, a pathogen, a germ that nobody wanted to catch so nobody wanted to be around. He turned to Ichiru—his body was still racked and trembling with sobs. Zero didn't even know if Ichiru had heard Toga's explanation, and he eyed him warily.

Ichiru had always been a sensitive child, and he tended to tear up even when asked the simple task of picking up his dirty clothes. He had once gotten in trouble for setting a squirrel loose in their parents' bedroom, and due to the severe scolding he had received, the very idea of being labeled disobedient, troublesome, or bad always had him melting into a puddle of tears. Now, he had been labeled as such by a stranger, leaving him nearly inconsolable.

"Are you going to tell the Association...?" Zero paused, seemed to rethink his choice in words and asked instead, "Are we in trouble?"

"Nope, not in my book." Deciding he needed to say more, Toga added, "The Association sent me here to test me, it honestly has nothing to do with you two being... Well, they have me performing a variety of odd jobs before I can qualify to be a Hunter."

oOo

It had taken another half hour to completely cease Ichiru's tears, but he sobered up eventually. He was left drowsy, red-faced, and puffy-eyed, and he was persuaded by Zero to help Toga complete his test for the Association.

They made a snowman together, Toga placing the snowy head atop the snowman's rotund midsection, while Zero and Ichiru collected sticks and stones to make a face and arms. Ichiru then removed his scarf and asked Toga to wrap it around the snowman's shoulders. When Toga sheepishly admitted that he could now no longer tell them apart, he ushered them inside for lunch.

Per Ichiru's adamant insistence, Toga was forced to lay a blanket on the floor, creating a mock picnic scene within the warm confines of the Kiryuu sitting room. Toga fixed them both peanut butter sandwiches and milk. Zero asked for banana slices to be added to his sandwich, a combination that left Toga feeling slightly nauseous. His qualm only worsened when Ichiru also asked for banana slices in his sandwich.

After lunch, in which Toga was coerced into answering if he wanted one lump or two? when asking either of the boys to pass the sugar so that he could add some to his tea, Toga asked for the two boys to sit quietly while he cleaned up the kitchen and dusted bread crumbs from the blanket they had been sitting on. Ichiru quickly fell asleep, his head resting lightly on a couch cushion, his thumb rocking back and forth in his mouth.

"Don't you want to take a nap too?" Toga asked as Zero wandered into the kitchen and helped him sweep up crumbs from the tiled floor.

Zero shook his head. "I'm not tired."

There was an uneasy silence between them; the only sound that of Toga's broom sweeping across the floor. Toga was very conscious of Zero's mindful stare, taking inventory of every one of Toga's movements, no matter how minimal. He watched as Toga stooped to pick up the dustpan and dumped its contents into the trash.

Finally, Toga looked up. "Do you need something?"

"Do you think I'll be a good Hunter?" Zero asked.

He shrank a little when Toga didn't answer immediately. Toga shrugged. "Who knows? You're a little young to be worry about that."

Zero shook his head fervently. "No," he lowered his voice dramatically, "Ichiru can't become a Hunter. Mommy and Daddy don't think that either of us know, but I do, and I think Ichiru knows it too." Sensing Toga's unasked question, Zero added, "Ichiru isn't strong enough."

Toga smirked and ruffled Zero's hair. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. "Wait here."

Despite Toga's instructions, Zero followed him to the front door. On his way, he passed by Ichiru, who stirred some at the noise. He smacked his lips and resumed his nap.

Their parents were at the door. Seeing Ichiru asleep on the couch, they apologized for ringing the doorbell, admitting that they had forgotten their key when first leaving the house. Toga was paid for his services and received a certificate of completion that he could turn in to the Hunters Association. He waved to Zero from the doorway and made to step outside.

"You'll come back, right?" Zero called after him. "You'll play with me and Ichiru again?"

Toga chuckled. "Sure." He came back in and knelt in front of Zero, whispering so that only he could hear. "And just between the two of us, I think you'll make for an excellent Hunter."