"Alright, Zero," [Headmaster Cross said. "You and Yuki will look for Ichigo in town, and Kaname will stay here." Zero cast a smug look at Kaname, gripping the holster of his Bloody Rose gun.

Time for a hunt.

A/N: I don't know if this is the first time, but I'm starting to feel guilty abusing poor Ichigo like this… (a review from SaiWong-THESADIST made me realize this.) But, I probably wouldn't be satisfied with this fan fiction if something wasn't happening at all. Thanks for all the reviews and +Story Alerts!

/rant

Chapter 3: Midnight

"We're what?" Yuki asked as she slid a pair of white knee-length socks. "Are you sure that she's in town, Zero?"

"I'm sure," Zero replied, looping rounds of Bloody Rose ammunition around his waist. He waited in the headmaster's office for Yuki to finish dressing, yawning loudly. "Damn," he murmured, "I'm tired."

"Alright, let's go!" Yuki dashed out the door, her hand wrapped around Zero's wrist. "We have to find Ichigo!" Zero planted his feet firmly in the carpet. Yuki squealed and fell flat on her back. She rubbed her head, glaring at the ceiling. "That wasn't nice, Zero," she muttered. She rubbed her sore head while Zero sauntered past her body on the floor.

"I know," he said coolly, "but, you can't just run out like that. Ichigo's captor will bolt if you just run through the city streets like you did just now in the hall. And, chances are that he'll take Ichigo with him if he does decide to run." Yuki sighed.

Why didn't I realize that sooner? Stupid, stupid!

Zero continued past the lying Yuki, one hand in his pocket, the other on his gun. "Get up," he said. "We can't keep Ichigo waiting."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kaname silently watched the empty campus grounds from his dorm window. Ichigo's extended disappearance worried him even more, especially because of her lineage. Half-bloods were usually accepted by the vampire community, often for family ties or for vampirity's sake. However, they weren't usually accepted by humans, and humans controlled the city. Some citizens even killed vampires, despite the orders posted allover neighborhoods and shops by vampire hunters to leave such actions to the professionals.

Ichigo could have killed by now, he thought.

"Lord Kaname?" Kaname's eye shifted to the reflection of Ruka in the window. She stood at the door, wringing her hands nervously. Kaname smiled as he turned to the lovely vampire. He strode across the room

"Ruka," he said, "you should be resting. Dawn will arrive soon, and I expect you to be sleeping by then."

"I know, Lord Kaname," Ruka murmured. "I was just wondering—" Kaname gently pressed a finger against Ruka's lips.

"Ruka, no," he said quietly. "I won't drink your blood again. I don't need to. I feel fine." Ruka's cheeks began to turn pink, embarrassed that Kaname already knew what she came for. She bowed low, her blond hair touching Kaname's feet. The young aristocrat placed his hand on Ruka's shoulder. "If you're upset because I'm worried about Ichigo, you can just say so, Ruka." Ruka gasped silently. Kaname had known all along.

"Why do you have to be so worried about her?" Ruka whined. "She's just a half-blood. She's not worth your time, Lord Kaname. Choose me inste—"

"That's enough, Ruka!" Kaname ordered. Ruka fell silent as Kaname spun on his heel and walked back to the window. "Do you understand the importance of Ichigo's well-being? She's under the custody of Headmaster Cross. Not only that, but she's his only living proof of his human-vampire pacifism ideology. If she were to die, he would have no proof, and he would lose a special girl."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Yuki and Zero slid through the city streets in their search for Ichigo. Backs against the wall, weapons poised to destroy any obstacles, they combed through dark alleys and abandoned buildings. Yuki listened for Ichigo's voice; a whisper, a scream, anything would satisfy her ears.

"Whoever took Ichigo," Zero said, "is a master strategist. He knows that people will come looking for her, so he'll hide in an obvious place." Yuki raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"An obvious place?" she wondered. "Why would he hide there?"

"Because," Zero explained, "most search parties only search where they think someone on the run would hide, but what if he hid out in the open? He'd become less conspicuous because the search party isn't expecting to find him there."

"So, he's hiding in a crowd?" Yuki asked. "It makes sense! But, wouldn't someone catch him? I mean, Ichigo's pretty vocal. He'd have to be really stupid to drag her into a crowd of people."

"Not into an actual crowd," Zero murmured as he approached a large hotel. "A crowded place." Yuki gasped. All the windows on the building were illuminated by lights. Both students could see into the large window, where they saw a bar packed with drunk men and women. Overly-drunk customers were chasing sober (or lack there of) guests across the main floor. The other four stories rose high above Yuki and Zero, but were just as full as the main floor. Yuki caught sight of the hotel's sign; a garish, neon sign that read, 'Rabu Rabu Hotel.'

"A love hotel?!" Yuki snapped. "Zero, you pervert!" She punched his arm, but he didn't move.

"She's in there," he said, "somewhere on one of the upper levels." He cast Yuki a stern glance. "The lobby is too crowded. He wouldn't get away with bringing a vampire into such a large crowd without causing an uproar." Suddenly, a tall, lean man threw open the lobby doors, and he stomped outside. He slid into a black trench coat, grumbling to himself. He pushed past Yuki as he stomped away from the love hotel.

"Hey!" Yuki chirped. The man shot her a icy glare over his shoulder as he quickened his pace and hurried away. Yuki noticed a cut above his right eye. Blood trickled down the side of his face, avoiding his eye altogether. "Zero," Yuki whispered, pulling Zero's ear closer to her mouth, "looks like he got into a fight with somebody. He's got a cut above his eye." Zero squinted to examine the man's injury from so far away.

"You're right," he said. "C'mon, let's go get Ichigo." He jogged to the building, and he examined the front entrance. "We're going to the second floor," he said.

"Why?"

"I can smell Ichigo's blood."

Zero ran into the hotel, Yuki trailing behind him. The smell of alcohol and smoke overwhelmed his nose, almost to the point of losing Ichigo's scent. Beer mugs and bodies shoved him in places on his body that he never realized existed until he was touched. He seized Yuki's hand, and he began to drag her through the crowd.

I can't let anything happen to Yuki, he thought. Not after what we've been through together.

"Zero," Yuki tried to shout above the noise, but with no luck. He just kept pulling her past the customers' waving arms and dripping mugs.

At last, Zero and Yuki reached the second floor after wrestling through a drunken crowd and running up a flight of stairs that seemed to go on forever. Zero could smell Ichigo's blood clearly again, and he cringed as the scent became immensely strong.

"She's here," he said, "but we have to hurry. She's bleeding a lot." Yuki hurried down each door, listening for occupants before slamming herself into the wooden guardian to investigate the room on the other side. In the time it took for her to investigate two rooms, Zero had already inspected five, seeking the smell of Ichigo's blood on the other side of the door.

"Damn," he muttered. "Where the hell could she be? There's only so many rooms he could hide her in."

"Zero!" Zero spun around. Yuki had kicked open a door to a room three doors up from where he stood, and the stench of blood filled his nose. "Zero, I found her! I found Ichigo!" Yuki shouted from the room. "Hurry!"