Disclaimer: Don't own VK.


When Zero woke up later that day, he found himself sleeping in the same hospital bed with Ichiru. This situation wasn't anything new to Zero. The twins had used to sleep in the same bed together when they were younger to stave off the loneliness that gnawed at their childish hearts.

Zero got off the bed with practiced ease, shifting his weight carefully as to not disturb Ichiru's rest. His feet lightly tapped the floor as Zero sat up onto the edge of the bed. A pair of worn-out sneakers lay near zero's feet as if it had been kicked off its owner's feet in a half-hearted manner. Zero put his shoes back on and tried to straighten his wrinkled clothes before quickly giving up his futile attempt.

"Zero, is it morning already?" Ichiru asked from his position in bed, all groggy from the sleep. Zero turned around in surprise, positive that he didn't wake Ichiru.

"Ichiru! Sorry, did I wake you?" Zero brushed Ichiru's bangs aside, his fingers ghosting over his brother's forehead. Ichiru shook his head and smiled at Zero.

"I've slept enough anyway. Sorry for worrying you like that. I'll be okay now." Ichiru replied as he sat up in bed to stretch his muscles.

Zero became quiet and stared into space for a while. The silence was deafening and caused Ichiru to fidget uncomfortable in the soundless noise.

"Zero?" Ichiru asked just to break the long pause and to catch Zero's attention.

"Ichiru, I think we need to talk." He clenched his hand into the bed sheets, taking a breath of courage before looking straight at Ichiru. The hospitalized twin stared at Zero quizzically.

"Uh… sure. What did you want to talk about? Ichiru asked, adding a smile after his question to try and ease the tension.

"…" Zero opened his mouth and paused for a moment before carrying on, "I heard from the doctor… "

Ichiru waited patiently for Zero to continue. Zero got up and walked to the window and looked out at the scenery. The sun was shining, the birds were singing; all completely different from how Zero was feeling.

Zero finally turned to face Ichiru, "He said that you were poisoned."

Ichiru blinked at Zero before propping his chin on his hand, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought long and hard.

"Maybe it was the chicken casserole we had last night. You didn't touch any of it so only I ate it. Didn't I cook the chicken thoroughly enough? Oh! Maybe the stove needs to be checked again. It might not work as well as it used to. Then again, there was that milk you left on the counter. You said that it was only there for about fifteen minutes… Could it be it was actually fifty minute? No, no, you wouldn't make a silly mistake like that… " Ichiru mumbled to himself, trying to think of any instances that he may have been food poisoned.

"Ichiru, it isn't food poisoning." Zero interrupted Ichiru's soliloquy. "It's actual poisoning. Something like cyanide or arsenic; those things."

Ichiru fell silent with a small 'oh'.

"The doctor also said that your poison was – special." Zero fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, "They can't help you in Japan. You'll have to go to America."

"America? But we can't afford that." Ichiru protested.

Zero shook his head, "No, you have to. Don't worry about the money; I can pay for it somehow. You just worry about getting better."

Ichiru opened his mouth to protest, his hands grabbing fistfuls of the bed sheets, but then he closed his mouth. He knew it was useless to argue. Zero usually had the final say in things.

"Are you coming with me?" Ichiru asked quietly. The two had never been separated before and he didn't want to start now.

"Of course!" Zero gaped at Ichiru, "I'm not leaving you alone when you can't even take care of yourself."

"I can so take care of myself!" the younger brother protested.

Zero snorted at Ichiru's weak claim. "Yeah, sure. Look where it got you into."

Embarrassed, Ichiru puffed his red cheeks out and crossed his arms in a childish tantrum. "Whatever. You can just take care of me for the rest of my life. You might as well lock me up in a room and control everything I do."

"I have half a mind to do just that, moron." Zero grumbled.

"What! Even when I masturbate?" Ichiru exclaimed, slapping his hand over his mouth in fake horror.

Zero face snapped back to Ichiru's from a random picture he saw propped on the bedside table when he heard Ichiru's remark. "Are you crazy? I was just kidding." Zero sputtered, caught off-guard. Ichiru snickered and flopped back into his bed.

"When are we going to America?" Ichiru sighed, suddenly tired from the loss of adrenaline.

"Soon; maybe in a week or so. I just need to finish some papers and pay for the treatment." Zero replied.

The doctor had told him the diagnosis and treatment were going to be expensive. It wasn't like the twins were dirt-poor and couldn't afford it; just that Zero didn't know how they would fare financially after the treatment. Could he still support Ichiru's education?

As if he was on the same wavelength as Zero, Ichiru suddenly shot up in a panic. He glanced around the room at a fervid pace, looking for a particular object.

"Shit! School! Zero, what time is it?"

Zero raise an eyebrow, "School's already over. I figured you wouldn't be released from the hospital yet so I called earlier and told them you had the flu."

"Oh… " Ichiru replied, blinking a few times. Figures that Zero would take care of everything… again.

"What about the notes and homework?" Ichiru asked, "I bet you didn't go get them" 'With me here and all,' Ichiru finished in his head.

"Feh, you can finish the homework when you get better and can get the homework yourself, lazy ass."

Ichiru stuck out his tongue in retaliation. "Like you're any better Mr. I-don't-need-to-study-to-ace-my-classes. I know you study between your work shifts."

Zero scoffed, "What do you do? Stalk me – ?

Interrupted halfway, the hospital door opened suddenly. A mob of teenagers clothed in the twins' school uniform began to crowd around Ichiru's bed.

"Ichiru! We heard you were sick!"

"With the flu!"

"We were gonna go over to your place – "

"Mikoto found out you were in the hospital – "

"Mikoto always finds things out first."

"Hey, where does Mikoto get his info from… ?"

"How are you feeling, Ichiru?" A girl asked softly, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

"Ah, I'm better. Thanks for asking, Maria." Ichiru smiled back. Maria handed a bag full of notebooks and textbooks.

Maria attached some words with the action, "I took notes for you. There's also the homework in there so you won't fall behind."

Ichiru thanked her again before resuming to answering the bullet-speed questions the rest of his friends fired almost too fast for Ichiru to slip a word in. As he looked at each friend in turn when he replied to them, Ichiru was suddenly all to aware of Zero glaring at the circle of adolescents. From the expressions on their faces, Ichiru could guess they all felt the icy stare, too.

Zero stayed for about twenty minutes before leaving. This surprised Ichiru since his brother usually sulked around trying to scare off Ichiru's friends and classmates. However he didn't have much time to ponder on that thought when his friends resumed the questionnaire.


Zero walked. Where he was going, not even the teen knew himself. From his mental calculations, he would have to get another job on top of the ones he already had to pay for the whole operation. The catch was that he needed a higher than average pay. He didn't finish high school yet so that eliminated a lot of choices. The rest didn't look too appealing either. They were basically night jobs. Not a time when little children should be wandering about.

Looking up from where his feet stopped, Zero gazed at a faded sign hanging above the shop door. 'Crossroads, huh. Didn't think I would ever come back here again.' Zero grimaced at the thought.

Zero let out a sign while looking at the cursed door in disgust. Gathering all his courage together, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. The door chimes jingled softly in the background as Zero surveyed the bar. His eyes adjusted to the dim lights just as he spotted a man very concentrated on wiping what appeared to be a beer mug.

"The bar is still closed. Please return at a later time." The man automatically responded to the door chimes. Zero rolled his eyes at the bartender's message. He approached the bar, not bothering to hide the sound of his footsteps.

"Customer, I'll have to ask you leave. We don't open until –" The bartender looked up to his supposed customer, " – oh!"

The man lowered his towel and the beer mug onto the counter. "Zero! I wasn't expecting you. I thought you said you would never come back here."

Zero gave a wry smile, "That's what I thought, too."

"Well, you must have a purpose for you to come here on your own willingly." The bartender gave a pleasant smile, his glasses catching the little light in the room, hiding his eyes from Zero's view.

"Willing… ? No, I wouldn't say that. But I do have a purpose for coming here. One I hope never comes up again." Zero stopped in front of the counter and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I have a favour to ask you, Kaien Cross."


A/N: Geh. Sorry I haven't updated in almost a year. *shot* Thanks for all the continuous support guys. Your reviews really helped chug this chapter along. Do you think writing in first person would make this story sound better? I feel like I'm using Zero and Ichiru's names a lot.

My inspiration for VK is dying ever so slowly. Any ideas for rejuvenating my inspiration?