"Does that hurt?"

I winced and gritted my teeth as Aidou pressed the hot wet cloth to the bleeding wound on my chest. "Yeah," I hissed, "Just a little…"

Aidou smiled weakly. "I'm sorry I'm the one who has to do this to you, but the wound needs to be disinfected… again," he stated as he pressed in harder with the cloth.

My fingers clenched tightly to the towel rack, knuckles going white. "Damn it…"

When Aidou pulled back the cloth, he grimaced. "Man, that's a pretty nasty wound. You're tough, Kiryuu-kun, if you're able to survive something like that," he said while wringing out the bloodied cloth in the sink.

I looked away, pretending to study the large bathroom; from what he told me earlier, this palace of a bathroom was only the guest bath. When I next looked down to Aidou, his sky blue eyes were narrowed in concentration. It was quite obvious, though, that he was fighting something. "How are you able to control yourself? You know… from your urges?"

Aidou paused in his work, his bright face going dark. "I… I don't know. I guess it's something I've fought off long enough to get used to it. I know I would joke around at the academy, but honestly…" He looked up to me, his eyes solemn and lips drawn tightly. "You must struggle with it a lot."

I raised my brow. "How do you know?"

"Well…" he started slowly, "it's just common among humans who have been turned to vampires. That's why so many fall to Level E."

Level E… how many times have I nearly given up and allowed myself to fall? I woke up every day for the past five years thinking to myself, 'Is this the day? Will I lose myself?'. What Aidou said had a strange effect on me; for once, I thought through my future with a different perspective.

"Kiryuu-kun, I need you to hold still now."

My thoughts broke as Aidou pushed a large piece of gauze to the wound; what I didn't know was that he had soaked the entire thing in alcohol. Fierce stinging rose up in my chest as the solution sunk into the wound. I threw my head back and gritted by teeth to keep from screaming, and my already tight grip on the towel rack tightened further. The excess alcohol, now stained red with blood, oozed from the gauze down my chest and stomach.

"I'm sorry," Aidou muttered. He took a dry rag and dried off the wound, along with the left over alcohol. I, on the other hand, remained wide eyed as I fought the urge to break down and cry from the pain. "Kiryuu-kun, I need you to raise your arms; I can't bandage you up if you're holding on to the towel rack like that."

My hand was almost frozen on the rack, so it took all my strength just to release my grip. I held out my arms, allowing Aidou to tightly wrap a long roll of bandages around my chest. "When do you think this'll heal up?" I asked.

Aidou shrugged. "Who knows? With this being so close to your heart, it'll take a little longer than the wound in your shoulder," he answered. Then he sat back, a wide grin on his face. "There, all done."

I was honestly surprised at Aidou's diligent work. This bubbly kid was actually good at something other than flirting with helpless girls. "Thanks," I muttered.

He smiled back. "Any time… well, not really; just any time you get hurt." He stood, clapping his hands together in admiration of his work. "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"… hey…"

Aidou glanced to me from over his shoulder. "Hm?"

"Why do you think Kaname has gone this far to help me? He knows how I feel about him."

The blonde vampire bit his bottom lip. "I don't know. Though, if you think about it, Kaname-sama has done a lot for you for reasons that cannot be explained. Maybe you should ask him sometime."

I scoffed. "No way! He'll probably come up with some bull-shit answer like, 'Because you owe me', or something like that," I replied hoarsely.

Aidou's brow raised. "You owe him? Is that how you view it? If someone of nobility such as Kaname-sama allows you to drink his blood, it's not just a debt you need to pay him; you've surrendered your body and soul to him."

My eyes widened. "How do you know about that?" I have never told anyone I drank Kaname's blood, let alone that fact that my fangs have pierced his neck three times now. How did Aidou know?

"It's not that hard to figure out," Aidou replied calmly, "I can smell his blood on your lips now."

"That bastard…" I hissed under my breath, "so he thinks that until I do a huge favor for him, he can control me?"

"It seems so…" Aidou muttered.

I stood, my fists clenched tightly to my sides. "That prick…"

Aidou's eyes went wide. "Kiryuu-kun! What do you think you're doing?! He's nobility!" he stammered.

"I don't care if he's God; I will not be ruled over by a cocky son of a bitch like him. Thanks, Aidou."

Loosely pulling on the new (and clean) button-down shirt, I stalked my way from the bathroom, leaving Aidou huddled n the floor mumbling over and over, "I'm sorry, Kaname-sama…"

Chairman Cross was nowhere to be found when I came downstairs. When I peered into the study, Yuuki looked up with wide eyes. "Zero," she muttered.

My eyes narrowed. Although I had grown up with this girl for four years, the change in her was obvious. Just the way she said my name was different. "Where's your fiancé? I have a bone to pick with him," I stated.

Yuuki lowered her eyes back to her books. "He walked Chairman Cross out and then went down to his study in the basement to look over the case files." Then she closed her eyes, drawing her lips in tightly. "Zero, we're trying to help you. Please… don't be angry with us."

A snicker curled my lips. "Angry? I'm not angry; I'm humiliated. A vampire hunter rescued by vampires will make me look bad. Besides, I'm not the one benefitting from my being here," I replied thickly.

My old friend's brown eyes gazed warmly to me, a hint of softness in them. "It's not our fault, Zero. I've… I've missed you."

"… you didn't sound that way earlier…"

She blushed, saying, "I know, it's just… Kaname-sama might get jealous."

I stared at her for a while, wondering what ever made me think she would choose me over Kaname. She loved that guy for as long as I can remember; there was no place for me in her heart. Lowering my eyes, I mumbled, "Go back to your studies; I won't bother you any more…"