A/N: Okay girls (are there even boys reading this?) We are heading into the plot. There are hot as well as dark elements ahead, along with something you might find surprising coming from Kaname, given his situation. XD Enjoy. ^^

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

Ichiru followed the two blonds into the Blood champagne room, noticing the detailed theme of white on red. The carpeting was reminiscent of blood on water, droplets dripping and blooming, bleeding through the white. The couch looked at if someone had cut themselves, splattering it with red like an angry artist. He chuckled, the setup not scaring him in the least. The hunter had seen more than enough of his share of blood in his lifetime so far. If those freaky little blonds were trying to test his wits, then they would have to try much harder than keeping him in a room that reminded him of the hunt.

The three talked, laughed, and drank wine for a bit. They danced and ground on each other, Ichijou and Aidou working their magic to give Ichiru a show. Aidou had nipped on Ichijou's boyshorts, tearing them 'accidentally' with his fangs as he peeled them off. Ichiru, by then, was ready for some hot, guy-on-guy entertainment, which the two were more than happy to oblige to, once they had their tip secured.

Not long after, as the first orgasm of the night approached, a hopeful precursor to a hot threesome, a worker had appeared, possibly a personal servant to the manager. Ichiru did feel the presence of a pureblood in the building, and was belatedly surprised that Zero hadn't gone berserk, if he had felt it by now.

Maybe he was so into Kaname that he couldn't feel the aura?

What was he worrying about? He shook the thought from his already fuzzy mind as he turned his attention back to the strange, new, fully clothed vampire female. Her hair was tinted blue, as was her tight cheongsam that stopped mid-thigh. Ichiru saw something strange in her mauve eyes, a strange misplaced glint that attracted his attention until she spoke.

"You two, Shizuka-sama would like to see you."

He stared harder as the other three exchange mumbled conversation, feeling something stir beneath his blood when her look turned stern. Where had he seen that before?

"Mnnnn, un nuh uhh hrrrnnnh..."

"Aidou says 'But we just started.'"

"You two must do this a lot to be able to understand each other through mouthfuls. But I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your boss." the hunter grinned in understanding, witnessing Ichijou's trembling body come to full orgasm in the sexy little flamer's mouth.

He was pleasantly surprised when Ichijou let him have a taste, the bittersweet essence smearing warmly over his mouth.

"Hurry back sweethearts." Ichiru chuckled, smacking his lips.

"On behalf of Thorns, I would like to present you with this," the girl held up a bottle of Dom Perignon Rose, bowing. "with our sincerest apologies at interrupting your pleasures."

"Yes! I've always wanted to try that expensive stuff!" he cheered.

Happy birthday to him indeed. He already had a pretty good buzz going on from the wine, now he would get trashed in style. Though he wasn't much of a drinker, he would definitely get his fill of free, expensive alcohol, especially if it was Dom Perignon Rose. Yes, he knew his spirits like Zero knew his guns and rifles, though he normally chose not to partake in much more than beer.

Ichiru's face lit up as she poured him an empty flute full, topping off the glass before placing it next to a bottle of cheaper wine in a cooler on the coffee table.

"Enjoy." she said with another deep bow.

He picked up the cool flute of frothy, bubbling cognac and held it up to the light, studying its warm amber shade. Ichiru brought the perspiring glass to his nose, glad that he didn't have to be a vampire to appreciate its floral orange fragrance and the deeper, woody spices. Now there was an idea he had entertained all too often as of late: turning, as his brother had. Though he would be willing.

His heady state was blissful, wondrous as he pressed the rim to his lips, taking a small mouthful of the ambrosia. The taste was fruity, creamy, somewhat dry, yet perfectly balanced and sophisticated, just what he would expect from a high-end business. The subtle bitterness reminded him of the sweet essence he had tasted from Ichijou earlier, keeping him hard while he waited, craving to taste Aidou's nectar.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

"I don't get why they want to see me now, after they sold me without a second thought to take care of their debt." Aidou fumed.

Hanabusa was the long awaited first son of the Aidou family, born after two daughters, followed by a third daughter. He loved his sisters dearly, but he couldn't help but feel betrayed by his clan when it was decided that he was to be the one to work at Thorns to keep their family living luxuriously. His sexual orientation wasn't something that Hanabusa tried to flaunt in front of everyone, but it wasn't something he necessarily covered up. Was it possible to be ashamed of, yet love your child at the same time? The family still treated him nicely, albeit his father was rather cold to him, but even then, he couldn't help but feel betrayed.

"I can't do this without Kain, I'm going to hyperventilate, they haven't seen me for six months and now all of a sudden they want to have a meet and greet?" he muttered, changing into what little bit of normal clothing he had left.

To his surprise, he was still growing. The sleeve of his shirt was two centimeters higher than the last time he put it on, a little more of a gap appearing at his pants leg as they made a slight high water.

"Calm down Hana, your family still loves you. They may not know how to express it, but they're really grateful that you would work here." Ichijou's steady palm added weight to his shoulder, relaxing him a bit.

Aidou was friendly with ice elements, and he could tell through his shirt just how cold and clammy his friend's hand was. He turned to face Takuma, noticing how his eyes brought out the sickly green tint in his pale complexion. Aidou felt bad about the comments he had made carelessly just then, knowing that his situation was nothing compared to how sick Takuma felt when he had to face his grandfather.

That cold, power-hungry man was the closest thing they had to any sort of political organization in the Blue Blood District, since the hierarchy didn't allow for such things. He was pretty well off, considering the state of the district, but his greed for more money, more power had led him to selling his only grandson to Thorns so that he could live lavishly, trusting in Rido, who in his opinion should have been King.

"Hey, stay strong. This time you aren't going alone. I'll be right there beside you." Aidou lisped, placing his surprisingly warm hand over Ichijou's.

"Ready to leave?" Shizuka asked, peeking into the group dressing room.

The two nodded, steeling themselves to come face to face with family as they followed her into the night.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

There wasn't anything wrong in rejecting a fiancee who was a child, especially if she was a foolish, high-maintenance girl who thought only of her selfish whims. Ouri took pity on his poor little fiancee no more than a month after they first met all those years ago, taking her in when her corrupt parents had been executed by King Kuran and the Vampire Without Fangs to end the Great War. He had put up with her incessant babbling all day, and was ready to relax a load into Kaname.

It didn't matter to him that the little locked up prince had long outgrown his girlish, youthful body and face that mirrored his mother. The poor child was still the son of Juuri, and Haruka too. He had taken pity on the little lamb. Though he could not resist embracing him from young, he had secretly educated Kaname, teaching him many, many things from bookwork to about life during their brief time together every week for the past ten years.

To think that all of that grief was indirectly caused by Juuri's existence. Truly, she was pure and fragrant like a jasmine. So many men had fallen for her left and right, vampires, mortals, even Ouri himself kept silent feelings for her. Now that she was gone, he cherished the child she left behind. And though he would have preferred a female, the rumor of a Kuran princess hadn't been confirmed or denied since the king locked himself away once Juuri perished from her fatal wounds.

Ouri couldn't stand Sara's parents.

And so far, she had been growing up with the same personality.

Those thoughts, that time he had spent with her daily always wound him up. It was nice to be able to visit Kaname, to try to privilege him in Rido's stead, who abused and exploited him when he had been trusted by his own sister in the care of her child. Was Rido honestly that Jealous of Haruka that he would lose interest in his and Juuri's girlish child who had grown up into a fine young man?

And he meant fine in every sense of the word.

He believed Kaname deserved power, and while Ouri could have righted every wrong that had been committed, save for resurrecting Juuri, or mending all of the broken hearts caused by her death, if Kaname didn't earn it for himself, then he wouldn't be able to keep it, possibly even neglect it--the power and position of a prince, possibly a king.

There were two things he had always stressed to Kaname--work hard for and earn what you want or have received, and never hesitate to ask for help. They seemed somewhat contradictory, but Ouri was confident that Kaname held the wisdom to make sense of the two lessons.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

"Nii-chan!" A young blond girl with flowing locks threw her arms around Hanabusa, hugging him tightly in an enthusiastic greeting. "I've missed you so much! Have you been eating well? You aren't being bullied there are you? Where's Akatsuki?"

"Yes, and no, Tsukiko, I'm fine. how have you been?" Hanabusa asked, hugging his favorite sister. "He's back at the club, Shizuka-sama can only take so many of us out at a time, and he was busy with patrons. He sends his love though."

His other sisters hovered around them, their mother coming to embrace her children, Aidou's father looking into the elaborate foyer from the lavish sitting room, seemingly debating whether or not he should come to greet his gay son.

Ichijou stood by his side, smiling quietly, politely at the reunion Hanabusa was apparently enjoying for the moment.

"Takuma-kun." Tsukiko embraced him as well, bestowing upon him a feeling of family and love that they knew he wouldn't receive from his grandfather.

Shizuka gave a small smile, happy to see that they could visit with people who cared about them beyond wanting their bodies.

"Shizuka-sama, thank you for bringing my son by to see the family, especially on such short notice." Lord Aidou bowed. "Please, help yourself to anything you like in our home."

"Thank you. Would you mind directing me to the powder room?"

"Tsukiko!" Lord Aidou called, nodding to Shizuka.

"This way." she smiled to the pureblood.

Shizuka wondered whether her father didn't like her, or her attitude towards Hanabusa as she led them in silence to a richly decorated lavatory. Tsukiko stood outside as the pureblood closed the door, waiting until she finished to lead her back so she wouldn't get lost in the mansion.

There was a couch in a small waiting area before the actual restroom, which was exactly what she was looking for. Asking to lie down in the living room or spare bedroom would have peaked curiosity, especially if it was only for a short period of time. They would have known that something was up, not that it was any business of theirs.

Wearily, Shizuka lay on the couch, eyes drifting to a close once again as she focused on shifting to the blank slate of Seiren's mind.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

"Ouri-sama?"

The pureblood blinked, coming out of his trance to look over to the servant who had entered the room. He could feel her path of shadows, and the sinister entity lurking within her body. Ouri was an ancient vampire, even if his looks were youthful. No one could possibly fool him anymore with what he'd seen of the world. He guessed it was finally time to right what had been wronged, to correct the balance before the underground could overwhelm the surface.

In more ways than one...

"Yes? where's Kaname-chan?"

"He's entertaining another customer at the moment, in apology to making you wait a blood sacrifice has been prepared for your enjoyment. It is entirely up to you to do with what you like to the bleeder, in the Blood suite." Seiren bowed, disappearing.

Ouri could feel the hunters in the building. He knew Rido, he wasn't the commander of the Crimson Assassin Force in Kuran Kingdom for no reason, and it was undoubtedly he who planned this night, whether on the spur of the moment or through careful planning, Ouri knew he was tired of waiting for the throne.

There was only so much you could do with words to convince and strengthen someone.

It was time to right some wrongs.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

It must have been the most beautiful cat Ichiru had ever seen, and he hadn't noticed that it was sitting right next to him the entire time he was in the room. He picked it up delicately, cradling the plump, square feline to his chest, looking to the bloody sea upon the carpet that mesmerized him, moving, swimming. The blood had a will of its own as it slithered across the carpet, which was suddenly an ocean of snow on the floor in the Blood Suite.

It wasn't fair, why was he all alone in the suite again? Ichiru angrily threw the cat, which suddenly turned into a penguin before sliding across the ice.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood as the atmosphere in the room changed. It had nothing to do with the cold, icy floor beneath his feet.

"Tsk, now why would Haruka let human children into the kingdom? He probably trusts you and your partner far more than his own brother, to which I wouldn't blame him."

Whoever the hell this was, this vampire had a massive aura that wavered around his body, faded purple and red tendrils coiled around him intimately, a few strands snaking away, transforming, coming for him, advancing with an ominous hiss...

Ichiru let a bullet fly in panic.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

Zero feared for his brother upon hearing the gunshot. Maybe, just maybe, it was an accident?

He knew better.

Gazing down at the surprised pureblood, he could see the glint of fear in his eyes lying beneath the lusty glaze. Zero leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Kaname to pull him up onto the warm sofa. He placed him down gently, hands roaming across his chest, rubbing his hot seed into his skin, slightly massaging as if to reassure him of his safety in the hunter's strong arms. Kaname closed his eyes, lips parting into a silent moan at the wonderful kneading pressure Zero exerted on him.

He could hear a few screams coming from down the hall, most of the words flying too fast to make out.

Speaking of making out...

Zero climbed on top of the pureblood, intending to make it brief as a hand cupped his face, the other gently brushing back his brunette locks. Zero closed his eyes as he pressed his lips to Kaname's, feeling him tense and stiffen beneath him. He backed away, and kissed him softly again. Was love at first sight possible? Could someone fall in love in an hour? What was love anyway? Was it logical, or more instinctual? His logic said it was impossible, though it was willing to rationalize, but his instincts were telling him to kiss, and coddle, and protect the person in his arms--from what he didn't know, but once he saw the fear he tried to hide, he wanted to protect this precious person from everything. And the best way to do that was to remove everything dangerous around him--the hunters--himself, his brother.

He parted the once-bold brunette's lips with his tongue, always, always wanting more. Kaname, who was melting beneath Zero's touches and kisses, opened his mouth shyly, seemingly unsure of himself as he clumsily tried to kiss back. Where was all of his confidence now? Zero tasted him, and blood, the sweet champagne, a deadly cocktail of flavors.

At the sound of the second gunshot, Zero was pulled from his trance. Parting from Kaname, he kissed those swollen lips once more, eyes studying his flushed face and sparkling, stunned orbs full of fear and wonder, willing his mind to absorb the beautiful image. Zero leaned down to his ear, breathing a farewell.

"Stay safe, and escape if you can." he breathed, rubbing his cheek to the brunette's.

At the deafening sound of the third gunshot, Zero was flying through the door, following the scent of Ichiru's blood, hellbent on finding his twin.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

Kaname's eyes widened when his lips met with the hunter's. He froze, silently panicking. What the hell was he supposed to do? He had never kissed anyone before, not on the lips, and people most definitely did not kiss him! He felt so inexperienced in that moment. His heart skipped a beat as he tried to kiss back, mimicking Zero's movements, silently fearing as to whether he was kissing correctly or not. He could taste the flavors of the hunter's sweet mouth mixed with the sugary cheesecake remnants. The heat of his lips melted Kaname, the fire from his lips and protective embrace encroaching the brunette, filling him with a solution of fear and simmering anticipation--a desire to taste him more thoroughly, even when he pulled away.

Zero's body was honest, Kaname could see the awe he felt reflected in those orbs of lilac as they traced his flushed face. The hunter leaned down and whispered gently in his ear.

"Stay safe, and escape if you can."

The concern in his voice was apparent, even as he rubbed their cheeks together. And when he was gone, Kaname could still feel his lingering warmth, still trying to twine itself tighter around his heart.

By God his heart was burning.

"They won't be able to find you if you hold still, mommy's going to disguise you. Stay safe and hide."

What just happened?

Taking a deep, calming breath, the smooth, almost vanilla of Ouri's scent wrapped in blood caressed his nose, sending him into an all out panic, flaring his thirst.

He had no idea that Ouri, his sensei of ten years was a pureblood, or that he was slowly dying by the hands of the friendly, sexy hunters he had just met, scarcely an hour ago.

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

A/N: So sorry for the late update! I hope to have the next chapter in better order. also, what do you think? Should I make some art for this story as well? I just got paid and ordered a new stylus and AC Adapter for my Tablet PC, so I'll be able to color the rest of my other art! XD

Review: Tell me what you think? Please and thank you, I would love you forever.