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It was moments later that Kuran slowly dropped his hands from Zero's face to his shoulders and finally reaching his elbows , almost touching them .

He was not gripping the hunter's arm but he wasn't pulling away from the silverette's personal space either . It's almost as if he wanted to say ' I'm not forcing you to stay but I want you to know I don't want to let go . '

" What I'm going to say you may not believe . But please hear me out , nonetheless . I think I deserve that much . " Kuran spoke up after taking a deep breath , gaze wandering from Zero's clothes to his scrutinizing eyes , a solid proof of the pureblood's honesty .

The silverette did not say anything . Instead , he held himself back and averted his gaze elsewhere , otherwise doing nothing to discourage Kuran from speaking and defending himself .

Taking that as a good sign , Kaname took a step backwards and chose to get straight to the point .

" You being a hunter is the only truth you've heard from Yuki . I was going to tell you .. But those sort of things cannot be said out of the blue . "

The lesser vampire's expression showed nothing , it remained unchanged , making it a little bit difficult to read his feelings . And kaname would be lying if he said he didn't expect that . Of course Zero was not going to believe him right away and even if he did , he wouldn't show it . He must be feeling very confused now .

Unfortunately , the night was still young and they had lots to talk about , regardless of the hunter's desire .

Despite not wanting to add insult to injury , kaname knew he had to inform the younger of the irreversible consequences of getting bitten by a pureblood , even though he'd once done that before , when Zero first heard about his masters being vampires and started asking questions ( which happened after an initial phase of denial and going on about how vampires do not exist .)

" Zero , thanks to my blood , you're no longer in danger of falling . You are a level C vampire . I won't lie to you , especially because you already know , level C is not the highest rank but it's also not the lowest . I trust you know what that means , the kind of treatment to expect . there's a major complication though and that's you being a hunter . Once your existence as a vampire-turned hunter becomes known , let's just say things would get a little bit too ugly . "

At that point , Zero couldn't help but scoff .

" It would have been better if you let me fall , Kuran . Actually , I would have much preferred it if you killed me right away . If you did , you wouldn't have worried about people finding out and I wouldn't have had to deal with being a goddamn bloodsucker . " the silverette voiced out his displeasure , a hint of mockery seeping in his tone , as well as that of bitter resignation .

Kaname , on the other hand , only sighed as he heard those words , wasting no time to disapprove in a low but very sincere tone .

" Zero , I could never kill you ! "

The whole time , Zero had been dissatisfied but calm , until he head that .

One silver eyebrow shot up in response to such words .

what ? what did the bastard just say ?

" Why not ? You had no problem helping me die not so long ago ! " The silver haired male exclaimed , feeling his anger resurface and pour in his eyes .

Kaname felt his eyes narrow before widening almost instantly as he comprehended the younger's words . It only took him a split second to yell back " I wasn't thinking straight ! You provoked and hurt me ! You said you'd rather die than stay with me ! Can you imagine how cruel it was of you to say that , how painful it was for me ? Do you know what's even more cruel ? I never asked for it ! I didn't want to feel this way for anyone ! Even now , just the idea of you not believing or trusting me makes a mess of my emotions . And I can't believe I'm confessing this .. "

After his unlikely outburst , the pureblood let out a deep frustrated sigh before rubbing his hand all over his face and settling heavily on the bed , gripping the edge of it and gazing at the letter opener lying on the floor .

Silence fell on the room , neither knowing how to break it or maybe even not wanting to until Zero found himself imitating the brunette and settling on bed before speaking " I don't know if your words earlier were true or not . I can't decide if I believe you or not .. I just don't know . But I do know one thing .. Whether it's true or not , what good is it for now ? "

His words had a certain transparency to them , one that Kaname couldn't help but agree with .

" How is your regret going to help me ? " he didn't say it in a harsh tone , on the contrary , it came out a defeated whisper .

Kaname did not answer . he couldn't . How would his remorse help , indeed ? ..

It wasn't going to fix anything , he knew . but at least he wanted the younger to know he hadn't meant to turn his life upside down .

" I'm not thrilled at the fact I'm a vampire now but I also acknowledge that what's done cannot be undone .." the silverette trailed off , inwardly finishing the phrase .

And no amount of regret on your part or discontent on mine can change it.

It would be pointless to submit and have a mental breakdown .

He wasn't just about to whine because he knew what would ensue .

Now what ?

Even if he did snap , yell , and break objects , the fact remained he had already been turned into a vampire .

Other than allowing him to vent , breaking down would do nothing .

Maybe it was better to accept it .. Even though a part of him snarled in protest , unable to make peace with the idea of becoming what he instinctively was ought to hunt .

He couldn't fully accept it but he could try , could pretend , could lie to himself , just to make life easier .

Well , it wouldn't do him good if he kept thinking of that ..

Deciding he'd rather focus on anything else , he found himself recalling kuran's words and he couldn't help but ask " you said there's only one truth I heard from yuki , right ? Why did she lie ? "

There was a good chance that kuran was the one lying , wanting to conceal his rotten motives to gain Zero's trust .

But it was also possible he was saying the truth .

Well , there was only one way to find out . Zero told himself as he waited for the answer , carefully observing Kuran's expression , especially his eyes .

The pureblood inhaled deeply , something about the way he did it told Zero the whole thing was far more complicated than expected .

True enough , When Kuran spoke up , his words confirmed it .

" that's a long story , Zero . Yuki was doing it to get back at me for something I did in the past .. It was for her own good .. But well , she didn't view it that way and wanted to return the favour . "

So yuki did it to provoke kuran ? That could mean two things ..

Zero was confused for a moment until the fog in his head cleared and realization dawned on him .

" I don't understand … Yuki got back at you by lying to me ? Are you saying my presence matters that much ? Am I significant enough to you that Yuki deemed me a weak spot ? Ah ..pardon me , of course I am significant .. I'm the damn hunter piece in your little chessboard , right ? "

The hell was happening to him , Zero did not know ! Why did it affect him that badly ? For god's sake ! Why did he have to keep on bringing that topic up , always finding a way to mention it .

Why did he have to care about what label he had in Kuran's eyes ?!

the hunter's bitter sarcasm left a thick silence stretching in its wake .

Kaname parted his lips , feeling speechless for a second .

What the hell was wrong with Zero ?

Did he really want a fight ?

" In different circumstances , I might think your insecure side is rather cute . But now i really am not in the mood to humor that side of yours . I can't exactly force you to believe me so let's do this , at least trust your own kind . Tomorrow , I'm going to introduce you to someone . Go to sleep . "

Zero was given no time to protest or even respond to that .

Weirdly enough , he found himself doing as told , crawling under the covers and drifting to sleep right away .

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The next time Zero opened his eyes , he was met with white , something he later on recognised to be the ceiling .

For a couple of minutes he did nothing but blink , once , twice , many times in fact .

Even though he was lying under layers and layers of blankets , he still felt awfully cold .

It didn't stop there ..

He felt cold , lost ,and empty . And that's how he realized it really wasn't a bad dream .

Everything he wished hadn't happened had in fact taken place , from what yuki has told him to that time he confronted Kaname about it and the resulting bite ..

" This truly sucks.. Fuck my life .." He whispered to thin air , wanting to sleep for eternity . Anything would be better than the mess that had become of his life , especially because he knew from then onwards , everything would be going downhill for him ..

" I wish I died in the fire .. " he felt his eyes moisten as he said that , recalling his childhood , the sight of the orphanage getting devoured by angry flames , how much he'd screamed and wailed over his siblings .

It was one of those moments he couldn't help but drown to the very bottom of darkness and grief .

They may have survived the fire but he knew that was some wishful thinking on his part .

If his memory served him right , life has never exactly been kind to him .

And knowing that , it was not difficult to expect the worst .

He really had no one , right . .. ?

He was alone in a world he feared .. He didn't know what the future held , just like anyone else ..

He really could take no more .. He didn't have the energy to face such fate .. Oh how he wished for death to embrace him .. He knew , however , that such thing wasn't going to be easy anymore ..

He'd become a vampire .. Besides , he had a feeling Kuran would not allow him to die , much less starve .

So , in short , he was stuck in that wretched life ..

A scornful smile marred his features at the thought , accompanied with an equally scornful raise of eyebrows .

Figuring there's no escaping it , he took a deep breath , turned the covers away , and finally abandoned the bed , before making his way towards the windows and stopping there , fingers slowly reaching for the curtains , pulling the fabric just a little bit and quickly flinching at the first streak of sunlight hitting his vision .

It was a natural reaction , considering how much his room had been submerged in complete darkness . But it wasn't as simple as that , he knew.

His eyes must have become sensitive to light .. A lot has changed , indeed ..

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Kaname was busy buttoning his shirt when he sensed a familiar presence approach his room , making him unconsciously narrow his eyes , anticipating yet another argument .

True enough , a few moments later witnessed Zero , still in his homewear , swaying the door open and stepping inside , lilac eyes darting all over the room , scanning it for his target .

His search process didn't last for long as he found kuran standing in front of the mirror , done with the buttons of his shirt .

The pureblood remained calm , like usual , and said nothing . Which was why Zero found himself saying " You forced me to sleep yesterday . "

It may have been a lame start but truthfully , he didn't know what else to say , at least at that moment .

The pureblood merely gave him a nod before justifying " Yes . If I didn't , you wouldn't have gotten any sleep . "

Zero watched as the brunette abandoned the spot in front of the mirror and went to the magnificent wardrobe that occupied an entire wall before choosing a deep grey coat and wearing it .

The hunter wrinkled his mouth at that before speaking up once more , making it sound as if he was impressed " Of course , you are a pureblood after all . Those of lower ranks cannot defy you , right ? "

In all honesty , Zero did not know why he was saying that or why he bothered to talk to the elder when he should be snapping at him and aiming for his throat .

He only knew one thing .. He was not in a good mood and he wanted to take it out on someone .

He hadn't even realized when he ended up crossing his arms and tapping his foot against the marble tiles .

A chuckle drew his attention though .

" I'm not just a pureblood , Zero . I'm your maker , your master . You cannot defy me even if you tried . "

What ?

The silverette stilled at that .

He didn't understand the full meaning of what Kuran had just revealed but he had a vague idea .. And he didn't like it , at all . He voiced it too.

" You take pride in that ? "

Overtaken with disbelief , he questioned in a whisper , loathing his life even more in that particular moment .

Kaname , on the other hand , could only sigh before rubbing his forehead and evading the question .

" Instead of wasting your time trying to argue with me , how about you go and eat something ? Then get dressed . we have somewhere to go to . "

It was not a command , at least not one overflowing with manipulative powers . Zero couldn't decide if he was thrilled at that or not .

" If you think I can eat and behave as if nothing has happened , then you are horribly mistaken . "

The pureblood just nodded in response and uttered " okay " as if he wanted to say ' be my guest . I'm not going to argue over that . '

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Half an hour later and they were both seated in the car , with Kaname driving to God knows where .

The ride consisted of predictable but far from comfortable silence .

Despite feeling extremely curious over who they were going to meet , Zero kept his mouth shut . He was not in the mood to talk to the brunette . whenever they spoke to each other as of late , they ended up yelling , if not vocally then by intense eye-contact .

It's then that his mind wandered back to that moment when got back to his room , changed , and was about to walk down the hallway , heading towards the front door when he met Yuki .

It was a moment tense in the same intensity it was awkward .

The female pureblood told him she felt ashamed and guilty for lying to him about her brother's intentions . Even if she did tell a truth , it wasn't her place to say it . And she deeply regretted the damage her words had caused .

Zero did not pat her head and say he forgave her but he didn't snap at her either .

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Time dragged by slowly until they reached their destination , a random apartment building , Zero's mind supplied .

They were both waiting for someone to answer the door .

It didn't take long before the door slid open , revealing a sight that had Zero staring in shock .

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3008 words

Updated 26 dec , 2017 . though it should have been 25 but well , for some reason , the doc file upload didn't work . which was really frustrating .

In any case , it took me three days to write this . i started working on it 23 dec . the only thing i had planned beforehand was kaname's first lines and the end of the chapter .

I hope you enjoy this . thank you for reading .

I don't think I'll be updating soon because I don't have much planned for this story . I just know the start of the next chapter . other than that , i dunno where this is going .

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