Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or any of its characters.

I apologize for this being so late. If you wish to throw rotten vegtables at me, that is perfectly understandable.


Kaname closed the space between his own mouth and Zero's, his eyes focused on his destination, his throat burning with desire for the ambrosia of Zero's blood, his breath mingling with the sweet shallow breaths of the boy before him. His lips lingered a mere hair's width away from Zero's, when Zero's eyes fluttered open. Kuran didn't notice, until Zero stepped back.

Slowly, Zero brought his hand up to his face where the cut should have been. Feeling the newly healed flesh, Zero's brow momentarily furrowed, before his burning crimson gaze locked onto Kuran's. "What the hell were you just doing?" Zero's rasped, quietly.

Kaname remained motionless for a moment, what the hell was he doing? What the hell was he thinking? Oh right, he wasn't. He had been acting solely on impulse, giving into Zero's allure. But Zero hadn't stopped him. "You had a cut."

"So you decided to lick my face?"

"You weren't complaining."

"I fucking thought I passed out," Zero stated, retreating paces, one hand flying into his hair and the other to his injured side as he turned away from Kaname, his agitation turning into jittery energy, but he was unable to completely ignore the ever growing pain in his side. He had to get away from the pureblood, and the smell of his blood. Being injured made him hungry. The pain he felt when Kaname sucked on his cut had awakened him to the reality of his situation, and bloodlust held him captive there.

Zero's aura was reverting back to that of his former self and Kaname didn't like it. Albeit, Zero likely had cracked, if not broken ribs at the moment, hadn't sleep much last night, was probably still exhausted from their previous nights training, and was now apparently going into bloodlust. Nevertheless, Kaname felt a slight pang at Zero's reply, though he refrained from flinching. It was inexplicable, but for some reason he was craving the hunter's approval. "And why was that your assumption?"

Zero leant against the wall, hiding his face with one of his hands, as heat trickled into his cheeks. He would not admit to his misconception that this was another of the previous night's heated dreams; his current flush was embarrassing enough. "It seemed the only logical explanation for your behavior. I don't care if you're a vampire, you don't just lick people Kuran."

"And how many people have you licked Kiryuu?"

"I can't help that I am a monster Kuran. Thanks for the reminder."

"And you suggest that I chose my birthright?"

"We both fucking know that you and I are not the same breed of beast. Shit I thought I was over this." Zero slid down the wall, hands clasping his throat. He could feel his strength of will beginning to crack under the physical and mental strain of his abused and fatigued body and mind, and the sharp burning reminder of his shameful ex-human identity. We may both be beasts, but I am the only monster, the only one to lose his sanity to the temptation of blood, the only one who would attack someone I love, the only one to devour my own flesh and blood. I thought I had learned to harness this side of myself.

It was true, as a born vampire Kaname did not normally fight the same internal battle that Zero faced. His urges, at least for blood, were usually more controllable. "Zero…"

Zero's gaze shot up towards Kaname, briefly showing recognizable lavender, before crimson crept back into the edge of his irises. He thought he had heard Kuran say his name, his given name, but it was so quiet, it could have merely been a breath. But Kuran's eyes said it all; it was the same look Yuuki used to give him. Zero's eyes went wide, "Yuuki…, Kuran -"

Kaname turned away from Zero at the mention of his Yuuki's name, and he began to put distance between himself and the hunter. He needed a clear head, which was difficult with the chaste hint of Zero's blood lingering on his tongue, while the memory of Zero's warmth teased Kaname's skin as it slowly melted into the air that was rich with the hunter's scent. Yuuki. He had to remember to focus, for Yuuki. But he couldn't deny a reverberating pain within his chest. Just as Yuuki was forever concerned about Zero's well-being, Zero likewise put Yuuki first. Who was there for him? Once, Zero's devotion to Yuuki was precisely what I desired, it was part of my design, but ….

"Kuran," Zero's voice was unnaturally hesitant, "Yuuki is the reason you're here now, correct?" It somehow almost felt wrong to be with Kuran, considering what just happened, without Yuuki's permission.

It caught Kaname slightly off guard. It probably shouldn't have, but Zero's tone was new. The boy's uncertainty was usually expressed in anger.

"Yuuki is likely still in her room; she was quite upset last night."

Zero's eyes narrowed, whether Yuuki sent Kuran or not didn't really matter now, Kuran's sidestep was successful, "and why was Yuuki upset?"

"We have discussed this before; Yuuki is no longer your problem Kiryu."

"I never saw Yuuki as my 'problem' Kuran, what the hell are you implying?"

"I would rather not discuss this with you."

"Because you never discuss anything, Kuran, all you do is order people around, expecting your orders and approval to be sufficient for their happiness. That is not a relationship; tell me that's not what you've been doing to Yuuki."

Instantly, Zero's wrists were slammed against the wall on either side of his head, and Zero found himself face-to-face with Kuran, fangs bared, but with an uncharacteristic insecurity in his eyes. "What happened to all your confidence that I could make Yuuki happy?"

Zero quieted for a moment, his current state of health was making him rash and unnecessarily harsh, but it was no excuse. Another ache began to settle itself onto Zero, guilt. I should be stronger than this. My pain is my punishment for being a monster. Just endure, I have a new purpose now. I just need to calm myself. Zero took a steadying breath. It was a mistake; he could feel bloodlust angrily clawing up his throat, coupled with a sharp pain in his side. Damn.

Kaname was also distracted by his proximity to the hunter. Adrenaline was the hormonal response for way too many things: fear, aggression, lust. And right now the hunter was splayed ever-so vulnerably in front of him, his sweet scent and appearance teasing Kaname senseless. Kaname could feel the strong pulse of a hunter running through Zero's wrists, and Kuran felt it lull him under an odd breed of hypnosis, drawing him closer and closer to bloodlust, further and further from his wondrous sense of self-control. It wouldn't take much to taste that sweet ambrosia, Zero was injured and unable to reach his weapon at the moment.

But a physical tap on his shoulder ultimately drew the pureblood out of the trance. "Kaname-kun, please consider that my little Zero-rin is injured, he should go to the nurse's office."

Kuran backed up immediately, releasing Zero, who slumped forward somewhat clumsily but caught himself with one arm, as he closed his eyes to try and hide their brilliant red from Kaien.

"Zero-rin, Kiyomizu-san seemed concerned that he may have broken some of your ribs," Kaien kneeled next to Zero.

Shaking slightly, Zero drew in breaths through his mouth, then slowly met Kaien's concerned gaze with lavender eyes. "Is everything under control?"

A gentle smile crossed Cross's face, before splitting into a manic grin "the students are all back in the dorms, no one was hurt, and my darling daughter seemed quiet enthused to take over prefect duties again."

This news caused Zero to smile softly, before a grimace took over. "I…" Zero did his best to rise, using the wall slightly for support, while doing his best to blink away the pain, "I need to leave."

Concern furrowed Kaien's brow, while Kaname flexed his hand, resisting his impulse to go to the hunter's aid.

"Kaname-san, thank you for taking care of Zero, if you would please go make sure the Moon Dorms are settled, I am taking Zero to the infirmary."

"Of course."

"I should be fine Headmaster," Zero stated, gently, but with authority, as he started heading for the door. The pain was becoming more and more difficult to handle, as the intensity of the situation calmed.

Cross swooped one arm around Zero, and pulled Zero's other arm around his neck taking on most of Zero's weight, and getting the closest he ever had to a hug from his adopted son. After mild protest Zero gave in and allowed the elder to help him to the door. "How many times do I have to tell you Zero-rin? Please call me tou-san."

Kuran just watched frozen, he could see the boy's strength; it used to be a threat to him. But now, Zero wasn't only strength, Kaname could also see his gentleness with those he cared for, even if Zero was slightly reluctant to show it openly.

Zero could feel the pureblood's gaze on them, and it churned up his former feelings of guilt, he had gone too far. Stopping firmly in the doorway, Zero turned back, "Kuran, I," he took a short breath momentarily looking down, before bring his exquisite eyes to Kaname's, "I'm sorry."

Kaname's eyebrows lifted, "for what?" he didn't know why he asked, he thought he already knew the answer.

Zero blinked a couple of times, then drew his eyebrows together, confusion marring his perfect features, "when I first met you, I attacked you with a butter-knife, I'm sorry." Zero had a lot of things to apologize for; he might as well start at the beginning. However, Zero's features also spoke eloquently of his dissatisfaction with his given response, nevertheless, he turned to see the silly grin on Cross's face, and decided it was high-time to leave, grumbling the rest of the way to the infirmary. But Zero couldn't help but notice the way his thirst continued to subside as he went further and further from Kuran's scent.

Kaname remained frozen, for a few more minutes, allowing himself to process the last few moments. It was odd, how much Zero's simple and miss-directed apology still resounded within him. And yet, he was so used to not only controlling himself, but also skillfully playing puppet-master with others, that to have his mind go so blank in the presence of a hunter was slightly terrifying. In previous encounters he had been similarly rough with the hunter; he had to admit that he more easily lost control of his temper in front of the boy. But this time was different, this time he was losing control of his self, not simply his temper. Stealing himself, Kaname left the cellar, acknowledging that at least part of his confusion and the hunter's allure was Zero's more recent change in biology, something he would send Aidou to investigate.


Class exchange proceeded with the rather visible absence of a certain hunter, whom his replacement (Chairman Cross), was bombarded with questions about. The chairman was so overwhelmed with the sheer intense devotion of the Day Class students for the Night Class, and the Night Class students for Zero, that he almost missed the distinct absence of a certain pureblood. Kuran caught Kaien's eye, nodding in the direction of the Moon Dorms, where Cross picked up Kiyomizu's suppressed aura, all the while keeping up his cheerful and slightly helpless façade. As the exchange ended, Cross gave an exaggerated sigh, and couldn't help but smile as he sensed the presence of a young pureblood creeping from the Moon Dorms towards the infirmary.


Zero was startled from his light sleep by the sudden presence of a pureblood in the room. His immediate reaction being to reach for Bloody Rose on the bedside tray, quickly sitting-up and aiming it at the new presence. Pain creased Zero's brow, and pressed his sculpted lips into a hard line, as his body punished him for the sudden movement. But he never took his eyes off his intruder, whom now had his hands raised in a subtle gesture of surrender.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," Kiyomizu's words were quiet and sincere, but without even a tinge of fear as he stared down the barrel of currently one of the most lethal weapons a pureblood could face. He trusted Zero already, it didn't make sense to the pureblood, but he couldn't help it, the hunter's presence calmed him.

Zero merely continued to stare at Kiyomizu for a moment, searching Kiyomizu, before he lowered Bloody Rose, but still held it lightly in his grip.

Kiyomizu simply stood there, not saying anything but allowing his senses to soak up every miniscule detail, every soft breath, every heartbeat, every whiff of scent, everything that made up this beautiful boy. He enjoyed the way the setting sun crept in through the window so it could caress Zero's bare shoulders, the way the bandages around Zero's rib cage embraced him, the way that shadows nestled into the contours of Zero's well-muscled, but lithe body. In essence, he loved the way that Zero's mere presence could make anything, light, dark, or ordinary, seem beautiful and sacred.

After a minute of silence, Zero's soft voice broke Kiyomizu from his revere, "why did you come?"

"I-I came to apologize for putting you here."

Zero's eyes went wide, giving him a lovely look of bewildered innocence, before he schooled himself, a compassionate sorrow edging into his eyes, "what's done is done, I'll heal."

With those simple words, Kiyomizu allowed himself a soft smile, something he hadn't done since his brother's initial disappearance. Then rather abruptly, he crossed the room to sit at Kiryuu's bedside, wanting to be as close as possible to this enchanting being, failing to notice the slight tension that built in the hunter's muscles. Once seated, Kiyomizu continued to allow his senses to take in Zero, his slow steady pulse drawing Kiyomizu in, filling the silence and void.

Normally, Zero did not mind silence; however, with the way Kiyomizu was just staring at him, Zero could feel a slight blush crawl into his cheeks, as he turned away and cleared his throat. "Um… if that is all…"

Kiyomizu blinked, realizing he was being dismissed, but not yet wanting to leave the shirtless hunter, "I want to talk with you about something," he half-lied. Zero looked at him, urging him to continue; before he could even think of the consequences, the words which had been haunting him spilled out and his constant mantra fell again from his tongue "my brother is innocent."

Zero felt a slight pang, how long had he tried to convince himself of Ichiru's innocence, despite what he had seen with his own eyes. And with a simple request Zero dispelled the tension building in the room, "tell me about him."

The look in Kiyomizu's eyes was immensely grateful, and he quickly launched into stories of his brother. Drawing out a picture from the breast pocket of his sports coat to show Zero a picture of a platinum blond family, the Kiyomizu before him being one of them.

Watching Kiyomizu, Zero couldn't help but feel like he was looking at a child. Kiyomizu was powerful, no doubt, but his emotions were so raw, vibrant, and easily seen in pureblood's eyes, that Zero felt concerned slightly for this particular individual. It was odd but he couldn't help but feel that Kiyomizu was someone to be protected.

"…I guess he became like my other half, because my parents always kept us from the outside world and we only ever fed from each other."

"What did you say?" Zero felt his breath catch slightly, from his phrasing, but more so from the words which followed.

"We only ever feed from each other?"

"Why?"

Kiyomizu shrugged.

After a minute of silence Zero let it drop, but filed it away to investigate later, then inquired, "What else did you say?"

"My parents didn't want us leaving the property."

"Why?" Other than Yuuki, Zero had never heard of this type of behavior from pureblood parents, something was going on here.

Kiyomizu tensed slightly, realizing this could go badly, but looking at the hunter he felt some of his inhibitions ease. "Purebloods typically have a general set of powers above other vampires, and then they also have powers unique to them." Kiyomizu hesitated slightly, looking into Zero's eyes, "My parents kept us away because of our lack of additional power; they said we weren't developed, and we would be easy prey used to strengthen their enemies."

Brow furrowed, Zero tried to comprehend what he had just been told, this was incredibly new, as far as he knew all purebloods contained some immensely lethal power, but this did explain Kiyomizu's ignorance about certain things, along with his childishness. Still, Zero could not help but be slightly skeptical, "and your brother…"

"He always wanted to leave, he was tired of the only people we saw being 'trusted purebloods' like Kawakami, or other noble children. He wanted to see the world, so when he came to get me, he told me he found a way out. One of the servants had shown it to him. He wanted to show me… he wanted us to escape together," Kiyomizu's eyes shone with unshed tears, as he peered down at his empty hands. "But I was late…" with this admission tears found their way down his cheeks and into his opened hands. "I should have been their, whoever took him… I-I…." Had he not been crying shamelessly for the past week, Kiyomizu would have perhaps tried to stifle his emotions, but it no longer mattered to him, he already knew of his weakness, so he let his tears fall freely. Faintly, he could hear the rustle of sheets, and movement on the old creaky infirmary cot, then he felt a strong arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a warm chest.

For a minute Zero just held Kiyomizu, Kiyomizu's head buried into his chest, as he pressed soothing circles onto his back, the same way he had with Ichiru and later with Yuuki, when both looked so fragile, they seemed they would break if someone didn't hold them together. Then Zero tensed, releasing Kiyomizu, and lightly pushing him back as the glass behind them suddenly shattered, and cracks made their way up the surrounding window panels.

Kuran stood in the doorway, with Aidou in tow. The expression Kaname was wearing mildly hinted that he was in an ill mood, his voice only confirming his contempt. "Kiyomizu-san, I must insist that if you are not going to take this time to rest and set up your room that you instead attend class. I can not have you wandering around campus as if this academy's rules do not apply to you."

Kiyomizu immediately tensed, unconsciously readying himself for attack, his gaze so intently focused on Kuran, that he jumped slightly as he felt a comforting hand cover his.

"You should head back Kiyomizu-sempai, thank you for checking on me," Zero gave his hand a slight squeeze, giving him a soft smile before turning back to Kaname, as the glass behind them continued to splinter.

Slowly, Kiyomizu got up, casting wary glances at Kaname, before whispering to Zero "If you want me to stay…"

Kaname tensed further, his darkening aura pressing into the room, but Zero was quick to respond, though his challenging gaze remained on Kuran, "No, it would be better if you left."

Reluctantly, Kiyomizu headed to the door, taking his sweet time exiting the room and glaring at Kaname with undisguised threat, "if anything happens to him…"

"I'm not the one who broke his ribs."

After ushering a low growl, Kiyomizu left, promising himself he would make it up to the hunter somehow.

Kaname watched Kiyomizu make his way down the hall, noting that in his periphery he could see Hanabusa making faces at the retreating form. But when he turned back to Kiryuu he was met with a far less entertaining sight. Zero was glaring at him.

"What the hell was that Kuran?"

"I could ask you the same," Kaname glared back, stepping into the room and closing the door on a pouting Aidou.

"He was upset, his brother just died."

"I see; so then it's okay to break school policy so long as you're able to cry when it matters," Kuran stated lifting a cynical brow, but keeping his voice relatively even.

"Kiyomizu-sempai was under my watch, the Headmaster is coming to visit in 10 minutes, then he could have escorted Kiyomizu-sempai back to the dorms, instead of sending him off alone," Zero's voice had a slightly bitter-tinge, but he was trying to keep it relatively even. Why Kuran was so upset and baiting him on this topic, he didn't quite know.

Kaname closed his eyes, trying to calm himself, but that infuriating image of a scantly clad Zero holding Kiyomizu kept playing on the back of his eyelids. It shouldn't matter to him, but it did. Kaname tried to keep his voice steady, "Do you even remember what I told you last evening while training?"

Zero nodded once, "I was keeping track of my head, and Bloody Rose was within reach," he stated pulling Bloody Rose from where it was hidden in his sheets. "Because of our earlier spar, I have a good estimate of his reaction time."

Kaname allowed himself to be slightly impressed by Zero's immediate awareness and foresight, but still could not help but be haunted by the image of Zero's beautiful, sorrowful eyes as he coddled the other pureblood, empathy etched so completely into Zero's angelic features. Kuran almost couldn't stop himself from feeling slight envy, seeing someone else receive the compassion he secretly longed for. Trying to calm himself, Kuran took a moment to simply stare at the ruffled hunter, wearing only boxers and bandages with his legs spread slightly as the hooked over the side of the cot. His eyes finally connected with Zero, who was giving him a questioning look, the full picture only completed by Zero's tousled silver lochs. Disturb by Aidou's sudden knocks Kuran spun around, realizing Zero's appearance was doing little to calm him, "come in Aidou."

Poking his head around the door, Aidou tried to quickly assess the situation before entering, a large medical bag in tow.

Kiryuu turned to him and raised a questioning brow.

Aidou happily launched into an explanation, "earlier the mere smell of your blood basically caused a riot among the Night Class, a month ago, you were bleeding profusely and it did not have nearly such a drastic affect. I'm here to see what's changed."

Zero gave Aidou a slightly skeptical look as he made his way around the bed. "And you're certified to do this?"

Aidou pouted, "You're lucky I'm taking the time for you Kiryuu, do you even know how many job offers per week I get?"

Zero's lip twitched up, "enlighten me," Aidou was so easily flustered, the same way Yuuki used to be, sure the boy was more delinquent but they were both equally juvenile.

Aidou was about to answer when he noticed Zero's slightly playful expression and huffed, deciding not to dignify Zero's challenge with a response and instead simply began digging through his bag looking for his supplies, muttering to himself about finding the largest needle he possibly could.

Kuran couldn't help the smile that settled on his features after watching the two; Aidou always was excellent at diffusing tension, so long as he wasn't focused on Kaname.

Noticing some of the hostility bleed out of Kuran's aura, Zero took a moment to look up at him, only to realize that Kaname still had his eyes on him. Blushing slightly, Zero turned his head away; he was slowly becoming aware that he really wasn't wearing much, and shifted so the sheets began to cover more of his body.

However subtle he intended this action to be, Aidou caught it and started smirking, deciding it was his turn to tease the hunter back. "You know you really should be grateful to Kanama-sama for preventing Sadayo-sama from coming to visit. He would have loved-"

"Aidou," Kaname abruptly cut him off, seeing where this was going.

"Yes Kaname-sama?"

"What is your assessment so far?"

Looking back at Kiryuu, then up towards Kaname, he got the hint, and quickly tied an elastic band around Kiryuu's bicep.

"I'm going to take some blood samples and to try and collect the aromatics from it, run it through the GCMS, and see if I can isolate what has caused the change in Kiryuu's scent…." While Aidou was prattling on, he had begun to clean a patch of Zero skin with sterilizing alcohol. "I have a couple hypotheses as to the cause, but I also want to also make up some cell cultures and sequence his genome first, then compare it to the other vampire, human, and hunter samples I have before I jump to any conclusions."

Zero looked at him, "is all that really necessary?"

"No," Aidou smiled, taking a sterile needle from its casing and attaching it to a long tube, connected to a blood bag, latex gloves already on. "But while I have the chance, I might as well find out your genetically programmed tendencies, maybe you…" Aidou stopped, when he put the needle in, and the potency of Zero's blood reaching his nose. Gulping Aidou tried to keep his hands steady and the red from showing in his eyes.

Kaname tensed, folding his arms tightly across his chest, grateful that he had taken nearly an entire container of blood tablets shortly before coming, all the while keeping an eye on Aidou, who had never been particularly good at denying his thirst.

Zero could tell the sudden shift in everyone's mood as soon as the needle went in; it felt weird to be the cause. His left arm still extended, he leaned back a little, his right hand landing on Bloody Rose, with as much sarcasm as he could muster Zero said, "Bite me, and I shoot Aidou-sempai."

At that Aidou's eyes returned to Kiryuu's face, happy to hear the hunter wasn't being serious, "like I would ever bite you," his face scrunched. "Besides, I'm sure your blood is poison."

Zero snorted, "kinda like your blood tablets."

"This is the thanks I get for spending my precious time helping you?"

"You wouldn't even be here if Kuran wasn't right behind you"

"That's not true"

"Oh?" Kaname inquired, eyebrow quirked.

Zero couldn't help the small smirk at seeing Aidou blush from ear to ear as he hunched over slightly, before Aidou looked up to glare at him, and pulled the needle rather abruptly from his arm.

Unfortunately for Aidou it did not have the desired affect, Zero didn't even flinch, but both he and Kaname did as blood began to bulge at the edge of the small incision.

Quickly, Kaname made his way past Aidou, grabbed Zero by the wrist and brought the inside of Zero's forearm up to his mouth, pressing his lips to the wound before Zero yanked his arm back.

"Don't do that Kuran," Zero stated trying to squelch the heat rising to his face from the feel of Kuran's lips against his body, as he looked down at his wound free arm.

Mouth agape, Aidou stared at Zero, noticing the slight blush, and not quite sure what to feel after what he had just seen. He was torn between jealously, though he wasn't sure which of the two he was jealous of, and confusion.

"It's for everyone's good. If anyone smelt your blood, there would be chaos among the night class again. I've already had to deal with some of that tonight. Now if you'll excuse me," with that Kuran exited the room closing the door behind him and getting out of the building as quickly as possible. He needed to distance himself from Zero, having nearly lost his sense of self-control with Zero sitting there nearly naked and the smell and teasing little taste of the hunter's blood filling his senses. Slightly distracted Kuran almost ran into an excited Chairman Cross heading his way.

"Kaname-kun, were you visiting little Zero-rin? How does he look?"

Damn Delectable! "He looks like he will be fine in no time."

"Umm, that's very good."

"Cross-san,"

"Hm?"

Kaname let out a short breath, "I don't think I will be able to attend dinner with you this Friday after all, something has come up."

"Whaa? But Zero-kun was going to cook a special dinner since I told him we were having company," Cross pouted.

Food would have to wait, until Kuran felt he had better self-control, and understood exactly what was happening to him around Zero "My apologies Cross-san."

Meanwhile, Aidou and Zero remained silent for a moment, before Aidou got out a clipboard and started asking Zero personal questions, which he was only semi-inclined to answer.

When Aidou got to the, "and when did you begin your last menstrual cycle?" He was driven from the room.


He felt tense as three figures made their way towards him. With the extra sleep Zero was allowed to get, his self-healing abilities had already drastically decreased the pain he was feeling. He could breathe again, which was good, because he had been breathing deeply all morning, trying to calm his nerves. The new hunter students were coming to campus, and he was to show them around. Despite the fact that Yagari had taken him on again as a student, he still felt apprehensive near his brethren-by-birth.

"So they send a bloodsucker to greet us, great, I can't believe their making me do this."

"This is a school for integration, what did you expect? You didn't have to come?"

"Yeah I kinda did, this is my community service for messing up on the last mission."

The other boy snorted muttering "screw-up" under his breath, but was thwacked upside the head by the female-hunter behind him.

"What went wrong Kioshi?" she asked with the genuine concern of a fan-girl.

The hunter referred to as Kioshi went slightly red at the girls questioning, but instead of responding turned to glare at Zero who was finally in front of them. "So bloodsucker, who let you out of your coffin in the daytime? Doesn't this school have any rules to protect the humans from you parasites?"

This was obviously going to be a pleasant day, but Zero was numb to any anger he might have felt, he too knew the way that fear inspired hatred, it was necessary to survive as a hunter, in a kill or be killed world. So he simply nodded, "Nice to meet you, I'm Zero Kiryuu, the other prefect."


The days went by andZero received cold-shoulders from both Kioshi and Amaya, i.e. the girl who tagged along everywhere with Kioshi. But the third hunter was less disagreeable, he was the one who had agreed to patrol with Zero, he liked to talk … a lot, but Zero didn't mind so much, it made the time pass more quickly.

Kuran had begun to avoid him; it frustrated Zero the first time Kuran blew him off for a training session, he thought they were in this together. But he was not about to lose valuable time waiting for Kuran to get his act together. So on his nights off Zero would do his best to train himself, study the hunter arts, and had begun looking over case files, one in particular catching his eye, the case of Kiyomizu's brother.

Zero had taken his time looking over the file repeatedly, and the facts just didn't add-up. The amount of people that had been turned in the time that the boy had disappeared would have meant that he turned about one person every two minutes, assuming he slept only a few hours a night. It didn't seem reasonable, especially considering what Kiyomizu had told him about his brother and his underdeveloped-pureblood-abilities, though the source had an obvious bias. Secondly, there was something just…off about the parents' statement. And lastly, there was no record of either the trial or the execution of the young pureblood. It just didn't add up. He had called Yagari-sensei, but he hadn't been in charge of this case.

So when the weekend came, Zero informed Yagari-sensei that he would be visiting the Kiyomizu territory, and since the hunter's still had jurisdiction over the town Yagari allowed it, but to Zero's great displeasure, he was told to bring Kioshi with him. Kioshi's sensei apparently wanted the boy to get some more field experience.


Hanabusa Aidou was ecstatic to say the least, he had figured it out, he had proof and the results to support this theory, and he had discovered that Zero was even more of a freak than he initially thought. This could be a major scientific discovery, he could easily get a journal article published out of this, but most importantly, he had an answer to give his Kaname-sama. He stood at the double doors to Kaname's study and felt like bursting in, but restrained himself, managing to only knock incessantly until he got a response.

"Yes Aidou?" Kuran's voice questioned from within.

"I've found the results for Zero's change Kaname-sama," he chirped.

Before Aidou had even finished his statement the door was opened, "Come in."

With the excitement of a preschooler on a sugar-rush Aidou made his way in, sitting across from Kaname at his desk, where he handed over a file-folder to the pureblood and began excitedly gibbering.

"My initial theories were not too far off, Kaname-sama. It turns out Zero is going through a delayed version of vampire puberty."

Kaname raised a thin eyebrow.

"You see, it's when vampires go through puberty that we initially start generating the pheromones, and developing a scent and to attract other vampires and humans as mate or prey. In most cases, the biological chemicals we produce are meant to target a neurological reaction within the prey or mate we biologically align with the most, usually coinciding with the blood-types we prefer.

Here's the exciting thing, Kiryuu's body does that as well, but I think when he received the extra hunter-blood, and became 'mega-hunter' his biology changed. Sleeper genes awoke and began transcribing for the pheromones and a scent to attract exclusively vampires. It might be the biological compromise between his hunter roots and his vampire inheritance. The molecules he is producing are amazing; they modify to react with a vampire's receptors to always increase it potency. And it's likely the purer the vampire, the more affect his scent will have, because of their biology."

Kaname silently processed the information. It was slightly a relief to have this explanation and helped him feel slightly less like a creep for having thoughts about Zero that he had never had of Yuuki; after all, it was apparently just biology, or so he was trying to convince himself at the moment.

With a nod, Kaname thumbed through the folder.

"This might also explain his decreased appetite for blood. If Zero's body is only responsive to the blood of higher level vampires then he's no longer really a threat to humans, but he is also in danger of being walking vampire bat-nip"

"Thank you Aidou, good work."

Aidou beamed at the simple acknowledgement, as Kaname picked up the phone, "Cross-san, where is Zero, it is important that I speak with him?"

"He's in the Kiyomizus' territory? Are the Kiyomizus still in the area?"

Kaname tensed, eyes narrowing, "Thank you Cross-san. I should inform you that Takuma will be watching over the dorms today."

"Yes, business I have to attend to just came up."

"Good bye Cross-san."

As soon as Kaname turned off his phone, he was out of his seat, and out the door.


Sadayo spent a majority ofhis time, since arriving at Cross Academy, trying to find a way to inconspicuously slip by Kaname, and his wall of minions, and into the hunter's life. He admitted that this was developing into a slightly unhealthy obsession, but he also wanted what he wanted, and what he wanted was Zero Kiryuu.

Thus when he found the hunter leaving campus for Kiyomizu's territory on Saturday morning, despite the inconvenient hour, Sadayo took the opportunity to follow. To his displeasure, however, he noted that he was also being trailed by none other than his 'fiancé', Shiroyama. Thus in an attempt to lose Shiroyama, Sadayo took a slight detour, which would delay his arrival at the Kiyomizu territory.


Zero was more than happy to try and ditch Kioshi with the first hunter he saw, before heading out into the city, and slowly making his way towards the Kiyomizu residence.

So far, many of the ex-humans had yet to be detained, so it was easy to find and question them. As far as he was aware, there seemed to be two types of ex-humans in the town, those whose memories were clearly tampered with, and had remnants of vampire charms still dusting across their minds, and those who seemed completely fine, minus the whole certain doom from being turned into a level D. However, the odd part was that neither group had any memory of ever encountering a vampire, while this made sense for the former, the latter had begun to creep Zero out. It didn't seem possible, something was definitely wrong.

Zero found himself at the edge of town, he thought he had sensed another ex-human, and had begun to follow him or her, but was starting to feel slightly more like a mouse being seduced by the smell of a piece of cheese in a trap.

It was quiet out here, away from the bustle of town. The buildings were thinning, and the ex-human kept moving further around twists and turns. Zero was tense, danger-senses flaring, Bloody Rose drawn and ready to shoot. Wearily scanning his surrounding, Zero briefly stalled, debating whether or not to turn back, his gut told him that something was severely wrong. He could feel a tingle up his spine, alerting him to another presence, but it seemed barely tangible. It confused his senses, until he felt a sharp spark of understanding flare, his trigger finger tightened, purebloods.

Turning around to see a pureblood materialize from a murder of crows, he immediately took aim with Bloody Rose, before he felt his heart skip a beat. It was one of the purebloods from Kiyomizu's picture, and in her arms was a petrified Kioshi. Zero could feel another pureblood materialize behind him, but he didn't move; he couldn't break eye contact with the young hunter in front of him. When Shizuka held him, had his parents felt this helpless.

"This little one strayed away from camp; you hunter's should be keeping a better eye on your own," the woman's sweet voice floated over to Zero's ears, as she nuzzled her face into the crook of Kioshi neck.

Kioshi was visibly trembling, his eyes darting from Zero to the figure coming up behind him.

"Especially considering how thirsty we purebloods become while grieving," Zero did his best to repress a shiver that went down his spine at the low voice and hot breath upon his ear. As long as a pureblood's fangs were that close to Kioshi's neck, he wouldn't be able to fight. Fuck.

"But being so generous," Zero felt arms pull his own down to his side before circling his shoulder, a hard body pressing into him from behind, "and seeing as how you smell so good," Zero could feel the bastards breath on his neck, "if you behave, pureblood-slayer, perhaps …we'll spare your friend."

When he felt the gentle press of a tongue along the side of his neck, Zero felt bile rise in his throat from the fear that shook him. Swallowing it quickly back down, Zero tried to reason, "You'll be added to the execution list."

He could feel a low chuckle reverberating from the others chest into his back, and the delicate manic giggle of the woman across from him. The pureblood behind him deeply inhaled his scent once again, "Emm, you smell mouthwatering, no wonder he wants you."

Zero watched as the female began to lick the side of Kioshi's neck, making the boy start to cry, he felt a small protective surge, "If you bite him, I will kill you," Zero warned, his eyes finally capturing the attention of the female pureblood, she looked up at him and merely smiled, a spaced-out, uncomprehending, pleasant smile.

The arms tightened around Zero, and he felt the pureblood's hot breath right next to his ear, "Dearest, he doesn't seem to know," a hand came up to force Zero's head to the side, "that our death has already been sentenced," Zero felt the man behind him shift, "because we are no longer useful in this game." A hot, wet, tongue licked up the exposed side of Zero's neck, "because he already took everything…"

"…when he took our son," the female finished in whispered, as she looked into Zero's eyes, her own that same distinctive red as Kiyomizu's.

And then he felt it, Zero could feel the agonizing push of sharp fangs into the side of his neck. Something flashed before Zero's eyes, and his senses screamed that another pureblood had joined them. His vision blurred, but he was certain Kioshi fell to the ground.

The pain seared as Zero felt the fangs pushed deeper, drawing more and more from his soul, his mind seizing; he tried to struggle for consciousness, fought to hold onto the hazy reality before him, and slowly pulled the trigger of the one thing grounding him. He saw a flash of light, and heard someone yell for him; his memories began flashing, his parents' screams, their blood, so much blood, and Ichiru…, and then his mind went blank.


A/N: My apologies for the great delay of this chapter, as you can probably tell from the poor quality of this chapter, I have been having severe writers block, and additionally, life got really busy right after I finished the last chapter. However, neither is a decent excuse, so my apologies.

This was a slightly plot heavy chapter, and it will get back to being more about developing relationships soon, so please don't give up on this story because this chapter was bad, give up on it for other reasons if you so choose, but I hope the next chapter will be better, and it will definitely be coming soon.

Thank you for all of those who chose to review last time, it is the reason again that I am continuing with the story, and thank you for all your votes, I hope the way things went is okay. T-T I'm SORRY!