Kaname strained against his chains; yearning, needing to be free – to be with Zero. They'd never been without each other for so long, not without it being of Kaname's own volition. He wanted Zero – could still taste him on his tongue; hot and sweet, adrenaline and pain; fear. Yet his throat was so very dry. The taste of Zero's blood, the paling memory of it, only served to emphasize his hunger (craving) further. A week apart was near intolerable. A week in chains even more so.

Someone shifted in front of him, chair scraping against concrete. Grating and unpleasant, the noise distracted Kaname from his thoughts of blood, though the ache in his throat obstinately remained. Most frustrating.

"Be still, vampire." the man before him hissed; a rather vampire-like sound, which amused Kaname to no end. Such venom! Oh, how the hunter must hate him.

He smiled pleasantly, thinly veiled distaste showing in the curl of his lips, the subtle reveal of fangs. "Forgive me for disturbing you, hunter." Kaname said, matching Yagari's venom, though there was a hint of mocking in his voice as well. And beneath it all, a desperate edge; mocking because Kaname knew his helplessness, falling on his biting remarks and smiling mockery. But the fact still remained that he was caught and chained like some pathetic Level-E. "If you would simply release me from these chains-"

"Like hell I will!" Yagari was on his feet in an instant; rifle in hand, aimed careful and true at Kaname's head. For a split second, Kaname thought the man may very well shoot. He did not, though. Of course he didn't. Killing a Pure Blood was taboo, even after what he did.

"Ah, yes. Zero." Kaname said, as if remembering something he'd forgotten. He hadn't. How could he forget Zero? His pale skin, vivid blood, and pretty little bruises; such beauty was not easily forgotten. Even now, Kaname could see the patchwork of yellow and green, purple and blue, blood pooling beneath skin.

He made a noise – a soft, needy moan, too quiet for a normal man to hear.

Yagari was not a normal man. "Why you-"

At that moment, the door swung open. Kaname smelled Cross before he saw him; he smelled the salt of tears (though Kaname already knew he would find no such trace of them on the man's face; only a lingering scent remained) and the distinct tang of sorrow. Oh, how the man must have mourned. But he son was not dead. His son was alive. And so very, very beautiful.


Yagari and Cross spoke in hushed tones, though neither was under the illusion that their conversation was private.

"The Council?" Yagari asked; part eager, part nervous to hear their response. The Council was unpredictable on the best of days. He had no idea how they would react to something like this.

"They won't do anything." Cross said helplessly. Yagari's heart sank, temper flaring.

"Bunch of cowards."

From his place at the wall, Kaname laughed, chains rattling at the movement. Even chained, caught red-handed and at the mercy of two angry vampire hunters – one retired, but a hunter nonetheless – two angry fathers – he still had the arrogance to laugh.

Yagari's jaw set, refusing to acknowledge him. Voice clipped and tense, he asked, simply, "Why?"

There was a pause, as if Cross was unsure. Then a sigh. "They're viewing it as a matter between vampires – out of jurisdiction." The man's fists clenched; the first outward sign of genuine anger since the whole thing began. He was too hurt to feel anger, at first. But he felt it now; acidic and burning. "They don't want to get involved."

Yagari's jaw set further, but otherwise he did not react. In some ways, that was almost worse. "And the vampires?" Yagari knew it was a longshot, but-

Cross's gaze flicked briefly to Kaname. "He's a Pure Blood." He needn't say more.

"I'll deal with the Council myself." Yagari knew he was being illogical; one did not change the Council's mind easily. But no one had ever been as determined as Yagari felt. He left in a hurry – he always seemed to be like that lately, rushing from one place to the next; afraid to slow down, because if he did, that boy would float on into his mind… and along with him came guilt. But if he didn't stop to think too much, the emotion held itself at bay. So Yagari kept moving, kept angry, because that was still better than guilt.


Cross watched him go, almost decided to stay and watch Kaname, but changed his mind at the last moment. He couldn't bear to look at Kaname, let alone be in the same room as him.

Besides, Yagari needed him. He didn't act it, but Cross knew Yagari was taking this the hardest of them all. Yuki cried and cried, screamed disbelief into her pillow and cried some more. But deep down, she knew – always knew what vampires were capable of, ever since she was a child. The shock wore off quickly. She only had bitterness in her now, but Cross had a feeling that was for the best.

Cross had no illusions about vampires; he'd been their enemy for so long, and then their friend. He knew the best of them, and the worst of them, and he knew that, sometimes, the best and the worst existed side by side. He wept as well – silently, angrily.

But Yagari… he didn't cry. He got angry. He burned, and he sank, just barely holding himself up under the weight of guilt.

Yagari needed him.


The door opened easily, much to Adio's surprise. He wasn't quite sure what to expect – how did someone even imprison a vampire like Kaname? If anyone could, it would be the Headmaster. But Aido still expected more. An open door? With no lock whatsoever? Too good to be true. He hesitated in the doorway.

He couldn't see Kaname, but he did hear breathing – then a voice, beckoning him forward. "Aido?" Definitely Kaname's voice. And was that... amusement in his voice? Aido didn't know if that was a good sign or not. Better than anger, he supposed.

Hesitantly, Aido stepped further into the darkness, growing more confident as his eyes adjusted. He could barely make out Kaname leaning against the stone wall, arms strung above him, legs shackled to the floor; the Headmaster and that hunter were clearly taking no chances. In all honesty, Aido couldn't say he blamed them.

"Come here," Kaname said impatiently. Aido could hear the hunger in his voice, could see it mirrored in the red glow of his eyes. A shiver ran through him – of fear or anticipation, Aido wasn't sure. It didn't matter. He still obeyed, approaching Kaname and baring his throat without even having to be told. "Good..." Kaname practically purred. He leaned forward as far as his chains would allow, so close that Aido could feel breath on his neck; damp and cool, though it had the opposite effect on him, heating his skin to near-unbearable levels.

"Kaname," not quite a moan, but something close to it. Encouraging Kaname to bite; convincing himself that this was okay – that acting out his duty to his Pure Blood was the honorable thing to do. More honorable than doing nothing and leaving Kaname in chains, even if leaving him would save Zero and his family so much grief...

But it was too late for second thoughts. Just as soon as the not-moan passed his lips, Kaname's fangs broke skin. Seconds passed. Minutes. Hours? Aido lost all sense of time when Kaname was at his throat. He relaxed into the familiarity of it, body going slack as his strength began to wane. Aido slowly fell into rhythm. Deep breath, shudder, exhale, moan. Inhale-

Metal shattered. Kaname stood, free.

Aido fell to his knees, dazed. He looked up just in time to catch Kaname's expression: Eyes narrowed in anger. But still smiling. That chilled Aido to the core.

"Collect yourself, Aido," Kaname's voice was much smoother now that his hunger was satisfied. "We're leaving."


"I'm gonna kill him." Yagari said, turning from the spot where Kaname once stood captive, now nothing more than a pile of shattered metal. Those chains were supposed to be unbreakable – he and Cross saw to it themselves. Yet there they were, broken.

Cross put his hand on Yagari's shoulder, soothing him. It worked, or at least it appeared to. "It's best this way."

"What?"

"We were going to ban him from the school either way," he said slowly.

Yagari nodded, though he wasn't following. This was different than banning him. That would have been on their terms. This– this was just Kaname throwing dirt in their faces!

"Do you have any idea how bad that would look?" Cross winced at the harshness of his own voice. "My Academy needs the support of a Pure Blood. Without it…" he trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought. "We need this Academy, Yagari. Now more than ever," The For Zero went unspoken, but hung heavy in the air. Cross let his hand drop.

Yagari sighed – a long, shuddering breath, holding back tears of frustration, of guilt and of utter helplessness.

And he cried.


[No Zero in this chapter, but I did include Aido! I've been playing around with view points lately and thought it might be interesting to hear from him. I know most of you aren't here for Aido, but I hope you still enjoyed it? I'm trying to show all aspects of what Kaname has done as best I can, and with last chapter's reveal, that includes Aido.

Do tell me what you thought of this chapter!]