Chairman Cross held me back as Kaname rose to his feet; blood dripped from his lip and nose. "I can't believe you hit me, Kiryuu-kun," he said as he wiped away the blood.

My eyes widened. "I… I didn't know! I… we…"

"We thought you were Jack the Ripper," Chairman Cross finished for me. "It was a precautionary thing."

Kaname's glaring eyes didn't stray away from mine. "I see…" Then he turned to Cross, saying, "Why would you think such a thing?"

"We got a letter from Jack," Cross replied, handing Kaname the crumpled piece of paper.

After skimming through it, the vampire looked up to us. "This arrived in the mail?" he asked.

"Yeah, the maid got it," I replied in a hard tone.

A small chuckle shook Kaname's shoulders. "So, you thought I was Jack the Ripper because this letter conveniently arrived as I got to the house? How absurd…"

"Kaname… what were you doing by the window?" I asked, raising my brow.

"Looking in on my guests and fiancée; do you have an issue with that?"

"When everyone thinks you're a serial killer, yeah."

He lowered his eyes back to the letter. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not Jack the Ripper. I wasn't even conceived in 1888. Though I am surprised…"

Cross tilted his head to the side. "Surprised at what?" he asked.

Kaname folded the letter again, handing it to me. "I didn't see anything unusual; you said that got here before I did?"

"Yes," Cross replied.

"Kaname-sama!"

He turned to see Yuuki run towards him. "Yuuki, did I frighten you back there?" he asked, bending down to her height and completely ignoring me and Cross.

Yuuki grasped Kaname's hand desperately. "No, we're fine. I'm sorry we mistook you for that murderer… Oh! You're bleeding!"

Kaname laughed lightly, wiping his face again. "Don't worry about it; I'm just glad you have someone like Kiryuu-kun here to protect all of you." As he said this, he glared at me from over his shoulder. I thought I felt a shiver of fear run down my spine. "Now, how did Jack the Ripper know where to drop this letter off? You haven't told anyone where the case information was, have you, Chairman?"

"No," Cross said with a shake of the head. "The Association doesn't know where I am at the moment."

The pureblood turned to me, saying, "If anyone, this killer would be after you. He might think you saw his face and has come to give you a warning. If that's the case, he knows where you are."

I felt my chest constrict at the very thought of this hypothesis. "But… what should I do? I can't stay here if that's the case," I stated.

"You can," Kaname replied, "but we would need to hide you away… lock you up, in a sense."

My eyes widened. It wasn't that I was afraid of being killed by Jack the Ripper, but rather what Kaname would do to me once I was locked away. I gripped Cross' arm tightly. "No… I can't," I gasped.

Kaname raised his brow. "Why not? We're trying to help you," he said.

"But… the eighth victim! I know where the next murder is going to take place!" I cried. "You can't put me away when someone's about to die!"

Cross sighed. "Kaname-kun, I have to agree with Zero on this one," he muttered.

"… fine," Kaname stated, "but know that if you run into your own people and get killed, know that your blood won't be on my hands."

I scowled, pulling my arms from Cross' tight grip. I had to stand up to this guy, despite how much my knees shook at the sight of him. Standing tall and clenching my fists, I stated, "I'm not one to die so easily."

Kaname grinned innocently. "Good; I look forward to your performance then."

(Will Zero catch Jack the Ripper? Or will he become a victim himself? Keep reading to find out!)

My chest tightened as I waited in the dark alley, nervous with anticipation. Somewhere out on the streets was a murderer looking for his next victim, but deep down, I knew he wouldn't find her. Instead, he would walk down the alley and find me instead, and he would soon find that I was not one to fall to a scalpel.

When several hours passed, however, I couldn't help but wonder if I had made a mistake. I began to pace back and forth, stuffing my cold hands in my pockets and watching my breath in the cold air. "Come on…" I hissed. "Hurry up already…"

"Oi! Kiryuu-kun! Do you see anyone yet?!"

My ears rang as the Chairman's static voice vibrated painfully against my eardrum. "Jesus Christ, can you be any louder?!" I shouted back. "Damn, you almost made me go deaf!"

The Chairman's voice crackled on the ear piece. "Oh… sorry…"

I sighed in annoyance, rubbing my now aching ear. "No, I don't see anyone yet. But it's just now midnight; didn't most of the murders occur between one and three in the morning?"

"Yeah… but who knows when the guy'll show up? He could be there any minute."

Scratching the back of my head, I replied, "Well, I can't wait for him or the girl all night if they don't show up."

"Who're you waiting for, Kiryuu Zero?"

I whirled around only for a damp cloth to be pressed against my nose and mouth. Immediate drowsiness set in as my legs gave out beneath me and I collapsed to the snow.

"Kiryuu-kun? What was that sound? Hey, answer me!" the Chairman's voice echoed.

I fought against the heaviness of the drug, forcing my eyes open. "Cr… oss…" I muttered.

"Tell me what happened! Don't leave me hanging here, kid!"

The hunter's voice echoed in my mind. I felt so… light. Almost like I was going through a natural high. My head seemed to float like a feather on the wind. "I guess… I was number… eight…" my words slurred together.

"Stop talking crazy and tell me what you see. Zero!"

My vision went blurry as a dark figure knelt over me and put a sack over my head. So dark… like nothingness.

"Mr. Jack will be by to pick you up later," a raspy voice said.

(Oh no! What will happen to Zero?? Will he be ripped apart like the other victims? Or will someone come to save him?? READ more!)

Next time I woke, I saw nothing. A headache pounded at my head and my wrists ached. "God…" I mumbled. "What the… hell…"

Something grabbed at the sack on my head, pulling my hair with it. Bright light blinded me, stinging deep into my skull. "You thought you would try to outsmart me, huh?" a raspy voice stated.

I blinked back the stinging pain as I tried to make out the blurred form standing before me. "What… do you want?" I stuttered, my words slurring together as if I were drunk.

"What do I want? I want the world to free of sin, without blemishes such as the whores I have slain. Oh, don't look at me like that; they were all mercy killings."

My wrists burned as I tried to wrestle from the tight cords that bound me to the chair. "You monster…" I hissed. "Those weren't… mercy killings. Those were murders."

A rough hand patted me on the head. "Oh, you silly child. You don't understand, do you? You remind me of that detective. Now let me see, what was his name? Abberline? Yeah, that's it. Abberline…"

"Abberline… he worked the Jack the Ripper case… in 1888," I muttered to myself.

"That's right. He and I were good friends until he came too close to the truth. He ended up dying a sad, lonely man," came the reply.

I bared my teeth. "Just… how old are you?" I asked.

The man chuckled, a hoarse cackle that led to a coughing fit. "There's no need for you to know," he replied. "Besides, you won't need to know after tonight."

Rough fingers grabbed about my face, turning my head from side to side. "Oh, you make a good specimen indeed. You have very strong features about you."

My vision finally cleared, and I found myself staring eye to eye with the demon. He looked very old, much older than eighty or ninety. Thin wrinkled skin was drawn taught over a bony figure. His clothing consisted of an expensive suit that fitted perfectly at his sleeves and on top of his head of wispy white hair was a top hat. Despite the devilish look in his eye, he looked like any ordinary old man.

"So… a weak old guy like you is Jack the Ripper?" I taunted.

"That's right, little old me," came the reply as he drew his hand from my face and turned towards a box. "You saw the police reports, right? This Jack the Ripper was an experienced surgeon who carried a surgical kit, yes?" As he said this, he opened the box to reveal many sharp and frightening utensils used in nineteenth century surgery. He took out a large blade, saying, "This kit is very special to me, and to Scotland Yard as well. And now, it will become your best friend."

As he came closer to me with the knife, I struggled harder against my bonds. "No," I snarled, "I won't be your next victim!"

"You should have heard her screams."

I stopped in my futile struggle, staring up to the old man; a nervous sweat broke out on my brow. "What?!" I gasped.

"The girl who came along after you fell asleep. Dear, she was a beauty. Long brown hair and big brown eyes, you know, the type to make your heart melt. Even as I slashed her apart, she was crying out 'Zero!' over and over again until I ripped out her heart. You vampires sure are hard to kill."

Yuuki… Yuuki was there? But how, she was with Cross! Yuuki… was dead?

"You… you bastard!" I shouted as I fought harder against my bonds. "I'm going to rip your fucking head off! I'll tear you to pieces!"

Rage burned hot in my blood as the mark on my neck stung like fire. The cords suddenly snapped as I lunged from the chair at the monster. A slow smirk formed on his face. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," he hissed.

Next I knew, a bony elbow struck me in the face, knocking me to the ground. Before I could attempt to stand, the knife had buried itself through my hand and deep into the floor. I was too stunned to even yell or flinch from the pain. The demon knelt beside me, licking his lips. "It's been so long since I've fed on a vampire… so long!"

I trembled as jagged fangs buried deep into my neck. With wide eyes, I listened as he sucked the blood from my body; it was a sickening sound. My vey life source was being drained from me, and there was nothing I could do.

"Jack the Ripper… it's good to see a face with the name," a voice said.

The fangs retracted as the man turned to see the trespasser. "You…"