Kaname quickly made his way over to Zero and knelt beside him. "How bad is the pain? Don't even bother trying to lie to me, I can feel your pain." Kaname asked worriedly, he could feel his eyes turning red at the smell of blood but willed himself to keep them brown. Kaname locked eyes with his hunter and motioned to the blood, asking for permission. Zero nodded slightly and Kaname couldn't help but feel terrible for the pleasure he received from consuming the small amount Zero's blood.
Zero shook his head but mentally filed Kaname's words into his storage memory to investigate later. "I'm fine. I swear. My throat just hurts a bit." He stated, rubbing it to outwardly portray his discomfort.
Kaname couldn't help but smile, "That's most likely my fault." He laughed as he dodged Zero's fist.
"Your sister is in the room!" As if Zero's words were magic, Kaname instantly sobered up.
"Before we discuss the elephant in the room…" Kaname waved his hand at Yuuki and although he didn't give any clues, Zero knew he lengthened her time of unconsciousness. "I want to talk about you… and me… and us." He spoke as he led the both of them to the edge of his mattress.
Zero nodded. "The cross on your chest. I notice you keep touching it. Why?"
Kaname lowered his hand, barely realizing his hand lightly rested on the tattooed cross on his chest. "I don't know. But when you're near me it begins to burn. It doesn't hurt, In fact it feels a little bit nice."
Zero mentally memorized the image before deciding to drop the topic. The cross was strangely familiar. Sadly, he couldn't remember if the familiarity was good or not. "Kana-Kuran. What are we."
Kaname leaned forward and lightly kissed the others neck. "What we are, that depends on you. But ever since I let you constantly feed off of me and gave you my offspring, despite it being orally, you became mine. I won't allow you to deny our relationship. I also won't tolerate the scent of any other vampire around you unless I explicitly give them or you permission." Kaname stated, he sucked harshly at the base of Zero's neck. making sure it would leave a mark later.
Zero angrily pushed him off. "Now wait a minute. I like you, I… I want to be something with you… but I won't allow you to control my life. I am perfectly able to take care of myself and I expect you to trust me enough to know I would never cheat on you, or break your trust."
Kaname narrowed his eyebrows and looked deeply into Zero's determined lilac eyes, before relenting slightly, he leaned into Zero and brought his lips to the other's pierced ear, letting his lips graze the younger's ear as he spoke. "I relent… but I hope you know I am extremely jealous. It is the pureblood curse. Many vampires will try to take you away from me in an attempt to hurt me. If you come home smelling of another male I swear I will not hesitate to attack you and make you remember you belong to only me. It's my name you'll scream, it's my body that will pleasure yours, it's me that will be the only one to see you in the most intimate way."
"Oh… Oh okay." Zero mumbled out a little breathlessly, he couldn't help but be affected by Kaname's deep raspy voice and dominating words. He cleared his throat, ignoring the slight pain. "I guess… we can be… boyfriends?" Zero tested.
Kaname grunted, his head falling to rest on Zero's shoulder. "I guess for now that will suffice. Zero, I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon, perhaps ever."
Zero felt a slight hesitance. He just recently discovered his feelings for the pureblood and now here he was basically pledging their relationship as eternal. Strangely Zero didn't feel as fearful as he thought he would. He glanced at the brunet resting on his shoulder and realized why, whatever they had going on… it felt … right. It felt nothing like his old relationships and Zero was glad for that. It was only as he felt Kaname tense up on him that he realized he had stayed silent and had yet to give a response. "Okay."
Kaname relaxed again. Zero almost felt bad for bringing up another topic but knew he had to get it out of the way. "So… Yuuki?" He almost let out a laugh at Kaname's frustrated groan. He was surprised however, when Kaname pulled back quickly and gripped his bony and exposed knees tightly. Zero held back a pained gasp. "K'Kaname… that hurts." He said with a wince.
"I'm sorry…" Kaname lessened his pressure significantly but still kept a firm grip on Zero's knees. "...I just remembered… I've awoken her pureblood abilities… She will remember all of her previous memories and the customs instilled into her." Kaname bowed his head and rested it on Zero's legs. "I'm sorry. Pureblood customs imply that purebloods should only mate or romanticize with other purebloods, even siblings. The Kuran blood is mostly incestual with very few marrying out of the family. Siblings usually intermarry which is why my parents most likely made Yuuki." Kaname tried to ignore Zero's undisguised disgusted grimace.
"That's disgusting." Zero stated, noticing how Kaname's head hung shamefully he grabbed a handful of the purebloods well groomed locks and pulled his head up roughly before slowly pulling him into a kiss. "I find incest disgusting and am horrified that some members of your family and possibly yourself may have been forced to accept it. But I can't blame you." Zero told the pureblood honestly, after blowing his mind with a kiss. "Please tell me you don't want that with Yuuki…"
Now it was Kaname's turn to look disgusted. "Vampire's only have one mate for life. Before you disagree with me, most vampire's here have not chosen a life mate." Kaname stated, in his defense for the vampires who consistently had different people on their arms every other week. "Although, I know Takuma and Senri have mated, and Rima is very persistent in attempting to remain aloof to Ruka's advances. Aidou and Akatsuki are among the thousands here who have not chosen a mate yet. I was previously among them, but now, I have chosen you, and you have accepted."
"Hgn." A small groan came from the unconscious female.
"I should go… you should talk to her personally." Zero said, trying to get off of Kaname's bed and make his escape; however, Kaname anticipated Zero's actions and made sure to grip his waist tightly before he could even get off of his bed.
"Don't leave… I don't want you to leave. We're a partnership now, let's face her together."
Zero almost relented but he knew that his presence in this very important event could ruin Kaname's relationship with his sister. "I won't be far, I'll go to your office next door." Zero promised.
Kaname nodded and released him before tossing him a pair of pajama bottoms. Zero almost rolled his eyes as even his pureblood's pajamas looked extremely elegant, made of spider silk and other expensive materials.
Zero slid into his easily and tightened the drawstring immensely before the bottoms rested snugly on his narrow hips. He had just made it out the door when he heard a dry "Kaname?" come out of Yuuki's mouth. Zero couldn't help but feel nervous about Kaname and Yuuki together in such a close proximity. He wanted to believe Kaname's words that he would be loyal to him but images of Kaname constantly flirting, protecting, and admiring Yuuki made him doubt his lover's words.
He tried to keep the siblings out of his mind as he browsed through Kaname's advanced ancient tomes and scrolls. Zero paused in his browsing… exactly how old was Kaname? There were books that were tens of thousands of years old. Zero couldn't help but ponder the thought. What if Kaname was actually hundreds of years old? Would he be considered a necrophiliac? Zero then came to a conclusion. First, vampires are undead creatures, not dead, second, vampires existed way before humans so it is not a vampire that lives very long but mortals that die very quickly.
Content with his answers, Zero continued his exploration of Kaname's library.
Zero had been skimming the titles of the literary works for the past ten minutes but couldn't help but pause at the very ancient looking tome directly in front of him. Markings and Symbols throughout History - Curses and Blessings by The Pureblood Council, 917
Zero picked the book off the shelf and held it in awkwardly in his hands for a few seconds before deciding to open the book. The very first page had a very obvious but powerful enchantment that Zero was surprised to be able to get passed.
This book is considered pureblood property and can only be viewed, edited, etc… by purebloods, one sharing a bond with a pureblood, or an immediate relative of a pureblood. Anyone not any of those choices reading this book must take this sentence as a warning that if they continue reading, not only will the book become unreadable, but the reader will face amnesia about everything about the book and will have their life source slowly drained out by the book. You have been warned.
This book was written in response to the opposite vampires that have been growing in population and whose mingling with our race seems to cause either strange or miraculous effects. The pureblood council hereby swears that everything in this book is factual, at least to our knowledge.
Educate thyself curious reader,
The Pureblood Council
Considering his life essence was not being drained nor did he lose his memory about the book, Zero concluded it was safe to read.
Zero was grateful for the pictures that would make his research much more easier. He was amazed to see many of the symbols or markings had many unique and intricate shapes. There was a particular one that took the shape of simple daisy yet appeared to symbolize eternal purity as a curse, and eternal loyalty and trust as a blessing. Meanwhile one almost exactly the same as the daisy, with the stem being only a millimeter longer signified misfortune as a blessing, and upcoming death as a curse. Zero was thankful that the book provided the measurements of each marking, what it would symbolize, then go into detail or provide an example.
As Zero read on, he realized that most of the markings appeared after a significant event in one's life, other's appeared when some turned a certain age. There were a few that appeared on random but those were rare, such as the daisy with the slightly longer stem. Zero was also surprised to read the reason for the appearance of most of the markings was because of hunter-vampire interaction. It took Zero even longer to realize that the "opposite vampires" referred in the book were what were now vampire hunters and the "nothings" in the books were humans, people born with no powers. It was a very enlightening read for Zero. He was surprised to see his own neck symbol, the Hunter's seal, formerly named Forced Vampirus Suppressing - Curse, in the book.
He couldn't help but shudder as some of the markings, although simple in design meant something… important, life changing,... terrifying, such as how two horizontal lines with another line in the middle going vertically could signify enslavement. He almost feared what the intricate symbol that marked Kaname's body meant. He turned the page and there in the top left corner was a cross with three lines shooting into an upward outward arch at the top and what appeared to be a rope but now resembled chain links connecting the horizontal ends together, hanging in the place between them. The cross itself seemed to be made of wisps of smoke with each of the four ends seemingly trying to move outwards. Slightly to the right of the cross was two small roses pressing tightly to each other at first glance making themselves look like one rose. There was definitely a lot of detail taken into the drawing of the painting but it paled in comparison to Kaname's.
"The Overzealous Sentiment Enforcer" Zero read aloud. "This cross is an interesting to see for it is formed when one of two or more long time rivals has made a binding promise to the other or when made aware that they have romantic interest in the other(s). This is both a curse and a blessing for the one marked is at the will of the unmarked. The unmarked can either return the affections, or use the curse to destroy the marked, e.i use their feelings of affection against them, as in finding another partner. The mark in no way forces the two together but for the marked, they begin to lose their sanity as their object of affection seems to go against them. They begin to portray signs of lust, obsession, possessiveness, these symptoms depend on the personality of the marked and there have been a few cases where more symptoms appeared. The unmarked, although not affected by the mark, has to face the actions of marked. One must again, feel pity for the marked, for they are well and truly bond to the unmarked: they will be able to feel the emotions, track, and their life begins to revolve around the other. Should they be rejected, it is no doubt that the marked will go insane for their reason for living has declined them. Luckily, there has yet to be a case of that. The outward wisps of smoke symbolize the strengthening of emotions trying to escape the marked. The chain links symbolize the unbreakable, unintentional bond formed, and the flowers symbolize the beings involved, the number of flowers symbolize the number of beings. Although this has yet to be proven true or false, it is assumed that if the marked is rejected the flowers will separate until one, the marked, will wilt, signaling their death. If accepted, the small flowers will eventually form into one large flower."
As his mouth finished projecting the last word, his lips pressed themselves together as he pondered what he just read. He didn't know how to process the information. Finally, he decided to be grateful. Compared to the other ones, the curse on Kaname's chest was definitely much less severe than many others, although it was only less severe because Zero had already accepted him.
With a muddled heart, Zero quietly shut the book and placed it back in its spot between two other ancient books on the shelf just as the door slammed open, making him jump back in fright.
"Zero! I'm glad you're here!" Aidou yelled as he quickly ran in, donning an impeccably white lab coat.
Zero held his hand to his chest and tried to regain his breath back. He hoped he hadn't startled Kaname. "What do you want, Aidou?" He asked a little breathlessly, unable to summon his usual cold demeanor.
"I need you to feed from me."
"What?"
"I need you to feed from me. But I need to do something before you do anything. Please don't bite from me until I tell you to. You trust me right?" Aidou asked sincerely.
Zero surprised even himself when he didn't hesitate to nod in agreement.
"Open your mouth. Don't bite me, please hold on until I tell you to. If you listened to my instructions correctly, you should be beyond starving right now, having not fed in a long time." Aidou ordered before bringing his thumb to his mouth and making a small wound and shoved his thumb in front of Zero's face, making his fangs appear instantaneously. Before Zero could blink, Aidou pulled out a bag of dark blue liquid and drank it. "Quickly bite me!" He ordered.
Zero was about to ask why when he noticed how Aidou's face was slowly turning purple. Deciding to ask questions later. He didn't even think as he bit harshly into Aidou's neck.
He was surprised to not feel any sense of nausea and was confused when instead the blood he was drinking tasted a lot like Kaname with a slight hint of the synthetic blood. He didn't even realize he was taking much more than Aidou could provide until he felt Aidou nip at his ear. Zero quickly pushed him off. He held his ear as if it was violated and to Zero, it was. What Aidou did was much too intimate to be comfortable. "Aidou, explain yourself now!" Zero ordered, now feeling much more powerful than he had felt in a long time.
"That's my own creation. It's synthetic blood made and based on pureblood, or in this case, Kaname's blood. Because it's heavily concentrated to provide you all the nutrients you need, the blood is a much darker colour. That is also the downfall, it's too concentrated so you need a host to filter out some of it before you intake it. Taking just as I did, could kill you. It automatically makes its way to the bloodstream so survival would be nil with no one around. I currently have a few more bags down in my laboratory but I won't be able to give them to you. First, because the only side effect of this blood is that it is highly addictive and having too much in your body could kill you, for it is still not natural blood. Second, because the blood should last you for at least a week if not a little longer. I am currently the only one who can breach the protective wards surrounding the synth so you'll have to come to me when you're hungry." Aidou ruffled the back of his hair and looked down at the floor, his face bright red. "I'd still prefer you actually feed from Kaname but he can't always be providing your blood, and since he is healing this is the next alternative."
"Noted." Zero mumbled. "Listen, about my condition…"
"Sorry Zero, still no luck there… I've conducted multiple experiments and one seemed to be doing well but then I went in today and… we'll I'll be having to pick out vampire bat entrails off of the cracks of the walls for weeks."
"Okay… thanks for trying anyways." Surprising the both of them, Zero took a step forward and embraced the blond. "Thanks for everything."
Aidou gave him an appreciative smile before embracing him back.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Zero didn't even have to turn to look to know who had spoken, the rich but dark voice did things to his insides, affected his body in ways he couldn't control. He didn't even have to look to know the deep and dark accursed red eyes were back and definitely showing signs of possessiveness, jealousy, and anger.