More Dear than Revenge
by lightpathetic
ZERO walked quietly up the stairs to the first floor and peered hesitantly down the hall. This was stupid, he thought, but decided to continue anyway, working his way towards Ichiru's room. The lunch had been on the dining table, wrapped in a clean cloth as it nearly always was these days. From the smell, it was another one of Kaname's famous stews. Rabbit, Zero guessed as he had closed his eyes and inhaled, barely resisting the urge to open his own and begin to eat as he was so hungry. But he had succeeded, taking the bundle across the dark living room – Kaname usually parted the drapes when he rose around sundown – and through the door, descending the steps to where his chestnut mare was waiting patiently. Having placed the lunch securely in his saddle bags, he had looked up towards the bedroom windows...
This is insane, Zero thought again as he opened the door an inch at a time, trying to be as quiet as he could. This creature had almost drowned Yuuki; admitted he could move objects with a thought, and yet here he was, yet again, checking up on the slumbering vampire. As if Kaname needed him to worry about him. As if Kaname needed anybody...
Zero found himself at the offending drape that he had seen from below. It had come away from its perfect coverage of the glass. A beam of light was abruptly partitioned from its delighted teasing of Kaname's left foot, covered though it was in the heavy blanket, as was the rest of him.
"Thanks."
Zero abruptly backed into a nearby table and the ceramic jug of water jostled alarmingly, sloshing water into the bowl. Zero grabbed it and paused as if being completely still would erase his clumsiness.
"Sorry... to wake you," Zero said at length, removing his hand from the handle. He could feel his ears burning at having been caught.
"That's alright," Kaname answered. "I was waiting for you."
For some reason Zero's eyes went back toward the curtain. Then it dawned...
"You knew. You knew I'd come up here to fix it." Zero felt stupid.
"Yes," Kaname admitted. "I had never said anything before because I knew you would stop..."
"I... I just thought... You must think I'm daft..."
"No! Of course not...!"
"What do you want?!" Zero demanded, suddenly pushed into action. He crossed to the door and placed his hand on the knob as if getting ready to close it. If Kaname thought he'd gone all soft over him he had another think coming. The next time, he'd leave him to toast or whatever happened to vampires in sunlight...
"Wait! About yesterday..." Kaname pushed down the blanket and sat up, his arm rising urgently to indicate his need for Zero to stay. Zero didn't miss it. Kaname's need. Damn it...
"Which do you mean?" Zero drawled sarcastically, hoping his hostility would cover his weakness as he ventured back into the room. Towards Kaname. "Almost drowning Yuuki or being able to make people fly?"
Kaname paused at Zero's obvious temper and simply stared at him. The teen was always angry these days, but could he blame him? It was easy to forget, with the focus being on Zero and his family, that this was something very new and difficult for Kaname. He'd never lived with humans before. He'd never had to concentrate so hard in everything he did in order to be extra careful, in order to practice saint-like restraint. And now he had to imagine what it must be like to knowingly have something like him in their midst. What it was like for Zero to pretend everything was normal when a clear and present danger lived under the same roof. The stress he must be under worrying about the safety of his family, despite Kaname's assurances. Maybe nothing he said would be enough.
"I did apologise, Zero. I don't know what else you want me to say..."
Zero sighed, his fingers of his right hand raked through his hair. "You are a genuine freak show, you know that? It was bad enough that you are a vampire. What happens when you lose your temper? Earthquakes?"
"Zero, I've been in perfect control of my powers since I was a child," Kaname managed, his irritation just barely boiling beneath the surface. Imagine. Understand... "What happened was an aberration. I don't understand why you won't forgive me. The others don't mind..."
"The others don't know what I know!" Zero shouted, suddenly letting... everything out. He surprised even himself. It was all well and good to accept Kaname's little quirks if you didn't know the half of it. But once you did... "Don't compare me to them! Why don't you tell them about your nightly activities before you preach to me about my attitude?! 'Good ol' Kaname. Gentle Kaname. Wouldn't hurt a fly.' We both know nothing is further from the truth! Hell, Yuuki still thinks you are an angel...!"
"She does not. I spoke to her..."
"That's not the...!" Zero closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You... I just know you'll bring us nothing but trouble. What if someone had seen that little show you put on last night?!"
"No one did. There was no one around for miles..."
"How do you even know...?!"
"Because I checked! Damn it, Zero," Kaname growled getting to his feet and rounding the bed, his dark eyes flashing in fury, "why can't you trust me one little bit?! I've had naps that were longer than you've been alive...!"
"Kaname..." Zero interrupted, his eyes lifting suggestively towards the ceiling as a blush stole across his cheeks. Kaname stopped mid tirade and watched Zero's discomfort for a while, quite puzzled, until he realised.
"Oh," Kaname said as it dawned on him. "My nudity is bothering you."
"Just put something on or go back to bed. I have to go anyway..." Zero turned to do just that.
"What if I don't like either option?"
Zero removed his gaze from the floor and it was his turn to stare at Kaname who was returning his gaze unwaveringly. Seriously. Was he trying to...?
"...Suit yourself," Zero said at length, giving Kaname the benefit of the doubt. Of course he was just teasing. Zero was well aware that Kaname used his good looks and charm on anyone, regardless of gender. But Zero was immune...
"Wait...!" Kaname came closer, extending a hand to stay Zero's from pulling the door closed. Zero kept looking at the perfect hand to avoid staring at the perfect expanse of pale skin over a taut, slender frame...
"What is it, Kaname? I don't have time for games."
"Tell me about... Sayori."
"What?"
Zero stiffened, his eyes rising to Kaname's pensive face that seemed close. Too close...
"Tell me about her. Are you in love with her?"
"Of course!" Zero blurted, as if the thought of it being otherwise was a grievous insult. Kaname didn't seem too put out by this. He stepped even closer. Zero retreated. He was noticing stupid things he shouldn't. Like how Kaname's breath was like warm, sweet spices; like how his body heat seemed to permeate his own clothes. Zero opened his mouth to insist that Kaname at least put on pants…
"What do you love about her?" Kaname asked again, covering the distance easily that Zero tried to put between them.
"What...?" Zero tried to pull his mind away from how Kaname's thigh brushed his and the abrupt halt at his back as he was brought up by the door and the wall. Should he be afraid...? "She's beautiful, smart, fun. A real lady. She knows everything about me and I know everything about her. We've known each other since we were children. Why are you so interested?"
"You seem too young," Kaname answered, lowering his voice seductively, "to be thinking about marriage."
"That's not true. Our parents were sixteen when they got married. It's just a matter of knowing what I want. I want her."
"It's curious. You hardly speak of her. Before I got married, I would find myself speaking about Sara to total strangers. When I bought her gifts, I would describe her hair in perfect detail or the rosy bloom of her cheeks to some hapless store clerk. I'd say you and I are on much more friendly terms and you've never mentioned her to me once."
"And you can't guess why? I know we pretend we're happy families but I still don't know why you are doing this. It is not because I don't love her that I am quiet. It is because I do. I want to protect her. From you."
Zero felt a minor victory as Kaname's dark, considering gaze finally broke from his and looked away into the darkened room. He knew it was a bit harsh but the circumstances of the interrogation, along with everything he knew about this messed up situation had him on edge, poised for an offensive. What was he up to? Why was he so worried about…?
"Kaname, why are you so interested all of a sudden? Why should you care? Unless..." Zero's eyes widened in fear as his hands came up to Kaname's throat. "You touch her and I swear to God...!"
Kaname raised a hand to Zero's face and cupped it, staying like this until the tension left Zero.
"I wish you would stop that..." Zero tossed his head lazily to dislodge Kaname's hand but his heart wasn't in it.
"It's either this or I get angry and kill you out of sheer irritation. I believe this is easier on the both of us. Relax. I have no intention of harming your fiancée, Zero. I just wanted to see how you felt about her."
"What for...? Kaname, stop it. I want to get angry and you keep doing this..."
Yes. Why was he doing this? Kaname stood there staring at the mesmerized youth, asking himself, again, why was he getting involved in the emotional affairs of human children? It was a thing that would ordinarily be beneath him to contemplate. But… as Kaname allowed his thumb to trail lightly along the fullness of Zero's lower lip, back and forth, he thought that he ought to make an impression on this particular teenager, to protect what he had. Otherwise, what he had, what he had come to cherish, he could lose it again. And just when he'd finally figured out how to protect them from... himself.
He did have a couple of choices: to exert control by force, or by seduction. He had an inkling that the former, though more his style, may raise far more troubling issues with his new family than he would care to address – after all, they had no reason to suspect that he'd claimed them as his own – when he had spoken of "territory" Zero had wrongly assumed he'd only meant the ranch - but… he liked it that way. Therefore, he would try the latter. The trouble was that he didn't normally use his natural allure on humans for something other than hunting. He hadn't needed to. So it was with some trepidation that he pressed his thumb into the boy's lip, dipping into his mouth … all the while pressing his nude body into his; his face, his moist lips much too close as his breath fanned the youth's face, all while stamping down the fear of jeopardizing what he already had…
Zero was caught fully unawares as his body shuddered, a snake of white hot pleasure shot from his lip to his groin, his eyes dilating in a wicked response as his attention became absorbed by Kaname's tempting mouth, by just how close Kaname was and how undressed he was… Zero felt the urge, the temptation to… But then came reason.
Zero pushed away, turning his back to Kaname, a sense of alarm flooding him. No! It was... a trick!
Kaname turned to follow, sensing the kill, his own breath rate speeding up for some reason... "You've never felt like that before, have you? Not even with her…"
"You son of a bitch!" Zero shouted, finally free to overreact. "Stop toying with me! I should throw your ass off my land!"
"To what end? It won't change the fact that..."
"You were only covering your own ass?!" Zero sneered, not letting him finish, suddenly furious at him daring to even suggest... "What is it, Kaname? Afraid that there wouldn't be enough room for the both of you around here? Maybe I'll choose her and send you packing? Perhaps you are right! What need would I have for the happy homemaking vampire when she's here?! That's what this perverted show is about! But I'll never fall for your...!"
Never?
Zero was pushed hard against the wall and a hot body was pressed against his. Breath that seemed equally hot caressed his face as he was held immobile, gazing into a beautiful face whose eyes seemed to be drinking in every facet of his. Zero was so stunned by how fast it happened he didn't fight until it was too late. Until that same face dipped and teeth tugged at his lower lip before it was sucked into its moist, insistent depths. Until a strong tongue beat it, laved it sensuously, before switching to the other. Soon Zero was aware of heavy breathing and impatient noises but he couldn't be sure... they were not his own...
Zero whined as he was released, unaware until that very second, how much he had become involved in the kiss. He stood there for a second or two trying to hear anything over his heartbeat, trying to pretend he hadn't just been kissing a man, that his body wasn't clamouring for a repeat. It was a while before he noticed that Kaname was doubled over in pain. Had he succeeded in kneeing him in the groin? Serves him right. Was there no level that Kaname wouldn't stoop to get his way? Did he really care about them at all...?
Kaname groaned and fell to the floor, body spasms shaking him at intervals. His large, beautiful eyes rolled up to Zero as he grimaced in concentration, trying to... trying... Zero's brows knitted wondering if vampire nuts were particularly painful when kneed.
"Kaname...?!"
Zero trailed off and dropped beside Kaname as he began to foam from the mouth. That didn't look good...
"Kaname! What is it?! What?!" Zero stroked Kaname's hair back from his face, trying to straighten his neck and clear his wind passage as he'd seen doctors at the rodeo shows do. Kaname frowned as his breath broke erratically over Zero's skin, his look of frustration heartrending to see. A curious moaning sound came from Kaname's throat as his eyes looked towards the windows. He wished he could speak. He wished he could move! He knew that Zero was in danger but he couldn't do anything! He had to protect him. Had to...!
"Don't move!" Zero said urgently, straightening to leave. "I'll go get the cart! Don't worry; everything's going to be fine. Our doctor is a good one..."
The house vibrated and Zero stopped. He... knew that was Kaname.
"What is it? I'm coming back...!"
Zero fell over Kaname's body as something struck the window. He was immediately assailed by an acrid, foul stench that brought tears to his eyes. The rag smouldered thickly, obscuring his vision and ruining his senses. He knew they had to leave and get out into the fresh air or he would pass out right here.
Zero straightened and brought his arms under Kaname's shaking body, aiming to lift him and carry him out. His contact with bare skin only gave him pause long enough to remember the blanket. It wasn't only because Kaname was nude. It was also because it was just after noon. Even in this situation, Zero was mindful of having to protect Kaname from the one thing he was afraid of.
"Bet you wish... you'd put... your damned clothes on..." Zero muttered as he quickly hefted Kaname into his arms and buried his mouth in the folds of the coverlet to obtain a modicum of protection from the smoke. Kaname didn't weigh much more than a well fed calf so Zero was down the stairs and heading for the door in no time. He laid Kaname on the windward side of the porch, not wanting him in the sun and tucking the blanket around him quickly, he reached up to untie his bandana to cover his nose and mouth, intent on running inside to put out the rags, but was arrested by the business end of a shot-gun.
"Looks like we all lost the bet, Yagari," the large rotund man shouted over his shoulder. "From the look of things, this kid is in on the joke!"
"WHAT'S taking him so long? I'm hungry," Yuuki wondered aloud for the twentieth time, as she came to sit next to Ichiru who was staring off into the distance, a rare thoughtful expression on his face. They were sitting in the shade of an oak as the herd grazed and shifted lazily in the heat. It was coming up to autumn but the days were still scorching even though a cool breeze was making its appearance every now and then, bringing some relief. Soon it would be time to prepare for winter. Zero and Ichiru had already discussed hiring a few hands for the busy months ahead. It would simply be too much for the four of them to manage, even without Kaname's handicap. But this was before they'd known Kaname could move things with his mind. Ichiru did wonder at the possibilities but Zero shot him down, muttering something about lazy, good for nothing layabouts in his direction...
"I don't like it. He's not usually gone this long."
"That's what I've been saying for hours...!" Yuuki griped, exaggerating just a little. It had only been just over an hour.
"Wait here."
"What? No way!" Yuuki hollered, her voice becoming higher and shriller, knowing how annoying it was. "I'm about to faint! You two will be there eating and arguing while I'm stuck out here...!"
"Fine! I guess they'll be okay for an hour."
"Besides, Betty knows what to do."
Ichiru nodded and stood walking quickly to his horse; Yuuki's quicker strides could be heard just behind his. He swung up onto the saddle effortlessly and shouted for Betty, Snow and Tag to stay. They were good dogs. The herd would drift a bit but they would be kept together. At least for an hour...
"Let's hurry. I don't want to be gone... long..."
Ichiru finished hesitantly as he was interrupted by a loud yell of "EYAH!" and Yuuki almost disappeared in a cloud of dust as her horse raced homewards. He growled in his throat in irritation and spurred his horse forward at a gallop, definitely chagrined to be left in the dust by an eight-year-old. Geez! You'd think she hadn't eaten since last Tuesday...!
"COME ON down the steps. Nice and slow..."
"Look," Zero essayed, at once looking to placate these robbers, "I don't want any trouble. Just take what you want and leave."
"That's nice of you," the one with the odd weapon – was that a bow? – replied as he motioned Zero down the steps. "We intend to." He then gestured over his shoulder and the burly blonde one stepped forward, tentatively passing Zero and heading for the wool covered bundle.
"No! Don't touch hi...!" Zero shouted bounding forward and was soundly felled with the blunt end of a large heavy rifle. Zero rolled, at a loss for many moments as to which end was up; his mind was a sea of black with bursts of stars.
"You move again, boy, and I'll shoot you! Hell, I've a mind to shoot you now just for sheltering this vermin...!"
"Claremont. Relax. Don't get all excited."
A tall dark-haired man with an eye-patch that seemed to cover half his face stepped forward, placing a hand on the plump one's shoulder. He glanced at Zero's prone body then up towards the prize at hand.
"Be careful, Seymour. He's still moving."
Seymour, who had paused over the trembling bundle as Claremont had dealt harshly with the kid, nodded and bent to tug at the blanket. He'd waited for some response from the bundle, training his weapons on it as if he would shoot at the slightest movement. But nothing much had happened but a thin, shallow whine. Not even when the kid began to bleed. Seymour then gained the confidence to yank away the blanket to reveal the trembling, stricken form underneath.
"Dear God..."
"That's him! Christ Almighty!"
"Bring him down," Yagari ordered, striking a match to light a cigar. He was entitled to celebrate. After all these months... He could almost cry.
Seymour hesitated again, less than enamoured with the thought of touching this particular vampire. Not while he was alive anyway. He cocked his guns and...
"NOOO! Please!" Zero cried again, his sight finally clearing. He was propped on his all fours, blood streaming from his right temple. The men marvelled at his strength. "Can't you see he is sick? He's no threat to you!"
"He's not sick, kid." The one called Yagari spoke, walking forward towards the steps. "He's under the influence of a strong spell. It's a wonder he's still awake." Yagari looked towards Claremont who shrugged, certainly not of a mind to feel inadequate. Sure, Kaname was more powerful than he'd anticipated but he was still completely incapacitated. Some people are just never satisfied. "Your 'friend' is a vampire. A particularly mean one, at that." Yagari mounted the steps and approached the pale, cowering creature, which curiously enough, was quite ignoring them and looking towards the teen sitting in the dust. Or at least trying to...
"See? He is responding to the scent of your blood. Given the chance, he'd rip you apart, friend or no friend. Isn't that right, Kuran?" Yagari stooped close to the suffering brunette, his breath taunting the flesh of Kaname's cheek but speaking so Zero could still hear. "You have no loyalties where your appetites are concerned. No qualms. We both know what you would have done to these children if we hadn't come along. When you were finished using them for whatever game you were playing. I saw the aftermath in Venice seven years ago. You were very... thorough..."
Kaname whined and twitched again, tears coming to his eyes as Zero's expression changed to one of suspicion, and... revulsion. No, he thought, not here! Please! Just take me. I don't want...!
"Even so..." Zero answered, swallowing hard but not terribly shocked by the revelations. It was nothing that hadn't featured in his nightmares when he'd first found out about Kaname. Now they were more than just phantoms... "Even so, I can't let you hurt him. He's in no position to defend himself. If you are taking him to trial, just do it..."
The men broke out into peals of laughter, even Seymour who'd been too tense to utter a word the entire time. Trial?! Now they'd heard it all. Zero's eyes widened as he realised that these people were not here to arrest Kaname for his crimes. That they were here to... kill him. Zero looked back to where Kaname lay staring at him. His eyes pleaded with him. Why? For what? To save him?
Zero pushed himself to his feet and stood watching the laughing men, his fingers curling into fists. Save him? Wasn't this what he deserved? He'd killed many people. Perhaps innocent people. Morality and fairness demanded he pay for his sins. Human morality anyway.
"I use what I need to survive, Zero!"
"You do the same!"
"He was..." Zero could kick himself. Stop this!
"What was that, boy?" Claremont stopped laughing as Zero spoke, the others following suit. They seemed happy to relax and enjoy this situation. Lord knows they've earned the right to. It amused them that this boy was trying this hard to protect this monster, although he would never succeed. Of course, he didn't have to know that yet.
"He was just... surviving. He needs blood to live."
The men laughed again except Yagari who merely watched Zero closely. Was it brainwashing? Why was this youth defending this creature's actions? What had Kaname Kuran done to the boy? Or maybe... maybe he hadn't had to do anything...
"Shut up! Both of you!" Yagari shouted, descending the steps towards the muscular teen. He looked him closely in the eyes as if Zero was the strange creature, his shock evident. "You empathise with this... thing? You knew what he has done and yet you... understand? Care?"
"It's no more than what we do out here!" Zero countered, his spirit gradually returning. "We do what we need to do in order to eke out an existence! I kill and expect to kill every day in order to eat and protect what's mine...!"
"You see what he does as merely survival? Have you ever seen him feed, boy? Have you ever seen him kill? Or maybe I should tell exactly what happens when a vampire has had the opportunity to really take its time. Or what remains afterwards. Like in Venice..."
The ground vibrated, shaking the house and rattling the panes of glass in a cacophony of disastrous implications. Everyone turned looked towards where Kaname had rolled to his elbows, his legs bending as if trying desperately to gain his feet, staring at Yagari with eyes that blazed a fiery, evil red. Even Zero stepped back in shock and fear as the air almost sang with menace, his eyes riveted by the sight of the Kaname's... fangs... Seymour backed away, suddenly unsure of everything. He didn't want to die. Not like that...
"Claremont!" Yagari ordered, recovering fastest. He drew his gun and fired, hitting Kaname in the chest.
"No!"
Zero screamed and leapt on Yagari as he was about to fire again. The gun went off to a loud masculine yelp as Zero and his target landed in the dust. Zero grabbed for the gun as Yagari tried to punch him, his fist landing uselessly on the side of one of Zero's beefy arms. Zero grabbed Yagari's arm and slammed it into the dust, making pain his ally, wholly gratified when the gun came loose...
Zero recoiled as he was bitten in his chest. He fell to the side, his hand going up to the stinging, burning sensation just under his rib-cage. He'd been shot. Oh God...
"What the hell took you so fucking...?!"
"Seymour is dead. Your shot hit his neck."
Yagari bit down on his cigar for a long while then spat into the dust. He turned and looked at the vacant gaze on the porch that seemed to stare at the ever widening pool of crimson under it. He nodded and looked back at Zero.
"Let's finish this up. Go get the monster. I'll take care of this."
Zero looked up and saw the barrel of the gun pointing at his face. It hurt to breathe and he was feeling dizzy. He hoped Yuuki wouldn't see him like this. That Ichiru would cover him. Zero closed his eyes as Yagari squeezed...
BANG!
Zero opened his eyes, thinking something was very odd. He was still in pain and the shot seemed so far away...
"YUUUKI! NO!"
Zero heard Ichiru yell and he rolled, just enough to see the dark haired man and his gun lying next to him and Yuuki standing near the end of the house, her gun raised, the barrel smoking. Zero's heart fell to his shoes.
Claremont, who could be seen as not having a good day, had propped his weapon on the rail to truss Kaname up tighter than ticks on a dog and throw him over his shoulder. He had been in the process of doing this when he spun to see his other friend dead and a small, trembling child pointing a gun in his direction. There was just no way he was going down like that. It was a girl, for Christ's sake...!
Claremont threw his cargo forward as hard as he could, Kaname's thin pale body acting as both a shield and a diversion as he reached over his shoulder for his bow, knowing it was armed and ready. Claremont pulled it from his back in one smooth motion born of experience and skill and trained the bow on the girl as he ran sideways...
Yuuki closed her eyes and screamed as Kaname's body fell towards her. He was bloody and looked dead. Oh God! Kaname...! She was too distracted to see her immediate danger as tears came to her eyes. Luckily, Claremont had hesitated at her scream – he was a father as well as a hunter – but knew she was a danger to him as she hadn't dropped the gun. He aimed at her heart and loosed his arrow. The silver gleaming like a lightning bolt in the afternoon sun...
Ichiru had his guns drawn but hadn't seen Claremont until he had run from the porch. He too had a time of it, trying to focus as Kaname fell to the dust, broken and pale. But his eyes flitted to the flash of silver as the bow was raised towards his sister. He lowered both guns and fired, aiming to the side of Yuuki's hunched body as she looked down at her angel. The arrow...!
"YUUKIII!"
Claremont fell back, his body gyrating obscenely, as the bullets riddled his body. He was a large man, the momentum taking a while to build but eventually he fell back hard against the hot, sun-baked dirt. He jerked a few times as his body futilely clung to life, but eventually it gave up. His last breath stirred the clouds of dust his body had consigned to the air as he'd fallen. Claremont was never to see his wife again.
Ichiru ran forward and grabbed Yuuki, spinning her towards him. He'd expected... He pulled Yuuki to him and hugged her, gun and all.
"You stupid, stupid girl! I told you to wait for me!" Ichiru lifted his head and shook her by the shoulders. Yuuki began to cry again, and Ichiru held her again. He eventually tore his attention away to see Kaname looking up at him, breathing hard, his skin reddening where he was covered in some type of silver shards. The stuff looked familiar.
"Yuuki. What is this stuff?" Ichiru asked as he parted them again. Yuuki was also covered in it.
"The arrow exploded in mid-air," replied a voice to his right.
"Zero! Shit!"
Ichiru left Yuuki and ran to Zero who was also bleeding from the torso. At least they were all alive. Ichiru just had to get them in the cart and head to town. He didn't want to think about how far away they were.
"I'll be right back."
Zero nodded as Ichiru turned to go, watching him run away to the barn. He turned to where Yuuki stood, dazed and staring at all the blood around her, still gripping her gun.
"Here, Button. Give… it to me."
Yuuki seemed to ignore him. She didn't want to deal with anything. If she moved, this would be real...
"Yuuki. Come here to me. It's alright. You saved our lives. You did great."
"I killed him. I shot and killed him..."
Zero watched Yuuki begin to shake afresh and tried to sit up. He pushed to his knees and dragged his painful body over to his little sister. He took the gun from her then pulled her to him.
"It… had to be done, Button. He would have… killed me."
"It was horrible! He looked at me...!"
Zero buried her face in his chest and Yuuki began to bawl, her body jerking as huge sobs racked her body. Zero found his own world blurring as well as he too felt his sibling's pain. She should never have had to deal with this. He should have protected her...
Zero heard a noise and opened his eyes to see Kaname looking at him, his own eyes filled with pain but somehow Zero knew it wasn't only because of his wounds. Zero looked away, trying to harden his heart. He caused this. They would never have come if he wasn't here! Zero's eyes hardened to stony flints as he contemplated his next move. If Kaname survived as far as the town then he was staying there. Good riddance...
"Here it is!" Ichiru yelled as he jumped down from the large wagon. "Zero, can you walk?"
"Yes. Help Kaname."
"Okay."
Ichiru got everyone settled in the back of the wagon and then slapped the reins anxiously, wishing they could fly. But, unfortunately, he'd have to do this the hard way.
THEY had just driven past the outer buildings when Kaname suddenly felt much better. He looked down at his chest and a small pellet eventually worked its way out of his body. There was only his skin irritation but he could live with that for now. He had been lucky it had been an ordinary bullet. Kaname looked across at where Zero was sitting holding a still crying Yuuki and sat up, letting Zero see for himself that he was okay. Zero raised an eyebrow but said nothing. It was gone as suddenly as it had come on. It must have been a spell. Still...
"We'll get you... some clothes in town... and I'll give you some money..."
"Zero. I didn't know that was going to happen."
"I'm sure... you had... an idea." It really hurt to speak.
"Your lungs are filling with blood. You need to drain it now and stitch the wound."
"Don't... touch me..."
Yuuki opened her eyes and looked up at Kaname as if suddenly coming awake. She looked at his chest as Kaname tried to hide it and Zero lost it.
"Stop it! I'm... telling them...! Have a right... know..."
Zero's eyes lidded and he fell to the side. Yuuki got to her knees and screamed, trying to shake him awake.
"Zero! ZERO!"
ZERO opened his eyes to see he was in his own room, feeling like a horse had fallen on his chest. He moaned as he tried to sit up. This wasn't right. They should be in town...
"Hello."
If Zero had been startled by the voice in the dark, he gave no indication. He fell back on the pillows and panted from the effort.
"You've... lost a lot of blood. You'll feel dizzy and tired for a few days."
"You didn't take any, did you?"
Kaname sighed and came towards the bedside table and struck a match, his eyes squinting as he lit the candle and turned away from it to sit on the bed.
"Zero..."
"You always do this. As soon as I make up my mind to get rid of you, you pull some high handed stunt..."
"You passed out in the wagon. I had nothing to do with that."
"Why are we here?"
"I turned us around. You would never have made it to town."
Zero pressed one hand to the bandages as if he could gauge Kaname's skills as a doctor that way. Kaname smiled mirthlessly.
"I know... a bit about human anatomy and medicine. You'll be able to move around in a couple weeks."
"I wonder how you got that knowledge," Zero jibed bitterly. Kaname sighed.
"Zero, if I had known..."
"You should have. If you are such a monster. If you are so depraved that people are hunting you..."
"That was a long time ago, I didn't know then..."
"...What? That people don't take kindly to being torn to shreds?"
"...That I could love humans. That I could… care for them."
Zero looked up at Kaname as he said this, wrenched as it were from his soul, it seemed. But Zero hissed in disgust and turned away.
"You'd try anything to get what you want. Don't I know it...?"
"Do you mean the kiss?"
Zero ignored him. "Where are the others?"
"Asleep."
"How's Yuuki?"
"Okay for now. She was crying quite a bit. I had to... help her sleep."
"How? By telling her about your first kill? About how it gets easier as you go along?!"
"You... brat!" Kaname grated, losing his temper, his patience. "It does, you know. Even for you sainted humans!"
"You need to go! Can't you see that you are a danger to all of us?! To Yuuki...?!"
"I let my guard down. If I'd paid attention they wouldn't have been able to place that spell..."
"You mean if you weren't trying to seduce me! The nerve...! You actually thought I'd forget you were a man?!"
"You had. Or have you conveniently forgotten where you were thrusting your tongue...?"
"Get out! I have… had it...!" Zero fell back, robbed as he was of strength. He closed his eyes though he fought it. "Bastar..."
"Perhaps you should sleep a while longer. Sweet dreams, Zero."
Kaname stood and the candle extinguished itself as he made his way to the door. He walked to the other rooms where he'd brought the other children after they'd fallen asleep in Zero's room, opening the doors and checking on their slumber. He then walked down the hall and descended the stairs, heading straight to the open front door. The bodies of the three men still lay on the porch and on the ground where they had fallen, they all having been too busy with Zero to move them. However, now Kaname was ready to clean up. But first...
"AH... SO you did have your hand in this."
Kaname lifted the bloody piece of paper - the result of his not having been very careful while he'd been searching the bodies - dropping the severed leg and boot he'd been inspecting. He stood for a while rereading the scribbled directive before placing it beside the other things he retrieved from their bodies. He'd put them with his secret stash as he'd done with the valuables of so many other unfortunate souls that had crossed this land, awaiting the opportunity he could gradually put them to use for the children. He knew, since he had arrived with nothing, that these things would only make his already tenuous situation with Zero worse. Still he couldn't simply bury such valuables with the remains. They would always need money.
Kaname, deciding he'd found what he was looking for, "ascended" from the hole he'd excavated for his purposes, taking his loot with him. Once he was clear, the pile of earth trembled and slid into the hole forever claiming the bodies of the three hunters. A sizeable patch of grass was then "laid" on top to cover the signs.
"Uncle. Why couldn't you be satisfied with just the theft of my family and my birth right? Why should you demand my life as well? I should hunt you down and destroy everything you hold dear. Right before your eyes. But luckily for you," Kaname smiled wistfully, turning again southward to head home, his mind already on his new, adopted family, "I have found something more dear to me… than revenge."
to be continued
lightpathetic wrote this but these are not my characters. They belong to VK.
rev 12012014