A/N: Why hello everyone! *coughs and shifts feet nervously*
…Yeah it's been a while. Sorry I made you all wait so long for the next chapter – but it's finally here!
This has a little bit more backround of Zero and Kaname's relationship during the month that they were together. (geez, maybe I should have made that time span longer…a month really isn't that long… ^_^") Plus the plot is finally thickening :D
Thank you so much for the encouraging reviews! They keep me going when I have no inspiration to write T_T. Thank you, guys! :D
Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Vampire Knight. At. All. … I think that covers it.
Okay, I think I'm done here…enjoy the chapter!
"Kaname!"
The vampire turned in surprise just in time to have a flash of silver collide with him head on. He grunted a little as he staggered back, blinking in shock at the hunter that had practically tackled him. Zero glared up at him from under his bangs, his lilac eyes stopping Kaname's heart for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. The pureblood took a deep breath to keep himself from stealing the teen away to a secluded place and making a complete mess of him. He felt his face curve into a genuine smile as he ruffled Zero's hair playfully.
"To what do I owe the honor of nearly being bowled over by you? Something important, I take it?"
Zero detached himself slightly from the pureblood, just enough to reach his mouth up to his ear.
"I have something to tell you…" He whispered quietly, and Kaname shivered violently. Did Zero know what he was doing to him? Kaname caught a quick flash of a smirk as it darted across his lover's face, which was enough to show that Zero was setting up for an elaborate game. Kaname smirked as well, deciding to play along. He grabbed Zero's waist and pulled him as close as their bodies would allow, his hand snaking up to the teen's silver hair and fisting there. He pulled Zero's head back just enough so that their lips were nearly touching, and whispered his coy reply.
"What is it, my love?"
In the next instant Zero was out of his grasp and running, pure laughter bouncing off the walls of the hallway in his wake. Kaname barely had any time to recover before the hunters parting words drifted to his ears.
"If you can catch me…I'll tell you!"
Kaname stared blankly at the empty hallway that stretched in front of him. He felt that if he closed his eyes, he could still hear the hunter's laughter as he ran off into the rest of the castle, playfully calling for the pureblood to chase him. If he tried hard enough, he could fall back into memory and escape this harsh, cruel thing that was now his reality. However, what hurt the most was that everything that had happened could have been avoided, had Kaname made a few vital changes in his judgment.
"Zero…" The pureblood whispered painfully as one pure red tear slipped down his cheek. "I'm so sorry."
"Kaname-sama? There's someone to see you."
The vampire turned sharply at the sound of Ruka's voice behind him, wiping the tear away with a swipe of his hand. The chainmail he was wearing settled with a soft clinking noise as harsh reality set in at last. The hunters had proclaimed war against all vampires, and had already mustered up and army of hundreds over the course of the last month and a half. Kaname had sent three spies to the hunter academy – the only one that returned confirmed his fears. The hunters were attacking within the week – with Zero at the head of the entire army. Kaname was forced to bring out what he had hoped he would never see again; the set of armor that had once belonged to his father, which he wore during many of the battles he had fought against the hunters. The armor was light, made of the finest, most durable steel available. Because of a vampire's speed, there wasn't much actual armor in the set. It consisted of a breastplate, a chainmail tunic, and arm protectors. The armor was pitch black, with crimson edges - the colors of his pureblood line.
He stared coldly at Ruka, who had her head bowed in quiet submission. Everyone, even Shiki, had been afraid of Kaname since Zero had left. The pureblood was now known to fly into fits of rage without warning, even more so than he had before Zero's appearance. Shiki had once commented that Kaname resembled a two year old even more than he had before – unfortunately for Shiki, Kaname had overheard, and if it hadn't been for Rima's pleading, the expressionless vampire would have been eradicated on the spot. Everyone tiptoed around the pureblood these days, fearing that even the slightest step out of place would send into another of his rages. The fact that Ruka was approaching him now meant it must be extremely important.
"What is it, Ruka? I'm surprised you're actually speaking to me – it's a good thing at least one of my friends has a spine…"
With those words, some of Zero's parting words forced their way into his memory. He remembered the hunter's livid, jeering face as he spoke them. "You think you have friends? You think you have lovers? You don't. You have slaves. And when the time comes, you'll be left all alone…"
Ruka showed no reaction to the pureblood's use of the word 'friend', but simply bowed and relayed her message.
"There's someone here to see you, Kaname-sama. He should be here any min – "
She was cut short as Kaname pushed her aside, allowing the vampire standing behind her to be seen completely. His clothes were torn, and his hair a complete limp, dirty mess. He had fresh blood trickling down his cheek, and he was injured in several other places as well. His jewel-like eyes were closed in pain as he leaned heavily on the wall, a bit of blood dripping on the stone floor. As Ruka quickly recovered herself and darted from the room, the vampire lifted his gaze to meet Kaname's livid glare, his own ice-blue eyes filled with tears.
"Kaname-sama…please, I beg you, listen for only a minute. Whatever you heard isn't the truth…"
Kaname had him by the throat before he could finish, and slammed up against the wall in the next instant. The vampire cried out in pain as the numerous wounds on his body reopened and began to bleed anew. The stinging, aching pain that he felt increased tenfold as Kaname began to ruthlessly tighten his hold on the vampire's throat, cutting off any pleas the blonde would have formed.
"What business have you here, traitor? How dare you even set foot in this castle, let alone appear in my presence? You signed your death warrant the instant you betrayed the peace treaty we had formed, Aidou. There's no way in heaven or hell that you could ever be forgiven."
He once again tightened his grip on Adiou's throat, intending to slowly choke the traitor to death. However, before he could succeed in doing so, Kaname was yanked back by a pair of restraining hands. As the pureblood staggered back, Aidou fell to the ground in a heap, holding his throat and gasping for the breath that had been denied of him. Kaname twisted in the hands of his captor, but whoever was holding him was strong enough to keep him in place, and wouldn't let go.
"Kaname-sama, let Aidou speak. The story he carries holds extreme importance in relation to the treaty."
Kaname froze at the sound of Shiki's voice. So he defied him again, daring to lay a hand on him?
The stone wall behind Shiki exploded, the sharp pieces of rubble flying everywhere due to Kaname's explosion of power. Shiki ducked slightly, protecting the pureblood even as Kaname was trying to kill him. When he didn't release his hold, Kaname released another burst of his pureblood energy, exploding another section of the hallway in anger. Shiki refused to release his hold, even as some of the shard scratched his cheek, thin trails of crimson marring the porcelain perfection of his skin.
"Kaname-sama, please stop!"
Kaname looked over to see Rima charge down the hallway, followed by Kain, Ichijou, and Ruka. All four of the vampires rushed to Shiki's side, helping him in restraining the furious pureblood. All at once, the fight seemed to go out of Kaname. Zero's words continued to ring hauntingly in his ears, over and over again in a cruel melody.
"You don't. You have slaves. And when the time comes, you'll be left all alone…"
Kaname stopped struggling and closed his eyes as another memory swept across his vision, blocking out all the destruction he had wrought.
"Zero?"
Kaname burst into yet another empty room, searching desperately for his missing lover. He choked out a frustrated sob as a quick sweep of the room confirmed that it was indeed empty. With a low curse, the vampire flung himself back into the hallway, running to the next door and flinging that one open as well. He repeated the process, willing to systematically search every single room of the castle until he found the silver haired teen.
As he flung open the door that led to the cellar of the castle, he heard the faint echo of sobs creeping up the staircase. Spurred on in a sudden frenzy of speed, Kaname rushed down into the blackness, hearing the sobbing grow louder with every step he took. As he came across another closed door, he threw it open and rushed inside the dusty room, where Zero was curled up into a ball and sobbing in the middle of the floor.
Kaname ran to his side and held him close, gasping a little in surprise as Zero flung himself on him and clutched the pureblood's shirt, still sobbing uncontrollably.
"Zero?" Kaname said the vampire's name, panic tingeing his voice. "What's wrong?"
Zero only shook his head and gestured wildly around the room, still unable to speak through his sobbing.
Kaname looked up from his charge long enough to finally realize where they were. His eyes widened as he took in the numerous artifacts that hung on the walls around them, and he breathed out a low 'shit' as the realization hit him. No wonder Zero was a mess.
The room was where he kept all the scraps of armor and weapons that he had obtained from the hunters he had fought, Usually, the armor was all that was left of the hunter when he was finished with him. A piece of a breastplate, a shred of a cloak, a fragment of a gun. He kept everything here, out of sight, so he wouldn't have to face exactly how many people he had killed.
He held Zero tighter in an effort to comfort him. Although he had erased the boy's memories, the hunter still retained an enormous sympathy for his people. He was forever linked to the hunters and their clan, and all the memory modification in the world couldn't steal that away. Without their memories to help them, one is forced to rely on pure emotion to judge their actions. Ingrained in Zero was an undying loyalty to the hunters – likewise, without the hatred of past experiences clouding his eyes, Zero was able to fall in love with Kaname, a pureblood vampire.
Kaname didn't know how long he held Zero's sobbing form, but eventually he nudged the hunter to his feet. "Come on, my love, let's get out of here."
He stood up gently, trying to pull Zero along with him, but he wouldn't budge. Kaname's brow furrowed in confusion, and tried again to bring Zero with him. Again the hunter refused to move, and yanked his arm out of Kaname's grasp.
"I'm different, aren't I?"
Before Kaname could even begin to respond, Zero continued in the same monotone voice.
"I'm not like the others here – I don't have any special abilities, I can't jump as high, I can't run as fast. It's almost as if I'm a human who lives off blood. I'm completely sympathetic with the hunters, but shouldn't they be my enemies? I don't understand what's happened to me, Kaname. I don't fit in here. I'm all alone."
Kaname dropped to one knee beside Zero and hugged him tighter than he ever had before. Before he had met this teen, the pureblood had been a cold, calculating person. Sarcastic, immoral, indifferent to others' feelings. But Zero had somehow warmed his heart without him noticing, allowing him to comfort the boy now, when before it would have been impossible.
"Zero, you will never be alone. I'll always be here to comfort you. I promise you that if you ever, ever need me, just call for me and I'll be there before you finish saying my name. I promise, Zero. You will never be alone."
Zero finally opened his eyes, the pure lilac still swimming in tears. The hunter gave Kaname a watery smile, before repeating the words.
"I'll never be…"
"…alone…"
Kaname reopened his eyes to see the mess he had made of the hall where they were all congregated. He was disgusted with himself, now that the rage had died down. This place had contained one of his most dear memories of Zero; now, you could barely tell where in the castle this was. A pair of crimson tears dripping down his cheek, and the pools of red forming in his eyes threatening more to come. He closed his eyes again and let the tears fall, not caring that everyone was watching.
"I'm so sorry, everyone. If you wish it, you can leave this place. You have no more obligations to stay with me – I don't deserve any of you."
He winced slightly, awaiting the moment when everyone would take his word and leave him, a fate he very well deserved by now. As the seconds ticked by, he sensed that no one was moving. He flinched as he felt someone's fingers start wiping at the tears soaking his face, and opened his eyes to see who was caring for him so tenderly.
Shiki caught his glance and smiled weakly at him, his eyes spelling out forgiveness as he continued to clean the tears from the pureblood's face.
"Kaname-sama, despite what you may think, we all understand what you're going through. We've all lost our loves at one time or another – some of us have found new love, but some are still grieving, still waiting." He shot a glance over at Kain and Ruka, who were both staring silently at the ground, then at Rima, who was smiling gently at him. He smiled quickly back before flickering his gaze to Ichijou, who was quietly tending to Aidou. He nodded to his friend in acknowledgment before continuing.
"We all know what Zero said to you the night he left. Please understand, what he said to you, he said in anger and betrayal. And although I cannot speak for the others, I can personally say that I will never leave you, not even if one-thousand of hell's minions tried to tear me away. That I can promise you, my friend." Shiki bowed his head slightly before staring Kaname right in the eye and wiping away the last of his tears.
"But I beg of you, Kaname-sama. Please hear Aidou's story before you try to strangle him halfway into next year. Although I will admit it is rather tempting sometimes, we kinda need him alive."
The room burst into a sudden bought of laughter, and even Kaname cracked a smile. He hoisted himself into standing position, then stooped to help Shiki to his feet. Once he was sure his friend was healthy enough to stand on his own, he made his way to Aidou. The vampire was still rather beat up, but thanks to Ichijou's treatment, he was no longer bleeding. Kaname knelt in front of the blonde and bowed his head quietly.
"Aidou, I am sincerely sorry for my actions against you. They were uncalled for and unreasonable, and I pray for your forgiveness."
Aidou dismissed his words with a wave of a hand. "Kaname, you've beaten me up worse before and I'm still here. It'll take more than that to kill me, let me tell you."
The room's mood lightened even further as everyone once again burst into laughter. Kaname looked up at his closest friend, smiling the most he had since Zero left. As the hunter once again crossed his memory, Kaname's eyes darkened once again as he rose from his kneeling position and began to question Aidou.
"What happened?"
Aidou shook his head slowly, collecting his thoughts before speaking.
"I know this is going to sound crazy but…bear with me here. I was perfectly happy to be at the Academy…well, I was content at least. At first I was miserable, but then I met someone who made life there bearable." Aidou paused for a second, a light blush adorning his cheeks, but continued hastily. "Anyway, one day I came back late in the evening – I went for a long walk around the Academy to gather the courage to – I mean, I was thinking about something." The blush grew more pronounced, but then disappeared entirely as Aidou's eyes darkened considerably.
"As soon as I walked in the main door I knew something was wrong. Even at that late an hour, the Academy is still a really busy place. But just then, it was completely silent. As soon as I rounded the corner into the main hall, I saw what had happened. Everyone who had been in that room was dead, killed. There were bodies strewn all over the place – I knew some of them." Aidou closed his eyes, but continued to talk. "And standing there, in the middle of it all…was Zero."
Kaname clenched his fist and began to speak out against Aidou, but he held up a hand. "Let me finish"
"At least, I thought it was Zero. I've never actually met the kid, but I've heard stories, seen portraits. So I knew kinda what he looked like. And the guy standing in the middle of all the carnage fit the description exactly – silver hair, lilac eyes, the whole shebang."
Aidou sighed. "Before I could recover from the shock, the guy had already sprung into action. He ran into me, knocking me backwards, and then ran out the door. I didn't understand at first, but when I looked down at my shirt I realized I was now soaked in blood. I couldn't move so much as a step before Yagari runs in and sees everything. Of course, he made the conclusion that any sane person would make – that I had gone rouge and killed everyone. I did what anyone would have done with Yagari's gun pointing at their face. I ran."
Aidou shrugged, then winced as the action pulled at one of his wounds. He continued diligently despite the growing pain he felt. "There isn't really much else to tell…I'm pretty sure you know the result of my being framed by the way you greeted me earlier. We're back at war with the hunters now…and I really have no idea what's going on. Except I do know one thing."
He looked Kaname right in the eyes. "Like I said, I've never met Zero. But if the stories of the great hunter are correct, he's got a tattoo right here, right?" Aidou tapped the left side of his neck, and Kaname nodded silently. "Well, when he ran into me, I got a look of the imposter's neck. No tattoo. It was someone who looked a hell of a lot like Zero, but a completely different person. Someone who wants that vampires and the hunters to keep fighting, and will do anything to get it."
The entire room fell silent as everyone absorbed the news. After a few long minutes of heavy silence, Kaname stood and addressed the rest of the room.
"We have to speak with the hunters. The peace treaty was never broken, and they need to know that. Even if – " he paused and swallowed painfully. " – even if Zero hates me, we still need to let them know. We – "
An explosion shook the entire building, causing everyone to fall to the ground. Kaname stood shakily and yelled "What the hell is going on?"
Seiren, the one spy who returned from the near suicidal trip to the Hunter Academy, appeared out of nowhere, and bowed to Kaname in respect. She straightened immediately.
"Kaname-sama, the hunters are at the gate. They've breached the outer walls of the castle and are heading this way fast. I advise you to ready yourself for battle – they'll be here soon."
She turned to leave, but stopped at the last second.
"You may also want to ready yourself emotionally – Zero is leading them."
With that, the spy ran out of the room, as another explosion shook the mansion, tolling like a bell that was counting down the final minutes of existence.
Kaname took a steadying breath and turned to his companions.
"Let us ready for battle…my friends."