Well, it's a new chapter! Yay! I still have a lot of crap to do, but I managed to write this and part of the next chapter. Sorry everything seems so disjointed! I might go through and edit later! Enjoy!

"Stay here with him, and no matter who tries to get in here, you are to shoot unless they have the code."

"Yeah, I got it. Be careful out there."

My eyes flickered open to darkness; at first, I couldn't tell if I really had woken up or I had gone blind. I blinked twice, trying to compose myself, but when I still couldn't see, I began to panic. "Rui… why can't I see?" I asked shakily.

Two golden orbs turned to me, a slight spark behind them. "You're awake!" he said softly. "How do you feel?"

"Like a big ass bullet ripped off my arm."

Rui sighed. "You didn't have to put it so bluntly," he replied. "As to your seeing problem, Jared and the SWAT team are conducting a raid and left us behind in one of the vans; it's just hella dark."

"A raid?"

"Yeah; they think they tracked down the bastards who did this to you."

I tried to push myself up to a sitting position, but my right arm was too weak to hold out under my weight. Rui caught me about the waist before I facepalmed to the ground. "Damn…" I murmured as my friend leaned me against the side of the van.

"Don't push yourself too hard. As quick as that regeneration was, your arm will be useless for a few more hours," the lycan explained.

Clenching my teeth in frustration, I looked away and asked, "How's Emilia? Is she safe?"

"She's fine," Rui answered after a long moment of silence. "Jared took her to a local hospital shortly after you passed out."

The muscles in my face contracted as I cocked my brow. "Taken to a hospital? For what? She wasn't hurt."

"… Zero, the girl saw your whole right side get blown off and watched your blood splatter over half the parking lot. Anyone would be in a hospital after seeing something like that," came the blunt reply.

I lowered my head and nodded, tightly clutching my sore right shoulder. "Yeah… I guess…" Then I looked back towards Rui, asking, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Rui quickly covered up the fang impressions on his neck. "Nah, I'm fine. I've been bit before, so I've gotten used to the feel of it," he said.

"Oh," I muttered.

We sat like that in silence, listening to the sounds of the night outside the van. My head was still swimming from the night's events, and I had a bad feeling rising in my gut about even coming to America. Not only was I far from the Vampire Hunter's Association, but I was out of contact with Kaname, and the vampire mafia wanted my head. Was I just nervous about this whole thing? Or was I truly fearing for my life?

"Hey," I started hesitantly, "you heard the whole thing earlier, right?"

Rui nodded. "Yeah, saw everything, too," he replied.

"What should we do about the job? Now that we know the mafia isn't after Emilia, we'll only be more of a danger if we stay here."

"Yeah," Rui agreed, "but I don't think we can Jared involved if we leave. He'll make us stay."

"Why?"

"He knows, Zero. He knows what you really are. The whole reason he had me stay with you here is because he thinks you might be a threat to other humans out there."

My eyes widened. "Me? A threat? I'm the farthest thing from that!"

"I know, but he doesn't know you like I do." The van went silent again as Rui looked down to his watch and sighed. "They're takin' a long time," he muttered.

"The raid?"

"Yeah… they left about half an hour ago, and then Jared and his group went as back up about fifteen minutes ago."

I shrugged. "Maybe they're having issues killing the bastards, considering none of their weapons are anti-vampire weapons."

"Maybe."

Rui paused, his head raised attentively and lips drawn together tightly as if he were listening for something. His pointed ears twitched when voices could be heard faintly through the walls of the van. "What's going on?" I whispered.

"Sh… this is strange. We parked in a restricted area; no one should be here," he breathed. Then his eyes went wide as he shouted, "Get down!"

Before I knew it, Rui had thrown his body over me, flattening me against the floor as bullets riddled the van. I felt Rui's muscles tense up a few times, and his golden eyes clenched shut with pain. The loud shots ended almost as soon as they had started, and within seconds, the back door was nearly ripped off the van. There, standing in the dark night, was a monster of a man. His darkened eyes were narrow and squinty. Thick, burly arms hung from wide shoulders, and his clenched fingers nearly crumbled the van wall.

"Kiryuu… Zero…" he growled. "You're coming with me."

Rui painstakingly stood, picking up Bloody rose from where it had fallen. "You bastard; shoot at us again, and you'll be the one with holes," he said, baring his fangs. Blood ran down his arm from a bullet wound, but he seemed desensitized to it.

The man drew in a deep breath, a hungry spark coming to his eyes. "You're the lycan, aren't you?" he asked gravely. "I will never forget the smell of your blood."

I attempted to stand, but was still too weak. "Rui, this isn't your fight; give me the gun. When my friend didn't respond, I looked up to him from the corner of my eye. I saw far. The gun shook in his trembling hand, and his face had gone sheet white. I could almost hear his heart beat pounding fast in my ears. "Rui…"

"I remember your face; it's been a while, but I remember you. You gave me this." Here he raised his shirt to reveal three long scars across his stomach. "You were a lot bigger then, and harrier, too."

Rui pulled the trigger, the bullet ricocheting off the side of the van. "Get out," he growled, baring pearly white fangs.

"You afraid of me now? Is it because you can transform in so tight a space? Or are you remembering what I did to your family?"

"GET OUT!" Rui screamed as he drew back his arm and made for a swinging blow with Bloody Rose. The man leapt forward, pushing me to the side as his palm engulfed Rui's face. They both went crashing into the wall, a pained yell coming from Rui. Bloody Rose fell from Rui's grasp and landed a few feet before me, but no matter how far I reached, it seemed like it teased me, being too far.

"ZERO!"

I stared blankly as the man forced his forearm against Rui's chest and buried thick fangs into the muscular flesh of Rui's neck. A bloodcurdling cry escaped my friend's throat as he threw his head back and gasped for air as the monster sucked the life from him. Falling forward, I crawled towards where Bloody Rose lay, taking the cold gun in my clammy hand and aiming the barrel at the vampire. Another shot rang out, and a biting pain erupted in my hand as a bullet tore through my palm. With a yell, I clamped my bloodied fist into my other hand, trying to stop the blood flow.

"Na-ah, Zero. I can't have you interfering while Aaron feeds; he might turn on you next."

I whirled around to see this new person, only to be left speechless with shock and horror.

"E-emilia?"