"Thank you for looking after Yuuki. No, everything's fine here. We'll be back later on today, maybe for dinner. Okay, see you later."

I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of Kaname's voice. He was standing in the corner of the room, just about to set down his cell phone. A towel was wrapped around his waist and water dripped from his hair and rolled down his back. "Mornin'," I said sleepily.

Kaname turned, a smile on his face. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"A hell of a lot better than yesterday," I replied, sitting up and scratching my head. "God, I could go to sleep for another two or so hours. I'm exhausted…"

"I don't blame you."

I looked outside the window, studying the dark sky. "It's going to rain today," I said with a sigh.

"Pity… I wanted today to be sunny," Kaname whispered as he took another towel to dry his hair. "It's late in the day, Zero-kun. Doctor Chapman will not be easy to find again, so we'll have to work fast."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Hey, what that guy said last night… was it true?"

Kaname paused, his arms raised over his head and the towel falling over one side of his face. "Doctor Chapman? Yes, he did once serve the Kuran family. My grandfather had put him to sleep after he was convicted of being Jack the Ripper, but it seems that whatever bond my grandfather used failed."

"Why not kill him? That would've been a lot easier and we wouldn't be dealing with this shit," I stated.

The pureblood sighed, looking away. "I don't know. The guidelines for purebloods were different back then, so maybe Doctor Chapman was spared due to his heritage." He pulled on a shirt and pants, adding, "Although we were once connected to Doctor Chapman, my family did not uphold his reasons for killing."

I leaned my head back, saying, "He said he wanted a world without blemishes… what do you suppose he meant by that?"

"I don't know. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Huh?"

"There's a café not far from here, so I figured I'd go get breakfast while you got ready. So, what do you want?"

"… anything…"

Kaname smiled as he drew closer to me. "Anything? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

He leaned down to place a light kiss on my lips before turning to leave. "Hey, Kaname… be careful out there. That guy… now that he knows who you are, he might come after you," I said.

"I'll be fine, Zero-kun. There's no need to worry about me," came the reply.

After the door shut behind him, I sat for a long while recalling the night's events. Meeting Jack the Ripper, Kaname coming in to save me, waking up only to experience the most wonderful thing on earth… damn, no wonder I was so tired. With an exhausted sigh, I clambered out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I stood staring at myself in the mirror for a while, studying the bite marks along my collar bones and neck.

"Damn, Kaname… you're one hell of a biter," I muttered, shaking out the tangle in my hair.

The water was so relaxing as it sprinkled on my sore body. I leaned my head back under the shower head and allowed for the water to run down my back and shoulders. It felt so peaceful just to stand there and let all the aching and stickiness wash away. I could remain like this forever.

Of course, after staying in the shower for almost half an hour, the water became freezing. I quickly shut the water off and stepped out. Hearing the door outside open and shut, I called, "You're just now back? It couldn't have taken you forty-five minutes to walk down the street and back."

There was no reply.

I poked my head out the bathroom door and saw an envelope on the floor. "Kaname, you'd better not be playing a trick on me," I stated, wrapping a towel around my waist. Picking up the envelope, I noticed there wasn't a return address.

The stereotypical ransom note.

I quickly ripped open the letter and worriedly read through the messy writing:

Dear Zero-kun,

I hope it's not an inconvenience that I bumped into Kuran-kun on the street. However, due to this conflict, I won't be able to keep him alive for long. You know where to meet me.

With love,

Jack the Ripper

The letter crumpled in my fist as my heart stopped. Kaname had been taken?! What… this made no sense. Jack the Ripper only came out at night, so why would he take someone in the light of day?

Then I stopped. Where should I meet him? I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. Looking over to the table, I saw that Kaname had left his cell phone. I quickly dialed the house (or rather, 'Yuuki's Cell')

"Moshi moshi? Kaname-kun?"

"Cross! Thank God you answered and not Yuuki! Kaname… he's been taken by Jack the Ripper!"

"Kiryuu-kun, calm down. Tell me everything," the Chairman replied. "What happened?"

I couldn't stop my heart from pounding, or my breaths from quickening. "Jack... he knows Kaname and the rest of the Kuran family. If I don't find them in time… Kaname will be killed and Yuuki will live in danger."

The Chairman let out an exasperated sigh. "God… do we have any leads as to where Kaname-kun was taken?"

"None. In a note he left me, he said I would know. But I don't! I don't even know where to start!"

"Kiryuu-kun… why do you care so much?"

My eyes widened. "What?"

"I know how much you dislike Kaname-kun. Why are you suddenly calling him by first name and worrying over him like this? Did something happen last night?"

I shuddered as my thoughts wandered back to last night. Kaname's touch became real again. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. "No, it's just…"

"I understand what you're going through, Kiryuu-kun. The contract with Kaname-kun's blood? I know about it."

"… how…?"

The Chairman laughed. "I've got mad skillz."

My shoulders sank. "Don't ever say that again…" I muttered.

Cross groaned. "Fine… anyways, I know what you mean to Kaname, and vice versa. I'll do what I can, but in the mean time, think of where to find Kaname."

"I don't know where the fuck he is!"

"Think about it, Kiryuu-kun. Where is a special place for you and Kaname?"

I wrinkled my brow. "Like the office or the hotel bedroom?" I asked.

"What? You did it in the office? I need to go in there someti-"

"Cross!"

He sighed. "Not necessarily place where you got into each other's pants, but rather a place of emotional reconsideration. Think of where that would be."

Closing my eyes, I thought back to many places like that: Jack the Ripper's hideout, the mansion… except…

"I…" I said slowly, "I know where to go… Cross, look after Yuuki, okay? Please don't tell her about Kaname going missing… and don't say anything about us, either."

"I understand. Good luck, Kiryuu-kun."

Closing the phone, I stood there for a while thinking things through. Once I found them, how would I win Kaname back? And once I got Kaname, I explain the contract to Yuuki when (and if) she found out?