The second Kuran estate was not as large as the main estate, but it was still impressively sizable. Yuuki hadn't visited her second home in years; it was much the same as she remembered it. The main house had been surrendered to nature, beautiful ivy weaving intricate patterns along the pure white face. The grass seemed wild at a glance, but a closer look revealed that each tuft had been carefully positioned and tended to.

Juuri had always loved the wild beauty that nature seamlessly provided. Though she was nocturnal by birth, she had a longing for the sun that Yuuki herself shared. Anything that grew in the sun held a special loveliness to her.

She allowed her attendants to lead the way, noticing quickly that the estate seemed incredibly empty. She couldn't see any servants, which was unusual. She would have expected to see a couple at least attending to the foyer.

She had been so excited. She was beginning to get the feeling that she had been lied to. She couldn't sense her mother on the premises, but if she was still grieving then maybe she was controlling her aura in self-defence.

Leaving her attendants in the foyer, she meandered up the spiral staircase. She kept her eyes peeled for any sign of activity. If the layout of the building was as she remembered it, her mother's room should be right around here…

As she stepped into the room, she immediately noticed that it looked unlived in. There was a thin layer of dust over the furniture, and the bed looked as though it hadn't been slept in in a while. Yuuki had grown used to feeling uneasy. She decided to check through the chest of drawers to the bed's right for any clues. The thin layer of dust that coated every other item in the room was curiously absent from this one.

At an initial glance, Yuuki was disappointed. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary; a novel that had been read and reread, sheets of letters to and from various family members and small knick-knacks that didn't belong anywhere else.

She moved to slam the drawer shut…but stopped when an odd movement below the papers caught her eye. She removed the obstacles, revealing a small hole that would have easily been missed by human eyes. A secret bottom.

There were more papers below the thin wood. She scanned through them. They seemed to be more of the same; letters to and from Juuri. There were also a couple signed from Shizuka, which she found odd. She hadn't been aware that Shizuka and Juuri were on speaking terms.

But no… There was something very wrong with these letters. She trawled through her knowledge of both females, seeking out the source of her discomfort. As she focused more intensely on the letters, she began to see similarities in the handwriting, as though someone was trying to disguise their writing.

She shouldn't be here. The strong sensation seemed to slam into her. She needed to be back at the main estate. Something was very, very wrong. Leaving the letters in the drawer, she gathered together her attendants to leave.

~Z~

There was that noise again.

Yori froze, listening hard for the source of the sound. She refused to believe that she was going crazy. It was an intermittent thudding. She could swear that the sound was coming from somewhere nearby.

There it was again!

She dashed towards the sound before it faded from her ears, coming to a small, cobwebby shed that she hadn't been aware of before. She hadn't thought that it was possible for something on the Kuran's property to be so un-looked after.

THUD!

Ah. So it was coming from here. Yori tugged on the door, finding it unsurprisingly locked. She wondered if an animal had somehow wondered in through one of the high windows. It was the only thing that she could think of.

Was that a loose board?

She gripped the jutting board tightly before giving a hard tug. It came away easily, giving Yori the room to pull more boards free. Whatever was trapped inside would no longer be unable to escape. She peered inside, eyes alighting on a small brown sack that seemed to be rolling around and occasionally kicking out, causing the thudding that she had been hearing.

Glancing around in case someone had seen her (unlikely, due to the state of this building. She herself had only wondered over here by accident), she hauled herself through the hole she had made in an uncharacteristic display of athleticism.

"Be still for a second…" She muttered to the flailing sack before she knelt down to untie the sealed end. She recognised the beautiful honeysuckle mane as belonging to the slave that had mysteriously vanished in the night a year before. Was his name Yui?

"What are you doing in here?" She asked as she removed the gag from his mouth.

"I was put here by Rido Kuran."

"Rido Kuran?"

"Yeah." The boy's eyes widened in panic, "he wants to hurt Zero!"

Yori's mind went into overdrive. She was well acquainted with the elder Kuran's sadistic nature, but would he really do that while Yuuki was still around to protect him? Not that Zero was incapable of defending himself; he had proved quite the opposite over the years. She knew that Rido's type loved to monologue, so had he told the child of his plans?

"What exactly did he say to you?"

Everything clicked into place with Yui's explanation. To complement his sadism, of course he wanted complete, unbending control. Sending Yuuki away before acting was cowardly, but not unexpected. Her mind went straight to Hanabusa. They needed to find him; having an aristocratic vampire on side would make navigating the manor a lot easier. And to have that aristocratic vampire be loyal to the rightful heir instead of the usurper helped massively.

"I know someone who'll help. Let's go!"

Yui gave a determined nod before accepting the offered hand. Yori could only hope that she hadn't discovered him too late as she helped Yui back through the gap.

~Z~

Rido was as giddy as a young child waking up on Christmas morning. Watching the hatred that he had fostered in that boy's heart come to life before his very eyes had been more rewarding than the feeling of his hand closing around his fiancée's heart. After all, he enjoyed nothing more than a job well done.

Of course, he also had to thank the general anti-human atmosphere that was easily fostered amongst the vampire society. Being treated as nothing more than a menace after being orphaned had to have stung. The thought made him grin anew. It was just a shame that he only had one more week to torment him before his tale met a grisly end.

"You there, girl!" He called demandingly to a young servant who had, up until that point, been polishing the beautiful brass banister. She jumped nervously as her master also loudly clicked his fingers together for emphasis.

"Yes, my lord?" She replied in a shaky voice. Rido had to restrain his urge to laugh. His power really was absolute here. Who needed to rule with love when fear got the job done just nicely?

"Send out a messenger. Everyone is to gather at the plaza on Friday at sunrise." Rido loathed the sunrise; the sharp rays of light would be beginning to claw at his already irritated eyes; but he supposed he had to make a compromise. He needed there to be as many hunter spies in their midst as possible, and it didn't hurt to reiterate to the vampire populace that he was in charge as well.

"Yes, my lord." The girl bowed her head and hurried away before he could say any more. He let a merry tune escape his lips as he watched her go.

Things really couldn't be any better for him.

~Z~

"Do we really need a monarchy?" The young vampire complained, shifting on his foot in annoyance.

"We need the right one." Hanabusa replied with a sigh. He knew where the young vampire was coming from. It was a common theory that Rido was kept out of the limelight because of his unusual ideas, but it was becoming rapidly apparent amongst those nearest the centre of the matter that it was much worse than that. None of the vampires wanted a leader who was only out for his own political gain.

"Lord Kaname should really step up. I don't understand what he's playing at, letting Rido Kuran run the show like this!"

"No, you don't understand!" Hanabusa rebuked angrily, his desire to protect his friend suddenly rising to the surface. He coughed into his closed fist when he noticed the other's reaction. "I mean, he knows what he's doing. We just need to believe in him. He won't leave us high and dry like this."

"Lord Aido!" He turned in the direction the female voice was coming from. He had been wondering where his favou- his hardest working servant had been. Her absence had been very quickly noticed. He barely registered the other vampire slipping away. Probably didn't want to face any repercussions for their discussion if Hanabusa had been caught.

For some reason, his heart skipped a beat when he layed eyes on her.

"Where have you been?" He internally flinched at his slightly accusatory tone. She either didn't hear it or ignored it. It was then that he caught sight of the young boy she had with her.

When she began to explain what had happened to him, he finally noticed how harried and worried she looked. It was so endearing of her to be so worried for Yuuki's sake, and he was worried for her too. He couldn't openly act against the current king, however. That would be suicide, and not only for him.

"He's being so underhanded about it. You know it's not right." Yori grabbed his hands, her eyes pleading.

"You're the only one who can help us!" Hanabusa felt himself melting under her firm stare. "We need to be brave now!"

"There's a difference between being brave and being stupid." He retorted weakly. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but he could feel himself deflating. Had she always had such an effect on him?

"If you really cared about Yuuki, or Lord Kaname, you would help us now."

He had to concede that she had a point. He couldn't bear to see either of them in despair, and Zero Kiryuu had become incredibly important to the both of them. The more he thought about it, the more he realised just how important Zero Kiryuu was. But how were they going to be able to get Kiryuu out without bringing dire consequences on all of them? He couldn't stand here gazing into Yori's dazzling but determined eyes, he had to make a decision.

"Alright. I have an idea."

~Z~

Perhaps things could have been better for him.

Rido ground his teeth together angrily as he stared down at his rearranged drawer. The differences in the various items locations were subtle, but he could see them as though there were a glowing neon sign pointing to them. Someone had dared to rifle through his private offices while he had been away.

They had covered their tracks well; he couldn't detect any remnants of the intruder's scent. Instead, there was the clear and almost suffocating floral scent that had clearly been produced to hide it.

No matter, he thought to himself as he slammed the drawer shut, who would believe this mystery guest if they dared to spill any details to anyone? Things had been moved, but nothing had been taken. They had no proof.

The invasion of his privacy irked him though. Had it been an overly confident slave? He wouldn't put it past a human to come and snoop around his superiors things. Didn't they always covet the things that vampires rightfully took for granted?

He doubted that they were that intelligent though. Humans were simply base beasts who functioned through their instinct and had to be cowed with threats and fear. Sometimes you had to get physical with a human because they just didn't understand their place in the world.

He shook his head. He was drifting off topic. He needed to find whoever had invaded his space and punish them severely. He needed to ensure that they would never speak of their discoveries to anyone.

~Z~

Yuuki had been wrestling with the overpowering feeling of dread for the whole journey back to her home. She was sure that her attendants had just about had enough of her constant urging to go faster, but she could also tell that her desperate need was rubbing off on them. Her thoughts kept rapidly flicking to Zero, despite her better self's insistence that the hunter could take care of himself.

Where was everyone? Where was her mother? Would her uncle stick to his word and not harm Zero?

Yuuki was out of the carriage almost before it had come to a stop, prompting the drivers to call to her angrily. What did she think she was doing? She may be difficult to kill, but that didn't stop her from being hurt. She ignored them as she strode purposefully to the manor. She needed to ensure that Zero was alright before she could think about anything else.

The mansion was much livelier than the one she had just returned from; servants were bustling busily this way and that. They were much more active than they had been when she had left. She couldn't see the familiar silver head amongst the brown and blacks. She pushed back her panic. Zero could just as easily have finished his duties and slunk off to sleep again. Or he was doing something to protect her; that seemed to be the crux of his actions recently.

"Did you forget to tell everyone that my office is strictly off limits and that no one, under any circumstances, is to enter without my permission?"

"Everyone is aware of this rule, my lord, I can assure you!"

"Weren't you supposed to be ensuring that no one so much as glanced in this direction?"

"I'm so sorry, my lord. I should have been paying better attention."

"You can make up for your grievous error by finding the perpetrator and bringing them to me. Maybe I won't punish you for your failure to perform your basic duties." Yuuki heard her uncle's hissing voice as she ascended the stairs. She felt a twinge of pity for whoever he was speaking to; she had rarely heard this much rage in his voice.

"Yes, my lord, right away!" The unfortunate soul brushed past her in his haste; he didn't seem to register the pain of their shoulders brutally colliding with each other. She idly wondered if the culprit had been Zero.

"You're supposed to be seeing your mother." Rido snapped angrily at her, causing her to jump to attention. "Or was she not important enough for you to spend time with?"

"Uncle, I understand that you're angry, but there's no need to speak to me this way!" She responded in a flash of her own anger. "Besides, mother wasn't there."

"Are you certain of that?" His eyes were now fixed on hers. She subconsciously shuffled on her feet.

"Yes. There was no one there at all. Are you sure that she sent for me?" Yuuki knew that she was being lied to, and that Rido was likely the one who was lying to her. She had always hoped that he had at least a little loyalty to his family, but she could see that her hope had been misplaced. Rido's expression had clouded over and become even darker than it had been before.

"Do you know where mother is?" She asked after a moment had passed, catching the slight twitch of her uncle's mouth at the question. His stare was beginning to scare her. If he had harmed Zero in any way while she had been away, then he had not been the only one. A voice in the back of her mind was telling her that she would never see her mother again. She stopped the voice in its tracks. There was still hope while the reality was murky. She steeled herself as her uncle remained stubbornly silent.

"Where is Zero?"

"How would I know that?" Rido broke his silence, eager to move on from the topic of Juuri's location. Some of the tension had dropped out of his shoulders.

"I know that you try and keep an eye on him. You say you trust me to keep him out of trouble, but I know that you don't." Yuuki became uncomfortably aware of how empty this hallway was as the oppressive air threatened to choke her.

She took a step back as Rido's head dropped and he started to shake. The subtle sound of his growing laughter assaulted her ears before he threw his head back. That laughter had a hysterical edge to it, as though he had suddenly found himself freed from a repressive lie.

"All you need to know is that he's out of the way now." He drawled, the laughter replaced by an evil looking smirk. Yuuki's heart was racing. She felt that she had finally reached the end of the path she had been ushered down for her whole life, and there was no turning back now.

"What does that mean?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean." She felt her blood turn to ice. She should never have left, never believed in those summons. They had been so focussed on the potential danger to Yuuki that she had under estimated the danger that Zero was in. He had too. And now, she was never going to see him again.

"You… You didn't…" She should have felt terror at the look she got in response, but the realisation that she had left Zero to his death left her numb. Rido's teeth were very white.

"Oh, but don't worry, my dear niece. You won't be apart from him for long."