A note regarding Azai's children: An omega may have a lot of children, but noble rank vampires live to be really, really old, so it works out to not be as many as you think. I don't think we know exactly how long nobles live in cannon, but easily a thousand years, and less than Isaya's three thousand is the range I figured out, so I settled on about 2,000, with omegas living slightly longer at 2,500-ish. Azai is reaching the end of his lifespan and only has a few more centuries left before he dies; even with over a hundred children, that's still only one child every 15-20 years.
Reviewer Senja asked if the vampires at Rosehill limited Zero's hobbies, such as cooking or have a pet. Not exactly? He doesn't really have hobbies anymore. Zero's focused on his work as a Hunter, to the unhealthy exclusion of everything else, and he could exercise and practice in the courtyard of the Consort's suite. The servants would consider cooking to be below a Consort, and probably wouldn't let him, but Zero hasn't let himself do things like cook in a long time, so he wouldn't try. Yuuki would let him cook if he wanted, of course. And vampires don't have pets; animals don't like vampires.
To reviewer Mayb: Kaname didn't punish the servants more harshly because he doesn't like Zero, and also because he knows the situation was somewhat his fault. It serves his purposes to be seen as a more lenient sort of pureblood to his followers. Also Yuuki would definitely not let him kill anyone. (And could you tell me what chapter her familiar shows up in so I can go look?)
If Zero was a little OOC during the kiss scene, he's earned it. He's just been kissed senseless by a man he hates and a woman he loves (and it was really, really good. Both of them.) and his poor brain needs more oxygen to deal.
In my story, bloodbonds don't work like you may have read in other fanfictions. They have nothing to do with regular blood drinking. They are only created by completing a ritual between two vampires that involves a spell and an exchange of blood, and cannot be created unwillingly. They are modeled on the bond between alpha and omega, but work very differently. The bond's powers aren't impressive; it only allows the transfer of emotions and the ability to find one's partner wherever they are. It's always performed between two alphas who marry or are bonding the same omega, to mark each other as partners rather than rivals, because it establishes a permanent hierarchy between them so they don't fight. So Zero and the Kurans will form an alpha-omega bond, not a bloodbond.
XI. What You Do in the Dark...
Yuuki phrased her command to Aido in a deliberately broad fashion, and Aido tells her everything he knows, or suspects he knows. In some ways, Aido's stories and theories only confirm suspicions she already held. Kaname-sempai was kind and gentle to her, but with others he was often cold and strict, and occasionally cruel. He manipulated people in ways Yuuki was not comfortable with and sometimes found horrifying.
Aido spills almost forty years of plots and plans he and the rest of Kaname's inner circle assisted in executing, much of which Aido had pieced together only after Kaname-sempai finished his games. Her brother had destroyed people's lives and reputations for the sake of his goals, and there had been casualties along the way - people had died because of his actions. All of this Yuuki had guessed, but to hear the count laid out before her is a different thing - heavier to bear when you knew the full cost. But she's already seen him kill in front of her, and loved him no less; Yuuki has accepted that part of her husband.
But Aido tells her the cost could have been worse - if Kaname-sempai had cared for nobody and nothing, then he would have abandoned many of the people he used in his schemes, instead of planning for them to survive and be spared. He may use people, but he wasn't heartless. He avoided inflicting unnecessary death, pain or suffering, unless he disliked them.
Kaname-sempai did not care about the average person, simply because they were a person. He was indifferent to any individual until he came to like them or be responsible for them, and then he would protect them. He was vindictive and sometimes petty, and had done terrible things, but he was not blind to those truths.
Aido works backward in time, speaking for hours, and Yuuki sits and forces herself to remember every single word. When she knows everything she will decide how she feels and what she wants to do. Before she even began, she knew that whatever she learned would never make her stop loving Kaname, but it had the possibility of damaging their relationship for a very long time.
Then, when they reach the events of their exit from Cross Academy, Aido stops.
"I think it will make more sense if I start from the beginning."
"Then tell me how you think it should go," Yuuki gives him permission.
It's fascinating to hear about Aido's childhood meeting with her brother; she's secure enough in her relationship not to be jealous of his childhood crush on her husband. But it's sad to hear how much his personality changed from before their parents' death compared to after it. Listening to some of the things Aido suspects her brother endured pains her heart.
But Aido's stories of Cross Academy are the worst, because he tells her about what Kaname-sempai probably did to Zero. Her brother had enjoyed subtly tormenting Zero with his vampire status before the night class ever realized what Zero was; Aido attributes it to jealousy over his closeness with Yuuki. Aido is nearly certain that Kaname was using Zero as one of his pawns in the plan to protect Yuuki, because of Kaname's interference through Seiren when they found Shizuka's body.
Zero hated his rival enough that he may very well have known it. Zero may hate purebloods, but hate was an unnatural emotion for him - yet he held a special antipathy for her brother.
And Kaname had killed Hio Shizuka. Killed her so he could drink her blood and absorb her power. That one fact makes Yuuki more horrified and angry than anything she has learned so far, because the Senate had believed Zero killed the mad pureblood instead, and they tried to kill him for it. Zero could have died. And Kaname had been responsible the whole time! He had protected Zero not out of compassion and a desire to preserve the academy's peace, but because he knew for a fact that Zero was innocent. Aido thinks if Zero had not been loved by Yuuki, Kaname might have let him die.
Kaname had known what really happened, and refused to acknowledge the truth when Yuuki tried to tell him. Not just that; he had treated her like a child insisting that an imaginary story was real, when he knew perfectly well she was right. At the time, she had felt insultingly patronized. She had refused to speak with him again until he admitted that Zero had not killed Hio - and he had already known! Kaname had ruthlessly used Zero to protect himself, and to protect her. How did Zero even stand the sight of them?
"I think that there's something else Kaname-sama is hiding," Aido says, staring contemplatively at his joined hands on the tabletop. Aido had treated their talk more like a welcomed confession and brainstorming session than an order from a pureblood, voluntarily offering many speculations and conclusions not covered by her order.
"Kaname-sama once told me, after your parents were murdered, 'I thought for a moment I would have to kill you, if you knew something else.' I always thought that the 'something else' was the secret of their murder, but why would he have to kill me for knowing that? He willingly told me, years later in Cross Academy. I think that there's a secret Kaname hasn't told anyone, and that he's been keeping for a long time."
"It's just - there are inconsistencies in his behavior, sometimes. Times when I can't predict how he'll act, times when his actions make no sense to me, because he is motivated by some factor that I don't know yet. People call me a genius, but I've never been also to understand Kaname-sama's thoughts. He's a prodigy that surpasses anything I can achieve, to be so skilled at such a young age. But I should still be able to predict some of his actions. So why is he so unfathomable?"
"And there are inconsistencies in Kuran Rido's death too. Why did Kaname-sama not simply kill the man himself? I know he was powerful enough to do it. Hio Shizuka wished to kill him too - why not just work together and help her? Why did he need her power?"
"Somehow, he couldn't do it himself. But I don't understand why. There's something I'm missing, and I can't explain it with the facts I have. But I am certain that he couldn't kill Kuran Rido. Kaname-sama would never risk your life unless he had no other choice. And I think that he needed Kiryuu as his executioner. He allowed Kiryuu more leeway than anyone but you; Kaname-sama hated him, but still protected him. He brought all of the players in Hio Shizuka's death together on purpose - she was meant to stabilize Zero before she died, but that failed. He wanted - needed - to make Kiryuu into a Hunter powerful enough to challenge a pureblood, because any vampire would be subject to a pureblood's command."
Aido looks away from Yuuki. "I don't know...how far he might have gone to achieve that. What he might have done to shape Kiryuu into what he needed."
Yuuki's expression must give her away her deep anger at the idea, because the noble frantically holds up his hands and shakes his head. "I don't know for sure that the two are connected, either. I'm only guessing at this point."
The noble looks down at his watch. "We've run out of time, and that's all that I know, Yuuki-hime. I swear it. When you alter my memories, change the story to be how I let you have a self-study session because you were too distracted to focus. Kaname-sama will believe that whatever upset you happened before you came to see me; it'll throw the trail off for a little while."
"Why are you helping me?" Yuuki asks.
"Because you deserved to know all this. You deserved to have your husband tell you these things a long time ago. I'm just setting things right."
It's too much, all at once. She's going to have to look her brother in the eye at dinner. When did you start keeping things from me, Yuuki? But she's too hurt and angry right now to feel guilty about what she's done.
"I don't think that Kaname-sama has told anyone in his inner circle whatever it is he's hiding. The only person I can think of who might know more is Takuma-kun; he's always been Kaname-sama's confidante and closest person, after you. Vice dorm president was never as deferential as the rest of us, and Kaname-sama often discussed things with him alone. If Kaname-sama's instincts had not proved unable to see him in a sexual light, there would be rumors about the nature of their relationship, now that Takuma's bonded. But there's no way you can question him and erase his memories - he's Shouto-sama's bondmate. Takuma-kun is nearly impossible to get to now...I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."
"That's alright. You've done so much for me already. Thank you for everything, Aido-sempai," Yuuki tells him earnestly, and then lets him smile at her for a moment before she reaches out to touch his forehead, and forces him to forget.
This was not how she expected things to end - with answers, but just as many questions. She can't confront Kaname until she knows the full extent of his secrets, after she's either confirmed or rejected Aido's suspicions, because her husband will bury whatever she hasn't found. But she can't answer that question without more information, and asking Takuma directly carries the risk he might tell Kaname; since he's pureblood's bondmate, she can't erase his memories without making an enemy of Shouto. Yuuki's also reluctant because she would be horrified to have another person do that to Zero. But Aido's right - Takuma is her best bet. She's going to have to think about what her next move will be.
At dinner afterwards, Yuuki makes sure that she acts as normal as she can, even though her thoughts are still swarming like a nest of hornets. She can't afford Kaname finding out what she'd done until she knows more, and she needs time to plan her next move since she's hit a wall.
The pureblood keeps herself occupied questioning Zero about this outing with Takuma today; it's good to hear he's made some possible friends, and it sounds like he's been invited to regularly attend their little group.
Can she even trust Kaname with Zero's well-being? Her husband hates Zero, and now she knows that Kaname's hate has not been idle or without consequence. When she thought she was protecting Zero, had she instead exposed him to the greater danger? No; Kaname has protected Zero's life because of Yuuki. That imposes limits for how he may use Zero.
At least now she knows she was right - Kaname's secrets are unspeakably dangerous. If anyone knew that Kaname had killed another pureblood, even he might not be forgiven. Blaming Zero had been the course that steered danger away from him; even if she wanted to tell the truth, she can't without the Council and Senate asking risky questions about the real killer.
Kaname tries once or twice to catch her attention, but Yuuki just plunges back into occupying herself with Zero. She knows she is acting cold to him, but Yuuki can't help but want Kaname to feel as bad as she does right now, just a little bit.
"Are you troubled, Yuuki?" Kaname asks his wife, once Kiryuu has been sent off to bed after being granted his goodnight kiss - Yuuki insisted that they continue the tradition every night. Only the chaste kind, after Kiryuu protested and Yuuki made Kaname promise. Kaname allows it because Kiryuu's disgust is palpable every time they touch, and the amusement is worth the distasteful necessary kiss.
"Onii-sama, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
The pureblood shuffles through his most recent misdeeds and secrets. Has he done something to Kiryuu that Yuuki doesn't like?
"No, Yuuki. Not really. Is this about Kiryuu?" Kaname asks, and thinks that he sees disappointment flash in her features for a second, but his wife has become harder to read after years spent observing and copying his skills.
"I see. Never mind then. I think that I'll head to bed."
"Will you come by my suite later tonight," he asks, lowering his voice to a deep rumble.
"No," Yuuki retorts angrily, and shuts the door with a snap.
"Are you sure you're finished, Consort Kiryuu? You didn't eat very much," remarks the maid who has come to take his dishes.
"I don't usually eat very much," he reassures her. "I'm trying to keep in shape now that I don't get as much exercise."
"Do you not like sweets either? Kuran-hime is very fond of them, but I've never seen you eat more than a bite of dessert."
"No, I don't really have much of a sweet tooth."
Zero's stomach feels empty, but it's a necessary pain if his plan is going to be successful.
The Hunter had realized, after speaking to the other omegas at Takuma's estate, that he cannot allow himself to have a baby. The idea of himself as the most powerful omega is insane. He's going to have all the other omegas after him because of his position, trying to pull him down and take his place - and Zero doesn't even want the power! The bloodsuckers are welcome to it!
And Zero didn't even know such a position existed, let alone the complicated reasoning that bestowed that rank on his shoulders. Zero may have entered the night of the vampire with his eyes open, but he's still so ignorant of how this new world works - how is he supposed to raise a vampire child when he cannot teach them how to survive as a vampire?
A child who would be called Kiryuu, not Kuran. Though Zero is married to the Kurans, his children sired by them will carry his name, not theirs. Only a pureblooded child was allowed the name of a pureblood family - mixed blooded children are not even granted that connection, shown their separate nature and disavowed by the denial of their father's name, subjected to inequality from the very beginning of their lives. And when his children married, they would take the name of their spouse, unless they beat the one-in-forty odds and presented as an alpha; the Kiryuu bloodline would be overwritten by others, his family name erased for a second time among the vampires, after being extinguished among the Hunters.
In the eyes of society, Zero's children would always be inferior to any pureblood children produced by Kaname and Yuuki. Zero could be pushed aside like Aileya had been, when her alphas had their perfect pureblooded family. Zero didn't care about his own fate, but what would happen to his children then? Would they be made to feel second-rate and worthless beside their siblings, because of their Level D mother?
And what kind of life could he promise them? Zero has learned just what the vampires think of someone like him - their Hunter enemy and a Turned ex-human Level D with dirty blood - and how far they will go to let him know about it. What kind of cruelty would they inflict on his child, if they hated him so much for his filthy, tainted blood? Just the idea gives him the urge to rage and cry.
Yuuki would try to protect his child, but Kuran hated Zero, and Zero couldn't even protect himself from being used by the pureblood. What if Kuran made Zero's child into another one of his pawns, or threatened to hurt them because Zero was their parent? The Hunter refuses to subject his child to a miserable, painful life, so his only choice is to never allow it to happen.
But Zero can't just refuse to spend his heat with the Kurans; he's still bound to complete the terms of the treaty because of his duty as a Hunter. By any means necessary, Zero needs to force his body into a fallow heat, which would solve both problems at once - he could bond the Kurans while avoiding a pregnancy. After the problem of his bonding is resolved, the Kurans can go back to loving each other, and Zero will refuse to spend another heat in their bed.
The public will crucify him, of course. There is no greater humiliation for an omega than barrenness, or to be put aside by their alphas as Consort Aileya once was. But Zero will gladly take their scorn and hatred as a worthless failure of an omega before he will allow any harm to come to his children, even if that means they will never exist.
So Zero had searched the library for a solution, and found a glimmer of a chance. Female human athletes sometimes stopped having a period if they trained too much, ate too little and had low body fat, meaning they couldn't get pregnant. Zero can imitate this formula, but he can't push his body to the extreme - omegas would not enter a heat if their bodies were in bad condition. The Hunter needs to go into heat, just not become fertile.
Zero can see the slim possibility here. If he can keep himself in good enough condition to trigger a heat, but lean enough that his body doesn't want to waste an egg on a probable failure, than he may be able to artificially produce a fallow heat cycle. He'll satisfy the treaty, be out of danger from other alphas once he's bonded, and keep himself from conceiving. It's a long shot, but it's all he has.
So for the past few weeks, the Hunter has been gradually increasing his training and conditioning, and decreasing his food intake. Zero has gained some weight since he presented and ate normal people's food, which he needs to drop. The Hunter knows he's walking a more dangerous edge now; he must guess his condition instead of measure it precisely.
It's also more difficult to control his diet now, compared to when he lived alone and made his own meals. If he doesn't eat around the Kurans, they might get suspicious and find out what he's planning, so his only choice is to eat normally when he's with them, and eat almost nothing when he eats alone. It's not a good solution, and a messy one, but he can't afford mistakes.
He's also decreased his blood tablet intake again. Blood is even more important than food to a vampire's health, so he needs to lessen that dependence as well. His hands are a little shakier, but nothing he can't compensate for.
It's not like he's starving himself. Zero just needs to make sure he's balanced on the edge between healthy and underweight, that's all.
(It's so satisfying to punish his body for what it did to him, and it feels good to feel in control of his body again.)
"What is this about, Kuran?" demands the Hunter as he stands insolently in Kaname's study and presumes to order a pureblood to obey.
It's been nearly two weeks. The servants are starting to become a little afraid of Kaname's heavy aura.
Yuuki won't look at him. She won't spend time with him, except for their normal meals and public appearances. She's aloof, she's distant, she holds herself apart from him. She refuses to confide in him, or tell him what's wrong.
She's shut tight her side of their bloodblood, so not a trickle of emotion seeps through; in desperation, Kaname has opened his end wide, in an ironic reversal of their normal situation.
She won't feed from him, and she's utterly refused to let him drink from her; they've both resorted to blood tablets after years of nothing but drinking from each other.
Her distance hurts; every second drives him into a greater fear that he is losing her. She's slipping out of his fingers, and he doesn't even know why.
Except he does know why. Kiryuu is the cause of this - the rotten Level D has said something to her, done something to separate them on purpose.
And Kaname will know what.
The Hunter denies everything, of course.
Still feeling out the restrictions of his alpha instincts when dealing with Kiryuu's omega status, Kaname is delighted to find they don't even stir while he and Kiryuu argue. The alpha instincts are sensitive to anything threatening Kiryuu, and when he's in distress, fear, or pain they will respond strongly, but Kaname is free to express his dislike and anger with Kiryuu as he wishes.
Kaname tries to wear the ex-human down for over an hour, but the stubborn cur still insists that he doesn't know what's going on, and that he has nothing to do with it.
"Why don't you ask yourself what you've done to make Yuuki angry, pureblood, instead of dragging me in here?" the Level D spits, and Kaname has to remind himself very firmly that tearing him apart into gobbets of flesh would make Yuuki angrier at him.
"Fine then. Get out," the pureblood hisses, but then he pauses. Since this is Kiryuu's fault, the ex-human can offer Kaname a little compensation. A smile cuts across his face. Yes, the Hunter owes them his body, after all. And Yuuki is out this afternoon, so...
"On second thought, come here."
Kiryuu considers disobedience for a second, thinks better of it, and inches closer, intractable and glaring angrily at the pureblood. "What do you want now, Kuran."
"Your blood," Kaname replies with relish. "You might as well serve some use in my house, if you're going to be an expensive, unwanted parasite here for the rest of your life."
Kiryuu knows as well as Kaname does that the pureblood could bend him over his desk right now and rape him while he screamed, and no one in this entire house would stop it, because Kiryuu's body is the property of the Kurans now.
So the Hunter comes to stand on the other side of Kaname's desk, grinding his teeth and avoiding Kaname's eyes. As enjoyable as this is, Kaname really is hungry, and blood tablets don't sound appetizing when he has a squirming prey he can drain instead. He grips Kiryuu by the shoulders, so he can immobilize the ex-human while touching him as little as possible.
The pureblood isn't tender, and he doesn't bother preparing the bite area with more than a single lap of his tongue, sinking his fangs into the Hunter's throat without warning, deeply enough to puncture the cartilage of his wind pipe. Without good preparation, Kiryuu must be in considerable pain, but other than the crinkled corners of his eyes, the Hunter bears up and keeps it hidden.
Kaname loses himself in the hot heat, gives in to his hunger for that spicy sweet, unique taste - Kiryuu may not be as satisfying as Yuuki, but his Hunter blood is richer than any human or vampire Kaname has ever sampled. Without having to share with Yuuki, Kaname can drink twice as much as he did the first time and satisfy his appetite - so he does, time washing out under a rush of pleasure released by the act of feeding.
When the pureblood roughly withdraws his fangs, he pushes the ex-human away from him, displeased by their closeness. The silver-haired Hunter stumbles back against Kaname's massive oak desk, his knees buckle, and he slides down the side to fall in a heap on the carpets. The Hunter's gaze is unfocused and wandering, unable to alight long on any one object after his sudden bloodloss. Kaname thought he took less than that, though he can admit that much of the feeding passed in a thoughtless, blood-fueled haze.
After consuming so much blood, his hunger retreats, and the pureblood feels both a renewed sense of clarity, his mind temporarily free of his muddled anxiety and worry, and an underlying unfocused, dizzied feeling.
For a vampire, human recreational drugs are ineffectual, but drinking blood causes a similar natural euphoric high after a feeding, the body's way of rewarding the vampire and encouraging it feed again soon. The blood of an omega has an even more narcotic quality when drunk by an alpha, suffused with chemical compounds to hook and ensnare a protector after luring them in with their intoxicating scent. Kaname, especially susceptible as a pureblood, is past buzzed and quite drugged after drinking over a quarter of Kiryuu's blood, his natural inhibitions now loosened in the same way as a human consuming mind-altering substances.
That was not treating mate gently. If we are hurting him, mate will look for another alpha who will care for him better, and we will have to to kill our rivals. No one but us is allowed to make our mate flushed and kissed. Mate is hungry. We need to feed mate, insist his alpha instincts, alarmed by the near-violent feeding and the sight of an omega, crumpled and weak by his feet.
Riding the pleasurable high, it feels like the muscles in his shoulders and his back have lost their near permanent tension from the last two weeks; it must be this relaxed, pleasant feeling that makes Kaname turn and find the pillbox with the blood tablets in his top desk drawer.
The alpha hisses scornfully. Are we so weak? Hold him in in our arms and cover him in our scent, guide him to our throat so he can taste our power, our virility, how we can protect him and sire strong children on him. How can he waste himself with an inferior mate when he could have us?
"Do you like brandy? I'm afraid I don't have any water," he asks, shaking away those irritating thoughts, taking one of the cut crystal tumblers he keeps for guests and pouring out the amber liquid from the decanter, then adding two blood tablets to the glass. The liquid tints a ruddier shade.
It's hard to think about being angry with Kiryuu right now, or remember that ten minutes ago Kaname wanted to kill him. Vulnerable to the pull of his instincts after consuming so much omega blood, it has the same effect as heroin on Kaname's pureblood body, his powerful instincts making him its most sensitive and responsive possible target.
"I've never had brandy," Kiryuu muses absently; there's just a hint of a slur in his words. "A few beers when I was out with other people, and wine with you and Yuuki. Master Yagari said only stupid Hunters get drunk."
Kaname bends at the waist to offer Kiryuu the brandy - he may be intoxicated and sedated by the omega's sweet blood, but there's no force in the world that could force him to kneel before the Hunter. Kiryuu stares at the glass for a moment before his body reacts and he accepts the brandy with violently shaking hands.
"Don't get it on my carpet," Kaname orders him with a trace of ire, but his body is processing more and more of Kiryuu's blood, and his system is flooded with this omega's natural chemical cocktail to soothe and enrapture the drinker. Even if he wanted to be angry at Kiryuu, Kaname isn't sure if he could manage it.
Kiryuu hesitantly sips the brandy, chokes and makes a face, then gulps down the entire glass in one go, coughing at the burn. Kaname snatches the crystal glass before the omega can break it; he would hate to replace the set.
"I don't get it. Why are you being such an idiot about Yuuki," says Kiryuu, once he's calmed. Perhaps giving him alcohol was not a wise idea. "So she's not telling you every little thing. So what? You don't either. Why do you expect Yuuki to extend you more trust and courtesy than you give to her?"
"Give her space, or give her an equal amount of honesty. We both know you keep too much from her," the Hunter says, weakly glaring; the effect is ruined by the fact Kiryuu is having difficulty keeping his head upright and facing Kaname, so he's actually glaring at Kaname's ear.
"If I give her space, am I not letting the distance between us grow greater? Letting her go farther and farther away from me through my inaction?" Kaname asks.
Kiryuu gives a shake of his head. "I don't understand why you're so insecure. Do you not trust Yuuki to stay? She chose you. She loves you. I don't know what more you want from her."
That answer is too telling; even riding the wave of euphoria and relaxing pleasure granted by an omega's blood, Kaname cannot admit that he is afraid she won't love the darkness of his worst parts. The real him, he sometimes believes.
"Why did you not try to keep Yuuki from leaving Cross Academy?" he asks instead.
"Because she chose you, and she wanted to," he answers like Kaname has said something stupid.
The Hunter must read his puzzlement, because he sighs in exasperation and goes on. "I always knew, from the very beginning, that she would chose you. She always thought of you first, wishing you would return her love. I knew I didn't mean the same things to her; when I drank from her, I could feel it was you she would prefer was drinking her blood. I was something else in her life - a companion or a friend. But I wanted Yuuki to be happy, even if that meant I wouldn't be the one that made her happy. Even if she chose a man I hated. If you're what she wanted, then I wasn't going to stop her."
Kaname would like to accuse Kiryuu of lying. No one can be that generous and selfless. But everything the pureblood knows about the Hunter, and the fact that Kiryuu had gone through with the action, tells him that what Kiryuu is saying is nothing less than the absolute truth.
Kaname would never, ever have been able to let go of Yuuki like that. If Yuuki had not loved him in return, Kaname suspects that he would have done terrible, terrible things to keep her by his side anyway, perhaps gone mad entirely.
It galls him, but Kaname is begrudgingly forced to admit what he has always known but never allowed himself to acknowledge - Kiryuu Zero is a far better person than he is, stubbornly virtuous without requiring any reward, even when the consequences hurt him. Because once Kaname admitted that fact to himself, he might begin to feel the pangs of conscience for what he's done to Kiryuu that the Hunter has not deserved. Compassion for Kiryuu would be inconvenient.
The Ancestor of the Hunters had been right, when she called him a light to Kaname's darkness. Kiryuu is Yuuki's white knight to Kaname's black king. Kiryuu has always been a man Kaname feared - felt jealous of - for precisely that reason. It was only natural that Yuuki was attracted to Kiryuu's goodness; the true miracle was that she loved Kaname as well. What if Yuuki realized one day that Kiryuu is a better person than Kaname, with his selfishness and greed and darkness, and left him for Kiryuu's light?
But if they bond Kiryuu, Kaname realizes, Yuuki will never be able to leave him, because the only other place she would go to is Kiryuu's side. Bonding Kiryuu as their omega would also bind Yuuki permanently to Kaname. If Yuuki and Kiryuu stay near one another, true, the risk she will realize Kiryuu is better for her and stop loving him increases, but at least she won't be able to physically leave him.
"Is that why you encouraged her? So she would be happy?" Kaname remembers a chocolate thrown to him on St. Xocolatl's Day, many years ago.
This entire conversation is surreal - have they ever been so honest or civil before? And all it took was both of them to be out of their heads on bloodloss and alcohol, or high on omega pheromones.
"More or less. I'm not trying to sabotage your relationship with Yuuki, Kuran. I haven't told her anything. I won't lie to her if she asks me directly, but I'm not out to ruin your marriage."
Kiryuu raises a shaky hand to point accusingly at Kaname. "I trust you with exactly one thing, pureblood: Yuuki's safety and wellbeing."
"So why don't you go do something useful and fix this? Quit talking to me, and go plot one of your stupid schemes. Act like the manipulative bastard we both know you are. Go apologize dramatically to her for whatever you've fucked up this time, and mean it, and don't do it again. And if she doesn't accept your apology, take it like an adult and back off until she's ready, instead of sulking and avoiding the issue. She loves you - got it, stupid pureblood?"
Yuuki made sure Kaname knows not to bother her here, and a visit to her ex-guardian was an entirely unremarkable, innocent reason to leave the house and come to Cross Academy.
"Did you find what you were looking for in the Moon Dorms, Yuuki-chan? Papa has made a delicious midnight snack for us!" singsongs Cross in his rainbow kitty apron, matching oven mitts offering her a casserole dish of...something.
"No," she replies, "but I only thought I might find it here because I couldn't think of anywhere else to look."
The last two weeks have been unspeakably frustrating. Yuuki senses that she is on the precipice of something important, if she can only find a way over the edge. Takuma is untouchable; when he is not with Shouto, then Shouto's familiar takes his place, and the noble is incredibly loyal to Kaname. He might not tell her anything willingly, even if she could get him alone. Asking anyone at all increases the risk that Kaname might discover her search for answers, so she can't simply go around asking questions without some assurance that the answers might be worth it, which has kept her from seeking out Zero or one of the other members of Kaname's inner circle. Searching the Moon Dorms for some clue had been an entirely useless exercise; whatever Kaname was hiding, Aido thought it existed before Cross Academy.
"I don't think I'm ready to eat yet, Chairman. Actually, I have another favor to ask of you."
Cross puts down the dish, thank goodness, and gestures for her to go ahead.
"I think it goes without saying, but I need you not to tell Kaname-sempai what I did here tonight. And I need to know if the room underneath the academy has Hunter wards that can hide what's inside it."
Cross gives a small, secretive smile that doesn't fit his chairman persona. "You and I had a lovely meal and a talk, then I pulled out my collection of 149 photo albums full of cute photos of you, and kept you late while I reminisced over your childhood."
"And yes, the emergency underground shelter has an extensive set of wards. Why do you ask?"
"Can I borrow it? There's something I need to practice, but I need a place that will hide my power."
Cross takes off his glasses and polishes them on his apron thoughtfully while he looks at her. "As long as you don't do anything too large, the earth and the wards should shield you. I'll take you through the school, which will hide our destination."
A pureblood's potential power is immeasurable, capable of doing almost anything they could imagine. A pureblood's actual power did not equal that potential; it took many years of practice to acquire the skill and control to actually wield that power, which was why the oldest purebloods were the most dangerous. Some abilities ran in families, and were easily learned, like the Kuran telekinesis or the Hio power over plants. But for the most part, it was up to the individual pureblood to shape their own power and learn what seemed most useful and natural to them.
Of all pureblood abilities, the most difficult are those that require the vampire to split off pieces of their own power - pieces of themselves - so the creator and the fragments could function independently. Both the creation of a familiar, and the ability to travel by dividing the entire body into many familiars, require the pureblood to master simultaneous existence first.
There was a trick to it, a splitting of attention, suddenly feeling one mind and body become more than one, but Yuuki has yet to master it. Kaname, of course, has been able to divide his consciousness and power since Cross Academy, and Yuuki envies his ease and quickness.
She wants to learn how - Yuuki wants to create her own familiars, more than anything. If she could split her power, then she could watch over Zero all the time and no one would be able to hurt him without her knowledge. And Yuuki wants this for herself too. It's become a symbol to her - if she can master the creation of a familiar, after struggling and failing to succeed for so long, then she's proven that she can overcome her weaknesses.
Once a pureblood managed to create a familiar, it could not be used immediately; it still took practice to control a body with another shape, and each new form taken by a familiar needed further practice to master. The first manifested form is always the most natural, and the easiest, but with enough practice the familiar could take any shape the pureblood wished. Yuuki hopes her familiar's natural form is something small and portable. Now that she has a place to practice, she can come back however often she wants and keep working.
In the cavernous empty space, Yuuki closes her eyes, exhales slowly, gathers her power, and concentrates.
"This was not what I meant, Kuran, when I said do something besides angst about your wife being upset with you."
"This is for your benefit, Kiryuu. You shouldn't complain," Kaname chides and luxuriates in the feeling of getting everything he wants.
Kiryuu snorts and crosses his arms, but obediently tilts his head to the side when one of his maids makes a last minute adjustment to his clothes - they're used to the poor attitudes between the two, and they know not to talk.
"We both know you aren't doing any of this for me, but I'll play along. How does this help me?"
"Because of the leaked rumors, the public's opinion of you has not been favorable. Right now the rumormongers are free to say whatever they want, because they have no other conflicting information. So tonight is important. The three of us are making our first public appearance together after our wedding, and we have our best chance to dispute their version with our own counter-narrative. Which is why everything must be perfect."
If Yuuki is displeased with him, then Kaname needs to do something to show he is willing to change his behavior for her. Playing gently with their new hound puppy, instead of yanking his tail, always makes Yuuki happy. Helping to rehabilitate Kiryuu's reputation was the most drastic, out of character thing he could think of to offer her. Today's plan should help get Kaname back in Yuuki's good graces and has the added benefit of pissing off Kiryuu. It will be tedious for Kaname, but not as uncomfortable as Kiryuu will find it. And Kaname can admit that he does owe Kiryuu a little for his misstep with the servants; tonight will wipe the debt clean.
Kaname has planned every aspect of this evening down to the tiniest, most insignificant detail - where they will go, what they will do, who they will see. It had taken significant work, but after two days all his preparations were complete. The excuse had been the easiest - a little query to Kiryuu's head maid revealed that the Hunter's wardrobe was inadequate for someone of his rank. Yuuki would never pass up a chance to buy things for Kiryuu, even if she realized the timing was not coincidence, and Kaname had an ironclad excuse to come along, since Kiryuu's appearance reflected on his reputation as well. Once he had a reason, it was easy to spin the outing into a full evening and dinner together with Yuuki. Kiryuu would also be there, as his excuse, but Kaname could work around him for a chance to make amends with Yuuki.
"Are we ready to go?" Yuuki asks, sweeping into the room and smiling wholeheartedly at them. She has been distant, but she never pretends that she doesn't love him even when she's angry.
"I have one last gift for you both, the final touch for the evening, and then we'll be ready," Kaname replies, taking three shallow square boxes from a side table, their size obviously marking them as jewelry.
"Seriously, Kuran?" Kiryuu says in disgust, pulling off the lid and examining Kaname's gift the same way he would a severed hand. The pureblood has given him a very feminine collar of black ribbons and lace, with a golden tag hanging from the center displaying the Kuran family's nine orchid crest picked out in tiny gems.
Another dog collar for Kiryuu, with helpful instructions - 'if found, return to the Kuran family.' The sight of it encircling Kiryuu's white neck provides the pureblood great satisfaction. If Kaname thought he could get away with it without ruining their evening, the tag would have read 'property of Kuran Kaname,' but that would be too much of a provocation for Kiryuu to resist without shooting him.
"A picture is worth more than words. Our appearance tonight is the most important visual cue for how people think of us together," he replies instead. "This will help reinforce it. I have one too," Kaname tilts his box so Kiryuu can see his cravat pin with the same shape and the Kuran crest, "and so does Yuuki." His wife's gift is more of a dignified choker than a collar, but Kiryuu won't appreciate the distinction.
That's why Kaname insisted the three of them wear corresponding outfits. The visual similarity links the three of them as a united group in the minds of observers; Kaname wants everyone who sees them to think that they fit together well. The outfits Kaname and Yuuki wear, black with red as the secondary color, and Kiryuu's red with black accents, suggest complementary personalities, as the bond between alpha and omega was meant to be. All three of them are wearing the dragon and phoenix bracelet tokens from their wedding, another visible tie and claim of belonging.
Kiryuu's clothing in particular Kaname loaded with symbolism; Yuuki and himself wore outfits they already owned, but the pureblood ordered Kiryuu's made specifically for this occasion. Vampires felt more comfortable the more feminine an omega looked, so Kiryuu is dressed in a gown tonight, not his usual long tunics and robes. Kiryuu is doubtless displeased, but his critics will find less to complain about. The silken velvet, suitable since April nights can still be quite cold, is colored the shade of blood; Kaname wants everyone to see a vampire, not a Hunter.
Besides the Kuran crest on his collar's tag, and the elaborate Hoseki given at Kiryuu's betrothal, the velvet itself adds another Kuran symbol to Kiryuu's clothing. The fabric was woven with different heights of pile to create a three-dimensional pattern of roses and twisting vines, that shimmers and shifts color as the wearer moves and the light changes. Using a velvet so obviously custom made and expensive implies value and care for the wearer, and Kiryuu's gown requires large amounts of the fabric, his distinctive omega sleeves widening just below the shoulder and the tips falling to his knees. The inner sleeves, hugging Kiryuu's pale arms and spilling over the backs of his hands, are made of the same black lace as his collar. An omega ought to look alluring, and this touch of black lace hints at Kiryuu's charms without becoming crass, as does the band of black lace cinching his waistline.
Taken as a whole, this display is meant to send one message: he is part of us and we care for him. Humans and vampires were shallow creatures; as things appeared, so they must be.
"Whatever our feelings and problems in private, none of that can show tonight. In public, we are a happy, content couple who enjoy domestic tranquility and have chosen to take things slowly with our new omega. Kiryuu, that means do disgusted faces when we have to touch each other, and no arguing. If I can manage it, I'd hate all of this to be ruined by your inability to play along."
"I'll behave for Kuran-hime's sake," Kiryuu agrees, looking at his wife for approval. Yuuki has a gleam in her eye that makes Kaname feel like things may not go as smoothly as he hoped.
"I was thinking about that actually," she says, with a disarmingly innocent smile. "If we want people to believe that we're normal, isn't it a little weird that Zero calls us by our last name and uses formal honorifics?" She claps her hands together and nods decisively. "Yes - if we're going out tonight, the rule is that we can only call each other by our first names, with no honorifics. Why don't you two practice now?"
Abruptly, Kaname realizes that he may have had too much influence on Yuuki. The pureblood casts a sideways glance at Kiryuu, and find his horror and reluctance mirrored there. But he is ten thousand years old, and his plan to placate Yuuki is not about to be stymied by such a simple thing, he tells himself. If his wife wants this, Kaname can do it.
"Zero," Kaname chokes out. Ugh, and he has to do this the entire night.
"Yuuki," the Hunter complains; his wife smiles again and urges him to try.
Kiryuu looks like he's about to vomit; Kaname can't get the taste out of his mouth either.
"Ka-, Kan-, Kaname," Kiryuu finally spits, like he's just uttered the foulest curse.
"That was very good from both of you! We should do this from now on when we're in public," Yuuki suggests cheerfully.
Kaname almost decides to turn back now. When had his wife gotten so clever?
Their visit to the tailor lasts the entire evening, but it's also the easiest part for Zero. He is asked to do very little except try sample pieces on, describe his preferences as the man takes notes, and give his opinions on one thing or another. At least this tailor is more polite than the woman Takuma took him to see for his first fitting; Zero's never giving her another penny if he can manage it.
The tailor and his assistants act carefully deferential and avoid invading his personal space in the presence of the Kurans - probably the 'no touching omegas in front of their alphas' rule. Not that the Kurans are his alphas, except socially speaking.
When it comes time to take his measurements again, Zero freezes up, remembering being frightened and unable to move while strangers pawed him. But he needn't have worried so much. When Takuma said that no one but Kuran and Yuuki would be allowed to touch him intimately, he was right; only if Zero's life or health were in danger was that rule allowed to be broken.
As the assistants give directions, Yuuki is the one who takes the measuring tape and comes close. She's considerate, doing nothing without asking permission first or allowing him time to brace himself, nothing like the abrupt, uncaring assistants from before. Zero is still afraid, but Yuuki has spent so much time with him recently that it's easy to bring up those memories to fight the nightmares and horrible fears of her hurting him. The Hunter tries to hide his nervousness and uneasiness, tries to keep from flinching away, but Yuuki notices, he can tell. Zero can't hide things from Yuuki. Even Kuran, when they give him a second measuring tape, is uncharacteristically careful. They're slower than the professionals, but Zero must learn how to bear their touch anyway. He can't escape these hands.
(Both of their alpha instincts are howling with distress as Zero recoils and rejects their touch. But they are still touching their omega, and wouldn't they rather use more than a stupid tape? They'd kill anyone else who put their hands on him like this. Their scents are all over his body now and everyone will be able to smell their claim.)
The vampire run and owned restaurant where they eat lunch around one in the morning oozes wealth and exclusiveness. It's a place to see and be seen, where the elites of the vampire world come to show off. They have the nicest table in the entire dining room, positioned so the other guests can see them clearly, but far enough from the other diners to give the false impression of privacy. He tries to ignore the way every eye in the restaurant is fixed on them, and how every whispered conversation with quick glances in their direction is about them.
Kuran is surprisingly helpful, a master actor directing their little theatre production. He coaches Zero and Yuuki in quiet, relaxed asides how to shape their body language and facial expressions, when and how to move. Yuuki requires little help, taking all the attention due to a Kuran princess in stride, composed and obviously familiar with this routine. Tonight's outcome rests on Zero's abilities.
They don't have to order; the staff knows exactly what to bring to their table, and the pureblood distracts them by explaining what each dish was and how it was made, little tidbits of their history and origin. All of the courses come artfully presented in small portions, so they can taste more dishes; Zero recognizes almost nothing, but tries it all anyway. He's interested, despite himself, in Kuran's descriptions of the cooking process, his long neglected hobby still a passion. Did Kuran get lucky, or did he know that Zero liked to cook?
After dinner is the real test tonight - a cordon of reporters waiting outside the restaurant for a picture and a scoop on the Kuran's scandalous new omega, tipped off by an anonymous source that the purebloods were here tonight. Zero was surprised to learn that vampires had their own media, accessible only through secret, hidden websites and publications for safety, but since they loved to gossip and plot so much the Hunter can understand why.
Zero gets to stand between Yuuki and Kuran, each with an arm around his waist, and pose for the media as Kuran spins an outrageous yarn about their earnest desire to make this alliance work, and how the three of them have decided to take their time getting to know one another. Kuran never mentions sex, but it's quite easy to read as the explanation for Zero's untouched state. But staying so close to two purebloods Zero has fed from, along with his new diet, creates an unexpected side effect.
"Kuran, my eyes are going red," Zero whispers, turning his head bashfully away from the cameras, the tingle in his eye sockets giving his bloodlust away. Kuran's mouth betrays his anger for a split second as he looks down, then flattens out to relaxed neutrality.
"If you'll excuse us," the pureblood genially tells the crowd, tucking the Hunter close to his side, and maneuvering so Yuuki shields them further. "I think my omega is getting cold."
"Next time keep better track of your feeding schedule, Kiryuu. You nearly ruined everything," the pureblood snarls once they're safely in the car and Zero has willed his eyes back to lavender.
"I apologize," he replies stiffly, only because he was the one at fault, but Yuuki intervenes to smooth ruffled tempers before anything escalates. The drive to their last stop, a jeweler who specializes in producing Hoseki and other commissions for vampire aristocrats, is completed in silence.
Kuran engages the owner in conversation as soon as he can, clearly impatient to leave, after telling Zero that an omega needed at least ten Hoseki, compared to the paltry three he currently possessed, and they would leave when he had at least that many. Zero is tempted to buy the most expensive pieces here to retaliate, but Kuran is so wealthy whatever he could find wouldn't even cost a drop of his total wealth.
The staff flocks to show Yuuki their favorite pieces, seeking the sales commission and the validation of assisting a pureblood while Zero browses the glass display cases in relative peace, stopping when something catches his eye. Yuuki will find more than enough jewelry to outfit him, Zero suspects, so whether he finds anything or not doesn't matter.
Zero is examining a ruby arrow when one of the staff notices his interest. "Do you have something similar, but not in red?"
"I have a citrine copy in the back, Consort. If you would follow me?" offers the sales assistant.
But what Zero finds waiting for him is no jewel.
"Kiryuu-kun, you clean up better than I thought," says Shirabuki Sara, seated primly on a stepladder, hands clasped together in her lap - or likely some kind of projected image, since Zero can't sense a pureblood aura. "Maybe I should have stolen you for myself."
"Shirabuki-sama" - the honorific grates but if he's playing Consort it's necessary - "I don't think it's appropriate for us to be alone."
"Unusually shy of you, Kiryuu-kun. Aren't we partners?" pouts Shirabuki.
"We didn't come to an agreement, as I remember."
"My offer doesn't have an expiration date, Kiryuu-kun. Cooperation is it's own reward, don't you think?"
"I don't know why you want my help. Kuran doesn't tell me anything at all. He doesn't tell anything to anyone," observes Zero.
"It's his most frustrating trait," Shirabuki sighs. "But Kaname-kun can't be everywhere and do everything himself. He has pawns he uses to help him - like your friend Takuma-kun." When her lips form that name, for a moment her rapacity and avarice is unmasked, before she covers it with the saccharine, girlish sweetness. A shiver runs down Zero's back on behalf of his absent friend. "I think you may find them more talkative. And Yuuki-chan trusts you, doesn't she?"
The blond pureblood reaches out with an earnest, imploring expression. "I can't do this without you, Kiryuu-kun. All I want to do is give Kuran Kaname exactly what he deserves, to give him the justice he's earned."
The pureblood leans forward, like she's revealing a secret. "He's still using you, you know. He uses everyone. Even dear Yuuki. The man just can't help himself. A scorpion is a scorpion - you can't expect his nature to change. How long will it be until his schemes hurt someone you care about?"
"Now, I think it's time you head back," she orders as the assistant presses a box into his fingers.
"I've bought you a gift. If you need to contact me, you'll be able to attract one of my familiars by pricking your finger and smearing a drop of blood on the coin hidden inside the lining of the box. Write me a message and my familiar will deliver it."
Zero wraps his hand around the box, pressing the corners into his palm. "Thank you," the Hunter replies, smiling at the pureblood. "I think I know exactly what I'm going to do."
See Kaname? You can use your Machiavellian powers for good when you try!
Sara is making a reference to a fable called 'The Scorpion and the Frog.'
This chapter and the next chapter are companion pieces, action and reaction: 'What You Do in the Dark / Will Be Brought to Light. I know that not much seems to happen here, but think of this chapter as watching someone shake a soda bottle - a fragile, increasingly unstable situation that only needs an outlet to explode.
Zero's new collar was suggested by reviewer Sancti Rei. I really do read what you write about, and sometimes things just happen to work out the right way and I get a lucky opportunity. Please continue to leave me your thoughts!