Chapter 11

Zero was surprised that Kaname wanted to begin right away. He was told to go back to his room and change out of his uniform into something that would draw less attention. Then he needed to get out of the house without Cross intervening, and meet Kaname at the front gate to the school so they could follow the road into the small city a few kilometers away. Zero managed all of this quickly. He didn't pause to give himself too much time to consider what he was doing. If he thought about it he knew he would lose his nerve. When he was on the verge of it he reminded himself of his past actions, and the loss of control that the thirst brought on. It gave him the resolve to continue. It wasn't long before he was dressed in a pair of gray jeans and a plain shirt, the top two buttons undone. He hated things that constricted his neck, especially if they touched the sensitive bite scar there. It was a cool night, so he had thrown on a long dark grey coat with a high collar. His boots crunched the gravel underfoot.

He saw Kaname waiting for him, wearing all black, his long trench concealing whatever was underneath. He had it buttoned shut, his hands in the pockets. He began to walk at a brisk pace as soon as Zero arrived. Zero fell into step beside him wordlessly. His mind was full of questions and worries, none of which he was willing to voice.

After some time they arrived in the city, buildings rising to replace the trees and the sound of cars replacing those of crickets. There wasn't much going on at night here – all the shops had closed already – and only the bars were left open for business. There were few people in the streets. Kaname had been watching Zero closely throughout their walk. He knew the hunter must be curious about what they were doing, but he hadn't said a word the entire time. He just looked tense, his shoulders hunched a little, his eyes surveying their surroundings attentively. Kaname was very comfortable in this sort of place. He could easily extend his senses and find a number of level C vampires, and a few lower level B's as well. There wasn't a large population locally, but there were always a few in every city or town that was large enough to support their appetites. The Level E's were easy for him to detect – they had little control over their auras. He wondered how capable Kiryu was of sensing these things. As a Level D he would have only dull senses comparatively, but because of his powerful hunter lineage there was a strong chance he could detect a great deal. Hunters had an excellent sense of smell, just like vampires, and could easily identify their auras.

He led Zero down a dark street with little activity. There were some small shops with darkened display windows, and in between them the odd boarded up unit or dilapidated old house. He concealed his aura as fully as possible. He was practised at this, and regularly employed the technique. A pureblood's aura was powerful and had an effect on the other vampires around him as well as announcing his presence to any who were nearby. He needed to be undetected for now. Zero looked over to him with a raised eyebrow, apparently sensing the change.

"Your energy disappeared."

Kaname nodded, secretly pleased that he'd noticed. "It's easy for me to find them, but you will have more success without my aura drowning out everything else. There is one nearby, can you sense it?" Kaname had easily honed in on a Level E in one of the buildings further up the street. They were still fairly far off from where it was, he doubted it would have noticed them yet. "You should be able to identify its energy, as with any vampire. Use your other abilities as well, scent it, and listen for it. Try to be as silent as possible, don't think too much about it, let your instincts guide you."

Zero was wholly unaccustomed to this sort of thing. He frowned, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and turning to Kaname. "I don't have… instincts. I'm not like you, Kuran. This was a stupid idea."

Kaname sighed. He had known this would be a challenge for Zero, but he had expected a little more effort before he changed his mind. "You're thinking like a human still. I assure you that you do have instincts. Try closing your eyes. Listen. Smell."

Zero begrudgingly closed his eyes. At first he could only hear Kuran's breathing and heartbeat. He smelled the pureblood's scent, which had more facets suddenly, because he was really paying attention to the details. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, though he didn't necessarily like it. He turned away from him, towards the unexplored portion of the street and inhaled through his nose. There were a million smells, garbage, rubber, old cigarette butts. He hadn't thought about using his sense of smell to find anything in particular before. As he took in another deep lungful of air he became more aware of things that had previously been undetectable; there were rats nearby, he could smell their urine, and he heard their little feet scurrying somewhere in between the buildings. Water had a scent too, which he hadn't really thought of until now. His hearing seemed to confirm and enhance many of the things he was able to smell, and he heard the water dripping and rushing in the sewers below them.

He strained his senses, taking a few more steps down the street. There were many humans in the area, sleeping in their homes above the darkened shops. He could hear their breathing, smell their sweat and various soaps and hygiene products, laundry detergent. This was surprising. How had he never realized that he could learn so much from just listening and breathing? It was disorienting, overwhelming. He opened his eyes, shaking his head.

Kaname remained silent, waiting for him to continue. He kept focus on the aura of the Level E, which had begun to move towards them.

"There are so many different sounds and smells, how do I pick one out of all of them?"

"Focus only on what is relevant. Disregard extraneous information. It becomes easier with practise."

Zero sighed. This was a bad idea. He didn't even have any method of capturing or killing a vampire, so what was he going to do when he found one? Ask it nicely to hold still? "What do I do when I find it? I have no weapons."

"Kiryu your body is a weapon. You have everything you need for now. I have no plans to watch it lay you open if you are unable to take it down, but you are thinking too much. We are here to help you learn to follow your instincts, not subdue them. Listen. Smell. It's approaching." Kaname could hear it to the left, ahead of them, making small noises as it hopped from one roof to the next and seemed to be trying to get above them, no doubt to more easily facilitate a surprise attack.

Zero grit his teeth, stifling his frustration. He once more closed his eyes, his senses filling with an onslaught of noises and scents. He tried to do what Kaname instructed, not giving much focus to little things, and quite suddenly he became aware of a particular smell like dried, old blood and dirty clothing mingled with the telltale scent of a vampire. He heard scuffling above him, somewhere to his left. It was the Level E. He was now aware of its aura as well, how had he been unable to find it before? It was approaching quickly. He tensed, opening his eyes and looking towards where he could feel it. Kaname nodded, silently telling him to go after it.

Zero let the aura guide him now, and moved off to a decrepit building on the left side of the street. He wished he had some idea of what to do when he finally came face to face with this thing. As much as Kaname kept talking about instincts, he seriously doubted that he could fend off a crazed vampire in his current state. He was thoroughly starved and weakened by thirst. Presently, he didn't know what to expect. He had only seen a Level E once in his life, when he was a small child and Master Yagari had lost his eye due to Zero's pity for the former school doctor. She had been his fiancée at one point, but was bitten by a pureblood and became a Level E. Zero had only been a small child, and had not been able to understand that the kind woman was no longer herself. He'd interfered just as Yagari was going to shoot her, and because of that she had clawed out his eye before he managed to kill her. Zero had been horrified, and had promised never to let Yagari regret saving his life that day.

He tucked the memory away to focus, entering the building through a broken window. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. He used his other senses to guide him up a crumbling flight of stairs. He paused halfway up, straining to detect the location of the creature.

Suddenly something flew at him from above. The stench of grimy clothes and dried blood enveloped him as he was struck in the chest and knocked backwards down the stairs, the thing atop him. He felt sharp claws dig into his shoulders, pinning him to the floor. He struggled, kicking at it, panic rising in him. Its eyes burned blood red, two glowing points above his face. He could see the white of its razor sharp teeth, even in the darkness. Zero rolled to one side just as the beast snapped down, its jaws missing him by a hair. He threw it off of him, struggling to his feet to run. He didn't get very far before it slammed into him once more, knocking him off-balance. He twisted awkwardly but fell hard on one knee, pain singing up his leg and making him flinch. It seized the moment of hesitation and grabbed his hair it its claws, wrenching his head back and once more moving to bite him.

Just before its teeth closed over his throat the creature jerked violently, as if it had been hit by some invisible force. Zero heard Kaname's boots crunch over broken glass and twisted debris as he came towards them. He was able to twist his head free from the beast's grasp, looking to Kaname, whose eyes glowed a faint hint of red.

Stunned, the Level E tried again to bite Zero, and again it jerked violently, this time spitting up a foam of blood, its eye's widening in pain. Kaname's expression remained eerily cool, but Zero knew he was doing something to the vampire with his mind. Its body suddenly flew off of Zero's, striking a nearby wall with crushing force. Blood seeped from its ears and nose. It growled weakly, its white teeth now stained with blood, which appeared black in the darkness. He could see that it was male, although its features were twisted. It wore a cloak which was thoroughly soaked in dried blood and filth. It tried to get to its feet, inching along the wall in attempted retreat. Kaname didn't stop it this time. It was moving more slowly, and seemed to be wheezing, as if it had internal injuries.

Zero got to his feet, rubbing his knee and dusting himself free of broken glass and dirt. He eyed the Kaname uncertainly. The smell of the blood had reached his nose, awakening his thirst. Zero had never let anyone see him as his vampire features came to the fore, except for earlier that evening when Kaname had intervened on his situation with Yuki. It remained an embarrassing circumstance he wished to avoid. He fought against the thirst, trying not to let his fangs show as they grew in anticipation, the smell of freshly spilt blood beginning to weave through his thoughts, further arousing the darkness within him. He covered his face reflexively, stepping away from the injured creature. Kaname stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Kiryu," he said softly, "Let it happen. Your reaction is normal, it's not something you need to hide right now."

Zero tried to block out his elevated senses, the sound of laboured breathing coming from the thing that was still dragging itself along the wall, away from them. Part of his mind was telling him to pursue it; his head filled with visions of capturing it and pulling it against him to bury his fangs into the warm flesh. He couldn't accept that, and felt almost physically ill at the thought. Still his mouth watered, its thundering heartbeat filling his ears.

"I can't," he panted, clenching his jaws so hard they ached. He tried not to smell the blood, but he knew already that such efforts were futile. Still, what Kaname was asking of him was more than he could manage. He had agreed to do this, but now that it came to actually going through with it he found he could not. He started to retreat further.

Kaname saw the war going on in the hunter's eyes. Though they were already glowing red with thirst, he was still resisting his urges, fighting them. This would not do. He was attempting to leave Zero to do this on his own, but it seemed he needed more encouragement. The little trickles of blood were not enticing enough. The weakened vampire would escape soon if Zero did not take him, and this was a good opportunity for him to learn from. He strode over to the crumpled figure and grabbed it by the neck, dragging it back to Zero. He let one fingertip grow into a sharp claw and slashed the side of its throat. Blood quickly began to pour from the wound. Kaname threw the moaning beast at Zero's feet, licking the blood from his fingertips. It wasn't especially good, the blood of noble vampires was much more flavourful and satisfying, but it would be more than enough to slake Zero's intense thirst.

"Kiryu this vampire is a Level E, its humanity is gone. I can smell the blood of many humans on it, it has killed repeatedly. You must drink, or kill it. You don't need to fight with your instincts right now, they will be much more manageable once you are satisfied."

Zero reeled, the smell of blood filling him totally. It was so much like that night, when Higashi was bleeding and he had not been able to stop himself. He knew it would be good, he knew it would fix all the little aches and pains in him, and make him think more clearly, see more sharply. It would heighten all of his senses and fill him with a deep satisfaction and warmth. His body was screaming for it, his teeth throbbing with the need to bite, his tongue dry against the roof of his mouth. And here was Kaname, pushing him to just give in, telling him that this creature was an evil, soulless murderer. Yet he was also repulsed by the whole scene, disgusted and filled with a loathing so powerful it still prevented him from acting. He was frozen in place, unable to move away, and unwilling to give in.

Kaname was very surprised that Zero was still resisting. He had underestimated his ability to control himself, and to suffer. There was only one more option. He strode to the still-bleeding figure and swept his fingers through the seeping wound at its throat. He came behind Zero, wrapping an arm around his waist, pressing against him from behind. He brought his bloodied fingers to Zero's lips.

"Kiryu, drink," he ordered, his voice right beside Zero's ear. He was being very careful to remain as 'human' as he could, so that Zero did not completely lose the small trust he had placed in him. If he let his eyes glow red and his fangs show too much then he assumed Zero would totally close up, and just view him as a monster. He felt the heat coming off of the hunter, and the smell of blood began to arouse his hunger. His arm remained firmly wrapped about Zero's middle. The hunter was tense against him, but he did not try to escape.

Zero felt his choice disappearing as Kaname pulled him tightly back and put long, bloodied fingers to his lips. The blood burned against them, the smell of it dominating all else. His resolve crumbled, and he parted his lips, tasting the blood on them. It was so good he immediately sucked one of Kaname's fingers into his mouth. He licked all of the red from it hungrily. His body relaxed against Kaname as relief flooded through him. His tongue trailed over the digits, his mind urging him to bite down, to pierce the fingertip so he could taste the crimson that waited beneath. He was reminded of his dream, and of the feeling of tasting Kaname's blood, and touching him, forcing him. He felt his body stir with desire, his teeth pressing more firmly over the fingers in his mouth.

Kaname was unprepared for the sensuality that accompanied the boy's actions. He watched as Zero's eyes fell shut, his tongue working over the fingers before him. Kaname could see his fangs glinting white in the darkness, and he realized that he was becoming aroused at the sight of Zero licking his fingers clean and threatening to drag his fangs over the flesh. He finished with the digits, and followed the rivulets of blood down along Kaname's palm to his wrist. He heard Zero's breathing deepen; he was smelling the skin and blood as he collected each drop and swallowed it. It was an erotic sight that Kaname hadn't been expecting. He had only been thinking of an effective way to get Zero to feed. It seemed to have worked. He felt Zero's fangs graze the skin inside his wrist. He moved to bite down, but Kaname removed his wrist before it could happen. He released Zero and guided him towards the cut he'd made in the Level E's throat instead, even though his body was thrumming with anticipation at the possibility of being bitten. He felt himself hardening considerably. He hid it as best as he could.

Zero realized what was happening as his face touched the wound and backed off, staring pensively at it. His gaze darted up to meet Kaname's. He saw the pureblood watching him expectantly, waiting for him to do it. He could no longer resist his hunger. He drove his teeth into the vampire's throat feeling them sink deep in the heat, eliciting a snarl from the creature. It struggled weakly trying to get free, but it was too badly injured. Zero felt a surge of pleasure and warmth fill him as he began to drink. He lost track of all else, curling his fingers around its shoulders and burying his face at its neck. He could hear the blood rushing into him, hear the heart pumping frantically. Each beat sent a spurt into his mouth and he began to time his swallows to the rhythm. He was completely enveloped in the taste and the heat. It felt incredible, especially because this was the first time he was not wounded or in a panic to escape while drinking blood.

He was consumed by it for several minutes and withdrew only after the initial wave of pleasure released him, panting for breath. His cheeks were flushed and hot, and his body surged with strength as it began to return to a 'healthy' state. He was not entirely sated, but he felt a lot better already. He turned to the unmarred side of the creature's throat, running his lips over it until he felt the pulsing of the carotid beneath them. He tasted the skin experimentally, then ran the tips of his fangs over the moistened flesh, pressing them in deep. He liked the sound the skin made as it was sliced by his teeth. He liked the feeling of them pushing in and opening up the artery. He was rewarded by the hot liquid that filled his mouth and ran down his chin, and he was overwhelmed by the combination of experiencing all of this at once. The darkness within him was awakening, despite all his efforts to fight against it.

Kaname watched Zero become caught up in his meal, and felt his aura swell with a newfound strength and vitality. When he released the vampire, then bit him once more it sent a spark of excitement through the pureblood. He watched the muscles in the hunter's neck and jaw working as he fed, the tendons stretching and sliding under the skin with each swallow. He had to stop himself from licking his own lips at the sight. He finally knelt beside Zero and put a hand on his back.

"Kiryu that's enough. You should let him go now."

Zero felt the hand on his back and slowly withdrew, hearing Kaname's words. He didn't think he could get up just yet, so intense was the sensation. He felt overfull, glutted. He had the blood all over his face and a little on his hands. He rolled off the motionless Level E and just laid in place, the room seeming to sway around him. His eyes were faraway and fogged with pleasure.

Kaname looked to the limp and drained form and sent a burst of telekinetic energy into its chest, shredding its heart. The vampire crumbled into dust a moment later. He waited for Zero to gather himself, watching him quietly. The hunter sat up after a short minute, considering the pile of dust with an unreadable expression. He rose to his feet, brushing himself off and wiping at his chin to try and clean it up. He did not meet Kaname's gaze. They exited the building and began to walk back to the school, slowly leaving the town behind.

The sound of their boots in the gravel on the side of the road was the only thing for a while, but eventually Kaname fell into step beside Zero, glancing at him to study his expression. Would he be filled with new self-loathing because of his actions?

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

Zero looked intently at the ground. His body was singing with the effects of so much blood, it was tingling with strength. He felt incredibly good, and his reflexes and other senses were sharper than they had ever been. He wasn't hungry, finally. He tried so hard to hate himself, and he knew that later it would be easy, but for the moment he felt too good. He didn't want to say any of that to Kaname, however. He couldn't admit it out loud. He had to say something, though.

"I guess so," he answered finally."

"Good," answered the pureblood, and they kept walking.

Kaname was still feeling the effects of watching Zero lick blood from his fingers. His eyes traced the hunter's lithe form as he walked. He stepped in front of Zero without warning, blocking his path. "You almost bit me back there, Kiryu."

Violet eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't really realized that. He had been so caught up in the taste of the blood. "Sorry," he muttered. "It was… a lot at once."

"It was your instinct. It means you were able to let go enough for it to guide you. I will consider this lesson a success. You are no longer weakened, and must be feeling stronger, more in control of yourself. The next time it will be easier to catch one on your own, without my help."

"Your help," Zero repeated, "You never touched it, but it flew against the wall, what did you do to it?"

Kaname slipped back into step, the school becoming visible in the distance. "I have a variety of abilities, Kiryu." He punctuated his words with a little smile.

Zero let go of that line of conversation, returning to his thoughts and considering the young man beside him. "It must be nice to be insanely powerful and have everyone falling over each other to make you happy."

It sounded like a cross between a question and an accusation. Kaname didn't answer for a long time. This was basically as close as Zero got to starting a conversation. Depending on how he answered, he could push him away, and at this moment he wasn't feeling like doing that. "It is convenient, I suppose, but it is also isolating."

"Seems alright to me," Zero replied. "Why did you decide to go to Cross Academy? I imagine you could pretty much do anything you wanted. Why be here?"

That was an easy one for the pureblood, there were many things which tied him to the school. "Kaien Cross may come off as a twit, but he is actually quite remarkable. He was once the most powerful vampire hunter around, and I suppose technically, he still is, but he stopped killing our kind well over a decade ago and opened this school. A few years ago he started the Night Class and asked me to come and dedicate some time to furthering his ideal. I agreed because I also want peace between humans and vampires."

"Oh," Zero said, not sure what else to say about that. He just wanted to get out of here and be by himself now. He'd had enough excitement for at least a week.

"We are almost back. The other vampires will be able to smell the blood on you, so you need to get cleaned up as quickly as possible. I would prefer they weren't aware of our activities. It is an unusual thing to do."

Zero nodded in agreement. "It's a very weird thing to do, Kuran. Why did you do it? What do you care if I go crazy or starve? You can't be doing all of this because I'm 'interesting.' What's the real reason?"

Kaname arched a brow. The ex-human was perceptive. "Very well, you are correct. I do have an ulterior motive, and it's fairly simple. I have a responsibility to ensure control over the Level E population in this region. The Vampire Council have assigned it to me while I am attending Cross Academy. There is an increased number of them recently, so I will need to be more focussed on eliminating them. If I wait until they get put on a list to kill them, then more humans die. Typically I have Takuma and the other nobles do most of the actual hunting, but this seemed to be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. It won't solve your problem in the long run, but it should help for the time being."

Kaname knew that this was only a band-aid solution. Looking back on the evening he had to ask himself why he chose this particular activity to help Zero. He knew that without pure blood anything they did was only going to hold off immediate hunger. It would not reverse or halt his descent. So why had he done it?

He had enjoyed spending time with the hunter. He wanted to see how he would react in such a situation, if he could do it. Kaname had to admit to himself that he was testing Zero, although he didn't know why. Watching him progress through his 'lesson' had been exciting. Seeing him feed was erotic, and even now the pureblood was on the verge of growing hard thinking about it, especially about the sensation of lips and tongue on his bloodied fingers. The way Zero's eyes had fallen closed as he sucked on them was incredibly sexy. It stirred Kaname's thirst for blood, which was normally fairly easy for him to control, especially with the tablets.

It also made him wonder what it would feel like to be bitten. Never in his life had Kaname allowed anyone to drink his blood. It was an intimate act usually reserved for lovers, or an act intended to save the life of a family member or friend in serious need. Neither of these situations had arisen for him, and as such, he'd only speculated about what it felt like. He had drunk from many people in his life, but had lived almost exclusively on blood tablets since their invention. When he was very small he remembered his parents sharing their blood with him, guiding him to be gentle. He was taught that his tongue and saliva were curative, so he could heal the wound of anyone he bit, if he wanted to. After their deaths, when he was living with Takuma and Asato he was offered ex-human and Level C slaves to drink from regularly. He could also drink from any vampire he chose, because of his lineage. Even when he was a child Kaname knew he was more powerful than most other vampires. This was most clearly demonstrated by Asato Ichijo's inability to control him, but it was also evidenced in the way people did as he said, even when they didn't want to. He didn't abuse the ability, but there were times when he had bent others to his will. As he got older he needed blood less frequently, and it had been a long time since he had bitten anyone.

His mind was now filled with these distracting thoughts which made him search out the pulse at Zero's throat, fluttering steadily beneath the pale flesh. He wondered what his blood would taste like. He wondered how it would feel if Zero bit him.

As they parted ways, Kaname could not help following Zero's retreating figure with his gaze. Once he disappeared the pureblood returned to the Moon Dorms. The others were still in class for another half hour. Good. It gave him some privacy.

He started a hot shower, peeling off his clothes and stepping under the water. The spray warmed his body and soaked into his hair. He stood in the heat for a few minutes, letting it melt away his tension. As he closed his eyes his thoughts returned to the scene he'd been replaying for the past hour, recalling every detail of Zeros suggestive mouth and teasing tongue lapping blood from his flesh. He felt his cock harden, the warm water running pleasantly down its length. His hand slid over it, Zero filling his mind. As he grew harder and more excited, he put a few drops of body wash into his palm, smoothing it over himself until it lathered. He teased and stroked his erection, pulling the foreskin back to expose the head, which was reddened and swollen with pleasure. He ran his thumb over the sensitive flesh, his stomach tightening at the feeling.

Kaname pictured Zero on his knees, tempting mouth sliding over his length. He felt himself hardening further, veins throbbing along the shaft of his penis. He pumped it in his hand, moving faster as his fantasy progressed. He imagined Zero becoming more aroused as he sucked on him, pictured the violet eyes staring at him as he wrapped his free hand around his own erection and began to stroke it. In his fantasy Zero stroked himself and swallowed Kaname's cock as far as he could, his eyes watering as it hit the back of his throat repeatedly.

That image caused Kaname to shudder and pump himself much faster, his orgasm building quickly. He was already so worked up that it took just a few minutes to bring himself to completion.

As he watched the white mess wash down the drain he couldn't help but feel unsatisfied. He wanted the real thing, not a fantasy in the shower. He soaped up and washed his hair, his mind still rife with distracting images. When he was clean and rinsed he turned off the water. He selected some comfortable clothes after he was dried off and changed into them just as he heard the night class members returning to the dorm.

For the rest of the evening he could not keep his mind off of that point of energy across the campus that belonged to Zero.