If you were to ask Zero how they went from love rivals to lovers to… this, he'd tell you not to bother asking, since he himself wouldn't be able to explain it. Things happened, he'd say, we went through one war, fell in love over several lifetimes, and ended up not knowing each other anymore, which is why things are like this now. Things had to change, because I don't love him anymore. Not in the same way, at least. There was still that Bond, that fondness and affection, and all the good memories tying them together. Zero knew he'd always have Kaname's help if ever he needed it, and the same went for Kaname. Bonds this strong were permanent, probably lasting even longer than life itself. Zero saw them trundling through life and out the other end, into the abyss still clutching onto each other… there's still a long, long road for them to travel.

As expected, a part of Zero fights the change - hating the fact that things have had to change. There's an instinct to hold onto the past, but that comes at the price of drowning in the nostalgia and regret. He prises his fingers from the comfort of the past and stares at Kaname's hands, still holding on.

Let go, he urges, frowning as Kaname's grip only tightens in response, knuckles going white and claws sliding out. Let go, he repeats, a little louder. It takes a few seconds for Zero to realise Kaname's clinging onto him - he should feel pain from how tightly he's squeezing him, but he's only concern is that Kaname is shaking. Face turned away from him, obscured by a veil of matted hair - Zero tugs at his arm. Why can't Kaname let go? Every time Zero pulls away, his shaking gets worse. It's almost like Zero's ripping the seam of Kaname, pulling him apart by trying to move onwards. Eventually Kaname's claws have cut through too deep - there's too much blood slicking Zero's arms, and he loses grip. Zero wrenches himself free and pulls away, breathing hard.

He thought they'd gone over this. Accepted it. Accepted that things are over, and promised to stay amicable… but this. This is two steps backwards. No, probably a whole leap backwards. Zero shakes his head. Why is Kaname so obsessed with the past?

or is it the other way around? Does the past have a hold on him?

The more he looks at Kaname, the more he sees a prisoner. And though Zero wants to free Kaname - to help him - something tells him to stay far away. Stay where it's safe. His heartbeat quickens as Kaname's head slowly turns, the tangled hair parting to reveal… black eyes. Dark, so dark that they seem to suck in all light - Kaname's fangs are extended too, though they look a lot larger than usual, and his lips are pulled back in a snarl. This isn't Kaname, Zero's heart sinks, Not the one I know anyway. This is a feral creature - the core of Kaname's suffering - his rogue self. With a menacing growl and him making a lunge at Zero - bare millimetres from gouging out his throat - Zero knows Kaname's lost. Far, far away from who he used to be.

And as he swipes a hand at Zero's midsection - it occurs to him that maybe he's not the only one in danger here.

Maybe the baby isn't Kaname's anchor. Maybe it isn't safe either.

"No!" he screams, throwing himself back, away from Kaname. He scrambles backwards on the floor, too slowly - too slowly - Kaname advances, breath rattling through his throat, jaws snapping. But then - Kaname stops. Zero doesn't - he keeps scooting pathetically on his rump, dragging himself further away on his heels and elbows like a wounded animal. Kaname's head snaps to the side in a grotesque imitation of a concerned tilt. He tosses something at Zero.

When Zero opens his hands, he finds that he's cupping a handful of blood - he almost drops it, but then Kaname speaks.

"Are you ready now?" he asks, his mouth parting - revealing red-stained teeth and blackened lips. He's so stunned by the horrible sight that he doesn't notice the blood dripping through the gaps in his fingers, the level falling bit by bit. Kaname chuffs, tossing his head like an agitated horse. "Are you ready?" he repeats impatiently.

Ready? "Ready for what?" Zero asks, honestly confused by it all. He cannot follow Kaname's line of thought, and then - he looks down at his hands and sees the blood has halved. It's emptying rapidly. For some reason this panics him, and he tries to stop it - but it's useless. The blood slips out, trickles through -

it's something we should have noticed. Kaname is so important to all of us and yet we just let him slip through our fingers…

The last dregs of blood drip out, and Zero is left staring at his stained hands in horror. We just let him slip through our fingers. What does it mean? Have they already lost him to being rogue? Is Kaname too far gone to be cured?

"Are you ready?" Kaname growls, and when Zero looks up, his stomach drops.

Kaname is unrecognisable. A fearful looking creature, frighteningly beautiful in an alien sort of way, with inhumanly sharpened features and a deadly smile - and Zero feels a weight in his hand - a gun - and he sees how the final score is set.

Hunter against Vampire.

You know how we deal with rogues.

We Hunt them -

"No!" Zero gasps and throws the gun as far away as he can, writhing when someone grapples with him and pins his wrists down - and he can't help sobbing, screaming in between breaths and fighting whoever is holding him down -

"-ro! Zero, it's okay -"

He cannot hear clearly over the sound of the pounding in his head. Then Zero absolutely loses it when he's pulled back into an all-too familiar embrace, and an arm wraps around his middle, a hand comes to rest on his stomach -

"No!" he sobs, squirming uselessly. He's weakened from crying, and tired. Kaname folds his arm more securely around him and brings his other up to Zero's jaw to turn his head, though Zero screws his eyes shut. He doesn't want to see black eyes and the fangs and he whimpers when Kaname shushes him, gently caressing his face. "No, don't," he grits through clenched teeth, but it doesn't matter. Kaname's hand rests atop his stomach. He's got no strength to stop him. Kaname continues to murmur comforting nonsense till Zero realises he isn't ripping him to shreds. Kaname's in fact rocking him gently and laying kisses on his head - "-hat happened?"

"I don't know," Kaname admits quietly, slowing slightly in his motions, "We were having tea. Then you nodded off, and then you had a nightmare, I presume?"

Hearing Kaname talking in that way he does calms Zero down that final bit. He lets out a shaky breath. "Yeah. Just a bad dream."

"Are you alright?" Kaname rubs his shoulder, but Zero is keenly aware of the hand still on his stomach, and it makes him feel rather nervous, especially when he spreads his fingers out over it. Luckily enough, Kaname seems to sense Zero's discomfort, and - realising he might be the reason for it - he slowly removes himself from Zero and shuffles to the side. They're sitting on a couch, Zero realises.

"What happened?" he repeats, inwardly sighing with relief. He wouldn't have known how to tell Kaname to back off, and is glad he didn't have to.

The fond yet quizzical look Kaname sends him immediately puts Zero on edge. He doesn't remember anything after their conversation - well, he vaguely remembers that they had some tea and food and then went to sit on the couch, but did he just conk out like that? Was it something in the tea? No, it couldn't be. If he'd been drugged to sleep, and it was Kaname's plan to get him off his back he wouldn't have woken up now. Zero frowns at Kaname, there's something weird about him though. Like he's hiding something. Even though Zero's had that look a hundred times before, it's lacking in… in something. That little spark, perhaps? Or maybe a smirk to piss Zero off? It's a small difference, but then Zero gets it - there's been an air of defeat about Kaname ever since their talk.

Who's he kidding? He's been just about the same.

Despite it being a mutual decision to end things, you can't simply switch off your emotions, just like that. The break up's still fresh. Zero can't stop caring about Kaname - he doubts he ever will be able to. He doesn't know how to act around Kaname either because… well, because Kaname is still apparently in love with him… and he can't even imagine how it must be for Kaname. He brushed Zero's concern aside earlier, claiming he didn't expect Zero to love him after everything… but how awful it must be to settle for an unrequited love? Zero's been there before, he knows what it's like to love someone from afar, but with Yuuki it was always a distant hope and desire - a hopeless fantasy he dreamed of. In those days, when he'd felt so alone and frightened of the darkness creeping over his heart, and falling into the pit of Vampire madness - loving Yuuki was like holding a candle to the dark. This was different though.

This whole thing was different. It was something more with Kaname. There was more to lose and more to heal from.

Because loving Kaname had been the opposite - like putting that candle out.

Like extinguishing that tiny, dwindling flame and plunging into the dark. All his hatred for Vampires and Purebloods and himself consumed him - and he had no more of Yuuki's comfort, no light to keep his fears at bay, nothing to hold onto but Kaname's hand in the dark. Zero remembers how he fell for Kaname - with equal parts fear and admiration drawing him to this creature, this King of darkness. And he can never forget - can never regret loving Kaname, because without him he'd have never accepted this new life. He'd never have discovered what strength he had, or how much stronger he could become by facing his fears, and opening up his heart… he'd have been unable to see how good life could be without Kaname.

So many things he owed to Kaname, and yet… he couldn't really understand what Kaname got from loving him. What had Kaname gained out of all these years of guiding Zero? Attachment? A sense of responsibility for someone else's life? Of course - but to the extent that loving might have become more of a force of habit, and love… receiving love might be something he thought needed to be earned. And without either… it was like the wind had been taken right out of Kaname's sails. It was cruel and unfair.

Because now Kaname knew what he was missing.

"You fell asleep."

He knew that already, though only from the dream.

There's some awkwardness between them now.

"I did?" Zero asks, only to contribute to the rather meagre conversation.

"Yes. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you - "

"No, it wasn't you," he dream - it was all about him - about them. Zero looks up at the clock - it's late, though there's nothing else to show it - no windows to reveal the Sun setting and the coming of night. He doesn't feel like he's slept at all. "How much longer must we wait?"

"Till we leave for the Castle?"

"Ye - no, that's not what I meant actually. How long are we gonna stay here in this bunker? When will we move onto the next 'Nest' thingy? How long will we need to keep doing this?"

"Till the war is over, Zero," Kaname says, in that same weary tone every parent uses to plead for an end to their child's questions, "There isn't a set amount of time we spend in each Nest. It will depend entirely on how close we are to being found by whoever is looking for us - we are, for lack of a better word, fugitives. Everyone will want to know what's happened to us, especially after that stunt at the Castle. Our mysterious disappearance remains unsolved, which means whichever side, be it the Humans or the Council, can take what they want from it to stir up whatever ridiculous propaganda they want. We could be hostages of the Humans, traitors to the Council, or evidence of the monarchy's corruption… whatever they say, as long as the people buy it, we could be used to fan the flames of war."

"So why do we stay out of it? Why do we hide away when we could be doing something about it?" He's asked this question too many times, but is never satisfied with the answer. "I just don't understand," he says more softly, in an attempt to appeal to Kaname's conscience, "If we let them believe what the Council says, what good will that do? How can we let them?"

"That will keep us alive."

"We can help by telling them the truth!"

"Zero," Kaname sighs, "Aren't you forgetting about something?" he looks pointedly at Zero's stomach. Immediately Zero curls up, bringing his knees up too. He had - he had almost forgotten, or at least overlooked it, "Even if you change your mind, even if you later choose to abort it, revealing it to the world right now would be a terrible idea." At Zero's confused look, Kaname explains, "All that power, Zero. They'll want to use it. You don't want to know what… terrible things they might make our child do, Zero, especially to win a war."

"…but you said before that if I didn't make my decision on having the child soon enough, eventually it wouldn't matter - it would defend itself if I tried to get rid of it."

"I said that it could defend itself," Kaname corrects, a rather sick smile twisting his mouth unpleasantly, "Not that it would. If you wanted it to die, if you really willed it and the child loved you, it might choose to give up its life to please you."

He literally hears his jaw click twice from how dramatically it drops, and - no - the idea of it is absurd. "Kaname - the child - the baby won't even be born yet! How can it decide such a thing? Fighting for its life would make more sense due to, you know, survival instincts and everything -"

"Sometimes you don't want to survive."

Kaname's eyes spin into focus, burning red like hot coals, and he's not just speaking for the baby, Zero realises, but for himself too. Zero doesn't want to think about it anymore, so he shoves a lid on his emotions and a takes a deep breath. It doesn't do much to calm his nerves, but Kaname gets the message and leans back again, this time exuding a distinct air of restlessness. He seems almost embarrassed by his admission, whereas Zero is trying to understand how a child who didn't even know him could possibly love him and even be prepared to die for him? No child would do that.

(Would they?)

No ordinary child, at least.

"How long do you think this war will last?"

The question comes out without Zero fully aware that he's even spoken. It startles him into speaking again, to clarify -

"Will we always be on the run? Always hiding till we're all dead? What kind of a life is that, Kaname?"

"I know, Zero - "

"Then how long?" Zero begs, leaping up from the couch. The restlessness has passed onto him. He claws at his chest, at his uneven pulse - as if he's trying to spring open his ribcage to ease his breathing. "I don't want to live like this, and neither should you."

"It won't be for forever."

"How can you know that?"

Kaname lets out another deep sigh and tugs Zero back onto the couch by the back of his shirt. As soon as Zero's ass sinks on the cushion, he can tell by Kaname's tightening grip that he's in for some bad news. The space between them is gone. They are shoulder-to-shoulder, knee-to-knee, facing each other… and it suddenly feels like an interrogation. The only thing is - Zero's not exactly sure who the interrogator in this situation is.

With Kaname's fingers caught in his shirt, warm knuckles grazing the knobs of his spine, he finds in that a small measure of comfort.

"History always repeats itself, Zero," Kaname says. Slowly, he reaches for his hand, and Zero lets him. "We've seen it before, many a time. If you remember what I said about Lady, Katsuo and me - the original triumvirate in power - and look at the Kuran family tree, you'll see there's a pattern. There's a tradition of always having three children in the main family. No one really knows where that tradition came from, but of course - it was to keep the power balance stable. With the Kuran family having the Purest bloodline, it was our duty to protect it. That is why it was quite normal for brothers to marry sisters in the family, and all marriages to be kept within the blood to keep it Pure. It wasn't a matter of wanting to be the strongest Vampire family, but a result of maintaining the balance. The only snag in this was that with time, the tradition of marrying relatives became less popular, especially when modernity frowned on such things. It was mainly Humans who thought it unsavoury and unnatural. Even though Vampires and Humans are not peers, they could not help but feel pressured to feel the same, and eventually incestuous marriage in the Vampire world fell out of favour.

"Of course, it was still practised in the older families, but in a less direct way - the Kurans began to distance themselves, marrying cousins to cousins or more distant relatives to one another. They thought it made no difference - the blood was kept Pure, but the balance started to waver. Tradition had become more of an unintentional law - a rule that nature agreed to follow, so changing it - even in that small way - upset things. Though no one at the time could understand why, things started getting out of hand. Vampires can sense power which means they could also sense a disturbance in the hierarchy, and things weren't settled as they used to be. Many assumed that the Kurans had preserved their blood for too long which was making them too powerful to control. They were afraid that the world would be at the mercy of us 'godly Purebloods', and so, to punish us - when the first child of the next triumvirate was born, he was taken by the Council.

"I don't know exactly what they did to Rido, but Father told me that his first memory of Rido was of him to drown him in the bath." Kaname's voice is floating - fragile and reedy. Zero is more surprised with Kaname referring to Haruka as 'Father' than the story about Rido - usually Kaname called him by his name, in an attempt to lessen the painful reminder of him. He doesn't say anything though, even though he's completely lost on how any of this is relevant.

"'Punishment', Rido called it," Kaname turned to Zero - an unsettling pause, "For what? Father was only a baby. He'd never met Rido till that day, and yet, for some reason, Rido thought he deserved to be punished. Strangely enough, after that incident there was no more resentment from him - Father said they grew up close as brothers, and he only remembered that incident so clearly because it was so different to all his other childhood memories of Rido. After that Rido was a loving older brother, kind and patient - but Father never forgot that cold look in his eyes. 'Pure hatred' he called it. He knew there was something off about Rido, despite him seeming to be a good brother. Things continued to be good for a while, but then the third child of the triumvirate was born, and things changed again.

"This child - this beautiful little girl was as bright as the Sun. My mother was renowned for her ability to bring people together, to effortlessly charm anyone, and soften even the hardest of hearts. She blazed through life, growing into such a beauty that her brothers became very protective of her - for Rido, it was more of an obsession to keep her for himself; for Father, all he wanted was to keep her safe. Rido couldn't abide with her giving more attention to other people than himself, and began to monopolize her. Father didn't like this - he saw that same cruelty in him resurfacing again, and threatening to inflict itself upon Juri. The only way he saw that he could protect her was by fighting for her attention too - and you can guess how things went. As Father and Mother fell in love and married, the power balance was restored - and yet, something else had also been triggered by it. History repeated itself, though it had to be slightly different, of course."

God, it made sense now, what Kaname was getting at - the three original triumvirate: Katsuo, Lady and Kaname were reborn as Rido, Juri and Haruka. There were the same roles, but some details were switched. Katsuo fell in love with Lady, as Rido fell for Juri - but Rido's love was more of an obsession than real love. The love between Juri and Haruka was (Zero hoped) not identical to the love Kaname and Lady shared, but was built from the same stuff - mutual respect, grudging acceptance (Zero knew, as anyone who had read about the famous Kurans knew, that Juri's love had been hard-won by Haruka's persistence.), and genuine affection. History had repeated itself - but what did that matter?

What was the point of Kaname telling him this?

"Now that all of them are dead, the power falls to me and Yuuki, and some of it was upheld by Isaya too, as the next most powerful being alive - but essentially things are unbalanced again. This has subconsciously sparked fear in everyone's hearts. Without even realising it, everyone is reacting to these changes in the world. This war that has started is catalysed by it, and the war itself is in essence another repeat of another historic war. Do you know about the first wars fought by Vampires?"

"What, the ones between Katsuo's lot and yours?" Zero scrunches up his face. Those years of war were riddled with Kaname's own personal grief - it was almost all Zero saw in those memories all those years ago - this heart-wrenching yearning for Isamu, the burning need to be with him, his horror at the amount of time passing and how it was affecting Isamu - "Fuck, that was a long war. Are you saying this one will be like that -?"

"No, that's not the war I'm talking about - I'm talking about the wars that preceded Vampires, back when Humans were at the brink of extinction, fighting wars amongst themselves for food and other resources."

"Oh, then no. I don't know about that, Kaname," Zero quips, rolling his eyes. History lesson. Of course this would turn into a freaking history lesson with Kaname.

"Then let me tell you what it was about," Kaname says, folding his arms tightly across his chest. Zero leans back - from history lesson to a grim warning - he doesn't like the way this conversation is going. Neither does Kaname, if his body language is any indication. "Survival," he says with conviction, like it's a name - a person to lay blame on, "The Humans were fighting their own extinction. When faced with it - they turned on each other, banding in groups, in clans and societies or whatever you call a collection of people with a common interest or certain traits - and the war went global. There were only three groups that ruled over all, and they were dictated simply by the geography - where people were situated. When the Humans' numbers started to decrease, they realised that power came in numbers, so the smaller groups in these three factions joined together to form proper armies. Each one of these armies was fighting for their own survival.

"The stakes in this war are different - it's a different kind of survival we're fighting for. The Council fear that Vampires are losing their supremacy on the Earth which puts us at risk of losing our authority. The exposure of Vampires to Humans has incited more fear from them too - since it's frightening to them to think that they are not the dominant species when they thought they were, and that they are definitely not the strongest species on the planet. The Hunters will have to make their mind soon enough about which side they are going to support, because even though they are naturally inclined to protecting Humans from Vampires, their exposure is also bad news for them. They might have to defend themselves too, because I'm not sure if you're aware of the Humans' thoughts on Hunters, Zero, but in their eyes you're nothing more than a bunch of mercenaries or vigilantes, killing monsters and doing as you please. Humans don't know the history Hunters have, so they don't understand the reason they exist - all they know is you aren't Human, and that makes you dangerous too."

"So this war is another repeat?"

"Essentially, yes."

"But that doesn't answer my question - how do you know it won't last forever? If it happened before and it's happening now… who's to say it won't carry on, or even happen a third time?"

"There's no guarantee," Kaname agrees, "But if you compare the original time with the repetition, you can see that there are differences. In a way, there are improvements, or attempts to rectify past wrongs. With the Kurans, Fate chose to join Haruka and Juri together rather than Rido and Juri, as they should have been originally. Perhaps this was to try to give Juri - Lady's representative - a chance to be with a better person." Zero is very aware that that would make Haruka Kaname's 'representative' and the 'better person'. "But for all Fate's good intentions, this plan went horribly wrong. Rido still fell for Juri which complicated things. When Father told me Rido called the 'incident' he suffered as a baby a 'punishment', something tells me it might have been a him intuitively wanting to punish 'pseudo-me'. Maybe Katsuo saw a part of me in Haruka, through Rido's eyes. Yes, I know, it's very complicated," he says when Zero starts going a little cross-eyed. He gives Zero a tiny pat on his knee - so timid, that it only succeeds in making Zero clench up even more - and then he continues: "When the Council took Rido away as a baby, they did something to him. I'm sure of it. They wanted to make an example of him - to punish the Kurans - but it might have had another effect on him. I believe the punishments broke him, to such a degree that his soul became twisted, and it could have been this that caused Rido to be persuaded to let Rido in."

"I guess that makes sense, but what about this war, Kaname?" Zero asks, rubbing his eyes. This whole conversation is so draining. "What are the changes this time? How is Fate trying to make things right? There are three armies raring to go - all fighting, and to what end?"

"The difference here is that several things are going on at the same time, and it's no coincidence that things have happened this way - this replica war, this problem with power again, and the baby. Things are coming together in a way they have never done before. I cannot promise that things will end up the way we want it to, but they certainly will be different, and you have to consider - with all this happening, it's like a chemical reaction sped up - it cannot last for long, let alone forever."

This theory brings little comfort, but Zero will take from it what he can - at least Kaname's being optimistic. He's seeing an end in sight, and hopefully one not too far into the future. He tips his head in acknowledgement to Kaname's thoughts which are, as always, quite convincing.

History repeating itself, he muses, watching how Kaname fiddles with his sleeve, clearly rattled by the big reveal. How long has Kaname been sitting on these thoughts? Once they've been explained to him, he can see it - but for Kaname, he'd have had to piece it together himself. The Grand Scheme. The way things might play out. He huffs through his teeth, planting his hands on his knees. "Isn't it weird that it's always gotta be three? Three of you in the start, then in the the Kuran line, and now in the freaking armies - that's one of the biggest patterns in all of this. It's always gotta be three."

Kaname blinks twice rapidly - surprised, and impressed - "You're right. I hadn't ever noticed, but… yes, that's certainly significant."

Zero nods, and opens his mouth again - but the door slams open and Ruka is there in all her billowing-skirts and red-faced wonder. She rushes in, reaching for them both - all Zero can hear is her thundering heart, and then more footsteps - Rima runs in too, and then Benomi and Takuma… Zero stares at the door expectantly, wondering why his idiot brothers aren't charging in like the rest of them.

And then he notices the utter ferocity twisting Ruka's delicate features into something truly terrifying, and he knows that's the look she gets when Aidou and Kain are up to no good ramped up a few more times - because if there's one person who pisses her off more than Aidou, with his crazy experiments and childish pranks, it's Kaito. Even an uncharacteristically well-behaved Kaito can set her off with nary more than a smile. Here, she looks ready to maim something.

"They're gone!" she roars, throwing her hands in the air. Zero leans back, (hopefully) out of swinging range. Before he can parrot back 'gone?' like he was about to, her voice takes on a more hysterical note - "Those idiots! I don't know what they're thinking, but I was making tea, and I was going around asking who wanted some, and they - well, I can't find them anywhere - "

"Ruka," Rima cuts in, kindly removing her friend's hands from her hair before she goes bald, "They probably went out for food. Did you see how much the noisy one eats?"

"It's not like you're not allowed to leave here," Kaname points out, causing all of them to look at him dumbfounded. He shrugs. "I wouldn't recommend it, what with us being Wanted and all, but you aren't chained here is all I'm saying."

"I wouldn't say you're 'Wanted' exactly, but that's not too far off."

The door knocks against the wall with slightly less force than before, but the room is once again invaded by urgent footsteps -

"Seiren," Zero exclaims - and it's uncanny how much this very moment echoes what Kaname said before - a culmination of many things happening all at once, everyone coming together like this.

She spares him a brief nod and strides over to Kaname, straightening up and squaring her shoulders even though he's sitting down. Once again, it's a warning for bad news which everyone gets, and they all squirm in their seats as the usually emotionless girl's expression becomes even more dour.

"What did you find?" Kaname finally prompts, when the silence has gone on too long.

Seiren bites her lip.

"The Castle is clear," she starts - immediately Zero shoots Kaname a Look, but he ignores him, eyes trained on Seiren. "The reporters finished their stories two days ago, but a few were still rooting around. They didn't find It," she emphasises 'It' unnecessarily, but Kaname tilts his head gratefully, "None of them even ventured that far under the rubble. All they were looking for was the cause of the explosions and fire - and they found it. Samples of the gunpowder and fuses have been found and they know it's homemade. As far as I know, Aidou and Kain are not suspects even though they demonstrated their powers in front of the cameras, the press can't find a convincing motive for them, and dirtying up their name wouldn't go down well with the public, especially with them being Nobles."

"Have you seen them?" Ruka rushes, twisting her skirts into bunches again.

Seiren bows her head, "Unfortunately not, Ruka-san. My apologies."

"I'm sure they're fine," Rima quickly says, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. Ruka's head ducks sharply, and she shuffles back -

"So we can go then?" Zero blurts, practically springing up from the couch - he knows it's rather tactless of him to act so breezy with Ruka so distraught, but he can feel that restlessness crawling over his limbs again.

Seiren hums, "They're sending searching parties out to find you - you and Kaname in particular, but Takuma and Benomi too. Since you're all technically missing, and all. I suppose it would be the opportune time to go back to the Castle and do that thing you wanted to do, Kaname," she says, "While it's still empty. There's not even any security on the place right now, since it's basically all ash and rubble - nothing left to steal."

"No time like the present," Zero chirps, already heading to the door.

"You're coming?"

"Yep."

Her head whips around to Kaname for confirmation, to which he only shrugs, still seated and making no move to follow. "Is that wise?"

"Definitely not," Kaname sighs, but withers under Zero's glare and quickly adds, "But it's not like I can stop him."

"But, the baby - "

"You just said the place was clear, Seiren, and I trust that you checked it thoroughly, so what's the problem?" he asks rapidly, tapping his foot against the door impatiently, "I'm taking Mr Broody over there with me anyway, so it's not like I'll be in any danger."

"There's always danger," Kaname mutters, but goes unheard.

"Kaname-sama's presence is a danger to you though," Seiren insists, glancing apologetically at her King - but he dismisses it. Zero frowns at her - what does she mean? - and gestures at her to explain herself. "That's exactly why I've come back as fast as I can to tell you about this - the search parties are spreading outwards from the Castle. We aren't far from them, and as soon as they catch scent of Kaname's power, they'll be drawn to it. That's why it's time to move onto the Second Nest."

"Can't you just - turn it down - a little?"

The way Zero stutters over the request has Kaname's mouth trembling, holding back a smirk, no doubt.

"I've sent decoys all over the area, for miles and miles around. They're a precaution, only meant to lead the reporters elsewhere if they catch wind of our location. I have other back-up plans too, but maintaining all of these things requires my power. I can't turn it off, or even down, a little bit unless I want to risk lowering our defences."

"Can't you leave those things till last minute for if we run into them? I mean, you're using up your energy keeping those decoys going, aren't you?"

Kaname snorts, "They're like my ravens, Zero - nothing more than messengers with impressions of my conscience. The thing I can't 'turn off' is the decoys' connection to me - I am their source, which makes me like a beacon, and with me part of the network, it means I am as much of a draw to our pursuers as any one of the decoys is. That is the downside - however, the advantage they give us is that hopefully they can lead the reporters on some 'wild goose chase' away from us, or at least reduce the chance of us getting caught."

"So taking Kaname with you is the same as taking one of the decoys - he'll naturally draw any reporters nearby with his aura. It's risky -"

"We're at war," Zero interrupts her, rolling his eyes at her tight-lipped grumbling, "Everything we're doing is risky."

Seiren despairs, and turns to her boss with it clear on her face. He grunts. "Then let me come with you."

"We will go alone," Kaname says, his stern tone brooks any argument from her. "I have another task for you, Seiren." He darts a glance at Ruka, who nods sharply.

"You've gotta find those boys," she mutters darkly, still riled by her resentment for the Hunter brothers' abrupt desertion. The only bitterness she really has is for how rude it was to up-and-leave like that though, not for anything sinister. None of them would ever accuse Kaito and Ichiru of being up to no good - putting them at risk on purpose by leaving the Nest. No - they might be complete dumbasses, but they were loyal.

The spy frowns briefly, but after a quick head-count she understands, and narrows her eyes at Zero thoughtfully.

"They must have left for something Hunter-related," she murmurs.

"That's what I thought as well," Kaname says, also shooting Zero a look. As the only Hunter in the room, Zero bristles, feeling several fingers pointing at him - but it's more the fact that his brothers left him behind without a word that irks him. "It must have been urgent," Kaname concludes, lips thinning with displeasure. He also finds it curious that they wouldn't even mention leaving to Zero before doing so.

It might be to protect him, he ponders, recognising Kaito and Ichiru's unexpected departure to be similar to his own. Knowing how Zero would react to being told to stay behind… he doesn't blame the Hunters for leaving as they did. He would have done the same. To protect him, Kaname stares at Zero, reading his body language. He's seriously pissed, but underneath that… he's also genuinely sad, and maybe even a little bit scared. It's no surprise that Zero also gets that he's, in a sense, been left behind once again, and that would leave a very foul taste in his mouth to say the least. When his eyes meet Kaname's, Kaname goes to meet him.

He passes by Seiren, and stops momentarily to wrap his arms around his uncharacteristically troubled spy.

"Find them. Bring them to the Second Nest."

To Ruka, he whispers - "They'll be fine. I wouldn't worry," she forces a brave little smile for him, and then spins around to join Rima in ushering the still-rather-out-of-it Ichijou boys into moving -

Finally he reaches Zero, and finds him avoiding his gaze. He's determined not to look at Kaname, for whatever reason, and Kaname can tell he's worrying about his brothers, and aching with that particular sadness resonating through him - that horrid feeling of being cast aside by people he loves. Zero wouldn't want Kaname to acknowledge his inner turmoil, for that would draw attention to him being of a less-than-ideal state of mind for the trip they were about to embark on. He indulges his husband, respecting his wishes and only lightly touches Zero's elbow, indicating they should depart.

Zero snaps out of his daze, and that bubble of panic resurfaces - he cannot ignore the daunting reality that it's not even been three weeks into the war, and already they've lost four people. Not to death, but to the unknown, and somehow that's even more terrifying. It hits him then that they are in the midst of war - it's happening right now, and even though they are tiptoeing around the whole messy business as discreetly as they can, they are still - all of them - a part of it. They're hiding, they're staying as far out of it as they can - and yet, Aidou and Kain are lost somewhere, and Kaito and Ichiru are also missing -

"Wait," he gasps, whipping his head around to search their friends, one-by-one. His voice is shaky, breathless - he sees them, their faces - all caught in whatever they're doing, but stopping their work to give him steely looks. He gets a last second to commit them to memory - just like this, just as they are - and then Kaname's leading him away, one hand on his back.

And he thinks he hears someone call out, "We'll see you there!" over-spoken by a disjointed, "Be careful!" and it bolsters his belief that he will see them all again. Even Aidou and Kain, and Kaito and Ichiru. It's too soon in the war to be losing people anyhow.

Far too soon.


"What are the chances that while we're looking for him, he'll be looking for us - "

"For me."

"- yeah, whatever - but tracking a moving target is a bit stupid, isn't it? And sensei moves fast for an old guy," Ichiru huffs, clambering up the outcrop Kaito has already hauled himself over with enviable ease. The more they venture into wilderness, the more that disturbing twinkle in Kaito's eye grows. He's always been an animal, Ichiru reasons with himself, though he does find Kaito's abrupt 'one-with-nature' vibe rather unsettling. He even crouches against the bush and lifts his nose to the breeze, as if he's truly able to catch scent of Yagari like a Vampire or something. He's really getting into this, Ichiru shakes his head. "We'll never catch up with him."

"Well, we're gonna have to," Kaito scuffs his boot on a log, startling a frog out of its home, "We can't wait on our asses to be found. That would put us all at risk - if we got noticed by people we don't want to be noticed by, or tracked by someone looking to use us as bait for sensei."

Ichiru scoffs, "And why would anyone do that?" He cups his hands around his mouth before hollering, "Yo, if you're listening out there - do you even know who our sensei is? Ha, yeah you don't. He's a nobody, just like us - "

"What the hell are you doing? Fucktard!" Kaito yells and whacks him up the head, hard enough to make him see stars. He knows Ichiru's frustrated with their seemingly aimless wandering, but the kid (who is technically no longer a kid, but will always be a kid to Kaito) is shit at subtlety. Kaito knows he's not much better himself, but shouting like that? That's just telling everybody where they are, never mind if they want anything to do with them or not - that's just plain stupid, and stupid deserves a slap.

One thing's true though - at least Ichiru's right to say they've had the mind to never actually say aloud who their sensei is, so if anyone is following them, they wouldn't know he's the Head of the Hunters.

It would be extremely stupid of them to do that.

"Maybe sensei is just really, really lost."

"No freaking duh," Kaito sneers, shoving his knee up - almost busting Ichiru's leg with it, "This tracker ain't working still. We've been walking for ages and it's still going haywire. Stupid thing. How goddamn far does its range reach already?" he whines, referring to the baby. Ichiru grumbles something too quiet to hear, but Kaito's had enough of his yapping to be tempted to ask.

"Maybe we should head back."

Kaito grits his teeth.

It's not like the thought hasn't crossed his mind, but… they're already so far out from the Nest, is there any point?

"C'mon," Ichiru gripes, throwing his head back, "We have no idea where we're going. Let's go back."

"Hold on," Kaito's hand whips out in a cutting motion, and he goes so still that Ichiru almost knocks into him. "Shh," he hisses, and Ichiru holds his breath.

Kaito pulls him down into a crouch behind some bushes, and then rolls them to either side of a thick tree, then he grabs Ichiru's coat-tails, yanking him to stop. They peer around the tree trunk, through the thick bushes. Ichiru opens his mouth, but in there is a loud rumbling from their left, and he and Kaito scramble behind the meagre covering of the tree. It's hardly wide enough to hide two full-grown men, but Kaito shoves Ichiru behind him and squints out. The next second there is a bright white light, small at first, but then it goes whizzing past alongside the growl of a rusted up engine -

"We're next to a road?" Ichiru squawks.

For all Kaito's insistence that they stick to 'the trees' and 'avoid civilisation', all this time they've been walking next to a freaking road!

"Goddamn it Kaito!"

"Well I'll be," Kaito grunts, crawling up the side of the kerb and tapping the tarmac like he's checking if it's real. "Walking through all these woods, and who'd have thought we'd end up here."

"And still in the middle of nowhere," Ichiru points out rather glumly. It wipes the humour out of Kaito's eyes, but Ichiru thinks he deserves it. Wandering a mile out, or maybe even two would've been fine - but they've been walking for miles and he's kept leading them on this wild goose chase. He's just too stubborn - they all are - but Kaito's own brand of stubbornness is particularly frustrating. "Aren't we meant to be avoiding 'civilisation'?"

"Yeah, but I've gotta be honest with you, I've never been so happy to see road before," Kaito grins, bouncing back to his irritating self. He hops up and down and then squirms rather obviously, "I know we've got the right equipment for it, but even as a guy, I'd prefer finding a toilet."

"Oh gross, Kaito."

"Man up, if nature calls you've gotta answer. Now if we just follow this roa - oh fuck! Get down!" Kaito throws Ichiru down and rolls out of the way just in time for the car to come to a screech, nose checking Kaito in the hip and one wheel overshooting off-road. The speed at which it was going gives enough force to the hit that Kaito tumbles down, cursing all the way. Ichiru dives after him, managing to cushion his fall somewhat, but then Kaito yanks him down close and shoves something on his head - a beanie? A beanie hat - Kaito tugs it over his ears and half-way down his face -

"The hell - ?"

"Shut up and stay quiet," Kaito mutters, and in that tone, Ichiru knows he's being serious. He holds Ichiru there until he grunts in agreement, and then bites his lip hard and rolls off him, groaning and gasping for air. For a second, Ichiru almost goes after him again but then he notices Kaito is clutching the wrong hip, and his little whimpers and pained grimace look a little too exaggerated. The driver doesn't notice these little inconsistencies though - he leaps out of the car, pale as a sheet, and immediately drops beside Kaito, clutching his phone.

"Oh my god - o-oh my god -" he stammers, and turns a shade greener when Kaito spits out some blood too - oh, that's why he bit his lip then - Ichiru has to fight the urge to slap his own forehead. What is Kaito playing at? The driver whips out a grey handkerchief and hesitantly hands it to Kaito, who only groans in answer. He turns to Ichiru, "Is he - did I - ?"

"Yeah, you hit him," Ichiru drawls. Kaito nudges his toe with his knee and blows blood bubbles out of his mouth, "Pretty badly," he adds, struggling not to roll his eyes.

"Oh dear - oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't even see you! Does he need to go to hospital - ?"

Kaito springs up and clutches the poor man's arm, shaking his head rapidly. He looks horrible with the red spittle on his face, and his eyes made purposefully wide and vacant. "F-Fine," he stutters 'valiantly,' suddenly able to make eye-contact with the driver, "I'm fine."

"Thank god - thank god," he practically cries, though he insists on checking Kaito over - ("I'm sort of a doctor myself!") - and only when he's sure Kaito hasn't broken any bones, and is most likely suffering a concussion (Ichiru lets out a long-suffering sigh at this point), he insists that he should take them wherever they needed to go.

"We were just heading up the road actually," Ichiru says from the backseat, where he's fighting every instinct not to shove Kaito's head off his lap. The idiot keeps shooting him smug looks and sticking out his bloodied tongue at him whenever the driver isn't glancing back at them through his rear-view mirror. Kaito mouths something at him though - "To - to… um, that way," he points.

"Oh, that's good - I'm heading that way too," the driver smiles, though he's still deathly pale and too wide-eyed for it to be genuine. Ichiru's actually regretting not offering to drive them instead, with this jittery, traumatised young man clutching the wheel he's less confident they'll survive the trip. Especially when he realises the man's not blinked for more than a minute. Huh. That's rather worrying. "It's a good ten miles to the next town. Were you guys planning on walking all the way?"

Fuck, this man wants a story from them.

Ichiru meets Kaito's gleaming eyes and inwardly curses him. He's turned facing Ichiru's stomach so his back is to the driver, and as far as the Driver-san knows, his poor concussed victim is meant to be resting, so guess who has to come up with that story.

Fuck you, he mouths at Kaito, to which he receives a wink.

"Yeah, well," he says, wracking his tired brain for something else to say. Not too much, but saying nothing would also be suspicious… "We've kinda… had a busy day. It's kinda hard to explain."

"Oh yeah?" the man chirps, drumming his fingers on the wheel. Ichiru winces when an especially loud raindrop hits the windscreen and the driver jerks the wheel, jolting the car… We're going to die, he glares at Kaito, I hope you're proud of yourself. "Oh! I get it! I bet you were with the others, right?"

"Others?" Ichiru can't help asking.

Driver-san nods with a much-too-cheerful hum.

"Yeah, the other reporters and camera-people. To be honest, it's been busy for everyone around here - not to mention the fuss it's caused everywhere else as well. 'The Kuran Castle burnt down!' That stuff is headline news! Was it arson? Was it assassins?" the excitement in his voice is better than the previous anxious squeaking he did before, but the things he is saying… Ichiru peers down at Kaito, who only points at his forehead. He quickly tucks the escapee strands of hair under the beanie - so that's why Kaito shoved it on him. He is Zero's twin, after all. Getting recognised or mistaken for the missing King would probably be a bad idea.

Driver-san swerves around absolutely nothing, yanking the wheel violently, rocking them side-to-side.

His laughter is tight and high-pitched. Ichiru subconsciously digs his nails into Kaito's skull.

He doubts they're going to survive this.

"What's your theory, eh?"

Ichiru blinks - forces himself back into this spastic conversation - "Oh, we just - um, we are - just as - THROWN. As you. And everyone," he gulps, almost chokes on the spit. This time Driver-san almost crashed into something, barely scraping past it. Yep. They're going to die. "No theories," he quickly adds, hoping to redirect Driver-san's attention back to the road.

"Ah, that's too bad. Lots of the locals say there were explosions. They think it was some sort of attack on the monarchy! We just don't know who would do such a thing, and how they managed it, especially with how tight the security is on that place. Might have been an inside job, don'tcha think?" he winks at Ichiru, "Or if it was a ploy to kidnap the Kings - that's even more exciting!"

"I suppose so," Ichiru agrees, though he's staring down at Kaito, trying to conduct a mental conversation with him - are you hearing this? - he wants to ask. "These theories… is there anything to support them?" he asks, finally unclenching his fingers from Kaito's indented scalp. He reckons they're either going to die or not die in this car, and since he's powerless to change their fate, he may as well relax. Now that Ichiru is resigned to his fate, he also takes time to look around the backseat. Driver-san seems to know a lot about the reporters. Maybe he is one? "Are you following the… the story too?" he asks, not seeing any recording equipment… but there is a camera next to Kaito's leg.

He wonders.

"…yes, I suppose I am, in my own way," Driver-san answers distractedly, "Just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. I saw people flocking to the scene and - well, I got caught up in it too, I s'pose." Ichiru makes an 'I'm listening' sound, but slowly drags the camera over to him, and then pulls it onto his lap so it's hidden from Driver-san's view, behind Kaito's bulk. He clicks open the slideshow and peers into the smudged view-screen… flicking back through the pictures, he's puzzled as to what he's seeing. Rubble? Just the remains of the Castle, he supposes. Bits and pieces, but of the same thing. "I told you I'm more of a medic than anything else. I came by to see if I could help out, but luckily there were only injuries to treat. No casualties. And everyone got out before things started really collapsing, so there wasn't any need for rescues."

"That's good," Ichiru murmurs, flicking back to the rubble. What is it about the rubble that has him so interested? Or is Driver-san just a very bad photographer? He zooms in a little, but all it reveals is some staining on the floor. Blood, probably, from the colour. It continues the trail - to blood on the grass. A little patch of it. There are photos surrounding this little stain, and then Ichiru realises it's been quiet for a while. "Um," he clears his throat, "Did you find anything yourself?"

Driver-san chuckles, "No, not myself, but I heard someone found fuses and gunpowder residue. It sounds like it was definitely a planned attack now. Very ominous," his voice is light with the thrill of all this - but then his eyes flash in the rear-view, and he narrows them - and Ichiru squirms, "You guys look pretty beaten up. I mean, you do, I know I'm the cause of his injury…" he glances at Kaito apologetically, but flashes back to Ichiru, "But were you near the explosions when they happened? Did you see it?"

"No!" Ichiru exclaims - Kaito elbows him in the ribs - he forces a laugh out, "No, of course not! We just got caught in the crowds. You know how they like to swarm. And that - that wreckage was pretty rough on my sneakers, ha ha -" he laughs again, running out of breath.

"And I bet they were rushing so much to get back to town that they forgot the head-count, right? They left you behind to fend for yourselves," Driver-san sniggers.

"Yeah, assholes," Kaito pipes up, startling a bark of laughter from Driver-san.

"Oh good, you're awake!" he cries delightedly.

Ichiru can't help being incredibly suspicious of this man, and with Kaito distracting him now, he takes this time to look through the rest of the junk piled at the back - there's a pair of scuffed boots, crusted with grey dust - he probably wore them walking around the wreckage. A white coat is folded up on top of what looks like a cooler box. He did say he was a sort-of-doctor, but… don't doctors wear scrubs? He glances at the rear-view. Driver-san is fully occupied with the road right now. Excellent. He plucks the sleeve and drags the coat over Kaito and hides it again behind his frame. The material is thick, stiff and starched… it's a lab coat. So Driver-san is a scientist? Strange for him to simply 'happen upon' the Castle at the same time it was destroyed, and choose to follow the story with the reporters… Ichiru roots around the coat and pulls out the ID card. Yep - he's a research scientist at… Ichijou Research Laboratories. Ichijou? This guy works for Takuma?

Well, the Ichijou family did own many different businesses. Chances were they would own a lab or two as well.

Ichiru turns the coat about in his hands and discovers the hem is also covered in grey dust, and scuffed and torn here and there. There's nothing conspicuous about all of this, nothing deviating from what Driver-san said that should make Ichiru this suspicious… but there's just something. Something too odd about the situation. What are the chances that they bump into this guy who is involved with the investigation, on a whim of all things? Who even does that? Ichiru squints at the cooler box. It's just screaming Open me! at him, and his vivid imagination conjures up scenes from various mish-mash horror movies, and he envisions severed hands and eyeballs like in all the typical hitchhiker slasher films…

How can he get closer to the cooler?

How can he get a look inside it?

Ichiru jostles Kaito on his knees and wiggles a hand between them to point at the box. He's facing Driver-san now, so Ichiru can't see him nod or anything, but he doesn't have to, Kaito's already got a distraction up his sleeve -

"Watch out!"

It isn't a sophisticated distraction by any means. Rather off the ball, come to think about it.

Kaito flings out his arms, rolling forwards (or sideways for him) towards Driver-san. The sudden movement causes Driver-san to stomp on the brake, and everything jolts forwards, including Ichiru - who tumbles on top of Kaito. There's hardly any time.

Ichiru manages to topple sideways into the leg space and flips open the lid - Kaito is making a huge fuss, thankfully, cursing a storm and flailing, and Driver-san is desperately trying to get control of the car again. But for Ichiru it's like that split moment is separate to everything else. He stares at the contents of the box, at first unable to comprehend what he's seeing.

Swabs. Samples of grey dust spattered with black. Specks of cloth, and twisted bundles of grass. Dark brown solutions in tubes -

He shuts the box and scrambles back onto the seat. Can't have Driver-san suspecting him of sticking his nose where he shouldn't.

Kaito settles back on his lap, and frowns up at him questioningly, but he just shakes his head. What did he just see? What was all that? Samples - research. He is a research scientist, after all, but what exactly is he researching? Why is he digging around a supposedly unexpected crime scene? Did he know it was going to happen? Was he anticipating it? Seems like it, since he had all the gear at hand to collect his stuff. Suspicious, very suspicious. Ichiru scrunches up his nose and waves his hand at Kaito, signalling that they should ditch this weirdo ASAP. Something smells fishy, and he doesn't like it at all.

It's like he's got his own agenda and he's hiding something.

Ever the dramatist, Kaito draws on all his thespian skill and throws himself so he's half-hanging off Ichiru's lap, eyes rolling back into his skull with a loud, gurgling groan. Driver-san twists around, alarmed, "Is he okay?"

Ichiru slaps on his best horrified face, "I don't think so - " Kaito wheezes - "In fact, I think he might be dying. Can you maybe get us to a hospital please - ?"

"I'm on it!" Driver-san calls, and indeed, he leans harder on the accelerator till they're leaving the legal speed limit eating their dust. And while Ichiru is rightly terrified for his life, he manages to keep down the nausea and carefully snap a picture of the ID on his phone so he can investigate this man later, if need be. He knows he works at Takuma's labs now, at least, and that for whatever reason, he's choosing to do some freelance work.

It's at least somewhere to start, he thinks, even though he still doesn't know why it matters to him what this man is doing. It could be a hobby - he certainly seems caught up in the excitement of the scandal, the scoop and all the drama - but to collect samples? That's a little too Dexter Morgan for his liking. It's only when they reach the closest town and are waving Driver-san goodbye on the steps of the ER entrance that Ichiru catches sight of a guy clutching his bandaged head and realises how stupid he'd been, not recognising what the samples were!

"Blood," he gasps, staring at the bandages with their brown stains. That faint irony smell… had he been a Vampire, he'd have recognised it immediately, but he was so caught in the moment - so high on adrenaline and paranoia that he couldn't focus.

Kaito groaned for real, rubbing his aching side. "What?"

Ichiru shakes his head, dismissing it, "It doesn't matter. I just saw…."

"What? Was it that weird box?"

"There were samples inside. Of blood, from the Castle, I think."

"That's fucked up," Kaito whistles, and then he grimaces - and Ichiru frowns, is he really hurt? - he glances down to ask and then recoils -

"Oh fuck, you didn't." He'd been lying next to Ichiru for the whole ride. The whole ride.

"I told you I needed to pee!"


He can still see their faces… frozen in place, with those expressions, huge eyes and trembling mouths like they've all come to the same conclusion as him - they're setting off on a dangerous mission. Things could happen between now and the next time he sees them. They've already lost four friends - how many will be left with at their next meeting? Fear clutches Zero's heart, and he can barely breathe when Kaname whisks him off and away, throwing open the doors to the bunker and leading him onto the platform. The electric pulley whines, and only one cold hydrogen light flickers on, casting a white-blue glow on them, turning their faces grey. The air is danker here, with that cloying scent of rotting dead things. They're far beneath the world down here.

Zero's gripped by the sudden need to be above. Not only that, but the desire to see light - sunlight - comes with that, and he's a little shocked to have that Human desire return after so many years without. It's been some time since he's thought about the Sun, being under its warmth and seeing plants bloom under its majesty. Zero's never been one for sunbathing, since his pale skin always seems to reflect light rather than be tanned by it, but… being in the dark, in this dark, with that cold light and Kaname acting so cold beside him… Zero just wants to feel warm and alive again.

The pulley creaks and whirrs - surprisingly ancient compared to how clean and modern the bunker was.

"How far down are we?" Zero asks, needing to break the ice somehow. His voice echoes in the shaft, knocking around the crumbling walls like a disorientated ghost. He shudders as a trickle of earth falls onto his shoe. Suddenly he doesn't want to know how far down they are.

"Guess," Kaname smirks - that teasing slant to his mouth has an inexplicably calming effect on Zero's building anxiety, dousing it out just like that. If Kaname can snark, then all is right with the world. It also occurs to Zero that maybe Kaname isn't trying to act coldly towards him - yes, the more he studies Kaname under the cover of darkness (though he's under no illusion that Kaname can't see him staring at him so blatantly - he's also aware that Kaname is most likely staring back at him too), he can see that his rigid stance and the way that he's keeping himself at as much of a distance from Zero as the meagre space allows speaks of his own unease. The halogen light whips over Kaname's face as the elevator lurches, revealing a fleeting glimpse of Kaname's mouth turned down at the edges. Brooding. Worried. Scared, even?

He's probably mulling over all the ways this operation can go wrong, especially with Zero involved - the risks and probabilities of those risks - the possible outcomes, and ways he can prevent them. Zero can't see it, but he can hazard a guess that those thoughts are blazing through Kaname's mind right now, flickering through his eyes in a whirl. For some reason, it gets Zero hot. He half-heartedly puts it down to the stuffy heat of being underground, but knows there's no point in denying to himself - he likes it when Kaname starts thinking like that. All military tactics and a hundred ingenious strategies blasting at a hundred miles a second through that brilliant brain of his. Kaname's intelligence is striking and never ceases to amaze and impress Zero, even if he's planning a million different emergency exit schemes for Zero if it all goes wrong, or if he's plotting how he can convince Zero to stay somewhere safe instead - the fact that he is able to do this, to think up numerous things all at once like this still manages to heat Zero's cheeks.

Kaname chuckles - a dark, yet warm sound that makes Zero's stomach muscles quiver. He huffs, taking a deep breath as the air changes - the smell of dampness still present, but a salty undertone breaching the shaft. No - it's not salty, but it's so damn fresh after all this musty dirt that it's got the illusion of that briny seawater-smell, clean and vast.

They crawl out of the top of the shaft, out of a barred tunnel, and into a forested area. Trees. Zero takes a deep breath. Nice herby pine and something else, something grassy too. It's afternoon, he thinks - and yet, the light he was craving is uncomfortably bright compared to the dark, and heats his skin too fast… Zero sighs as even the gentle afternoon Sun burns. It's been a while since he last wandered around in the daytime.

He jumps when Kaname takes his hand, and then they are off - running through the trees.

These trees are familiar. Really familiar.

Zero staggers over the roots and rocks Kaname effortlessly skips over, but then he sees through the break in the tree-line, and he gapes in disbelief.

"We're that close to the Castle?!"

He'd thought they were miles away from it, from how long it took Kaname to fly them from the burning Castle, but it was just there within running distance. He tugs on Kaname's hand to get his attention to demand an answer for why - why are they so close to the 'scene of the crime'?

"I had to shake them off our tail, Zero," he calls behind him, zipping over a scattering of logs that has Zero nearly twisting both ankles, "I flew us up and around the property, planting some decoys here and there, and then I brought us back here. It's clever really," he insists, throwing Zero another smirk over his shoulder, "They would never expect us to be right here, under their very noses."

True, Zero reluctantly agrees, though he is too preoccupied with not breaking his ankles at the speed their going to really tell Kaname what he thinks.

They come to the edge of the forest, and stop abruptly. Zero almost goes ass-over-tea-kettle, and were it not for Kaname grabbing him in time, he would have. He's huffing and puffing though, shivering in the cold and wiping his nose, Kaname prods his shoulder and motions for him to crouch, like him. With how jelly-like his legs are, he easily drops to the floor, and he and Kaname scan the grounds for movement. Seiren said that everyone cleared out with the searching parties, everyone thinking that the Kings must have been taken somewhere else. That didn't mean they could waltz in just like that though, they had to be cautious. There could still be some people about - the ghosts, even.

Kaname nods, taking Zero by the arm, and they go, light on their feet and quiet as mice - Zero concentrates on Kaname rather than his surroundings. He follows him precisely over each block of fallen building and crumbling wall - trusting that Kaname can pick the quickest route to their destination, hopefully the easiest too. They make their way past broken furniture - blackened staircases with their frames exposed, the burnt beams curved from the heat to look like ribcages. Everywhere there is ash and soot, and the smell of smoke thick in the air. The shattered glass and china crunches underfoot, and then Zero flings an arm out when he loses balance, catching Kaname's shoulder and pulling them to a stop.

It's just as well he does, because when he glances at his husband, he sees the effect walking through the burnt out shell of his home has had on him, and it brings lots of his own memories back to mind - memories of how he felt seeing the Academy fall all those years ago. It's got the atmosphere of a cemetery, and it's almost like he can feel pain for his home by seeing the burnt out remains of it all around him - like when those stone walls fell and the structure failed, part of him fell down with it.

He can see the same look in Kaname's eyes - rather blank and focused on looking out for trespassers - and yet his chin is raised defiantly, as if he's trying to prove to himself that he isn't going to be affected by all of this. Zero can tell that even though he's allowing Zero a moment to regain his footing, he'd really like to move on as fast as possible. He just won't ever admit to it.

He nudges his shoulder. Kaname gratefully takes his hand.

They cut across the breadth of the Castle, taking the most direct route to wherever this crypt is. Zero's more than a little shocked to find they're heading to the Winter Garden but then they go down the broken steps that are obstructed with more rubble, and - Zero's never been here before, in all his time living at the Castle. Kaname takes him down the natural slope and then behind, to where the land has been cut and shaped to reinforce the Castle's foundations. It's here where it becomes obvious that the foundations are much deeper than they first appear. The land looks humped, slightly domed - so this is where god knows how many generations of Kurans lie. Here rests the oldest Vampire family in the world. Kaname drops to his knees at the place where the stone meets earth, and a thick coat of ivy conceals the hidden entrance. He looks up at Zero with a faint smile.

"Unfortunately we have to crawl again."

Zero huffs in mock-exasperation, "'s just as well I'm doing this before I get any bigger then, ain't it?"

Luckily it's only the entrance that requires that they crawl through - Kaname pulls Zero up after they're through and the temperature drops as he stands up, indicating that the ceiling must be really high up. A droplet of water hits Zero on the nose, and he smells it strongly - the minerals of the rock dissolved into this single droplet of water, really concentrated… a dozen torches light up, one-by-one, revealing the curved, cave-like structure of the room. There are stalagmites here and there, some waist-high and some only centimetres off the ground, their twin stalactites hang like chandeliers, or dragon's teeth, Zero imagines. Zero takes a deep breath of it, and then squints into the dimness.

"Is that a…" he points. Kaname follows his finger and hums.

"Here lies Kuran Etsuko, and her husband Hotaka," he intones, deep voice rumbling with respect. He mutters a blessing and ushers Zero on, further down the crypt.

The torches light as they pass, and flicker out when they leave - and Zero should really be over it all, but he can't help but be fascinated. This is like an adventure - like an Indiana Jones movie, or something. He sucks in the stale air with tremulous excitement, but reels in some of that in, because this place is also steeped in history - it demands respect, in that quiet way a holy building might. It's not a heavy silence like before, but a reverential one and it's ironic that Zero finds this crypt less haunting than the dead remains of the Castle above, which he saw more like a cemetery than here. The Kurans somehow managed to make their final resting place homely, or as homely as a cave could be. It's probably also the way Kaname is acting that makes Zero relax, he isn't so much dragging Zero along now as he is guiding him and bizarrely enough, Zero feels like he's in a sense 'meeting the family', and all these generations of Kurans are looking down at him. Kaname squeezes his waist, and Zero knows somehow that he has their approval. He leans into Kaname's side.

They reach the end of the cave, and he has to lean closer to see it, but the entire wall has water running down it! The sheet of water is so thin and undisturbed that it's almost reflective like a mirror, and it falls into a crevice at the bottom where the floor meets, and is channelled along to somewhere Zero can't see. It's fairly obvious that poking the wall - disturbing the water - would be a big taboo, but the temptation is there, and it's very tempting. Kaname chuckles again, which makes Zero smile.

"I bet you're wondering what we're doing here," he says lowly. Zero nods, but stays quiet. Kaname grins, "Would you believe me if I told you I have no idea too?" he tilts his head back, white teeth flashing in the firelight, "I just… I had a feeling that I had to come here. It's that gut feeling again," he mutters unthinkingly, like he's talking to himself rather than to Zero, "I wanted to make sure no one came here - that no one found this place. With the Castle down, and the guard gone… it's pretty vulnerable."

"Yeah," it's true - if you knew where to look, you could easily… crawl right in.

"There's something else here though," Kaname says, taking Zero's hand. To his surprise, he dips Zero's fingers in the water - breaking the perfect sheet - and Zero gasps at how cold it is, but more than that, he sees what the water is hiding behind it and it's beautiful. He presses his hands against the wall, cupping them downwards to stop the flow underneath, and moves them up and around, revealing more and more carvings of geometric stars and patterned grooves and - of course, the classic Kuran motif of a rose abstracted in the stone. He can feel Kaname's gaze on him, flickering between the wall and him, and is hit by a wave of excitement again. There's that thrill of discovery - adventure - that draws him, and Kaname willingly showing him this, revealing to him one of the Kurans' most guarded secrets... takes his breath away.

"This is what we need to get through," Kaname tells him. Zero hums distractedly, entranced by the water and patterned wall. "There's something hidden behind here. I can feel it," he declares with feeling. It's big - this. Kaname telling him all these things. Zero struggles not to gape at him, though he swells with contentment. "Maybe if I just - let it guide me - " Kaname breaks off - and then a chill blows into the room.

Zero can pinpoint the exact moment when Kaname loses himself - or rather, gives himself over to whatever power commands him.

Like a tiny gust of wind, the breath is sucked out of him - and Kaname's eyes dull and darken, and the colour drains from his face. Zero staggers back and nearly takes his hands away, but Kaname makes a little noise and gently taps his wrists, telling him to keep them there. He watches Kaname crouch down between him and the wall, and take something from his pocket - the Rose Shield? When did he - oh, when he was embracing Seiren - he must have taken it. But why does he have it? Kaname turns the Shield over in his hands, examining it with sight and touch it seems, and when he turns it a certain way - Zero sees it. The patterns on the Shield - the roses and vines are like on the wall, but it's the centre of the Shield where it dips that matches it perfectly. And where Kaname is crouched - there's a shallow recess, barely noticeable, but it would be the perfect fit for the Shield, no doubt.

It's with a great deal of awe that he watches Kaname slot the Shield in place - and just like out of an Indiana Jones movie the wall shudders instantly, and there's the sound of something turning, like gears or cogs grinding together. The water stops, and Kaname pushes harder against the Shield, and then one of the grooved lines deepens, revealing an archway. Kaname rises and puts his shoulder against the new door.

And then they are through.

A rush of cold, stale air gushes out, chilling them - and Zero reels back. The smell. This is the smell of death, he thinks. Cold, and wet and rotten. Nothing like the air around the actual dead Kurans he saw before, which was much easier to breathe, only smelling of wet and minerals. He flinches as more diffuses out, and Kaname ventures in - there's no choice but to follow him. The torches light up, and at first, Zero doesn't quite know what he's looking at.

It's an empty chamber, curved everywhere like the rest of it - a cavern. It's smaller than the previous space, and there's water on the floor.

"They hid it down here," Kaname says - but he doesn't sound like himself. Someone is speaking through him - and it freaks Zero out when he realises this person is the one controlling him. Kaname reaches backwards for Zero's hand, which he unenthusiastically gives. "So that no one would find out."

"…find out what?" he dares ask, terribly aware of the fact that he's definitely speaking to Someone Else, not Kaname.

There's a pause - a hair-raising silence where Zero regrets speaking up at all - but then That Other Person speaks again.

"What they did to us."

A shiver runs down his spine.

Kaname continues to walk, towing Zero along, their arms extended to their fullest, pulling painfully at Zero's shoulder - but he dare not step closer. Not with Kaname not himself. His free hand hovers at the back of his trousers, under his jacket, where Bloody Rose sits. Ready and waiting.

"What did they do to you?" Who are 'they'? Zero wants to add, but he's scared of asking too much. The further they go into the cavern, the bigger it becomes, and yet less torches line the walls which makes the darkness close in on them. That rotten smell keeps getting worse too, to the point where Zero struggles not to gag on it. "Kaname." He's almost pleading at this point, but can you blame him?

Stuck far underground in a dark cave with Someone he doesn't know, Someone who is controlling Kaname, and keeping a tight grip on Zero's hand…

Kaname doesn't answer, but he draws to a stop. The slosh of water echoes as Zero stumbles, and Kaname's hand holds him upright.

"Kaname," he calls again, gasping as he's dragged forwards to stand beside Kaname.

"Can you see it?"

Zero squints into darkness and shakes his head. All he sees is the glow of fire dotted on craggy walls, and the glint of water reflecting light ripples onto them from the floor. But then he sees something… Kaname releases his hand, letting him go by himself. There on the far wall - as he approaches, the light seems to draw towards him, and he sees - a table. A rusted metal table, covered in a thick layer of grime. Zero raises his eyebrow at Kaname, but receives nothing, so he leans closer to inspect it. There are marks on the table, stains and mulch where he thinks someone probably left some papers or something that have long rotted down to this. A cursory sniff confirms it's the source of the mulchy smell, but that other smell. The worse one… where is it coming from?

He continues to splash around the room, studying the things he finds with growing curiosity. There are shelves carved into the walls with soft, dissolved bits of paper - documents, Zero thinks, lots and lots of them. None of them have survived, and he's in no way tempted to inspect them any further. On a lower shelf he finds boxes, and after battling his nerves, he opens them to find…

"What is this stuff?" he whispers, pulling out what looks like… forceps? He takes out another forceps-looking-thing and scissors and… and syringes. The next box is full of stained funnels and empty bottles, and the next one has a telescope in it. "Is this a lab or something?" he asks Kaname, "A secret laboratory?"

It's then that he realises Kaname hasn't moved from his spot, and he's staring up at something in the dark.

Immediately Zero rushes back to him and tries to see what he's looking at, but it's impossible to see anything -

"Can you believe it's still standing?" Kaname mutters.

"What? I can't see anything - "

Kaname raises his hand, and suddenly there is light in the cave - and Zero… Zero can't hold back a gasp.

What is that?

A cage? A tall cage, at least ten feet high, with thick bars and sharp spikes on them, facing inwards. Inside it is a column of rock with chains bolted at the top and shackles hanging from them. Bands of metal cut into the column and encircle it - another reinforcement, a smaller cage within the cage - and there are marks on the rock. It's obvious that they're claw marks - hundreds of them, scratching the rock all over in deep grooves. The rock is stained black in places, and that's where the smell is coming from. It takes Zero a moment to understand what it is - thousands of years old blood. What is this - some kind of torture device?

They hid it down here so that no one would find out what they did to us.

This is… this was a…

Okay, so Zero doesn't exactly know what this is - only that bad things happened here. That's not hard to tell.

He turns to see how Kaname's faring - and yelps.

His eyes are completely black, and his mouth is slack - probably because his fangs are fully out, far bigger than Zero ever remembers seeing them. They're so extended that he can see his gums are swollen and blood is dripping from them, from his lips too, where they're cutting them. It's like he's back in the dream - only it's real. This is Kaname. He instinctively tries to pull his arm free, but Kaname then clutches tighter.

"Let go," Zero begs, crying out as Kaname's claws pierce his skin - they go in deep, just like his fangs. They are far bigger than he's ever seen them, and they curl under Zero's skin like hooks. He's properly struggling now - "Please - you're hurting me - "

"Zero, what's happening?" Kaname shouts back. That voice shines through - Kaname's voice - Zero blinks through his tears, and he can see that Kaname's face is full of fear. Even with his mouth full of too-big-teeth and his eyes black, he looks truly afraid - maybe he's coming back, Zero wonders, maybe that Other Person is letting up, and Kaname doesn't know what's happened -

"Let go," he asks again, whimpering when Kaname moves his fingers. The claws tug on his skin, and that horrible sensation makes him nauseous and even more terrified.

Kaname sucks in a sharp breath when he stares down in horror at his hands - at his claws stuck in Zero's arm.

It takes a few pain-filled seconds - what feels like an hour - for Kaname to carefully take his claws out, and all the time Zero consoles himself with the knowledge that at least Kaname is doing that. He's back, he tells himself, Kaname is back in control.

That's good, he tells himself, forcing himself not to flinch when Kaname licks the wounds clean. He's back. It's safe now.

- but when he looks up, Kaname still looks like that.

The word monster comes to mind, but another word fits even better.

Rogue.

He shudders and shakes his head when Kaname reaches out to him - his body goes instinctively into flight-mode, backing away from the perceivable danger - a scream caught in his throat when Kaname takes a step closer. Those eyes. They were completely black still, and hollow - like they were made of the darkness. Zero slips and lands in the water, but continues to squirm away on his hands.

"No - don't touch me!" he shouts, scrambling for purchase on the slimy floor. Kaname's scared too he tries to remember - he probably has no idea what's going on - but the sight of him like that simply terrifies Zero, and he can't - he just can't let him come any closer.

"Zero," Kaname rasps, dropping to his knees with a splash. "Zero, it's me."

But that movement - Zero's hands whip up involuntarily, and he's holding - he's got Bloody Rose aimed right at Kaname's face.

"Don't come any closer," he hisses through his teeth, though his hands are shaking violently - and when Zero glances at them, he nearly drops the gun because they're red. Rusty red, and he knows immediately what it is - dregs of blood residue. That slime on the floor, sunk and settled beneath the water - it clings to his fingers, and he cannot believe how much this is like a perverse realisation of the nightmare - because here they are.

"Zero," Kaname pleads, but Zero can't - he's so consumed by fear -

- Hunter against Vampire once more.