Chapter 12- Ruby in the rough

AN: (I had to come up with something, it basically means that Zero is beautiful to look at but too sharp/dangerous/damaged to touch.) SliverMew22 does not own Vampire Knight.

There was a town with a hospital nearby where Ai's aunt was sent to in an ambulance and could be examined and cared for.

This was also the town where Toga Yagari, Kaien Cross, and Raiden Hayashi were in right now.

The eldest hunter was deeply sorry for being so careless with Ai Hayashi.

"Forgive me, Kiryuu-kun, it will never happen again."

The old hunter apologized to the higher ranked hunter. Zero paid him no mind, as Kaito showed his disapproval.

They had no room for careless mistakes in the Hunter's Society.

The ride to that town was surprisingly very fast and this town held many memories for Ai too.

"Ai-chan, stay in the car, we need to make a phone call."

Kaito was very stern with Ai, she was not a little girl, she understood the danger she was in.

Zero was already by a pay phone, calling the morgue for an update on the dead bodies, which were found in the alley.

He also needed to notify them of Ai's dead cousins.

Her body was torn to pieces, he could tell that this kill was very personal.

The vampire who attacked Ai's relatives, wanted them to suffer greatly.

Kaito Takamiya took over the conversation, hearing Toga's voice on the receiving end.

"So, Zero told me that you almost got run over by a car... that girl is stupider than he is, she almost got you killed."

Kaito switched the phone to his other ear- he was trying to keep an eye on Ai.

"She kept trying to run away, so I tried to stop her-"

"-By throwing yourself in front of the car?"

Toga's nonchalant voice barely wavered over the phone line.

Kaito just stood there and took the verbal beating, then when Ai got out of the car, he signaled for her to come over.

"Hey teacher, could you put Raiden on the phone, I have to tell him something."

Kaito said the word something, with a certain hint of concern.

"I have to tell him about how your sister left you for weeks on end with that Pure-Blood, Hisoka Tenma, is that okay with you?"

While said hunter waited for Yagari to find and put Raiden on the line, he asked Ai for permission to her father her story.

"Takamiya-San... you can't."

Ai backed away from the phone, fearing how her father would react to the news, he would undoubtedly go after her sister.

It wasn't a crime, to kill a vampire.

Kaito put the phone against his chest so that the person on the other end would not hear his conversation with Ai.

"I won't force you to tell him but I think it would help us find that vampire, if you-"

"No, it'll only make it worse, he'll kill her, or she'll kill him, I can't let that happen, I don't want anybody else to die."

Kaito lifted the phone away from his chest, the slowly brought to his ear.

"Zero took Ai away to eat some ramen, maybe you could talk to her later, in person... we will be checking in at an inn by around midnight."

Kaito slammed the phone on the receiver, as he was disgusted with himself, for letting that vampire off of the hook.

He wanted to kill every last one of them on his own terms.

He didn't need a list to tell him that a vampire deserved to die.

"Hey, Takamiya-San if I took Kiryuu-San with me, could I walk around this town?"

Ai mentioned over towards Zero, who was sulking against a wall.

It was clearly obvious that he wanted to go on a hunt.

"Hey Zero, take Ai to get something to eat, it's your job to take care of her anyway."

Kaito said while walking Ai over towards the silver-haired hunter.

Zero looked down at Ai, with an uneasy demeanor. Was Kaito just testing him again, to see if he would crack?

The other hunters were just looking for the first excuse to label the hunter as a dangerous vampire.

Zero Kiryuu, would not give them the satisfaction.

"Where are we and why are we here... this place is a dump?"

Zero complained towards the younger girl.

She had brought him to an abandoned high school.

There was a large opening down the middle of the school. It's once burgundy bricks wall, were now a darkened charcoal black, due to the flames that had once engulfed it.

"This used to be my high school... my friends were still in there, they didn't deserve to die, none of them did!"

Ai yelled at the vampire hunter who had accompanied her here.

Zero was silent as the wind rushed past his silver locks, and stung his slightly tearing eyes.

Some ash that had fluttered down from the open windows, which had gotten into his light lavender eyes.

He wiped away at his eyes and then turned back towards the school... he didn't really know what to say.

"Do you want to go inside?"

Ai asked the question that he could not, he didn't want her to feel even more uneasy.

"This place doesn't look safe, it's in an isolated location, and there are Level E's inside..."

Zero went down the list of excuses he could come up with, seeing as he didn't want to see the carnage inside of the abandoned, burnt down school.

"Can I at least show you around?"

Ai's sweet disposition finally won Zero over.

Ai led Zero across the school grounds, as she recalled short yet important memories from her past. Zero felt a bit at ease around her.

She was so open and carefree at times and yet she was so easy to break too.

She was so much like...

Zero scoffed as he turned away, trying to block Yuuki's smile from his mind. Zero then felt an irresistible urge to kill again, but he couldn't kill any vampire without good reason. If he did, he would be just like them.

"Zero, are you tired, we can stop now if you want?"

Ai soft voice broke Zero out of his trance.

"If you want to keep going, then it's alright, Yuuki."

He spoke without hesitation, then realizing his mistake, quickly looked away from Ai.

"Yuuki, oh I know her, she was that girl who saved my life, Yuuki Kuran and she seemed very nice."

Zero clenched his jaw at Ai's innocent observation about the Pure-Blood Princess, since she was no longer the girl that he knew and loved.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to strike a nerve, but I can't help walking over your hidden land mines since we barely even know each other... I know, maybe we should talk later, you know, about our lives... if that okay with you?"

Ai grabbed Zero's sleeve and dragged him away from the school. Seeing as Zero didn't object to it, she took his silence as a yes.

Zero inwardly smiled at her innocence, seeing a reflection of his younger self with Ichiru, before Shizuka had ever torn them apart. Well, maybe Zero and Ichiru had always been apart.

Zero loved his brother and he still did, even until this day.

Ai only watched Zero from the corner of her eye, letting him think in peace. She was thinking about someone too.

~~~~ (Ramen Shop) ~~~~

Zero patiently waited for their orders of noodles boiled in salty broth, with some rice in a small bowl, as a side dish.

Ai's trembling hands began to fiddle with her chopsticks. It was something that she just couldn't help. She felt both frustrated and embarrassed by her failed attempts, to put her shaking hands at rest.

The small bowls of ramen were placed in front of the pair, as the man behind the counter gave them a smile.

He then descended into the back of the shop to prepare some rice.

Ai's trembling hands could not hold the chopsticks in place, let alone grasp any food with them.

She finally rested her trembling hands against her lap; sadness overtook her, as she looked down at her untouched bowl.

"At this rate, you're going to starve, here, let me feed you."

Zero took Ai's chopsticks from her bowl, as he skillfully maneuvered the sticks into her bowl.

He slowly brought the noodles towards her mouth, where she tried to accept them.

The man from behind the counter began to gush.

"Oh, how cute, feeding your girlfriend are you, may I take a picture of you two, if that's okay with you."

The man turned around to grab a camera and to take their picture, but when he turned back around they were both gone.

"Well, at least they left the money."

The man sighed, upset that he couldn't add another picture to his wall.

~~~(At the Inn)~~~

Zero and Ai decided to order take out instead when the food was delivered to them, there were no questions asked.

That ramen shop owner was so unprofessional and way too intrusive.

Also for some reason, Ai would not look at Zero and he couldn't understand why she kept stealing small glances of him.

There were a few times that he had caught her staring at him before she would quickly look away.

"I don't usually eat fast food, I like things freshly prepared, you know, like homemade soup."

Zero said towards the small white boxes of food, he was now sharing out to Ai. He wasn't going to eat any of it, but Ai insisted on buying some.

It was a last resort effort to get Ai some food.

Ai took the food and began to eat it without hesitation.

Ai took her chance to wander around the room, before sitting in front of a closed window. She was staring down at the street and its occupants, wondering if there was anyone down there that she knew.

There was a small part of her that just wanted to be down there and look for her mother, maybe she could leave after Zero fell asleep.

She looked back at Zero, who was staring at her arm.

He was looking at the almost faded bruise on her wrist, when that hunter, Akihiro Yamaguchi, roughed her up at the Hunter's Society Headquarters. She tried to hide it from his view.

It was her problem to deal with, not his.

Ai just took her attention off of Zero and stared back out of the window.

She wanted to know where Kaito Takamiya was and when it was okay to start talking to the silver-haired, vampire hunter once again.

They were both in the living room of the small yet comfy hotel room.

The living room was connected to the kitchen on their right, but the bedroom and bathroom, were on their left, they were side by side.

There was only one bed.

Ai's heart began to quicken at the thought.

So many thoughts began to form in her frazzled mind... no, no, no!

'Zero is not like that and neither is Kaito!'

Ai heard the sound of a faint noise behind her.

She was curious and decided to look back at Zero just for the heck of it.

Zero Kiryuu was still sitting on the couch and with only one hand, he had begun to unbutton his shirt. Zero looked irritated by her stare, but he just continued to strip. She tried to look away, but his chest was so...

'No, don't think like that, what is he doing, oh no, he's unbuckling his belt-'

"If you're really that curious, I just wanted to take a shower... you should take one too-"

"Wait, do you mean at the same time... as you?"

Ai squeaked out in surprise before Zero just stood there and calmly spoke to the girl.

"No, when I'm done... I need to clear my head and quit staring at me because you're starting to drool."

Zero walked off before he closed the bathroom door.

Suddenly, the sound of Zero's belt and pants hitting the ground shocked the girl out of her daze and sent her scampering off into the bedroom.

"There's no way that we can talk, not after that, he's so indifferent and at ease but he can't just do that in front of a girl."

Ai whispered she was angry at Zero's sudden actions.

She didn't know what was scarier, the fact that he was a vampire, or that she was alone with a guy.

He was so unique, so beautiful and a bit closed off.

'I will try to stay out of his way... ew, there was drool on my mouth.'

Ai quickly wiped it away with her wrist.

(A few minutes later)

Ai shuffled out of the queen sized bed, then she tried to open the window.

For some reason, she began to feel hot.

"It must be the steam from the bathroom, maybe I should go to the kitchen instead."

Ai slowly pushed open the door, as if afraid to alert Zero of her whereabouts. She made a quick dash towards the Kitchen, before she peaked her head from behind the doorway, to look at the closed bathroom door.

"So far so good, hm, I wonder what's in the fridge?"

Ai whispered towards herself, trying to ease her fear away with food.

~~~(Zero in the shower)~~~

'Sigh, that girl can't even relax while I'm in the shower, she's kind of paranoid too, but after what she has been through, I'm not surprised, if I were in her shoes, I'd avoid me too.'

Zero let the steaming hot water trace trails down his back, as his dampened silver locks clung to the frame of his gorgeous face.

He used his lean outstretched arms to brace himself against the shower wall, as he let the hot water beat against his scalp.

He was trying to wash away his hunger to kill.

He couldn't go on hunts while Ai was in his care, she would just get hurt or get in his way.

Zero tried to think of something to take his mind off of the urge to satisfy his blood lust, for killing other vampires.

That is until Kaito came over to take Ai off of his hands.

Zero remembered Ai's offer to talk about his past and he actually scoffed at the mere idea of it.

Why would she want to know about his past, did she think that they were friends now or something.

This was his job, not a social club and she should know that.

Zero turned the knob, stopping the strong stream of water. He stepped out of the shower, running his long slender fingers through his wet silver locks.

He began to look around the room for a towel.

~~~~ (Ai in the living room) ~~~~

Ai was lying down on the couch, she already had a pillow with her and she was waiting to get changed and take a shower in the bathroom.

She was waiting for Zero to come out.

She thought up every scenario that could arise when he did. She would just lie down and close her eyes before he came out.

Once the doorknob turned, she pretended to go to sleep.

She heard his soft footsteps walking towards her.

"Ai, are you really asleep, you didn't even bring a blanket with you, you must have fallen asleep waiting for me."

'Zero sounds sad, why, I don't understand why? I just want to wake up and tell him not to worry so much.'

I suddenly opened my eyes and saw him facing away from me.

Clear droplets of liquid diamonds raced down his broad back before they either plopped against the floor or were absorbed by his soft white cotton towel that was loosely wrapped around his slim waist.

Zero turned around, smelling a pungent yet familiar scent after Ai had gotten up and run into the bathroom.

Zero just shook his head and walked into the bedroom to get changed.

At the sight of Zero's dripping wet bare flesh, Ai had begun to have a nose bleed.

(Kaito's P.O.V.)

Kaito Takamiya had met up with Raiden Hayashi earlier that day.

News of Ai's whereabouts in the past, they were still fresh on his mind but he would not go behind her back and tell her father, that it, unless his life was in danger.

"It's this way, come on!"

Hayashi's gruff voice cut into Kaito's musings.

"We're almost there, hurry up, jeez, you're so slow!"

Raiden complained towards an irritated Kaito.

Kaito kept his pace, seeing as some hunters from the Hunter's Society was practically on his heels.

The broad man's frame easily passed by numerous pedestrians, most of which were hunters, who were keeping their ears peeled for any scraps of helpful information. They were tired of Zero Kiryuu stealing all of their glory, if they didn't do something soon, they would be taking orders from a bloodsucker.

Raiden decided that it was time to shake them off.

In three, two, one.

"Raiden, Raiden, you came, aw hon, I missed ever so much!"

An unknown woman threw her arms around Hayashi's neck, before giving him a peck on the cheek.

They both seemed very close.

Kaito turned away, not wanting any part of it, but Raiden forced Kaito to turn around and meet his close friend.

The two hunters who were eavesdropping, walked on, obviously disappointed with their findings.

The woman was an energetic strawberry blond, she was around her mid-thirties, her cherry red lips parted in a smile showing her pearly white teeth.

'Who is this woman and how does she know Raiden... and why did he bring ME with him to meet her too?!'

Kaito wondered as the woman began to grasp Raiden's hand and beckon Kaito to follow them.

"At least tell me where we are going."

Kaito demanded he had promised Zero that he would be back soon to look after Ai.

Zero's lust to kill was growing and Kaito felt a pinch of worry, growing in his gut.

'Zero, are you really okay, can you hold on for just a while longer, I need to sort some things out with Hayashi-san...'

Kaito was now on the opposite street of where Zero and Ai were staying, he wanted to find out more about this strange woman.

"...This better not be a waste of time."

He murmured the last part upwards, in the direction of the closed window, that was located on the higher floor of the hotel.

Just now, he could have sworn that he saw Ai's silhouette in the window.

She was looking away from the window just as Kaito, Raiden and his friend were passing by.

'Great, now I have another damn secret to keep and for what, a man who can't keep it in his pants, wait, isn't he married?'

Kaito and Zero were hunters, not babysitters, this was ridiculous.

R&R

Okay, this story will be continued after all, (I'm writing two at the same time... ME=Baka) `(o~o)'