Chapter 12: Journey to the top of the Mountain

Zero currently found himself walking up a mountain beside Kaname Kuran.

He had woken up from his unconscious state just last week. When he had opened his eyes they had all celebrated, Cross in particular had been in tears at seeing him alive and well. Cross had doted on him the first few days, but had just as quickly divulged the things that he had missed while he rested within his mind. He had learned about Masaru's control and how he had been controlling and using his body up until he regain control of it. It was bit disconcerting to know his face and body had been awake while his mind had not.

Within the last week he had been caught up with all the things he had missed and had asked for an explanation about why exactly he had The moment he woke up, everyone was bustling to have him and Kuran take off. He remembered talking to MAsaru about a woman named Vichette and it seemed that everyone was in agreement about him seeking her aid.

Masaru's pull had become more and more powerful. He didn't want to mention it, but in the beginning when Masaru took over his body he subconsciously resisted. However, now his body knew that he had no chance at winning and simply let Masaru take control without a fight. Not to mention that Zero could clearly feel Masaru's emotions, could feel the past and present ones and just as it had been a few months ago it was even harder to distinguish his own feelings from that of his ancestor's.

With that thought in mind as well as the thought that he had less than 3 months before he could possibly be dying pushed him to agree to the current trip he found himself in. He had been told that his ancestor didn't want him to die, and he believed that. But wanting it was different from being able to prevent it.

Kuran and Kiryu started their journey as soon as the sun had set. They had taken one of Kuran's car and a driver had dropped them off at the base of a mountain that they were in now.

The drive was quiet and extremely endless. From sunset till after midnight they had been in the car. It was only now in the middle of the night did they start their journey up the dangerous mountain.

Zero had to wonder if anyone had ever gone up these mountains. The entirety of it looked as if it was covered with endless amount of trees, shrubs and various floras. There was no trail anywhere that he could see. It was beautiful but the potential for danger was eminent (for a human at least). The trees covered most of the sky. No doubt that if Kuran had a problem with the sun; he would be fine with the vast coverage that the trees provided.

They've travelled in silence since they got into the car and they had both been fine with it - or so Zero thought.

Zero was a man of few words and obviously so was Kuran. But the silence was stifling in this gigantic area. It was as if the silence was ringing in Zero's ears. If he didn't hear a sound, he'd scream his head off. He had been silent this entire time. With how busy they had been he hadn't had a chance to talk to Kuran alone since before he had fainted. The last thing he remembered them arguing about him controlling the Pureblood. But that had been cleared somewhat. Since Masaru was able to gain complete control of him, Kuran had mentioned that he understood the spell now and that Masaru had explained it. That conversation was clipped and straight to the point. It hadn't been cold or angered it was just brief.

But before that conversation, he and Kuran had been arguing about his humanity and his thirst. It was likely that Kuran had forgotten about that argument and to be honest Zero wasn't particularly interested in bringing it up again.

There was a certain awkwardness with the way they were interacting, but Zero had to assume that it was because, this time they knew they were alone. Or perhaps it was just him that felt uncomfortable. He wanted nothing more than to break the silence. THey could even talk about his shooting range. He had been quite disappointed to know that he had not been able to finish it. He wondered briefly if he ever would be able to. But somehow he didn't think Kuran would be keen to the idea of listening to talk to him about something that he himself had no interest in. So, not really knowing how to start a conversation, he started much like he did when talking to Yuki - bluntly and straight to the point.

"Talk Kuran."

Zero had said it carelessly and what he expected to hear from Kuran was certainly not what he heard. In fact the words that left Kuran's mouth was something Zero never thought he'd here uttered. On cue, Kuran found himself replying in a way that he never thought possible, "About what, Kiryuu-sama?"

"..."

The silence between them this time was eerie. Their entire surrounding seemed to pause in anticipation at what would happen after those words had been spoken. Kuran couldn't believe what he had just uttered. Never had he referred to anyone in such away. Vampires gave him that respect, he had never felt the need to do the same for anyone. And yet as soon as Kiryu had told him to talk, the answer had been immediate and uncharacteristically natural.

"In the future Kiryuu, choose your words carefully."

Zero could only nod. He had completely forgotten about the spell. Since the first time, no other occurrence of accidentally activating the spell had occurred. But that was probably due to the fact that they had hardly conversed.

The silence that covered them now was tense and lasted another hour.

Zero's ears were ringing from the silence again and his feet were throbbing. Apparently a Pureblood's stamina is far beyond his own. His feet was tired and he wanted to take a break. He was hungry too. There were a few edible fruits along the path, he could do with those.

It was just a matter of telling Kuran to stop without actually sounding like an order. Which means, Zero had to ask instead. Zero wasn't good at asking.

"Kuran... Uh... Sto- I mean... CAN we stop walking and eat?"

Kuran halted, he noted for a moment the way that Zero had stumbled on his words and inwardly thanked the hunter for at least trying. He then turned his attention on Zero. He nodded and looked around the area. He Walked a few steps to the west and found a small clean pond.

They settled down on the ground and Zero built a small fire.

Zero grabbed a few fruits along the way and ate his fill after offering Kuran some.

"Can we talk about something? Anything. This silence is deafening."

Kaname rose one eyebrow.

"I'll take that to mean as I should talk first. I've been wondering. Aido can control ice and his cousin can control fire. Each of them has a specific power. What's yours?"

"My power is not specific to one but a combination of many."

Zero kept his pace as he masked the dumbfounded look on his face, "Okay... That doesn't really answer my question Kuran."

"I believe that it did."

Zero shook his head and then encouraged Kuran to continue, "How about you give me an example?"

"There are too many."

"... Kuran, are you trying to be annoying?"

Kuran turned to Kiryuu, "I do not participate in idle chatter."

"You sho- I mean... Ugh never-mind. This is annoying, I don't like having to censor my speech."

Kuran narrowed his eyes. "Do try."

Zero glared back, he was trying to be nice, but it was hard to change the way one spoke. It was also quite apparent that there was currently a rather large stick up his companion's ass. Zero knew they could hold a decent conversation with each other, had even been able to do it for a short time before everything seemed to go wrong. It wasn't that long ago that he and Kuran had lunch at that fancy restaurant. Takuma had been witness to that and yet, Kuran seemed to be determined to forget about their civility the last few weeks so he let his irritation leak, "Ask nicely."

Kaname glared as his mouth said the words he truly did not wish to.

"Please try Kiryuu-sama."

Zero continued to glare, "If we're spending who knows how long together, how 'bout we try and be civil? We've done it before. I'll try my best to censor any type of commands from my speech, if you can just try not to act like there's a stick up your ass. Deal?"

Kuran stared. He wasn't trying to be an ass, but there was a lot of things on his mind. He ahdn't wanted to go on this little trip. He didn't want to be alone with the hunter. He had more important things to do. Kuran continued to stare at the hunter as he settled on the ground in such a way that he looked like he was preparing to sleep.

He wasn't trying to be difficult, but Kuran was confused. Lately, he'd been more worried about Kiryuu more than Yuki. Not only that, but there were certain things that Masaru mentioned that wouldn't stop echoing in his head. Like for example, he kept thinking about how Masaru had said that he believed he and Kiryuu could make the other's quality of life better and then he remembered Masaru mention that Zero was more troubled than he appeared. Both of those combined meant that if both of those things were true, that meant that Kuran could help Kiryu, right? Doesn't that mean that he could make Kiryu happy?

He wasn't trying to be difficult, he just wanted to find the answers to his questions or better yet, he wanted to stop thinking of the hunter.

The silence prevailed once again as Zero found his eyes closing.

"Kuran, I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a few minutes."

30 minutes later Zero woke up. Slightly more refreshed he stretched and looked toward Kuran.

Kuran was leaning against a tree across from him, simply staring at the fire pit.

"Do you sleep?"

Kuran shifted his gaze to meet Zero's, "No."

Zero lifted an eyebrow.

Kuran stared and remembered the hunter's request.

"I rarely sleep, usually for leisure's sake, but I do not require it."

Zero smirked, "Better. We should start heading out."

In a matter of moments they were once again continuing their path. The moon was high in the sky and silence was their only other companion. Zero kept his eyes forward as his feet led him to the direction they needed to go.

As they continued walking Kuran made his first attempt at conversation, which was completely appropriate, Zero just thought he could keep it a secret longer.

"How do you know where we are going?"

Zero looked straight ahead, not once faltering in his step. "Because of Masaru-sama, of course."

"I understand, but how is he telling you?"

Zero held his head high, "He's not telling me Kuran, my feet are moving of its own accord. It should be obvious from previous timelines Kuran. I no longer have full control of my body."

Kuran stared at the hunter, "... I thought Masaru didn't want to possess you because it would inevitably kill you?"

"He has no choice in the matter. He accepted that this was going to happen and it's going to happen. Unless we find a way to fix it."

Without faltering Kiryuu simply continued walking without looking in the Pureblood's direction as he heard the accusing tone, "He's controlling you."

"He's limiting his control as much as possible. He's giving me a choice."

Silence reigned. It seemed to be doing that lot. The two of them thinking about the ironic possibilities. Masaru controlled Zero and Zero controlled Kuran. A pattern that should really be broken.

They continued walking as if with no destination in mind. The sound of nightly critters the only thing that could break the noise until Zero spoke once again.

Maybe it was being alone with Kuran and knowing no one could interrupt them, or maybe it was the thought that no matter what they did to try to prevent his death that it would be inevitable. Maybe it was because Zero didn't believe that this Vichette woman could help. Either way as light heartedly as possible Zero decided to broach a topic he'd been contemplating about, "Hey Kuran?"

"Yes?"

"When I die..." Kiryuu dodged a tree branch, "Make sure Yuki doesn't go hysterical okay?"

"..."

"If anything... Tell her that I welcomed death... But tell her that I'll miss her."

Kuran stopped walking and turned to face Kiryuu, "What are you talking about Kiryuu?"

Kiryuu stopped walking but refused to make eye contact, "I'm certain that I'm gonna die

sooner than later Kuran and who knows maybe you'll be going back home alone from this trip."

"Do not speak such nonsense Kiryuu. You will die, but it will not be now. And I certainly will not be the last person that you spend time with when you do."

Zero cracked a smile, "True, dying already sucks. I'd hate to have your face be the last thing I see."

Kuran started walking again and he stared at the path ahead he made a promise that he never thought he'd say out loud, "Do not worry Kiryuu. You will not die."

The conviction in his words were so definite that there was no room to argue and so Zero simply gave a small smile unseen by anyone.

"Didn't know ya cared Kuran."

Without faltering in his stride Kuran looked at Zero straight in the eye and said, "Neither did I."

Zero stopped walking while Kuran continued in his steps, "... What?"

After noticing Kiryuu's sudden stop, he followed suit. Kuran knew something had changed maybe it was MAsaru's constant reminders while he had been controlling Zero for almost a week or maybe it was because his mind wasn't thinking clearly, but he thought some honestly might do them some good now. And by saying what he was about to, didn't that "remove the stick up his ass?"

"In the company of those back home, as well as in the company of the vampire race and hunter association we want each other dead. However, Masaru-san is correct. In the company of no one else except each other or alone, we have never once wanted the other dead. In the sole company of one another, we are more than capable of being civil if not friends."

"...uh..." While that was certainly true even in Zero's opinion he had never thought to voice them out loud. It was nothing short of strange to hear a loud now especially coming from Kuran.

"Masaru-san commented that we have the potential of being - as he quoted- improving the other's quality of life. After much thought, I agreed."

Kuran continued to stare at the speechless hunter. It felt good to say what the had been thinking about all this time. Sure he hadn't mentioned that part about him thinking that maybe he could make Kiryu happy, but he mentioned this at least and maybe it was implied through his words.

When Zero still did not say a word Kuran asked, "Do you not agree with what I've stated?"

Zero finally shook his head.

"I've always thought the same. I just never thought I'd hear the same words from you. Though, I have to wonder what he meant by "improving the quality of each other's lives. A bit much don't you think?"

Kuran didn't think so.

They continued their travel in silence but this time it was more calming and the silence no longer rang an irritating tone in Zero's ears.

Kuran was interested in the current turn of events, it had been a while since he's had an interest in any one being's life, "Kiryuu?"

"Yeah?"

"I had claimed earlier that you will not die. In actuality I meant that I am willing to do whatever I can in order to prevent your death."

Kuran continued to speak as he continued to walk. His mind remembering a lot of the things he'd learned about and have contemplated about the hunter.

"However it occurred to me if you wished to live at all?"

For a moment Zero hesitated in replying but his brief hesitation was not noticeable. Instead of answering he asked a question instead.

"Have you realized that we are slowly delving into some serious and personal stuff?

Kuran raised an eyebrow, "I am aware. However it was you that pointed out that the silence is deafening."

"True, but I didn't intend for us to talk about personal matters. Just idle chatter."

"As I have mentioned before. I do not like idle chatter. I prefer that if we are to speak that we share information that is worth each breath."

Zero's lips quirked into a small smile, "...uh-huh..."

"Will you answer then?"

Kiryuu believed that getting to know each other was a good thing, if he were to die before he could see Yuki again, it would make Yuki feel better if she knew they had befriended one another before he had died, but talking about personal issues wasn't really on his list at the moment.

"How about a compromise instead, we start with meaningless information and then slowly progress to more personal questions. For tonight though this conversation is a little heavy for me - for us really."

Kuran contemplated the deal for a few seconds before nodding his head in approval. He could wait to get the answers he really wanted.

"I'll ask again. What are your powers."

"As I have mentioned there are simply too many to list but to answer you in a way that will satisfy your question I can sum it up to the powers I use most often. Telekinesis and manipulating my energy in order to form a weapon."

"Give me an example."

Kuran raised his hand and held up his index finger as if to gesture the number 1, noting the way that Zero had used his words.

Slowly a small glow of light emanated from the tip of his finger and within seconds a whip was formed.

"That's actually sort of cool. Then you can create any weapon from basically thin air?"

"Essentially, it doesn't have to be a weapon either, it could just be a wave of energy that can damage anything it hits or a barrier. And by the way Kiryuu, that was a command."

"Sorry. It's harder to get used to that I thought..."

Kuran shook his head, he honestly didn't mind. "That's alright I was actually able to learn something about the bond."

"What?"

"If it was already my intention to do something before you asked it does not force me to do anything. In fact it feels pleasant. Though I have to admit that it's disconcerting that following your orders are making me feel good about myself."

"I am sorry Kuran. Controlling people or you doesn't appeal to me. Manipulation and forcing people to do my bidding, isn't exactly a dream of mine."

"I know now it isn't your doing Kiryuu. However this brief instance has made me realize that there are things about this curse that we don't know. I would like the opportunity to see its limitations."

Kiryuu raised an interested brow, "You mean conduct experiments?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Sounds good to me."

Until the sun began to rise and reached its peak, Kiryuu and Kuran never stopped traveling up the mountain. Near noon they both made the decision to stop and rest. Kiryuu desperately needed to sleep. The more exhausted he was the more natural it seemed to be for Masaru to take over his body.

From their current location however their destination was close by and they were both thankful for it even if they had no idea what lied ahead.

Vichette was a woman of solitude. She rarely had visitors except for the occasional rabbit or deer but the company she would have soon would no doubt be entertaining.

Vichette had been alone for a long time but she had never once felt the sting of loneliness. In fact she loved being alone. It was only natural for her that the mountain she was currently in was something she considered her home and thus her own.

The moment any being or creature should enter her mountain she knew it immediately and so when a level D and a pureblood entered her mountain she knew immediately. She had visions of past lives and visions of the not too far off future and she could clearly see what was in store for her visitors.

She knew why they came seeking her out and for once she was more than willing to help out. In order to be most beneficial for them though, she had to conduct an experiment of her own.

Vichette came closer to the area where the boys rested and as she continued her approach her figure began to change into something inhuman, grotesque and deadly. She looked to be a cross between a werewolf, a wild bear and a vulture.

As the sun began its descent Vichette kept her vision on the two boys on her mountain and watched as they were about to engage in an unexpected battle.