A/N: My summer vacation thus far; work, bad weather, bad sleep cycle, writing and stressing over apartment hunting in New York, since I'm moving overseas this fall. How is your vacation going?

We're coming closer and closer into the origins for the mythology in the story. Tenshi is one evil bastard, I know. Once again - I can't say it enough - though this isn't the most traditional fanfic story in the yume-fandom, and perhaps some struggle with understanding the workings of my mind and story - I'd still like to thank the few of you who take the time to review and follow the story. It means a lot!

Edit 9/7/15: Fixed some spelling errors and unwanted text.

"This will never end, cause I want more.
If I had a heart, I could love you."
Fever Ray

Chapter 13: If I had a Heart

Sara Shirabuki stilled, her gaze trailing the excavation site.

"There," She said, pointing a manicured nail at the ground. "Dig."

The workers rushed to the site, beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads as they dug furiously.

"M-mistress! I… I think I found something!" One man exclaimed, tipping his hat upwards.

Sara lifted her skirt with her right hand, graciously walking in the mud towards the man as she used her left hand to hold her umbrella upright. The man kept his eyes on her, mesmerized by her beauty and grace, even in this sweltering heat. She stopped in front of him, expectant blue eyes gazing at him. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"O-oh, right!" The man stuttered, as he began digging carefully.

He scooped down, using his hands to dust away the dirt. A box come into sight; made of black wood, with beautiful, intricate patterns on it. The man brought it carefully out, handing it slowly to Sara. She grasped it carefully, her eyes widening as she studied it. Finally, after so many years she held it in her hands, after searching for so long…

"Great work. Absolutely fantastic. Marvellous," she said, her words directed at the worker while her eyes remained on the box. She turned swiftly, holding the box to her side and scooping up her long skirt, stepping out from the crater the workers had dug out.

She opened her umbrella again, turning to look at the workers. She directed a small smile at them, and in response they all nervously smiled back.

"Pity. I seem to have no use for you anymore."

Instantly, the workers' happy faces turned into frightened ones. They nervously glanced around at Sara's girls, who were coming at them slowly from all directions, their red eyes glowing.

She turned, walking away from the excavation site. "They're all yours," she called.

"Thank you mistress!"

The pained cries of the workers disappeared in a cacophony of growls and feral hisses as the girls devoured the workers.

Tuesday October 5th, year of the Dragon
4:35 AM

I had finally found it: The key to my world-domination. How wrong was I to assume that it would be easy from then on. Of course, having spent decades researching endless documents, working behind the scenes, plotting my way, I had not considered that upon finding the mystery box I would be faced with the reality that the contents within were not for myself.

I tried everything, I really did.

It wasn't until my precious boy became more ill, lying on death's bed, that I realized for whom those items were intended. I realized that I would need a plan B all along; after all, the forces standing between the throne of vampires and me were far greater than I'd expected. I'd always imagined that it would only be Kuran Kaname and that little plaything of his standing in my way. I would crush them easily, like pesky bugs beneath my shoes.

But the universe has a way of working against me, it seems.

Tenshi remembered his past with reluctance. Never in a million years would he ever divulge his true background to any of his followers. No, instead he prided himself in being the son of Sara Shirabuki, sired by her and thus bound by blood. It was true, in his veins Shirabuki blood coursed freely, reminding him of his mother. But it wasn't only Shirabuki blood that kept him alive all these years; it was something else entirely.

"Isaya has returned," Ren interrupted his reading.

Tenshi closed the diary carefully, stroking the cover. It was one of the few pieces he had left of her, and also the key to understanding his rampant powers and how they were connected to Yuuki.

"Keep him in his cell," Tenshi said. Smirking gleefully, he added: "I'll deal with his punishment later."

"Isaya disappeared?"

Kaien said nothing, instead fixing his stern gaze on Kaname and Yuuki.

"For two days, I couldn't reach you. Where were you?"

The two Kurans stared back with emotionless expressions. It was only Kaname that bothered to answer after a few moments of awkward silence.

"We… had some matters to settle." He said reluctantly, his eyes flicking over to Yuuki, trying to read her.

"Such as?" Kaien asked, his voice clipped.

"None of your concern." Yuuki said sharply, lifting an eyebrow.

Kaname noticed Kaien's jaw tense even further. Trying to ease the tension, he took a step forward. "We simply lost track of time. We worked on our relationship, that is all. We-"

"Relationship?" Yuuki asked incredulously.

Kaname's eyes shot to Yuuki. For the briefest of moments he looked taken aback; his eyes widening just a fraction, his lips parted slightly. And then just as quickly as it came, the emotions on his face vanished into frown lines on his forehead, while his lips thinned into a straight line. "Yu-

Rolling her eyes, she cut him off. "Last night I was at some shabby club in town. I'd sensed two Level E's nearby so I went to investigate. I killed them both, ripping out their hearts and making sure that no one saw what happened. They seemed to be in control – no signs of madness or excessive bloodlust. One of them was snacking on a girl, while the other was simply watching. But they were both ex-humans, I could tell."

Vaguely, she recalled the eyes of the two Level E's. At the time she hadn't paid attention to it, but in hindsight she'd realized that she'd seen those eyes before; crystalline eyes in the shade of ice blue, paler than Hanabusa's, almost white. Cold, lifeless and as unforgiving as a winter storm. The Level E woman who'd recited the poem to Yuuki during the first attack had the same eyes, and so had the strange man at the ball.

He seemed to have a greater importance with every new piece of the mystery she unveiled.

The new information distracted Kaien temporarily from his annoyance with the two. "Perhaps they hadn't fallen completely. It could've just been a matter of time before they descended completely into madness."

Yuuki furrowed her brows. "But that's the thing. I could tell they were true Level E's, and they'd been that for a while. There was no trace of any other Level or so. But they were different from the ones we encountered before; it seemed like they were created differently than the others. And that's another thing I've been thinking about; who is creating them?"

"Rogue purebloods," Kaname answered, his tone cold. "It has to be. They're trying to wreak havoc on the little peace we have left."

"Yes, indeed. But as Yuuki said, there was something off with the previous Level E's we encountered. It has to be a specific pureblood doing this." Kaien pushed his glasses up, looking at the two.

Yuuki was frowning, lines forming on her forehead as she grumbled. Perhaps it was odd, but it warmed Kaien's heart to see her like this. It was the most animated she'd been since her transformation… and Akira's death.

"By the way, Yuuki. Akira's parents came by; they wanted to speak with you and Kaname. I sent them away as I couldn't reach you."

Yuuki froze, her eyes widening for a split second before she regained her composure. "I… Why do they want to see us?"

"Well, you were the last ones to talk to her. Naturally they want to speak with you." Kaien watched her stance; her whole body seemed tense and anxious – clearly she was uncomfortable.

Pursing her lips, she looked up with a stoic expression. "I don't want to see them. Kaname can go."

"Akira was your loss, Yuuki, not mine." Kaname reminded, looking at her intently.

Yuuki narrowed her eyes. "I didn't lose anyone that night. What happened was… sad, but… It's… because of those damn purebloods! They're the ones who should be punished here, besides-"

"No, Yuuki, you misunderstood me," Kaien cut in gently. "They don't blame you, or seek to punish you in any way. They just want some closure."

Yuuki blanched. Closure…? She couldn't really deny them that. But she didn't know how to talk to them. She didn't really want to. What could she say? I'm really sorry your daughter died on my watch, despite my superpowers given to me by some holy divinity. Better luck next time!

Furthermore, when had Yuuki ever received any closure herself? She lived ten years believing that her parents abandoned her, only to find out that her crazy uncle killed her father and that her mother sacrificed herself to turn her human. She never got to mourn them, did she? And then Kaname abandoned her, tricked her into believing he was some evil bastard, and then he decided to sacrifice himself and have her turn human again. It wasn't fair, in fact-

Yuuki shook her head. What the hell am I thinking about? Why does any of that matter now? Since when did I care about closure?

"Doesn't matter. There's something else we need to discuss."

Kaien sighed, giving in and letting her evade the discussion of meeting Akira's parents.

"Before I left the ball, there was a man. His eyes resembled the Level E's we'd met earlier. He…" Yuuki shivered involuntarily, remembering his chilling smile. "Must've done something to me, or… I don't know. All I know is after I saw him, I felt sick, imbalanced – as if my powers were going rampant. That's when Kaname found me, and he calmed me down."

Kaien leaned over the table, staring at her intently. "How so?"

"How so what?"

"How did Kaname calm you down?" Kaien smiled, his eyes shifting between the two.

"I – really!? That's what you want to know about!? I just told you there is some weird man walking around, possibly raising some freak army of bad-poetry-reciting Level E's, and that's what you're asking me about!?"

"Oooh, so angry," Kaien teased. With one look to Kaname he could ascertain that something had happened between the two. And watching Yuuki's reaction, he could only speculate on the return of her feelings. Kaname smiled lightly, amused by Yuuki's reaction, though the smile didn't meet his eyes entirely.

"But you're right, Yuuki. If that man made you feel like that, it's worth investigating. Start by the clues we have and dig further." Kaien directed.

Yuuki nodded, happy that they were over the previous subject.

"As for you two, I'm still disappointed in you disappearing. We can't have that, not during this perilous time, you understand? With Isaya's questioning loyalties I fear we are more weakened than we are ready to admit." Kaien took off his glasses, using his sleeve to wipe them. "When I went to confront him, he began talking about 'something being unleashed' and that the world was ending. It didn't sound like the man I used to know."

"What happened exactly?" Kaname inquired, curiosity evident in his eyes.

"Well, he was talking about a woman that would end it all. I believe he was referring to you, Yuuki," Kaien looked up at her. "Did he ever talk to you about anything?"

"No, I barely spoke with him. The only time I saw him at the ball was when he introduced you," Yuuki answered.

"I see," Kaien said, putting on his glasses. "After gathering an anti-vampire dagger, he threw me out of the room. I could smell the scent of his blood afterwards. I don't understand; he is so unlike himself these days. It seemed like he was punishing himself, but for what I have no idea."

"I'll send Rima and Shiki out to find some answers of his whereabouts," Kaname said, sharing a look with Kaien. "Do you think he's turned over to the other side?"

"I… really don't know what to say, Kaname. I really don't know where he is standing."

Silence reigned in the room as the three remained lost in thought, pondering upon Isaya's intentions.

"Anyway, I made a fantastic pot stew earlier today, by chance will you two join me for di-"

The door closed, indicating that the two Kurans had already left the room.

"Aah… Nevermind then!" Kaien's voice echoed in his empty office.

"Tsk, tsk."

Gods… He hated that voice. It sent shivers down his spine.

"You were going to tattle on me," the voice sang. "I don't like that."

He shook his head, unable to utter any words, his teeth chattering.

"A good pet wouldn't do that to his master, would he?" Round and round in circles he went, the sound of his shoes on the stone floor echoing in Isaya's cell.

"Luckily, I stopped you in time. Handy thing to have a Hunter's dagger in your room. Aren't I smart? How's your wrist, by the way?"

Isaya recalled the blood pooling from his wrist. He'd taken it too far; he knew it the second the words left his mouth and Kaien's face changed from perplexed to horrified. All of a sudden the need to punish himself became so strong that it overwhelmed him completely. He couldn't focus on anything else than the need to feel the pain inflicted upon himself as punishment.

Kaien's incessant calling was lost as Isaya drowned in the bittersweet feeling of piercing his own skin with the anti-vampire dagger, hissing as the stinging sensation nearly burned off his arm.

But he was a pureblood. He would heal. He did heal; all 500 times he cut himself.

"You see, Isaya, big things are coming. I'm talking grand things. I recently made a marvelous discovery, and, if I do say so myself, I feel very positive about the future, you know?"

When Isaya didn't answer, Tenshi kicked him in the side. "Y-yes master!" He yelped.

"That's right! I'm your master, Isaya. My voice is the only voice you should listen to. My word is your fucking command. You're mine, pet." Tenshi growled, exposing his fangs.

"Yes, Master. I won't betray you again. I swear it."

"The word of a Shouto pureblood is said to be the holiest of promises. I do hope you intend to live up to your name and upbringing." Sitting down on his knees, Tenshi leaned forward, opening Isaya's shirt. "Now give me your blood."

Isaya craned his neck automatically, without ever having the thought of doing so. It was a part of Tenshi's control over him – it was he who made Isaya hurt himself and it was he that brought him back to their dungeon. Isaya wondered briefly how on Earth Tenshi had gotten so powerful – to defeat a much elder pureblood so easily in such a short time…

His musings were cut short when Tenshi sliced the skin on his neck with his claw. He held up a golden cup, catching the crimson liquid as it spilled freely from Isaya's wound.

"I've been doing this for a while, you see. While you passed out after I captured you, I'd drain you of your blood little by little, small doses everyday. It's been so helpful in my... well, research is perhaps the wrong word." His eyes twinkled as he grinned at Isaya. "Experiments are more like it."

When the cup was filled with blood, Tenshi healed the wound using his powers. It took longer time than usual; the flesh slowly knitting itself back together, cells rushing to the broken skin layer and repairing it. Tenshi frowned while his eyes darkened.

"I recently made a very important discovery about myself," he said, never taking his eyes of the wound on Isaya's neck.

"I have the blood of the very first vampire in my veins."

Isaya's eyes widened.

"Yes, it's true," Tenshi nodded excitedly, looking up from the wound. "How'd you think I got these nifty powers?"

Blood of the first vampire… Nonsense. A myth. Isaya furrowed his brows, feeling uneasy. Tenshi was raving mad, no doubt, but even this was taking it too far.

"Furthermore, the blood of the very first vampire runs in the knight's veins too. And you're going to help me extract it."

"H-how?" Isaya stuttered. He didn't want to hurt Yuuki. He didn't want to taint himself any further.

"H-how?" Tenshi mimicked Isaya's weak, high-pitched voice. "Oh, I'll get to that later. First of all, you and I have some experiments to see to. Up you go," he dragged Isaya roughly up by his collar, turning and walking away, motioning with his hands for Isaya to follow.

The chains around his hands clanked as he struggled to keep up with Tenshi's pace. After walking through narrow, dark stone ways for a few minutes they finally made it to a hidden chamber. Opening the wooden door, Tenshi pushed Isaya inside before following after.

Isaya stood frozen, taking in the scene in front of him.

"Aren't they delightful?" Tenshi whispered in his ears. "I made them myself. Well, with a little help from you and your blood of course but, yeah, I'm pretty much the artist here."

Before him was a room crowded with Level E's.

But not regular Level E's – the kind that salivated at the mere mention of blood, attacking without mercy or humanity, like feral animals.

No… These looked normal, functional.

"Look at the women I made – how beautiful they are. Like taken straight out from a Botticelli painting. But even better!" Tenshi gushed. Indeed, the Level E's were as beautiful as any noble vampire; the women were beautifully pale, their faces clean and unmarred by mutations caused by Level E transformation. The men were equally well made, their posture straight and their bodies strong and lithe. No one would ever believe they were dreadful Level E's.

As soon as they noticed Tenshi's presence, they all turned, bowing in respect before looking up.

Isaya's breath caught.

Countless of ice-blue eyes met his own, the same ones as Tenshi had. They sparkled like crystal chandeliers, giving each Level E an eerie look. They were as inhuman as they could get.

Tenshi clapped his hands. "Everyone! Great things are coming ahead! The vampire race will rise and take back what is ours!"

The cheers of the crowd echoed in the room, hurting Isaya's sensitive ears.

"Have you been good, boys and girls? Do you have something for me?"

"Yes, Master Tenshi!"

A few of the Level E's made it to the front of the crowd, bringing with them a human boy. His mouth was gagged with tape, while his hands were bound with tight ropes, digging painfully into the thin skin on his wrists. The Level E's disposed of him in front of Tenshi, pushing him down on his knees.

"A little bird," Tenshi crooned. "So young. Brimming with potential."

He sat down on the balls of his feet, reaching his hand forward and ripping of the tape from the boy's mouth. Immediately the boy began screaming loudly, his scream echoing in the narrow room.

Tenshi rolled his eyes, grasping the boy's chin. "Stop screaming or I'll cut out your tongue, boy."

The maroon eyes of the boy widened with fear; immediately he clamped his mouth shut, awaiting Tenshi's actions.

Tenshi shot forward, his fangs ripping through the skin of the boy's neck, gulping down large amount of blood in a matter of seconds. The boy's screams died down as his life force disappeared from his body, his heart slowing down to a dangerously low beat. Tenshi released him from his grasp, wiping his mouth as his body slumped down to the ground lifelessly. He grabbed the cup with Isaya's blood he'd brought earlier, downing half of it.

Using his fangs, he punctured his own wrist, and brought it to the boy's mouth. Instinct made him drink the red liquid as soon as his senses registered. He swallowed large gulps, drinking greedily, the sound of his roving tongue and hisses the only sound in the room. Tenshi ripped away his hand all of a sudden, reaching for the cup instead. The boy whined at the loss of the red liquid; Isaya could sense that his aura had already shifted into half-vampire, half-human. Similar to a complete Level E he seemed disturbed and out of balance; his mind lost in a haze of blood lust.

Growls escaped his lips, as the thirst in him grew stronger.

"You see, I'm not a pureblood by default. So my blood alone will only complete the desired transformation halfway. Think of my poison as incomplete – it destroys the ones it infects, and instead of rebuilding what is destroys, it continues to poison the mind of the one infected. As a result, they become reckless, maniacal, careless and brutal. Fine qualities indeed, but – for our war we need decent warriors."

Tenshi brought the cup to the boy, whose claws reached out and grabbed it desperately. He closed his eyes as he savored the taste of pureblood on his tongue.

"But with the help of your blood, dear pet, we get this…"

Once again the boy's aura shifted; it was still that of a Level E, but it was calmer, balanced – no signs of bloodlust or madness could be detected.

The boy opened his eyes, revealing ice blue orbs, just like the rest of the Level E's in the room.

"Who am I?" Tenshi whispered to the boy, stroking his chin.

The boy bowed in reverence immediately upon recognizing Tenshi.

"My master and the true leader of the vampire race."

"Yes." Tenshi smiled gleefully. "Yes indeed."

"Your eyes look different."

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

Hanabusa huffed, crossing his arms. "No, but I gave it to you anyway."

"Well I don't care about your opinion, so from now on you can just keep it to yourself." Yuuki mumbled, her eyes trained on the book in front of her.

Hanabusa's cheeks flushed with red as the anger inside of him flared. "Make me!"

"Gladly!" Yuuki stood up; resting one hand on the table in front of them while raising her right claw, ready to tear at him.

"Oy! You two, knock it off already!" Kain interrupted the two, clapping his book together.

"Akatsuki! I was merely stating my opinion and she wa-"

"Shut up, Hanabusa. You're just creating unnecessary arguments." Kain sighed, sitting down. "Apologize to Yuuki-sama and continue working."

Hanabusa smacked his lips shut, staring defiantly at Yuuki. Her eyes sparkled; bursts of maroon and chocolate swirling in her greying eyes. It was true, her eyes were looking different these days – the black sometimes dimming into a deep charcoal grey with hints of brown in them, depending on her mood. It fascinated him – both his scientifically curious side and the side of him that cared for Yuuki and missed her old self.

Huffing, he relented and looked away from her stare. "Fine. Sorry."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Yuuki said.

Hanabusa's head whipped back, as he frowned. "You heard me the first time!"

"Heard what?"

"Seriously? Both of you shut the hell up!" Zero's annoyed voice cut in their banter. "You're both a bunch of annoying brats."

"Agreed," Akatsuki said, nodding towards Zero. Zero's lilac eyes flickered over to Akatsuki for a second, before returning to Yuuki and Hanabusa. It was still so strange, being in the same room as the vampires he'd resented all these years, conversing with them and working together. It wasn't like he'd suddenly become team-vampire, but as he slowly grew to accept himself over the past months, he'd slowly learned to tame his hate and anger towards vampires. Like he'd realized when Kaname was about to sacrifice himself – he'd spent too much of his life in denial, drowning in his own pain and misery to truly enjoy the life he'd been given. The hate for vampires was just another expression for the hatred he harbored for himself.

All vampires weren't bad people, he'd realized.

But some of them were still really annoying.

"Get to work," he barked. Yuuki's eyes narrowed at him for a second. He stared defiantly back; ready to handle any snarky comment she had coming his way. Unlike the others, he didn't thread on eggshells around her. He knew she was just playing a game. None of it was real.

She surprised him by turning to her book, her eyes skimming the pages as she read.

Zero let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

He still loved her.

Even if she had no humanity, even if she'd chosen Kaname countless times. He could still love her from afar, pouring that love into protecting her when she needed it and being a partner, like in her training sessions. She was no longer the girl he knew; and though he hated to admit it, he liked this side of her too. Not the snarky, glib and ruthless Level E-killing side, but the side of her that was determined and fearless – the side that he suspected she'd kept hidden for a long time.

They were all hunched over several historical books obtained from the Hunter's Association library. The books concentrated on the origins of vampires. Unfortunately, during the earliest time of vampires, the tradition of writing down important events and names wasn't usual, instead information and stories were passed from mouth to mouth, generation to generation, details becoming altered and distorted for each time the stories were told.

Little was known about the first vampire ancestors.

The only clue Yuuki had was that weird poem the Level E woman had recited at the first club she encountered.

Sanguis est fatum… Blood is destiny.

The tale of the two-headed vampire came to mind, but the only thing she could find was the fable Hanabusa had read out loud for them once. But it was just a simple fable; no grain of truth resided in the words – it gave her nothing tangible to grasp onto in their search.

Who was that mysterious man at the ball? What had he done to her powers? How was he connected to the fable?

"Hey, where's Kaname anyway? If anyone would know about all this ancient stuff, it would be him." Hanabusa's voice interrupted Yuuki's thoughts.

Yuuki pursed her lips, thinking back to their confrontation earlier.

After exiting Kaien's office, she turned; ready to walk towards the library. Kaname's arm shot out, grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards him.

"What was that?" He asked calmly.

Yuuki's eyebrows rose. "What was what?"

"Do not play coy with me, Yuuki." Kaname hissed. It'd been a while since she'd seen him this openly angry before.

"Ohh," she smirked, reaching her hand out to stroke his chest. "Our 'relationship'," she purred.

Kaname grabbed her hand, pulling her into his chest. He lowered his head, his face close to hers. "Yes. Our relationship. After what we did, I thought-"

"You thought wrong, Kaname." Yuuki interrupted, wrenching her hand back from his painful grasp. "What, everything's back to normal? I'm going to return to that naïve little girl who followed you around helplessly and together we'll live happily the rest of our lives? Get it in your head already – I don't have any feelings for you anymore. It's all gone. Vanished. Poof!"

"You don't have any feelings for me anymore?" He questioned.

She crossed her arms, while her face remained expressionless. "Nope."

Kaname was perfectly frozen for a few seconds – for the briefest of moments she swore she could see pain and hurt in his eyes – until his mouth lifted into lop-sided smirk, his eyes darkening. "You seemed to be feeling a lot of things last night when I touched you."

Her heart sped up.

"It was only physical," she said.

"Mmh," he hummed, walking towards her. Automatically she took a few steps back. Suddenly her back bumped against the wall. She was trapped beneath his gaze. "Only physical, you say. Just… stimulating, then." He bent down his head, now eye-level with her, gazing into her eyes. "It seemed to me that you were thoroughly enjoying yourself, Yuuki. I know I was. If you could hear yourself, Yuuki – the way you moan my name – if you could feel yourself, Yuuki – the way I feel you all over me – if you could see yourself, Yuuki – you'd understand my disposition and inclination to believe that you're telling a lie when you say you don't feel anything for me."

She released the breath she'd been holding when he retracted from her. "Oh well, I suppose feelings don't matter," he said, turning and walking away.

She clenched her fists as she quickly began walking in the opposite direction.

"I'll give you an offer then."

Before she had the chance to turn around, he was behind her, his hand around her waist, pressing her tightly into his chest and bending down his head so he could whisper in her ear.

"Come to my bed later. It's an open invitation. No feelings attached," his tongue darted out to lick her neck slowly. "I promise."

Yuuki shook her head. Clearing her throat, she shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care."

"You sure about that, Yuuki? Both you and Kaname were gone for a looooooong time. Disappearing and turning up at the same time, no less," Hanabusa sang, his expression smug. For a second he reminded her of how he used to be back when she was human – arrogant, spoiled and chronically smug and rude.

It aggravated her.

"Do you have a death wish, Hanabusa? Because I can easily grant it to you." She hissed, getting ready to bring out her claws again.

"Bite m-"

"Hello everyone!" Takuma sang, rushing into the room. "How are we all doing to- oh," he said, noticing the tension between Yuuki and Hanabusa who were glaring at each other, almost comically. "Same old, same old," he concluded, shrugging his shoulders.

"What brings you here, Takuma?" Ruka asked gently, noticing the big bag he was carrying.

"Oh, well," he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, when I was living with Sara I used to read some of the books from her private library. And I might just have stolen some before I left, heh." He said, a strained smile on his face. "Sara was a collector of rare items, especially ancient texts and such," his face sobered when he mentioned her name, his usually bright trademark smile dimming as he spoke. "I thought these might help us out in our research."

Everyone in the room knew that Takuma didn't speak much of his time with Sara. No one had really dared asking him either, afraid it would bring up bad memories to the otherwise cheerful vampire. Truthfully, Takuma didn't really know where he stood either. With the recent events with Yuuki and the divide in vampire society, he'd had too much on his mind to process his time with Sara.

Maybe he would, one day.

"That's great, Takuma," Zero said hesitantly. Instantly, everyone's face whipped towards Zero in shock – even Hanabusa and Yuuki took a break from their death match to look at him. "What!?" He asked, uncomfortable with all eyes on him. "I can't give compliments!?"

"Hehe, it's alright Zero," Takuma smiled cheerfully. "We're just not used to you being nice!"

He covered his mouth suddenly. "Oops! I didn't mean it like that, I meant that you're usually… you know, well, how do I explain, it's like…"

Akatsuki sighed, standing up. "The sun is rising soon. I think we should all take a break. We'll go over your books tomorrow night, Takuma," he said slapping Takuma on the shoulder and reaching his hand out to Ruka. She grasped it gently, standing up. "Have a good day, everyone." She said, before exiting with Akatsuki.

One by one, everyone cleared out except for Zero and Yuuki.

"You staying here the rest of the day?" Zero asked, standing by the door.

"Yeah… Yeah. You just go ahead," she said. Zero nodded, hesitating for second before turning and leaving the room.

Yuuki's eyes found the letters on the page in front of her.

"Come to my bed later."

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of Kaname's words.

"It's an open invitation."

She couldn't help but think about his touch. How expertly he made her feel so pleasured she would nearly explode, her heart racing as beads of sweat rolled down her body – beads he would catch with tongue, finding his way to her most hidden parts.

A shiver went down her spine.

No. She shook her head. She would not go down that route again. He was already bothering her about feelings and relationships and she had no interest in it. It was not the time nor the place to do such things. She was stronger than this; she wouldn't give in to him as easily as before. Realizing she wouldn't be able to read anymore, she closed the book, walking out of the library and down the hall. From her sideview she could see the sun rise in the distant horizon as she walked, bright pink hues filtering across the blue sky. It hurt to look at the sun, but she looked anyway, admiring the colors.

And then, all of a sudden, she was in front of the door to his room, with no recollection as to how she'd gotten there or why. Her hand knocked on the door without her consent. It opened slowly, his voice beckoning her inside the room.

It closed behind her, a light thud echoing in the dark room.

Outside, the sun rose fully, fiery red and blazing.

And once again she was in his arms.