Title: Cradle of Blood – chapter 21 – "Scorching the blood in my vampire heart."

Pairings: Zero x Kaname. Some Kaname x Zero also, and a few secondary pairings.
Warnings: AU. Sex slavery, prostitution, mature themes and lemons from time to time.


This is AU, so Zero grew up as a hunter in the notorious Kiryuu clan, was never bitten and didn't go through the trauma of being turned into a vampire.

Sorry, it's two weeks later than when I had meant to post it! T-T
Things are being really crazy busy lately, and it just kept being delayed. T-T

But, uhm, at least it's a bit earlier than the previous recent chapters. XD;

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His senses had always been more attuned than that of other fellow vampires. Even from his office, he could hear well the sound of screaming and the gunfire in the distance. He'd know ahead of time that it would be the case, as his new allies had warned him of where their armies were headed, but he'd taken a bit longer than planned to finish getting ready to leave.
He was almost done here, however, and was in no risk of getting caught before he made his escape. He was finishing to destroy all the papers that were not absolutely necessary for himself, and storing in a small briefcase the ones he found he might still have use for in the future, as political leverage in case his hunter allies ever had the foolish thought of turning against him. He had enough to make the entire Hunter Association fall, if necessary. But of course, it was something he would use as leverage, not to be actually made public other than in last recourse, to strike back in case they betrayed him first, as most of the proof he possessed implicated the Vampire Council as well – and by extension, himself— in a more or less direct manner.

The smell of the burning papers and old ink coming from the fireplace mingled strangely with the acrid smoke of burning wood and flesh that was starting to waft in through the open windows.

The wind was blowing the stench of the war into the building.

Some of the others might not yet have noticed until now just how close the hunter army was to their doorstep, but they had messengers constantly running from a side of the front to the other, as well as bats and other information-carriers, and so they'd all know soon enough.
Never as soon as him, though. He always made sure he had the edge over the others, even among the council members. They were a democratic institution in theory, but they had never been equals, ever.

They may all be level B's in the council, but there were level B's and level B's, and he clearly was completely different from the majority of the other council members.

He had always been above others, in part because of his birth, the long lineage of the Ichijous being the product of the very best and most powerful blood of each generation of his family… and more recently, in part thanks to the strongest pure blood, Kuran blood, which he'd been given the chance to taste at last.

And what a heady nectar it was. One could easily become forever addicted to such delight.

The one he'd gotten to try was already magnificent, but it couldn't possibly compare to the even younger and fresher one which he'd desired for so many years, but which had been kept safely away from his reach. Well, until now, that is. Soon enough, it would no longer be the case. And soon enough, nothing would be able to protect the boy from him or stop him from having a taste of his blood and so much more.
Rido's blood was incomparable to that of anyone Ichiou had tasted until then, but the older pureblood was still imperfect. He was a Kuran, but not completely perfect, as his mismatched eyes and unstable personality indicated.
The child, on the other hand… Kaname… he was the product of the purest bloodline of all, undiluted from the source until the very latest generation, and perfected to a level that could be called art. Kept safe and protected from anyone, virgin from all touches, in his body or in his blood. Not for much longer… As soon he was done with the papers here, Ichiou would get leave for Kuran manor, to collect that which was kept safe from him for far too long. Not only the boy, but also the girl his associate spoke of, that the Kurans had hidden so carefully. Rido may have her first, if he so wished; Ichiou was more interested in the boy he'd long coveted and been unable to touch.

The door slammed open, interrupting the vampire elder's thoughts, and someone staggered in, reeking on gunpowder and inferior blood. The man coughed, then fell to his knees, stretching an arm out.

"Asato… help me…"

Shiki.

"My old friend, what foolish things have you done? You need not go outside by yourself. If you'd sent someone instead, you'd have avoided finding yourself in such a predicament."

The tone was lightly admonishing but remained cold, and the detached look in his eyes certainly didn't match the situation. Shiki didn't seem to pick up on that, too busy choking and gasping for air.

"I.. I… didn't go to the front. I come from my niece's house. The whole area is overrun."

Ichiou watched with distaste as Shiki the elder bleed profusely on his expensive Persian carpet. Not that he'd be able to keep the carpet after he left the building anyway, but he'd spent so many hours in this office through his life… he'd decorated it with a minutiae of care and dedication, each little thing full of memories and history. This carpet for example, had been with him for near 250 years, and he liked it very much. It didn't matter that the moment he left, the building might burn down or be sacked by the enemy, he didn't like his carpet being defaced while he was still standing in his office. It was still his office until he stepped out of it for the last time. He scowled lightly at the other vampire.

"Well, I'm very much done sorting through my papers, and am leaving now. I'd advise you to do the same."

An advice spoken for no reason, as the other couldn't possibly heed it, they both knew well. Shiki's wounds were far too grievous, and it was only a matter of time now. Anti-vampire weapons were as deadly as ever.
Vampire healing or not, he would not live to see the end of this day even if he was given blood –unless of course it was from a pureblood, which was unlikely if not impossible. And he dared not ask Ichiou to take him with him, aware the other vampire would refuse to have a wounded person slowing down his escape.

"Asato… I know you have a plan. You always do. It's too late for me, but please, save my family! The girl is just a fool and her child isn't much better, but they're still the blood of my blood!! Don't let them fall in the enemy hands, I beg of you! For… for the sake… of the past… would you do… this for me…?"

Shiki was grasping the border of the desk now, standing with difficulty and focusing what energy he had left in asking that last favor. His bloody fingers left smudges on the mahogany wood and on the few crumpled papers left behind because they weren't important enough to burn down.

Ichiou gave him one last distracted glance while he finished stuffing a few small trinkets of sentimental value into his briefcase, and buttoned his coat to leave.

"I'm sorry old friend, but I have priorities, and your mad niece and her bastard son are not among them."

Ichiou stepped around the other man without sparring him a second look and walked out of the office, closing behind him the door of the place where he'd spent the longest part of his life. Shiki stared at the door, lost hopes and illusions crumbling in his eyes as Ichiou's footsteps became more distant in the hall.

What was done was done. What needed being done. Now came the most important part of it all.

Messengers returned and news of the battle's outcome spread; with them, the tide was quick to turn. The other council-members rational worry evolved into a wild panic as the smoke of the fires and the clamor of the enemy soldiers got closer. Most were burning confidential papers and trying to organize their own escape plans. They were less efficient and less well informed than Ichiou, naturally. He exited the building walking quickly, without bothering to look back. By the time the others left, it would probably be too late.

Shiki and him had been lovers once. But it was a long time ago, when they were young and full of foolish ideas. When they had been almost as young as their own current heirs were now.
Time had separated them more and more, despite the proximity of their positions in the council. They hadn't been together in that way in over five or six hundred years at the very least. What had been a youthful passion once had grown cold with the age, and the more it became clear that while Shiki may be cunning and ruthless himself, he was nowhere at Ichiou's level, both intellectually and physically. Tired of a lover that wasn't born of a blood powerful enough to allure him nor intelligent enough to challenge his quick mind, Ichiou had preferred to have Shiki as an useful ally and a tool in the council rather than a lover, and the other had taken whatever position he could, not intelligent enough to challenge Ichiou but too smart to miss the fact he would be crushed like a bug if he stood against him.

But Ichiou had no room for him in the new world he had to adjust to, and his one and only priority was ensuring Takuma and his own safety once the war ended.

Whoever stood in the way might as well burn, for all he cared.

The fires of the war were but a distant memory now, and so was that brutal afternoon when Ichiou had left behind the old council building and its occupants, to fend for themselves as the hunter armies approached.

The fire that was currently reflected in the man's cold eyes was that of his cozy fireplace, in the luxurious triplex apartment he owned in one of the most refined residential districts of the hunter capital.

Fire that burned warmly and reassuringly, its reflections playing with shadows and gentle hues over the figure of his grandson, sitting a small distance away, and once more trying to discreetly peer through the escort agencies' slave catalogues. In search of what, Ichiou knew not for sure, but he was starting to feel like he'd have to look into it sometime.

The old man immersed himself back in the economics page of the newspaper in his hands, though, knowing there was no hurry.

In the eyes of the society of lies and deceit that had emerged at the end of the war, he was a respected member of the higher hierarchy of the Hunter Association. His plans might not have gone as perfectly as he'd wanted –the only failure being that Takuma was still a vampire— but at least they were in as safe of a situation as they could hope for, and had nothing to fear of the new world, unlike most of his former race, the vampires enslaved after the war.

He wasn't comfortable everyday with the way things happened, and he would definitely have liked to have a chance to doom only the purebloods and somehow save the rest of his race, but… life generally gave you choices and you had to make with what you could accomplish.
And if he had no choice over the matter but perish with his brethren or save his own hide, he was most definitely not going to hesitate. Especially when the choice was to perish with fools that had worshipped the purebloods he so hated, or survive and thrive, with on top of it the chance to keep Takuma safe too. The boy was the only person who'd ever mattered in Ichiou's eyes, after the death of his beloved wife and after their only son, the flesh of his flesh, had foolishly betrayed their clan by choosing a life or artistic delusions in his career as an actor, rather than the meaningful existence Ichiou had offered him at the council.

But the past was the past. The future, on the other hand, was still looking pretty bright in Ichiou's eyes.

If he had to damn the rest of their race to ensure the Ichijous at least would prevail… then so be it.

--

Far away from the respectable district in which Ichiou and his grandson lived, in a bathroom adjacent to a bedroom with tired furnishings and that had seen far too much horror over the years, the one who was perhaps the very best example of anyone the old man would have wanted to 'damn', was currently enjoying a very rare moment of happiness.

Rarely did Kaname ever feel safe enough to come out of his shell a little more, but at the present moment, the gentleness and the intense protectiveness with which Zero had held him tightly a moment earlier had touched him so deeply that he almost felt giddy from joy. However much he may still be inevitably scared that the moment might not last and that he might be just as rapidly swept back into the horror of every night at the 'house', the moment at hand was definitely too peaceful to focus on that fear.

After Zero's kind words and gentle reassurances, Kaname was feeling far safer now than earlier in the night, and he truly glowed, his already naturally ethereal beauty enhanced so much more by the shy smiles on his luscious lips, still flushed and attractively swollen from his exertions in pleasuring the hunter earlier.

The brunet's innocent delight in the current moment was such that for once even the deeply ingrained fear that had still showed intermittently on his face earlier had now mostly disappeared, save for on the usual moments of hesitancy as they entered the bathroom or if they accidentally brushed against each other. Instead, the emotions that flickered on Kaname's delicate features all spoke of his shy happiness at being in the hunter's company, and his eagerness to please him and enjoy the moment to its fullest.

The pureblood was already irresistible the rest of the time, both because of his looks and because the pheromones his body automatically released whether he wanted it to or not; but when he looked so unexpectedly innocent, his beauty managed to be countless times more remarkable even. One would not have thought someone so beautiful could possibly exist in nature, and Zero was taken aback by the sight each time that Kaname turned to him with those adorable smiles and the endearing blush that colored his cheeks anew whenever the brunet and him talked.

To make matters worse, the relative lack of pain currently coming from Zero's wound, allied to the fact that his spectacular climax earlier had momentarily cleared up part of the foggy feeling of exhaustion and feverishness from the hunter's body… and had replaced it instead with a peaceful bliss that for the time being allowed him to focus a little too much on something other than his earlier worries about being tired and having to get back home to go to sleep quickly.
In other words, it left him with quite a bit of room to focus instead on the sensual brunet in front of him and on the renewed surge of desire he'd felt when he saw him earlier, so beautifully marked as his by the seed splattered over his face, flushed lips parted, at his knees and practically offered for him.

Zero had tried to ignore his urges and to instead give his whole attention to their innocent talk as they got in the bathroom and as Kaname gathered the bath products and all, but… that feeling wasn't abating in the least. If anything, the lust was only rising to even worse levels as Zero soaped himself up and watched Kaname washing as well.

By now, Zero had already seen Kaname naked several times, but it was so very rare to have the combination of them being in the bathtub together and Kaname looking happy and unguarded, both at the same time. Usually, Kaname looked as if Zero was about to jump him, which always made the hunter feel guilty and keep his distances. Today, the pureblood wasn't displaying that barely concealed panic, and naturally, the guilt that normally held Zero at bay was not there to shield him from the full force of the lust.

The pureblood's eyes were now shut tightly with an adorable look of concentration as he washed his hair and tried to avoid getting any of the lather in his eyes.
That sight in itself was certainly somewhat innocent, but there was nothing quite completely innocent about the overall picture of wanton sensuality the water painted as it sluiced down that perfect body.
And there was no denying the utterly sensual way Kaname's skin glistened under the soapy suds and the warm shower spraying over his sculptural body, rivulets of it running down his chest, stomach, sides, legs.

A slight movement of those finely chiseled hips was all needed to have Zero's eyes glued to them.

It was as if the water itself couldn't resist caressing that demigod of perfection, worshipping his unmatched beauty, drop after drop licking his skin in passionate strokes that were both absolutely innocent and yet nearly obscene in Zero's eyes, because of the tantalizing urges that clamored within him in response, at the sight of the whole scene.
The water emphasized even more each and every single spot on the brunet's body, awakening wave after wave of concupiscent images in the hunter's mind, who wished it were his tongue and other parts of his body exploring the pureblood's silky skin, instead of the water from the shower.

Kaname might not even have known just how radiant he currently looked, but it simply was so.

Zero's eyes were riveted to the curves on the pureblood's body, even more so when Kaname turned around to expose his front to the shower, which in turn left his back wide open to the man.
Zero's gaze slid down the line of the brunet's slender and very lightly muscled body, admiring the dip of his spine then the beautiful, curving swell of his rear, where the hunter's attention stayed for a good moment, fascinated by the way the droplets of water ran down the delicate skin of those twin mounds, and the way the muscles flexed softly in response to the brunet's movements as he washed up the rest of his body as well.
It was impossible for Zero to not automatically imagine how it would feel if that subtle clenching of the pureblood's inner muscles was to be happening with them both enlaced in bed, and his own flesh buried deep within the delicious brunet's quivering body.
Would Kaname shudder uncontrollably in his arms, cutely trying to repress his moans, or would he be the more vocal type as pleasure escalated…? The thought sent a renewed spike of heat to the volcano already pooling in Zero's groin, the mind image making it all seem so much more real, as if he could almost concretely imagine already how deliciously tight and hot the brunet vampire's sheath would feel when he claimed him. Somehow, Zero was sure it would be even more amazing than anything his imagination could possibly conjure.

Zero had been the one to suggest that they wash themselves and not each other as they sometimes did. Oficially, so that their shower would be over faster since it was late… although in truth it had been because he'd been wary of spooking the pureblood and breaking the lovely moment if they washed each other and he went too far.
He'd been the one to tell Kaname to just go ahead and take his time washing up and not worry thinking he had to wash him or anything, something the pureblood seemed to assume was his duty whenever Zero bathed. But by now the hunter was quite unable to heed his own advice, too busy with the contemplation of the beautiful being that so unexpectedly took the risk to turn his back on him.

Zero's gaze finally managed to tear itself from his fascinated examination of the area that had so strongly caught his interest, only to wander further down to the graceful paleness of the brunet's inner thighs, marred only by his taming brand, a restraining tattoo placed on his inner left thigh –all slaves wore one, on a place or another of their body— and then finally all the way down to his delicate heels, and what he could see of the rest of his slender feet and toes from there.
The pureblood had perfectly cared-for toenails, that from the look of it must be as well-manicured as the nails on his hands, although Zero doubted it was done for any purpose other than being aesthetically pleasing to the customers. It's not as if the 'house' cared for Kaname's wellbeing beyond his usefulness for them. But even then, it was a part of who Kaname was, and the hunter couldn't help but take in each and every single one of those details and devour them with his eyes, trying to benefit from the fact that since Kaname had his back to him, the pureblood wouldn't be scared by the lust in his eyes as long as the hunter kept his aura more or less under control.

The way the brunet got on his tiptoes for a quick moment, perhaps to get under the shower at a better angle as he brushed some suds from his face before resuming his hair washing, was particularly enticing. The shifting of position made the movement translate beautifully into the rest of the pureblood's body, making the cleft parting the two halves of his rear to appear even more inviting in Zero's eyes. The heat pooling anew in the hunter's groin spiked yet a little higher with each of Kaname's little movements.

Even beyond the physical beauty, it was a rare moment of seeing the pureblood letting his guard partially down, and the glimpse the hunter got of that unguarded Kaname was even more tempting than usual.

Zero's mind played tricks on him, inevitably wondering if Kaname was truly just innocently trusting him not to do something, or if perhaps the brunet was purposefully tempting and inviting him… Of course, no matter how much he told himself that it should be the former, his body clamored for him to hope for the latter instead.

As for the unaware subject of such ideas, the position he had put himself in during the blowjob had taken its toll on the brunet 's already painful knees, and Kaname was having a bit of trouble keeping his balance as he washed. His legs trembled slightly, the soreness just slightly soothed by the warm water.
Soon, he had to lean against the wall with one hand to steady himself, and had only the other one left for washing his hair.

The brunet's difficulties were obvious, by now. Zero shoved to the back of his mind the rampant erotic mind images that were running wild on the forefront for a moment, and drew closer to Kaname's back, whispering by his ear "Allow me…" before taking over the washing, massaging better the sweet scented lather of shampoo into the pureblood's hair.

Kaname slightly flinched in surprise at first, but couldn't help shuddering pleasantly when the hunter's breath tickled his ear. He tried to relax into Zero's touch, and his scalp was very sensitive… the hunter's massage was blissfully soothing, and so soon the brunet was melting eagerly against Zero's fingers as the man's movements became less and less washing and more and more caress, first on his head only, then on his shoulders and arms as the hunter moved down and forgot about his own advice, taking upon himself to wash more than just the pureblood's hair.
Kaname unexpectedly leaned into the contact even as it grew bolder, unsure of what he was doing but simply feeling safe for now and not wanting the moment to ever end.

On an unconscious level, he realized Zero was caressing him more than he was really washing him, but by then, it wasn't uncommon for them to exchange caresses, always walking the thin line between soothing and pleasant and the escalating sensuality that normally frightened the hesitant pureblood.
At the present moment, however, even though his heart was beating increasingly faster with each of the hunter's advances, Kaname was surprised to find he wasn't panicking just yet. Truth to be said, he was still a little in a daze, both from the awe of the kind and reassuring moment they'd shared earlier, and from the recent days of Zero touching him gently but never pushing it too far.

Maybe it was just wishful thinking, and he should have been more worried than he was, but for some odd reason, at the present moment Kaname didn't feel as threatened as he normally did, which in itself was a very surprising discovery for him. With so much on his mind, it was understandable if the brunet was so distracted by the unusual feelings that he didn't notice the one moment when things tilted over the invisible edge of something neither of them had dared to approach before.

It was all unplanned, unexpected, too fast for either of them to think straight before they realized things were going so much farther than they ever had gone until then.

They'd been exchanging caresses more and more often with each meeting, but it had never escalated so much. All of a sudden, Kaname found himself encased within the hunter's arms, Zero's strong lean body pressed exotically behind him, the hunter's hands no longer merely caressing as he washed him, but instead openly giving into the temptation to explore his body farther and farther down, until…

The thought process had gone completely chaotic inside the pureblood's mind when the hunter's fingers slid down his side in a sensual caress, over his hip and then farther, wrapping themselves around him.

A wave of heat seemed to wash over Kaname's whole body, matching the flush that took over his face all the way to the roots of his hair. His lips parted very suddenly, in shock, but no sound came out. It was as if his whole body didn't know how to react and was short-circuiting, his brain frozen and torn between panic and dumbfounded disbelief at what was happening.

Unsure whether he was about to scream or not –and whether it was from pleasure or fear or both together—, Kaname's hand instinctively flew to cover his mouth, and he was lost between the urge to press himself more fully against the body of the man behind him, or try and break the contact before things escalated even farther as he knew they quickly would… But unfortunately, he also knew that making any, even the slightest, attempt to stop the hunter was something utterly forbidden for him. Pushing away a customer meant the slave wasn't properly broken in, and resulted in inevitable complaints to the 'house'and horrific punishment for the slave… Partial 'retraining' being one of the worst parts of it.
Attempting to refuse himself to any customer was inacceptable and impossible. He was at the complete mercy of Zero, whatever the man may decide to do to him.

'Whether you want this or not, you have no right to ever refuse your body to anyone. '

'You belong to whoever crosses the threshold of that room door, for as long as they pay us for your body. Never forget what you are…'

And as Kaname felt the hunter's hand close more decidedly around his shaft, he knew he did want Zero touching him, he very much did, but… he was also completely terrified, and shaking more and more hard, torn between his wishes, his fears, and the brutal commands and directives of the ones who had put him where he was now. The owner of the 'house', the handlers, everybody whose orders had ever left their mark on his scarred mind, and whose voices he could practically still hear echoing against the walls and making his hands feel clammy and cold even under the pleasant warmth of the shower, which he could no longer feel, lost in an old panic that would never leave him…

'You have no right to pull away from a customer. The word 'no' is forbidden to those of your kind. If you ever so much as dare consider uttering that word to a customer, expect the punishment for it to be a hundred times more painful than anything that customer may have done to you.'

The pureblood whimpered softly against his own fingers still covering his mouth, the sound mostly drowned by the spraying of the shower over them, and by the heat of the moment. Zero took it for a small moan and failed to notice the brunet's distress. He kissed the pureblood's delicate earlobe sensually, a hand sliding up his pale torso slick with water, and the other hand caressing Kaname more earnestly, initiating a pumping motion.

Kaname thought he might faint. He'd never felt anything like that before. His toes and fingers were curling under the onslaught of sensation, hands pressing so hard against his face from wanting to clench into a fist to try and cope with it. If not for the anti-vampire drugs weakening his body so much, his nails might have dug into his skin from the effort to keep his own body under control.

'You live only to serve the humans. Your body is not your own. Never forget what you are and what you are left alive for. Never forget that you exist for their pleasure, never for your own. Never forget that if you fail at providing that pleasure, then you are worthless to us, and we will make sure to correct the problem.'

Kaname squeezed his eyes hard, tears blurring his vision. His head was swimming with pleasure so intense that he could barely breathe, but every second that passed reminded him of how impossible a positive outcome was. His ribcage heaved more raggedly as the hunter's free hand slid over a nipple, gentle fingers teasing it into a hardened state. Kaname's knees felt like butter melting in the sun. He'd have fallen already if not for Zero's arm around his chest, supporting him. A soft whimper escaped his lips, a sort of a tortured little plea turning into a half-groan of pleasure by the end. Tears were now freely rolling down his face, but with the water it was impossible to tell.

'Don't ever think any human would ever view you as anything other than the whore you are. A slave, a sex toy that can breathe, and nothing more than that.
Don't you dare to ever think you are anything more than just that. Don't dare to ever imagine you could be above anyone or anything else, or that you could ever have a right to claim pleasure for yourself.
Your body doesn't belong to you. It belongs to anyone who is willing to pay to claim you, and if you ever dare to think you could possibly be anything other than a passive receiving object, we will have to remind you of the error of your ways in a manner that you won't forget regardless of how long the lifespan of your filthy species may be.'

Kaname pressed the back of his head against the hunter's shoulder, his face still out of Zero's sight, muffling his own sobs with his hands and trying to focus whatever he could muster of his crumbling will into not letting his body lose itself in the pleasure and display the arousal it was feeling.

Every word spoken by his tormentors during the brutal training he'd endured years earlier was still seared clearly in his mind, as well as the words of every single handler that came after to reinforce that idea over the years. The horrifying memory of their teachings ate at him, tearing at the fabric of reality as he saw it and his own perceptions of worth and right or wrong. Unforgivable… what I am… my very birth was a sin, I couldn't possibly expect to be given any pleasure, much less… much less…

Much less to dare to allow himself to display something that would indicate that his body still had any instincts that may be anything other than submissive. Such as hardening while a hunter or any human could see him. They had made it very clear, what would happen if he disobeyed, if his body took over and broke such important rules. He knew better than expect any mercy from people who had subjected him and so many others to such horrors that would still be plaguing his nightmares many more years from now.

Complete panic was seizing Kaname at the idea that the pleasure the hunter was giving him was such that he might be unable to go on holding back, and accidentally go erect.

If there was one thing that was as unforgivable as it could get, it would be that happening right there and then, in full sight of a customer. Gentle and exceptional as this particular customer may be, the rules were the rules. He might not be so gentle if he sees this happen!
Hunters were what they were, and so were vampires, their slaves at the complete mercy of all those rules. None of this was going to change just because Kiryuu-sama had hugged him before they went into the bathroom.
However much he may have wanted to cling to an impossible dream, Kaname was too certain of that to have any doubts on the matter.

He wasn't sure what Zero would do to him if he broke the rule, but he was certain that something horrible would happen. First off, it would certainly earn him about as much punishment from the handlers as refusing himself to a customer or trying to push them off him. But he feared Zero's reaction and his disapproval or, much worse, his disgust, far more than he could fear any abuse from the handlers.
And for all Kaname knew, Zero might even be touching him as a test –it didn't even cross the pureblood's mind that the hunter might actually want to make him aroused. The way he'd been raised and brutalized made the idea of such a thing being wanted, from a vampire, impossible in the brunet's eyes.
And furthermore, Kaname was used to people who knew very clearly the rules he was bound by, and it never even occurred to him either that Zero might simply have had no knowledge of that particular rule, having never rented slaves or visited the 'houses' before meeting him.

There were no things such as natural bodily reflexes or any of the such, for the 'houses'. At least, no reflexes that were left unpunished… Getting aroused and displaying it in an active way was almost as unforgivable as being thirsty and openly demanding blood would have been.

The voice in his mind repeated the words again, as brutal as it was in his memory, the feel of the steel whip still burning on his skin even years later.

'Slaves are to be passive. Always receiving, open and offered at all times, pliant, yielding, legs and lips parted for whoever may feel like claiming them, never showing any signs of disobedience or hardness of any type. The mere sight of a vampire's erection of all things, is an abomination that would disgust to the very core any human, and it will be immediately punished accordingly. You will not escape punishment, ever.'

Horrible words spoken during one of many dreadful conditioning sessions, heavy of terribly dark menaces and that had left an unforgettable impression in the minds of all the slaves, whether they'd received their training at a 'house' or were broken by a private instructor first, for the service of an individual master.

Private slave or whore in the brothels, the brutality with which they had learned the new society's rules after the war was the same all around. No slave ever forgot their training, ingrained in their body and mind so deeply that some of them were not even able to get erect if they'd wanted to try to during the meager hours of rest they had during the day, and during which they could hope to have a short respite for themselves.
Kaname's current problem was the opposite; he wasn't unable to get it up, he was instead desperately afraid of his concentration breaking and his body betraying him, and of it hardening between the hunter's fingers and utterly disgusting Zero forever on.

'The mere sight of a vampire's erection was an abomination that would disgust to the very core any human…'

Any human… yes, that meant even Kiryuu-sama…

…and even Kiryuu-sama would punish him accordingly, for such an unforgivable slight, of course, how could he not…?

…After all, it was such an abomination… He was such an abomination. His body was such an object of revulsion for everybody, and not good for anything other than being the receiving end of…

…of……

Kaname choked on a sob, his face burning from shame and arousal together, despair and unbelievable hopes warring with each other. His mind was swimming from a shockingly contradictory mix of both pleasure and the haze of horror that the memories of his training had brought closer to the forefront along with their usual load of self-loathing and disgust.
He suddenly realized he felt the hunter's arousal pressed against the curve of his rear, the tip of it nudging his cleft with each of their movements. He hadn't even understood exactly what it was before, too lost in the terror within his own mind, and not expecting it from Zero. He was too shaken and hadn't understood just how far it had all gone, until this moment, when it all seemed to click together. Kaname's heart was pounding in his chest, and he finally realized with both complete horror and a strange wave of heat what was inevitably about to happen to him anytime now.

With one hand, Zero was rolling the brunet's nipples softly under his fingertips, going from one to the other, arousing them further into puckered nubs while with the other hand he continued his ministrations to Kaname's flesh lower down his body. Zero was completely lost in the moment and in the delight of lavishing gentle attentions on the pureblood and finally touching his body in ways he'd so long desired… So much that it was only when he pressed further forward and tilted the brunet's head back to kiss Kaname's tightly shut eyelids that he finally realized the pureblood was crying hard.

The hunter froze, completely shocked, suddenly noticing all the signs he'd been missing before, both because he'd been so lost in the moment and because Kaname had his back to him and was trying to hide his panic so much.

The pureblood's fingers were still tightly pressed over his lips, and he was trying hard to restrain his shivering, not pulling away from the hunter's arms because he didn't dare to, but holding desperately to his sanity, apparently quite in the belief that it might shatter anytime soon depending on the hunter's next movements. His eyes were squeezed shut, a look of terror twisting his delicate features.

No, no, no, no, please no, please I beg you, don't, please, please don't… Words Kaname couldn't possibly say aloud, and that were repeating in a string of fear and desperation in his mind, as he just let the other do as he pleased to him, clinging to the mostly gone hope that the final damage might not be as bad as he was almost certain it would be.

Still frozen in place by the unexpected sight, Zero risked a terribly uncertain smile --that desperately wanted itself reassuring in case Kaname opened his eyes and saw it--, before he whispered a question.

"Kaname...? Why are you covering your mouth?"

The pureblood's hands were pressed over his lips so hard that his knuckles were white.

And with that single question, what was still left in place shattered completely since Kaname opened tearful eyes and lifted his fingers to confess in a trembling voice that was so low it was barely audible and almost sounded like that of a frightened child instead, "I... I was scared…"
Not knowing what to do and assuming he was forced to say the truth, the brunet continued, trembling as he spoke, and unwittingly driving the nail deeper into the proverbial coffin…

"... I …I was afraid I might scream. I didn't want to anger you though, so... so...I covered my mouth… I was… trying …trying so much… not to…"

The brunet's tears broke apart whatever he was trying to say, and meanwhile, cold realization washed over Zero – the trembling flesh his fingers were wrapped around had never hardened one bit, regardless of how long he'd been stroking it.
In the heat of it, he'd thought the way the pureblood pressed himself against him and trembled under his touch was because Kaname had been enjoying what he'd been doing, and that he would grow hard anytime soon, or that maybe such things were a bit slower for vampires and that all was fine, but… what if he'd been wrong? What if he'd been forcing himself on him, what if Kaname merely endured his touch, feeling obligated…?

What if it had been exactly how it was with everybody else who came in here and forced themselves on the poor thing?

Zero was utterly horrified at the idea of what he might have been doing to the broken brunet. But he didn't say anything!! He didn't show any signs that he didn't want this, he let me… The voice of the hunter's conscience was quick to interrupt and crush the paltry arguments. Well, duh, he was pretty much forced to live with the idea he had no right to say 'no' to anyone, how did you not think this might happen?!

Zero may know this much about slaves, but his knowledge of things didn't go very far into some of the darker details. He'd never gone to the 'houses' until meeting Kaname, and he hadn't grown up with someone that owned a slave or had any closeness to any, so he ignored completely how far things went in their training. He had no idea how heavily the notion of "passive/submissive only" was enforced in their minds, nor how brutally said notion was introduced in their training and subsequent reinforcement sessions.

He had no idea that if Kaname wasn't hard, it wasn't because he fully, completely didn't want this, but because it was so terribly forbidden for him that the mere thought of accidentally getting an erection in the hunter's company terrified him beyond belief and ruined any chance he might have to enjoy the man's touch. Aside from the fact that the brunet was even more terrified now of Zero raping him any time, even if the more relaxed moment they'd shared earlier made that he hadn't immediately assumed that as quickly as he usually did, and had instead spent a while first focusing his fear on the possibility of accidentally hardening under the hunter's touches, and on the question of whether Zero would react brutally if he did something wrong or displayed physically the pleasure he was feeling.

Horrified as Kaname may have been, he did 'want' it, in a way. Or more exactly, he wanted the 'idea' of them touching each other and of how things would be in an ideal world. A world where Zero could touch him and he could merely give himself to the pleasure of that touch, without being so terribly afraid of the consequences and of what every single of his actions might cause.
A world where the closeness between them was true and every breath he drew didn't remind him of how little time left there was, and how sooner or later it would all break apart and the hunter would reveal his true nature. A world where he wasn't so certain that the gentleness Zero displayed was but a mask that would disappear when the hunter finally claimed him. In short, a world where Zero's touches meant only the gentle pleasure spreading in waves through his body, and not an omen of imminent destruction.

But this was not a world of dreams.

Kaname deeply believed that in this world, such beautiful things were impossible.

And as such, he trembled softly in the hunter's arms, wondering what he'd done wrong to cause the sudden interruption, and whether he'd be punished for whatever it was that he'd done.

Mortified, Zero had dropped his hand quickly after his mistaken assumption that the pureblood wasn't enjoying his touch at all. The hunter was still more or less frozen in place, his arms around Kaname loosely supporting him, the spray of the shower pounding against them relentlessly. Slowly, he pulled the pureblood around gently and hugged him in an awkward manner, partially angling them sideways in an attempt to avoid poking Kaname any longer with his arousal, even though it was rapidly going limp from the shock of thinking he'd forced the pureblood. Kaname didn't want this, so it was best not to remind him of… of what… Of what he'd been about to do to him a moment ago, and which was now filling the hunter with intense remorse.

Shifting them around to shield the brunet from the spray of the shower, Zero held him close, caressing Kaname's head reassuringly, his fingers tracing soothing little circles on the back of his head and neck, the way he'd noticed the pureblood liked.
Guilt was practically oozing out of the hunter's pores as he waited for the pureblood's ragged breathing and the trembling that shook his slender body to quiet down a little bit.

Still caressing the dark-haired head, Zero waited until he was sure Kaname could stand by himself, then whispered painfully a 'sorry' into his ear before letting go and stepping out of the bathtub. He grabbed a towel and disappeared quickly into the bedroom to dry up and get dressed to leave.

Kaname's face fell as he considered the unexpected apology and whatever it might imply. And yet, even as the panic was still racing through his veins, he already desperately missed the feeling of the man's arms around him, like a moth enraptured by the flame that kept burning him more and more painfully, but that never ceased to fascinate him.

It was so unexpected for the vampire that someone would apologize to him for anything, much less for what was supposed to be anyone's "right" in the status quo of the current society.
Kaname stared at the door the hunter had retreated through, unsure of what to think or if he still had enough forces to withstand whatever might lay ahead tonight.

Was it a 'sorry' said preemptively because Kiryuu-sama would be raping him any time now…? But why would he be sorry or even bother apologizing, if it was the case…?

Unless… unless the apology was meant as a farewell, a way to say that there was something so utterly wrong with him that the hunter wouldn't even be willing to go through with it…?

The way Zero was so different from other hunters made it so much harder for Kaname to guess, but the sheer pain that had hung in the air between them when the hunter whispered that word and left, spoke volumes of the thing Kaname feared maybe even more than the idea of his silver-haired protector raping him…

At that point, Kaname knew he was more afraid of Zero leaving now and never returning, than of Zero staying and raping him right that very same night.

.

.

.

[tbc]

Things are getting hotter, little bit by little bit. XD;

Even though it was mostly depressing and tragic for Kaname because of his past ruining what could have been such a precious moment, and because of the resulting misunderstanding, there's a little positive point not to be forgotten in the middle… He did want Zero touching him, after all. XD; Terribly afraid as he may be. X3

I'm not sure when exactly the next chapter will be posted because things are crazy busy right now, but hopefully it won't take as long as it's been taking. ^^; *crosses fingers*

The title of the chapter comes from "Vampire Heart", (by HIM as usual), btw. :D

And lastly, if anyone needs a memory refresher of the Takuma & Ichiou situation, I think we last saw them back in chapter 9. XD;; CoB is crazy long. XD; *lol*
I had an even longer scene about them and some more people, but if I just kept tweaking the chapter it would take another week or so before posting, so… that scene will have to wait another time. (Besides, I'm sure we are all more interested in what's going on with Zero x Kaname. ;D *lol*)

--

NOTE: If you are wondering why Zero and Kaname both behave slightly differently than they do in VK, it's because while they are still the same people, they have lived very different lives from the ones they had in the normal VK storyline, so it inevitably influenced their outlook of the world and the way they react to various things:

Zero still grew up among hunters, but he wasn't present at the death of his parents, and was never turned into a vampire, so his hatred for the whole species never went to the extremes it has in the series. (The death of his parents was a tragedy, but the memory of the war was still somewhat recent too, Zero didn't lose everything like he had in normal VK, and as a result in the end it didn't have exactly the same effect.)
Imagine the sweet and gentle Zero we've seen in flashbacks with Ichiru etc, and how he might have turned out to be if he'd grown up more self-assured and without the self-loathing and anger of turning into a vampire.

Kaname on the other hand, is of course still a pureblood and in part influenced by the way he was raised, but he has also been a slave for the past ten years, and is much too used to being beaten for no reason, so by now he knows to put up a mask of fake submission, and is a lot more careful than he was when he'd just been captured.
On top of that, Kaname didn't go through the same things he did in the manga, so he didn't get used as much to the same type of powergames and mental struggles from the same type of more cold/calculating viewpoint. The type of abuse he's suffered after the war was a lot more direct and lacking in subtlety.

To give a more exact idea: take the innocent and trusting Kaname from the flashbacks in the manga (yes, that same Kaname that chairman Cross would say was so innocent and each time cutely fell for whatever story the chairman made up), and then imagine how he might turn out if instead of having had to learn to manipulate people under his authority, he was captured while still innocent and gentle, and was completely traumatized by years of slavery and constant abuse. (I'm going with the setting that vampires hit puberty earlier than humans, for survival reasons.)

Keep in mind this is AU, so a lot of the settings are different, some just a little, others a lot, so of course that inevitably affects how the characters are, even if they are still the same characters. ;D Certain details change.