A/N
Haven't had an author's note for a while. Missed me? Anyway, I didn't want to interrupt your reading pleasure but the POVs might get SLIGHTLY confusing here as it switches back and forth. It's gonna be separated by the lines as I switch between the POVs. Just a heads up, it's Yuki, Zero, Yuki, Zero, Kaito, Zero Yuki. You'll know who's who as you read it. And can someone explain what is this image manager thing? Thanks and enjoy =)

Aingealis

I fell to the floor once you left. My hands were shivering. My head was spinning. The fear had finally gotten to me.

What am I to do? How am I supposed to handle this situation? There were 2 people I could call, assuming my 2 different personas. If I were the Kuran princess, that would be Rido.
But right now, I'm not only acting as your girl, I have truly become your woman. I called Chairman.

What if you never come back? What would happen then? How am I supposed to go on?
It was eerily silent. If you and Shizuka started fighting again, it wouldn't be this quiet, right?
I peered out the door. The corridor was dimly lit and I couldn't tell which direction you had taken. It was then when I heard something tumble and footsteps echoing down the corridor. I followed the sounds as they were getting fainter. He was going in the other direction. Is that you, Zero? Where are you going? Your footsteps were getting quicker. I gave chase. It's one of those rare moments when I wished I had my vampire senses back.

I ran down that corridor and saw a figure lying on the floor. Shizuka? Is she dead? I could still hear your footsteps. Where are you going to then, Zero? I stopped in my tracks.
Should I approach? Should I wait? Those footsteps had disappeared by now. I couldn't tell where you've gone.
What should I do now?

Apprehensively, I approached the figure.
I remembered Shizuka – or Maria, as I knew her then – telling me her story. Of a man she loved. I pitied her then. But seeing her hurt Zero; all I felt was anger, no matter how much sorrow I knew she went through, no matter how much I felt for her. But now that she's lying there on the floor, my anger dissipated.

Maria, have you met him now? The man you loved so much? I hope you do; then you wouldn't be so lonely. I know how terribly lonely the life of a Pureblood is. And it's only recently that I discovered how good our lives can be. I'm sorry that they took him away from you. I hope you're happy now. I hope you stop terrorizing Zero's dreams now. Yes, I'm sorry for your sad love story, but Zero is my priority. He is what that man was to you.
He is my love.

Apprehensively, I walked towards the figure. I've never seen anyone die before. I've been sheltered too long. But as I drew nearer, I realized that something was wrong. That figure is a man. My pace quickened, just as my heart stopped beating.

Silver hair.
But it could be Zero's brother.
Lying motionless.
But he could just be passed out.
In a pool of blood.
I ran.

I stumbled once I left the room. This wound is hurting more than I thought it would. I tried to move my arm and this sharp pain immediately shot up. I don't care, I have to go. I have to go retrieve Ichiru, Shizuka can burn in hell for all I care. I can't lose Ichiru again.

I followed the scent. I could feel my body getting weaker, but I pushed on anyway. My senses were getting muddled; there were too many scents that I was getting confused. But it can't be. There should only be Shizuka's scent and Ichiru isn't a vampire.

I stopped by an open door. Shizuka was lying motionless on the ground, with Ichiru beside her. And standing over them; Kuran.
I wasn't personally acquainted with him, but I knew who he was. Fucking Pureblood.

He detected my presence. Our eyes met. He was unreadable, this one. Just as I expected from Pureblood royalty. Ichiru turned to me. His eyes were accusing.
But I knew better. Shizuka wasn't going to die this quickly from merely 2 shots.
I did the math. It wasn't my fault.
Kuran, you bastard.

Because in that split second that I stared into Kuran's eyes, he did what Shizuka did to me. Only this time, its impact is amplified. He's much, much stronger than Shizuka. My body was thrown back, hitting the wall hard.
The wounds I had already sustained started to bleed more profusely.
The shrieks in my head grew louder.
The images in my mind became more vivid.
Each minute, each second, each moment; replaying again.
That fear, that pain; rushing through me again.
Such dirty tricks you Pureblood apply.

Each scene was flashing in my mind, superimposed with reality. I could see my mother dying while hearing Ichiru leave, again. I could hear my dad yelling, while hearing another set of footsteps approaching. I saw everything tinged red, through Shizuka's eyes. I could feel the rush of blood through her veins, as if they were through my own veins. I could feel her thirst sated, just as my own thirst started to burn.
I could feel myself being taken into her arms again, I knew what was coming.
I couldn't stop myself anymore, couldn't hold back anymore.
I let go, let go of everything.

I took you into my arms. Your eyes were glossy, as if nobody was home. Your body was too still, as if you had stopped breathing. But I could still see the slight rise and fall of your chest. I took you into my arms again. And you lost it completely. Worse than I've ever seen you dream. But, you're not dreaming; you're not asleep. Then, what is this sorcery?

Your eyes reflected horror. Your body trembled uncontrollably. Your voice full of desperation.
"Kaasan…" you murmured. Oh no. Not again.
"Don't touch me…" your voice was cracking. No, don't break. Don't break now.
"Please…" you closed your eyes, biting your lip hard, your body shaking so badly.
I held you tighter but it got worse with each passing second.
Your mumblings turned into screams.
Your shivers turned to an outright spasm.
You pushed me away, backing into a corner, staring at me with frightened eyes.

You're broken, just as Shizuka said. I knew this before. I just didn't know that you were broken to this extent. I tried to extend my hand. You turned away, cringing, as if you were afraid of my hands.
"No…. No…" You choked on your own words.
Only then, did I see how fragile you actually were. Completely battered, completely destroyed from the inside. You knew it yourself, didn't you? That's why you told me to go away. Because you were like broken glass, and I'd get hurt if I come any nearer.

"Zero!" Kaito's voice echoed through the corridor. In my daze, Chairman pulled me up, as Kaito and another man dragged Zero out. I tried to grab his arm, but Kaito ignored me and continued dragging him away. Chairman held me back.
"Darling, what happened?" I broke out of my daze.
"Zero, let me follow Zero." I attempted to go after them. Zero needs me. I won't leave him. I promised not to.
"Later, we're taking him to fix his wounds. Just tell me what happened."
I didn't care for words or niceties anymore. I just ran after them.

I followed them quietly; knowing that Kaito's serious mode was on and he wouldn't let me anywhere near Zero. I trust Kaito, so I don't mind not touching Zero for now. I saw Kaito giving Zero some of those pills that he took alarmingly frequently. I followed them all the way to the hospital, where Zero was immediately rushed to the emergency ward. The rest of us stayed behind. By then, I had calmed down enough to tell Chairman what had happened.

"Is that all you saw?" he had asked. From his tone, it seemed as if he was expecting more to happen.
"Yes, that's all," I answered.
Shizuka hadn't bitten Zero, I didn't see it, nor did I see any bite marks on his neck after that. She thrashed him up, almost killed him, but Zero's still human. That's fine then. But I wasn't supposed to be privy to such information, so I merely stated what I saw and nothing else.
"You're tired, dear. You should go back now. I'll call you once Zero wakes up."
"No, I'll stay."
"I insist. You have to take care of yourself too."
"I'm fine," I smiled at Chairman, "See, perfectly fine." I started to flex my arms.
Chairman laughed. "That's good. But I just wanted you to be well enough. We might need you to take care of Zero for a while after he gets out. Just saying."
Right, I hadn't thought of that. Chairman saw that on my face and repeated, "Go home, Yuki. I'll call you ."

He didn't. Not for the next week. Not for the following week either.
I had visited the hospital, only to be told that Zero had moved out of it within 2 days of being admitted. I kept calling Chairman, only to have Kaito pick up to tell me that Chairman was extremely busy taking care of Zero, that he had been moved to the organization where they can better attend to Zero's needs. Yagari had come to visit me, to debrief me on vampires. They did not know that I knew all this, that I was a part of that world. But at that time, I was human Yuki, who wasn't supposed to know anything. So I played that part well. I had begged Yagari to let me follow him back to the association, to let me see Zero, at least once.
He looked at me, almost with a pained expression on his cold face and had said words I didn't understand.
"It's best if you don't, not ever again."

I'm in hell.

Feeling as if I'm burning from inside, as if my limbs were being pulled apart, as if someone was pounding my head continuously.
Each miniscule movement feels as if my body would just rip apart.
Each breath I take sends bolts of pain throughout my body.
It's so hot that I feel like I'm burning alive.
It's so cold that I feel like I'm frozen.
It's confusing.

I haven't eaten in days, haven't even drank a sip of water. I haven't slept, not even that kind of fitful sleep I'm used to having. Time didn't matter anymore. Each second felt like an hour, each hour an eternity.
Torture.
This is how physical torture must feel like.

Chairman peered through to Zero. I looked away, couldn't even bear to see my best friend in those chains. Sure, he may not even treat me as one, but I knew that somewhere deep down was the boy I used to kick around. Through the years, we had replaced the brothers we both lost. Don't you dare make me lose another brother, you fucking bastard. And I had to do something, anything.

"Can't I just give him blood?" Chairman looked at me and shook his head, "Not when he's like that, he'll kill you. Then kill himself." That made me feel better, the thought that Zero might kill himself over killing me. Makes me feel important, doesn't it. That bastard, if only he hadn't denied himself for so long, he would have had more time.
That was when the idea hit me.

Blood banks. Human blood, without the body.
Chairman approved, and we quickly set the plan in motion.

Blood.

It smells good. It smells revolting. I wondered if I should even consider taking it.
Kaito had come in carrying those bags. I recognized the logic of it and for one of those rare moments, even considered him intelligent for it.
But it didn't change the fact that it's human blood.

I've never had that before. Not even once.
All I had to survive were those damned blood pills. And they worked fine, at first. Years ago, after that incident, I had awakened and the first thing I felt wasn't sadness or anger, it was hunger. Chairman had fed me those blood pills. They worked like magic. That was the first time fourteen year old me thought, "Ah, this is what I am now."
In two years, they stopped working. By the third year, the hunger and thirst was perpetually there. By the fourth year, I was throwing them up whenever I took them.
A month after Shizuka's attack, I had been discharged from the hospital. I went for training under the Association. I was extraordinarily fast, brutally strong. That was the second time that the realization that I was a vampire had hit me.
I was eighteen when I realized that it was human blood that I desired. Kaito had gotten injured and to my horror, it wasn't concern that I felt for my brother, it was hunger. I realized again, that I was a low-level vampire.
And now, the truth I've been denying is resurfacing again. The moment that blood reaches my tongue, I would realize again, how I was one of them. And isn't it sad that I have to realize it this way, by drinking from a bag, by drinking a stranger's blood.
What's even stranger is that each time I look at the bag, the only person I can think of is you, Yuki.

Is something wrong with me?
I must be crazy, but the first person whose blood I want to taste is you. Sorry. Truly, I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have such brazen thoughts and beggars shouldn't be choosers. But I didn't want to simply drink randomly like this. Isn't it crazy? A man like me wanting his first time to mean something. Even if it's my first time doing something abominable, is it wrong to still want to do it right? What started out as thinking of your blood gradually went out of hand.

I began to think of you.
I thought of you each time I was trying hard to fall asleep, trying to recall the feeling of having you in the same bed as me.
I thought of you each time the pain ripped through me, remembering your protective arms around me.
I thought of you each time I need to drink, thinking how wonderful it would be to drink from you, and how wrong it would be.
I thought of you each and every time, all the time.
Yeah, I was surely going crazy.

But thinking of you, or having something to focus my thoughts on, cleared my head of everything else.
That's how I'm still sane, even through the hunger. That's why I'm not tearing at the blood bag in front of me. That's how I took control of the pain, tamped it down to a barely-controllable level.
I wanted to see you again. One last time, at least to say goodbye, at least to thank you properly for all those nights.
By thinking of you, my heart started to beat again.

It was the noises that alerted me. There were only two residents on this floor to begin with anyway. I was one of them, and I had been the only one for the past few weeks. Noises meant that the other resident was back.

I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard them. There was no time to primp because I knew once that door shut, my chance would be gone. I flung the door open, and there you were.
"You promised to call," I yelled at Chairman as I shoved everyone out of the way to get to you.
Chairman meekly apologized as he blocked me anyway. "His injuries were very serious. He's still not a hundred percent recovered. He's not strong enough to be back but…"
To hell with that, I'll make you stronger. I ducked under his arms and grabbed hold of you. I felt you wince and immediately loosened my grip. In my deranged frenzy, I hadn't realized that I had gripped your injured arm.
"Have you no pride?" you sneered at me.
What I did next surprised myself.

A/N

Is Zero OOC? If he is, then I hope it's only a little bit because Yuki is slowly changing Zero anyway, so it should be expected.
Lots of love, Aingealis.