A/N: Sorry for the long wait! And for the fact that I don't have time to do review responses right now. But I thought it was more important to hurry up and get the chapter out there for you all this weekend rather than it possibly getting pushed back again yet another week. So here it is, and I shall get to the review responses as soon as I can, okay? Thank you all for your patience and thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful and awesome reviews! :)

There's a lot of set-up and maneuvering going on as Nasser's plans start to be disrupted (finally!) and Kaname starts moving his own counter-plans into place, so I hope the chapter doesn't feel too slow. Sorry for having too much of Diachi and Seiji in it, I didn't want to have to write so much about them, but it was necessary to the plot. We're all done with them now though, so we can focus back on the people we actually care about. :D

The title of this chapter comes from a chess analogy. In chess, gaining control of the center squares allows pieces to be moved to any part of the board more easily and can also produce a cramping effect on the opponent - which is, in effect, what Kaname is in the process of trying to do - wrest control of the center away from Nasser. :)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: "Control of the Center"

Kaname and Zero traded silent, shocked looks. This situation kept changing and shifting, but there was a terrible pattern starting to emerge. Blaming the nobles' deaths on Zero was dreadful in itself, but apparently in reality it was just the stepping stone to blaming Kaname for murdering another pureblood to cover up the previous 'crimes' which he was supposed to have masterminded. After the falling out they'd just had, who would question that Kaname had strong reason to try to eliminate the other pureblood? Especially if Diachi had time to stir up trouble with the Council before he was conveniently murdered.

If they were given even a shadow of a reason to hang the death of another pureblood on him on top of everything else, Kaname knew he would be instantly damned, especially if he had not had time to at least try to prepare for that sudden and unexpected accusation.

He didn't even have to wonder who was behind this incredibly clever deception any longer. Whether or not Diachi had been complicit at all, or whether he was in fact a completely innocent pawn, he had certainly not plotted his own death. No. Kaname didn't need to be told who the mysterious he was. He knew. He knew because the snake had only just called him, laying the groundwork for the next stage of his plan. He knew because if everything had happened as planned... if he had been fooled into thinking Diachi was behind everything until the other pureblood's sudden death left him high and dry with all his contingency efforts pointing in the wrong direction... there would have only been one way out for him. A way that led him straight into Nasser Ardon's clutches. Check.

Moisture welled silently in Aido's eyes, he was oblivious to what was going through Kaname's mind and was still dealing with his own problems. He was too injured and weak to hide the tears. "There was a lot of noise and... flashes of light right before the picture distorted and went dead," he whispered and Kaname blinked once, tearing himself from his thoughts and realizing that Aido was still speaking about the end of Naija Kish's last message to him.

"Is she... okay?" Aido repeated, gaze still locked on Kaname. The young noble obviously had already guessed that she wasn't.

Kaname leaned forward and kissed Aido gently on the forehead, silently wiping the tears from his eyes with gentle touches. "Don't worry about it right now, Aido. You need your strength. I need you to get better, okay?"

Aido seemed stunned by Kaname's tenderness, but he saw the gentle evasion for the sad answer it was. Naija was dead. He'd already known, really, he just hadn't wanted to accept it. He closed his eyes and leaned into Kaname's unexpected and very welcome touch. His other hand, still in Zero's grip, held on tightly. Zero leaned forward a little, squeezing back gently, careful of the blonds' injuries as he cradled him.

"She died to get that information to me, didn't she?" he swallowed roughly.

"She had already been marked for death, all of you were," Kaname said softly. "Everyone who was in An'swala on your team perished last night, except for you, Aido," he broke the news as gently as he could, although he suspected that Naija was the only one with whom Aido would feel any real loss. "She would have died regardless, but by getting that information to you, she may have just prevented more deaths. You both did."

Kaname wished fervently that whatever the other information was could have survived the attack, since Aido obviously had only had time to view her video message before all hell broke loose and now it was all gone. But he wasn't going to tell Aido that, the boy had been through enough and the information he did have was invaluable. It changed everything and may have just saved them all from walking right into Nasser's brilliantly executed trap. If they still had time to prevent it from coming to completion. After all, getting Diachi to believe this wild story was not going to be easy at this point.

"Listen..." Aido murmured hollowly, struggling once more with the darkness trying to claim him. "The hunter... he destroyed my computers. But they... they weren't the only ones. Backup drive... in the basement. I wasn't supposed to... don't tell Sato-sama. It's a-a serious breach of my security agreement with him, but when I started to suspect something I... I mirrored the server so that everything landing on it would also be stored away on the backup in case they ever... ever closed down our connection and confiscated the files or something..." Aido was fading fast now, his eyes starting to turn glassy. "I..." he struggled for a few more words. "I was... playing spy." He gave the barest hint of a grin towards Zero.

Zero smiled a bit painfully, a choking lump in his throat as he remembered the earlier teasing between he, Aido and Kain on the subject of Aido's rampant paranoia and his over-zealousness to be a man of mystery in his dealings with the Sato syndeo. Aido may have only been "playing spy", but the game he'd ended up in had turned out to be deadly serious. It was apparently a damn good thing he had been so paranoid.

Kaname gave a surprised, genuine smile which made Aido's face glow even as the light behind his eyes began to fade away. "Well done, Aido," the pureblood murmured honestly. "Well done."

Zero felt Aido's body go slack in his arms and for a moment he was alarmed, until he realized that there were still three vampires registering in his senses in the immediate area. Kaname, himself, and Aido. Aido's flame was very faint, like his heartbeat, but he was still with them. The silly little fool had passed out with a smile on his face of all things. Zero couldn't help the wry grin which tugged at his lips.

"He's just unconscious," Kaname murmured with relief as if mirroring the hunter's thoughts. He backed away a little and rose to his feet. His phone had buzzed in his pocket a few minutes ago, indicating that he'd received a message and he checked it now. A grim smile grew on his face as he read the text file that had been sent to him.

Zero shrugged out of his rain coat and rolled it up, sliding it under Aido's head as he settled him carefully back on the ground. They needed to get him somewhere safe where he could receive better care while he mended, but he wasn't sure where that was right now. Aido was obviously not supposed to survive this attack. The fact that he had had just thrown a serious cog into the works for their adversaries and they had to be careful lest someone try to rectify that problem. Although realistically, Zero figured that the damage had already been done and killing Aido at this point would no longer accomplish anything, so he was probably out of harm's way. Still, better safe than sorry.

There was a weird shaped sink in the corner of the room which looked like it must be used in the preparation of specimens. Zero used it to wash up a bit, getting Aido's blood off his hands and arms, although his shirt and pants were definitely goners. As he dried his hands, he glanced back to Kaname who had just finished scrolling through the information on his phone.

"Something funny?" he asked upon seeing the pureblood's expression.

"Only what utter fools Diachi and I just made of ourselves," Kaname said sardonically. There was a devastating genius in all of this. After all, you had to be pretty quick on your toes to manipulate not one, but two full grown purebloods - at the same time no less.

Zero cocked an eyebrow. "You think Diachi was duped? Or that he just didn't realize that he was ultimately an expendable partner?"

"I can't be entirely certain yet, but this," Kaname gave the phone in his hand a little wave. "Makes the former at least feasible. It is quite possible that neither of us were thinking entirely clearly the last time we spoke."

Zero gave him a look that indicated further elucidation was required and Kaname complied.

"Seiren sent me the information I requested on the four dead scientists. Naturally, she was quite thorough." To be honest, Seiren's skill at information gathering and uncovering people's secrets was almost unsettling. Kaname was glad she worked for him and not one of his adversaries. He certainly wouldn't have wanted her rooting around in his past or private life. "Do you recall a certain extra touchiness when Diachi spoke of Dr. Kish? Apparently, there's some reason for that." Kaname's smile was dry. "There is strong reason to believe that in addition to being a brilliant mind and one of his inner circle, she was probably also his daughter."

Zero's eyebrows climbed upward again. He looked both surprised and a little dubious. "Wait... his what? How the heck did we not know that?"

Kaname shook his head dismissively, as if the matter was too obvious for words. "She was a noble, Zero," he pointed out in a do the math tone of voice. "Obviously, she has her mother's name and it's not as if Diachi actually raised her, at least not directly." Kaname had never met Dr. Kish in person, but the picture on her file made it clear that if she was Diachi Sato's daughter, she must have inherited the lion's share of her mother's looks, since he would certainly never have pegged her as being related to the other pureblood at first glance. She looked quite foreign to be honest.

"Purebloods almost never acknowledge non-pureblood offspring and they usually have many of them. Diachi is over 800 years old, he probably has more mixed-blood children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the like running around out there than even he is aware of." From what he knew of the other vampire, Kaname felt that was a safe assumption. Diachi was a traditionalist. He was not a wanton playboy like his younger brother, but he was a pureblood male and there were certain privileges, pleasures and responsibilities that went with that status. Strengthening the gene pool was considered a pureblood's duty, and it was an honor to those so gifted.

A pureblood's obligation ended at planting the seed, however. Senri Shiki was an excellent example. He was Kaname's cousin, but few people made that connection and he was certainly not considered part of the Kuran line. Aristocrat children fathered by a pureblood were not considered illegitimate and they carried no stigma, quite the opposite. They were not hidden, but neither was it considered socially gracious or acceptable to brag about such heritage. Still, the fact that Naija's possible relationship to Diachi had been rather well concealed indicated that their history was probably somewhat complicated.

Zero looked a bit disgusted. "Lovely. So if he's in the running for world's most prolific baby daddy, can we be sure he even remembers that the doc was his kid? For that matter, are we really sure she was? You said she was probably his daughter. Is there some kind of doubt?"

"Hardly the most prolific," Kaname couldn't help chuckling at Zero's turn of phrase. "Diachi is actually quite conservative as far as pureblood's go. In any case, I wouldn't say there's doubt so much as a lack of evidence," he clarified. Zero looked unconvinced, but Kaname was not about to have a discussion about vampire mores with the hunter at a moment like this. "Seiren does not say in here that the woman was related to Diachi because there is nothing concrete to support that, but that is the conclusion which I draw from reading the facts. Interpreting certain parts of the good doctor's history make it almost impossible to think otherwise, and make it fairly certain that Diachi had to have been aware of his paternity in this case."

Zero was now giving Kaname a you lost me look, so Kaname explained as quickly and concisely as he could.

"Naija's mother was one of Diachi's former protégé's. She was still serving under Diachi at the time she became pregnant. According to Seiren's intel, there is no mention of who the father of her child was. One can only assume the obvious. Then, a few years later, there was apparently some kind of falling out between Naija's mother and Diachi because the woman was exiled and eventually executed." Kaname glanced down at the phone in his hand again. He shook his head, feeling that he should have guessed something about this sooner due to his past dealings with Diachi, although to be fair, the other pureblood's private life had never been of any particular importance to their dealings before now.

"That's one way to end a relationship, I suppose," Zero commented darkly, his intense disapproval obvious.

"Mmm," Kaname murmured distractedly as he scrolled quickly through the very brief sketch of relevant details that Seiren had included in the dossier. Although there was no further information here, he would lay serious odds that it had not been a mere lover's quarrel. Diachi had once lectured him on the dangers of letting yourself get too close to your protégés - had warned him that you were opening yourself to the possibility of betrayal. While it had merely irritated Kaname at the time, he found the warning rather telling now. The voice of personal experience, perhaps?

It didn't matter, except that the more he knew and understood Diachi's frame of mind at this point, the better, since he was going to have to be dealing with him again shortly and they hadn't exactly ended their last conversation on friendly terms. He'd been blind to the other vampire's state of mind before, and it had cost him. He would not let that happen a second time.

"Whatever his reasons for disposing of the mother, the curious and telling thing is that he did not show any disfavor towards her daughter. The woman had been labeled a traitor. Disgrace like that should have fallen on the her whole family, but it did not. Diachi kept Naija near him and kept her past and her maternal ties quiet." He summarized what he was reading for Zero. "He even paid for her education. Young Kish showed all the early signs of a genius level IQ, which is perhaps another reason why Diachi seems to have taken a particular interest in her career all the way along." Naija had been on par with Aido when it came to intelligence, so Kaname was quite aware of how valuable that had probably made her to Diachi. He felt sure there were some less tangible elements in play as well, however, because her brilliance and accomplishments alone, impressive though they were, could not completely explain how she'd managed to rise so high up in Diachi's syndeo so quickly, or at such a young age. Although Diachi would likely never admit any such thing, Kaname suspected the other pureblood might possibly have had more than mere passing feelings for both Naija and her departed mother. Now that Kaname replayed their previous phone conversation with an open mind to the possibility that not all of it had been a lie, he could clearly tell that Naija's death had been something of a sore spot for the other pureblood, whatever the reason.

"There is almost no way that the child of someone who had been executed for treason would so quickly rise within Diachi's ranks unless..." Kaname shrugged.

Zero nodded, understanding now. "Unless a healthy dose of nepotism was involved."

Kaname's lips twitched wryly. "Exactly. None of which is very pertinent to us at this moment except for the fact that it explains why Diachi might have taken her death harder than that of a mere subordinate, which in turn might have clouded his judgment... even as mine, has been clouded," the pureblood added quietly, hating to admit to the failure, but knowing it was quite obvious.

Naija had been Diachi's hidden sore spot, someone about whom he could not afford to reveal his feelings. Zero had been the same thing to Kaname. When they spoke, neither of them realized they were treading on one another's stress lines. It was aggravating and somewhat frightening to realize that Nasser had so skillfully played them against one another and struck so shrewdly at what would unsettle them both the most.

That was what Nasser did, Kaname knew. He found what you cared about and he used it against you. That's why he himself preached caring about nothing as the ultimate strength. Maybe he was right in a purely clinical sense... but Kaname knew he would never manage to be that strong.

Zero gave him a concerned frown. "Hey, you've got a right to be a little distracted. It's been a shitty couple of days. But we know what's going on now, we can stop this."

Kaname loved the earnestness in those fierce amethyst eyes. They gave him confidence and hope. No... maybe he could never be Nasser's brand of strong, but he had his own ways, and he'd be damned if he let that bastard think he could run around playing with them all like puppets and get away with it!

The pureblood gave a small nod. "We must," he agreed simply. He knew it wouldn't be easy, Nasser's plans were far too well laid and were dangerously close to fruition. But they had the one, small advantage of having found them out sooner than the other pureblood would have hoped. Now, they had to press that slim advantage and hope it could be enough, because if it wasn't...

"We have a lot of work to do, and we must do it quickly," Kaname said quietly as he flipped open his phone again.


"Brother? Are you still here?" Seiji Sato poked his head into his elder brother's study with an impatient look on his face. He frowned and let himself into the room when he saw the older pureblood standing silently by the window, gazing out at the watery moonlight. "Honestly, and you say I'm the one who's always late! We'd better go. You know what an unbearably long drive it is to Mother's summer house and you know what a bitch she is when we're late. I bet Celia is already there, no doubt playing the perfect little virgin daughter," he snorted sardonically. "We should..."

"You should shut up and stop filling my ears with your useless babble!" Diachi was suddenly across the room and holding Seiji by the throat. He shoved his younger brother roughly into the wall, his face clouded and troubled. He was angry, hurting and didn't have time to be running around trying to appease his mother on top of everything else that was happening right now. "The only reason she's called us all out there earlier than usual is because of you and your stupid antics." He slapped Seiji roughly upside the head. "When are you ever going to grow up and stop being such a pathetic waste of air?"

It was so grossly unfair that one couldn't choose their family. He had to keep protecting and cleaning up after his ass of a brother and his sweetly two-faced little sister while the people he really cared for... or had wanted to care for... Diachi closed his eyes and allowed the anger to run out of him before he did something he would regret later. What was done was done. It wasn't Seiji's fault, he was just handy. It was Kuran who needed to pay.

"Get off!" Seiji shoved Diachi away from him brusquely. He rubbed his throat and smarting head, but he did not retaliate. He knew better. "If you don't want to go, fine! But I'm not going alone to bear the brunt of your not being around, again," he shot back.

Diachi scowled and turned away, facing his desk and the window once more. He loved his mother, but she had become so unpredictable and demanding lately. She'd been awake too long he felt, he wished she would decide to hibernate for a while. Too bad his siblings were far too young for him to hope the same about them.

Seiji's hand slipped into his pocket as he watched his brother's back with burning eyes. Self righteous prig. In his pocket he felt the smooth outline of a shape through the folds of thick fabric in which it was wrapped. He wasn't really sure what it was, nor did he care. Some hunter do-dad that was inactive until it touched vampire skin. Just the thought of it gave him the willies, but he'd been assured it was perfectly safe as long as he kept the cloth between it and him.

"Just press it to his hand or his neck, anywhere it can make contact with flesh and we'll do the rest." The wordsechoed in Seiji's mind and he found himself wanting to do it right now. Unfortunately that wouldn't due at all. The device wasn't fatal, it was just debilitating. Agni had made clear to Seiji that the move had to be made at a specific point along the long, deserted roadways that led out towards their mother's remote estate. That's where the ambush was waiting, that's when it would matter.

Seiji wasn't taking orders from a servant mind you, it was simply what made sense, of course. He was the only one who could get close enough to Diachi and who was strong enough to survive any initial reaction before the whatever-it-was did it's thing and made the elder pureblood vulnerable. That was all, he wouldn't have to do any further dirty work himself, Agni had promised. He didn't have to kill his brother, all he had to do was place the device. Just that. Just that and then everything would be taken care of. It almost didn't seem real. He pulled his hand back out of his pocket and rubbed his neck again. His healing factor had already taken care of any kind of mild soreness that his brother's handling might have caused, but that wasn't the point.

Diachi sighed and leaned on his desk. "I'm sorry, Jii," he said quietly, using his brother's nickname which indicated his mood had shifted. He supposed Seiji got the short end of his temper more often than not. To be fair though, it probably wouldn't happen if the younger vampire didn't make himself such a damn good target.

A short man stood in the open doorway and knocked respectfully on the doorframe. Unlike Seiji, he did not enter the room unbidden. "Diachi-sama, the car is ready," he announced with a small bow.

Diachi gave a dismissive wave of his hand as he crossed around behind his desk and took a seat. He opened a leather bound book and flipped through it, looking for the contact information for several highly placed members of the current Council of Elders. He needed to start making some calls and stirring the pot. Part of him regretted this. He didn't like giving those self-important mixed-blood bureaucrats reason to become even more involved in Pureblood affairs than they already made themselves, but this wasn't his fault. He felt he'd been more than fair. The world was full of deceit and Diachi thought grimly that he was apparently uniquely dull about spotting it in people before he was bitten by it. He had actually liked Kaname and he'd given him a chance to make this right. His fate was on his own head.

"I won't be needing the car, Agni," he told the servant. "But you may take my brother." He glanced up towards Seiji. "There have been some disturbing things happening which I must deal with. Please tell mother I will come when I can."

Seiji frowned, knowing that wouldn't do at all. He and Agni exchanged glances. "I told you, no way I'm going without you," he replied petulantly. "I'll just wait until you're ready." He turned and stormed out of the room before his brother could argue.

"Jii!" Diachi called after him, but Seiji chose not to respond and did not return. The elder pureblood scowled in frustration. He didn't have time for this right now. Fine. "Agni," he turned gaze upon the servant, still standing in the doorway, instead. "Send the car back to the garage but keep it ready. Call my mother and tell her I have been unavoidably detained, but that Seiji and I will come as soon as my business is completed."

Agni nodded. Diachi was already focused on his desk again, so he did not see the vaguest hint of a smile in the other vampire's eyes. "As you command, my lord."


Kaname and Zero sat across a narrow metal table from one another in a small cement room. The basement of Aido's laboratory was much less gleaming and aesthetic than the upper floors, but it was clean and packed with enough high tech electronic equipment to power a small city, or so Zero thought. In reality it was a fairly standard server and back-up system, but a high-end one for certain.

Aido was on his way to Night Haven, where a doctor had already been summoned to attend him. Kaname knew no safer place to put him at the moment. Kain and Ruka had come to collect him and take him there while Takuma and Senri, who had still been in town, remained at Aido's apartment to keep an eye on things there. Kaname no longer thought that any of them would be in immediate danger, but he wasn't taking any chances. There was always the possibility that they were still being played, but if so he was blind to the game. He had to run with the cards they had been dealt and hope he was doing the right things.

Zero had called Yagari and quickly filled him in on an abridged version of recent events pertaining to the discovery of what had been behind the attack in the woods and the fact that they had rouge ex-human hunters running around making hits. That was something the Association had to know about as soon as possible. It seemed like the hunters in question had already perished between either being killed or killing themselves, but there might be more they didn't know about and caution was warranted. Their communications system had already been hijacked once, they needed to go into lockdown until they could be sure there were no more breaches within their ranks.

Then Kaname and Zero had swiftly made their way down here to the basement to retrieve Aido's information. Seiren had shown up and deftly extracted all the data, downloading and copying it for safe keeping and analysis while queuing up the video message Naija had left for them to view.

Everything had been done with a swift, rapid precision one would barely have believed possible and it hadn't taken very long, but Kaname was horribly aware that they were running out of time. It wouldn't make sense for Diachi to be taken out until after he'd stirred up trouble for Kaname. As soon as Diachi started airing his spurious accusations and other important persons became aware that there was bad blood between the two former allies, Diachi would become a prime target. If he was killed, there was no salvaging the situation.

Diachi had said he would wait to see if Kaname changed his mind and accepted his terms, but Kaname knew he wasn't going to wait very long. They needed to get to him and make him listen before all the wheels had been put into motion, but they also had had to have some kind of proof to offer so he wouldn't think it was merely a very lame and very desperate trick of some kind. Kaname glanced at the paused video on the computer screen that sat at the other end of the short table. They had that proof now and he could only hope they weren't already too late.

He dialed Diachi's number and pressed the phone to his ear, volume turned up so that Zero, sitting on the other side of the table, could hear them both.

"Diachi? It's Kaname. We need to talk."


Diachi had been about to dial when an incoming call interrupted him. He would have ignored it and used another line, except the screen on his phone indicated who the caller was. After a moment's pause, Diachi picked up the call.

"Talk? I think we said everything there was to say already, Kuran. If you've changed your mind and would like to beg forgiveness then I'll listen, but I make no promises. I'm not so sure that I can satisfy myself with the blood of a servant while the master goes unpunished."

On the other end of the line, Kaname's gaze flickered darkly, but he did not rise to the antagonistic bait offered in the other pureblood's words.

"Diachi, listen to me, this is very important and I do not know how much time we have. I was wrong, but we both were. I did not attack your people, or mine. Last time we spoke I thought you ordered the scientists killed and were trying to pin the blame on me."

Diachi started to protest in incredulous tones, but Kaname cut him off. "I know you don't trust me right now, but this is important. Your life is in danger. Just hear me out, I swear I am telling you the truth, and I have proof to back it up. All I ask is for you to listen, then make your own decision on what to believe." They didn't have time for bullshit now. Kaname had no way of knowing whether Diachi had already spoken to anyone else, nor when or how the attempt on his life was going to be made, but good strategy indicated that it had to happen soon.

There was a long beat of silence before Diachi's voice came back over the phone in a slow, suspicious tone. "All right. I'm listening. But this had better be good."

"I'm afraid the only thing good about it is the fact that we may have caught onto it before it was too late," Kaname responded seriously. "You and I have both been played. I thought you were double crossing me and you thought I was double crossing you. Someone else is behind this. I did not harm your people. Zero was not anywhere near your territory last night. He was not with me," he said quietly, knowing the admission was giving Diachi a certain level of power over him, but also knowing that he needed to offer a little vulnerability if he wanted the other pureblood to trust him. "But he was not involved. He was attacked and held captive in a remote location. Myself and another person rescued him. That I will swear to. The ones who held him were the ones who killed your scientists and they planted Zero's blood on the scene to implicate me."

Zero shot Kaname a look at the "rescued" comment since he'd pretty much gotten himself out of there for the most part thank-you-very-much, but now wasn't the time to quibble.

"They did a rather good job of it then," Diachi said dryly, obviously thinking this was all an incredible flight of fancy that was wasting his time. "It's a nice story, but a little hard to swallow. I stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago."

"This is not a fairytale, this is deadly serious," Kaname countered earnestly. "Someone wants us at each other's throats. They're using you to do their dirty work, to denounce me to the Council as a dangerous lunatic. Then they're going to kill you and blame me so that everyone believes it."

There was another silence for a moment on the other end of the line. "You mean, they can try to kill me," Diachi said slowly, his voice dropping dangerously. "Because try is as close as they'll get. Is this some twisted way of threatening me, Kaname?" There was suspicion and a bit of confusion in his voice. He obviously wasn't quite ready to believe Kaname, nor did he appear to be very concerned for his own safety.

Zero scowled, stupid freaking purebloods and their insufferable pride. Diachi's could get him killed, which Zero didn't care too much about honestly, except for the fact that Kaname would go down for it and that could not be allowed to happen.

Kaname knew that he had to tread lightly and not imply that he was suggesting Diachi was in any way weak or an easy target. "No. This is not a threat, it's a warning. I have had news that such an attempt is going to be made. I don't know what they're planning, but it will happen soon and it is likely that someone in your household is involved. I agree it is an insane idea, but to risk trying it, they must think they have a chance of succeeding," he reasoned swiftly.

"Hunters were used to kill your scientists. A hunter tried to kill Hanabusa Aido as well, just a few minutes ago. The hunter who attacked Aido had been turned. I'll lay odds that the other hunter assassins were as well. We're dealing with a pureblood enemy, Diachi. Someone who apparently doesn't give a damn about keeping the treaty or the peace. Someone like that is not to be underestimated." It was against the conventions of the last peace treaty between hunters and vampires for hunters to be turned... although of course, it happened all the same. Usually the offenders covered their tracks or were already renegades like Shizuka Hio.

"If you don't believe me, then believe the words of one of your own. Naija Kish called Aido right before she was killed. He recorded the conversation. This warning about the attempt on your life comes from her not from me." Kaname had held his pièce de résistance until the last, knowing that Diachi wasn't going to believe a word he said... but there was a strong chance he'd have to believe what Naija had said. Thank God Aido had kept a back up copy of this.

Kaname held the phone towards the computer and clicked play on the video.

The image of a bloodied, worried looking young woman appeared on the screen. Kaname and Zero had already seen it once. Zero looked away, not caring to have to watch it again. He hadn't known the woman, but Aido obviously had and he felt badly for his friend's sake.

"Hanabusa, I left you messages, I hope you got them. I hope you're still alive to get them. Granger is dead, I think so is Embry, I don't know. I hope you and Huang escape. I'm uploading the information I told you about as we speak. We were wrong about the virus, 'Busa. I'm almost positive. It's a weapon, or it's supposed to be, but not targeted at us. It all ties back to An'swala. It took me too long to figure it out, I should have seen what he was doing sooner! Listen, I found out..."

The woman on the screen jerked and looked over her shoulder as some sound that the microphone did not pick up must have come from somewhere behind her in the darkened lab. Naija turned back to the screen quickly with the look of one who knows their time has come. She was whispering even softer now, but Kaname had the volume cranked so Diachi could hear her over the phone.

"Someone's here. 'Busa, please, if I don't make it out, you must give this information to Kaname-sama and you must tell him to warn Diachi-sama!" Her voice had taken on an urgent, pleading tone. "They're being set up, he's going to kill Diachi-sama and make it look like it's Kaname-sama's doing. He must be stopped! There's someone on the house staff, they have a-"

There was a flash of light, the image warbled and distorted as Naija dove out of the frame. Then everything stuttered and went black.

The room was dead silent for what seemed a long time before Kaname finally spoke again, his tone softer now than before. "This is actually a video. I've already sent you a copy. As I said, this warning doesn't come from me. I am honoring her last wish in passing it on to you. She died while trying to get this to you. She wanted to serve you to the last. Don't let her death have been for nothing," he murmured persuasively.

There was more silence and Zero was starting to get a bit concerned when they heard the sound of faint, familiar words on the other side of the phone line. "Hanabusa, I left you messages, I hope you got them..." Diachi must have accessed the video Kaname sent him and was watching it for himself.

Pureblood and hunter sat in silence across the table, waiting while Diachi watched the whole message over again on his end of the connection.

Then again, there was more pregnant silence before Diachi finally spoke. His voice had changed. The arrogance and mistrust was gone and it sounded somehow both deeper and darker. "I don't understand any of this, Kaname. What does it mean? Who is behind this? Who would dare?" the steel in Diachi's tone indicated that obviously believed Kaname now, and he was both furious and concerned.

After hearing the message, Kaname wasn't so sure whether Kish had actually stumbled onto Nasser's involvement or simply onto the plot that he must have set in motion within Diachi's own ranks. There was no way to know who the he was that she had referred to nor what exactly it was that she had found tying back to An'swala. The message was too hurried and she'd not had time to tell all she knew, but from Diachi's reaction, it had been enough.

"I don't know who the would-be assassins are," Kaname said seriously. "But I can tell you who is behind it. There is only one person who wants to take me down badly enough to even dream of using something as drastic as your death to accomplish that end. That would be Nasser Ardon - who happens to be in town, and therefore available for turning and binding hunters at need and perhaps also arranging assassinations."

"Who also happens to be fighting you for control of Mission Oil... in An'swala. Because Orion already owns Trifecta Oil, a mere hop skip and a jump away across the border. Meaning Orion has been in that region for a long time," Diachi finished coldly, quickly drawing his own conclusions from what Kaname was telling him and from the vague references Naija had made in the recording. Nothing completely made sense yet, but it did form a rather terrible trail of coincidences that were too strong to overlook. Like any puzzle, it seemed obvious now, once the pieces had moved into a slightly closer semblance of order. His tone indicated that he did not appreciate being made to feel a blind fool any more than Kaname did.

Zero resisted the urge to grin slightly. There was nothing funny about this deadly serious situation, but... okay, maybe just a little. Nasser should watch his back. You did not make two proud purebloods look like idiots, especially in front of one another, without consequences.

"This is not going to go unchallenged. I will not be made a pawn in someone else's game like this," Diachi said with lethal quietness, confirming Zero's suspicions. The faint smile that twitched Kaname's lips said that he had also been counting on this reaction. He needed the other pureblood's help to pull off the plan that was beginning to form in his mind.

"Indeed not," Kaname agreed. "Listen, I have a idea..."


Seiji pressed his back against the wall in the hall, his heart pounding so hard he was almost afraid his brother might hear it. Except of course, Diachi seemed much too engrossed in his conversation. Whether accidentally or intentionally, Agni had left the door to Diachi's office ajar when he left and the sound seal was not completed. Diachi's phone was not turned down low enough to hide both ends of the conversation from another eavesdropping pureblood and of course Seiji had had no trouble hearing the recording of Naija's familiar voice which his brother had just played.

Diachi must have finally noticed the improperly closed door because about the time Kuran started talking about a plan, the door clicked fully shut, no doubt the result of a distracted mental push from Diachi. Abrupt quiet fell in the hall as the conversation within the study became cloaked in the shroud of charmed silence.

Seiji heard his own pounding heart even more clearly now and he quickly pulled away from the wall as if fearing that it might transmit the sound even through the sound dampeners. The device in his pocket suddenly felt like it was burning a hole through his clothing.

Diachi knew. Kuran and that stupid bitch had blown everything. But... but what the hell? He'd had no idea Kuran was going to be implicated. Last thing he wanted was that kind of attention and scrutiny on the situation. Why the hell hadn't Agni told him about that?

Seiji wasn't sure what to do. This changed everything. He couldn't possibly risk going through with the plan now, could he? Now that a warning had been raised, it would look way too bad if he walked away from an attack and his brother did not. Who knew what plans Kuran and his brother were making right this very minute? What they might be plotting to trap the culprits behind the assassination plan? Diachi was tiresomely clever and devious. He always seemed to know things he had no business knowing and he always won at games like chess, more things Seiji hated about him.

He told himself not to panic, but it wasn't easy. If this all went to hell, he was the one going to be blamed, he just knew it, he always got the blame... and he knew how Diachi dealt with those who betrayed him. Mother might or might not protect him, she'd been a bit... touchy with him lately. Crap. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't even his plan! It had just been kind of dumped in his lap, this perfect opportunity that was too good to pass up. He may hate his brother most of the time, but he'd never seriously thought of killing him until it Agni had made it so devastatingly simple and attractive.

Agni... who had apparently not been completely honest with him about anything and had almost gotten him in a shitload of trouble. The young pureblood quickly stalked off in search of the servant in question. The worm had a lot of explaining to do. Agni had been with the Satos for as long as Seiji could remember and Diachi seemed to trust him for the most part. It had been a surprise that he was the one who came up with this plan to begin with and now Seiji was both worried and suspicious.

"Agni!" Seiji barked as he stormed into the kitchen and found the man doing whatever it was that servants ran around doing all the time.

"Yes, my lord?" the man's face was implacable but Seiji felt uncomfortably like those eyes were somehow laughing at him. There were no other servants about, but they could show up at any time, so Seiji jerked his head towards the door. "Come with me."

He stormed out and Agni followed. Seiji waited until they were alone in one of the sound proofed rooms on the upper floor and he slammed the door shut behind them to ensure their privacy.

Seiji paced back and forth, looking extremely agitated and jittery. "Diachi knows. Freaking Kuran warned him. He found out from freaking Kish. How the hell did she find out anyway?" he ran a hand through his hair.

"My lord, you must be strong," Agni cajoled solicitously. "Isn't that what you wanted to show him? That you are not the weakling he thinks you are? That you have the strength and the power to take what you want and not even he can stand in your way? All is not lost. We can still go through with the plan."

"Like hell!" Seiji shook his head angrily. "I'm not going to be live bait if Diachi goes on a witch hunt! Just what the did you get me involved in, Agni? You never mentioned Kuran in all of this and who the hell is this Nasser Ardon person?"

A flicker of annoyance flittered through the servant's eyes. Of course, you assumed this was all about you. "You never asked. Does it matter who wants your brother's head, so long as you don't have to dirty your hands with it?"

Seiji slapped the man for his impudence and just because he was seriously scared and angry. "It matters if whoever you're working for decides I'm the next handy scapegoat if Kuran doesn't work out!" he seethed. "Forget it. I'm not getting involved in this."

Agni looked surprisingly unmoved by his master's anger. There was something unnerving about it. It reminded Seiji of the way his thralls behaved when his brother got angry with them for running around his house naked when Seiji visited with full retinue in tow. Diachi's anger couldn't touch or frighten them because it was only Seiji's approval that mattered. That was how Agni looked right now... as if he had only one goal, one purpose that had been set for him by someone and nothing else mattered. It was deeply unsettling.

"May I remind you, master, that you are already involved. To back out now would surely bring the exact disgrace you wish to avoid."

Seiji's eyes widened incredulously. Agni's tone was even and non-confrontational, but Seiji was already far too worked up to be reasonable. This man was threatening him? "You little worm! You don't dare talk to me that way!" Seiji slapped the servant harder, raking his claws down the man's face and throwing him back against the wall.

With shock, the young pureblood realized that blood and flesh was not the only thing under his fingernails. There was some kind of putty or plastic-like material there... and Agni's scratched face was peeling in a decidedly unnatural manner, revealing a different face below the incredibly well done makeup.

"Wh-what the hell?" Seiji was almost squeaking. "Who are you? You're not Agni!" He had already been murderously angry, now he was even more unsettled. This was all bad, bad, bad and he needed to wipe the traces of this off the face of the earth before they could implicate him.

Seeing his own death in the freaked out pureblood's eyes, the vampire who had been pretending to be Agni merely smiled grimly. He regretted failing his master, but he was not afraid. To die for one's master was an honor.

A moment later, Seiji slashed out his throat and gutted him. The pureblood looked around wildly, trying to think. The fact that this wasn't Agni would work in his favor, but he had to make this look good. He urgently searched for and found the dead man's phone, wresting it from the servant's pocket. He threw it against the wall hard enough to shatter it into un-repairable pieces. He made sure the imposter was dead, shredding his heart in his chest but not removing it. He didn't want the body to dust immediately. He needed Diachi to see it. He tossed the hunter gadget in his pocket onto the floor beside the body, flung open the door and started shouting bloody murder.

The servants came running, naturally, and so too did Diachi after a minute or two. He looked annoyed until he smelled blood and saw Seiji spattered in crimson. For half a moment he was afraid his brother had been hurt, but he quickly realized no pure blood had been spilt here. Then he saw Agni... or rather, the man who clearly wasn't Agni.

"What happened?" He rounded on Seiji quickly, noting the smashed phone and the distinctly hunter-looking device on the ground.

"I-it wasn't Agni!" Seiji babbled slightly. He didn't have to fake his nervous jitters, they were quite real. "He was imposter! I heard him talking on his phone, telling someone that our visit to mother had been pushed back and to keep waiting. It sounded like they were plotting an ambush, I think he wanted to hurt us!"

Diachi took all this in with an implacable expression. "And?"

"And... and I confronted him, and he attacked me with that thing," he gestured at the object on the floor. "And I killed him."

Diachi stood silently looking at the body for a long moment. The real Agni must be dead. Who knew when the imposter had taken his place? Naija's words came back to him "There's someone on the house staff..." Was this what she had meant?

"You should not have killed him, it would have been more beneficial to have him alive for questioning," Diachi said with a frown.

"Well excuse me for defending myself and keeping us from possibly getting killed," Seiji huffed. "I'm fine, by the way, in case you care."

Diachi stared into space for a moment, not entirely wanting to believe what his gut told him to be true. There was something much too neat about all this. Seiji's timely involvement, Seiji's reluctance to leave for mother's before him, the fact that all this happened just minutes after he'd been warned of an assassination plot, while his door had been ajar... there were too many coincidences and Seiji stank of fear. Diachi knew his brother too well and Seiji never had had much of a poker face.

Diachi sighed, feeling a massive headache coming on. He was not a complete fool, even if recent events had made him feel that way. He was aware that his brother might have reason to want him dead, but he judged Seiji's ability to pull something like that off by himself as very low. He'd probably spend several days coming up with grand, intricate plots and then get bored with the notion and go do something else. That was the way his brother was. He was an idiot, but he wasn't usually a dangerous one. Hell, some days he thought he might welcome it if Seiji showed enough initiative to actually get off his butt and seriously attempt something, even if it was at cross-purposes with him.

If Seiji was involved, he had doubtless been a puppet as much as Diachi had. They were all being played. That wasn't an excuse, but the fact was that what he might know and what he could prove were two different things. As matters stood, Diachi had no way to prove that his brother had been party to any of this. If he could, he would not hesitate to nail Seiji's lazy ass to the wall, no matter how much of a pawn he might have been. But with nothing other than suspicion, it wasn't worth the effort of leveling the accusation. Mother would just throw a fit and pull Seiji protectively under her figurative skirts until things blew over, refusing to believe that her baby was capable of something that atrocious. Really, Seiji should stop being so derisive towards her, he had no idea how often her presence had kept Diachi from committing fratricide.

"I don't suppose you know where this supposed ambush was going to take place?" Diachi asked coolly and Seiji shifted uncomfortably.

"No, why would I know that?" he asked defensively.

Diachi smiled faintly. "No reason. I thought perhaps you might have... overheard it, or something." He turned towards the servants gathered about, gawking. "Well, don't just stand there. Clean this up. And send a squad to scour the woods along the Tandor highway. That's the most isolated part of the trip, it would be the best place for an ambush. Bring back anyone suspicious you might find." Diachi doubted they would actually be able to find anyone, but it was worth a try. "Oh... and somebody call mother and tell her there's been an attempt on Seiji's life. He's fine and will be there soon, but I must stay behind to clean up. Tell her he's going to need somewhere secure to stay for a while until I'm sure it's safe again. I'm sure she'll take good care of him."

He leveled a meaningful look at his brother who all but moaned in frustration and protest. Mother was literally not going to let him out of her sight for months after getting a message like that. Which, Diachi thought, ought to keep the brat out of trouble and out of his hair for at least a little while. He got a certain grim satisfaction out of knowing that mother would undoubtedly force Seiji to stay with her at the summer house where she could protect him personally, which meant no thralls, no retinue, endless exposure to their mother's draconian etiquette protocols and the kind of quiet, secluded life that Seiji hated.

"Enjoy your trip, brother," Diachi said with cool amusement before turning on his heel and walking away. "You might want to clean up first."


"My apologies, there was something urgent that required my attention," Diachi apologized to Kaname when he got back on the phone in his study. "Apparently, my brother caught and killed someone in the process of setting up an ambush for me."

"Seiji did?" the incredulity in Kaname's voice on the other end of the line was politely veiled, but discernable.

"Indeed. Who would have thought?" Diachi replied dryly.

"I see..." Kaname hesitated. "I'm glad to hear that. It's very... convenient."

"Yes," Diachi said simply, his tone speaking volumes that he would never voice more clearly. "Wasn't it? In any case, the situation has been neutralized for the moment, although I shall remain on my guard for any additional attempts."

"That's wise," Kaname agreed, letting the previous matter go. Diachi's family was his problem, it was not Kaname's place to interfere or offer commentary and he knew neither would be welcome or wise. Since Diachi had not yet brought anyone else into their previous problems, he was probably fairly safe for the moment. Nasser needed he and Kaname publicly at one another's throats before another assassination attempt would make sense.

Diachi paused for a moment. "Your idea is crazy, but it presents little risk on my side of thing, so I see no objections to it. I wonder though... do you trust me to follow through if by some chance things should go according to plan?"

Back in the libratory basement, Kaname and Zero exchanged looks. Zero had actually been wondering the same thing, but he hadn't said anything yet.

"I trust you to want to hurt the bastard who played you for a fool, killed your people on your turf and tried to have you killed more than you want to hurt me, and more than the possible monetary compensation that might be offered," Kaname said carefully but honestly. "So yes, I trust you."

Diachi actually chuckled softly, seeming to approve of the answer. "Very well then, let us consider the matter settled."


Zero exited the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and one on his head as he scrubbed his mussed silver hair dry, having washed away the last traces of Aido's blood. He found Kaname waiting for him in his bedroom. The pureblood was sitting on the edge of his bed, also showered and dressed in clean clothes.

Kaname offered a wry smile as Zero merely looked at him, raised his eyebrows, and finished drying his hair.

"Sorry," the pureblood said, not sounding very sorry at all as he watched water droplets run down his lover's body appreciatively. "I have builders coming, they'll be repairing my rooms so I'll be out of your hair soon."

Zero shrugged. He did like his space, and wouldn't want to co-habitat this closely indefinitely, but he found he really didn't mind it at all in the short term. He was so used to being around Kaname that it no longer felt as if the vampire was underfoot, even if he did always seem to show up quickly every time he got remotely naked. "No problem. How's Aido?"

"Resting comfortably in one of the guest rooms. The doctor is cautiously optimistic. He's still unconscious and he's going to need to stay that way for some time in order to mend, but once the hunter poison works its way out of his system he will be out of danger. Kain and Ruka have offered to take turns giving him infusions until then if necessary, so I'm sure he will be all right."

"Good." A small smile played about Zero's lips as he pulled open a drawer and grabbed some clothing. The three cousins shared a strong bond. Aido was lucky to have family like that. Zero's gaze drifted to Kaname as he pulled a t-shirt on over his head. The hunter knew he was lucky too.

"Zero..." Kaname's tone had turned more serious and a little hesitant. "I need to talk to you about the plan. I want to go over the whole thing with you and get your input." The pureblood was looking down at his hands. He'd told Diachi some of it, but only the little piece that he needed to know in order to play his part. It was always safer if people only knew exactly as much as they needed to know and nothing more. It was better to hide the whole picture until the end so that it could not fall into the wrong hands. Zero was the only person who would get to hear the whole thing up front. He was the only person Kaname trusted that much. Normally, Kaname never asked for advice, but there was nothing normal about this situation. If things went according to plan, Zero was going to need to play a very central role... one in which Kaname was very loathe to cast him.

"I need your help, but I haven't any right to ask you to do what it is I have in mind," he admitted.

Zero frowned as he pulled on underwear and jeans. "Don't be stupid, of course you do. I want to help, you know that." Want was an understatement. Zero was itching to take action and he was somewhat concerned that this over-protective lover would try to shield him from being involved. "Don't forget that this bastard has been screwing with my life too," he added seriously. I want a piece of him just as badly as you do.

"I know you do," Kaname agreed. "But hear me out before you say yes. It would be very, very dangerous." The pureblood's voice was soft and troubled. He wouldn't even mention it to Zero if he didn't think he could make it work without a totally unreasonable level of risk to the hunter... but the risk was still incredibly high and there was no way Zero wouldn't get hurt. He'd tried for hours to come up with another solution, another move that could replace this one... but there wasn't one.

Kaname would have done it himself, except that would totally defeat the point and make it useless. Zero was the only one who could do this, both because of who and what he was and because of what Nasser already knew about him. Much like the figurative chess queen that Kaname had once mentally compared him too, Zero was the only piece in play who could reach this particular corner of the board. He was also the only one who would have a chance of surviving. But...

Kaname frowned, looking down at his hands again. He couldn't believe he was even talking to Zero about it. He wouldn't if he'd had any choice... but he didn't have a choice. Everything hinged on this and he hated it.

"Hey, danger is my middle name," Zero said lightly as he pulled on a long sleeved tee over the first. He turned to face Kaname and ran his fingers through the pureblood's dark, damp curls. "You do remember what it is I do for a living, right? Tell me what you have in mind."

"All right," Kaname said slowly, leaning into Zero's touch slightly, long fingers brushing the back of his lover's hand. "I will tell you, but you don't have to do it. We can always find another way," he lied. If Zero thought it had a chance, then okay. If not, Kaname would rather end up having to let Nasser best him and suffer whatever consequences that might entail before he forced Zero into something like this.

"Sure," Zero smiled wryly as he sat down on the edge of the bed, one knee curled up under him so he could face Kaname. He could read the lie a mile away. Kaname wouldn't be suggesting a dangerous plan to him if it wasn't actually the only one he could come up with. Zero knew him better than that. "So in this great hypothetical maybe, what is it that I would need to do?"

Kaname held his gaze seriously. "You would need to attempt to kill Nasser Ardon. You would need you to fail. And you would need to be captured."

Zero felt his stomach drop out like the first moments of the downward plunge on a rollercoaster. That was suicide. But... no, it couldn't be. Because Kaname would not ask him to do something that was 100% certain to get him killed, he knew contained his first reaction. He knew if he spoke his mind at this moment, Kaname would withdraw the idea entirely and refuse to discuss it further. He needed to know more. He was aware of how important this must be for Kaname to even float a suggestion like that.

"Oh, I see. Is that all?" he said ruefully, although a faint scratch had entered his tone that he couldn't completely hide. Actually, the first bit of the idea sounded pretty good, it was the rest of it that he wasn't crazy about. "Explain to me the part where I don't get killed in the process?"

Kaname felt sure Zero thought he was insane. Maybe he was. "It's a matter of knowing your enemy and how he will react," Kaname said softly. "Here's the way it would work..."