Oh! I forgot to mention that I will be picking up on my Taku/Kai story soon and I will be posting the first chapter of a story that I am co-writing with dear Irmina, It is a KaZe that is part of a trilogy of hers. Do check out the prequels of the last installment on her profile before starting to read it :D
I will notify you here when the first chapter is posted, soon XD
∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Meanwhile, in Gin's house ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞
The loud ringing of the phone woke up the groggy hunter from his sweet nap. He blindly patted around the bed until he found it and answered with one eye open.
"Hello!"
"Good evening sleepy head. I have been ringing on your doorbell since forever." Ichiru irritated voice sent a waking jolt through his sleepy brain.
"Uhmm…. What do you want?" The still sleepy hunter mumbled.
"Well, since your favorite food could not get any colder, I guess I will go back and eat it with my man who would appreciate my effort of waiting in the long queue to order it." Ichiru answered in a monotone voice.
Through a salivating mouth, Zero shot up from his bed and stumbled down the stairs while shouting, "Coming… Coming! Don't you dare move an inch!"
Opening the door, he found his grinning twin raising two bags of food before inviting himself in.
A while later, they crashed in the living room, having hard time breathing through their full bellies.
"That was… Heavenly… Thanks Ich!" Zero breathed out, resting his head against the armrest.
"You're welcome. I was coming to check on you, so I thought of getting you something since I was in the city." Ichiru talked with a dismissing gesture.
"Gin has been fussy about healthy eating and all that crap. It made me crave the stinky dirty street food even more than before my pregnancy." Zero whined while shifting to lay down sideway and face his identical twin.
"He is taking good care of you." Ichiru trailed. He did not voice it out yet, but he was skeptical about the almost perfect man. What frustrated him even more is that his investigation did not return anything sketchy. It was as if he wanted to find some dirt on the guy to convince himself that there was a motive behind Gin going to such great lengths for his brother other than pure love. I am not ready to see Nii-san getting hurt again anytime soon!
"He is." Zero affirmed slowly, unaware of the blush creeping up his cheek when remembering the event of the early morning.
Just as Ichiru was about to comment on the unusual reaction, the door clicked open.
"Did you hide the evidence?" Zero whispered.
"In the trash that I took out already." Ichiru whispered back before chuckling at the sneaky ways they were acting. It reminded them of the old days when they deceived their mother to snatch more snacks than what she allowed.
Zero gave him a thumb up in time with Gin joining them.
"Hello~ handsome…" Zero chirped, throwing his head backward to grin at the man coming his way.
"It feels so good to be home." Gin breathed in relief as he leaned to place a kiss on Zero's lips.
"Too bad you are going to desert us." Zero complained as Gin kissed his bump.
"How come?" Ichiru interrupted, slightly put off by the unusual display of affection.
"He has to go to his home country in a couple of days. You did not tell me how long you will be gone for." Zero noted, scowling at the teacher who was putting his things away.
"A week, at most, hopefully." Gin called out from his working area.
"That is a lot of uncertainty." Zero whispered to Ichiru.
"Have you guys eaten anything? Should I whip something up?" Gin asked as he rolled his sleeve.
Ichiru stuttered in attempt to find a way out from overstuffing himself without giving away the mischief.
"Actually! We just got back from a sumptuous lunch we had at a friend's place. Why don't you go get some rest and leave the dinner to me? You have not slept a wink since yesterday." Zero urged as he stood up and pushed the taller man towards the stairs.
"Are you sure?" Gin asked just to take the guilt off. He was feeling drained and welcomed a good sleep.
"Positive." Zero insisted, "It will give us some much needed sibling's time as well. God knows we need it after having you and Hanabusa stuck to our back for a while now."
Once Gin was out of the way, Zero rejoined Ichiru once again for some fun.
"What was that?" The younger twin poked.
"What was what?" Zero asked as he dug in his bag of chips.
"The change in chemistry" Ichiru deadpanned.
Zero suddenly stopped munching with a full mouth, "nuffin'"
Ichiru snatched the bag of chips, "Say that to someone who would believe it. The googly eyes he gives you increased tenfold in a matter of forty-eight hours. I was expecting to find him as a mess after what happened last night."
Zero swallowed, "We are not pretending anymore."
Ichiru stilled, and then inched closer to his brother to speak in a hushed voice, "You mean that you are going to stage a break up soon. How come he seems happy about it?"
Zero rolled his eyes, "Idiot! It is the opposite and why are you whispering? Do you see anyone else around?"
"WHAT?" Ichiru shrieked.
"Okay…" Zero plugged his ears, "No whispering does not mean bursting my ears."
"Zero… What… How?... Why?" Ichiru was confused.
"I don't know… I am not even sure what it meant anyways. I guess the rush, anxiety and too many things building up catapulted in an unexpected direction." Zero shrugged.
"Well… Thank you for the many words that would sum up you being horny and him coming on to you." Ichiru deadpanned, "Are you even sure that you want this?"
"It was just a matter of time anyways." Zero trailed, sulkily snatching the chips and shoving his mouth full of them.
"Zero…"
"What?"
"Did something happen with Kuran?" Ichiru dropped the bomb that had Zero sputter in shock.
"What does he have to do with this?" Zero gave his brother in incredulous look.
"I don't know… May be because you realized that he is not involved with Yuki anymore and you are using Gin as an escape route so that you avoid thinking of giving him a second chance," the younger twin explained.
"Oh that!" Zero's eyebrows rose in understanding, "Not happening." He dismissed it nonchalantly.
"I still think that it is impulsive to decide now, you are probably feeling vulnerable." Zero felt a vein popping in his temple.
"Okay! What is going on here?" He slammed the bag of snacks on the table and twisted to face his brother with a miffed look, "You were pinning for Gin and me getting together for the longest time. Now that things are starting to drift in that direction, you are acting as if you want an excuse to break us apart. I am confused. I know that I am not in love with the guy, and that our situation is very complicated. The sex was not that great either, for me at least, but I can blame that on the pregnancy. He seemed to enjoy it though…"
"Too much information… Gross information…" Ichiru's nose scrunched up a little.
"What I am trying to say is that I am trying to find a semblance of stability in our life with the man who is about to share the responsibility of the life growing inside of me. Scratch that, the man who is already sharing said responsibility. I thought that you would be glad to see that things are progressing smoothly?"
"You know that I want what is best for you, Zero. I just do not like it when you rush into things only to regret them later." Ichiru explained. I would have been happy if the guy was not that clean. He would find me jumping in joy by now if Gin did not blow it by covering the affair in the first place.
"I won't." Zero stated stubbornly. Part of him was getting defensive because Ichiru's statement held some truth to it. After the rough patch that he had with Kaname started subduing, he started fearing that his resolve would weaken the more he spent time around the pureblood. The pull he felt towards him was as strong as ever even after all the times he hurt him.
He found himself desperately looking for an anchor, a commitment that will prevent the temptation of the sinful man from clouding his judgement, and Gin was just it. As unfair as it sounded.
He startled when Ichiru's hands found their way to his belly. "I wonder when it will pop out. I can't wait to feel him kicking. Did he start moving already?" The excited uncle gave his pregnant brother the usual sparkly eyes whenever the unborn child was the topic.
Zero gave a defeated smile; Parenting is going to be tough will all the love you are getting baby!
"Not really… The doctor said that I would normally feel fluttering sensation and things like that by now. I did feel it with Keiichi, although I was too stupid to understand that it was a baby moving at that time. This time, I got myself a lazy one." He snickered, "We did see him clenching and unclenching his hands in the screen during the last visit."
Ichiru pouted, "I guess I have to wait. Do you really have to leave after giving birth? You are going so far away."
"I might leave before birth, Ichiru." Zero winced at the pained expression of his brother, "I cannot take the risk. The speculation of him and me being together already caused a big stir that almost reached the media and every single person in the country. If by any chance, this boy takes after him, he will never have the chance of living a normal life in a place where his father is revered as a fucking God."
"No one has to know. You can move to another town, in the countryside, somewhere that is not here but not out of the national borders. Genetics are always unpredictable and we can brush it off as a funny coincidence where the baby takes after his aunt, Yuki-chan." Ichiru pleaded desperately.
"Ichiru, you can visit anytime."
"But not as much as I want to, which would be every day."
Zero chuckled at the puppy eyes that his twin was giving him. "Look, we will not be gone forever. I just need time, time for him to grow enough to understand things. If things really work out with Gin, I need to give them a chance to bond without any external pressure. Then, we will move back here. At a young age, vampire children tend to gravitate more towards their parents. A parent would also recognize their offspring. I felt it when I first met Keiichi, there was something different about him compared to other children and I never thought I would care for any kid that much. It clicked when I connected the dots and figured out what happened. The unsuspecting ones around might not have noticed it, but Keiichi is always drawn to me more than anyone else."
Ichiru nodded in understanding. He could not deny it. The more they spent time together, the more Keiichi would gravitate towards Zero and ignore the Shikis. They dismissed it by saying that Zero had a knack with kids, but Ichiru always felt like there was something more to it. Zero's explanation cleared it up perfectly. Therefore, seeing how good Kaname is to Ai and how caring of a father he could be, the possibility of noticing the bond with his son is highly possible.
"Did you ever think of how it would be if you told him the truth?" Ichiru regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.
"Ka- Kuran?" Zero frowned.
"I mean. After knowing that he is 'available', did you not ponder of how it would have been if you chose to tell him the truth and involve him-"
"No." Zero deadpanned, "I would not allow myself to even consider it."
"Why? I am not defending him or anything, but… Okay… I seriously hate his guts and loath him for whatever he put you through…However…" Ichiru chewed his lips, hesitating on how to continue.
"However?" Zero urged.
Seeing that his older twin was not in his snappy mood phase gave Ichiru the courage to speak, "I hate to say it, but he is a good father."
"Ichiru." Zero groaned.
"Just listen to me… I am not saying that you should get together with him for the sake of your child… I… I just don't like this messed up situation… I am thinking of what is best for my nephew here, okay? It is painful enough that I am unable to be open about my relation with Kei-chan and I know that he will have a lot of question when he grows up that his parents will have hard time answering. Question about his origin, about the reason he was abandoned and I will have to lie to him and make him think that he has no maternal family when he actually does. He does have a family that loves him but unable to-"
"Ich!" Zero felt a lump in his throat.
"All I am saying is, why not make things right this time around. We see couples separating during pregnancies and still get involved in their children' life properly. No matter how you try to ignore it, he is bound to notice. The baby will look nothing like Gin, He will be a high ranking noble if Keiichi is any reference. Seeing who his parents are, I can safely assume that he will have a good head over his shoulders. How long do you think you can deceive him for, five years? ten years? fifteen? He will start asking, looking for answers. What will happen when he finds them and the truth come out in the worst way by that time. You will tell him that his father is a horrible man and you needed to protect him by hiding the truth? That will not do it because Kuran Kaname is a good father despite being the lowest jerk as a partner. I am saying it because I have been seeing it every day. The time he is spending with Ai-chan has been increasing; she is the happiest when her dad is around. Heck! My eyes almost dropped from their socket when I visited Yuki once and found him changing Ai's diapers and burping her like a fucking expert. You may not work out as a couple but he is one hell of a parent. It is unfair for his son to take the name of another unrelated man." Ichiru hissed the last words.
"The man thanks to whom his son will ever see the light of the day." Zero gritted, "Do you think I don't know any of this. I am well aware of how freaking great he is with kids. I know very well that he is not the scumbag I wished he would be to make things easier. It is not that simple, Ich. It is not that simple. He would never settle with just being 'involved' as the father."
"He would not take him away from you." Ichiru stated flatly.
"He wouldn't, not because he is not that cruel, but because he would want us both." Zero looked in Ichiru's eyes with a grim expression that worried the younger twin.
"Well, he just have to get over it. It is not like any of you were serious in the first place." Ichiru dismissed.
"We were not serious, at first that is." Zero put his bag of chips aside and sunk in the seat.
"What do you mean?" Ichiru was confused.
"He loves me." Zero whispered
"WHAT?!" Ichiru all but jumped from the seat. Zero winced at the reaction. He did tell Ichiru almost everything about how he and Kaname got together, but he omitted the pureblood attempt of impregnating him and the confession he threw at him.
Zero licked his drying lips, "Remember when I told you about the last fight we had and how he was persistent about not ending things between us?"
Ichiru shifted closer and nodded, "Yeah… That was the day Ai was born."
"Well… Things happened a little differently that day." Zero took a shuddering breath and explained everything to the minute detail, leaving his twin flabbergasted.
Minutes of silence stretched to almost half an hour before Ichiru finally snapped from his frozen state. Throwing his head against the back of the couch, his eyes were unfocused, staring at the ceiling.
"Can I be honest without you making a big deal out of it and we end up fighting bla bla bla… Can I?" He asked.
"Shoot!" The nervous Zero mimicked his posture and inhaled.
"Nii-san… I never thought that I would say this but… You are the worst." Ichiru deadpanned
"I know." Zero confirmed.
Another moment of silence stretched before Ichiru bolted out of his seat, startling his twin.
"Let's leave it at that. I will forget this conversation ever happened and we will go on as usual. I don't think that I can digest all this anytime soon and … You know what! Just forget it. I am erasing it from my memory. I never heard that he fell in love with you, I never heard that you actually dared him to get you pregnant, I never heard that you… Oh God! this is too much. I just came here to eat some junk food with my brother and fawn over my unborn nephew that I will be seeing once or twice a year probably." Ichiru spoke dramatically.
"Ichiru!" Zero leaned and reached out to hold the hand of his agitated brother, but Ichiru yanked it away.
"Please don't… I… I need to go. One day and I will bounce back, I promise." The younger twin grabbed the car keys and his stuff while storming for the door.
Despite feeling a burden lifting off his shoulder, Zero still felt the stings of the harsh but well deserved words that Ichiru threw his way. The worst.
He walked upstairs slowly and joined Gin for a longer nap that he did not need but took anyways, to escape the reality.
In his car, Ichiru sunk in his seat. His brother probably misunderstood his reaction and he wanted it to stay that way. Listening to the true version of their affair, Ichiru felt worse than ever. All he could hear was one wrong decision after the other, piling up until the finale where an innocent child will be left to feel the burn. The worst part is that he was suspecting that his brother could have feelings for the pureblood that he did not notice.
However, pushing Zero to acknowledge something based on a subjective assumption could be a recipe for disaster. The younger twin had a moment of clarity after Zero told him everything without holding back. Everything suddenly made sense. He cringed at the memory of his last encounter with the pureblood. He assumed that Kaname was mocking him when he asked about how Zero was doing after the ball, which made Ichiru snap and splash the glass of wine on his face. He did not react at all! He just looked, defeated and remained silent. Covering his face with both hands, he let out a guttural groan before starting the engine to drive away.
Back in the academy, Ichiru startled when he found Aido waiting for him in their apartment.
"Hey, you… What took you so long?" Hanabusa greeted him with a peck on the cheek and hands on his hips.
"Um… I made an extra detour to check on nii-san." Ichiru mumbled.
The golden haired vampire frowned when he noticed the way his lover averted his gaze.
"hmm? What's wrong? Is everything okay with Zero? Did he suffer any trauma from the incident? He did say that he was feeling well when I asked him to come for a checkup this morning."
Ichiru smiled while placing his hands on toned shoulders, "He is fine. He is doing great actually… We enjoyed lunch together and lazed around a bit."
"So why the grim face?" Hanabusa bumped their foreheads.
Ichiru hesitated for a moment, parted his lips to share his worries but pressed them shut shortly after. He shook his head slightly, and gave the blue-eyed man a helpless look, "Nii-san decided to get… kind of serious with Gin. I guess… I… it did not feel right to me, but never mind. It is his life and his decision to make." He pushed softly against Hana's chest and walked towards the bedroom for a change of clothes.
"Oh…" Hanabusa stood there staring blankly at his retreating lover. Once Ichiru was out of sight, he rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head in exasperation. Nothing could surprise him anymore when it came to Zero. He felt bad for his lover because he shared the same opinion about the man posing as the father of Zero's child, but he will not say that he didn't see it coming. In fact, he almost felt relieved about it.
∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Later that night ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞
In order to keep a sense of familiarity, the new residence was designed in a way similar to the moon dorm. Except for the more accommodating and secure living quarters, they kept the ground floor as a gathering area. The generous space was well designed into a massive dining area, a lounging area, a gym as well as a playground, which has yet to be finished for prospective children. Having settled most of his matters early, Ichiru pushed the button of the elevator to go down and see if he could find anyone to hang out with before heading to Kaito's room.
To his surprise, he found Yuki holding Ai-chan while chattering with Senri and Rima. He had to brace himself when a ball of hyperactive joy launched itself on his midsection. He almost tumbled over with Keiichi glomped on him like a Koala.
"Hey cutie! I missed you soo much!" Ichiru picked his nephew for a bone-crushing hug and a vacuum like kiss that left the child giggling to no end.
"Missed you too!" Keiichi reciprocated the gesture, "Guess what."
"Tell me." Ichiru mimicked the childish tone.
"I called Zero, on the phone!" Keiichi declared cheerfully, "I will sleep over tonight."
"Oh…" Ichiru trailed unconsciously, "That is great!"
Keiichi nodded furiously, his crystal blue eyes shining more than ever.
Ichiru smiled back, unable to deny the soothing effect that he had on him. I have to agree with the unbreakable bond that nii-san talked about. Kei-chan is positively glowing whenever he talks about him.
Minutes after he settled with the others, he was surprised to see Kaname joining them.
"I did not expect your trip to take this long." Yuki commented.
"My bad… I did not keep tab on the time and got carried away." Kaname removed his jacket and placed it neatly on the back of a chair. With a nod, he acknowledged the presence of others before sitting next to Yuuki.
"You could have had someone else look and bring the references you needed." She complained, "Ichijou-sempai would be more than happy to accommodate."
The thought of Kaname dealing with the dusty archive in the central library of the elder's council made her cringe. Ichijou always handled the pureblood's correspondence and researched for contracts for one good reason; once Kaname surrounds himself with books, he loses tracks of everything around him and dive into whatever he read.
"That would not do it. Besides, he should be very exhausted if he is still sleeping." Kaname stated flatly. He understood where Yuki was coming from. However, letting someone else do the task would have defeated the purpose. Although He hated to admit that his digging for the whole day was fruitless.
Ichiru observed the exchange silently while trying to pay attention to what Keiichi was telling him. His eyes could not stop following the pureblood as he reached and cooed at his daughter who reacted almost instantly with the cutest sounds and flailing hands. He did not waste time to take her in his arms and enjoy the father/daughter bonding, without caring about what others might think.
The silver haired twin unconsciously squeezed the child on his lap, feeling pain in his chest. He could not help but wonder. If Zero saw the heartwarming interaction, would he change his mind? Would he give up the crazy plan of going away to run from the overbearing pureblood? In fact, before the incident between Zero and Kaname happened, Ichiru grew closer to the pureblood thanks to their shared interest in work.
The fact that he was in a relationship with one of his most trusted subordinates allowed him to see the more mellow side of the pureblood king, and he truly believed that there was more to Kaname than what he let on. He could not help but relate to the brunet in term of hiding his true self. After all, before Hanabusa came along, Ichiru was quite similar in keeping up a cruel façade to hide his pain and vulnerability. As presumptuous as it may sound, Ichiru truly believed that Kaname would be a better father to his unborn nephew than Gin who was still shrouded in mystery.
His irritation came back when he remembered the dead ends of his investigation. Despite his impressive network and connections, Ichiru never managed to unravel anything about the man before the time he got in touch with Kaito about his sister. Especially about the reason, he went MIA for about a year after a scandal with a student. It was as if he vanished in a different dimension before coming back to earth and resumed his life.
Ichiru's musing stopped abruptly when Kaname announced that he had to go to his office at the lab to check on any progress with Hanabusa. The silver twin jumped on the chance of tagging along.
They walked in awkward silence until they reached the building.
"Kuran…" Ichiru whispered, not sure if he wanted the brunet's attention. The keen ears of the pureblood caught the sound and halted in his footsteps.
"Yes?"
The younger twin hesitated before meeting the wine orbs waiting for him to talk.
"Can I have a word with you, alone in your office?"
Kaname was taken aback by the grave tone Ichiru used but did not show it.
"Of course."
They skipped going into the research area where Hanabusa was busy with his team, and headed straight to the office's area. Kaname ordered for no one to disturb them before closing the door once Ichiru got inside.
Out of courtesy, he poured him a drink and sat on the opposite seat.
Ichiru was starting to regret his impulsive action. Fidgeting on his seat, he fumbled with the drink before breaking the silence with a random topic, "Ai-chan is growing fast."
Kaname gave a small smile, "She sure is. She let out a full on giggle last night, almost identical to Yuki's when she was that age."
"Oh! I forgot that you took care of Yuki-chan since she was born."
"And always will." Kaname added, adoring exasperation obvious in his voice. Ichiru could not help but laugh at the remark, knowing that the new mother was still an immature child at heart.
"It is fascinating to witness the growth of your own child." Ichiru talked rhetorically.
"And others as well, especially when they are blood related, such as your unborn nephew." Kaname pointed out. He was starting to suspect that Ichiru was trying to open the issue of having a child of his own with Hanabusa. Kaname was aware of the various attempts and research they carried over the years. He even lent a hand by providing access to restricted records as a friendly gesture.
The silverette nodded, "That is true. Seeing how happy Zero feels at the prospect of holding and raising the child he will be blessed with brings me the utmost joy."
"How is he faring so far with the pregnancy?" Kaname dared to ask at the cost of getting splashed again.
Ichiru noticed the smirk and knew the inner thoughts of the vampire. With a friendly smile, he answered, "He is doing much better. I believe that it has to do with the spectacular amount of blood Yuki-chan has been providing."
"That is good to know." Kaname felt relieved to hear it from Ichiru.
"Kuran…" Ichiru trailed.
"Yes?" The pureblood started to worry when Ichiru seemed unable to speak his mind.
"I had a talk with Nii-san recently… About many topics, including you." He finally gathered the courage.
Kaname tensed for a moment, but urged him to continue.
"I admit that it was hasty of me to put the blame on you without knowing what led to that… 'Incident'." Ichiru mumbled
Understanding what he meant, Kaname rushed to put his worries at ease, "You were not wrong. I did an unforgivable thing and you were upset for your brother, it is only natural for you-"
"But he was at fault too."
Kaname halted his speech suddenly at the high protest of his guest.
Ichiru gritted his teeth, irritation building up again, "He told me… About… the confession…. and that you wanted him to be… with your child… to bind him"
Kaname felt his throat drying. He never expected Zero to confess such details, even to his brother. In fact, he believed that the hunter never really thought back on what happened seeing that Zero seemed to run away from the time they spent together.
He remained silent.
"Did you love him? Really?" Ichiru asked hesitantly.
"…"
"Do you still love him?" The silver twin was desperate for an answer, or a gesture or a glance.
Taking a deep breath, Kaname met the flickering violet eyes staring at him, a shade darker than those of his beloved.
"And always will." He finally said it as he placed his drink on the dark wooden table, "But I will not impose my feeling on him anymore. I will not deprive him of the life he always dreamt to have."
"Is that okay with you?" Ichiru whispered the question, feeling his chest tightening with guilt.
"Yes. If he is happy, it is fine by me." Kaname stated with certainty.
"What if he is not?"
Brown eyebrows knitted. "Meaning?"
Ichiru caught himself in time, "No… I did not mean it that way. How should I put it? He seems happy for now… But… I am worried about his future." Damnit! You spineless coward! He reprimanded himself for not having the guts to go against his twin's will.
"We all worry about a future we can't predict." Kaname commented with a hint of humor.
"Especially when a brother of mine knows how to pick his men." Ichiru groaned, "Pun intended."
"I figured." Kaname countered with equal sarcasm, "However, I believe that he would not stick around if Moriya-sensei was worse than the others, myself included."
"Are you saying that he is a good guy?" Ichiru tested.
"No… He is just not bad until proven otherwise." Kaname clarified.
Ichiru caught on the underlying message, "So you did not find anything either."
The matter of fact observation that Ichiru threw his way surprised Kaname.
"I don't understand what-"
"When you know that you cannot be with the one you love, one tend to try and watch over their happiness. A way to do that would be to make sure their current partner would not take it away. We both agree on that point, and I believe that we adopted the same method to approach the issue. Let us not play the innocents here." Ichiru left no way out for the pureblood.
Kaname winced internally at being busted that easily. He pressed his temple before conceding defeat, "I understand."
"What did you find out so far?" Ichiru dove right to the point.
"Nothing. Nothing worrisome. Just a regular man with a record of a false accusation that costed him his qualifications as a professor. Despite the jeopardizing of his brilliant career, he remained in this country for the sake of his sister who went down the wrong path at some point. Along with many others observations, I would say that we have a selfless man who tends to put others before himself, especially those he cares about." Kaname then realized how much he hated the fact that found no fault in the man named Moriya Gin.
"Spotless." Ichiru deadpanned, "too clean."
"Meaning?" Kaname inquired.
"My network did not pick up anything about him apart from what you mentioned. I could not find the reason he vanished for a whole year either." Ichiru narrowed his eyes as Kaname weighed what he was told.
"Did you check any underground connection?" Ichiru's observation picked Kaname's attention instantly.
"Don't get me started on the number of laws I have broken to get to the bottom of the matter. The result? Nothing." Ichiru hissed in frustration.
"That should not be the case." Kaname pondered.
"As far as I know, all kind of supernatural can exist in this world, but angels usually do not meddle in it. So, unless he is one, that guy is too good to be true." Ichiru stated sarcastically.
A small smile traced Kaname's lips, "You are not fond of him are you?"
"Not anymore."
"All right! I will see what I can do."
"Thank you." Ichiru finally stood to leave, annoyed at his own cold feet. As much as he wanted to, telling Kaname the truth about his unborn child may not be the best idea of the moment, especially when it could cost him his own brother. He halted when a sudden thought crossed his mind, "Kuran…"
"Yes?" Kaname looked up as he sat on his office chair to start on the piling work.
"If… Just if your 'plan' worked and you managed to get my brother pregnant at that time. What were you planning next? It is not like you two can get together just like that without raising bigger issues." Ichiru insinuated the political influence of such liaison.
"I would have done anything and everything to make it work, only if Zero wanted us to be together." Kaname answered honestly.
Ichiru startled for a second when he heard his brother's name come out of the pureblood's mouth for the first time in his life.
"What if he refused to take the leap?" Ichiru added.
"Then I will simply wait for him to change his mind while watching over them." Kaname paused for a moment before letting out a breathy chuckle that confused the silverette, "It is funny that I am having this conversation with you. We actually discussed the same thing at one point, Zero and I. At that time, he brushed it off by saying that he would dump the child on me and flee."
Ichiru's eyes widened for a second before he burst laughing as well, "Typical answer."
"But I was certain that he would not do such a thing." Kaname breathed out.
"You don't know. It is hard to predict what Nii-san is capable of." Ichiru pointed.
"He said the same thing. However, I do know that he would not abandon our child, even if he wants nothing to do with me."
"Would you let that happen?" Ichiru latched on the opportunity, "Would you allow him to have the child and raise him by himself without snatching them away from his arms?"
Kaname stared at the intense look Ichiru gave him, "I wish for his happiness. Therefore, I would not give him the grief of depriving him of a child that would make his life brighter. As I said, I would watch over them and be there for as much as he allows me to. However, all this talk is pointless since it is nothing but a fragment of my imagination now."
Boy if you only knew how wrong you are there…
∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ few hours later ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞
Kaname finished signing the last document and arranged his desk before he could call it a night. The conversation he had with Ichiru was nothing short of awkward. He had a nagging feeling that Ichiru was holding something important from him, but he could not find a way to bring it out. He only hoped that it was nothing pertaining to the safety of Zero.
A knock on the door made him focus again. Aido invited himself in with a note in hand.
"Kaname-sama, the car is ready to drive you to the meeting location."
Kaname grabbed his briefcase but paused for a moment, "Isn't Ichijou supposed to accompany me today? It is a meeting with the board of his group after all."
Aido gave him a perplexed look as he handed the note he was given, "I found this on my desk this morning saying that I should assist you today since he would not be available. He seemed to have written it in a hurry."
Kaname examined the piece of paper before crushing it. Aido startled when hostile aura surged from the pureblood, "Cancel this meeting and call Isaya Shouto to the association ASAP. This is not the handwriting of Ichijou, I have seen it one too many time over the years to know. Take this paper to forensics as well."
Hanabusa paled at the prospective of his colleague being in danger. Thus, moved at the speed of light to execute the orders he has been given.
∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ Meanwhile in Gin's house ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞
"left! right! right! left! right! left! and right!" Zero instructed with a huge smile as the growing hands of Keiichi punched his palms with all his might.
It was few hours earlier that he received the sweetest wake-up call from the redheaded child, who shyly asked for permission to come. He was surprised to see him for the first time after his operation. He did not expect the change he witnessed.
Keiichi did not grow much physically in such a short time, neither did his traits change that much. However, his aura flared more than ever, as if it powered up. Senri had a little chitchat with the hunter before leaving his son in his care. He surprised Zero even more when he told him how Keiichi managed to take down some of his bullies and how the sudden display of violence worried Rima. So they wanted Zero to help convince him against such behavior since he hears from him.
"Good!" Zero praised the sparring little fighter who got out of breath after the strenuous exercise.
"Did I get stronger?" Keiichi asked excitedly.
"You will." Zero nodded, "As long as you are good."
"Good?" Keiichi tilted his head.
From the table, Gin observed their interaction with a palm cradling his face. He forgot all about grading when he noticed the adoration in those amethyst orbs.
"Come, I have something to show you." Zero took his hand and guided him to a chest he kept in the corner of the room.
He opened it and allowed Keiichi to peek inside. Crystal blue eyes widened in awe as he saw the weapons neatly tucked inside. He reached his small hand to stroke the handle of Bloody Rose.
"You can hold it in your hands if you want." Zero urged when he noticed that Keiichi was able to touch it.
"It is… heavy." Keiichi whispered as he flipped the gun with both hands.
"It is." Zero smiled. I had better make sure he does not touch it in front of others. His hunter's blood must be the reason his vampire element is not showing yet, wielding the gun can be a dead giveaway.
"Do you punish bad guys with this?" Keiichi asked curiously.
"Bad guys?" Zero played dumb.
Keiichi pursed his lips for a moment, "Like bullies."
"You mean vengeance?" Zero hit the nail on the head when Keiichi nodded. The hunter felt like he was seeing the young Ichiru standing in front of him. The only difference is that he was not aware of the vindictive strike that was building up inside the weak body of his brother, unlike the one growing inside his son.
"No." Zero's voice was strict and commanding, "If I use my power and weapons to get revenge on those who bullied me, then I become the bad guy. Then, I will be punished myself."
Keiichi was shocked by the words, "but… but… What if they are really bad and did bad things to you… made you cry… and… and…"
"And said horrible things… and stole your precious toys, and caused you pain? So what? They just want you to feel scared and helpless."
"How do I make them stop if I cannot punish them?" Keiichi pouted, he did not want Zero to be angry with him for fighting the other kids, but he did not want to be bullied anymore.
"Ignore them… Smile at them… And help them when they are in trouble, they will stop hurting you." Zero whispered gently as he took the gun from the tiny hands and gave his son a comforting hug. Deep down, Zero wanted to rip those kids to shred, but he did not want to see his child being anymore shunned and isolated because of how different he will grow to become. The only solution he could figure out was to push Keiichi into blending with kids his age and build strong relations that will help make his future better than the one he and Ichiru had to endure.
It took a bit more effort to convince the stubborn child against any act of violence against the bullies, but Zero succeeded somehow.
Seeing how tired he looked, Gin offered to be the one giving Keiichi his bath while Zero prepared his bed.
In the bathroom, the two of them played and splashed the water all over the place before Gin stopped playing around to wash the little man.
"Close your eyes so that the shampoo does not get inside."
"Haiii!" The happy child closed his eyes and covered them with his hands.
"Good boy~!" Gin swiftly removed his ring and placed his palm on the back of the tiny head. A soft glow showed at the point of contact before it vanished equally as fast. He put the ring back and continued washing.
This should keep you safe enough for now.
Keiichi was drowsy by the time Gin got him to brush his teeth. He gave him to Zero's embrace and watched as his head lolled over the hunter's shoulder as Zero walked up the stairs.
Minutes later, Gin heard careful footsteps coming down.
"Asleep?"
"Out like the light." Zero whispered, "I will be sleeping with him tonight."
"You should." Gin ruffled the silver head, "Ne, Zero… When you found out that Keiichi was the child you gave birth to, did you not want to take him back?"
"Nope." Zero answer was fast, "I will never think about it. The Shikis love him. It would be unfair and devastating if I did such a thing, Keiichi sees them as his real parents and it will stay that way, no matter what."
"You are the best, you know that?" Gin kissed the top of his head before resuming his grading.
"I did not think so." Zero teased as he got up for a cup of water, "Oh! He will be staying over for few days. Rima and Senri are going overseas as well for some kind of modeling gig."
"That is great. At least you will have some great company while I am away." Gin chirped, happy to see the hunter so excited about having Keiichi all to himself.
The ringing of his phone stopped Zero from sharing the plans he thought about.
"Kaito? What's up?" Zero answered with a frown on his face. It is rare for the hazel-eyed hunter to call him on his work phone.
"Takuma never came back, Zero." Kaito's voice was clearly shaking, "Kuran called for an urgent meeting right now."
"Okay… I am coming over, right now." Zero was out in the blink of an eye, barely explaining the situation to Gin.
In his car, his phone rang again.
"Nii-san, where are you?"
"Coming to the association right now."
"Good. I don't think I can keep Kaito calm any longer." Ichiru explained.
"What the fuck happened anyways?" Zero finally snapped.
"I don't know. We all thought that Ichijou-sempai was tired after dealing with the emergency of last night, so he decided to take the day off to rest. Hana told me that he left him a note to take care of his assisting tasks as well."
"And?" Zero urged his brother to keep it short.
"It all happened fast. I went to hang out with Kaito and asked him if he checked on his lover. Kaito was thinking that Ichijou was busy with work, so they could not meet. When I told him that he had the day off, he got suspicious and we went to check on him in the moon dorm. We found that his bed was not touched and he was nowhere to be found. Kaito's panic increased when Kuran called for the meeting and Hana told us that someone forged his signature and the note left behind." Ichiru's voice cracked a bit in a mix of anger and anxiety.
"Oh god!" Zero sped up, not wanting to waste a moment more.
∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ At the association ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞
The urgent meeting concluded that Takuma was last seen when he left to settle the matter of the paparazzi. The situation was worsening by the minute when they found that the person he was supposed to meet disappeared as well. Not only that, but Takuma's car was parked right outside of the publisher's office, dust covered his driver's seat along with the discarded clothes of his chauffeur.
All circumstantial factors pointed to one conclusion, Ichijou Takuma has been kidnapped for almost twenty-four hours.
The forensics did not find any fingerprints other than Aido's and Kaname's on the piece of paper or any other item brought for inspection, erasing any possible leads on the suspect.
The tension filled the air of the president's office where Zero, Kaito, Ichiru, Hanabusa, Shouto, Kaname, Yagari and Kaien sat across. Zero finally pulled his best friend to the restroom when Kaito looked like he was about to snap.
"You are not fucking helping out there by being like this." Zero slammed him against the tiled wall.
"What do you expect me to do huh? Fucking dance and sing while he could be out there enduring unimaginable things… and maybe de-"
"Shut the fuck up! He is not!" Zero interrupted the horrible thought.
"Zero… I…" Kaito slid a hand across his face, frustration and impatience getting the best of him, "I can't be here right now."
"You are not going anywhere! The last thing we need is another MIA." Zero grabbed his arm when Kaito tried to leave.
"I NEED TO FIND HIM!" Kaito screamed
"WE WILL! TOGETHER!" Zero screamed back, "NOW YOU WILL LISTEN, AND YOU WILL LISTEN CAREFULLY! The Ichijou's have been informed and they are sending someone here. You have to wipe off that widow look if you do not want your relation to be exposed and bigger problems arising."
"Why the fuck do I have to-"
"To still be together with him when we find him… To still be able to hold him in your arms instead of having others interfering every step of the way from now on. Isn't that the reason you refused coming out to anyone else about your involvement, even when he wanted to?" Zero knew that he was rubbing salt in the wound, but that was the only way he found to keep his friend grounded.
Kaito tensed and locked his jaw before admitting defeat. "Fine."
It was at that moment that the door burst open with a flabbergasted Ichiru catching his breath, "You two have to come, right now!"
The three of them all but ran back to the office, where more people seemed to populate it, one of them shared a striking resemblance to Takuma's grandfather, Zero assumed that it was the uncle coming on behalf of the Ichijou group.
The sudden gasp coming from Kaito made him follow the line of his vision. Amethyst eyes landed on the item placed on the desk, the item causing the frightened expression on most faces in the room.
"What the hell?" Zero uttered the words unconsciously.
There on the desk, laid a big ice cube caging an arm that was severed clean from its body, along with the clothes covering it. Not only that, but the fingers and wrist had a chain swirling around them with a ring supposedly dangling from it. A ring Zero recognized immediately as the one that Kaito dragged him across five jewelry stores before he chose it as a gift for his blond lover before they took off for their recent vacation. Unless proven otherwise, the arm placed under their eyes belonged to Takuma.
Everyone flinched at the slamming of the door when Kaito suddenly stormed out. Zero, Kaname, Hanabusa and Ichiru were on his trail in the blink of an eye.
"Kaito… Stop!" Zero stomped as fast as possible
"Fuck off!"
"Where do you think you are going?" Ichiru yelled.
"To find him."
"How?" Kaname asked calmly despite the rage boiling inside from the sight of the arm.
"Nothing will come out of going in circles without leads." Hanabusa was in front of the livid hunter with a hand pushing him back
"I will find one." Kaito hissed, pushing back to clear the way.
"Or die trying?" Zero's words made him go still.
"Are you stupid?" Ichiru's remark bit into his very flesh.
"Better than sitting there, wallowing on his impeding fate like a sissy." Kaito whispered.
"Ok! That is enough." *Whack*
All eyes bulged out when Kaito's unconscious form fell in Aido's arms. They stared in horror at Kaname who still had his hand raised up.
"We don't have the time to deal with this." The pureblood pointed to the man that he just whacked square on a pressure point, "Aido! Take him to the infirmary and sedate him if he acts up again. I am going back to find way to solve this case soon." He immediately went back on his way to the office without waiting for answer from the frozen individuals.
"Did he just?" Zero stuttered.
"He did." Ichiru confirmed.
"Kaname-sama just lost it." Aido nodded. Once over the initial shock, they moved fast to follow the plan. Zero helped strapping Kaito to a bed while Aido injected him with enough sedation to keep him out for few hours. They all agreed with Kaname on the fact that Kaito would be a liability as long as they had no clue where his lover might be.
Thanks to the efficient work of forensics, the arm was officially identified as Takuma's. The fact that it turned to dust as soon as it was retrieved from the ice indicated that it was frozen before cutting it off. The information gave the hope that the noble vampire was still alive, injured badly but alive.
The worrisome part of the grim ordeal was that the ice belonged to the mass murderer of the hunters gone missing before. The ice-wielder that they had yet to identify. Moreover, the arm came in a parcel's package with no note or fingerprint on it to determine the intentions of the abductor.
Kaname decided to make the matter public in order to issue a search warrant and speed up the finding of his friend. However, his decision was shot down by Takuma's uncle who held the veto in this situation. The second in line of the Ichijou clan refused to rise a fuss over the abduction in fear of the political repercussions it would have on the group.
"If you are unable to solve this issue internally, the Ichijou group will take over the investigation. We cannot allow the disgrace of having humans and hunters snooping into our internal affairs." The sly fox mocked, irritating the incapacitated pureblood who had no comeback. In his mind, Kaname was racing to find a loophole in the vampire testament stating the independence of the clans when it came to situations like this. He hated not abolishing that rule anytime sooner. It was the only section that deprived the higher authorities of their rights to take action, even the King himself. Consequently, everyone busied themselves with bits and pieces to find the slightest clue.
As for Zero, he tuned out every noise and movement in the room in favor of concentrating on what they were missing.
Let us go over the circumstance of his disappearance.
First, the pictures and news from the paparazzi reached us. I can only think that it was the beginning of the trap. After all, when it comes to delicate matters like that, only the most trusted man would represent the king and settle such matters. In other words, they were expecting Ichijou to take action.
He called the publisher of the vampire press and was annoyed that the man demanded a meeting in person in order to lay his conditions for the retrieval of the scandalous news.
Ichijou took the keys and left in a hurry. Wait…
Zero scanned the room until he landed on Hanabusa, "Did they say that they found the remains of the chauffeur?"
Aido nodded.
Zero squinted and looked at Takuma's uncle, "Ichijou left with his keys in hand. How did the chauffeur end up at the kidnapping scene?"
"Isn't that your job to figure it out?" The old vampire scoffed in disgust.
Bastard.
"Kiryuu-kun, he must have gone to the academy to retrieve my checkbook since he would have billed the bribe on me. Also, it is a matter of etiquette for the heads of families not to drive their own vehicle." Zero nodded gratefully for Kaname's explanation, and went back to his analysis.
So… He went back to the campus and then headed to the publishing company, which is about half an hour away. Basically, he took around forty to fifty minutes to reach his destination. That would give the culprit more than enough time to stage the kidnapping if he already expected him since before the photos reached us.
Now… He reaches the building. The question here is whether he met the director as he was supposed to or not. If he met him, the director could be the culprit.
Zero flipped the papers until he reached the profile of the man in question.
hmmm? Nope… Scratch that! Ichijou could not be taken down by a mere level C, even if he had an army behind him. So… If this guy is a lackey of the ice-wielder, then his role was only to lure the victim. He either ran away with them after the kidnapping or went to hide somewhere else. In either case, he could be the tail of the lizard if found. I should probably start from there.
What else? Oh right! the arm.
Zero winced at the idea of how it was procured.
Sending a personal effect to prove the kidnapping is a classic. However, the odd part is that cutting off a body part is usually done when no request have been fulfilled. I can only assume that this is some sick show of power in this situation. Cutting off the arm of a powerful vampire like Ichijou while keeping it from turning to dust is a feat not many could accomplish. Our culprit is certainly a powerful one or a powerful group.
The only thing that is missing in this picture is the message. If they are keeping him alive, then they want something out of it. If they have a request, they need to voice it. However, no message of any sort has yet to come. Do they want to make us wait and play on our nerves? Think Zero! Think! If they sent a message with the arm, where could it be?
He looked at the desk where pictures of the ice cube were delivered before disposing of it. Zero looked for carvings, symbols or anything else but found nothing.
"Zero?" Ichiru poked him, worried about the deep scowl on his face as he flipped and turned the pictures around.
"Ichiru!"
"Yes!" the younger twin immediately tensed at the grave tone of his brother.
"When did the … arm reach the Ichijou manor?"
"Eight hours ago." Ichiru answered.
"You would think that there should be a message stating the request of the culprit, like a ransom or something right?"
"Logically… Yes."
"Where would they place it?" Zero asked his brother to put himself in the culprit shoes.
"Let's see…" Ichiru pondered, "If I were the culprit. I would cut off the arm and place it in the parcel along with my message. The message could be a recorded video or voice, a written message or some glued letters etc… As for where I would place it, it would be either on top or at the bottom of the box. However, no one found anything in the box." Ichiru sighed in frustration.
"Box! THAT'S RIGHT! THE BOX!" Zero screamed, frightening all those present and focused.
He all but sprinted to the forensics. He felt like ripping them apart when he had to dig through the garbage and retrieve the box, "This is a fucking important piece of evidence that you are throwing away."
On the way back to the office, Zero flipped the cardboard material in all direction until he found what he was looking for.
"Zero?" It was Toga who asked as soon as he saw his snickering disciple coming back.
"We have a message." Zero smirked as he put the folded box on the desk and pointed to a side of it, ignoring the groans from the foul smell of it.
All eyes were glued on what looked like dots and dashes.
"This is ridiculous!" The old Ichijou voiced his frustration.
"Is it?" Kaname mocked him with a sarcastic tone.
"I am lost here." Aido raised a hand, not sure about what he was looking at.
"Holy shit!" Ichiru exclaimed in time with Kaito joining them in the room, looking haggard from the remaining effects of sedation. He gave a murderous glare in direction of the pureblood who whacked him before taking slow steps towards the silver hunter who was too focused to notice his presence.
Zero hurriedly took a pen and a paper while instructing his mentor to switch on his computer. Yagari did not waste a second to comply, he had just about enough of going through the security camera footage for the last two hours and Kaien pretty much went through all eye witnesses they could recognize to no avail.
"It is a Morse Code." The groggy voice of Kaito snapped Zero attention to look over his shoulder with a look full of hope.
"You bet your ass it is. How long will it take to decode?" Zero asked the expert on the matter while giving him his spot, placing a hand on Kaito's shoulder.
"Give me that." Kaito snatched the pen and paper and started scribbling; the room grew silent while everyone watched the flickering of hazel eyes between the dots and dashes and onto the scribbles. The only sounds echoing would be Kaito's tapping on the wood in case he wanted to make sure about a certain part.
"Less than three minutes." Yagari answered Zero's question while looking at Kaito. The one eyed hunter remembered vividly how much the Kiryuu twin hated that part of their learning, but Kaito enjoyed learning to decipher any riddle he threw at him since young age. His curiosity and love for anything related to spying activities allowed him to learn how to decipher the hardest codes in record time. Morse Code, being the simplest to decipher, became like a second language for him.
"Here, it does not make any fucking sense." Kaito groaned as he slammed the pen on the desk.
"Let me see…" Ichiru read it aloud. "The start of a new bright day will be the coming of a better time 050 046 053 etc… What the fuck is this."
Voices of frustration and disappointment echoed through the room. Some angry fellas up and left while others suggested following the regular protocol only to end up getting shot down by the veto of Takuma's uncle.
"Everyone, would you please calm down?" Cross Kaien raised his voice in attempt to get enough attention.
"This is not the time for useless chatter, complain or show off. Ichijou is a vital element of this organization like any other person present in this room. If we want to keep a low profile, we need to unite hands and work efficiently, together." Yagari Toga spoke loud enough for everyone to shut up.
"I agree with you, especially now that we have a time limit." Isaya Shouto pointed out, and was surprised to see confused eyes landing on him, "Wait? Am I the only one who noticed?"
"No! You are not." Zero reassured, "but there are some who have a skull too thick to see what is under their fucking nose."
The crass speech raised some protest that got shot down by Kaname's irritated voice, " 'The start of a new bright day will be the coming of a better time'. A new bright day would refer to the dawn, signaling the beginning of a better time for the enemy. This could only mean that we should expect the worst case scenario by dawn, which is in…" He checked his watch, "less than two hours."
The atmosphere turned grim as pained eyes met others in a helpless silence.
"Ichiru, can I see that paper again?" Zero extended a hand to take the decoded message.
He replayed it repeatedly in his head.
The start of a new bright day will be the coming of a better time 050046053054048051053013010045052053046053048053048049013010049046048048013010
Wait! what if…
050 046 053 054 048 051 053 013 010 045 052 053 046 053 048 053 048 049 013 010 049 046 048 048 013 010. Let's see.
Without explaining, Zero typed the numbers on the computer, all while checking the time that is about to run out.
He all but jumped when the numbers rendered something he half-expected.
"YES!"
"What?" Kaito immediately jumped by his side.
"GPS Coordinates." Zero chirped, "Check this out."
The hunter turned the screen for everyone to see.
"2.56035 and -45.50501 and 1.00. One of them should be the Latitude, another is the Longitude and I assume that this last one is definitely the distortion. Which give us possible locations to check out."
"Come on people, let's get moving." Yagari clapped as he pointed the teams to be sent to scout the locations.
Zero had a bad feeling when one of the location turned out to be the cemetery.
Kaname headed out with the other team while Zero, Ichiru and Kaito drove along with Isaya and Hanabusa to the cemetery.
The place was eerily quiet and dark when they first reached. Zero held the navigator he took from the association and followed the direction, grateful for the moonlight that illuminated the place and allowed a faster walk for Ichiru and Kaito who had the hardest time watching their steps.
The sense of doom Zero felt came crashing down when they finally reached their destination.
Shaky hands reached for his cellphone.
"Kuran…" his own raspy voice startled him, "We found what we were looking for." Zero hung up without waiting for an answer. It did not take long for him to feel the agitated aura of the pureblood approaching them while Kaito's cursing got louder and louder.
Zero inhaled sharply when Kaname reached his side, feeling his eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Kaname on the other hand, had hard time grasping the situation. Zero's voice was distraught and it sent pure panic in his already distressed soul. He did not wait for the rest of his squad but teleported immediately only to find Zero, Isaya, Ichiru and Aido standing in a semi-circle with Kaito digging the ground in front of them with bare hands as profanities poured out of his mouth.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion until he reached the hunter's side. That is when his eyes landed on the tombstone Zero was staring at with glazed eyes.
Wine orbs froze when reading the engraved words.
"Here lies the ashes of a beloved son, friend and lover. Ichijou Takuma. He shall be missed dearly."
"This is a sick joke, right?" Kaname looked at Zero with eyes filled with disbelief, a plea to confirm his words shone right through them that Zero could not grant.
∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞ TBC ∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞8∞∞
It feels good to have most of the chapter already pre-written a while ago.
Good news. I will finish my exams next Friday and will have plenty of free time to write, write and write XD YAAAAAAAAAAAY.
Thank you for your patience and I shall answer your reviews very soon.
Love you all
and see ya next chapter ;)
Sorry for the evil cliffy :p
