Later in the evening, Kaien and Yuki had returned home. Yagari told them both that Zero had come home and was now resting in his room. While Yuki made her way to the kitchen to start working on something to eat for all of them, the Headmaster made his way down the hall to check on Zero. When he stopped at the door that led to Zero's room, he instantly sensed that something was off. Without hesitation, Kaien threw the door open, only to see that the room was completely empty. As he slowly walked into the room and started looking around, his eyes landed on a letter resting on Zero's small desk. Oh he did not want to pick that up and read it, but he did. After skimming over it, he turned and ran to the kitchen.

"Yagari!" Kaien shouted out as he ran into the kitchen. The raven looked up at the sound of the Headmaster's distressed voice and when he saw the look on the other's face he instantly knew something was wrong. He stood up instantly and walked over to the other, his eye falling on the paper the shorter male was clutching tightly.

"Kaien, what happened? Where's the brat?" Yagari asked as he placed a hand on the trembling male's shoulder. His other hand came down to gently take the letter away from the other so he could get a look at it. His own eye just barely skimmed over the paper before he crumpled it in his hold and slammed it down on the counter. He couldn't believe that little brat had actually run away like that, especially when he was in such a fragile state. Maybe he was also running away from whatever alphas were on him last night. This meant he would have to take himself to the Night Class dorm and ask them some questions. Before he left though, he turned toward the shaken up Headmaster and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Don't panic babe. We're going to find him and I know he'll be fine. Just stay here with the girl and leave everything to me, alright?" As Yagari released the trembling male, he grinned slightly and placed a gentle kiss on Kaien's forehead. "I'll take care of everything. He was my responsibility first and in a way, he always will be. Just try to relax and I'll be back shortly."

After giving Kaien one final squeeze, Yagari grabbed his coat and made his way outside. The letter was still in his hands as well. He knew a couple of those damn Night Class vampires were giving Zero a hard time, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He remembered reading that Kaname had been giving Zero blood as well, which was something else that Yargari wanted answers to. What would Kaname gain by keeping Zero from falling to Level E? That's what he wanted to know the most. As Yagari got closer to the Night Class dorm, he clenched his jaw tightly. The sooner he got his answers, the sooner he could go find Zero and get the brat back home before anything bad happened to him.

Before he could even enter the gates of the Night Class dorm, Yagari found himself suddenly surrounded by about four members of the Night Class. Akatsuki, Hanabusa, Senri, and Ruka were all surrounding the vampire hunter and they were glaring at him, almost daring him to try something. Akatsuki was the first one to step forward, his hands were shoved in his pocket, and though he was glaring at Yagari, he still kept his calm energy.

"So, what brings you here Vampire Hunter?" Akatsuki asked as he tilted his head to the side. Yagari could easily smell Zero's scent on Akatsuki, and he recognized it being on Zero as well. Rolling his remaining eye, Yagari held up the paper so Akatsuki could see it.

"I need to see your leader right now. It's very urgent. I don't care if all of you have to stand around me while I talk to him but it's about Zero." Yagari huffed slightly and watched as Akatsuki leaned forward to get a better view of the paper in the hunter's hand. As he finished looking over it, he realized that this was indeed a bad situation. He turned toward the others and motioned for them to move aside. Of course they seemed to hesitate, but they eventually moved so Akatsuki could lead the vampire hunter into the dorms.

Once they entered the main area, Yagari's gaze shifted toward the vampire who was sitting on the couch. Sure enough it was Kaname Kuran. The taller vampire made his way over to the brunette and leaned down to whisper in his ear. Kaname's facial expression went from calm to surprised real fast as he got to his feet and made his way to Yagari. He didn't hesitate to snatch the letter away from the vampire hunter so he could read over it for himself. Sure enough, what Akatsuki had just told him was the truth.

"When did you find this?" Kaname finally asked as his reddish brown eyes looked toward the vampire hunter's face.

"Kaien found it about thirty minutes ago. If I had to guess, he must have left shortly after he got home earlier. I could smell two different alpha males on him too. You and the one standing beside you. What have you been doing with Zero. Why are you giving him your blood? What do you have to gain from keeping him alive?" Yagari had way too many questions and if Kaname were to be honest, he didn't really want to answer them. However, he probably owed Yagari some kind of explanation.

"We haven't done anything bad with him. I've just been trying to keep him from falling to Level E. If he did, he would have to be killed and I know that would hurt the Headmaster and Yuki. They both care about him very much and I don't want to have to be the one to take him down. That's why I've been giving him my blood." That wasn't the only reason though. Kaname had been interested in Zero since day one. Zero's rarity was something that needed to be cherished and protected yet he was trying to end it all. He couldn't let that happen. Knowing that Zero was gone...it meant he would have to go out and search for him now. He didn't know how long Zero would last out there, and he hoped he would be able to find him before it was too late.

"There's another reason, isn't there Kuran? You want to keep him alive for your own selfish desires, don't you?" Yagari growled lowly, but Kaname simply rolled his eyes. He had no interest in telling this vampire hunter something like that. Not yet anyways. Instead of answering the question, Kaname walked past Yagari and grabbed the coat he kept on a nearby rack.

"Do you have any idea where Zero would go? There's got to be somewhere he would end up going, somewhere he would feel safe." Kaname pulled his coat on and turned back toward Yagari, hoping for some kind of answer from the other.

"If you want me to be honest, the only place I could ever think of is his family's old manor. It's pretty well hidden in the forest. Not a lot of people know where it is because the Kiryu's had wanted to keep their twins a secret." Yagari knew exactly where it was though because he had been tracking the vampire that killed Zero's family and turned the kid. If Zero were to go anywhere, that would be the only place he could think of. If one didn't know exactly where they were going, they could easily get lost in the forest.

"And you know where it is, right?" Kaname lifted a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. He really needed Yagari to work with him on this if they had any hope of saving Zero from himself. "If you want to save him, you need to take us to the manor. We have to hurry before it's too late."

"How do I know you can be trusted?" Yagari asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't about to just up and take Kaname there without knowing if the other could be trusted or not. If he were to be honest, he didn't trust Kaname at all.

"Would you please just stop being stubborn and lead us there? Each second that he's alone out there, he risks falling even faster. No one is around to keep him from losing his mind and if other vampire hunters find out about this, they won't hesitate to kill him." Kaname was getting very irritated now. He couldn't stand this vampire hunter, but at the same time this man was his only chance to get to Zero.

"Whatever… We have to head toward the next town to the North though. That's where the forest that leads to the manor is. I have to go talk to Kaien before I leave though so if you honestly insist on coming with me, then meet me by the gates in an hour." Yagari then turned and headed out of the Night Class dorm. He had to tell Kaien what he was planning to do before he left.

Zero didn't think he would actually remember where he was going, but once he set food in the next down his body seemed to move on it's own. Before he knew it, he was slowly making his way through the familiar terrain of the forest that led to his old home. He expected to have a much harder time maneuvering through the thickness of the trees and the confusing paths, but within an hour Zero saw a familiar building come into view.

It had been so long since he last laid eyes on the place he used to call home. He was surprised to see that the place was even still standing, and to his relief, it looked like no one had found it and tried to mess with it. This would be a perfect place to live out his last couple of days. He could already feel his sanity slipping once again. The very thought of the nearby town caused his mouth to water slightly, but he shook his head and quickly ran toward the front door. He reached out and grasped the handle, no surprise that it was unlocked. That's how it had been left all those years ago.

As he entered his home, he tested the lights. To his surprise, they actually came on. He couldn't believe this place actually still had electricity. If it had that, then it probably had running water as well. Luckily it wasn't winter time yet, so the house wasn't freezing, it was actually quite comfortable. The main issue was the irritating smell of dust that had built up over time. He would have to get the place cleaned up a bit before he could truly be comfortable, but it was nice to be home even if this place did hold some very painful memories for him. Painful memories of the day his family had been murdered. Before he left this place last time, he asked his master to help him clean everything up in case he ever wanted to return here one day. He didn't want to come back and see blood splattered everywhere, or find their bodies. They had been buried in the backyard, under a large willow tree with a small stone to mark each of their graves. It had been the least Zero could do for them and now he was back to live out the rest of his short life so he could soon join them all.

After taking several hours to clean everything up, Zero finally was able to stand the smell of his home. It was enough to allow himself to finally sit down so he could take a breath. As he sat there, his mind wandered back to Kaname, though he was unsure of why the brunette was crossing his mind. Sure they had shared a pretty passionate kiss the previous night, but that didn't mean anything...did it? Maybe he should have gotten some answers before leaving but at the same time, it was probably a good thing he didn't. If he had found out that Kaname had feelings for him or something, it would have made leaving much harder than it already had been. He had no regrets...except one.

'My one regret...is that I actually fell in love with him…'

Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took a little extra time. Every time I got the motivation to work on it, I ended up not being home and by the time I made it home I was too exhausted to actually type. ^^" So sorry for the wait! Anyways, they're off to find Zero! Will they find him before it's too late? Guess we'll find out! Thank you so much for your patience and I'll update again as soon as possible! Bye for now!

~~MaskedNinja