A/N: I'm uploading again?! Insane right? And during Thanksgiving week no less (which I don't really celebrate but I hope enjoyed it if you do!) I've been focusing hard on this story this month thanks to NaNoWriMo and I highly doubt that dedication will last through December, apologies in advance, I plan to upload hopefully at least twice next month. If I end up with enough content after this chapter then three times. Speaking of, we've made it to the chapter 10 milestone! Yay! I don't know how many chapters I'm looking at in total yet, maybe six or seven more? That seems crazy to think but we shall see where it takes us yea? There will be a time skip in this one to progress a bit in this story and some of Zero's problematic personality traits will come to the forefront. With that being said some angst in this chapter. It will be after the time skip but it's not real heavy yet. Fifteen is a hard age and with Zero's resolve to keep out the general public things are gonna get real angsty in chapter 11, Kaname might be a bit of a jackass in here too at times but it's only because he cares I swear! In the next chapter, there will be an official trigger warning but we will chat about that when we get to it yeah? As always thank you to everyone that reads my crap and puts up with me, please enjoy this chapter!
As I've mentioned before my Discord server is alive and I'd love to see some of you over there as well, you can find the link on my profile or on the previous chapter. Thanks for reading in advance! ~Len
Ch. 10: Colder Than Ice
He was allowed back in school after a week, Kaname had smoothed things over with the headmistress and the parents of the three boys. Managing to get Zero's punishment reduced from a full quarter suspension. Zero wouldn't have minded being suspended, he didn't like school anyway and it was only going to make going back more difficult but at the pureblood's request, he would at least try to get through the year. If he truly hated it afterward Kaname agreed to let him be privately tutored in the moon dorms. As the hunter expected the rumors had begun to fly around the building, whispers from passing students, people would stare at him longer than necessary but quickly run away if he looked in their direction. He didn't know what they were saying but he didn't really care, using the collective fear of the students to ensure he would be left alone. Zero quickly found that taking a step toward a group could part them, if he stared back they would freeze on the spot or scramble to leave the area, and if he glared? That had the largest impact by far. A glare in any given direction would stop anyone within thirty feet from taking a step closer to him. He could stop both students and teachers alike from entering a hallway until he had passed. Oh yes, he would use this as an advantage, he didn't want anyone near him. 'It's for the best that they keep their distance, even if they don't like me for it.' he reminded himself as he followed Yuuki into their classroom. He didn't look at the teacher or any of the other students, instead, he busied himself staring out the window. Only Sayori, who had continued to hang around Yuuki in the week he was absent, was brave enough to talk to him.
"Welcome back, Zero-kun." she greeted politely, he gave her a nod but went back to keeping to himself soon after. As much as he wanted to keep people away, he didn't want other children to pick on Sayori or Yuuki because they associated themselves with him. At the same time, however, he couldn't be mean to either of the girls. He didn't want to hurt their feelings. Conversation around him carried on like normal after class started, to his immense relief Reiko didn't bother him except to glance in his direction every fifteen or so minutes. Toma and his friends stayed clear of anywhere Zero occupied, not that he would complain, the normally loud blue-haired idiot was silent all through class.
"I think you're scaring them..." Yuuki hesitantly commented to the silverette as she followed him to lunch, she hadn't taken much notice of the other students avoiding them until they walked empty halls that were normally crowded with kids eager to get their lunches and take a much-needed break.
"I don't care, why don't you go find Sayori?" Zero sighed, he was getting a bit irritated with the young brunette, not that she was doing anything wrong but she followed him everywhere she could. Making sure he was doing his classwork or following him closely through the halls until they reached their next period. He didn't want someone looking over his shoulder all the time, he was twelve, and far more equipped to handle himself than Yuuki would ever be.
"Where will I find you?" the question was innocent but it ground on Zero's nerves, eyes narrowing a fraction more as he continued to walk. Yuuki continued to follow, she wasn't going to stop until she got a direct answer.
"Don't worry about it, just enjoy your lunch. Leave me be." the low growl made Yuuki stop in her tracks, going so far as to take a step back from her foster brother, she was worried. Ever since he had come back to school Zero had changed. Some girls had coined him as scary, she didn't want to see that, she didn't want to believe it but maybe she was wrong. Against her better judgment, she reached out and took a hold of the older's sleeve only for him to forcibly rip it from her grasp. "I said leave me alone." he hissed this time though he continued to refuse to look back at her. Yuuki swallowed, tears quickly welling in innocent chocolate-brown eyes, but she didn't say anything more. Letting him walk away to disappear somewhere down the hall.
'Zero...what's going on? What changed?' she whimpered to herself, unable to move from where she stood. She felt like she was frozen in place. She didn't understand what was happening, Zero had always preferred to keep to himself but he never forced people away from him.
"It'll be okay Yuuki, he'll come around again, I'm sure Zero-kun is just having a hard time right now." Sayori comforted her friend when Yuuki broke down in front of her at lunch.
"I hope you're right..." miserably the two spent the rest of the day keeping to themselves.
Days turned into weeks, months, and years until eventually Yuuki couldn't recognize the person that stood across from her on the campus of Cross Academy. Three years had passed since Zero left her standing alone in the hallway, Kaname had pulled him from the school after that year so she hardly saw him except in passing or when Kaien invited them over. Zero was always quiet, he talked to the nobles but never to her and rarely to Kaien. They were to be the Perfects for Cross Academy, a specific thankless job that involved keeping the day class oblivious of the night class's secret. The fangirls were loud, hard to control, and rarely listened to a thing she said but they shaped up as soon as Zero came around. An icy glare in their general direction kept anyone from saying a thing or stepping over the lines. Zero had begrudgingly agreed to spend part-time in the day class to complete his classes so they could complete all their special tasks in the evening. Then he would return to the moon dorms after patrols, often without even speaking to Yuuki unless it was to chastise her for not being strict enough with the fans. Biting her lip a little more than necessary she watched as her former foster brother glared away everyone in their class, sitting by himself near the window was how he preferred it. Zero managed to get top grades in the day class though she had no clue how since he didn't pay attention, talked back if he was called on, and often just didn't show up. Students and staff alike were scared of him. This evening Zero was meeting with someone, Kaien had requested his time and asked Yuuki to take on crossover with Sayori instead. She agreed seeing as this may be the one time she could ask Kaname about it, she doubted the pureblood knew the extent of what Zero's reputation had become and hoped he could talk to the silverette. "Yuuki, how are you this evening? And where is Zero?" Kaname asked, a ghost of a smile on his face as he ignored the fangirls screaming around them.
"Ah, I...well, I could be better. Zero is in a meeting with someone, Headmaster Cross asked Yori and me to take over tonight. Which, speaking of, Kaname-sama can I talk to you...um privately? It's about Zero..." she trailed off suddenly nervous as she noticed the entirety of the night class had their attention on her.
"Of course, come to our classroom when you've finished patrols, we can talk then. Have a good evening, Yuuki," he nodded as the group continued to walk to class. Yuuki let out the breath she was holding, getting a supportive nod from her friend before the two attempted to corral the fans back to their dorms.
"Do you think something happened? Zero has been a bit more...reclusive lately but I thought it was likely because he was tired. He's certainly not on the best schedule..." worry clouded Rima's normal monotone as the group waited for Yuuki. They had noticed the difference, most of them were subtle but it was clear Zero was changing, they just didn't know why.
Zero sat across the table from the former legendary hunter, he wasn't sure what he was doing there but the silent stare was starting to grate on his nerves. "What do you want, Cross?" he ground out eventually, already tense, he didn't know what he should be preparing for. As childish as the man was he could be less emotional than Kaname when he wanted.
"I was curious, I haven't seen you for quite some time and I thought I would check-in. How are you feeling lately?" the question caught him off guard, sure he was used to it from Takuma, Shiki, and sometimes Ruka would check in but not Cross. This was abnormal behavior and it was unnerving.
"I'm fine, if that's all you wanted to ask you should have waited until after Crossover at least," he criticized. 'What are you planning?' the silverette wondered, studying the man with an unwavering focus. His heartbeat was steady, his hands didn't twitch, he was still except for the pulse in his veins. It rang in his ears, a river that curved around every muscle, caressed each organ. His lifeline. Zero swallowed, gripping the chair's arm a little harder than necessary. 'Stop it!' he screamed at himself. He had begun to hear these things far more clearly in the last two years, people passing by became a roar of noise he couldn't pinpoint.
"Are you..." Kaien stood, he had his suspicions for a while but never spoke out about them, it was clear the hunter was struggling. Mentally fighting against an urge, a battle he wouldn't win. As he approached Zero's eyes followed every hint of movement, reaching out to touch the silverette his hand was suddenly stopped by a firm grip on his wrist.
"Don't...stop moving." the demand sounded more choked than usual.
"You can hear it, can't you, do you understand what this is Zero? What you're going through?" he pressed, moving closer as Zero shifted, trying to keep him at a distance.
"Stop it. Stop! Shut up!" the teen shot up from the chair letting it topple to the floor as he backed himself up to the wall covering his ears. Kaien didn't step closer, a swirl of sympathetic pity was all he gave away. "Don't...don't come closer, please." he couldn't keep out the fear, his body quaking as he begged. Kaien remained where he stood, only able to watch the scene before him. Zero eventually regained some control, pulling his hands away from his ears, he didn't waste any more time in the suffocating room. He bolted. Leaving Kaien to watch after him.
'I'm sorry Zero...' the man sighed picking up the chair from the ground he regretfully shuffled through an old stack of papers until an old phone number came into view. Was this the right decision? Thumbing over the paper, it had once been a receipt for a dinner with an old friend, his number sloppily scrawled on the back. Telling him to call when he needed it. The phone rang twice before a grunt answered the other line.
"Who is it and what the hell do you want?" the man snapped, the familiar sound of a cigarette lighting in the background made Cross grimace a bit. Some things never changed. Taking a breath he made up his mind.
"Touga, it's Kaien. I need to talk with you about something that happened seven years ago." silence stretched for what felt like an eternity before there was an exhale.
"That leech bit him," it was a statement, one that Kaien didn't want to believe. Before he could say anything there was a dry snort. "I'm on my way." the line went dead as Cross slid to the ground. Composure giving way to the well of tears he had been holding.
Shiki had been able to convince the young hunter to join them in Kaname's study, a place Zero was slowly learning to despise as nothing good came from the discussions that had taken place there so far. Kaname was running through an apparent list of things Yuuki had noticed that she was concerned about. To say the vampire wasn't pleased at what he was told would be generous but Zero was getting annoyed by this so-called concern. 'Besides, once they find out...' his mind trailed as he tuned out part of the lecture. It hadn't been the first one and some miracle would need to take place for it to be the last.
"Are you listening, Zero?" Kaname stopped his own speech when it became apparent the teen's attention had wavered. Zero's eyes refocused on him for a moment before they found the floor.
"It's not concerning, I just don't like being around people..." he eventually mumbled out with a shrug, truly he didn't think it was a big deal. He was keeping them safe by keeping them away. He would need to do the same with the vampires if he was smart. Of course, that was easier said than done. But he was tired of this, first Cross now the night class? He just wanted to go to bed, shut out the world for a while, pretend things were okay. The longer he stayed the more likely it was someone would notice.
"What Yuuki said was concerning, Zero, we've been over this. You can't push people away all the time. Humans don't understand-" Takuma was cut off by the sound of magic cracking through the air, it wasn't much but enough to get the blond to stop talking and really look at the boy. Hand clenched into a fist and eyes searing the floor before him was almost enough to look over the small trembles of his frame.
"I don't care, I don't want to be around humans. I'm better off learning on my own anyway, that's how it always was," he argued, not daring to look up at the unhappy pureblood. He could feel Kaname's unwavering stare of disapproval, he didn't need to see it.
"Things are not how it was, you know that and you are well aware of the impact you have. If you believe I am going to sit here and take your tantrums you are sorely mistaken Kiryuu Zero." his tone tight, border lining anger, the vampire's eyes narrowed as magic once again sparked around the room in larger volumes this time.
"You don't have to, you're not my father nor are you my technical guardian! And if you didn't want to "take me" then you should've dropped me back at the fucking association!" the child ground out, eyes shooting up to Kaname with an unrivaled fire the pureblood had never seen before.
"Watch your language. If you believe the association would have taken care of you, you're dumber than I originally thought. Do you truly believe they would have let you live all this time?" he growled, standing to loom over the hunter. Zero was fifteen and still quite a bit shorter than him though he doubted that was going to last, he knew he was an intimidating force and would use that when necessary. He didn't expect the fire to burn larger, as though he just doused it in kerosene. Zero snapped.
"I didn't ask to be taken care of. I didn't ask to live! And if going through this is what that means then I don't fucking want to!" he screamed at the prince. Kaname was so taken back he didn't stop the boy from turning and storming from the study, the nobles unable to chase after him due to a wall of magic that surrounded him. The door slammed shut, one of the hinges breaking off from the sheer force before the dorms went silent. An unfamiliar chill spread throughout Kaname's very soul, what had he done?
A/N: Welp I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know I had fun writing it. Please forgive me for some of the transitions I am well aware they didn't all go as planned but I had several ideas for them and I did my best with what I thought sounded good. I did decide to turn Zero into a vampire, mostly because I think it adds a lot to these stories and we'll get to see how that progresses with time in the night class although I moved it up a year from the canon timeline. From here on out Touga will be involved so that'll be fun! As you've probably seen I uploaded the first chapter of another fic Know Your Limits (the second one is coming soon) but it's once again that time where I'm getting kinda close to the climax of this story so I've been wondering what I should begin posting next. As always I can continue to check off stories on my VK In-Progress series with your help since they're already started and they're quite literally endless, but I've also been thinking maybe it's time I expand to other fandoms more seriously? I have DGM, Yuri! On Ice, OHHC, Free!, and some other lesser-known/liked fandoms in the 'vault' if you will and I'm always looking to add more so if you have a current anime/manga obsession feel free to drop a comment and let me know. No clue what I'll end up going with at the end of the day but I hope to see you all at the next one! As always I hope you have a wonderful night/day and remember to Keep writing, keep reading, and live creative. Until next time! ~Len