A/N: I return! I really wanted to get this out so much sooner since I felt like it would be a nice gift for you all but of course life and delays got in the way and the ffnet website has been a rollercoaster this past week and a half so I'm uploading it now. I am so sorry it has taken me this long. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, whichever ones you celebrate and if you don't celebrate I hope you enjoyed a cozy long weekend. So! If you were unable to read the last portion of chapter 11, the non-in-depth synopsis is as follows: Touga was called to the school by Cross in order to both assess and later train Zero as per his wishes that were expressed to Kaname. There were a series of flashbacks from Zero's various different encounters with ex-human level E's in which they were either extremely pained by becoming a level E and or scared of becoming a monster. In various images of these encounters, the level E's expressed immense relief in being killed since they were no longer a threat to those around them and hence Zero begins to wonder if he will get the same relief if he kills himself and therefore attempts to do so, unaware of his former master's arrival at the academy. Following that attempt is where this chapter begins. Hope that helped some and please enjoy chapter 12!~Len

Ch. 12: Touga

The burning pain in his hand caused him to drop Rose as the trigger was pulled, the bullet grazing past his created a small burn before burying itself in the tree behind him. His neck bled from the wound but that was nothing compared to the damage done to his hand. A large gash ran from his pinky diagonal to his wrist, burns singed the edge of his pale skin. He was in so much shock he forgot about the pain. "Try it again and I'll aim higher," the familiar bark came from off to his left making him wince.

"Sensei..." he gasped out as the man came into view. His master, adorned in the same trench jacket and leather shoes stalked closer, he felt his unharmed wrist grabbed as he was pulled off the tree. Forcing himself to look up into an eye he hadn't seen in seven years a sudden wave of shame encased him. Touga never allowed him to shy away from things that scared him. Yet here he was trying to do just that in the worst way possible. Zero didn't know what to say, was he supposed to apologize? Thank him? He doubted Touga would accept either of those responses.

"Your mother would roll in her grave if she saw that," he grouched before the young hunter could say anything, Zero cringed at the idea, Touga was right. If his mother was present...honestly Zero didn't really want to know what she would have done. "Tell me, boy, have you fallen already?" the small hunter shook his head. He hadn't fallen, he had only just begun to feel the increase in his senses, he didn't crave blood so much he needed it, he wasn't mad. He realized, like a switch, he had the control he needed to beat the odds. He wasn't a level E. He wasn't going to become a level E. He was a hunter before he was a vampire, a hunter that came from a strong bloodline, he was stronger than this.

"I'm not going to give in, I'm not a level E," he told the one-eyed man, fiery determination glowing in his eyes. Touga gave him a nod of approval, backing up a significant distance before he raised his gun once more and aimed, this time Zero was ready.

"Dodge." came the command as the trigger was pulled, Zero whipped to the left then to the right as another shot was fired. He could see the bullet's path, he knew their speed but anticipation was key, with each shot he picked up his speed hurtling towards the older elite. He couldn't dodge point-blank range, he needed to block. With narrowed eyes as the bullet discharged from the barrel Zero's hand went up, a wall of magic suspended the projectile less than a foot from his chest. With a nod of approval Touga put the gun down, Zero snapped his fingers and the piece of metal dropped to his feet. "As of right now you are officially reinstated as my apprentice, don't expect me to go easy on you, I know what you can do. Now it's time to push your limits. Do you understand brat?"

"Hai, Sensei," he couldn't help but feel excited to be back in training, he wanted to be able to do more, he wanted to learn more, to be better than his parents were. He would need to thank Kaname for allowing him to train again, it was not an easy decision for a vampire, much less seven of them, he was very grateful they trusted him to better himself this way. 'I won't disappoint them,' he promised to himself, cleaning his hand and neck of the remaining blood he had forgotten about the wounds. They were nearly healed anyway, by the time the two hunters got back to Kaname they wouldn't be noticeable.

Kaname could barely keep himself still, hearing the gunshots ring out made him want to dash to Zero's side. They couldn't smell blood but that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't any. Zero had shown them charms he knew to suppress the smell of blood even from powerful vampires, it was for safety so they wouldn't be hunted down after hard battles or if they were wounded but Zero would use them if he got hurt and didn't wish to bother anyone about it. A fleeting memory crossed Kaname's mind of the child accidentally cutting himself when distracted in the kitchen, he hadn't told the vampires about it and made sure they wouldn't know but ended up going to the infirmary when he was worried it wasn't healing fast enough so Kaname was notified regardless. He wasn't mad at the boy, but it was worrisome and expressed that Zero needed to come to him if he were to get injured. Ever since then the pureblood worried the boy was hiding things from him because he saw himself as a burden. Resisting the urge to bite his lip, really when did he become so worried about the child? Kaname did his best to focus on anything but the worst-case scenario, if he thought the boy was fatally wounded the nobles were sure to follow. "He will be alright," someone, Cross he assumed, spoke into the silence in an effort to once again assure the night class.

"He better be." Kaname heard Aido hiss lowly, he would have reprimanded the blond but he felt the same. If Zero was badly wounded he would gladly challenge the hunter regardless of the man's reputation or skill. Cross was about to respond when the two hunters returned to the moon dorms, as the door to the study opened Zero was pulled off to the side by Takuma to check for any lasting wounds. Kaname's eyes narrowed at the clear streaks of crimson that stood out against his pearl-colored skin but a nod from Takuma meant he was not injured. Even Cross couldn't help the sigh of relief that his adopted son hadn't suffered anything terrible.

"Training starts tomorrow at dusk, be ready." the command was directed at the silver-haired boy but Touga's eye never left the alpha vampire, when he got agreement from the young hunter he turned and left. Cross was soon to follow muttering something about brutish hunters leaving Zero and the night class once again.

"Your master, is he always like that?" Takuma asked, feeling his heart finally return to its normal rhythm.

"He is now...he didn't use to be. I don't think he likes being a solitary hunter but hunters don't replace their partners after death and even if they did he wouldn't allow anyone to take my father's place." Zero replied after a few moments of thought. Sensei had always been a bit rough around the edges but it was clear to Zero that the death of his father and Touga's best friend had changed the man.

"I see, I didn't know he was that close with your family," the blond mumbled, although the elite hunter was still someone to be wary of he did sympathize with the man. Zero hummed, in distant thought as he joined the pureblood at his desk allowing the vampire to look him over and make sure he was unharmed.

The night class quickly learned that while Zero did study for school, the effort he put into academics was nothing compared to the amount of energy he put into training. Not only the physical portion but every moment of rest was spent memorizing charms, practicing magic, learning lore, it seemed every waking hour revolved around nothing but excelling as a hunter. Kaname was concerned that the boy was working a little too hard, he would often return to the moon dorms so exhausted he fell asleep on the couch or in the library. He didn't spend as much time in the dorms due to being at the dojo or at the range, school came as a second thought. Cross expressed his concern once about the amount of classes Zero was skipping but was quickly shut down by Touga commenting that if Zero wished to excel as a hunter he needed to make up for all the years he lost and school was hardly a challenge. He would tutor the young hunter himself once they finished their sessions and make sure his assignments were up to expectations. He didn't need a classroom lecture to learn. Kaname was a little more worried about the boy's social life than he was about academics, as the weeks continued to roll he noted that Zero never talked to anyone in the day class including Yuuki and Sayori. He preferred to stick close to Touga and only took a day off when he was told to do so, those days he would spend either in his room reading or sleeping off the amount of strain he had put on his body the previous week. The vampire prince wasn't the only one worried, the nobles were hardly comfortable adjusting to this new routine. "This can't be normal..." Shiki huffed quietly as he supported most of Zero's weight while Rima ran a comb through the sleeping boy's hair. It had been a hard session apparently, the young hunter only managed to take off his shoes and jacket before falling asleep on the couch in the entryway. His hair disheveled, clothes wrinkled, and no sign of his consciousness returning any time soon the noble was prompted to carry him at least to the main room. Takuma had fetched a blanket as Zero shifted in his sleep to lean against the apathetic vampire while Rima took to cleaning up his appearance as best she could.

"We have nothing to compare it to, though I have read that Yagari-san's students become excelling hunters within a short amount of the normal training time. I would assume the reason is because of how hard they train. However, Yagari-san isn't entirely at fault here, Zero pushes himself more than anyone else." Kain pointed out, not that he faulted the boy either, it was obvious he was trying to prove something with how hard he worked. They just didn't know what that was or why. He assumed that until they knew those two things any conversation with Zero about slowing down would be next to pointless.

"If Yagari-san believed Zero was pushing himself too much he would say something and Zero would listen. I hate to say it but it is clear Zero has a very deep respect for him." Ruka frowned, she didn't like the taste those words left in her mouth. She knew Zero wasn't 'theirs' even though they had fostered him since he was eight, he was his own being and not afraid to say as much. And yet, the idea of him leaving to join the hunters was becoming very real, it was scary to think about. Digging her nails into her palms and keeping her jaw clenched was often the only way she could stop herself from refusing to let the beautiful boy walk outside every evening. 'Is this what a parent feels like? A normal parent that cares for their children?' she had to wonder if this gut-wrenching feeling was normal or not. Was she too attached to the silver-haired boy? Yes. She and everyone else in the room if her observations said anything about the current collective feelings of her peers.

"It is not our place to step in right now, when Zero wants to come to us he will." Kaname, as usual, was the one to end the discussion. He didn't like this any more than anyone else but he knew these conversations were fruitless to have. It would only worry them further. Once again the room fell silent, the only noise was the quiet sound of the comb being pulled through soft silver strands. They needed to relish these moments, in case they were doomed to disappear.

"Again!" Touga's voice rumbled, taking only a moment to catch his breath Zero stood once more to face his opponent, they were doing magic combat training today and even though it was Zero's favorite type of training it was also far more tiring than the others. Not only to manipulate but control his magic for extended periods of time was hard to do even for a practiced hunter. But he didn't ask for things to be easy. Standing up straight he focused again on the set of targets ahead of him, each target needed a different level of power to break. Logic said that if he used a strong enough attack and destroyed all of them at once that would be the most beneficial but it would take far more energy. He had to be tactical.

'Repeated successive strikes. Whichever ones don't break after the first hit will break on the second, third, and final. Stationary targets don't need as much blunt force as long as there is a constant pressure with no recovery time given.' he thought, deciding how he was going to carry out said strikes was much easier. Split-second explosive power came in very few forms, bullets, which he didn't have, bombs which were illegal, and electricity. A smirk too small for Touga to see came over his lips for a second. "Strike!" the call being the only warning his sensei got as four bolts of lightning hit each target, the one on the far right broke after the first hit, the far left on the second, followed by the remaining two on the third and final bolts. He controlled the aftermath as best he could but Touga ended up with a singed corner on his coat.

"Good," was all the man said but that was all the praise Zero needed to hear from him. Touga was not sentimental or mushy, he didn't like long-winded praise or sugar-coated criticism. He was caring in other ways, like when he used to take the twins out to eat or to the park when their parents were gone on missions that he didn't need to attend. He would play with them when they got bored and teach them basic magic that was fairly harmless but good for pranks to use on their parents. Zero often wondered if his sensei wanted kids of his own but never asked. Touga had taken in Takamiya Kaito around the time he started training initially, Kaito wasn't the nicest person Zero had ever met but he didn't mind training alongside the older hunter.

"Whatever happened to Kaito-san?" he wondered aloud without thinking too much as the two took a break. Touga paused for a moment, apparently having to think about how to answer.

"He's on his own now, he's a good hunter. He's asked about you a couple times. As you probably know, most of the hunter community thought you were dead until recently and some still do. Kaito will come to see you eventually, good hunter or not he needs a partner." came the reply that surprised Zero. Why him? He was six years younger than Kaito and had missed a fair amount of training since being taken in by the academy. Plus, while Kaito hung around him and his brother when they were younger Zero assumed that was because he had to not because he wanted to. Would he willingly look for a partner in Zero? And, even more pressing, was Zero ready to have a partner to begin with? He didn't interact with anyone outside of the night class, Cross, and Touga. He didn't need to, he had heard the words 'socially stunted' float around in rumors about him for a few years but never thought much of them. What would the older think of him? All these questions he couldn't seem to answer made him nervous, he wanted to ask Kaname what he should do but he couldn't.

"He doesn't like me," he decided on stating instead of asking questions, Touga never really liked being asked questions. It was easier to get information by stating something completely wrong that he would correct.

"He does, he was going through a hard time when you and your brother first met him. He's still a punk but he has grown, he needs someone that is reliable. No one better as a hunting partner than a Kiryuu. You will be asked by multiple hunters both younger and older to partner with them once you re-join the ranks at the association, choose wisely who you would put your life on the line for, and be careful who you trust." the man responded distantly, either a fond or bitter memory clogging his brain but Zero couldn't tell which.

"You don't trust anyone," another statement that Zero knew was at least partially true, Touga had never trusted other hunters.

"Your father was the only one I trusted to have as a partner. You are not a replacement for that," the comment stung at first but Zero eventually understood what Touga was attempting to get at. He wasn't his father, or his mother, he wasn't meant to replace them or take their legacy on as his own. He was meant to be his own version of the Kiryuu name. Follow his own path. He was meant to be Zero. They didn't speak anymore, instead basking in the shared silence before Touga decided that was enough of a break and it was time to get back to training.

A/N: And that's where I'm going to leave chapter 12, a bit of a soft moment for Zero and Touga since I do love those two with a father/son type relationship. And yes, Kaito will eventually show up as well in the future (maybe next chapter?) so that will be a fun interaction to have. Honest originally when I was planning out this fic I was going to have Touga and Kaito show up when Zero was like 9/10 but then decided against it because it's going to be way more interesting when Kaito comes around now that Zero's older and also turning into a vampire much like his older brother did so...we'll see how he takes that (hint, he's not going to take it all that well) and we'll see how that further affects the already rattled night class. Will they lose their baby to the hunters? Who knows. Not me as of yet. Once again, I'm so sorry this took me so long to get out to you all, I started a new job which is 10+ hours a day 6 days a week (yike) but I will try to get another one out to you sooner rather than later. I have not abandoned you I promise! To all the new readers, I welcome you, to all the continuing readers thank you for sticking with me I really appreciate it. Hope you all have a wonderful night/day or whatever time slot you happen to be in and remember to keep writing, keep reading, and live creative. Until Next Time! ~Len