Chiyo took a deep breath and turned to Zero with a genuine smile. He looked so awkward and embarrassed but also sincere and innocent, it was so endearing. Those are what makes him so adorable for her anyway and it makes her sad that he doesn't feel the same way about her.

It's enough for her that she was able to convey her feelings and that the prefect acknowledged it even though he couldn't return it.

"Thank you..uhhh for l-liking me, but... I am not ready for uhhh... t-this yet. I still have too many things in mind that I need to sort out."

He was straightforward and Chiyo wouldn't have preferred him to reject her any other way. She was honestly not even expecting him to come, so she brought with her a book to read.. so no one would suspect she was stood up by her date.

"Cheer up, Kiryuu-kun. You don't have to feel bad." She noticed a frown that had lingered in his mouth since they left the cafe. Halfway through lunch- which she was thankful he stayed for, Zero looked so occupied and as if suddenly he was in pain.

He would pause all of the sudden and then run his fingers through his hair to discreetly massage it and then he would reach and press his abdomen. He's being subtle but Chiyo is also ever observant.

She did ask him if he was okay but he said he was fine, and she didn't want to push it and ruin the mood. He may not feel the same way for her but this is her first and last chance to be with him.

"Okay." Zero answered, raising his head from looking at the ground to meet her in the eyes. This is also what she likes about him, he looks at her in the eyes which makes her feel seen.

"Thanks for today…" She smiled at him the kind that she was hoping would encourage him to liven up. "See you at school." She bid him goodbye and walked straight to the bus stop.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

That was the most embarrassing situation Zero has ever experienced in his life. That will never happen again.

She was staring at him like she's trying to see something he's not quite sure he wants to show even though he doesn't know what it was. It's like she wants to open him up and expose his deepest parts. It was very uncomfortable for him to say the least.

Dating seems to be very intrusive. With all those questions about his likes and dislikes and trying to act and sound nice so that he doesn't offend the other… Zero's introverted personality just couldn't keep up. He couldn't even remember the last time he tried to be polite for more than 5 minutes!

'Be nice.'

And he tried. Fuck it. Yuuki can go nag him to hell but he's never gonna do that again. If that is what normal boys go through, then he is special.

Zero's breath hitched with the sudden stinging pain coming from his chest. Like his heart just had a powerful kickstart and his throat constricted.

Suddenly, the town is very crowded and suffocating. There were too many people and it's starting to make him feel dizzy. One man almost bumped into him, so he took a step back but unfortunately stepped on someone's foot behind him.

"Ouch! That hurt!"

Oh no. It was a girl.

Zero turned as quickly as he could and bowed his head really low several times uttering his apologies.

"Nevermind." The girl said, annoyance evident in her voice then she moved to leave when Zero caught sight of her face.

Erika Mori!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Zero saw Erika Mori get into a bus and even though it will lead him to the other side of the town, he has to follow her. This is part of his mission and he can't lose her. He got on the bus just a minute after she did and sat at the very back so he could observe her.

By the looks of it, she doesn't seem to be bothered or anything and isn't acting abnormally.

She finally stood after six stops and that's when Zero started to think there must be something wrong. She got off on the edge of the town, in the most rural part of it nonetheless. How can someone from the city have any business here?

He didn't get off at the same bus stop but asked to get off just a few meters away so she wouldn't notice she had company.

Zero got a bit of her scent earlier so he could now follow her by it. He wants to maintain a certain distance. A few minutes later, Zero found himself going deeper into the forest. Something is definitely off.

But when he finally felt a vampiric aura, his first instinct was to catch up with the girl. He can't let her get attacked. Based on the intensity of the aura, it's not a pureblood and definitely not a Level E. It could only be a noble or a Level D.

He'll make his presence known to the girl if he has to. So, Zero sped up and tried to catch up with the scent. They have gone past the trees and now into a wide clear rice field with a small cabin in the middle. Zero ran faster and opened his mouth to call her out when he was hit from the back with something that threw him a few meters from where he's standing. His face was gonna hit the ground so he covered it with his arm but he still felt the stinging scrape on his forehead as the rest of his body landed heavily on the rocky ground.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"It's an emergency meeting," Takuma uttered after reading the letter. "I'm going to book a train ticket tonight, we need to be there at noon tomorrow so you can rest after the trip. We'll leave in the morning."

Takuma set the letter on the pureblood's table and reached for the other documents and books scattered on top of it to put them back in their places.

In front of him is Kaname reading one of the reports from the council about Shizuka Hio's possible whereabouts. They have been tracking her a few years back but more active recently and Takuma knows why.

Now that he's stopped talking, the sound of the heel of the pureblood's shoe hitting the floor as Kaname swings his leg up and down is just too distracting to ignore but Takuma knows it's best to not say anything. And so he didn't.

But Kaname suddenly shot up from his seat, crumpling the paper in his hand, and leaned on the table, his breath deepened for a bit before it sped up. His eyes instantly burned bright like angry fire.

"What's wrong?"

Gritting his teeth as if he was in pain, Kaname answered "Zero. He's hurt! Agh!"

Kaname reached for his left side by the hip.

Takuma got it. It has to be the bond.

He had no choice but to follow the pureblood when he ran faster than lightning out to where the bond was leading him. The force of his speed screwed the books and documents on the table he just arranged.

Takuma took a deep breath and hurried in order to catch up with the pureblood.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Sharp branches of trees flying towards him hit him in parts of his body Zero couldn't count and locate anymore. Every part of his body hurt and scraped now.

He could see where it was coming from but he's sure the one controlling them isn't there. He's giving the vampire a target by being in the open, so Zero ran back to the trees. Despite his aching body, he was able to make it and the moment he did, the attack stopped.

The vampire couldn't be in the open field, there's nowhere to hide. He should be hiding behind the trees. Zero ran as fast as he could to survey the woods but to no avail. He still couldn't see anyone.

Zero's getting tired, he feels he's slowing down and his eyes are blurring and his body is starting to warm up. The girl is gone. The vampire took her! The aura is still close. They could only be in the cabin but the moment Zero runs towards it, he will be attacked once again.

The woods stretches and surrounds the cabin where the sides are actually closer to the house than from where he is standing, so Zero quickly ran to that side to get a better view of the cabin from the outside. And he wasn't mistaken when he saw movements from inside.

Zero could now see his side profile and the way he was standing behind the screen doors looking for him in his previous position. He pulled the trigger that made the vampire fall on his knees. He ran towards the house, entering it through the window to finish him off before he's able to adjust to the pain from the anti-vampire bullet. Nobles are supposedly more likely to survive anti-vampire bullets unless they are properly hit in the head. Twice.

Only when Zero entered, the girl got to the vampire first, crying hysterically to his confusion.

"No!" She cried out and turned to him, begging. "Please don't hurt him! Please!" She pulled him towards her and hugged him.

Zero felt like the villain once again. Something's not adding up.

"What are you doing?" Zero asked. "Get away from him! He's a vampire!"

The vampire is now holding his shoulder where he hit him which is now bleeding profusely.

"I don't understand. Are you a hunter?" The noble looked as confused as Zero. "But you're a vampire."

Zero was taken aback. "It doesn't matter." He uttered, his fingers now unsteady around Bloody Rose with his body starting to go weak. "Get away!" He yelled at the girl.

"Please, don't kill him." The girl continued to plead.

"Erika Mori, you were reported missing. I'm here to bring you back to your-"

It was as if the vampire on the floor was suddenly enlightened as his brown eyes lit up, he was able to piece everything into place. "No! I didn't force her! We ran away together. You're making a mistake."

Erika kneeled in front of him. "Please. He hasn't hurt anyone. You can't kill him. He's not going to hurt me. We love each other and we are going to get away from here and start a family together." Her face is now drenched in her own tears. "You can't tell our families, please. Help us."

"She's right. I'm sorry for attacking you. I thought you were gonna feed on her. I'm just protecting her." The noble added.

This wasn't part of the possible scenarios he's thought of. Zero's not here to fight nor kill anyone. His mission is to find Erika Mori but as long as the mission isn't complete, he can't move on to another one. He needs to find a better excuse without exposing them. They're innocent.

"I understand." He said, already sounding breathless. "I'm sor-" Darkness came down upon him for a few seconds, making him lose his footing and had to reach for the window frame for support, Bloody Rose falling off his hands.

Erika Mori's case is solved but how to tag it will be a problem for another day. Right now, he needs to go home. His throat is constricting hard enough that even getting air is starting to get more and more difficult.

"He's hit, you injured him!" Erika noticed.

"No…" The vampire looked closer. "The wounds from my attacks earlier are starting to heal."

Zero is now burning up. No, he's blazing up. He couldn't continue standing, he had to slowly lower his body to the floor and curl in indescribable pain that followed and swallowed his body.

"Look at his eyes. It's thirst." The vampire continued talking as if Zero wasn't around and he couldn't reply with a snide even if he wanted to because right now, his entire being is filled and already overflowing in intense bloodlust.

"Well, we have to help him," Erika said.

"We can't." The vampire responded.

"Why not? He's gonna help us. I can give him a bit of my blood just enough to-"

"I said, we can't. No one else can." Zero could only hear them, along with the sound of his own groans. "There's a funny smell coming off of him. Aside from his own, there's another one. He's bonded. He can't take anyone else's blood."

Kaname…

Zero knows what he needs.

The next few conversations no longer made sense to Zero as all he could think about was Kaname. His smell, his taste, his feel and how much he wants them now. His vision has blurred to the extent that not even shapes are recognizable. His skin is so hot he could burn through the floor and it would catch on fire. The ringing in his ears is all he could hear. The pain is all he could feel. His own blood in his mouth from gritting his teeth too much is all he could taste. The faint scent of Kaname that must be coming from him according to the noble is all he could smell.

Kaname…

Was this what he also felt when he was thirsting for him? Now he understood why he almost went crazy. He now understands why the pureblood's monster consumed him because he could feel his own trying to surface.

Kaname…

"Shit." The vampire's voice suddenly tensed up, as he scrambles to get up on his feet. "We have to leave. Let's- Agh!"

Zero heard that unmistakable sound of scream and explosion as debris of wood hit the walls and the ground. There was a loud thud followed by Erika Mori screaming. Despite his currently hazy perception, the noise was just too loud to ignore.

"Gggghh.."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Takuma noticed how Kaname's nails have lengthened and how even though he is running behind him that the monster has resurfaced.

Kiryuu Zero must be in big trouble to be able to summon the pureblood's other side.

The thing about this bond is that some of the characteristics are similar to regular vampire-vampire and vampire-human bonds, but some are not. For example, how Kaname could precisely locate Kiryuu's whereabouts and how he can specifically feel the boy's pain.

Takuma's own bond and what he knows of others is not as intense. The bond connects them but it seems as if with Kaname and Kiryuu, it's merging them. Takuma is convinced that their bond was established even before the blood pact. How and why is fucking him to this day.

His bond connects him and Senri emotionally. They want and need each other the same way the others do. But that's about it. They can't freaking feel each other's physical pain or track one another because if they could, he and Senri wouldn't always be nagging each other because they can't always be on the same boat.

Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if one day, Kaname can also read the prefect's mind.. Now that would be helpful. So the pureblood wouldn't have to spend so much time trying to figure out the stubborn enigma that is Kiryuu Zero.

He saw a cabin and Kaname went straight to it. He's a few steps behind and he could feel two more auras, one vampire and one human. He could also feel the weak pulsing of Kiryuu's aura.

Kaname kicked the door open, breaking it in the process and once again letting out that animalistic growl before running towards the other vampire in the cabin, and Takuma learned why. Kiryuu was down on the ground curled in a ball and whimpering in pain.

Kaname has the other vampire pressed in the cracking wall and around his neck is his one hand, long fingers with sharp claws digging into the skin while the other hand is preparing to pierce through his body.

"Please! He didn't mean to hurt him! He was only protecting me!" The girl pleaded and screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to get in between Kaname and his next kill. She clearly is a human, weak and ignorant, she doesn't know that with just a flick of Kaname's finger, she'll be dead in a second.

Why is she here and meddling anyway?

"Ka..name.. s-stop." Kiryuu's voice was small and hoarse, it was cracking but it still reached Kaname who turned to him. "Let… go."

"No!" the pureblood responded with the monster's voice, deep and deadly.

The girl cried, even more, going crazy not knowing what to do because with every second that passes, the weaker the vampire becomes.

"Kaname… come… need you…" Kiryuu uttered, voice cracking but that was all it took for Kaname to drop the vampire in his hands.

"Takuma, take care of him." The pureblood ordered him and Takuma saw how Kaname changed back into his human form in an instant and knelt to hold the silver-haired boy with such gentleness he had never seen come from Kaname nor from any other pureblood towards anyone.

Kaname is always gentle with Yuuki, but never this way.

Before Takuma could finish him off, the vampire took the chance to speak, "Please, I didn't mean to hurt him. His mission is to find Erika Mori." She motioned for the human who wouldn't leave his side. "She's my girlfriend, he followed her and I didn't know he was a hunter because he's a vampire, so I attacked him but he shot me… we told him she and I were running away, he agreed to let us go, then you both came and…" He spoke the fastest he could to buy as much time to tell his side.

Takuma could tell he was telling the truth and that while Kiryuu is hurting right now, it's not because of this vampire's attack. He must admit that the boy is a good hunter, it just so happens that his thirst came at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

He turned to look at Kaname and let go of the vampire. Kiryuu finally wants to feed but he was too weak to reach for the pureblood so Kaname had to guide him, help position him on his lap and support his head as he heard him encourage the boy in his softest voice to take a bite.

The moment Kaname's scent filled the air, Takuma held his breath. A pureblood's blood is very potent and though it won't satisfy them, it will still smell and taste good even for the bonded.

"Go!" He told the two who scrambled on their feet and disappeared with the vampire carrying the girl to be able to run fast despite his injuries.

Once Kiryuu is sated and Kaname is appeased he will explain what happened, or better yet, he will let Kiryuu explain. For now, he can't watch anymore, so he went out to give them time and space to do what needs to be done.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Zero breathed in and loved the crisp icy scent coming from the warm comforting skin where his nose is pressed into. It feels like every inch of him is covered with this very deliciously comfortable warmth that lulls him. He hadn't felt this comfortable before, he just wanted to continue sleeping.

But he guesses it is already too late to go back because his hearing caught that breathing sound accompanied by the rise and fall of his own body. The rest of his senses started coming back after only to realize that he was sleeping on top of someone!

Feeling the rest of his body and the things around him, it is also worth noting that he isn't wearing any shirt just like the person under him.

His brain is telling him to pull away and cover himself because this is ridiculous, but it feels too good to break. Plus his body is still too immersed in the calming and satisfying feeling of being this close where their skins are touching and his scent is all over him.

His memories came back and what happened yesterday helped fill him in on how and why he's in his current position.

Kaname found him and allowed him to feed on him. It was hazy but he remembered he tasted like no other. His blood is incomparable to anything he's ever tasted. He remembered drinking for a long time, like a thirsty desert traveler who finally found an oasis. But that was the last of it, he couldn't remember anything else. He probably passed out.

He moved to look up and was surprised to meet dark wine orbs that were apparently just waiting for him to wake up. Kaname's eyes are so beautifully clear staring at him intently like this, emitting so much desire. Now he's become fully aware of the pureblood.

His eyes traveled to his pointed nose and beautifully sculpted lips. And there it is, that 'want' to taste him. The thirst for him and not only for his blood.

I want…

Taste him…

Have him…

It was his own voice in this head telling him what to do. No. It is him telling himself to do what he wants.

Kaname is very hypnotic, everything about him is calling out to him. Zero started burning up again. He could feel the heat traveling from his insides, spreading like wildfire through his veins to every nerve endings of his body.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Kaname…" Zero called his name. His face looked so flushed. He's red with desire and Kaname growled as his body responded delightfully.

In a second, he pinned the boy down under him and did what he wasn't able to do hours earlier. He crushed their lips together, the pace and way they pressed against each other showed how hungry they are for one another. Kaname knows this isn't one-sided anymore.

Not when Zero opened up to him and pulled him in, body and soul. He feels the mutual longing and desperation to taste and touch each other. The hunter's hands were greedily traveling all over his body, one after the other. His fingers like lick of flames on his skin, igniting the fire from within.

Zero's hands on his nape to pull him closer to deepen the kiss, on his back to press their bodies closer, up and down his spine just to feel him and Kaname fucking loves it.

He explored and conquered his sweet sweet mouth, his taste is so divine, the feel of his tongue against his, mixed with his feverish body against him are all turning him on. Fuck, even just looking at Zero turns him on. Even just thinking about him makes him hard.

His cock pressed against the fabric of his underwear and while their mouths and hands were all over each other's, he couldn't help rubbing against Zero's hips but it wasn't enough. With one swift motion, he spread his legs and positioned himself in between them, pressing his hard-on against Zero's own surprisingly hard ones.

He wants him so fucking bad he's gonna go insane just thinking about not having him now that he's under him, writhing and calling out his name in the sexiest voice he'd ever heard in his long life.

But he knows how inexperienced Zero is. He can't risk where they are now for where he wants them to be immediately. Zero needs to understand what he wants and he needs to agree with it. Otherwise, he would lose him and he can't have that. He is his life source.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Kaname please…" Zero uttered.

There's that maddening pain in his insides that's calling out to Kaname. Every inch of him wants to be touched, to be kissed, to be bitten…

He's never wanted anyone to bite him this much and knows even without having any experience the pleasure it promises. He wants Kaname. He wants his blood and his taste.

Zero's body has gone feverish again, and he just wants to rub and press every part of him to Kaname because every time it does, it sends a deliciously satisfying feeling all over him and it is hella addictive. He wants to keep doing it and wanting more.

He pulled him closer for another kiss, sucking on his plush and pillowy lips and running his tongue all over his mouth battling with Kaname's own tongue for supremacy, and even that felt so good, twining and rubbing their tongues against each others'.

"Kaname…" He uttered, voice pleading for Kaname to give him something, to keep going.

But when Kaname spread his legs and settled between them, and when he pressed against him and he felt his raging hard-on, a new kind of desire awakened in him. The one he's not familiar with but is curious and excited to experience.

He felt his own cock hardening in a matter of seconds, waking up to the delicious way Kaname was rubbing his own against his and yet still feeling so frustrated because it wasn't enough.

Kaname growled, red bright eyes intensified and Zero's hold on him tightened followed by a sharp gasp. He was too in it to realize that the pureblood had slipped one hand inside his pants grabbing his length and squeezing it deliciously making him tighten his legs around his hips.

"Zero… can I have you?" Kaname said when he lowered his head and whispered to him with his lips pressed and tongue tracing his lobes.

He shut his eyes and felt how his body hummed both in pleasure and also displeasure because he knows there's so much more to this and it's not happening yet.

'Help each other out and try to go easy on each other. He's no longer an enemy now.'

If this is how it's going to be from now on and fighting it will only cause them so much pain, helping each other this way is better for both of them.

"Yes."