Somebody was moaning.

Kaname paused in his perusal of the library, looking for one particular book on blood magic that he knew Asato had stolen the last time around. Now that he'd developed enough stamina to toddle about in a fairly reliable manner, no matter how undignified, the library had become his favourite haunt.

Reading passed the time very well indeed, Kaname found, and it helped that there were many books in here that he had never read and more that would be useful to the projects Kaname had in mind. Some had been steadily burning away in the back of his brain for years, but fighting left little time for the kind of scientific research and experimentation he preferred. It did him good to have a solid block of time when he could relax and he knew it.

Nevertheless, the moaning was beginning to get annoying – how was he supposed to read when someone was clearly having such a good time hidden behind the stacks? The smell of sex was beginning to irritate his nose too. They could have at least tried to be discrete.

Kaname sighed, snapping the book closed. If servants were slacking off… well, they'd certainly be humiliated to be discovered by their master, he thought with a thrill of dark anticipation. Kaname pushed himself up to his feet, using the library shelves for a handlebar and started tracking the noise down. Misery loved company; if he had to endure puberty again then he saw no reason not to spread the joy.

His senses were developing at a steady rate. His sense of hearing and smell were accurate enough to know that two women were engaged in some pretty heavy petting behind the section on metal crafting. Hmm, that was a good idea actually, Kaname needed to brush up on his original ideas for crafting Anti-Vampire weapons. There had to be a more efficient way to forge them…he was sure he'd made some notes somewhere…

"Faster, come on," came a breathy moan, interrupting Kaname's train of thought.

Kaname toddled around the corner and glared at the two women, letting his aura out.

Nanny would be on him in seconds, in fact Kaname was beginning to suspect that the 'C had a blood-talent as a sensor she was so quick to find him these nights, but it was worth if it his aura's shock to their senses snapped them out of it. It wasn't like he was much of an imposing sight without a stormy aura but with it he ought to extract some entertainment from them.

Kaname crossed his arms, prepared to-

"Oh, there you are Kaname," Juuri panted, one leg wrapped around the shoulders of a lesser vampire. Her right arm was propped against the shelves for support as she held her body up whilst her left hand was pressing a head of golden hair down between her thighs. "I thought I sensed you earlier."

Kaname averted his eyes, fast, cursing his childhood form for the millionth time.

Obviously, his senses were not as developed as he would like else he would have known that there was a pureblood behind the corner and that it was his pseudo-mother.

"Could you not have found a bedroom?" Kaname asked plaintively, pleased that he had managed a whole sentence coherently no matter the situation. The scent of sex really was distracting but that was the only detriment to the situation. Mentally, Kaname knew he ought to be feeling something, but his body didn't have the right hormones yet. Vampires were not body-shy, their preferred food being very hands-on so the sight didn't really bother him. However, he did want to read in peace and Juuri was just asking to be gossiped about for this. No one would disturb her, but that didn't meant people hadn't detected it.

There were hundreds of guest bedrooms in the manor including one in the library somewhere that Artorius had installed after Kaname had crashed one too many times in his lab and bothered him with demands for massages for his poor cramped neck every other night.

"I could have – yes, right there – but here was closer," Juuri sighed, closing her eyes and tilting her head back, but not before Kaname caught the aroused flash of red in her eyes around heavily dilated pupils.

Her current lover was familiar, Kaname tilted his head as he tried to place the golden hair… oh, it was the assistant chef, and the same girl Haruka had had not so very long ago. The girl had stopped and Kaname could practically taste her hesitation. She knew who was watching and the thought of carrying on like nothing was happening and a child wasn't watching…

"Did I tell you to stop?" Juuri purred, back arching. The girl went back to work and Kaname smirked, pleased that he had at least managed to vex someone tonight.

Clearly, he thought with no little amusement, Haruka and Juuri were in the middle of a tiff right now, if Juuri had seduced Haruka's current lover, Kaname could already see how this was going to go. He sighed. This was going to be troublesome.

Purebloods were jealous lovers. They were possessive, demanding and intense no matter who they'd taken to bed or how serious a fling it was.

Juuri had not been in the bed with the two of them, so they clearly weren't sharing this girl. Haruka had had her first but Juuri had obviously targeted her to annoy Haruka for some reason – and Haruka would be annoyed which would lead to him taking some petty revenge and the cycle would continue until they'd worked the original issue out.

They were hand fasted to each other and pledged, but that didn't mean monogamy or that they never argued. Kaname supposed it was a relief that they were arguing through this medium rather than anything more destructive. The manor was a mishmash of different styles as it was without patchwork repairs after a hissy fit.

Still, he did need them to get this out of their system so that they could get back to normal. They needed to… oh.

Kaname walked away from the busy couple with a smirk on is face as he did some quick calculations in his head, 'pulling' one of the books on Anti-Vampire weapons as he left, yes, the timing was just about right.

Whatever fight the two of them were having would almost certainly lead to passionate, reckless make-up sex…

Kaname grinned, soon; soon, he'd see his sister again.

Breakfast was tense.

For the vampire, breakfast was around early evening time and it was the main time of the night that Kaname could usually find a little time to spend with his pseudo-parents assuming they hadn't had to stay out during the day or were sleeping in the office or in another property or otherwise inundated with responsibilities.

Juuri speared a piece of mango with relish, stabbing the fruit before placing it in her mouth and plunging into it with her fangs. Her aura was restless. Normally it would extend from her body a certain amount – protecting her from other influences as well as imposing her own influence on her surroundings. Purebloods had too much power to be contained, as a human radiated heat, the level A vampire radiated power unconsciously like an invisible cloak. It would be placid, occasionally illuminated with emotion, but fairly calm overall. Juuri was at home so she didn't need to control herself as rigidly as she would in public.

Tonight, it roiled and swarmed like waves in the ocean, during a hurricane, after an earthquake, spitting with poisonous fury. It was clear to every vampire on the estate that something was Wrong.

Haruka buttered a crumpet silently, the buttered knife utterly noiseless. He kept his eyes fixed on his cup of tea. His own aura was mild, pulled into his body a little in a poor attempt to appease Juuri subconsciously by being as passive as possible.

Nancy – who had to carry Kaname to and from the table – was staring at her shoes. Her back firmly against the wall and her hands folded submissively in front of her. She clearly wished she could be anywhere else.

The servants who had brought in the dishes had shivered their way through the service before vanishing as soon as physically viable, unwilling to stay in such a hazardous atmosphere for a second longer than they had to lest they draw the wrong kind of attention to themselves.

Meanwhile, Kaname had finally dragged his way to being nine months old. It was a remarkable achievement; one he mentally patted himself on the back for managing even if he still had to sit in a high chair for meals. The fact that the high chair was mahogany, elegantly carved, extremely comfortable and probably a few centuries did old did not detract from the fact that he was sitting in a high chair. With training-chopsticks.

Kaname survived by firmly reminding himself each time he caught sight of the cheerfully grinning frog at the end of his chopsticks, that he was strengthening his motor-neurone connections. This was a training exercise for hand-eye-coordination. What must be endured can be endured.

Coincidentally, he had somehow developed a burning hatred of frogs.

The teacup made a soft 'clink' as Haruka set it down on the saucer–

-and Juuri snapped.

Her aura boiled over, suddenly springing from foul-tempered to murderously angry, lashes of shadow whipping around her like Medusa's hair and just as viperous. The candles spluttered and then gave up the ghosts putting themselves out with a wisp of smoke, leaving the candelabra to quiver uneasily above them.

"Must you be so irritating?" Juuri spat, glaring at the offending crockery until it obligingly turned to dust on the table, making a wet mess of dust and tealeaves.

"Really, Juuri," Haruka said mildly, "I liked that tea set. It was the last of the Wedgewood."

Kaname winced internally – that was the wrong approach to take. Why was he still sitting there? Juuri clearly agreed as she rose from the table thunderously, slamming her palms down – and through – the table, three of the legs cracking instantly. The table tilted on its side before surrendering with a groan of tortured wood, crashing to the floor.

Irritated, Juuri kicked it aside. It slammed into the wall, conveniently blocking the exit.

"Forget the blood crockery," Juuri snarled. "This is about you."

"Oh do calm down, dear." Haruka sighed, standing up and brushing the splinters of the previously grand table off of his impeccable three-piece suit – that was no longer looking quite so impeccable. "If you want the girl - ''

"-Calm down? Calm down! I'll show you calm down dear," Juuri roared, launching herself at him in a blur of speed – faster than she could normally go, Kaname noted happily – with her claws fully extended, glinting maliciously in the moonlight. Efficiently, she aimed for his eyes.

A delightfully vicious descendant, Kaname observed, calmly continuing to eat his chocolate chip pancakes, with chocolate sauce, chocolate ice-cream and chocolate sprinkles with careful movements of The Chopsticks. The advantages of a high chair, as it turned out, was that his little table hadn't been affected by Juuri's rampage and his breakfast continued undisturbed.

He knew Juuri wouldn't be targeting him and that he was perfectly safe.

He also had an excellent view of the fight as Juuri succeeded in clawing one of Haruka's ears off which slapped wetly against the window pane, whilst he wrestled with her futilely, he gave a choked off scream before he finally seemed to realise that she was serious and let his own claws out. He went on the offensive.

Juuri's full sets of fangs were bared – upper and lower – and her face would never be mistaken for human now, no matter how beautiful she was. Her eyes were burning red, a flattering shade of crimson. Her fangs were out, glistening as was proper for an apex predator such as her, and her fingers had transformed into ten adamantine claws.

She didn't move like a human – she moved like a vampire, all lethal grace, each writhing movement deadly but economical – the grace of a true hunter who was very, very, good at this particular game.

Juuri was not backing down. She was not 'seeing reason' no matter how Haruka tried to argue her down in between fighting for his life as the room around them was swiftly decimated.

Kaname wondered how long it would take for Haruka to get a clue.

The signs were obvious.

Juuri was easily irritated, irritated in particular with her pure-blooded partner, she was attacking him with intent to kill despite their good relationship and her aura was stormy and almost preternaturally violent. This was evidently the beginning of a Hunt.

Clearly, Kaname mused as he chewed on a chunk of chocolate, Juuri was pregnant.

Eventually, one of Haruka's claws grazed Juuri's stomach as she was straddling him, pinning him to the floor – and she screeched as she reared back, one arm protecting her womb as the other clawed at his neck instinctively trying to give it a good swipe. Haruka's eyes widened as he noted the off defensive motion and finally put it together saying the first sensible thing he'd said all evening.

"Oh shit."

A well-timed blow and Haruka swiftly flipped their positions. He was fighting for real now that he'd realised the danger he was in – but he wasn't fighting to win, no, he was fighting to escape.

Purebloods were very fast on their feet – it would only take a second's pause and –

- Juuri stumbled over a broken chair leg. She slammed into the wall when Haruka shoved her with a telekinetic 'push' and she nearly went through it entirely. Dust rained from the ceiling as she pulled herself out of the new hole with a grunt – but Haruka had taken the opportunity and had dived out the window in a rain of glass.

Running full tilt across the lawn, he left deep scars in the earth as he pushed off from the ground to boost his speed.

He did not look back and he was out of sight two seconds later.

With a snarl, Juuri was off, tearing after him, radiating sheer unadulterated bloodlust.

Kaname patted his mouth delicately on a napkin, licking his fangs for the last bit of chocolate, and peered around until he found Nanny who had taken cover under the side table at some point.

"Nanny?" Kaname asked, mildly concerned - green was not a natural skin tone even for a vampire, "Are you all right?"

"Oh." She replied, slowly backing herself up until she could stand once more, resting a hand on the side table under her legs stopped trembling. "Oh my poor heart." She was clutching at it through the fabric of her full-skirted dress as if it was going to run away on her.

"Oh Kaname-sama!" Nancy cried, seeing him sitting in his high chair, untouched amongst the utter destruction of the room. "Oh I'm so sorry you had to see that! I should have taken you away but I just couldn't move, oh my dear, are you all right? There's no need to be scared," she declared, picking Kaname up out of the high chair and pressing his face into her bosom, "Nanny's here."

She started bobbing him up and down, rocking him almost desperately as she patted him down for injuries. "Now don't you worry little one," Nancy whispered, kissing his brow. "Mummy and Daddy are just a little upset right now. Everything will be better tomorrow."

Kaname – whose face was pressing into Nancy's pleasantly heaving chest – laughed. He pulled his head free and stared up at her until she looked down at him.

Her brown eyes were still wide with fright, and her eyes constantly roved the wrecked room, strain evident on her features. For the love of blood, even the floor had suffered with multiples gashes of claws, a hole where Haruka's head had slammed into it, and several very clear, very deep, footprints from missed kicks. They had not been holding back their strength and the room was a disaster site.

Only Kaname's high chair had remained untouched. The side-table where she had taken shelter was half missing and the reminder of how close a call it had been – how terrified she had been – was not helping her calm down.

Neither was the blood that was smudged and dripped everywhere.

"Don't worry," Kaname said, patting Nancy on the cheek. "Mummy is just a little pregnant right now."

Nancy choked on air. Pregnant? Again?

Well that would certainly explain the temper, she thought with wry amusement, feeling happy for them. A new pureblood, how exciting! Nevertheless, how did the Young Master know? The Master certainly had not. She shouldn't laugh – but she would never forget the look of fearful astonishment on Haruka-sama's face.

"Are you sure Kaname-sama?" Nancy murmured, her heart calming down the longer she held on to her safe – safe! –charge. Her mind was already on the repairs. She'd have to inform the housekeeper about the state of this room, the groundskeeper would see to the window and in the mean time a great deal of bleach had to be poured on the blood before anyone smelled it…

… and got their bloodlust up whilst Kaname-sama was known to be without his main protectors.

Her charge was in danger.

Nancy did an about turn and began jogging briskly to the nursery where separate wards shielded them from the rest of the household. The household staff were a reliable sort, and most could keep their head when the bloodlust was on them, but she'd take no risks with Kaname-sama. Vampires did strange and dangerous things when pure blood was in the air.

She would hate to have to kill any of her colleagues in his defence. She would, and gladly, it wouldn't even be the first time, but it was better to avoid a fight where possible.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kaname-sama replied, peering around her shoulder in the direction where she could feel several minor B's approaching, fast. They were probably a guard unit, doing their job and investigating the scent of pure blood, but…they outnumbered her six to one.

"Tap the rose on that statue," he ordered quietly.

Nancy blinked at the strange order – she'd much rather sprint to the nursery never mind how running would draw attention she was trying to avoid– but obedience was ingrained and Kaname-sama was a clever child, he was probably aware of the danger before she was. She trusted that he wouldn't delay them.

Nancy slapped her hand down on top of the indicated rose. She jerked when she felt it depress under her hand – for half a moment, she was worried that she'd broken a priceless artefact which was just the kind of evening she was having and the night had barely begun!

But no, in front of her very eyes, the rose well, rose, back into position without a sound, and silently a hidden door swung open – revealing a dimly lit passage.

Eyebrows both raised, Nancy entered the gloomy passage, knowing her young charge wanted to go down this way for some reason. The door swung on equally silent hinges behind her and instantly her sense of the outside hallway cut out. She could no longer sense the B's, and she knew that they could no longer sense her either.

Nancy couldn't smell the blood any longer either; the only thing she could scent was a faint aroma of stale air. She was a 'C with the senses of a 'C, but she was reasonably sure that they were safe.

She'd known there were secret passages all over the house, as well as spy holes, hidden rooms, and all manor of other things you might expect in an old castle household where no guest or servant was truly trusted and everyone could be reliably assumed to be out to kill the hosts.

This was her first time seeing one though.

"This," Nancy muttered grimly as she strode down the passageway – there was only one way to go, "Is how you escape my sight so often isn't it?"

The brat. How was she to watch over him when he could disappear into the walls!

"…Maybe," Kaname-sama said slyly, and Nancy could hear the amusement in his voice. Still, it was better than fear. That scene had been ugly no matter how much her brave young one – not that she'd ever say such a thing aloud - was pretending it hadn't affected him.

Nancy sighed. "Where do we come out?" she asked in resignation. Perhaps, she mused, if she started looking for the passages in her sparse free time – or if she just followed Kaname-sama around for long enough, she might be able to predict his movements again. That would stop him wandering off so often when it was bath time.

"We'll end up inside the nursery," Kaname replied absently, guiding Nancy through several sets of turns and secret crossroads.

"Is that safe?" Nancy frowned. The nursery was shielded from almost everyone – if a secret passage could bypass those protections…

"Is it safe not to have a secret way to access the nursery?" Kaname-sama replied easily and Nancy had to reluctantly accept that argument. Blood and ashes but if the house ever did come under attack then the children would always be the main target. Obviously there were ways to get in – and out – of the nursery secretly. Nancy would not be surprised to discover a passage leading all the way outside now that she was thinking about it.

"And of course," Kaname-sama mused in a deceptively idle tone of voice, "If you had not been with me, you would have burned to a crisp the moment the door shut behind you. Or possibly transported to the dungeon. I forget how this passage is charmed."

Nancy came to an abrupt halt.

Typical.

Then again, if she was concerned over the safety of a bypass into the nursery, then surely the Kuran's must have had similar thoughts. Of course there would be protections and protocols in place. They had probably planned for every eventuality. The Moon knew that if her children – if she had had any – were in as much danger as young Kaname-sama was and if she had the resources of a pureblood family no expense would be spared for their protection.

"Very well," was all she said, and she started walking once more, still hurrying a little even though they were probably safe within these passages. Apparently, she wouldn't be able to explore the hidden side of the manor – and Kaname-sama would continue to use them to escape her. Nancy sighed. It was an honour to be trusted with his care, and Kaname-sama was adorable in his own right – but really, there were times she just wanted to scream.

The nursery was just as she'd left it – pleasantly lit with candles that were easy on their sensitive eyes and safe. She did a quick patrol anyway. The windows were all shut and sealed. The crystals reported that the charms were at full strength. There were no strange scents. No auras that she could detect.

"Put me down," her charge ordered and she watched fondly as he slowly wobbled – his toddling was so cute – over to his nest of toys. For the last few months, he'd been obsessed with the red ball. He'd worn a dozen to death already and Nancy realised that the ball in question was looking a little floppy once more and adjusted her to-do list for the night to include another order for a dozen more of his favourite toys.

Then she snapped out of her daze, stifling the little grin she wanted to grin as she watched Kaname-sama's cute serious face as he studied the red ball with a narrow eyed look, and turned to the phone.

"Housekeeper's office."

"Hello Mara, it's Nancy from the Nursery."

"Is he safe?" Mara demanded instantly.

"Yes." Nancy assured, hearing the other woman's sigh of relief.

"Do you know what happened?"

"The Master and the Mistress had an argument," Nancy whispered, covering the earpiece in the hope that Kaname-sama was too distracted to hear her. She didn't want to upset him, but she couldn't let him out of her sight to have a truly private conversation either. "They took it off site but the Blue Dining Room is a wreck. It need's repairs and bleach."

"Blood?"

"Aye."

"Very well. Thank you for the update. Continue your normal duties, I will increase the guard around the nursery just in case, but don't let anyone in."

"I won't," Nancy assured easily, fondling the Anti-Vampire knife that she kept in a sheath on her thigh. Juuri-sama had gifted it to her the night she'd assumed primary responsibility for Kaname-sama's care. She was well trained in weaponry, but it was something to be entrusted with a weapon like this that could harm Kaname-sama as much as it could be used in his defence.

Vampires.

The door banged twice.

"Nancy? It's John. Everything all right in there?"

"Everything's fine, John," Nancy replied clearly. There were other code phrases she could have used. The one she had meant that everything really was fine; that she had Kaname-sama and that he was uninjured rather than she was under threat, the number of intruders, or injuries.

"I need visual and audio confirmation from Kuran-sama, Nancy," John said quietly.

Nancy frowned. The request wasn't unusual, but it wasn't to form either. Surely, John could sense the strong presence of a pureblood in here?

Glancing over her shoulder, – Kaname-sama was fine; although he'd stopped playing with the now deflated ball, so he was clearly listening – she hesitated.

Kaname-sama looked at her and nodded so she reluctantly went over to the door, opening it just a crack and hiding her body behind it. John was outside as well as five other guards she recognised, all were armed.

"I'm fine," Kaname-sama said, he appeared behind her legs – well away from grabbing distance – and promptly returned to his game. "You can go."

John's eyes took in Kaname-sama presence intently for a moment, before he nodded and stepped back from the door.

"Clear," he stated, "Next section."

Nancy watched him go, her eyes narrowed.