Kaname had said it before and he'd say it again; pride had never been his vice.
It took one second for him to realise that he'd miscalculated and start the damage control. He'd known that what he'd had to say – not that he'd actually got around to truly saying it yet – would upset his two descendants, but he'd never anticipated this level of escalation.
Child abuse was a foreign term to purebloods. Children were too rare to be deliberately hurt by their direct kin. It was anathema to them; instead they were almost universally spoiled and indulged. It was non-related purebloods you had to watch out for. The fact that Haruka was physically hurting him was the last sign that Kaname needed that something was very wrong in this house.
It was not a mistake he'd make again. Whatever was going on, it was clear Kaname could assume nothing. Even things he thought he knew were now suspect. Abuse had gone from laughable to real. The bond of family meant nothing here.
"I'm sorry, father," Kaname murmured meekly, letting himself hang limply in Haruka's grasp as his mind spun. "This world is just so confusing," he continued quietly, desperately trying to portray vulnerability even as his thoughts leapfrogged ahead.
Haruka was clearly bordering on insane, and it was always best to agree with the crazy-man's delusions.
It worked, as Haruka calmed down immediately, setting Kaname back down on the sofa and straightening his clothes for him.
"I'm sorry too, son," Haruka murmured, kneeling down in front of him and gently hugging Kaname as Kaname did his best not to retch down the vampire's back. He was so dizzy from being shaken that he wondered, in an alarmingly distracted way, if he had some sort of brain damage from the rough treatment. "I shouldn't let my temper get away with me like that, but you really mustn't provoke me."
Oh yes, Kaname thought sourly, blame the child you utter twat.
"I'm sorry father," Kaname echoed softly, hoping the repetition of the term father gave Haruka whatever sense of control he was looking for. "I won't do it again."
"Oh you boys," Juuri sniffed, and Kaname was horrified to realise that she was actually tearing up slightly and smiling tremulously. In the name of the Night what was going on here? Whatever was affecting Haruka had Juuri in it's grasp too; a pureblood in their right mind would not have stood aside and let a child of their line to be hurt like that. Obviously, it was effecting her emotional balance and thus could reasonable be assumed to be some mental affliction.
"Oh Juuri," Haruka whispered, rising to embrace her. "Please don't be upset. Everything is going to be OK now, I promise."
Kaname was glad for the reprieve. Whilst Haruka and Juuri hugged, rocked, and whispered to each other like teenagers, he recovered. The double vision faded, clearing his mind as his body rapidly healed the damage, the sense of nausea receded for which Kaname was utterly grateful. He hated being sick. It was so undignified.
Forcing his aura to be absolutely clear and calm, Kaname thought. Haruka wasn't reacting well to independence or to challenges, however mild so it was imperative Kaname kept his aura still so it didn't reveal the loathing he felt. It took effort and energy to keep it placid, but Kaname knew it was better to endure the discomfort to spare the far greater harm he'd get if Haruka felt insulted by Kaname's disgust.
Kaname gave himself five seconds to despise the fact that Haruka was a real threat to him, this body was so inconvenient, and then he made himself adapt.
He needed more information.
"Perhaps, father," Kaname hedged cautiously, "you might explain this new world to me. It's clear that I'm missing something." He smiled vapidly to cement the act.
"Of course son," Haruka smiled, and sat down on the sofa opposite Kaname, tugging Juuri down with him by their still-linked hands. "It was a good idea to meet. We do need to have a proper chat. The world has changed a great deal in the ten thousand years that you've slept for."
Kaname sat up straight, leaning forward, keeping his eyes wide and attentive, his hands folded neatly on his lap. Body language was everything in selling a good lie and Kaname had always been an excellent student.
Inside, it was another story. Surprise was the least of what he felt. Kaname had not slept for ten thousand consecutive years. He couldn't imagine a pureblood that would be stupid enough to sleep for so long, though he was beginning to believe that Haruka could be an exception to that. The vampire survived by adapting. Kaname would have gone to sleep in an era of Kings and Queens and swords and woken up in an age of computers and guns.
Horrifically out of date, Kaname would have been a sitting duck.
The most he'd ever slept for was a few centuries, and he'd only risked so long since he'd had trustworthy descendants to wake him up at an agreed time.
If you really wanted a long nap, you slept for a decade, woke up for a year, quickly rearranged your affairs to assure that you were still wealthy, influential and safe, and then slept for another decade. Rinse and repeat.
Or if you were feeling too restrained by vampire society, you went to sleep, secretly woke up and pretended to be human until you were no longer bored. Kaname had known his fellow purebloods to be everything from pirates and celebrities to tailors and tinkers. He'd spent more than a few rotations just travelling and doing odd jobs or picking up a new trade for fun. Variety kept an immortal life interesting.
The fact that Haruka obviously believed that Kaname had been asleep for that long – and his body language clearly said he did, Kaname refused to believe that Haruka was capable of the skill necessary to deceive him – said that Haruka's own education was flawed.
Haruka had either forgotten what he'd been taught as a child, or he'd never been taught it at all. For one sentence, Haruka had given a lot away. That ignorance told Kaname that whatever the problem was with this family, it had started centuries ago, possibly even with the previous generation.
It also implied that neither Haruka nor Juuri had taken a break in the past three thousand years. Well damn. No wonder they'd lost it. Had Rido taken a break?
"Vampires are now at peace," Haruka continued blithely, "The Council of Elders is our ruling body, made up of only vampires from the aristocracy. The old Courts of purebloods have fallen out of use. It's now gauche to use our ability to command the lesser vampires for personal advantage. We are all working hard to make our society one of equals."
Haruka paused to beam at Juuri who beamed back, full of pride.
Kaname felt sick.
He'd speculated that the Council's propaganda had done more damage than he'd realised – but to have even purebloods believing it? Had he even come back far enough? No. He refused to believe that it was already too late, but he had severely underestimated the problem and Haruka's common sense.
Fact one, vampires were not a peaceful race. It wasn't a bad thing; humans were not a peaceful race either. Races that survived longest didn't get to that point by being nice. Anything a species needed to thrive – ambition, the struggle, a vision – they were all competitive traits and anything goes in the race for survival. Haruka saying that vampires were at peace was either foolishly idealistic or dangerously naive.
Fact two, the Council were not out for peace. They were jealous. Not to mention conniving and greedy. Roughly speaking the Council controlled the majority of mixed blood vampires, but the existence of purebloods – a person they had to bow to despite their de justo authority grated. They had power, but they couldn't compare.
A pureblood just was. A vampire knew a pureblood on sight if they hadn't sensed them earlier. The itch in the back of their minds – the hindbrain in a human – triggered their instincts. Danger. Predator. Obey. Then of course, a pureblood was immortal rather than just exceptionally long-lived, ethereally beautiful, and had the power of absolute command as well as any number of other supernatural abilities.
Why wouldn't the Council be jealous?
They did all the work – or so they liked to believe – and got a mere fraction of the respect. They practically quivered with rage any time a pureblood waltzed on by. They might resent them, but they also couldn't remove their own instincts that told them to be reverent, making that bitterness fester all the worse. The knowledge of how completely outclassed they were didn't ease the acrimony in the slightest.
Which explained the far subtler tactic they'd chosen in their silent war.
Purebloods generally preferred a certain amount of privacy, conveniently ensuring that very few low blood vampires ever met one, and leading to a huge amount of gossip. Naturally, the Council encouraged that gossip in certain directions until it became fear mongering and soon enough spite was accepted as common knowledge.
Purebloods didn't care for the opinion or education of low bloods on their private matters so the errors were never corrected. Even the news that reported on purebloods just like human celebrities was never important enough to merit interference.
He didn't like it, but Kaname was never ashamed to acknowledge when his enemies had been smart. It was a good tactic. They'd won that one.
"You don't consider your Court a Court?" Kaname clarified with some confusion. Haruka certainly had a small circle of followers from the upper nobility that he favoured.
"They're my friends," Haruka smiled blandly. "A Court implies too much about the old rule."
"You don't give them orders? They don't obey you? Their business or trade isn't involved with ours? Their members are not your companions and lovers?" Kaname asked, doing his best to convey confusion rather than sheer disbelief.
A Court was a Court no matter what you called it. Purebloods attracted followers as a rose attracts admirers. It was basic biology. Mixed blood vampires always lived better with a pureblood and the urge to followed imposed civilisation on an otherwise predatory race. It was a fair trade, loyalty for protection and the only difference in it from what the humans that these two so espoused did was that it was personal.
"Well, they do," Haruka admitted, "But as I said, it's a changed world. It just doesn't mean the same thing."
"I'm sure you know best."
The Command was considered gauche? Kaname thought it over as Haruka continued his waffling. Considering that the ability to command absolute obedience was what brought their race into civilisation and kept it hidden, calling it gauche now was faintly amusing. Not that Kaname could think of many incidents when he'd used it.
Sure it was their level's most known ability, and most feared by the Council, but given that few vampires would ever tell a pureblood to fuck off when made a reasonable request – Kaname could think of only one – why would the Command be needed? Then again, if Kaname assumed that general knowledge of the ability had been subject to the Council's interference…
Perhaps vampires all thought that purebloods regularly went about usurping free will for their own petty amusement? Kaname frowned slightly. Purebloods had the right to expect and enforce obedience, if the lower classes had a problem with that – nothing stopped them from moving away.
More importantly, Juuri and Haruka were aiming for a society of equals? That was the last thing they needed. Vampires didn't do equality. They did efficiency. All rule by committee would achieve would be to diminish the level A's power, give it to the higher level B's and watch as they exploited the lower B's, level C's and D's in turn.
Kaname knew where that led- war, ruin, plague and the end of the world.
The silence grew, so Kaname paid attention to Haruka once more. The younger vampire had come to the end of his monologue and was looking at Kaname expectantly.
"I understand."
Haruka reached over and patted Kaname's head fondly.
"Right?" he asked, not expecting an answer. "I knew you'd appreciate it. After a few more decades to prepare we want to work on turning everyone human."
Only millennia of keeping poker faces – long before poker was invented – kept Kaname from doing a spit take. Human? They wanted to become human? Everyone? Stars and stones where had that idea come from?
"Human?" he squeaked too shocked to care about squeaking. This was… abominable.
"Yes," Juuri confirmed, smiling widely as she finally took part in the conversation. "We decided it a while ago. It's not right, Kaname, we're not right."
Kaname blinked.
As Juuri blabbered on with Haruka nodding empathetically to every other word, Kaname studied the two purebloods in front of him. Supressing his emotions, he focused on clear analytical logic. He took a step back from the situation and made himself look. If they weren't family, if he hadn't trusted them, what did he see?
A horrible realisation clicked together in his mind. Snicker snack. It was like it had always been waiting for him to make, lying just under the surface of his conscious thought until he was ready to admit it.
Blood traitors.
"…humans can grieve without it being a sign of weakness. They feel, they grow, they love…"
It was the worst insult one could call a pureblood. To say it aloud was a declaration of war – except it wasn't. War implied a certain level of equality- but a blood traitor was vermin. It was a declaration of extinction, extermination, and fumigation. It described a pureblood that had turned their back on their history and their duties. One who was a traitor to the very blood they carried. Unworthy.
Yet, as Kaname heard Juuri argue that because she was a vampire, she didn't actually love Haruka, Kaname or her unborn child because she was genetically incapable of the emotion, Kaname knew no other word could fit.
"…An Academy where both will be educated together. The children will start to see how the other half live and they'll crave it as we do…"
He was alone.
Again.
The burden of the future was once more upon his shoulders, a veritable mountain of duty. He felt more confined than Atlas. Atlas carried his burden all alone – but Kaname had had real hope that he wouldn't have to, only for that hope to be ripped away.
He wanted to scream, to beat his fists and rage against the world. It wasn't fair.
He didn't. He took the storm of emotion and he folded it up, put it in a box, labelled it and put it on a mental shelf. He had to focus.
"…Working with Cross, the hunter…"
If they truly didn't believe they could feel emotion, that a life under the sun would be better somehow, well it was no wonder everything went wrong here and now.
They were flat out insane.
Worse, they were not insane. A pureblood that went insane, well, it was obvious to anyone who looked. Corruption on the inside always reflected on the outside.
Haruka and Juuri looked fine, thus they were sane, they were just…mad?
Kaname really wanted to blame it on mental instability but the evidence said otherwise. They just hated themselves so much they now hated their whole species. Talk about depression. But it did explain why they were ignoring their political duties, ignoring invitations, letting connections wither, they were phantoms of their own lives.
"…You will attend, to attract the other children…"
They were weak. They despised themselves, afraid of their own inhuman instincts – which in retrospect explained so much. The disgust of the Hunt, the fear of the old bloods, the hypocritical accusations of promiscuity and sadism…
They didn't think vampires deserved to live?
Kaname seethed.
Vampires were a natural species. They had every right to walk this earth. So what if humans feared them? Do the lions commit genocide because the zebra fears them? No, of course they didn't – because that would be stupid.
Why on earth did they think humans were so much better than vampires? Humans were chaotic, they killed each other for politics, for money, for resources, for skin colour, for religion, for sexual preference – it was never ending. They were a violent and filthy species that devoured the earth with no care for the consequences. They were reactionary and entirely lacked the ability to plan long term.
In comparison, vampires were prime citizens. Yes, they fed on blood, but until Kaname developed the blood tablets, there literally was no other option and it wasn't a bad thing in the first place that needed to be defended. Vampires didn't usually kill their meals – no one wanted that kind of attention – and they were more successful than not fitting into and contributing to society. And, they always paid their taxes. Besides, humans needed a predator.
Honestly?
Haruka and Juuri had no leg to stand on.
If they felt confined by never being able to share their emotions without precipitating an attack, it was their own fault for not cultivating friends they trusted and being able to spot the liars. He was pretty sure he'd never heard of humans using their own child as bait to draw in other children for an attempt at brainwashing.
In retrospect, their initial plans explained a lot of the Academy's problems.
Vampires were diffused throughout human society, gathering in clusters only in their own family units, around a pureblood and for parties or social events.
The Academy had represented a unique opportunity to gather safely without anyone asking questions about the number of humans suddenly having very low blood pressure. Kaname had a great many plans for the Academy…
"…transform first, as an example to the rest…"
Kaname could take it no longer.
"And how long would you last as a human?" Kaname asked sharply, memories of a future-Yuki rising up with a well of grief. "You'd still be a pureblood genetically, just weak. Being an example means you can't hide. You would be hunted for your blood and with no power to fight back. You'd be captured if they were clever, and bled and bred for as long as your human body could take it. If you were lucky they'd just drain you to death."
"Are you not listening boy?" Haruka snarled. "Our world is at peace. Those kinds of acts no longer take place. You'll see once it's done, we'll be fine."
Kaname snorted. He'd always choose vampires over humans, but he had no illusions about his race. Look what the Council had done to Shizuka once they had the opportunity.
Yuki had lasted what, ten years? Before her powers had tried to reassert themselves, and the disassociation between her learned human behaviour and instinctive vampire side had given her a split personality disorder. She'd never actually been human only had all of her powers supressed.
"It won't work. You will always be a vampire. Have you even considered the mental effects?"
Why did they even want to be human? So that they could show emotion? Humans hid their emotions all the time, emotional manipulation was just as much an issue for them as it was for vampires. Someone would still try to take advantage of any emotional weakness. Manipulation went hand in hand with power, human or vampire the Kuran's were rich. Their plan was doomed to fail even if it had made sense.
"It will work!" Haruka insisted. "I've been researching for years!"
Kaname rolled his eyes, knowing better than to expect logic.
No wonder these two had not combatted Ichio's perverse influence. They were barely capable of looking after themselves yet alone the thousand of vampires that depended on them for their livelihoods and safety. Kaname had assumed they'd not attended many parties lately in a bid to reduce the risk of exposing Juuri's condition… but if Kaname assumed that they actually just didn't care about politics anymore… then no wonder the Kuran's social power had declined.
"How many years, exactly?"
"Two hundred since the idea first came to me," Haruka snapped. "It's been planned to the last detail."
Two hundred years was plenty of time for networks and connections to degrade. Vampire society thrived on favours and debts – but one did have to be around to remind people what was owed.
"Perhaps you should study the seal you intend to use once more," Kaname tried quietly, "And consider what it means to be vampire. Are you seriously going to sit there and tell me that you want to commit genocide on top of abandoning your duties?"
The powers they were granted had a use. To abandon what they were… it was disgusting beyond belief. Anti-everything Kaname had ever known. Purebloods had the duty to protect those that swore them loyalty, and all purebloods had a duty to keep the horrors of the ancient world exactly where they were.
Haruka went on the attack. There was no hiding that he was ruffled and feeling the pressure of reason.
"The Council approached me recently," he began, switching subjects to keep Kaname off-balance and distracted. "They have a fiancé in mind for you. Perhaps I should accept it. A strong family unit will keep you focused on the future."
An arranged marriage? Fuck no. Kaname would kill the girl, Haruka, and the Council before he was sold off like a pig to breed. Particularly since the Council had a long history of arranging the worst matches. If you couldn't trust your betrothed, there was a chink in the armour, and anything that improved the Council's chanances of getting some pure blood would be encouraged. Naturally, Haruka couldn't think that far ahead, he was just relishing the control arranging a marriage offered.
Not that a true pureblood would ever 'marry' that was far, far too human. Not to mention insulting to the woman. No, a real pureblood pledged, bonded and hand fasted.
"And how exactly will you make me do anything?"
Kaname knew it was risky to provoke Haruka, but by the night, he'd had enough. Blood traitors were eliminated, not bandied with. He would not be coerced, controlled or intimidated.
"I've had enough of these antics." Haruka said mildly, examining the nails on his left hand. "I've been lenient out of respect but this nonsense goes too far. You will forget your past. You are my son and you will act like it. Obey me in all things."
With that sneering tirade, Haruka brought all his will power down upon Kaname, exactly as if he were enforcing his will on a level D. Oh so the Command was gauche unless it was Haruka's? Typical.
Kaname felt the attack against his mind like a battering ram. There was no subtlety or finesse at all, just a sheer demand for obedience. Haruka's manifestation of will rammed against his shields again and again…
… and Kaname felt his mental shields waver.
Haruka was three thousand years old; Kaname was nine months. Kaname simply didn't have the reserves to match the offensive power.
But he hadn't lived this long on power alone.
His eyesight blurred with the strain and Kaname felt a thrill of fear. The danger was all too real. Once a pureblood got inside your head, the possibilities were endless. Haruka didn't like Kaname, and Kaname had a very creative imagination. The things he would do to an enemy if he had the chance…
Survive.
Throwing his remaining energy into the outer shield, dredging up his deepest reserves, Kaname bought himself a few precious seconds. Seconds he used to 'sink' the metaphysical representation of his mind down below the surface and fudging a quick and nasty replica up on top. The multitasking cost him dearly, Kaname could feel his nose dripping with blood very distantly – his face felt numb but he could smell the blood – but he forced himself to focus with the will that had kept him alive for so very long. He'd pay the physical debt later.
His copy had what could maybe be called an expanded memory bank, if one didn't look too closely. He just didn't have the power or time for anything more. It was weak and blurry, but it was all he had the energy for.
His power was failing rapidly, darkness lingered and was creeping closer, on the edge of his mind, and Kaname had no choice but to let the shields fall or risk unconsciousness. He let it go and -
-Haruka's will was there.
A foul invasion. Overriding his tattered shield and imposing itself on the 'fake' mind, the raw will simply erased the memory bank, chopping it into pieces and squashing it down into a messy clump a fraction of the size.
Kaname watched with forced distance, from 'below' the surface of his mind as Haruka withdrew his power, its task complete. Strong emotion might draw his attention. As the tail end of it left his mind, Kaname latched onto it – immersing his presence within Haruka's own essence. They re-entered Haruka's mind together, Kaname a shadow of a whisper – nothing as crass as a battering ram from him thank you very much.
He looked around the foreign metaphysical realm. The defensive shields were… poor. In fact, they looked like the effort of a young pureblood – untrained in any finer arts – just the brute force of their species. In took a second to realise that that was entirely accurate. Haruka had never trained his powers. Never in all his years.
Kaname shut down his emotional response before it could reveal his presence. If Haruka detected such disgust within himself that wasn't what he was actually feeling, he might notice something off. Bad habits made dead Purebloods and besides which Kaname couldn't afford the energy to fume. He had to act quickly. Slipping through Haruka's shield was child's play.
Although the process was entirely mental, visualisation always focused their powers. Haruka's shields looked like a translucent dome. Kaname's mental probe simply dug under the edge and he was in.
It was so simple, he almost suspected a trap.
Then he thought about the dark future and the recent conversation – Haruka had been revealed to be arrogant and incompetent, this wasn't a trap, it really was just the defences Haruka was born with.
He didn't have time for a thorough evaluation. He looked at everything on the surface but didn't think on it. He'd meditate on it later and allow his memory to provide the matter. It'd be quicker that way.
Instead, Kaname slipped past the active thoughts into the memory bank. It was like a nebulous cloud, glowing with different colours and filled with thousands of stars. Emotions and memories all in a confused tangle. Sloppy.
In the few seconds it took for Haruka to regain control of his spirit and body, Kaname had reached out and 'copied' as much of the data he had access to, putting it into his own mind and retreating in a millisecond.
Kaname plastered on a happy smile, "What was that, Father? I blanked out for a minute," he scuffed a toe on the chair leg, peeking up through his hair, "Sorry. I'm paying attention now," he added brightly, adding a sheepish grin for effect.
"It was nothing son, you head off and play with Nancy. I want to talk to your mother." Haruka smiled fondly, with a genuine affection that incensed him to the blood. "Off you trot."
"'K," Kaname slipped off the chair and out of the room without protest or backward glance, padding out with childish grace. He'd never admit it, but he was so glad to escape. His skin crawled when he thought of what could have happened.
"Dear – are you sure…" he heard through the closed door. No privacy seals in sight… disgusting lack of survival instinct.
"Yes, Juuri, he's happier now – you saw that, besides we don't need all that nonsense. He was clearly distressed and confused. We can't blame him. Going from adult to child and into a new world can't make him very stable. Not that he's ever been stable, god think of the histories. Blood War after Blood War, we don't need more pureblood infighting. No, we're better this way. We don't want that kind of thing about our dear baby girl now do we?"
The repulsive thing was – Kaname knew Haruka believed this. He could sense that honesty in the man's words.
"Well, if you're sure dear."
Kaname had never felt so revolted in his life as he toddled away from the scene. He was exhausted, but rage kept him moving. Rage and a touch of fear. Well, actually, this was maybe third on the list. He'd had a long life.
After everything he'd sacrificed, he got for this ignorant diseased cesspit of spoilt pure blooded arrogance. The brat had the audacity to think he had the right to decide his life! He dared to erase his memories! Thirteen thousand years wiped out by that brats whim. It was sacrilege. A rape so beyond comprehension there was no description for it. A violation so extreme words failed. Then the tosser dares to say it's for his own good?
Kaname was going to kill him. Rip him into piece and feed him to a dog. He'd been stupid to have any hope for them in the first place. He should have realised the list of their own mistakes was too long to be a coincidence. Stupidity like that just couldn't be tolerated, Haruka'd get himself killed in a real fight, probably captured actually, and would spill whatever he knew, singing like a canary in response to a pinprick. He was beyond stupid.
Haruka was now a dangerous liability.
And Juuri? Some mother! What happened to her? Since when did a pureblood roll over and speak only when spoken to? Had Council propaganda – human copied mind you – spread so far? Sexism was human. Vampires believed only in power. The dutiful wife, the mother – the stereotypes just didn't exist in the vampire society. Of course, the Council saw the human method as an excellent one – influence half the purebloods to be subservient to the other and you eliminated half the people who they had to bend knee to.
Anger boiled hot and fast within him. No, anger was the wrong word. There wasn't a word for his level of utter apoplexy.
Obviously, the lack of a pureblood strong enough to take up the crown had given the low bloods ideas, Kaname thought vindictively. He'd even heard a rumour that his own grandfather-descendent had abdicated the throne and created the Council because he didn't like the concentration of power.
Ridiculous.
Still, The brat had proven that he was willing to use force to get his way, which left Kaname in an untenable position. He would not be a blood traitor's pet.
Arrogance was Haruka's vice, and Kaname had a way to use it. If the brat believed he'd won – much as Kaname chewed his fangs over entertaining such a notion – then Kaname had the advantage.
He just had to play the obedient son for a little while longer. And since when did Haruka think a son had to obey the father? Bloody idiot. There was a world of difference between the trust of a family and obedience – one Haruka seemed all too gleeful to ignore. Patriarchal influence there – Kaname was going to blame the Council on principle.
Haruka had declared war – Kaname would answer.
He'd lost the fight for his body when Haruka had shaken him like a cur, and Kaname had only won the battle for his mind by the skin of his fangs but he would not be deterred.
Haruka had tried to destroy him, to make him a parody of what he was, and that desecration could not stand. Kaname wouldn't tolerate it.
He might be the weakest he'd ever consciously been, and he'd definitely lose the stand up fight Kaname ached to give Haruka – nothing topped a good beating for stress relief - but after thirteen thousand years Kaname knew damn well how to use the power the earth had given him.
Haruka had even shown him the way.
