Ren-sama's Note:
Thanks for the continuous reviews and support, everyone~! Here's the next chapter!
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Chapter 16
"Chairman." Zero called to Cross across the bed. The man didn't stir from his sleep. "I know you're awake." The teen sat up on his own bed, looking at the Chairman's back. "Why did you let her transfer here? Why did you let Maria Kurenai… No, Shizuka Hiou, transfer here?" He sighed when Cross still didn't stir. He smirked before he added something that could definitely wake Cross up. "Aido is here, by the way. He's sharing a room with Yuuki."
"What did you say!? MY DAUGHTER!" The Chairman immediately bolted out of bed, only to realize that Zero was probably messing with him. "A-Ah, I'm not awake. I'm still sleeping… only sleep talking…"
"I know right from the start that you're awake." Zero scowled. "Why don't you want to tell me anything, Chairman? Is it because you don't trust me?" Cross returned to his bed and lay on his back, though he didn't pretend that he's sleeping anymore. Instead, he looked sideways so he was facing Zero. "Oh, and I was serious when I said Aido's here." Cross arched an eyebrow at that. "He said he didn't want to be in the same building as Maria, or rather, Shizuka."
Cross sighed before he smiled sheepishly. "If you already know that much, what's the point of asking?"
"I just want to confirm things, Chairman." Zero furrowed his eyebrows. "If that woman is really Shizuka Hiou, then why can't I feel anything towards her? I thought that she'd be able to make me obey without any will, like how we thought all turned vampires would be. But I can't even feel any connection."
Cross looked at Zero sadly before he closed his eyes. It's because there wasn't any connection to begin with. "Zero-kun… It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that… I don't think we're both ready to talk about it yet. I myself am having trouble trying to be calm right now. It's not that I don't trust you, Zero-kun. It's just… not that simple to tell you." He opened his eyes again, hoping against all odds that Zero would at least try to understand him.
Zero also lay on his back on the bed next to Cross's, facing the ceiling above while he mulled on those words. What did Cross mean by that? Did that mean that his past wasn't so simple, just like how he thought it was? Now that he thought about it, Kaname did say that the records about his past was somehow hidden and/or erased by someone. "I know you're close to me in the past, Chairman. Even if I can't remember much…"
Cross smiled sadly. "Yes, I was so close to you back then. Your father also often told me that. But you're still closer to him than to me." He closed his eyes again before he heaved a deep sigh, readying himself for the revelation he was about to make. "I'm… your mother's… older brother."
Zero's eyes widened as he immediately sat on his bed. "Wha-What did you just say..?"
The older male also sat up. "I'm your mother's, Kara Cross's, older brother, Kaien Cross." He saw how Zero's expression turned from shocked to pained. "Zero-kun… I'm sorry for not telling you all this time."
Zero just sat there, staring at him with those pained eyes. Now that the teen thought about it, Cross did look like his mother. He also had long silky brunette hair, light chocolate and kind eyes, fair skin, and hunter ability. It's already too obvious that it's also too natural for him to not even think about it anymore, making it slip from his grasp with much ease. "…Why..?" He could feel his insides flaring. "Why did you hide that fact from me? All this time…"
"Like I said, Zero-kun… it's not that simple." Cross looked pleading as he stood up from his bed and joined the teen on the other bed. "I'm not actually allowed to tell you… The Association has forbidden me to tell you anything. I'm not even allowed to see you." He cupped Zero's cheek with his cold and trembling palm before he let his tears all out, surprising the younger male a lot. "Imagine my happiness, Zero-kun, when Yagari told me that you'll be studying in this school. The Association, who has separated me from you for ten whole years, allowed me to see you once again! That's why… I couldn't tell you… since you're here… not because you also want to see me. But because you have a mission that centers on me and Kuran-kun."
Zero's eyes widened at those statements. "Wha–?"
"I realized everything the moment Yagari called me that his student will come here to study." He smiled. "But that doesn't matter to me, Zero-kun. The fact that you came here for a mission doesn't bother me at all. I'm happy just to spend time with my nephew." He wiped his tears with his hands before he hugged the teen tight. "Sorry for keeping you in the dark, Zero-kun. I'm happy to be able to tell you."
Zero was so overwhelmed with emotions and surprise he didn't know what to do for a while. He let Cross hug him for several minutes first before he returned the gesture with equal warmth. "Chairman, I…" He felt the pain and anger dissipate from his heart as the warmth of Cross's hug enveloped him. He could feel his heart swelling with foreign sensations but it wasn't uncomfortable. He actually felt warm all over… not to mention happy.
"I want to tell you everything." Cross started again when the teen failed to continue speaking. "I want to tell you everything… but it's hard to do."
"I-It's okay, Chairman. I think that this big revelation for tonight is already good enough for me." Zero smiled at the older male, a little embarrassed and overwhelmed with emotions he didn't know he had. He could feel his heart warming up. It's so nice to experience things like these… It only meant that all this time, he's not alone. There was someone who shared the same blood as him… He's not alone…
"And please call me 'Uncle'!" Cross suddenly turned into his childish self and pouted cutely at his nephew, effectively ruining the good mood between them.
"Whatever." Zero, obviously embarrassed, immediately lay on the bed without another word and covered himself with the blanket.
Cross chuckled at the younger male's attitude. "Good night, Zero-kun." He sighed before he returned to his own bed. It's so relaxing to be able to tell that one. It felt as if some of the heaviness inside his heart were suddenly lifted. It felt so nice, so refreshing. He just hoped he'd have the strength, not to mention the resolve, to tell the darker things about Zero's past…
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zero woke up feeling like his insides were burning. He gasped as he bolted out of bed in an instant and hurried towards the bathroom. He gulped mouthfuls of water as he tried to ease the searing pain. It was Friday morning and he knew that he needed to take that awful pill again if he wanted to be stable inside the classroom later.
"Zero-kun." Cross peered through the doorway of the bathroom wearing a worried expression. "I know this isn't the right time to ask… but, have you been drinking from someone?"
Zero immediately stopped drinking water as he stilled. He was grateful his back was on the Chairman so the latter wouldn't see his stunned expression. But he knew that to Cross, it didn't make much difference since the latter could feel his tensed aura. "Chairman, I…"
"Zero-kun, I'm not asking this because I'm judging you. But… that person, whom you keep on drinking from, is he or she human?"
Zero turned around so quickly that Cross was actually surprised. "No! I will never drink from a human!" The young hunter's eyes were deep crimson as he looked at the older male. "Chairman… as long as my sanity is intact, I will never take blood from a human…"
Cross smiled, though strained, a genuine one nevertheless. He still couldn't take seeing his nephew suffering from hunger. If only Zero would agree, he'd be willing to let the hunter drink from him. "So… is it Aido-kun?"
"Hah!?" Zero was so flabbergasted he almost choked out the word. His eyes turned back to their amethyst color as he stared at the Chairman as if the latter had grown two heads. "Chairman, of all people…! Aido..?!"
Cross immediately pouted cutely. "What? Aido-kun is a fine young man! And geez, Zero-kun! I told you to call me 'uncle'!"
Zero's eyes widened a little before he immediately turned around, his back facing the older male. Somehow, that statement embarrassed him a lot. "You know drinking blood doesn't have anything to do with physical appearance…. Anyway, I'm used to calling you Chairman, so…"
"…Then Kaien-san is fine, right..?" Zero's right eye twitched. Even if he wasn't looking, he knew just from the voice that Cross was making puppy eyes.
"F-Fine then, K-Kaien…san…" He could feel his whole body stiffening at the strange words. He sighed just as Cross laughed out loud. "W-What's with that?" He turned around, only to suddenly receive a gentle pat on the head.
"I like that." Cross smiled kindly. "I'm happy to be your family, Zero-kun." That made the younger hunter's eyes widened. He never knew he had a relative, and it's making him feel kind of warm and excited. That fact alone made him return the smile and hide a blush.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"So you're saying Cross-san is actually your mother's older brother?" Yuzuru asked just as Yuuki looked shocked. "Wow, I never knew that." They were currently in front of the Moon Dorm and should be doing their job as prefects instead of gossiping to one another.
"So you mean, you're like Chairman's long lost nephew!?" The female brunette looked incredibly excited even Zero didn't know how to react. "That means we're all family, Zero! We're cousins!" Even though Yuuki knew that Cross merely adopted her, she still treated Cross as if the man was her real father.
Yuzuru chuckled at that, earning another blush from the girl which didn't escape Zero's observation. He arched an eyebrow at Yuuki who only glared at him weakly in an attempt to make him quiet. That made him smirked. Who'd have thought that an ex-pureblood vampire would fall for a vampire hunter? The silver-haired teen looked at his senpai and asked the question that he knew would fluster Yuuki more. "Yuzuru, you don't have any girlfriend right now, right?"
Yuzuru blinked, not really understanding where the question came from, before he shook his head. "Nope. Ain't interested in anyone so far." And when Zero looked at Yuuki next, he feared how she could have that face full of extreme determination to get the one she loved. He's glad it's not directed at him. And so, he wished the girl good luck – since it was hard to make Yuzuru fall for someone, especially someone who had a vampire blood in them.
Just as Yuzuru was about to comment on the earlier question, the gate to the Moon Dorm slowly opened. All three of them stopped in their conversation and looked at the perfect figures coming out of the gate. Since Yuzuru volunteered to be a prefect, he had been patrolling together with Yuuki and Zero every day and night. And now, the vampires in the Moon dorm were also already used to his presence even though there was still much tensed atmosphere around him and the other race.
The properly lined up students cheered and screamed loudly at the sight of their idols and crushes while keeping in mind that they shouldn't fall away from the line if they didn't want to experience two male prefects' wrath.
Aido kept giving the girls some flying kisses while Ruka only kept glaring at the females who were shouting her lover's name. Kain only yawned, though smiling to himself since Ruka's hold on him was incredibly tight. Kaname smiled at Yuuki before his eyes settled on Zero who did his best to ignore him. The pureblood knew that Zero had not drunk any blood ever since last Saturday. The hunter should be thirsty now… As for Takuma, he greeted Zero cheerfully as usual, though he also greeted Yuzuru who only tilted his head stiffly in acknowledgment. Senri and Rima walked side by side without a care in the world. It seemed the male model was now used to his lover's cheery attitude towards the hunters.
Zero could feel it. Even though they were acting like nothing's wrong, the hunter knew that the Night Class students were worried about something. Who were they trying to fool anyway? The Day Class students? He, as a hunter and also as a vampire, knew that something was wrong in the air surrounding them. It was thick and tense, as if they just had the biggest fright of their lives. He'd never felt the air surrounding the Night Class students so tense before. Did it have anything to do with Maria?
Maria was the last to come out of the gate. All the Day Class girls, including Yuuki, thought she looked so cute and fragile, like a porcelain doll made to be cherished a lot. But to Zero, she was someone who took his life and dignity away.
The girl walked with so much grace towards Zero's direction, much to the hunters' displeasure. Yuzuru immediately growled under his breath while Zero stiffened a lot. Even the other vampires looked in their direction when they felt the hostile aura coming from the hunters.
"Good afternoon, Zero!" Maria cheerfully greeted just as she stopped right in front of the hunter. She leaned even more and whispered the next statement just for Zero's ears to hear. "Ne, what did you do? Why can't I feel anything from you?"
The silver-haired teen's eyes widened just as he pulled out his gun from his belt and pointed it at the girl's head. "Class is starting soon. Go now." Aido and the others creased their eyebrows at the sudden hostility from the hunter. It was natural for Zero to be hostile but he wasn't this murderous to any of the Night Class students before.
"Kurenai-san, please don't bother the prefects. Class will be starting soon. We should go to the classrooms now." They all turned just as Kaname smiled in his usual cool but detached way. Zero's eyebrows creased when he saw how cold the pureblood's smile was. He knew the brunette was always detached to his surroundings but he was not this explicit in showing his distaste. Something definitely happened, added to the fact that Aido seemed so pissed last night…
Maria only pouted before she heeded the other pureblood's request. She turned over her shoulder and glanced at Zero with crimson colored eyes before she hurried in catching up to the others.
Kaname continued walking then. He didn't spare the hunter even a glance anymore. He knew that he still hadn't talked to Zero ever since that incident in the church. He needed to apologize too… But his pride was preventing him from doing such things. He knew that the hunter would be the last person to approach him on his own. He needed to do something about that… He needed to know what Zero's relationship to Rido was. He needed to know everything… especially since the enemy was too close now.
"Zero is as gorgeous as the last time I saw him, isn't he, Ritsu?" Maria's voice rang in the air, like a church bell whose ring alone could stir different emotions from people. Aido scowled, pretending he didn't hear anything. She's at it again, just like last night.
"Yes, Maria-sama." The butler-like vampire immediately answered with a small bow.
"How I want a taste of his blood, just an ounce is enough." Maria continued, as if the thick atmosphere didn't affect her at all. Kain and Ruka kept on looking at Kaname's expression as they slowly moved away from the two purebloods. They didn't want to be in the middle of them when things got to the point where nobles like them had to run for their lives.
"…Please refrain from commenting about Zero-kun, Maria-sama." Takuma bowed a little, a small smile adorning his handsome face. He didn't want to have a repeat of the incident last night anymore. He'd never been so afraid of Kaname in his entire life, at least until last night.
Maria pouted. "But… aren't you all having some trouble with him too? He's too good for you low class vampires though. If I was given the chance, I'd definitely drink all of his blood–" A hand on her shoulder stopped her from continuing her sentence.
"Kurenai-san, I believe we've already discussed this last night." Kaname was smiling but his eyes were so cold the nobles surrounding them were immediately backing away. Even the hand on her shoulder was too tight to be considered gentle. "Please do not talk of Kiryuu, or any of the other Day Class students for that matter, in that way. This school has its own rules that we, as students of the Night Class, should follow."
Maria immediately slapped Kaname's hand just as she flicked her hair. "Please don't touch me so casually, Kuran-kun. I may be small, but I am older than you by at least a millennium." She started walking away without any more word after that, much to the other vampires' silent anger. Kaname could only grit his teeth as he tried to calm his raging intent to kill. He'd never let that woman touch Zero… not again.
"Aido," he called the name and the owner immediately approached him with a bow. "Guard Yuuki and Zero." The blonde looked up in surprise when his master spoke Zero's given name. Even the other vampires looked surprised for a bit before they all tried to hide it. They didn't want their leader's anger to be vented on them.
"Of course, Kaname-sama." Aido answered. And then he furrowed his eyebrows. "How about that Takahashi guy?"
"Who?" Kaname furrowed his eyebrows.
"N-Nothing, Kaname-sama." Aido immediately bit his lip, not wanting his beloved master to have anything close to a line on the forehead.
On the northern part of the school, Zero stared at the road where the Night Class students disappeared from. His eyebrows were furrowed as he felt his hunter senses blaring in alarm. Kaname was so angry the teen could feel it even from far away. He knew there was something wrong with the atmosphere earlier. He just didn't know what. And Kaname's anger only proved that he's right. Kaname wasn't the type to be easily angered, at least as far as he knew.
When he looked at Yuzuru to ask the other if he could feel the intense air surrounding them, he almost gaped when he saw Yuuki trying her best to ask the male hunter about his personal life. Yuzuru didn't look like he had noticed anything out of the ordinary yet and kept on answering the questions with his cheerful attitude. It seemed Yuuki's subtle ways of doing things were paying off. Zero sighed as he looked at his senpai. The latter told him that Zero had close to no experience at all when it comes to love and even had the nerve to laugh at him. Maybe Yuzuru was actually the same?
Zero immediately remembered why he looked at his co-hunter in the first place and he couldn't help but scowl. Was he the only one who could feel Kaname's anger right now?
"I'm going back to the Dorm for now." He told them before he walked away. Only when he's a little far that he started going to the Sun Dorm in vampire speed. He didn't want Yuuki or Yuzuru to see him like that yet. He wasn't so appalled at the thought of being a vampire anymore, unlike when he was first turned, but he still wasn't used to letting other people see the changes in him. He's beginning to accept it, just a little, though there's still the problem of when he'd become a Level E.
The renovation of his room was already finished so he could already sleep there for the night. He locked the door to his room as usual before he went to bed. He immediately fell asleep due to exhaustion, not even bothering to remove his uniform first.
The thing that woke him up next was the same thing that he feared would rake his whole body the moment the pill's use was over. He immediately darted towards the bathroom when he felt the burning sensation in his chest, as if all his muscles were being burned in a high fire. He choked in his own blood as he slumped on the bathroom floor, coughing up blood and on the brink of screaming in pain – only he couldn't since the blood was choking him, preventing him from screaming. He hadn't taken any pill these last few days so his body wasn't at all prepared for the raking pain after he took three pills earlier. He continued to cough up blood as he felt his consciousness fading. He would've fallen on the tiled floor if he weren't caught by strong arms that were already too familiar to him.
Kaname sighed as he gently carried the unconscious body of his hunter to the bed. His eyes darkened when he remembered how Maria said those same words last night. 'Her hunter…' That somehow started the whole commotion. And just as the scent of Zero's blood greeted his nostrils, his eyes turned dark crimson with bloodlust and want. He put Zero on the bed before he went to the bathroom to take a basin of water and a towel.
Zero was breathing hard when he came back with the towel and he couldn't help but feel pain at the state the hunter was in. He didn't know how it was possible to feel pain when he felt nothing for the teen, or so he thought, but of course his silent panic was enough to numb those thoughts away for a while. He was about to wipe the blood off of Zero's face when he realized how much he would waste it if he did that. He closed his eyes and smiled in a strained manner before he whispered. "How wasteful you are of your blood… when that pureblood and I are ready to kill one another just to have a taste of you."
"You… are so perverted." A whispered reply broke the pureblood out of his musing and opened his eyes just in time to see the hunter scowling cutely at him. That somehow made him chuckle, especially when he realized that his panic and worry were already at bay.
"Do you even know how delicious you look right now, Zero?" Kaname's eyes traveled from the corner of the hunter's lips, full of blood, to his neck and throat, to his uniform. All of which were full of blood.
Zero's eyes widened when Kaname suddenly pinned him on the bed – the latter sitting on top of him with Kaname's legs straddling his waist. "W-What do you think you're–?" His breath hitched some notch, interrupting whatever he was about to say, when the pureblood suddenly pinned his arms above his head and afterwards licked his neck off of blood. "K-Kuran..!"
"Don't worry. I won't bite you." Kaname answered distractedly. He could feel his eyes turning crimson again. He licked the hunter's neck and tasted the latter's blood for the first time. He moaned deep in his throat at the satisfaction that it gave him. It was exquisite… so delicious and sweet. All the bloods that he had tasted in his entire life couldn't even be compared to this one. He felt full satisfaction at the taste of it. And yet, the more he tasted, the more he wanted. He felt so intoxicated…
Zero could feel his heart beating very fast inside his chest from both nervousness and embarrassment, especially since Kaname had turn from licking the skin to sucking it. "K-Kuran, stop it..!" His eyes closed as he bit his lower lip to prevent himself from making any embarrassing sound. The pleasure was just too overwhelming and he felt that he might pass out again. He shivered when he inhaled Kaname's scent. It's making him feel all sorts of emotions and sensations. And he couldn't understand any of those things at all!
Kaname was so surprised when he suddenly found himself pinned on the bed, Zero's earlier position, when the hunter suddenly rolled the two of them. He didn't know where Zero's strength came from, but he knew it wasn't normal. Zero's getting stronger it seemed. But before that, he needed to face the problem at hand right now.
The pureblood licked his lips as he looked at Zero. The hunter's eyes were crimson from bloodlust and his fangs were showing in between his slightly parted lips. So gorgeous… Not to mention his hair was disheveled and his clothes a mess. So seductive… Zero was also panting hard and his neck was full of kiss marks. So delicious…
How he wanted Zero to be his…
"Don't look at me like that!" Zero panted as he lisped. "I'm the one… doing the biting…"
Kaname only chuckled as he cupped the hunter's face and guided him down just as his other hand started unbuttoning his long sleeves. Zero inhaled the pureblood's addicting scent before he decided to lick the creamy skin. He felt Kaname sigh contentedly so he continued doing that, only vaguely aware of the fact that he's giving pleasure to the other. His fangs scratched the skin first, giving it another tentative lick, before he decided to pierce it. Thick and sweet liquid poured inside his mouth, making him growl with want, and he started sucking for more.
The pureblood tilted his head more so Zero could have better access before he brushed the hunter's silky silver hair with his slender fingers. He could feel and hear Zero gulping mouthfuls of his blood and it's making him ecstatic. Zero was only like this towards him. Zero should only be like this towards him… He'd kill Shizuka if she ever dare lay a hand on his possession. "Zero…"
And thus, he found himself thinking of only one thing as he shuddered in pleasure from giving blood. "You're mine, Zero… You're mine alone…"
"Zero…" Kaname mumbled just as the hunter finished drinking from him. Zero was now only licking the twin wounds so it would heal faster.
"You keep muttering my name. It's creeping me out." Zero muttered when he finished with his work. They both knew he wasn't serious so it only made Kaname chuckle once again. He felt so satisfied he didn't mind the pureblood's company at all. He lay on the bed beside the brunette, feeling sleepy again now that he's full. He looked at the clock on his bedside table briefly and saw that it was almost two in the morning. "Shouldn't you have class?" He scowled when his mind cleared a bit.
The pureblood only chuckled at him, earning another scowl from the hunter. But then Kaname's face turned serious before he looked at the hunter sideways. "Zero, I want to apologize for what I said and did to you in the church. I didn't mean to hurt you." Kaname's gaze beheld warmth and sincerity, not to mention sadness and regret. "I lost my cool when I heard the name. I really… didn't mean to hurt you…"
Zero looked at him sideways as well, so they were looking at one another now. "Why are you apologizing then? It shouldn't matter to you that you hurt a hunter. You're an arrogant pureblood, right?"
Kaname scowled a bit for the intended insult before he smiled a little. "You're right." And just then his smile turned into a grin, one which Zero wasn't able to take his eyes off. "Does that mean you're forgiving me now, Hunter-san?"
"Idiot." Zero averted his eyes and stared at the ceiling above them instead, lest he wanted to blush in front of the arrogant, not to mention perverted, pureblood… again. He too didn't think that he'd forgive Kaname this easily. But the fact was that all the anger and pain he felt had already dissipated and were replaced with something akin to worry when he felt the pureblood's anger earlier.
"So…" Kaname started, still looking at the hunter's expression. "Who is Rido Kuran to you?" When Zero looked at him in confusion, he added, "He's the man with wavy brunette locks just like mine, the one with mismatched eyes."
"Kuran?" Zero asked while still looking at Kaname. "He's related to you?" When he received a nod, he 'hn'ed before he looked at the ceiling again. He was too spaced out the last time so he never really noticed. "I just saw him in my dream. I don't remember meeting him. In my dream, he told me that he's my father's friend… though now I know that it's not like that at all. That man came and told me those lies before he tried to take me away. Luckily, my father saw us and was able to take me back. So… no, I don't know him… maybe…"
Kaname sighed. He couldn't believe he hurt Zero just to make the latter spill this. "Thank you… for telling me." His gaze on Zero never wavered even a bit. "And… no matter what you think now, I am still on your side, Zero."
Zero looked at him again, eyes wide with surprise and cheeks reddening with embarrassment, before scowling. "Yeah, right." And then his expression changed, as if he just remembered something. "So, who's he to you?"
Kaname's eyes darkened with the memory before he decided to tell Zero, half in apology for the last time and half for letting him hear the hunter's side of the explanation too. "He's my father and mother's older brother. But he's nowhere near my father's kindness. In fact, he's the total opposite of my parents." He gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes. Zero blinked when he realized that Kaname's parents were actually siblings. "He's the one who destroyed our family. He killed my father. He's also the reason why my mother turned Yuuki into human, so he wouldn't be able to take her blood. That man is very interested in the thick blood of Kuran. He wants to be strongest than anyone else. And for that, he wants to have the power of the strongest and one of the oldest pureblood families in the history of vampires – his own kin." He opened his eyes, deep hatred and dark killing intent evident in those crimson orbs. "I was too young to fight him then. But I'm an adult now. I'll never let him take away anyone precious to me again."
"Good for you then." Zero smirked. "Bad for him." Kaname smirked as well, nodding in assent. "And why were you so angry earlier?" Zero asked again. Kaname looked at him, surprised to hear that Zero was actually interested in him. "And before you develop one of your perverted hypotheses, I'm asking because I'm curious. That's all."
Kaname chuckled again at that. He realized he'd been letting his guard down even though Zero was a hunter. But he felt that he didn't mind at all if it's this certain hunter. "Nothing. Just minor problems with the Night Class…" He now realized that Zero probably didn't understand much what he said earlier about him and Shizuka wanting to kill one another for him.
"Is it about Shizuka Hiou?" Zero asked directly. He knew that Kaname would just evade the question if he didn't ask it that way so he had no choice. He sighed when the pureblood stiffened greatly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"…It's because she's trying to get something that already belongs to me." Kaname looked at the ceiling this time too, afraid that Zero might be able to read between the lines. Although from Zero's curious and confused expression, he really doubted that.
"You mean… Yuuki?" The hunter's eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought as he thought about it. "The Chairman won't let her, you know." Kaname sighed inwardly at the hunter's denseness. Well, it's not that Zero knew he already belonged to someone so the pureblood couldn't do much about that. It's a one-sided thing after all.
They both turned their heads toward the door when they felt the killing intent on the other side.
"I can feel your bloodlust even from my room, Kuran!" The unmistakable deadly voice of one Yuzuru in rage echoed in the hallway, even though it was still spoken in a hushed way.
Zero sighed before he got out of the bed and opened the door for the other hunter. "Yuzuru–" He looked behind his senpai and saw Cross looking more worried than usual.
"Please don't leave yet, Kuran-kun." Cross said to no one in particular. There was no one in the room when he said that. And yet, the moment he finished his sentence was the moment Kaname appeared from the window once more.
Yuzuru immediately looked at Zero's bloodied clothes and gritted his teeth in anger before pointing his gun towards Kaname. "How dare you–!"
"Yuzuru!" Zero immediately stepped in to prevent any harm to befall anyone. He sighed before he closed the door. He looked at Kaname with a scowl before he spoke. "You explain."
Kaname chuckled, not at all threatened even though there were three hunters in the room, one of which ready for interrogation and one ready for the kill. "Alright, please calm down, Chairman Cross, Takano-san. First of all, I didn't bite Zero."
"You liar!" Yuzuru could feel his blood boiling just at the thought that this vampire dared sully his kouhai. "I felt your intense bloodlust earlier! No vampire could've controlled themselves with that intense bloodlust!"
"Kaname is telling the truth, Yuzuru." Zero said initially with a scowl, before his eyes slowly widened. He couldn't believe he just called the pureblood by his given name. "I mean–" Kaname's outward laugh made him growl, body shaking with so much embarrassment.
"Zero-kun, that blood…" Cross voiced, his worry was starting to diminish seeing that his nephew wasn't at all hurt.
"I took some pills earlier, Kaien-san." Zero cleared his throat before he looked outside, not wanting anyone to see the pink tinge on his cheeks due to embarrassment because of the earlier mistake. Kaname grinned since he could see the rush of blood towards the hunter's face anyway. Cross also beamed when he saw the tinge of red at the tips of the hunter's ears.
"No wonder there's too much blood on your clothes." Cross said. He was glad that Kaname didn't do anything that could make him angry as the Chairman. Zero was still a student of the Day Class and he didn't want anyone in the Night Class hurting the Day Class students. However, he didn't know if he would be happy to know that fact. Those bloods were still Zero's no matter how they looked at it.
Zero looked at Yuzuru and it seemed the latter still hadn't followed on what's happening. "Yuzuru, all of this blood is indeed mine. But Kana–, Kuran wasn't the cause of this." He took a small bottle inside his pocket tossed it to the other teenage hunter to see. "That was the culprit."
Yuzuru looked at Zero in quiet confusion before he looked at the bottle. It didn't have any label. "What's this?"
"That's called 'blood pills'." Kaname was the one who answered this time. "Blood pills are what we drink here in replacement to human blood. The students of the Night Class are the ones who engineered that – different chemicals combined to create an artificial substitute for the blood that we vampires need in order to live."
"So… you don't drink human blood here..?" Yuzuru still looked suspicious. But Zero's presence there somehow assured him that the vampire in front of him wasn't lying. "And does it have to do with Zero full of blood?" He looked at his kouhai once again.
"Each of those pills has the necessary nutrients needed by vampires." Kaname voiced again as he sat on the bed where he lay down earlier. "However, the taste of it brings no satisfaction to us at all so many vampires still prefer to just drink blood from other vampires than to live in pills for the rest of their lives. There are also those whose bodies can't take the chemicals inside the pills and only end up throwing it all over their clothes everyday." He gave Zero a smile, as if telling that it was Zero he was pertaining to.
"So that's what happened to you?" Yuzuru asked his kouhai, and seeing that the latter nodded, he slowly felt relief pouring inside him. And then he glared at Kaname, making the latter arch an eyebrow at him. "But that doesn't change the fact that I felt your bloodlust earlier!"
Zero didn't know how they'd get out of that one, maybe except telling Cross and Yuzuru the truth. Hell, even he felt the intense bloodlust earlier. He shivered just at the thought of Kaname losing his rationality because of too much bloodlust. He remembered how Kaname said that he'd be the only damned one if the pureblood indeed lost it – since Kaname seemed to like his blood so much. He looked at Kaname for permission before he heaved a deep sigh upon seeing it. "I… I was the one who did the biting." He gulped nervously when he felt both Yuzuru and Cross stiffen with his revelation.
"What did you say?" Yuzuru asked, not wanting to believe what he heard just yet.
Kaname was already on the brink of rolling his eyes. "He said he's the one who did the biting. Meaning, he's the one who bit and ravaged me instead of the other way around. Happy now?" He immediately earned glares from both Zero and Yuzuru.
Cross cleared his throat. "So… all this time, it was you..?" He looked at Kaname first before he looked at Zero. Both of them nodded at him. "And here I thought it was Aido. I really thought it was Aido…" And all three students' eyes widened at that.
"Didn't I already tell you it's not him at all!?" Zero could feel himself shuddering just at the thought of wanting that blonde's blood. "Why would I crave for that idiot's blood of all people?"
"I think I'm glad we told you, Chairman." Kaname didn't know if he would be jealous or plainly laugh out loud. He then looked at Zero. "And please don't insult my friends just because you feel embarrassed." He then looked thoughtful as he spoke next. "Now that I think about it, you always call me an idiot pureblood yet you actually like my blood a lot. Or rather, you're so addicted to it. Can I think that you actually like Hanabusa's blood a lot too since you also think that he's an 'idiot'?" He ended the question with a smile, making the three hunters gape at him in exasperation.
"You're an idiot, aren't you?" Zero knew that Kaname was messing with him, and yet he couldn't help but bite at the obvious trap.
"By the way, why do you have those?" Yuzuru's voice was suddenly low again, as if he's growling. His eyes were looking at Zero's neck in particular and the teen couldn't help but squirm from his senpai's gaze.
"What?" Zero asked while scowling, not liking the scrutiny one bit, especially since Cross had also seemed to notice what Yuzuru was talking about. He saw how Kaname's eyebrows creased and he knew it wasn't a good sign.
"Those marks on your neck… are hickeys, right?" Yuzuru asked in a deliberately low growl before he glared at Kaname. "Did you just–?" He was about to point his gun at the vampire again when Zero's panicked voice stopped him.
"Yuzuru!" Zero could feel himself blush up to the tips of his ears. "I-It's not like that!" His senpai however only arched an eyebrow at him, silently saying he didn't believe what his kouhai just said since it was too obvious what happened.
"Kuran-kun, I believe I also want an explanation." Cross's usual kind expression was nowhere to be found since Zero was basically his precious nephew. He knew that Kaname wasn't the type to toy with someone so he wanted the pureblood's side of the story.
"I was thirsty…" Kaname started, earning a growl from Yuzuru and a betrayed look from Cross. "Like I said, I didn't bite him. I merely… licked the blood off of him. And maybe I kind of sucked some skin here and there."
"Your explanation was way too lousy anyone would think you're a pervert, idiotic pureblood." Zero felt like wanting to crawl under some grave and disappear from embarrassment. "Ah, I forgot. You're actually a pervert so that doesn't count."
"Maybe if you weren't being so seductive earlier then I wouldn't have had that kind of traumatic experience, dumb hunter." Kaname smirked smugly.
Zero's eyes widened just as he reddened even more. "Who's being seductive, you pervert!? And who's the one who keeps on appearing in my room every time!?" And thus, the bickering that would only end when the sun went up already started. Cross and Yuzuru didn't even have to voice anything anymore since the two vampires were already spilling one another's secrets as it was.
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.tbc.
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Ren-sama's Notes:
Well, this chapter ended nicely so I guess it makes up for all the cliffhangers? (*laughs*) But expect more cliffhangers to come~! Please review, everyone!