A/N: Hey guys! So, this will be posted inbetween Jayden's chapters (ratio: 2:1). But, I really didn't want to leave you guys with no information about how Zero's dealing. Kain's easy to show but, because Zero's surrounded, I'm focusing more on evolutions of Zero's relationships. So, have fun reading!

Zero didn't sleep, the fiery eyes in the back of his mind etching the design in front of his eyes once they closed. It was like being run through with a dagger: painful but he'd live. He had survived it once before, didn't he?

No, the worst part was easily his father's mocking voice, his mother's clearly upset tone. They were both distorted but, the words and meaning was still there. Their idiot, changed son kept chasing after vampires. How disappointed would they be if they found out he was now surrounded by them?

"Ow." He muttered under his breath, the torturous thoughts fading. Just in time, too. He gripped her electrified hand, wincing as the pain shot up in his arm. The girl whimpered, her retaliation a swift kick to the groin. Zero exhaled and calmly unwound himself from the sheets, away from her restless sleep. He'd have taken his pillow with him but, she seemed to have claimed that for herself, tossing onto her front with the tear stains fresh on her cheek. Swiftly, he grabbed Kain's pillow and held it to his chest as yet another electrifying bolt left her fingers, swizzling past his left ear. Her expression changed from calm sleep to a contortion of pain. Zero ran a hand through his hair and cautiously outstretched a hand, resting it on her shoulder. "Touya."

Instinctively, she recoiled from the hand, using her forearm to separate them. He gripped it harder this time, shaking her. "Touya."

Not a word, just another whimper as fresh tears stung her eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed as she woke and sat up, wiping at the tears viciously. He averted his gaze to the floor as she tried to gain composure. He didn't know if she had managed it, the weight of her head colliding into his shoulder painful. They sat in silence, her sobs muted by his shoulder. Impatient to stop the sounds, he threw an arm around her waist, mentally kicking himself as her tears came quicker. She wrapped her arms around his torso, finally reducing herself to slight sniffles. Zero studied the blonde head. "You good?"

He felt her slight nod. Though her face was still red, she separated herself from his shoulder and wiped off the excess tears though, her body still shook. "Sorry."

He shrugged, grabbing a tissue for her and for himself. He used his to clear off the fluid. Touya offered a half-hearted chuckle. "I'm doing really well, right? Probably look like a nightmare."

"You are a nightmare." Zero muttered, rightfully earning himself a punch on the arm.

"No, you." She fought, a slight smile on her face. It wavered quickly as she lay her head against his shoulder again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm the one crying when you're the one who lost your boyfriend."

Zero quieted his thoughts. Knowing Touya, even the mention of Wakaba would have set her off. Sternly, he answered. "Look at me."

She lifted her eyes to his face, bringing her knees to her chest. He tried to ignore the movement, slightly appalled by the action. "You have every right to feel sad, Rima. No one but you is going through what you're going through."

She offered a slight smile, letting it fall again. They were silent for a few minutes before she started giggling. Zero raised an eyebrow, turning his head towards her questioningly. She shrugged, lifting her head. "You called me Rima."

"Oh. Sorry, Touya."

"No, you can call me Rima. A-kitty can't." She grinned, her face falling again. She rested a hand on his arm. "I'm glad you're here."

"Why?"

"Let's call it moral support." Silence. She jumped off the bed. "Pancakes?"

Zero unfolded himself from Touya's sleeping embrace as the shot of electricity crawled up his back. It had been a week of this. No matter how often she said she was fine, he knew she hid in the bathroom to mourn. Shiki had messaged her every day, texting about the sights and who he was meeting. Wakaba, too, messaged once a day to ask how she was. Touya still avoided her like the plague so, Wakaba would message Zero after to inquire. As much as Zero would never admit it, he liked reporting to her about Touya's unstable mood swings and gossiping about how it might be Kurans doing. However, no matter the conversation, it would switch to Kain.

Zero sighed to himself as he collapsed on the guest bed, the hoodie Kain left next to him. The scent had permeated the air though, Zero was sure it was just his senses that made it seem so. He draped an arm over his eyes, prepared for sleep to take him. Annoyed when all he heard was the ticking of the clock in the living room, he adjusted the hoodie so one arm was under his waist, the other resting against his chest and the hood against the crook of his neck. He inhaled the scent, closing his eyes.

"Is he always so clingy?" Touya asked, her eyes in slits as Kain wrapped his arms around Zero's waist, resting his head on Zero's shoulder. It had been their first hanging session after Kain had drank from him.

"Rima…" Wakaba shook her head, collapsing on her girlfriend's lap with a bowl of popcorn. Immediately, Touya wrapped her arms around Wakaba's frame, somehow calming her instinctive kill Kiryuu attitude.

"Mm…" Zero draped his arm around Kain's shoulders, amused that it annoyed Touya and embarrassed Kain. "Moreso than usual."

"What crap are you going to make us watch?" Kain asked, distracting the group from his changed behavior. "If it's The Originals again, I'm leaving."

Touya snorted. "First of all, The Originals is an amazing show –"

"You only like it because it has Rebecca." Wakaba commented.

"… And secondly, do not confuse the art of Supernatural with Niklaus."

"Oh, is this because you promised to show me Supernatural?" Zero asked, cutting off Kain's retort.

"Yes, indeed." She pointed a finger at Kain. "No proposing to Gabriel."

"It was one time and I was drunk." Kain muttered.

"We can turn it into a drinking game."

"How about no?" Wakaba intervened, raising her eyes expectantly at her girlfriend. Touya pouted then pressed a kiss to Wakaba's head.

The first few episodes, in Zero's opinion, were lame. He hated the dramatics, having watched many with Kain. "Why don't they just burn the house with the ghost and walk away?"

"Who's to say that'd work?" Wakaba asked.

"Because, stupid, it won't change much and she can't afford a new house." Touya answered haughtily.

"Watch Hell House." Kain whispered just under Zero's earlobe. The Hunter had been so engrossed, he hadn't noticed that he had been pulled onto Kain's lap. Nor that the popcorn bowl was on the floor and Wakaba and Touya were laying on the other end of the couch with Touya as the big spoon.

"And, why are all the horrible episodes human made extra evil?" Zero asked a few episodes later.

"Are you enjoying it or not?" Wakaba asked.

"Because humans are twisted and horrible." Kain answered.

"Hey!" Wakaba threw a tissue box at Kain's head as Zero elbowed him. "Vampires are just as bad!"

"I'm not saying we're not." He paused the show. "But, ghosts are usually stuck reliving their deaths. Demons are crafty and ambitious, if we're following Supernatural logic. Everything else isn't really a choice – except vampires and humans. But then, both are driven by a goal – it's just vampire goals are obvious. Feed or make more. Humans, though… When they start playing with lives, they're insane."

"Fair enough." They returned to the show. After the first season, Zero stood and stretched, amazed to see only Wakaba awake but trapped in Touya's arms. Kain had collapsed to the side, unwittingly taking Zero with him. Zero freed Wakaba from Touya, much to her girlfriend's displeasure, and led her to the kitchen.

"Figured you could use with a pee break."

"Mm." She wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Coffee."

"You can sleep, you know."

"Probably. But, I also know you'd hate watching this alone."

"Their idea of Hunters is wrong. They'd be specialized."

"… Season two."

"… Spoiler." Wakaba shrugged and disappeared into the bathroom. Zero started the coffee, his eyes on Kain. Had he always been so blind to his partner's exhaustion? Slowly, they led to Touya who, despite her disgruntled sounds, remained immobile.

Somehow, the memory pushed Zero back into the present, the electrical shocks still coursing through him. Only moments had passed though, they seemed like hours. He turned his head, expecting to brush his chin against Kain's hair. He bit his lip and forced his eyes closed again. Perhaps that's what caused the deep sleep.

There was no improvement. None. He was sure he had started glitching in the real world or his brain waves were off kilter. It would explain the random leg jerk. Or, perhaps, he was becoming a robot. If so, water should rust him – if not short-circuit him.

"Don't use all the hot water!" Touya screamed from outside the bathroom door.

"There's another shower in the guest… Use that." He muttered to himself.

"What?" He knew she couldn't see him shake his head. He had learned from the first time not to argue with her. Zero had just turned off the taps and she barged in. "You take longer than me. And, you don't wear make up."

He poked his head out from behind the shower curtain. "Can you pass me a towel, bargy?"

She sighed dramatically and threw it over the shower rod. "You don't even go anywhere!"

"That's not true."

"I mean, besides fighting bad vampires and visiting…" She swallowed, setting her lip gloss down.

"Yeah, yeah. But, I still need to shower. Unless you'd rather smell me."

"The guest bedroom smells like you." She wrinkled her nose. "A little too much."

"I don't see how." He checked that he was covered before stepping out of the shower. After her screaming at him in a decibel that probably caused an earthquake somewhere, he had learned that much.

"Probably because you don't wash the hoodie." She set down the eye shadow, instantly apologetic. He pushed past her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it –"

"You never do." He shrugged on his clothes, acceptably dry by his standards. "You just have a big mouth that works faster than your brain."

"That's mean."

"Is it mean if it's true?" He dodged the hairbrush she threw at him, enjoying his slight victory.

"Honestly, put on a little liner and some pale eye shadow, and you'd be that sassy guy."

"What sassy guy?"

"From that movie."

"What movie?"

She scowled at him. "I don't have time for this."

He snorted, brushing past her. "Coffee's on."

A/N: So, there you have it. First one of his evolution with the Night Class Alumni.