A/N: Not much has actually changed from when this was last up, I just wanted to reword a lot of it and make it sound better . hopefully I have.

Thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy this messed up story.

Chapter 7: Escape

What if this is reality was no longer a game? What if hate was to turn into something more, and what if Kaname was the one that was about to finally lose?

KANAME POV

Where minutes merged into that of hours, these hours simply vanished, although it seemed as though he were captive in this endless frame of time. Why he was feeling so despondent; he couldn't comprehend it. He didn't even want to think about it, but when did his frame of mind ever allow him such peace?
Things weren't meant to happen this way; he was well aware of that, but it was, in the end, what he had originally desired. It was a life away from the rest of the world, just him, his dear Yuki, and his loyal subordinates. Though, the thing that made him most furious of all was the circumstances; that under such a selfish and desperate need, things had to happen so drastically, so hastily.

This was all wrong.

He had apologised to Kaien that things had turned out this way, how their passive ideology of coexisting vampires and humans would crumble upon his absence. He hated to crush the dreams of a man who put his heart and soul into the concept of peace between races. At least cross academy could continue being a normal school though... at least. He felt guilty again; a little more than he should, and a little too often in the life of a pureblood; for sure.

Before he could dote further on it, he thought instead about where they were currently headed. They had found a nice little place out in the woods, secluded and shielded by the trees and bushes, from the outside world completely. It was perfect; all they would ever need and all they would ever want.

The majority of the night class decided to accompany them, those who didn't, had simply gone off on their own way; Kaname didn't stop them. He was glad his most dedicated comrades stayed. He had many enemies that would want to acquire their revenge for many unspeakable things he'd done in the past, too many to possibly fight off alone, as powerful as he was. Using his beloved sister as a threat would be the perfect way to destroy him, but then again, he was forgetting she now harnessed abilities of her own. Either way, he would take no risks. He couldn't afford silly mistakes, he'd already made too many in this already long life of his.

Deep inside, he couldn't shake the strong feeling that he still wasn't satisfied. He was more miserable than before, if such a thing was possible. Everything was dismally happy, and that vibe around him only weighed his entire being down tenfold. It was like a part of him stayed in that dark room. He shook his head. He had to stop. He had to stop thinking about it... Thinking about him. He was the reason for this foul mood. He hated Zero, from the bottom of his heart, absolutely loathed him. Though, something inside persistently screamed otherwise. But that something he wouldn't listen to; he could never.

Never think about that name again.

"Kaname?" A familiar soprano, seemingly loud from beside him rang above the light hum of the limo. Yuki stared at his void facial expression as he gazed out of the darkly tinted windows; usual emotionless mask planted his on face. It wouldn't be long now, till they arrived.

"Yes dear Yuki?" He spoke as softly as possible as he turned his head ever so slightly to glance at her. Yuki was truly beautiful. Her hair was so long now, elegant, her frame so poised and dainty as she sat close by, moulding next to him perfectly.

Just like him.

ENOUGH! He let his eyes fall closed for a moment in frustration, trying not to let the distaste for his thoughts show on his face. He was failing miserably.

"Is there something wrong?" She looked into his eyes when they fluttered open, her own burgundy gaze full of the utmost concern. Eye's so big, so lovely; enough to entrance any man. He often asked himself why she would even consider coming along with him after everything he'd done, yet then he remembered she knew so little, and was willing to do absolutely anything for him, no matter the cost.

He actually felt guilty. Again.

"Everything is fine" More lies. He tried to smile once more, but it didn't reach his eyes. If Yuki was ever to find out everything, he knew she would never forgive him. Though she didn't have to know nothing; whatever she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her. He saw Takuma glance at him from the corner of his eye; his dearest best friend could sense his obvious distress, but he didn't dare question it. None of them ever dared question any of the decisions he made. Yet, he was aware they were all rather shocked, that they had so many unanswered questions. Questions he himself could never answer; questions he never wanted to answer. It didn't matter anymore, not now.

He watched as the dark green of the trees zoomed by, merging into just a mesh of green and brown. He could feel his blood boil when the name automatically sprung to mind.

Zero.

It was the darkness... the nature. The darkness of that room was constantly reminding him. A loud frustrated sigh was drawn from his lips. He didn't need to look to know everyone was shooting questioning glances at him, he could feel those eyes on his body. He could feel Yuki shift uncomfortably next to him. He remained silent; sure his badly controlled aura was speaking a lot louder than throwing a small dismissive glance at them would.

...

The next week had gone by in a flash, and on this particular night. He'd had just about enough of it.

You would have thought he'd be used to it by now. This. Two sharp fangs buried deep inside the flesh of his neck. He wasn't. It seemed different, so very different. Was it because it wasn't him?

Nonsense.

This was the same sensation he'd experienced every time he was bitten, was it not? Why couldn't he remember all of a sudden? More importantly, why did he long to feel the hunters mouth on his neck once more?

"Yuki, stop" He tried to hide the discomfort in his tone.

"What's wrong Kaname?" her soft, hungry voice came as she pulled back, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand

"I'm just, tired." He lied, looking away ever so slightly as he fingered the locks of her long hair. She gave a warming smile and scooted closer to him on their king sized bed. Kaname stopped himself from retreating from her closeness.

A few minutes passed, neither were any closer to falling a slave to their exhaustion. "Kaname?" Her sweet voice called out lightly once more.

"Yes dear?" He almost grimaced at how that sounded; void of any emotion. What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling so... run down?

"Thank you" He could hear the gratefulness in her voice as she relaxed a little more beside him, not long after the short silence, he heard her slowed breathing, accompanied by the little puffs of air hitting the skin of his neck.

The hunter clung to him, mouth at his neck, breathing laboured, as the warmth of his breath caressed his skin as though it were velvet silk. He wanted to shudder with something akin to desire, yet he stopped himself. "Don't make me do this again" the voice growled, desperate puffs of air hitting the skin of his neck. "I don't have to make you," Kaname breathed at his ear, "You'll do it of your own accord" A sadistic smirk played about his lips, as he watched the hunter try to fight his hungry desires, and fail miserably.

Kaname opened his eyes, the image of the memory soon fading. Of all times why did he have to think about something like that now? A whole hour had passed and he'd already had enough. He didn't know what it was that had possessed him at that very point in time, what that physical urge was to tear himself away from the comfort of his bed, from his dear beloved sister...
It was cold, and the rain was pounding, loud as it rang in his ears. It wasn't too late to turn back. Why wasn't he turning back damn it? Instead, he had gone looking like a fool. It had been an entire week, yet for some reason; he couldn't cease these thoughts of him, both where he would punish the silverette and where he would derive pleasure from him. Not only that, but the insatiable hunger in his throat been driving him insane. Yuki was offering him his blood, and he had happily accepted it, but the sustenance she offered would not quench his undying thirst. His thirst lay at the smooth neck of another. He longed for the blood of a hunter. His mind would give him no peace about it, as much as he tried to ignore it, and as much as he tried to bury it in the dark corners of his mind.

For goodness sake anyone would think he was in love with him. It's pathetic.

Kaname had the patience of a saint, usually. A week? Seriously, what went wrong? Was he truly that weak? So weak willed... He almost envied the hunters resilience against his own blood thirst, and for a split second he thought.

Why can't I be a little more like that?

He paused for a moment. Did I just...? He shook his head and carried on his dash across the ever green field, back the way they had travelled just a short time ago, focusing on the movement of his feet, in an attempt to cease his thoughts altogether.

As though he could ever do that.

He shouldn't give a shit about the hunter, yet what was this strength driving him forward? The most powerful creature, who craved the blood of a mere level-d, was disgraceful. Longing for something that was no longer in his grasp... He'd been getting withdrawal symptoms; there was no other explanation for it. He had no reason to be disgruntled, he had everything he wanted right back there. Yet again , here he was, racing in the complete other direction, away from the warmth he now called his home. Happy, or not.

He had to get away though; he couldn't risk it, not with the way he was behaving. He had almost even gone as far as to almost flip out on Yuki once... which, oh god he didn't even want to think about. For even a second he'd thought to harm her, for even a second he'd almost struck her down with his hand.

But It was only natural for one to crave for what was not theirs, for something they didn't have, what they couldn't have...

That wasn't the way of just human nature; it was the way of hunter and prey. Purebloods would know that better than anything, yet he had petulantly forgotten. He sighed, as though he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. There was only one way to deal with such pestilence, such an annoyance. Once and for all, he would make Kiryuu no more. He would end his miserable life.

It was the only way.

The rain now fell unbelievably heavy, as though they were needles trying to pin him down, attempting to stop him from proceeding any further, as he swiftly evaded their downfall, attempting to gracefully manoeuvre through the trees, the bushes, all to that room. It was as though nature was trying to resist against his actions. When he had finally arrived, he fished in his pocked for the key he had still held on to, regretful he had kept it. He should've thrown it away, knowing he'd only come back if he kept it in his possession. With an all too loud 'click' and a sharp intake of breath, he tried to open the door. Unmindful that he had just locked it, he turned the key again, as the door finally creaked open. Expecting to see the hunter chained to the wall, his sight was instead greeted with chains without a captive.

Zero was gone.

How?

Had he somehow escaped? He slammed his fist against the brick wall, cracks forming along its surface with the force of his barely contained fury.
Ah the door, could maybe he have left it unlocked? He frowned at his careless mistake, questioning that one part of him that was relieved ever so slightly, though he was more furious at that than the fact that Zero was nowhere in sight.

ZERO POV

He closed his heavy tired eyes, and succumbed to the darkness that had been beckoning him to fall under for so long; the darkness for so long he had attempted to resist, in false hope that he might-just might-go to sleep and to never wake up again. To be consumed finally and fully was what he really wanted.

As if he could be so lucky...

Like always, he didn't know how much time had passed, he just constantly drifted in and out of consciousness, trying to evade the thirst that was trying to burn its way through his throat. He opened his eyes for the umpteenth time, only this time, he couldn't help feeling somewhat lost, empty, as though something were missing, yet he couldn't quite place it.
The smell of that beast was but a faint mix within the air he breathed now. He didn't know how long it had been, it could have been minutes, hours, days, yet the only thing he could really focus on was how long it would be before Kuran's presence in the air vanished entirely.

With slightly painful movements, he shifted from his crouched up position on the floor. When he didn't hear the familiar rattling of chains his eyes couldn't have shot open faster. The coldness around the cuts on his usually chained arms was absent. He lifted his arms, encircling his hand around the delicate wrists.

Am I dreaming? Was his only thought.

Could Kuran have let him go when he was completely out of it? He had been dreading his very return ever since he'd left that night... But the final look he'd gave him before he disappeared said more than a simple "I'll be back tomorrow" It was a look of such finality, a final goodbye. Now that he thought about it, that was exactly what it was. He knew Kuran didn't have it in him; to set him free. He would leave him to rot, to suffer. He knew how minds like his worked, but whom else could've let him go? Kaname was the only one to-

What the hell was he here thinking about it for? He was standing there practically free, and he found himself almost scared to shed himself from the darkness he'd accustomed to. As sad as it sounded, it felt like he belonged there now.

He shook his head. Stop. He shouldn't think why, or how, just run, and fast. There was plenty of time to think later.

Tearing himself away from the room, and the memories it held, he ran as far and as fast as his weak shaking legs would carry him. He stumbled through the mud, and over rocks and twigs, almost falling here and there. The frantic pounding of his heart merged with that of the pounding descent of the rain. He didn't know where he was, or where he was headed. He just needed to get away from that place, finally be free... Only, he wasn't free. The beast inside him still had a hold on him, it was his master, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could disobey that overriding thirst for blood. It had been so long, he was sure. Though Zero could only think, his freedom only condemned others to a worse fate if they were to cross his path, did it not? He frowned at the thought, emptying his mind before it could make him force his way back and chain himself up again. It was all he deserved, being a goddamned vampire. They all deserved the same fate or worse; death.

The rains descent only intensified, dragging his entire being down as it soaked his thin clothing. He could hardly feel the cold anymore. He ran to a nearby great oak tree, taking refuge under the shelter of its large cascading green leaves. He huffed and puffed, devoid of breath as he slid his back down on the trunk of the oak, landing with a heavy thud on the leaves. He cradled his stomach in his arms; a sharp pain tore through his entire form. He didn't know how much longer he could contain the inner beast, but he would fight it. The tattoo on the side of his neck pulsated in agony, longing for blood, as a sudden wave of unbearable thirst smacked him in the face, and punched him in the stomach. His eyes flickered a vermillion red.

Someone else was here.

Please no... He moved to instead cradle his heads in trembling hands, clawing sharply at his skull. "Don't come any closer!" He shouted to the darkness. He didn't know how long he could hold his leash on it... he didn't want to have to kill anybody, he didn't want to lose his grip on reality, not yet. As he glanced up, he looked to see the silhouette of a figure dance around in the shadows; that of a tall build, almost, an outline he knew well. There was barely any light, but he was sure he could smell that rich familiar sent... No. His nose was deceiving him. He was tired; it couldn't be him.

The figure emerged from the shadows, and his eyes switched their shade to a darker shade of red as he recognised the form immediately. Of course, his nose never deceived him. A good liar he was to others, but never could he decieve himself.

Kaname.

Seeing that same stoic expression still struck the same fear in his heart, a greater fear than before, and that dishevelled appearance of only put him on an even greater edge. Where had he been all this time? He couldn't help but wonder. He pushed back against the tree, hoping the wood would swallow him, wishing he could hide and just disappear.

Never...

Never would he be so lucky.

KANAME POV

As Kaname revealed himself; realisation smacked him in hard in the face. What had driven him away had only brought him running right back again. Yet here he was, in the same instance, forcing his lips desperately against Zero's frozen pair, as the rain continued its pounding descent, attempting to bury them further under this spell. This illusion of reality.

What's going on...?