Once they arrived at Akari's home, Zero opened the back door for Akari before the driver could. Rido hadn't even got out the other side to walk around to let her out. Akari smiled at Zero and thanked him. She looked over at Rido and almost laughed, he looked like he was sulking. She wondered if he had wanted to open the door for her, he liked being her gentleman. He would never do it for anyone else, he never did for Juri, she was also sure he wouldn't have done it for his own mother.

Rido quickly took Akari's arm, ensuring Zero didn't think he could do so freely. Akari held back giggles, she had never have thought Rido would become jealous in such a way or so quickly.

Once they entered her home, Rido changed. His body stiffened and his face went blank for a moment. He was ready to start. He kept a tight grip on Akari's arm, enough to make her stop but no enough to hurt her. She stopped and looked at him confused. "Anyone else you want to invite into our home?" He hissed at her as Zero came up behind them. He had been looking around but now they had his full attention as he tried to listen in without seeming obvious.

"He asked for safe haven, Rido." She told him simply.

"But you didn't have to agree to it." He continued to hiss at her. "Next time you ask me before you do anything!" Rido then looked over at Zero. He led her to the room the both shared, Zero had followed them, trying to listen in and watch what was going on. Rido pointed to the only room at the back of the mansion. He wanted Zero to be as far from them as possible.

Zero glared at Rido before giving Akari a slight head bow. Akari took it as him saying goodnight without speaking. Akari gave him the same gesture before going into her room.

Rido pushed Akari into their room, but didn't close the door all the way, it was part of his plan. It looked as if he hadn't used enough force to close it. Zero took the chance to look in. He watched as Rido smacked Akari across her face, forcing her to the ground. Akari held her face, she hoped the slap looked real, it sounded real enough to her. Rido then pulled her up to her knees by her hair. "Now, how about you make it up to me?" He told her with a menacing smirk. Akari looked up at him with fear as she tried to free her hair from his grasp. Zero looked away for a moment, trying not to gag. Zero couldn't watch, he simply stood by the door, waiting for it to end.

After sometime, Rido spoke again. "Swallow." After a short silence and what sounded like Akari coughing, he spoke again. "Don't take in another stray." He growled at her. Zero took that as his que to leave as Rido turned towards the door. He smirked as he spotted the tail end of Zero as he rushed away. It appeared that for now he would simply watch but not step up to stop him. He wondered if this would be reported back to anyone.

Zero rushed to the room he had been pointed towards before. He looked around the room he had been given. It was royal blue and fairly spacious. It was a lot bigger than he was used to. The vibrant dark blue carpet was plush and thick, he was sure his feet would love the softness. The walls were a classic royal blue with a light blue fleur-de-lis pattern running down them. He didn't even know if he had been a room that had been decorated with such regal and rich colour and design. He knew that purebloods had a lot of money and enjoyed the finer things, but Zero hadn't really seen much in the way of European regal design.

He hated the fact that he was wowed by the room. He hated how much he wanted to stay in the luxury room. But it had helped put the image of what he had just witnessed out of his mind, although he was sure he would never get that out of his mind. He had to remind himself of his mission, why he was here.

He stepped towards the white marble fireplace with golden trim, inspecting it. It looked like it had never been lit, in fact the room looked like it had never been slept in. It had been kept clean and free of spiders and dust, but that was all. In front of the fireplace was an oak armchair with royal blue fabric inserts with a matching oak side table. Beneath them was a thick white and golden rug. An oak floor lamp sat behind the armchair. It had a dark blue shade with matching fleur-de-lis pattern to the walls. He noted that every piece of furniture was made with oak, the only difference was the stain, some of the furniture was stained darker, for example the bed and wardrobe. The bed was large, Zero guessed it was king sized but he couldn't be sure, he was more used to a single bed. The bedding was a silky dark blue, just looking at it made him want to sink into it.

After a short while, he gave into his urges. He stripped down to his underwear and got I to the bed. He had never have thought the bed could be any better than it looked. It managed to be soft but give him the firm support he need. He felt like he was being cradled. The silk bedding was kissing his skin. He would never admit to anyone how much he was enjoying this or how this was now the best sleep he ever had.

The next day, Akari was sat in the drawing room. She had chosen to wear a loose and simple light pastel pink floor length dress with thin spaghetti straps. Over the top of it she wore a grey jacket that came down to the middle of her calf. The sleeves were oversized and stopped just before her wrists. Zero was surprised to see her wearing something as simple and plain as that. He was used to seeing purebloods dressed in the finest clothing. Women were often in something bold and seductive or they chose something more traditional. He was equally surprised to see her hair pulled into a messy bun, almost like she didn't care. His impression of her was changing. At the academy she was always neat and perfectly presentable. Her hair was always in some sort of plait but not a single hair was out of place. He was seeing her in another light.

Little did Zero know, that was Akari's plan. She wanted him to think that he was seeing the real her. That she was really a simple person who didn't want to be regal and show off all the time. She wanted him to think that she was a different type of pureblood. The type of pureblood he would want to help and would do anything for because she wasn't like the others.

Zero watched her quietly. She was staring at a piece of paper, her pen in hand but never touching the paper. He wondered what she could possibly be doing. He noticed the small crease on her forehead as she frowned ever so slightly as she thought to herself. He cleared his throat to get her attention, her reaction was not something he hadn't expected. She almost jumped out of her seat and threw the paper and pen behind her, quickly moving a pillow over the top of them. When she turned to look at him, she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh, it's only you." She said with her hand over her heart. She gave him a smile and stood up. Zero frowned while folding his arms over his chest, he was curious as to what she was up to. "How was your sleep?" She asked, ignoring his expression.

"Fine. But I want to know what that was all about." He answered.

"What, what was about?" She asked, pretending not to know.

"The paper and pen you hid." He told her, stepping around the light green fabric three seat sofa. He stood in front of her. "The reason why you almost jumped off the sofa." He added, watching her expressions closely. Akari looked around the room before pulling the pen and paper from behind her.

"Let's talk somewhere else." She told him simply before leading him to upstairs study. She sat down at a modern looking desk, the room itself looked like it was being redecorated. He was surprised to see a more modern look in the old-fashioned house. The room was painted a light lilac and the desk was made from a pale wood.

"What is this all about then?" Zero asked, getting impatient.

"I was trying to write to Cross." Akari admitted with a sigh. Zero looked confused. "I write whenever I can, let them know what Rido is up to or if there's something going on that they need to know about." She continued before Zero could ask why.

"What were going to write about today?" He asked, his expression softened a little.

"Well, Rido took Kaname's actions yesterday as a challenge. He thinks it's the signal to start a war. He hasn't spoken much about what he's going to do next. He rushed off to do something. I'm not sure if I should wait until I know more or to warn them now. I don't want to waste his time if Rido changes his mind." She explained with a sigh. Zero had no idea that Akari was helping Cross, she was knowingly helping the Vampire Hunters Association. He would have never thought she would do such a thing. They had failed to mention this to him and now he was suspicious as to why.

"Tell Cross but state that Rido has yet to go into detail yet. You are unsure if an attack is imminent or if Rido will wait longer to gather more resources." He told her, he wanted to help her, her Cross.

"I promised Cross I would let him know when I heard about you or saw you." She told him as she started writing. Zero watched the door, waiting for Rido to appear. He said nothing, but part of him was pleased that she promised Cross about him. "Is it OK if I let him know you're here, helping me?" She then asked when she didn't receive a reply.

But before she could say or do anything else, Zero pulled the paper from her hands and shoved it in the draw. He pulled a clean piece of paper from the same draw and closed it. As the paper fell in front of her, Rido stepped into the room. Akari froze and looked at Zero out of the corner of her eye as he leaned over her, his arm holding him up as he leaned on the desk. His breath was harsh and heavy.

"What's going on here?" Rido's voice was thick with suspicion as it echoed in the tiny and almost empty room. Akari quickly stood up and walked towards him.

"Zero asked if I would write to Cross, just to let him know he was still alive. Nothing more." Akari reassured him. Rido glared at Zero as the boy straightened up.

"I owe the man that looked after me that much." Zero spoke up, trying to sound bored.

"Shut up." Rido snapped at him. Akari sighed and stood up, making her way over to Rido. She ran her hands over his chest, trying to calm him down. "He's your pet, you decide." He then spoke calmly as he looked down at her. "But if I get a hint of anything between you two or writing anything more to Cross." His voice sudden changed, it filled with malice.

"There's nothing between us, I promise." She quickly reassured him. "And I would never dream of helping Cross, I would never do that. It would be just as bad as helping Kaname." She continued and Rido smiled before leaving the pair to what they were doing.

Akari released the breath she was unknowingly holding. She rubbed her face, trying to melt the stress away. Zero watched her, he could see the stress this was causing her. He slowly approached her from behind and placed his hand on her shoulder. He felt her relax a little before turning to him. "Thank you." She whispered; she was worried that Rido would somehow still hear them. She sat back at the desk and sank into the seat. "I've never been that close to being caught before."

"He suspects me more than you." Zero told her. "He doesn't trust me and I don't blame him. He will be on guard with me around. It may be easier to feed information to Cross without me being here. I should leave." He then added, it was clear to him that he was going to make things difficult for her and the vampire hunters association.

"No, stay. I insist." Akari pleaded, her voice made it sound like a desperate order. Zero frowned, something told him that what he witnessed the night before, wasn't a one-time occurrence. Something more was going on and it was scaring her.

"I'm only going to make things worse." He pointed out; his hands stuffed in his trouser pockets. Really, he didn't want to be dragged into the drama. He knew Akari was capable of putting Rido on his arse, he had seen the aftermath of her fight with Kaname. So, it concerned him that she chose not to fight back against Rido. Part of him wanted to know what Rido had over her that would stop her from attacking him.

"I would like you to stay, just a little while at least." She continued to plead.

"OK, fine." He gave into her and pulled the paper out the draw for her. She smiled and took to writing. Zero kept an eye on the door, listening closely to the footsteps nearby.