The Week of Four Thursdays

by madmaenad

Humans don't have dynamics. Level D vampires only present as Betas. Vampires mature around age 50. Only one of these things applies to Kiryuu Zero. Now Yuuki, Kaname and Zero will have to learn to live with the aftermath (A/B/O AU. In nature, the most dangerous animal is a mother with her young, and a vampire is a predator at its core. Kaname/Zero/Yuuki, Omega!Zero)

16. Between the Dog and the Wolf

Happy late Easter to my readers who belong to Christian denominations. And a nice day anyway to my readers who don't. We've broken a new record in chapter length, whooo 19,400 words!

To Mayb: Cross was a model?! This explains so much, and yet so little…

I don't really consider difficulty when I chose whose POV to write in. What matters is whose head the audience needs to be in. Usually I pick a character because it will help advance their plotline for the audience, like in the pool scene. I used Zero because we got to see him show literally his first sexual thoughts in this entire fic, which is significant. Using Yuuki would not have told the audience any new information, though it would have been interesting too.

But I also will pick a character because they have certain background knowledge that can help the audience understand what is going on - or conversely, because they don't know, in order to preserve suspense. And sometimes I pick because it's more fun, like the garden scene. It was funnier to see Kaname and Zero in such a place, rather than Yuuki who fits in more.

I may need to emphasize this more, now that you've pointed it out, but Yagari's aging is not a mistake. Kaito is aging 'correctly' for a Hunter, and will continue to look stubbornly middle-aged for a while. I figure that Hunters live to be 100-120 years most of the time, and they do age, but more slowly (so Cross' 200+ and not-aging can still make sense as being really abnormal). The answer why Yagari isn't aging as well is all the way back in chapter 5 - in my story, Yagari is a Hunter of mixed blood, unlike Zero and Kaito. One of his recent ancestors was a full human (I think maybe a grandmother? But haven't decided for sure), and that's why he doesn't look as much like a typical Hunter. His Hunter traits are still quite strong, and his mixed blood doesn't prevent him from being a superb, respected leader. But Yagari won't live as long, making this fact rather tragic for both Zero and Kaito. Hunting is very dangerous. Most good Hunters die because their prey got lucky; all it takes is one mistake. Generally Hunters retire as soon as their bodies can't keep up anymore, if they haven't already due to major injury. So Yagari decided to retire even though he is still in pretty good shape.

Kaname's past is not the same as the manga. Kaname talks about his relationship with the Ancestress in chapter 9, but the short version is no, he wasn't in love with her.

And Kaito is the older one, so I kind of assigned him the position of spiritual elder brother since I don't know much about him.

Thanks for reviewing!

---

XVI. Between the Dog and the Wolf

Kiryuu's Hunt lies far to the north, over the cold, raging sea, in the wildest and northernmost island of the chain; it's a land of plains and mountains, with fertile farmers' fields and the remnants of ancient, untouched forests. There are worse places to go Hunting - or to stalk a Hunter, in Kaname's case. Judging from the duffel bag full of supplies, Kiryuu will likely stay here for a few days.

Because of the greater distance and time, Kaname must invest a significant amount of power in Kiryuu's watcher if he wishes to be able to intervene. The pureblood does so, grudgingly, shadow-spinning this master familiar only because he has promised Yuuki that he will guard Kiryuu, and he will not break his word to her.

Watching Kiryuu work, interviewing locals to gather information and methodically investigating potential lair sites, Kaname can appreciate the Hunter's superb skills and technique, as one predator to another. Never shy from admitting your enemies are skilled, lest you underestimate the threat they pose.

Experience has honed Kiryuu's art. He's a far different Hunter from the boy he was at sixteen, a clumsy half-trained puppy tripping over his own large paws. He's properly prepared now, well-taught by his elders rather than relying on a mix of instinct and self-taught skills, a seasoned and experienced wolfhound grown into his pelt. Every movement is purposeful, confident and efficient. Kaname is much reminded of Yagari in his prime by his cool and focused attitude, attentive yet oddly relaxed, as though Kiryuu is more at home during a Hunt than outside of one.

Good Hunters are always unsettling to ordinary people, but fixed on a trail Kiryuu is at his most off-putting to the humans he comes across; on an instinctive level they flinch away from a predator, even a friendly one.

As Kaname's workday drags on though an endless string of meetings, the familiar's consciousness nests in the back of his mind. Through that faint awareness, like hearing a voice call from the next room, Kaname observes as Kiryuu ranges back and forth, eventually picking up a trail that leads him into the wilds of the island's interior.

Lately, whenever he realizes he is being followed, Kiryuu will evade Kaname's familiar to avoid being watched. Kaname must keep far enough away not to be seen, but close enough not to lose the Hunter. Beneath the thick tree canopy and the rough underbrush, tracking Kiryuu is becoming difficult for Kaname's raven.

The last of his meetings finished, Kaname moves to his study, needing to focus his attention more closely to keep the raven following Kiryuu, but the poor visibility means the raven has to repeatedly circle above the trees, and it loses sight of Kiryuu several times. Tracking by sight may be difficult, but Kaname has other ways of keeping up.

Directing the raven to land, Kaname reaches out to unite the two of them, and with his mind centered in the raven's body, draws on his power to reshape the familiar into something more suitable. The trees shrink as he becomes taller and larger, and a new world of smells unfolds, his new sense as potent as sound and sight. Kaname lopes off into the underbrush, easily following the line of Kiryuu's scent, long legs regaining lost ground until he's shadowing the Hunter right outside the boundary of his Hunter senses.

Kiryuu's path weaves back and forth, as though he's searching for something, and he doubles back several times when the going becomes too rough. Then, coming to a halt in a clearing, Kiryuu freezes and stiffens.

"I know you're there. Come out if you don't want to get shot, vampire."

Kaname goes still. Is Kiryuu guessing? He's certain his familiar is outside the limit of Kiryuu's sensory range. Have Kiryuu's abilities increased?

"Don't think that because I can't see you, I can't find you. I can sense your aura. You have until the count of ten before I shoot. One."

Kaname weighs his options. Kiryuu is suspicious now; he knows he's being followed. If Kaname retreats or disperses the familiar, Kiryuu will be on the alert and Kaname may not be able to track him any longer. This would make Yuuki unhappy, because Kiryuu is very good at getting into trouble.

"Four."

But if he reveals himself, Kiryuu might just shoot the familiar, which leads to the same outcome. Either way, his watcher's ability has been compromised. One other possibility exists - if Kaname lets Kiryuu discover his familiar, Kiryuu won't be pleased, but he might leave it alone once he recognizes his watcher. It's his best option, though Kaname is loathe to admit that Kiryuu has caught him.

"Seven."

Kaname, in his familiar's body, nonchalantly pads forward, as though he simply decided to reveal himself of his own violation. His ears catch the sound of Kiryuu shifting his grip on his gun, and knows that the muzzle is pointing squarely at his body, even though Kiryuu cannot see him. Kaname stops just short of the open clearing Kiryuu's standing in. His dark color disguises him in the thick, shadowy underbrush.

"Nine. Ten. Step into the light," Kiryuu orders, gun steady.

So Kaname does, one paw at a time. Whatever Kiryuu was expecting, it wasn't this; he blinks in puzzlement, but his gun never wavers.

"A dog?" The Hunter shakes his head. "No, a wolf." Kiryuu hasn't shot him yet, so that's a good sign the familiar may escape destruction after all.

"I know you're a familiar, but who do you belong to?" Kiryuu pauses and looks at Kaname, as though he'll speak and give an answer. It's fairly obvious, given his coloring; familiars always reflect their masters, no matter what form they take.

"I thought you had black fur, but you're really a very dark brown that looks black, unless you're in sunlight." Kiryuu observes, stepping cautiously closer. "And dark red eyes. The eyes always match the maker, and only the Kuran family has eyes like that. But you're not that bloodsucker Kuran's familiar - he has a raven."

Is Kiryuu playing ignorant? Or does Kiryuu really not know that familiars can have more than one form? The Hunters aren't always well-informed about pureblood powers, given their rarity and versatility. And most purebloods never bother training to have more than one form - each new shape requires as much practice as the first. Kaname runs through his memories, and realizes his familiar has never changed shape in front of the Hunter. He doesn't think Shouto's familiar has more than a single form, either.

"Which leaves...Are you Yuuki's familiar?" Kiryuu asks, curiously hopeful, all the hostility flowing out of his stance.

Kaname stills in surprise; it seems Kiryuu really does believe he's Yuuki's familiar. Yuuki has never mastered the skill - but that means Kaname can take advantage of Kiryuu's ignorance. This could be a magnificent opportunity; if Kiryuu believes he's Yuuki's familiar, Kaname can spy on his rival with ease. Kiryuu trusts Yuuki - think of all the secrets he must tell her, things he would hate for Kaname to know! If Kaname's form had hands right now, he'd be rubbing them together in glee. What a stroke of luck!

(Kaname's sluggish conscience prods him. This is not an action in good faith. This could hurt Kiryuu, and part of him still feels guilty for pushing Kiryuu to desperate measures. Has he not just struggled with the consequences of how he treats Kiryuu? Looked inward and found himself shameful and base? But it's easy to fall back on old patterns, to pretend that nothing has changed, to ignore his disordered feelings. If Kaname acts the same as before, then everything will go back to the uncomplicated time when he could despise Kiryuu without a qualm. Right?)

Apparently taking Kaname's silence as confirmation, Kiryuu lowers his gun, and approaches Kaname's wolf. Luckily, familiars have no genitals, so closer examination won't give Kaname away.

"Yuuki," Kiryuu scolds, "you shouldn't have followed me. I know you worry, but Hunts can be ugly things to watch. And I can take care of myself just fine."

This won't work if he makes Kiryuu suspicious. To complete his disguise, Kaname will have to make his familiar act exactly as Yuuki's would. Kaname lowers his head, lets his ears droop, and he whines, miming contrition.

"You need to go back, Yuuki," Kiryuu tells him seriously, kneeling down on the forest floor.

Think like Yuuki, Kaname reminds himself, so he growls and then whines.

"Yuuki -"

Kaname needs to stay near Kiryuu if this deception is going to bear fruit. His wolf rears back on its hind legs, towering over Kiryuu, and barks.

Kiryuu sighs and shakes his head. "Alright, but you can't interfere at all. I'm serious Yuuki - I don't want you to have to kill anyone. I'm raised to do this, but you shouldn't have any more blood on your hands. Can you promise me that?"

Easily. Kaname simply wants to uncover the Hunter's secrets; Kiryuu can get himself out of any trouble he gets himself into. His wolf bobs its muzzle and barks again.

"Okay," Kiryuu smiles, and reaches out to ruffle his fur. Kaname barely controls his impulse to dodge away, reminding himself he will need to allow many degrading things like this to convince Kiryuu to trust him. His wolf finds the sensation pleasant, Kaname discovers to his irritation.

Kiryuu returns to tracking his quarry, but this time Kaname's wolf trots openly alongside him, moving easily, agile in the wilderness. They cover much ground, and return to Kiryuu's lodgings at midmorning to sleep away the rest of the day. Kaname eyes the somewhat shabby surroundings and swishes his tail, looking meaningfully up at Kiryuu.

"Don't look at me like that, Yuuki. I'm not even getting paid a full Hunting commission anymore," the Hunter scolds. "We have to stay at places I can afford."

Does Kiryuu not realize his rights as their Consort guarantee him a generous stipend? Not that Kaname wants Kiryuu to spend more of his money, but they can't have him staying in rundown hostels and hotels if other vampires can find out; the Kurans' reputation would suffer. And if it means Kaname will have to sleep in places like this through his familiar, Kaname will spend the money to put Kiryuu in a decent hotel.

The Hunter smuggles Kaname's wolf in after distracting the hostel manager at the reception desk. "One more day and we can go back," Kiryuu promises, holding the door to his room open.

"I've narrowed down the area where they have their hideout, but I don't want to move in without being fully rested. You should know that my targets aren't Level Es this time, Yuuki. They're criminals who've killed people, but they're still themselves. Are you still sure you won't stay here?"

His wolf gives a low growl and quietly barks his refusal. Kaname already knows Kiryuu's mission here; the Council and the Senate had to approve the execution request beforehand. Some pureblood with a taste for mayhem Turned a local gang, and the gang members have taken their new powers and used them to perpetrate a crime spree of theft and murder. Kiryuu's targets have been deemed a danger to the vampire race because their actions risk exposing the world of night, and were unanimously approved for extermination. Truly a despicable bunch; Kaname won't waste any regret on their deaths.

Kiryuu slips out for half an hour and returns with a premade meal box for himself from a convenience store, and a pile of raw chicken cuts for Kaname's wolf from a local butcher. It's odd to be treated so nicely by Kiryuu, when Kaname expects his usual glares and hostility. Kiryuu's whole demeanor is softer and gentler, and he's always considerate. His mouth even has a hint of a smile, sometimes.

(The guilt comes creeping back whenever that happens, until his willful blindness buries the certainty he's adding to his sins.)

"Here you go, Wolfy," Kiryuu says, face relaxed, and a slight curve to his lips, presenting Kaname with a morsel that his familiar drools over. "I made sure I didn't get anything with bones you could choke on."

Kaname pushes down the wolf's mind and glares at Kiryuu as best he can in his current body.

"Calling you Yuuki feels weird," explains Kiryuu. "And Shouto told me that the wolf is part of you, but it's also a separate being with its own thoughts. It can act without your orders, so it needs its own name. Until I think of one, you can be Wolfy."

It's only for a short time, the pureblood reminds himself, controlling the impulse to bite Kiryuu and abandon this gambit. Kaname growls, but lets the wolf snap up the offered chicken liver. Kiryuu leaves his wolf alone to eat, and only when he's licking his lips does Kaname realize where the Hunter went.

In a cloud of steam, Kiryuu steps out of the bathroom, towel draped over his shoulders. His hair is wet, and Kiryuu has stripped down to a pair of faded sweatpants and a short sleeved t-shirt.

Kaname can't tear his eyes from the pale skin of the Hunter's bare arms. In the back of his mind, the alpha watches appreciatively, an image of Kiryuu underneath the falling water bubbling up - We do not need to think about Kiryuu naked, Kaname orders it sternly. Naked mate is the best kind of mate, the alpha stubbornly insists.

"Come on, Wolfy. Time to sleep." Kiryuu pats the other side of the bed.

Kaname deliberately settles down on the bare floorboards.

Disappointment dims the Hunter's lavender eyes. "Okay. That's fine too. Ah, you should know that I'm a restless sleeper. So just ignore me if I make noise."

Kiryuu starts to shift and twist in his sheets just three hours later, groaning and letting out soft distressed noises. Kaname had been asleep himself, his familiar little more than a quiet presence in the back of his mind, but he wakes when Kiryuu's heartbeat accelerates, centering his mind back in the familiar and lifting the wolf's head from its paws.

Mate is distressed. Help mate.

The wolf form, Kaname discovers, has some drawbacks. A raven has almost no sense of smell, but a wolf's nose is exquisitely sensitive. His wolf can smell Kiryuu's alluring omega pheromones, which means Kaname can smell them too, and his alpha instincts react powerfully to that stimulus. Right now that omega scent is laced with sour fear. Kiryuu is having a nightmare.

Mate doesn't want us because we don't care for him properly. Help mate, his instincts insist more forcefully.

But before Kaname can do anything, Kiryuu shoots upright in the bed, breath leaving his body in a sob. The pureblood has never seen Kiryuu cry, he realizes. Kiryuu masters himself quickly, hugging his arms around his body until his breath slows, then running a hand through his hair and falling backwards onto the pillows.

See, Kaname tells his instincts, nothing to be interested in.

Kiryuu eventually falls back to sleep, and so does Kaname. But a mere two hours later, Kaname realizes that he can hear the same noises again. Another nightmare, worse than the first one.

"Don't. Don't," Kiryuu whispers brokenly.

Help our mate, says the alpha. Help mate. Help mate now. We must help mate. Mate needs us. HELP MATE.

Just to shut up his damned instincts, Kaname gets up and pads to the bed. The alpha isn't satisfied, so Kaname jumps up on the mattress in a neat arc, landing lightly. Kiryuu doesn't stir, entangled in the nets of his dream. Unsure what his instincts want, Kaname noses at Kiryuu's arm, accidentally waking Kiryuu with his wolf's cold wet nose.

The Hunter jumps at the sensation, draws in a sharp breath, and then sags into the mattress. "Thanks, Yuuki," Kiryuu says quietly, and rolls over, winding his bare arms around Kaname's neck and burying his face into the wolf's thick fur.

Surprised, Kaname stands stock-still, caught in the sudden unexpected sensations. He knows Yuuki would allow Kiryuu to use her for comfort, so he doesn't move, permitting the Hunter to come close, but doing nothing else. Kaname dislikes it, of course, but the wolf finds the contact enjoyable, even pushing closer.

They stay like this for a few minutes, Kiryuu silently stroking him, hiding his face until his composure returns. Kiryuu's weight and scent and warmth remind the pureblood of feeding from him, Kaname realizes, and afterwards it becomes easier to encourage Kiryuu's embrace until the Hunter releases him and his wolf jumps back to the ground.

Kiryuu doesn't go back to sleep, and he doesn't mention the nightmares that evening. Kaname prefers it that way; he's not here to let Kiryuu cry on him or be his therapist.

He can tell from the way Kiryuu arms himself, distant and solemn like a sacred ritual, that tonight a vampire will meet death. Even interacting with the familiar he believes is Yuuki's, Kiryuu's mind is elsewhere, already ahead walking the path to the Hunt's climax.

When they find the ex-human gang members, holed up in the hidden caves of a mountain valley, the fools don't even know what Kiryuu is. They don't know their deaths have already been sealed by the deadliest predator of their kind. Filled with arrogance and confidence by their new supernatural abilities, Kaname watches from the side as they attack Kiryuu without discipline or a plan, shouting and haphazardly rushing forward all at once. There are over twice the expected number, but it makes no difference. The Hunter does exactly what he was trained to do: by bullet and blade, cut down without mercy the vampires who believe themselves above the law. Bloody Rose proves its name tonight; a bunch of thugs armed with pipes, chains and bats are easy pickings.

Despite himself, Kaname admires Kiryuu as he Hunts. Alone this time, Kiryuu cannot escape being the sole center of Kaname's focus. Removing the lesser Hunters clears away distractions from Kiryuu's mastery the same way a virtuoso soloist is better enjoyed without mediocre accompaniment.

The scent of blood mixes with gunpowder as Kiryuu offers himself up to Awaken the Bloody Rose, the ancient weapon savagely striking out with swift silver vines to protect its master. One thug meets his death after another, as Kiryuu darts back and forth, a pale shape dancing in the moonlight, light flashing off his silver gun barrel and the whips of its vines. He dodges underneath a bat hammered with nails, then steps chest to chest and puts a bullet straight through the D's heart with an efficiency and grace that is truly impressive, even to his rival. This an executioner's ballet, death elevated to macabre beauty, the ancient, terrible epitome of a Hunter's Art. The last hiss of ash is somehow both satisfying and disappointing.

It is no wonder we have chosen him, whispers the alpha. Do you not see? Though he was not born to the Night, he is a predator who Hunts in darkness, no less than we are. We have seen other omegas like him before - exquisite, matchless, incomparable, unequaled by the lesser alphas who courted them. Our kind took those worthy ones to wife, and sired legends on them. Can you not imagine it? The unspeakable, unsurpassable pleasure of lying with this beautiful, deadly creature, burying yourself to the root in the soft, sweet vulnerability of the most dangerous night-Hunter that has ever lived. Deny all you like; we shall never relinquish him.

Kiryuu isn't himself again until they're riding the ferry back home, finally coming down from the high of a good Hunt, the well-earned exhaustion showing in his face. Kaname is little better, shaken by the sight of Kiryuu dancing like death in pale moonlight, and the worshipful conviction of his alpha's response.

But he needs to pull himself back together; his scheme lies in jeopardy. Last night, Kaname realized a flaw in his plan to impersonate Yuuki's familiar: Kiryuu will mention this encounter to Yuuki, and discover that the wolf does not belong to her. Lacking his usual resources, Kaname spent the night pondering how to repair the hole, and he thinks he may have a solution. Acting now is his only remaining chance to preserve this masquerade. Kaname hasn't learned anything useful yet, but he's certain future work will bring rewards. He does not examine any new potential motivations for this desperate gamble.

Barking to gain Kiryuu's attention, Kaname whines and gives Kiryuu his best sad dog eyes. Demeaning, but he has little to work with.

"What is it, Wolfy?" Kiryuu asks, leaning down tiredly.

Kaname begins to trace characters with his forepaw. Please...wolf...secret.

Kiryuu's brow crinkles, and he rubs a hand over his face. "You want me to keep your familiar a secret?"

Yes, spells Kaname, sweeping his tail back and forth.

"Alright. I guess Kuran doesn't know?" Kiryuu asks.

Kaname shakes his head, confirming the lie.

Kiryuu nods. "Then I promise I won't mention it unless you bring it up first. And be careful about mentioning it in front of me. Kuran's been following me with his creepy raven, so he might overhear." The Hunter hesitates, then offers, "If you want to come, I'll have another Hunt soon. It was nice spending time with you even if we can't talk."

Perfect. Kaname lets the wolf rush forward, licking at Kiryuu's hands and nuzzling him in gratitude. In his real body, Kaname smiles. This deception may require a little discomfort, but it will end with him victorious.

---

Barely three days later, Association dispatch contacts him again requesting another Hunt. If they need Zero so soon, the Level E situation must really be overwhelming their resources. Zero hopes Kaito and Master Yagari will be alright, and Cross will be able to keep Master from returning to the field.

When Zero tells Yuuki this, she looks down at him on the floor, forehead creasing in thought, draped upside down over the side of the library couch. Zero starts to sweat; when Yuuki wears her thinking face, trouble always follows.

"You'll be spending a lot of time on missions for a while?" she asks, nose wrinkling. She doesn't want him to leave, and Zero feels warm inside at being missed.

"Probably, yes," he replies cautiously.

"Okay. But since you'll be gone more often, I want to spend time with you when you get back. Maybe you can come with me when I go out to run errands," she tells him, turning over on her belly, but doesn't look satisfied. "How about you take us on a date? We've only been on one so far."

"I don't want to take Kuran on a date," he protests. Having Kuran along would ruin the experience.

"We're married. We can't leave him behind," Yuuki points out reasonably.

"He won't want to come," Zero counters.

"Leave that to me," she tells him, grinning. "He'll come, I promise."

"Well, why does I have to be the one who arranges going on a date?" Zero asks, searching for a way out of Yuuki's plan.

She rests her chin on her folded arms. "You have a good point. We'll just have to do three dates, so each of us has a chance to plan one. That's fair."

Zero resists the urge to cover his face in despair. He should have just agreed with the first suggestion; now he has to sit through three dates with Kuran. But also with Yuuki, the Hunter reminds himself, feeling that warm glow again. Besides, Kuran will be just as uncomfortable. He can put up with some awkwardness to wallow in Kuran's irritation. Right?

"As long as you make Kuran hold his end of the bargain," Zero says, already feeling the impending doom, "I'll plan a date for us and attend both of yours."

Yuuki hugs him, and nearly falls off the couch. "I'll help if you need, since you're busy. And it doesn't have to be right when you get back. I'm going to miss you," she says, wistfully gazing into his face. "Remember that I love you, and I'll be thinking of you until I see you again."

"So will I," Zero replies, and reminds himself how Yuuki's wolf will make that absence easier to bear for both of them.

So far, he has not been able to argue Yuuki out of her conviction she is in love with him, and says nothing more in response to the sentiment, wishing to leave on a good note. Hunters teach one another never to part regretfully; there will be better times to speak up.

Kuran pulls Zero into his study just before he leaves, and presents him with a credit card and paperwork confirming the existence of an account in his name, while informing him that the money belongs to him by right and will be added to every month. Zero neither needs nor wants Kuran's money, and the Hunter tells him so, but Kuran won't let him return the card, insisting that he will look like an inadequate alpha if he denies their Consort financial support. Unable to argue any longer without missing his flight, Zero leaves with the card in his wallet, and no intention of using it.

Yuuki meets him at the door, determined not to let Zero slip away without saying goodbye.

"I told you I wouldn't let you sneak away again," she says, squeezing him tightly in a hug. Zero strokes the long loose silk of her her hair and squeezes back, still amazed at being allowed to do such a thing after the way he hurt her.

She senses the darker turn of his thoughts and yanks on his coat, pulling his head down where she can reach his lips, kissing him warm and soft with an edge of possessiveness, coaxing Zero to kiss back. "Stay safe," she whispers against his lips, "and come back to me, because it's the only way I can stand to let you go. And remember that I love you."

His heart lurches; he's never stopped loving her, but staying silent is for her own good. Zero simply nods, touches her hand one last time, and goes to load his gear.

When Rosehill is out of sight behind a bend in the road, Zero pulls over and waits. Just as he hoped, his Hunter senses tingle, and he sees a flash in the underbrush. Yuuki's familiar steps into the road, a great dark wolf as magnificent and beautiful as it was the first time he saw it, the sun setting the red undertones of its fur ablaze. It's enormous - as big as the largest dog he's ever seen, almost taller than him when he kneels down - and it holds itself with a kind of majesty that knows its own power. The thrill of admiration rises again in his chest at the sight. He's always known that Yuuki was extraordinary, but now he can see and touch proof in this wild creature her power has formed.

Zero grins. "Hi Wolfy. Glad to see you're coming along." It's still difficult to associate Yuuki with her familiar; though stunning and gorgeous, somehow this form doesn't seem to suit her at all. Perhaps Zero doesn't know her as well as he thought anymore, he reflects as he opens the back hatch of the car.

"We'll have to fly this time, so hop in," he tells her.

The wolf takes one look at the dog crate, and plants its rear on the ground, growling.

"It's either this or you stay behind," Zero says, fully enjoying this bit of payback for the date idea. "I got you the biggest crate I could find. And it has a big, squishy cushion to sleep on!"

The familiar growls louder.

"This is the fastest way to Australia," Zero points out. "I'm not going to miss my flight, so you need to chose now."

The wolf looks as offended as a canine face can manage, but leaps smoothly into the crate, and broods angrily as Zero latches it shut.

Wolfy looks even grumpier ten hours later, spilling from the crate and getting to stretch out for the first time since Zero checked the familiar into baggage. Zero made sure not to let the familiar out until they reached the pet-friendly hotel he's upgraded them to with Kuran's money, wary of possible revenge. Wolfy shoots him a surprised look when it sees how their accommodations have improved, but it's not like Zero has anything else to spend money on. At least by paying for a nice hotel he can spend the money on Yuuki, in a roundabout way. Maybe he'll take her shopping for their date; Kuran can trail along and hold the bags.

With that happy thought, Zero drags their luggage (and one wolf) upstairs, feeds them, and beds down for the night. Wolfy wakes him up again from his nightmares, giving his face a wet, slobbery lick that Zero shoots it a disgusted look for. The familiar looks smug, and Zero's irritation helps him forget the way his Master's blood felt spilling over his hands as he died in Zero's arms. Yuuki's always good at distracting him. He's embarrassed she has to know about his nightmares, but if anyone has to know, Zero would rather it be Yuuki. The wolf's presence is a comfort, and the way it lets him use it like a giant stuffed animal helps him get over his nightmares without having to run for miles until he exhausts himself.

So Zero feels more rested than usual, and decides it's time to give Yuuki her present before they have to go Hunting tonight. Honestly, it's not to his taste, but he knows Yuuki will like it.

The wolf takes one look at the pink collar with a heart-shaped name plate, and howls a furious rejection with its ears pinned flat, shaking its head and growl-barking every time Zero comes close until the Hunter gives up and backs off. Zero's more than a little hurt, and hides the collar in his suitcase.

Then he tries to reason with her, puzzled. "Yuuki, there are leash laws. Your familiar can't wander around without one. Animal control will take you to a shelter."

Wolfy growls contemptuously at this thought.

"If I buy you another one, will you wear it?" he asks.

The familiar thinks for a moment, then nods reluctantly.

And that's how they find themselves in a pet supercenter, shopping for a collar half an hour before closing time. The salesgirl, a young teenager wearing braces on her teeth, ambushes them at the door.

"Hi, can I help you and your…." she trails off weakly eyeing the wolf at his side. Zero doesn't blame her - he wouldn't want to meet Yuuki's scary looking familiar at night in a dark alley.

"Sled dog mixed breed," Zero answers firmly.

The salesgirl brightens. "Can I help you two find anything today?"

"Yes," says Zero, a handful of Wolfy's ruff in his hand, as insurance the familiar won't run away. "I just adopted her, and I need a collar. Nothing pink."

The wolf rejects everything nylon, cheap or not in plain colors. Zero has to buy it the most expensive collar in the store, made of supple, good quality leather in dark mahogany, with gold colored metal fittings and a matching leash. The wolf looks good in it, but Yuuki's choice surprises Zero; he never expected she would pick that one. In hindsight, it was foolish of him to expect her tastes hadn't changed since Cross Academy. Yuuki's daily wardrobe fits her role as an adult pureblood, so this tasteful, understated choice matches her mature self.

Pacified by picking its new collar, Wolfy behaves that evening, pacing calmly through the streets by his side as Zero searches for the nest he's meant to exterminate. The Hunt would be more pleasant if it weren't winter right now in the southern hemisphere, but rain or snow, a Hunter never turns aside for any obstacle. The Hunt goes on until one of them - Hunter or prey - is dead.

"You need a name," Zero says, resting on a park bench around three in the morning, breathing on his hands to try and warm them. There's no snow, but it's chilly and the wind off the sea is sharp. The familiar eyes him, aloof at his feet; Wolfy treats the leash as though it doesn't exist, pointedly staying close enough Zero is never doing more than holding the loop, no pressure exerted on the collar.

"Takuma-sempai got to name Shouto's familiar, and I'm the first to know about yours, so I claim naming rights," he tells the wolf, satisfied at the thought of denying Kuran the opportunity.

"How about Black Rose?" he suggests, a twinge of sadness at remembering the last animal he named, dear White Lily.

The wolf growls, turning its head away to ignore Zero. Zero's becoming very familiar with that sound. Does being in this form make Yuuki cranky or something?

"Jasmine? Hyacinth? Laurel? Willow? Azalea?"

No, no, and definitely not. Zero sighs, rubbing his hands together one more time. "I'll think about it," he promises, getting up to head back on patrol.

---

"Zero said we should dress for the weather," Yuuki reminds Kaname, eyeing his suit. The pureblood's only concession to Kiryuu was to remove his waistcoat, otherwise he's dressed as normal in slacks and a suit coat. Yuuki, on the other hand, has taken Kiryuu's instructions quite literally, in a white cotton sundress with a border of happy smiling orange and yellow suns.

The heat of the summer's day lingers, rising up from the ground. It's just on the edge of dusk, and the sun is nothing more than a halo on the horizon. Kiryuu had been very specific about the place and time the Kurans were to arrive for their date, but the Hunter has yet to show. Kiryuu better not have stood them up.

But alas - or fortunately - Kiryuu appears right on time, lugging a large picnic basket with him. He matches Yuuki in his wave-patterned, summer weight overrobe and loose trousers, with an aqua colored gem as his Hoseki.

"Ohhh," says Yuuki, bouncing on her toes. "Are we going on a picnic?"

"Yes," replies Kiryuu, slightly out of breath. "Follow me," he tells the Kurans, pace not even slowing before plunging into the gardens.

"A picnic?" Kaname questions skeptically as they follow Kiryuu.

"Yes, Kuran." Kiryuu bites out, a scowl in his voice. "I didn't have a lot of free time for anything more complicated. I hope your ancient majesty doesn't mind."

"Did you cook?" Yuuki jumps in, wisely diverting Kiryuu's attention just as Kaname opens his mouth to retort.

"I did," Kiryuu tells her, sounding pleased. "You should appreciate it. The head chef here guards her kitchen like a bank vault; I had to practically beg before she let me touch anything."

"And what did you make?" she asks excitedly, trying to peek inside the basket.

Kiryuu darts ahead and hugs the basket protectively. "Uh-uh. Not until we eat," he scolds.

Kaname seriously doubts Kiryuu is capable of making anything he would want to eat, let alone something the pureblood would want to eat a second time. But if Kaname lets Kiryuu drink his blood for Yuuki's sake, he can stand choking down whatever mess Kiryuu's created.

The garden Kiryuu's picked for their rendezvous - not a date, Kaname reminds himself - seems unremarkable and plain. Summer has turned the plants a rich green, but there are no flowers blooming in this garden, not even in the tall border hedges or the ornamental pond. Rosehill has extensive gardens famous for their beauty, and this is the best Kiryuu could do? This evening is turning into even more of a disappointment then Kaname expected; Kiryuu could at least find lovelier scenery for them to look at as they force down his tasteless, inedible food.

Yuuki helps Kiryuu spread a blanket on the ground, and they sit down as the last light fades in the west and night falls.

"Are we waiting for someone?" Yuuki asks, puzzled when Kiryuu does not move to hand out plates or pour the tea in its thermos.

The Hunter checks the time on his phone, tucking it back in his sleeve. "Not someone, something," he says, and then his eyes light up with delight. It's attractive.

"There it is. Watch!" he instructs them.

What is he meant to watch? The bare garden? Kaname thinks scornfully. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he catches a hint of movement and a flash of white.

Impossibly, right in front of his eyes, the whole garden is flowering, green buds unfurling into huge white blooms. Like magic, the vines wrapped around the hedges, the leafy trellises above their heads, and even the green beds beside the garden path become masses of white flowers as he watches, fascinated by the display. The blooms' pleasant, heavy fragrance spreads over the garden, now covered in white.

Kiryuu is watching the two of them with a small, secret smile on his mouth, eyes sparkling with pride. This is why he brought them here - to witness this fleeting spectacle of natural beauty, found in a place which minutes before had been unremarkable and drab.

Yuuki's voice is hushed with awe, still watching the last of the flowers open. "They're so beautiful. Thank you, Zero."

"They're called moonflowers," he tells them, tilting his head to the side as the moonlight catches in his hair, and reaching out to cup one of the flowers. "They only bloom at night, after the sun goes down, and they'll close again before morning. The waterlilies are a night blooming variety too, but they don't open as fast. We can watch them as we have breakfast."

Yuuki and Kiryuu exchange smiles. They don't look at him.

Kiryuu has prepared a seemingly endless supply of boxed lunches, green tea and other delicacies. "I didn't know what you'd like, so I made some of everything," the Hunter says, rolling up his sleeves to show his bare forearms, and bustling around arranging the dishes and handing out utensils.

The food looks surprisingly attractive, arranged neatly and garnished with thin carrot slices shaped into flower designs, with each dish cut evenly into bite-sized pieces. Bemused, Kaname realizes he may have underestimated Kiryuu. Someone had to keep Cross and Yuuki alive and fed, and it wasn't Cross' questionable food experiments.

While Kiryuu is watching, Kaname tries only a few tiny pieces, with feigned reluctance, but once Yuuki and Kiryuu are distracted by their conversation, the pureblood sneaks tastes of almost everything laid out to eat.

And it is quite an amount: pickled cucumbers, boiled quail eggs, rice and vegetable stuffed tofu sushi, seared beef slivers, fish cakes shaped like flowers, tiny omelettes rolled in the shape of tulips, grilled, breaded octopus, braised carrot and burdock root salad, two flavors of rice balls, and for dessert, red bean mochi, arranged in the box like the petals of a flower.

The ingredients are ordinary, the dishes are simple, and nothing here is fancy. It's all portable finger foods suitable for picnics, but Kaname discovers that everything he tries is well-made and tasty; Kiryuu is a surprisingly good cook. Kaname eats far more than he expected, left to his own devices and sneaking seconds.

"And then Kain-sempai turned tail and ran! Ruka's mom is really scary; I think I would've run too!" Yuuki finishes her story.

"Are those two really going to get married?" Zero asks, raising an eyebrow as he takes a sip of his tea.

"We have an informal bet going, if you want to try predicting when. No money, just for fun." Yuuki tells him cheerfully.

The two of them have such an easy camaraderie between them, Kaname reflects. In school, their friendship ignited his jealousy for exactly that reason. And now things have come full circle, Kiryuu returning under impossible circumstances to thwart him again. His misgivings were right after all, he thinks wryly. Well, only most of them - Yuuki inexplicably, miraculously, is still by his side.

Kaname does not have the gift of putting people around him at ease, and that too makes him jealous. People aren't comfortable in his presence; on the contrary, he has the opposite effect. When he walks in the room, people usually fall silent, and pick up their conversations when he leaves. What a bitter memory for such a beautiful night, he chastises himself, and chases it away with another rice ball.

"You make a very good wife, Kiryuu," Kaname remarks, examining the sausage cut like a flower speared on his fork. There is a tiny bit of pickle in the center like a stem; Kiryuu has an eye for detail. "Perhaps I should keep you in my kitchen all the time."

The Hunter colors and glares. "I'm not your wife, Kuran. Make your own meals."

"Mmm, I think not."

Yuuki pipes up, "It's because Kaname was spoiled by Okaa-san and Otou-san as a child. I'm not sure he can cook."

Kaname frowns. "I can cook, Yuuki." In fact, he can cook, thank you very much, but only very simple things from his first childhood. After that he acquired servants, since he didn't enjoy the task.

"Okay, so when did you learn to cook?" challenges Kiryuu.

The pureblood considers lying, but the hint of curiosity in both their faces gives him pause, and he remembers his promise not to hide things from Yuuki any longer. Kiryuu can be trusted not to use the information against him. His belly is full of good food, and his mind is relaxed by the thick scent of moonflowers. So Kaname tells them the truth.

"When I was made, I simply ate what I was given by the scientists who engineered us. After they were gone, I didn't know how to acquire food that wasn't given to me. I was lucky to be a pureblood. I couldn't die from starvation like a human. At first I scavenged food, and ate it raw. Eventually I taught myself to cook. I can cook beans in a can, and dry rice. Only over an open fire. I can cook meal cakes buried underneath, wrapped in leaves, and small animals on a spit. I don't know how to use a stove. We didn't have stoves for a while after the Cataclysm. By that time I had servants to cook for me."

"Then...have you ever been on a picnic? Or a flower viewing?" Yuuki ventures tentatively.

"No," he tells them, still examining the flower sausage, thoughtful, then pops in in his mouth.

"Where were your parents?" Kiryuu asks, boldly meeting Kaname's eyes. Kiryuu needs to work on his sense of self-preservation, Kaname reflects.

"I did not have any. I was far from the only one. There were many other children like me," he says, understanding only after experiencing the care of a parent why Yuuki and Kiryuu have such sympathetic, sad expressions. It's rather revolting, so Kaname casts his eyes instead to the night-blooming waterlilies, now an explosion of pinks, purples, and reds adding a bright blot of color to the white moonflower garden.

"So you raised yourself?" Yuuki asks quietly.

"Yes. I had to be careful, and keep to myself, or else the humans realized I did not age correctly." Kaname dislikes the memories of those days, skulking at the edges of society like a scavenging animal picking through trash.

Kiryuu has a strange look in his eyes. "Did you know what you were?"

Kaname schools his face to keep an even expression. "I did not have a name for what I was. I knew there were others like me, but not why I did or needed certain things. Why the terrible hunger for blood," he says, uncomfortable at admitting such weakness and ignorance, and regretting his truthful impulse.

Hastily, he goes on, "It was a long time before I met any others of my kind again, and we named our race. I found them largely revolting. Many of them had turned into monstrous, greedy beasts, or had fallen into madness and delusions of godhood."

"But you didn't," Kiryuu says, a thoughtful statement of fact. Kaname stares at him; Kiryuu isn't glaring, and instead is scrutinizing him, eyes sharp. "Our history says that you helped the Hunters stop the worst vampires, gathered up the decent ones, and supported the creation of treaties between our races. You could have conquered humanity and made us your slaves. Why didn't you?"

Suddenly feeling like he needs to be back on safer ground, Kaname gives himself time by taking a drink of his tea.

"It's not what you think, Kiryuu. I'm not like you. Random people don't matter to me. I don't care about people simply because they exist. My loyalty is earned, and belongs to a select few. But humanity did not deserve to be enslaved by us. They valued their short lives no less than ours, with our ugly unquenchable thirst. I could see that allowing it would be wrong, and cause terrible suffering. And a friend of mine cared deeply for humans, much like the two of you do. Creating the world she desired sustained me, once she died. She would have wanted me to help them."

Kiryuu considers this. "A female pureblood who cared for humans, and who died. You knew the Ancestor of the Hunters?"

Kaname swallows painfully. "Yes. She was an extraordinary woman."

Kiryuu lets the subject drop, kind even to his enemies, and a comfortable silence falls as the three of them watch the moonflowers bloom in the starlight.

---

"Stop the car!"

Takamiya Kaito slams on the brakes, throwing Kaname's wolf forward and spilling him off the back seat where he'd been lying, stretched out on his side. Scrabbling for footing, Kaname jumps back up, circling around and sticking his head between the front seats to make his ire known to Takamiya.

Takamiya is knocking his head on the steering wheel. "Zero, please…."

"We completed our Hunt ahead of schedule," Kiryuu says firmly. "We'll be there on time. And I can't leave him - what if he gets hit by a car? He has a collar, so he belongs to somebody. I'm just going to return him."

Another stray dog. Kaname has discovered in the past few weeks that Kiryuu, the obnoxious white knight, rescues everything. Lost dogs, stray cats, loose horses (Kiryuu seemed particularly fond of them. On one memorable occasion, Kiryuu had delivered a skinny, beaten horse he found to a policeman with video evidence of its abuse). Wildlife trapped in fences and tangled in nets. Baby birds fallen from their nests. Cats in trees. Balloons in trees. Lost children, parents looking for their children, little old ladies needing help carrying heavy bags, people who were nasty to him, and on and on. Kiryuu will rescue everything except vampires (except Kaname).

Kaname, in the body of his wolf, sighs heavily. Takamiya gives him a look of intense understanding and camaraderie as Kiryuu goes to lure the dog with a bag of treats kept in his Hunting gear specifically for this purpose.

If someone told Kaname he would feel any kind of sympathy for Takamiya a month ago, Kaname would have educated them verbally, at length, exactly what he thought about Kiryuu's Hunter friend, and taken a chunk of their self-esteem with it.

'Wolfy' and Takamiya's first meeting had been a disaster. The alpha instincts had thrown a fit when the two Hunters embraced - Kaname had to explain to the alpha that Takamiya was brother, not rival, so stop shouting already about mate being stolen away - and the misunderstanding had left Kaname ill-tempered even before Takamiya reached out and ruffled his fur. Kaname puts up with a great deal of humiliation to preserve this disguise - never let anyone say he isn't completely dedicated to his own schemes - but being petted like a common dog by that insolent, rude Hunter was one step too far. Kaname sank his teeth into Takamiya's hand and refused to let go until Kiryuu promised Takamiya would never, ever try to pet him again.

Since then, the two of them have worked out an arrangement: Takamiya treats Kaname's wolf with the fear and caution he deserves, and Kaname doesn't bite him. It helps that Takamiya makes peace offerings of the homemade deer jerky he brings on Hunts, and relations have much improved.

Takamiya fishes out the bag of deer jerky, chomps down on a large piece, and offers Kaname's wolf another slice, which the wolf daintily takes in his teeth and gnaws on as they watch Kiryuu coax the dog closer. The little brown terrier takes to Kiryuu easily, tail wagging and squirming as it's picked up. Kaname and Takamiya finish off the last of the dried meat as Kiryuu returns the dog to the address on its collar.

An elderly woman answers the door, takes one look at Kiryuu, with his strange hair color, earrings and intimidating air, snatches the dog from Kiryuu's arms, and slams the door in the Hunter's face. It's not the first time this has happened. Children and animals adore Kiryuu, but adults often take one look at the strange-looking young man holding something small and vulnerable and assume he's up to no good. Kiryuu gets back into the car with no sign that he minds her reaction, unruffled as ever.

They're going to have dinner - breakfast for normal humans - with Takamiya's family before Kiryuu goes back to Rosehill. Kaname hopes they don't linger. Already the thin morning light promises a scorching summer day, and though Kaname's familiar bears sunlight better than his true body does, it feels uncomfortable nevertheless, and takes more concentration and power to keep the familiar manifested.

Summer for vampires is much like winter is to humans; the weather is uncomfortable so you stay inside, spend time with those close to you and hold the occasional party while you wait it out. That means that summer tends to be less active for vampire Hunters as well, under normal circumstances.

Kaname's eyes narrow. In the past few weeks, there have been far too many Hunts. Kiryuu is not supposed to Hunt so often, which means that if he is called out, he is badly needed. Someone is making Level D vampires at an unsustainable rate. Kaname has already started his own investigations, though whoever is doing it is hiding their tracks very skillfully.

The purpose of this deception has been an absolute failure, otherwise. Using his wolf has brought Kaname not a single piece of useful information. Kiryuu is careful never to speak of Hunter business, and he is taciturn about personal matters even with Yuuki. Kaname ought to have abandoned this strategy when he realized it brought him no gain, but he had not, even after enduring endless insults to his dignity while masquerading as Yuuki. Kaname can stand the embarrassment only because no one knows the wolf belongs to him, otherwise preserving his reputation would have demanded he exact revenge to save face.

Watching Kiryuu has been...not entirely uninteresting. It's almost as though Kiryuu is two different people. One person with Kaname - the angry, hostile, defensive, suspicious Kiryuu - and another with the rest of the world - the calmer, tolerant, generous Zero.

And a third person, who suffers from constant nightmares he keeps secret, the weak, vulnerable Kiryuu who's at the mercy of his own mind. Kaname wakes Kiryuu as soon as his nightmares begin now. His screaming alpha instincts have worn away at his resistance, and they bother him less the more quickly he acts. Kiryuu acts so grateful to be woken, but Kaname always returns to his own sleeping place, refusing to stay in Kiryuu's bed. The twinge of guilt every time he leaves Kiryuu alone hasn't gone away yet, but Kaname has faith that eventually it won't make his icy heart feel a thing.

For Kaname, centering his mind in the wolf has become a form of relaxation. The wolf has a simpler intellect, and few worries. Letting the wolf instincts reign makes fooling Kiryuu even easier; the wolf bears no grudges, and the wolf likes Kiryuu, who feeds him and pets him and grooms his coat. It's nearly embarrassing how much the wolf loves trailing behind Kiryuu, except that Kiryuu fully returns the adoration. Kaname's wolf still has no name, but he does have his own traveling bag, always filling with new things Kiryuu's bought for him: a bowl for drinking, dried meat treats, his leash and collar for when they're in public, several brushes and combs, and an embarrassing number of toys. Kaname refuses to use them, but that doesn't stop Kiryuu from trying.

'Wake up Wolfy, we're here," Kiryuu says. Kaname gives him a withering look, and braces himself for dealing with Takamiya's spawn. They're as grabby as their sire, but Takamiya keeps a vigilant eye out and doggedly intercepts their attempts to pet him. Kaname is satisfied; Takamiya has shown his own lesson well-learned.

The house is more crowded than Kaname expected; Takamiya, it turns out, has five children and seems to be babysitting several of his wife's young nieces and nephews, all of whom call Kaname's wolf doggy and throw table scraps at him, as though he is a dumb animal desperate enough to eat off the floor. A small toddler in a high chair even throws handfuls of cereal into his fur.

I am the most ancient and powerful pureblood in existence, he reminds himself, the mantra he has perfected over the past weeks. I allow these pathetic mortals to live because it serves my purposes to do so. Kaname's new, long-suffering patience has been hard learned while he worked to maintain this deceit, and that practice comes in handy now; Kaname restrains himself to glaring and the baby Hunters all live to Hunt another day. Kiryuu finally notices Kaname's torment and shoos away the children, taking Kaname aside to pick cereal pieces out of his fur and praising him for his tolerance. Kiryuu keeps the wolf next to his chair for the rest of the visit, far away from Takamiya's obnoxious spawn. Kaname lays his head in Kiryuu's lap - to maintain his disguise, of course - and lets the Hunter pet his ears as a reward.

Takamiya pulls Kiryuu aside after breakfast, under the pretense of seeing his fellow apprentice out to his car.

"Somebody tried to kill you today," the brunette says, leaning against the side of the car with his arms crossed.

Kaname's ears perk up. The alpha snarls inside his head, protective instincts rising.

Kiryuu tsks. "They always try to kill us, Kaito. We're Hunters."

Takamiya shakes his head sharply, anger rising in his tone. "Don't play dumb with me, Zero. There were almost three times as many Level Ds as our information said there should be. And don't tell me dispatch just made a mistake. Our intelligence division double-checked before sending us in, and there's no way they missed so many vamps. Where there are Ds, there's a pureblood Turning them. And only one of us makes sense as a pureblood's target."

Well, it seems Takamiya isn't as stupid as Kaname thought. This evening's Hunt is the fourth time Kiryuu has been sent into a situation where his enemies have been far greater than predicted.

Kiryuu, to his credit, does not try to persuade Takamiya he's wrong. "They aren't trying to kill me. They're testing me. That will come later, when they're certain they know my abilities."

Takamiya throws his hands up in the air. "And what happens then? You let them kill you?"

"I have Yuuki," Kiryuu gestures toward Kaname's wolf. "And they won't find me easy prey, Kaito." Kiryuu's voice hardens. "But for now, I won't accept any more group Hunts. And we're not Hunting together for a while, until I can sort this out. I'm not putting you in harm's way - you have people to take care of."

"And you don't?" demands Takamiya.

"It doesn't really matter if I'm killed, because the treaty will remain in force. And there are other Hunters who could do my work." From his relaxed attitude, it's as though Kiryuu isn't discussing his own death.

"You idiot, your life matters for more than that. You've got the Kurans now, haven't you?"

Zero shakes his head. "Yuuki has Kuran, and she would survive my death. Kuran would probably dance on my grave and then spit on it. "

Takamiya runs his hands over his face in frustration. "Fine, Zero. I can tell you're being stubborn about this and I'm not going to convince you."

We won't let mate die, insists the alpha, remembering Kiryuu's Hunting injury. We'll kill anyone who would try. Mate is strong and deadly and beautiful. We will protect our mate, and he will choose us and be ours forever. Kaname licks the back of Kiryuu's hand, tasting the pheromones on his skin, just like Yuuki would.

Blowing out a breath, Takamiya tries to calm himself. "Can I tell Misao that you're coming to Midsummer like usual?"

Kiryuu hesitates, his shoulders slumping, and says, "I don't think Kuran would allow it. He won't let me attend an obviously Hunter celebration."

Kaname lifts his head. Among Hunters, the summer solstice was as important a holiday as the winter solstice was to vampires, or Christmas was to humans. Spending the day alone, with no celebration, would be pitiful.

"It's fine," Kiryuu says, trying to offer a weak upturn of his lips. "I'll visit after Midsummer and bring your gifts then."

---

"Why do all of your plans require me wearing woman's clothing?"

Kuran gives one of his slow, infuriating smirks as his eyes trail all the way down Zero's body, and then back up. "You don't think it suits you?"

Zero glares, scowling furiously.

"We're in public, Kiryuu. Pretend that you don't want to shoot me unless you want to add to the rumors," Kuran remarks. "I can't be blamed this time. The theatre we're attending has strict dress codes. Yuuki and I have to follow them too."

That's hardly a fair comparison. Kuran gets to wear a masculine black kimono marked with the Kuran nine-orchid crest, tucked into hakama trousers, while Yuuki looks lovely in her coral kimono with bright floral patterns. Nice, normal clothes, if more formal and expensive than impoverished Hunter Zero's used to.

The outfit delivered to the Consort's Suite, on the other hand, is anything but normal. Heavily modified to conform to the standards of suitable clothing for an omega, the deep forest green kimono woven with pine trees and a gyrfalcon is still recognizable as a furisode. It's beautiful, there's no denying, and costly, but Zero still feels uncomfortable wearing a woman's kimono - and a kimono for single women no less, what was Kuran thinking? - in front of all these people. Thank the Ancestress for Sasaki, or else he would have never been able to get all of these layers on, let alone tie his black obi with maple leaves. All the same, Zero thinks, at least it's an improvement over the last outfit Kuran made Zero wear. He's ruefully fond of the pattern; the animated air of the gyrfalcon, beating wings upraised and red eyes fierce, appeals to him. So Zero counts to ten and tries to force his face back to neutrality.

"Better," Kuran approves, and goes back to socializing with the elites of vampire society as they wait in the theatre lobby for the house to open.

Watching Yuuki in public always reminds Zero of how much she's grown; she's has a mature, refined air, and truly plays her role as a pureblood with power and influence. It's as though she's two people - the regal, authoritative pureblood princess who vampire society respects and admires, and the cheerful, sometimes silly Yuuki who sits with her knees tucked up underneath her on the couch and accidentally wears her underwear inside out.

Zero has little to do except watch the Kurans, look like a respectable pureblood's Consort, and not glare at anyone. Most of the vampires the Kurans speak to would rather pretend Zero was an expensive escort or an oddly shaped lamp. Yuuki at least makes an effort to include Zero in their conversations, but he's not very enthused about talking to these people either.

For dinner, Kuran had booked a private dining room at a five star restaurant where the three of them ate before leaving for the theatre. If Zero hadn't known better, he would have thought Kuran was being oddly considerate. The room had been quiet and discreet, with a soothing waterfall flowing from the wall; the reassuring white noise of splashing water had kept him from becoming overly anxious and tense at the thought of going out in vampire society again. Zero draws on that well of calm and the satisfaction of a full belly to get through being either ignored or stared at for a good fifteen minutes before the doors open and the trio can be shown to their seats by black robed ushers.

The Kurans courteously seat Zero between them, and help him arrange himself to avoid sitting on his kosode's excessively long sleeves. As the only purebloods attending, the Kurans, plus Zero by association, had been the first to be seated (purebloods did not wait on other people), and they have nothing to do as the other audience members are seated except watch the other patrons or talk with each other.

The crowd hasn't a single empty seat in the entire house, except for one to the right and one to the left of the Kurans. Most of the people in this crowd aren't here because they love traditional theatre; they're here to kiss-ass with the pureblood Kuran family. How does Yuuki stand being around these people all the time?

The voices go quiet as the theatre manager enters the stage, bowing deeply to the audience. "Good evening, lords and ladies. We thank our esteemed guests for attending our special performance this evening, commissioned by Kuran-sama, who has graciously honored our unworthy efforts by attending tonight."

Kuran inclines his head in acknowledgement, and Yuuki gives her measured princess wave. The audience claps appreciatively, and the house lights go down.

For Kuran's outing (not a date, Zero insists), the pureblood has taken them to see a kabuki performance at a theatre owned by the pureblood Hanadagi family, who are currently in Sleep. The acting troupe performing this evening is exclusively composed of vampires, as is the audience and the other theatre workers. Zero has never attended kabuki before, but he has no optimism that Kuran's taste in plays with be anything but boring and old.

But once the curtain rises, and the players take the stage, Zero finds himself intrigued by the experience. It's definitely not his normal entertainment, but the measured pace, the traditional music, and the distinctive white stage makeup all have a certain novelty to them. Pre-Cataclysm plays are extremely rare, and artistic traditions like this were rarely preserved. It's amazing to think that Zero's watching something that's even older than Kuran. Except for rocks and mountains, of course. The Hunter is careful to hide his smile in his sleeve.

The plays themselves tend to be quite short, and are performed in a sequence to create a full program, so if Zero finds himself bored by one scene, the performance soon moves on. His favorites are the dance pieces, where he can admire the precise movements of the actors, as one trained professional athlete to another, but some of the comedy stories even manage to get a laugh out of him. The main play this evening is 'Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees', whose plot revolves around the main character's journey to hunt down three rogue generals. It has some fighting scenes and plot twists, and manages to hold his interest.

By the half-hour long intermission, Zero is stiff and ready to go for a walk, but he isn't miserable and bored the way he imagined he would be. His estimation of Kuran's taste in entertainment has risen from 'terrible' to 'old-fashioned but watchable.' Kuran is an old man, so Zero shouldn't act too surprised when he likes old things.

Emerging from the theatre into the busy nightlife is like popping a soap bubble; the bustling hubbub, bright streetlights and noise shocks the senses after the silence and enclosed darkness of the theatre. Zero blinks and internally tenses when he spots the paparazzi waiting for them. Kuran reads the tiny stiffening of his shoulders before he forces them to relax.

"I've requested that the press keep their distance this evening. They won't disturb us, and we will have a measure of privacy," Kuran tells them.

Zero gives him a disbelieving look. "I've never met a polite celebrity photographer before. It's like finding a polite lion."

Kuran chuckles, and moves them down the street, a guiding hand on his and Yuuki's elbows. "They are vampires, and they know that there are some forces it is wiser not to challenge."

This is a vampire shopping district; Zero has patrolled similar places before as a Hunter. Most of the businesses here are run by vampires, and they stay open until sunrise, so even after midnight the streets ring with voices, laughter and the footsteps of shoppers. The pedestrians in their path stop and move politely to the side, lowering their heads until the Kurans (and Zero) pass by. It's kind of creepy, actually, but neither of the Kurans act like this is anything out of the norm.

"Is there anyplace you would like to go?" Kuran frames the question as though he's speaking to both of them, but he's only looking at Yuuki when he asks.

"Not really." Yuuki answers. "We haven't got too long before intermission ends. Zero?" she asks, but he gives a shake of his head, and she turns back to Kuran. "Let's just see if anything catches our eye."

The three of them stroll the boulevard in in silence for a few moments.

Deciding to indulge his curiosity, Zero asks a question that's been tugging at him since they arrived. "Kuran, do you really enjoy going to the theatre, or is this just part of your public persona?"

"I have a great fondness for the theatre," Kuran replies easily. "It's an extremely useful diversion for political purposes as well, but I never have to feign enjoyment. Acting is the natural impulse of a storytelling species, as ephemeral an art as music or dance."

Yuuki smiles at her husband, and darts a quick look around to see if anyone is close enough nearby to overhear. "Do you recognize any plays from your earliest years?"

She means Kuran's first life as the Ancestor, Zero realizes.

Kuran's easy air turns to unnatural blankness. "We did not have plays then. We could not afford to waste resources on something so useless. There was little beauty in those days."

Yuuki's face falls, and she goes to apologize before Kaname waves the words away, his rigid mask relaxing a fraction.

"Do not be sorry. The experience of famine makes us appreciate satiation. I enjoy the pleasure of art more deeply because I know how poor the world is in its absence."

The silence falls again, less comfortable this time.

"I hope the two of you are enjoying the performance?" Kuran inquires, like a host trying to make conversation. Yuuki makes positive noises. Kuran turns to Zero, expecting an answer.

Kuran had asked politely - and has been less annoying than usual lately - so Zero replies honestly. "More than I expected. I've never been to a kabuki play before. The last one - Heron Maiden? - that was the best one."

Kuran smiles the way he does when he's spotted an opening, tucking his hands in his pockets, and Zero's eyes narrow.

"Funny you would pick that one. The performer was a very famous onnagata - a male performer playing a woman's role. I suppose you would be familiar with wearing female costumes by now."

That smug look pisses him off. Just looking at Kuran's stupid pureblood face makes Zero want to knock that self-satisfied smile right off it.

And before his brain can catch up, Zero looks Kuran dead in the eye, and calmly announces, "Yes, I am. You're not the first man I've crossdressed for, Kuran."

Kuran's smile falters, and his eyes widen, the equal of bug-eyed, open-mouthed shock on anyone else. Ha, he's rattled Kuran, and the satisfied glee overcomes the horror because what stupid thing has he just said.

Yuuki looks half-stunned, staring at Zero with glassy eyes, and she wets her lips. "When was this," she asks faintly, with the face of someone who's had their entire world turned on its head. And the new world is golden and full of Zero in women's clothing. Oh Ancestress, I may have made a mistake, Zero thinks, the gravity of what he just did hitting him between the eyes.

"We should head back to the theater, intermission will be over soon," Zero rushes to say a touch too quickly for believable casualness. He spins on his heel, almost stepping on the hem of his kimono in his haste, when two hands clamp down around his biceps, and pull him off balance.

Yuuki pulls him down so his ear is right against her mouth. Her low voice sends a shiver down his spine. "Don't think you're getting away so easily. You're going to tell me exactly who my rival is when we get home. I will hunt you down if you try to run, Zero. And once you're ours, you're going to show me exactly what I missed. Understand, my Consort?"

Zero swallows, and flees with as much decorum as possible.

Kuran keeps giving him considering looks until the theatre lights go down. Zero sits very uncomfortably for the rest of the performance, Yuuki's hand resting possessively on his thigh.

---

Kuran catches up with Zero the next day, calling him aside after dinner to speak privately in his study. Yuuki, true to her word, had wrung the story of his childhood crossdressing out of him as soon as she could trap him where he couldn't run. And the hungry looks she gave him after his confession implied that her earlier promise was still in force, rival or no rival (But it had been a little nice that she was jealous). So Zero is more than a little leery of Kuran doing the same.

The pureblood lets Zero sweat for a few moments while he considers his words.

"I believe the summer solstice is coming up on the twentieth?"

Zero keeps his expression unmoved, but Kuran's surprised him. The pureblood wanted to talk about this, of all things?

"Yes," he confirms, adding nothing further until he knows what Kuran wants. Hopefully the vampire will give him some clue.

"The summer solstice is the most important Hunter holiday, correct?"

"Yes," the Hunter confirms again, his stomach sinking. Kuran is going to forbid him to go, just as Zero feared he would.

"You may attend if you wish, but I need to know beforehand so I can preempt the rumors it will cause," Kuran says, fingers steepled.

Zero watches the pureblood closely; this doesn't seem to be some kind of trick or test.

"Really?" Zero asks.

"That is what I have said," Kurans replies with a touch of asperity. "Do you wish to go or not?"

Zero doesn't need to be told three times. "I want to go," he says quickly, in case Kuran is about to change his mind.

The pureblood nods. "Very well. My familiar will escort you to and from the celebration. Let Steward Inukai know your travel plans."

Kuran goes back to his work, clearly dismissing the Hunter. Zero lingers by the door a moment longer. Attending Midsummer is an important tradition, and he would have missed seeing Yagari, Cross and Kaito deeply.

"Thank you," Zero blurts out, and flees down the corridor before he can hear Kuran's response.

True to his word, a raven escorts Zero to the Midsummer bonfires, and waits in the trees until Zero is ready to leave, strangely polite and considerate.

"He's been acting like less of a cold-blooded fang-licker than usual," Zero confides to Yuuki's wolf a few days later, holed up on a stakeout with Wolfy lying across his upper legs like a furry blanket. The familiar is so large that Zero's lap wasn't big enough, and he's starting to lose the feeling in his legs.

Kuran has been strangely tolerable for the last couple of weeks since Midsummer. Zero is almost suspicious that he's up to something. "I mean, he hasn't really been nice, but he hasn't been as much of a bastard either. I think Kuran might be ill."

The wolf huffs, swishing its tail like it's sweeping away Zero's words.

"I know, I know. Purebloods can't get body-sick, I know. Head-sick is what I meant. Maybe the old fossil's brain is finally calcifying?"

Yuuki's familiar growls.

"Alright, I'll stop. But you're supposed to be picking a name, so pay attention this time," Zero scolds, hefting the heavy botany volume propped up on the wolf's back.

The wolf huffs again, and Zero decides to interpret that as a yes.

"Family Solanaceae. A family of flowering plants that include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant...hmm. Wolfberries, that would be a very funny name."

Wolfy gives him the 'questioning your intelligence' look.

"Also includes petunias? How about that?"

The wolf yawns.

"No?" Zero runs his finger down the page. He's going to find a flower name the wolf will accept, and he'll do it if he has to read this entire book. "African violets - violet?"

Rejected again.

Slipping the wolf another treat, he reads out loud absently, over the crunching noises. "These are no good. Mandrakes, Angel's Trumpet, Deadly Nightshade -"

The wolf raises its head, and looks interested.

Zero shakes his head back and forth. "Oh no you don't, Yuuki. Calling your wolf 'Nightshade' is such an embarrassing vampire cliche. Literally every part of this plant is poisonous."

The wolf's stare bores into his soul, and it bark-howls.

"Nightshade? Really?"

Yes, really. Yuuki's wolf won't budge.

Zero sighs and gives in, gratefully shutting the book and wiping a hand over his eyes. "Alright," he says, a fond smile creeping over his lips. "Nightshade the wolf it is."

"You know," Zero teases, taking the wolf's chin in both hands and tipping its face up until they're both nose to nose, "I think I understand now why your familiar's form is a wolf. It didn't make any sense to me at first - although you are very fluffy, Nightshade."

The Hunter bops their noses together, chuckling at the wolf's indignant huff. "Don't deny it, Yuuki. Your familiar is a scary fluffball who somehow manages to be cute."

"But I think your wolf form makes sense. Wolves normally live in packs with their parents and siblings, and then they go off on their own to start a new pack. A wolf by itself is a wolf without a family, and they get lonely."

"But it's okay," Zero says, smiling brilliantly in the way that transforms his face for anyone watching, tender concern, care and affection in his soft gaze, "You're not alone anymore."

(In the shriveled, coal black, frozen lump that passes for Kuran Kaname's heart, something shivers and cracks open)

---

As soon as Zero walks into the atrium, Yuuki's mouth is on his, kissing him thoroughly and deeply, only pulling away when he desperately needs to breathe. Zero knows how to kiss back now - Yuuki kisses him like this every time he leaves for a Hunt; he kills vampires with the taste of her in his mouth and the murmur of 'I love you, be safe' still ringing in his ears, reminding him that he can't act so recklessly anymore. Every time she says it, it gets a little harder to convince himself that she doesn't really mean it, because Zero desperately wants it to be true.

"Good evening," she sings, "You look so good, Zero! I haven't seen you in jeans since we were in school together."

Zero gets enough breath to speak. "You look good too. Will you let us know where we're going yet?"

"No, that's a surprise until we get there," Yuuki answers mischievously, spinning in a circle that makes her skirt flare - then skidding to a halt to stare at Kuran.

Zero stares too, because Kuran is in dark, well-fitting jeans like an ordinary peasant, my god. He looks five years younger, just like this. Blood and ashes, what did Yuuki have to do to get Kuran to shed his suits? Zero's almost convinced the man sleeps in them, like a snail in a shell. The pureblood's still in a button-down shirt, but that's far more relaxed than his normal attire, even if it isn't as casual as Zero's t-shirt.

Kuran's doing his best to pretend that what he's wearing is completely normal, and that Zero and Yuuki aren't staring at him like some apparition from the dead has appeared, but Zero is starting to get a sense of Kuran's real moods behind his collected, untouchable mask. This mask is for 'I'm uncomfortable but I won't show it.'

Yuuki makes much of her husband, praising him for being adventurous and wearing the new clothes she bought him, and then, with a flourish, presents him with a map.

"I'm still not telling you where we're going tonight, but the location is here," she says, pointing to a point near the coast. "Can you take the three of us there with your bats?"

Kuran studies the map. "I believe so. You'll have to be touching me," he tells Zero with a hint of his old smugness.

But Kuran's been almost polite lately, and Zero finds it easier than usual to ignore him. Yuuki has clearly put a lot of effort and thought into planning her date, and Zero won't mess up tonight by getting into a pointless fight with Kuran. Whatever the pureblood does to provoke him, Zero won't let himself respond. And by now he's learned to just go along with the Kurans' weird desire to cover Zero's body in their scents.

After Kuran sets them down and their bodies are solid again, Zero can smell the brine scent of the sea nearby, mixed with the smells of cooking food, and hear the crash of waves underneath the sound of many voices. Hundreds and hundreds of lanterns chase away the darkness of the early July night. The three vampires have manifested at the edge of the lights, just beyond where the people are milling around the edges of canopied wooden stalls.

"A festival," Kuran observes, with a hint of curiosity, examining the paper streamers lining the edges of the festival grounds. "I am only familiar with vampire holidays. What is being celebrated today?" the pureblood asks with a hidden air of quiet embarrassment.

"It's called Tanabata," Yuuki tells Kuran, taking their hands and beginning to walk toward the festival lights. "Celebrating the reunification of the celestial lovers, after spending a whole year apart. They're stars whose father tried to separate them by diverting a river into the sky - the Milky Way - that was too fast to cross without a bridge. Only once a year does the river run low enough for them to see each other. And that's today! I thought if anyone was meant to celebrate Tanabata, it would be us."

The crowd is thick enough it's good that Yuuki is linking the three of them together, or the flow would have quickly torn them in different directions. There are booths selling the food Zero smelled earlier, all kinds of fried snacks, noodles and desserts. Other booths have carnival games where players can test their skills and win prizes. Crowds gather at the most popular places, which Yuuki helps them weave around.

"Where do you want to go?" she asks, raising her voice to be heard above the crowd.

Zero's stomach growls just as she asks, and Yuuki throws back her head and laughs.

"Food," she says, "Come on, I want to eat everything! We can share what we buy."

"Oh! Before I forget," Yuuki says, pulling something from her purse. With a grin, she holds up two coin purses, each bulging at the seams and shaped like a frog with a fat, full belly, handing one each to Kaname and Zero. "We aren't allowed to leave until these are empty, one for each of you. So no brooding and playing cool! Tonight you're supposed to have fun."

Kuran holds his frog purse like it's some kind of alien artifact, but the pureblood's always been rather thrown by Yuuki's love of cuteness, his desire to please her clashing with his need to maintain his imposing public reputation. The pureblood projects perfect confidence and composure, as always, but Zero gets the sense that he feels a little out of place and unsure what to do, dressed in his strange civilian clothes and incognito in a crowd full of humans. How many festivals has Kuran been to before, Zero wonders, in his surprisingly empty, vast lifespan?

Yuuki has chosen a less famous location for them to attend, with little chance of encountering another vampire. There is no need for Kuran's usual masks here. There are no lackeys, and no enemies. No one to impress or intimidate or persuade. Kuran, Zero has noticed, is a nearly perfect actor, but put him in an unfamiliar situation where he doesn't know the right role to play, and his body language gives away tiny hesitations and uncertainties that show his true feelings, his body accidentally honest if you know what to look for.

It's easy for Zero to let his flash of empathy guide him. He arranges the set of his body insolently and calls out, "Hey old man, there's a stand selling fried octopus. Don't think I didn't notice when you ate all the ones I made. You can stuff your face with these instead."

Kuran raises an eyebrow, the familiar arguments coming easily, "I seem to remember three people present who ate them, not one; it was hardly my fault if I attempted to be polite and eat your mediocre cooking, Kiryuu."

But they end up buying the octopus anyway. Kuran examines the octopus-on-a-stick with something between consternation and affront, as if to say 'am I really expected to eat like this, or is this some kind of joke?' It's hilarious, and Yuuki and Zero aren't even trying to hide it as they eagerly chomp their own octopus skewers. Kuran delicately tries to eat neat bites off the sides, loses several piece of octopus when they fall off the stick, then finally gives in and copies Yuuki. When he's finished, Yuuki hands her husband a napkin like she's giving him a trophy.

Needless to say, Yuuki and Zero develop a sudden appreciation for foods served on sticks for the rest of the evening. The two of them enjoy Kuran's skepticism about pretty much everything as they forcibly introduce him to the wonderful world of festival food. Gradually, Kuran seems to relax and become more comfortable trying things without worrying about his dignity. Kuran draws the line at the choco banana for dessert, unfortunately, and they compromise with an assortment of fish-shaped, filled taiyaki pastries and an ungodly amount of dango to satisfy Yuuki's sweet tooth. The trio wander between food stands until even Yuuki can't eat another bite, trying everything and anything that looks appetizing.

"I think I need to walk off that last dango," Yuuki groans.

Zero clicks his tongue. "Shouldn't have eaten it then."

Yuuki mock-glares and punches Zero's shoulder gently with a fist. "I'll never surrender!" she declares. "No one gets left behind!"

Kuran observes their exchange silently; he's spoken very little this evening, other than to charm some of the stall vendors with his charisma, seemingly out of habit.

The three of them stroll along the rows of booths, Yuuki in between the two rivals, content to take in the bright and cheerful atmosphere as they digest. Many of the booths sell toys or games and other festival souvenirs.

"Cover for me," Yuuki hisses into his ear, and abandons Zero and Kuran together as she darts into a booth they just passed. Zero eyes Kuran. Exactly what does Yuuki expect him to do? But it's for Yuuki, Zero reminds himself, so he opens his mouth and asks the first thing that comes to mind.

"Are you having a good time?" Immediately, Zero curses himself for such a pointless question; he doesn't care if Kuran enjoys himself or not as long as Yuuki's date goes well for her.

Kuran is his usual, arrogant, irritating self now, early uncertainty dispelled; it makes him much more annoying to deal with. "Of course. Even having you along hasn't managed to ruin it."

Zero opens his mouth, an insult on his tongue, and reluctantly swallows it back down. He promised himself he wouldn't ruin Yuuki's date, and he's supposed to be distracting Kuran.

"Well sorry for that," he says sarcastically. "I guess human festivals aren't on the approved list of places vampire royalty can visit."

"Not especially, no," Kuran agrees, hands in his pockets. "It's been quite interesting to see what humans have created while I was Asleep. They've risen a long way since their fall, and learned something from it, I hope. Their ingenuity in the face of their powerlessness is fascinating."

"Everyone must seem powerless compared to you," Zero says bitterly, unconsciously touching his throat.

"Yes," Kuran says, in a conversational tone, "Though they created me, it would take me no more effort to kill everyone here, than it would take you to crush an insect."

Even with the summer heat, Zero feels cold. Kuran isn't boasting. Kuran isn't threatening. He's simply telling the truth, stating the facts without any exaggeration.

"There really isn't anything they could do to stop me. Only a Hunter weapon or another pureblood can kill me, and the dwindling purebloods of the present are nothing compared to the monsters that were their Ancestors."

"Then I guess," says Zero, raising his head and meeting Kuran's gaze without blinking, "It's a good thing I brought my gun."

"But I won't need it, because you're so goddamn old you'd probably break a hip or something if you tried."

Kuran's mouth twitches into an almost-smile; Zero's managed to genuinely amuse him.

Goddamn purebloods. Zero sighs. "If you're going on a power trip, I'm taking you to go see the goldfish," the Hunter announces.

Five minutes later, as Kuran seems to be contemplating the merits of goldfish scooping, Yuuki sidles up beside the two of them, something hidden in a bag behind her back.

"Found anything fun?" she asks, overly cheerful, with a wicked edge to her sunny smile.

Kuran gestures at the goldfish pond.

"A vampire," Zero answers. "But I didn't get to shoot him, so it wasn't fun."

Yuuki gives Zero a look, playful eyes inviting him to take part in whatever game she's come up with. Zero grins; when has he ever passed up a chance to mess with Kuran?

"You know, Kaname," Yuuki begins innocently, "we found some interesting things when we cleaned out the attics in Kuran Manor."

"Yes," Zero continues nonchalantly, "Yuuki's parents stored a lot of your childhood stuff up there."

Kuran is beginning to look faintly worried about the direction this conversation has taken, his eyes flicking from one of them to the other.

"I thought you might be missing some of your old belongings now that we're at Rosehill," Yuuki chimes in, "so I bought you something."

Kuran gives the plastic bag a suspicious stare, and he looks almost nervous. The pureblood opens his mouth, but Zero rushes in before Kuran can speak.

"I had no idea you were such a cute child!" Zero enthuses, and the pureblood looks like he's swallowed a lemon.

Yuuki nods furiously, rocking on the balls of her feet, "Yes, you really were! So here you go," she says, shoving the package into his hands.

Kuran unwraps the plastic and pulls out a stuffed wolf toy with white fur and blue glass eyes. The pureblood just stares at it for a moment in consternation, then his cheeks dust faintly red and he shoves it back in the bag, showing a rare face of embarrassed discomfort.

Yuuki and Zero look at each other for a minute, then double over laughing.

"Kaname, it's just a stuffed animal! Don't you like it? The house's servants said you took your wolf everywhere with you when you were a child," Yuuki asks between bouts of laughter.

"The little master and his favorite toy. You named it Blackie," Zero crows.

"It's unnecessary. I've outgrown such things," Kuran grinds out, trying to give the toy, hidden in its bag, back to Yuuki.

Yuuki can be quite stubborn when she wants to be; the white wolf is tucked under Kuran's arm, and there it stays for the rest of the night.

"Should we play some games?" Yuuki wonders afterwards as they're walking back along the booths, shaking Zero's mostly empty frog coin purse.

Zero snatches it back protectively. "These are all human games, so wouldn't that be cheating?"

"Not if we compete against each other!" she replies. "Come on, just one?"

Zero remains unmoved.

Yuuki goes for the easy target. "Kaname, let's see who'll win between us. I bet I can!" she asks, already dragging him to a ring toss booth and putting down her money. A good choice by Yuuki; Zero always won all the shooting games, but Yuuki has a good wrist and she's practiced on this game before. Zero roots for Yuuki, and the match score is even, each of the Kurans throwing cleanly and hitting the target, until a gust of wind throws both of their rings off course.

Yuuki wilts, crestfallen, and Zero sighs, putting down the money to earn himself into the competition. Purebloods may have mind powers, but Zero throws knives for a living, and his skill helps him throw ring after ring that settles solidly around the target, until the booth owner begs a loss because he doesn't have any bigger prizes. Zero lets Yuuki pick, and she walks away with a bear half as tall as she is.

The bear she gives away to a crying child and their parents. Then Yuuki leads them to a quieter, more out of the way corner with a table set up next to a bamboo grove.

"For Tanabata," she explains for Kuran's sake, "It's tradition to write down a wish, and hang it up to make it come true. But it has to stay secret! So let's write down our wishes. I have one last surprise, and then we'll go home."

Each of them take a pen and a strip of colorful paper, much like the paper the festival's decorations are made from, and reflect for a little while before writing down their wish. Yuuki finishes almost as soon as she sits down to think, folding the strip of paper and threading the string through the ends. Kuran's pen hovers motionlessly for a long while, then swiftly and decisively he writes down his wish.

Zero stares at his own blank wish paper. What does he wish for? Zero doesn't even know what he wants. He can't leave it blank. What do normal people wish for? Health, good fortune, happiness - a memory, Yuuki, asking him the last time he was happy.

'I wish to be happy' - the ink flows from his pen with no more thought. A foolish wish, Zero tells himself, as he savagely crosses it out, and replaces it with 'I wish to discharge my duties well, and for those I love to be safe.' Zero folds the paper over so he doesn't have to look at the words for a second longer. He should know better. Reach too high and you'll be disappointed, the Hunter reminds himself as he hangs his wish paper near Yuuki's and Kuran's.

Yuuki takes both of their hands again, leading them away from the festival lights, toward the smell of the sea. At the pier is a small boat, its captain already at the helm with the engine humming. Once they board, it pulls away from the dock, skipping through the darkness on the wave-crests, but they don't go far. The captain stops the motor and shuts off the running lights once they're a little ways out from shore, but he stays in the wheelhouse. They are a little floating island, a universe of three underneath the great night sky, and the sounds of the waves and the shorebirds are the only noise. The bannered sky full of stars is far brighter away from human lights.

It's peaceful, in the warm dark with the deck rocking back and forth underneath their feet. When Zero licks his lips, he tastes the salt spray misting his cheeks, thrown up by the wind.

Yuuki holds her hair out of her face; in the night, her smile seems brighter than day to her spouses' vampire eyes. "This is my night, and these are my stars," Yuuki repeats the words of their wedding. "I've found the dream I longed for. The two of you are my heart's desire."

Then she kisses them, warm and slow, but without heat, only affection and admiration in her lips. They trade kisses like secrets, the scent and taste of each other commingled in their mouths, too drunk on the sea and the stars and the fragile magic of this moment to care who is kissing who.

Yuuki leans back, tugs on his sleeve, "Look up, Zero."

A crack like a gunshot, and a dozen flares of light arcing into the sky, blooms of yellow and green light like anemones against the velvet black.

"Fireworks," he murmurs, and settles back to watch the show, a powerful weight of nostalgia on him.

Like instinct, their hands seek each other out, shyly inquisitive, before linking together like the edges of a puzzle. Yuuki pulls them all closer, heads tipped back to watch the sky, then breaks the chain to push Zero and Kuran nearly chest to chest, and taking each of their hands in her own, she unites them. Then she fits herself back into place, the third side of their triangle again, and enthralled by the bright bursts and light, they watch in contentment. Zero watches the way the colors look spilling over Yuuki's face as much as he watches the sky.

"Do you know what I wished for?" Yuuki says above the snap and spark of the gunpowder, eyes fixed on the fading trails of a starburst.

"I wished for us to always be together, like this."

---

Sometimes the prey runs.

Kaname and the wolf like it when the prey runs. They are both predators, after all, and a pureblood is a predator of predators; to hunt is to live, and the feeling of the chase and the catch is the most primal thrill.

The wolf's body is not invulnerable like his own; its power is limited to teeth and jaws without his aid. It make the chase all the more intoxicating, the need to strain and strive and the possibility that the prey may slip out from between his jaws to live another day. Kaname has never experienced defeat before. This the wolf has taught him.

Today, the prey is a pair of Level C, put to flight and running hard. Kiryuu is just ahead of him, weaving through the trees, but keeping a steady pace. Long hunts are good, but nothing beats the climax of the end, when both the Hunter and the hunted are pushed to the edge of their strength, culminating in that final life and death struggle. It will come soon; the prey is tiring.

Kaname's paws strike the earth in a rhythmic beat, savoring the coil and snap of his limbs; each time his hind legs touch down, he pushes off ever harder, propelling himself forward to the smell of bruised pine needles.

Drawing level with Kiryuu, a silver streak in the night with the ends of his coat fluttering like wings, Kaname bark-howls in exhilaration. Kiryuu does not have breath to waste on a response, but he laughs and his eyes dance and his mouth smiles like he knows tonight he is death and blades and he smells of gunpowder and tender sweet musk.

In the entire world, he is the being most dangerous to us, admires the alpha. Is he not magnificent? Is his strength not peerless?

They've brought their quarry to bay, the vampires slowing to a stop up ahead. Kaname reigns in the wolf, circling around while Kiryuu goes for the kill. The bolder vampire meets him swinging an axe; Kiryuu blocks and spins away, leaving a dagger in the vampire's shoulder, payment for his reckless charge.

He was meant for us, exults the alpha. It was our blood that woke him. Do you think our proud Silver One would stand being mounted by a sire weaker than him?

The first Level C dies in a burst of ash, clouding the air for a split second. And in that moment, the second vampire attacks.

But Kiryuu turns to meet the vampire too slowly, with the same strange hesitance and distant expression Kaname recognizes from the Hunt where he took the wound to his side - the one that drove his alpha into a frenzy. The same thing will happen again here, in a moment, when the vampire's claws meet Kiryuu's back, and the Hunter's blood will spill.

Kiryuu hesitated.

Kaname and the wolf do not.

The vampire screams as his ribs snap when several hundred pounds of wolf crash into his side; his whole body is thrown sideways to the ground, away from Kiryuu, who is waking up from his daze. The body underneath Kaname thrashes; the taste of blood in his mouth, and the vampire's screams die away into gurgles and wheezes from the ruins of his throat. Kaname doesn't move away until the vampire is dust, letting the jets of blood coat his face and coagulate in his fur; against the black, you can hardly see the blood.

Kiryuu stands silently beside him, expression agonized. "I'm so sorry you had to do that, Yuuki" Kiryuu's voice wavers, and he folds to his knees, putting his arms around Kaname's neck, uncaring how the blood from his fur smears and stains the Hunter's coat. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to keep you from having to take another life. This is my fault."

Kaname feels nothing from taking a stranger's life who was justly marked for death, and he shakes his head, growling; Kiryuu's remorse is wasted on him.

The Hunter forces a tight smile; Kiryuu thinks Yuuki is putting on a brave face to make him feel better. At times like these, Kaname's false identity can be frustrating.

"I promise I'll tell you what's going on later. But we need to get cleaned up first. We look suspicious and we smell like a slaughterhouse," Kiryuu bargains, and Kaname is curious enough that he complies without complaint.

The water of Nightshade's bath is neither cold nor hot, a comfortable temperature just above lukewarm that makes washing the blood out of his dark fur easy. Before Kiryuu changed out of his own blood-stiffened clothing or did anything but put his gear carefully out of the way, he ran Kaname's familiar a bath to soak out the clotted blood matting his fur in knots and clumps.

Now Kiryuu is on his knees by the side of the tub, sleeves rolled to his elbows and coat gone, painstakingly working the dried blood out with his hands. The Hunter keeps patiently to his task, though he must be tired, gentle and careful not to pull too hard. The feeling of the Hunter's fingers carding through his coat is blissful; Kaname's body translates the sensation as someone running their fingers through his hair and stroking his scalp.

The expected outrage and offense does not come to him. Purebloods rarely receive the pleasure of human touch, especially prolonged contact given so casually. Lesser vampires revere them; equals are their enemies. Sacred things are not to be touched, and nothing is more distant than a king of vampires to his worshipers, Kaname remembers bitterly.

"Close your eyes, Nightshade, I don't want to get soap in them."

Kiryuu's hand cups the familiar's chin and pours handfuls of water over its bloody muzzle. Even without sight, Kaname can imagine how vulnerable the wolf must look. He lets Kiryuu do it anyway. Kaname doesn't even need to remind himself anymore to allow it because Yuuki would.

Maintaining his usual attitude of disdain and spite with Kiryuu has been difficult for some time now. Even pretending to dislike accompanying Kiryuu on a Hunt has become a chore. Kiryuu is neither a fool nor a toady, which makes him more pleasant company than many of the people Kaname must spend time dealing with. The Hunter has acted cautiously polite as Kaname's interactions with him have become less hostile. If Kaname no longer wishes to continue their feud, Kiryuu will likely allow it to stand as their new status quo.

"You're clean, Nightshade. Can you stand on the bath rug while I dry you off?"

The wolf likes being dried off; the rubbing feels like petting, and the wolf is infatuated with Kiryuu as much as the alpha is. Kaname cannot pretend he does not understand why, after watching Kiryuu for the past two months. Kiryuu is as sincere as he seems. He does good because he wants to do good, not because he wants to be praised for doing good. Kaname is reminded inescapably of her, the Hunter's Ancestress.

Kaname had not needed to stop that vampire. Kiryuu would have been injured, but the Level B never had a hope of killing him. Why had Kaname jumped without thought to stop that vampire, and then savaged him beyond need?

He could blame the wolf or the alpha, but Kaname is old enough to know it's unwise to lie to himself any longer. Shedding his fears that Yuuki would reject his real identity or abandon him for Kiryuu, his guilt and shame at being shown the consequences of his vendetta, and coming to know Kiryuu ever more intimately and personally - all of those things have knocked away the foundations of his vengeful loathing.

Kiryuu does not deserve to be treated like an enemy. His actions are proof enough of that. Can Kaname let go of his jealousy and fear?

He already has, the pureblood realizes. Is what he did tonight the act of someone who feared and envied Kiryuu? Kaname is not kind to his enemies, nor does he care particularly for strangers. He had not thought of his promises to Yuuki, and even if he had, those promises did not cover simple injuries. There had been no other excuse.

"Do you want me to groom you, or do you want to go straight to bed?"

Kaname shakes his head. Kiryuu hasn't bathed yet, and he stinks. The Hunter may brush him when he's clean. Kaname goes to lie down on his cushion on the floor next to the bed, resting his head on his paws as he thinks.

This last month especially, treating Kiryuu with his normal dislike had taken effort, no longer a rewarding reflex. And even then, Kaname could tell that incidents with Kiryuu happened less often and more harmlessly. Kaname no longer wishes to torment Kiryuu - well, not torment him seriously in order to hurt him. Annoyance isn't off the table. No one else will fight with him like Kiryuu will, and Kaname likes prodding him just to see his reaction.

This realization doesn't mean Kaname has suddenly started to like Kiryuu. Kaname respects Kiryuu's skill and personal character, but that's a neutral feeling far from the strength of his emotions for Yuuki. The two of them will need to coexist for at least a millennia, and that time will go much more smoothly without acting on old grudges. And it will please Yuuki if he behaves better toward Kiryuu. Kiryuu might willingly allow the Kurans near his body if Kaname acts less ill-intentioned.

"Hey," Kiryuu says, sitting down cross-legged on the floor next to Kaname's bed. "I promised you I would explain what happened earlier." The Hunter looks unsure, and buries his hands in the wolf's thick coat, seeking the connection to reassure himself.

"Lately, my power has gone...strange sometimes. I've noticed that my Hunter senses and charms have gotten stronger, but this is more than that. I don't know what's happening."

The Hunter closes his eyes, and hugs the wolf's neck. "Honored Grandmother - the Ancestor of the Hunters - told me something at our wedding. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. She told me that her power might begin to stir in me, now that I was an omega and an adult, full vampire. And she told me that she would come to me, if that happened and I needed her. But I don't understand what she meant."

Kaname's ears go flat. That could mean many things. A situation like this has never happened before. He will need to think on this.

"She said she was proud of me," Kiryuu adds shyly, like he's telling Kaname something more secret than everything he's already admitted.

"Well, you know everything I know, now. Don't worry about me too much; I can handle these episodes fine. And thank you again for helping me. Goodnight, Nightshade," Kiryuu yawns as he scratches the black wolf's soft ears.

Kaname wakes up around midday, his body sensing the start of Kiryuu's nightmares. The wolf can hear Kiryuu panting through a mouth dry with fear, and his heart beating with the same quickness as when he runs, but the worst parts of the nightmares come just before he wakes, so Kiryuu doesn't smell heavily of pain yet. Mindful of his new decision, Kaname heeds his instincts and goes to wake Kiryuu, butting his shoulder with the top of his skull.

Kiryuu never needs more than a second to realize where he is, superb Hunter that he is. And he always thanks Kaname with a quick pat or a scratch. Tonight, the Hunter gives him a sleepy, grateful smile, one of the secret soft ones that lighten his eyes and face. "Hey, thanks," Kiryuu says, sloppy and fond, reaching up from where he's lying on his back, just like he would if he were being woken by a lover.

Kaname lowers his muzzle to receive the caress, and lays down next to the Hunter.

Kiryuu's face creases in half-awake puzzlement. "You're not going - Oh. I'm glad," he murmurs, and scoots over closer, curling himself around Kaname, and falls back to sleep, breathing deep, even breaths next to the wolf's ear.

No more nightmares trouble his Consort for the rest of the night, lulled peacefully to sleep by the warmth and familiar, safe scents. Kaname stays awake a little longer, until he too rests.

It's peaceful, like these last few months. Of course it doesn't last.

---

I had previously established that Kaname was on his own in a post apocalyptic world via nuclear bomb around age two or three. Now that he's being more honest, we get to consider some frankly disturbing consequences of that fact.

A reminder about Kaname's POV. He lies to himself frequently about his own motivations. And his feelings manifest in subtle ways. Like really subtle. He plays roles, and those roles dictate certain actions and words. Pay less attention to what he tells himself to believe, and more attention to the little things he does, the gaps in his roles that give himself away. Take for example the clothing he had made for Zero. The first outfit was very feminine, and full of lace and roses, and had a collar that symbolized ownership, like Zero was an object. This second outfit is still feminine, but is actually quite respectful in comparison. There's no more collar, the colors are fairly masculine, and the pattern on the kimono has a gyrfalcon - a species of white falcon. I think you can draw the parallels yourself.

If you have time, you can go to youtube and watch the kabuki play Zero liked by searching 'Sagi Musume'. Skip to the last part to watch the climax if you don't have a half hour. The actor also wears a furisode kimono in the middle section

This is not the real life Tanabata legend; after 10,000 years it's a slightly different story after being retold so many times.

A big thanks to all of my reviewers who suggested date ideas for this chapter! Special thanks to Kid and Gotten, who had some very detailed scenarios I couldn't help but use. All of you had some really great input to give me, and this chapter wouldn't be as good without you.

Next chapter: happiness is fleeting, more very bad things happen to Zero, and Yuuki endures her own rite of passage in cruelty