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)

19. Offer Persephone a Pomegranate: Seed

Thanks to those of you who informed me about the technical problems with posting the last chapter. Everything is back to normal now, I hope.

Don't worry if you're still mad at Kaname and can't quite sympathize wholly with his plight. You're supposed to have mixed feelings for him. That's exactly the emotional mix I was hoping for! Kaname's the cause of most of his own problems, plus he's still adamantly denying his changing feelings for Zero. Kaname has been a pretty big jerk, and he's going to have to face that if he wants forgiveness.

Please enjoy this extra large update until I return from my travels. As of right now, I don't expect to post another chapter until after June 15. I won't have a laptop or access to one until then, though I will be keeping up my writing on paper instead. I do have fanfiction on mobile, so I can see and respond to any reviews or private messages you send me, it's just kind of inconvenient to type a whole chapter on, so I'll still be hanging around. Please remain well until then, everyone!

---

XIX. Offer Persephone a Pomegranate: Seed

"What do you think, Yuuki-hime?" Ruka asks, stepping back from the vanity desk where Yuuki is seated on a velvet stool.

Yuuki traces her finger down the reverse braid running down the back of her skull. It reminds her of a spine, and lends her face a certain severity and hardness.

"It's perfect," Yuuki says, her mouth pulling into a smile. The large oval mirror reflects it back to her; Yuuki considers the effect. The dark red-purple coloring her lips makes her fair skin even paler, and draws the eye to her shockingly white teeth and fangs. Yuuki decides she likes it.

"Thank you, Ruka-sempai," the pureblood says, getting up to go, and smoothing down her skirts. "I appreciate your help. You're much better at this than me."

Ruka shakes her head. "You're a tomboy at heart, but you've learned more than you think. All of this" - she gestures at the brushes and colors on the counter - "is just a kind of art. When we master it, we create the person other people see. And what people see, they believe."

Ruka bows deeply at the waist. "A woman's armor is paint and powder. You're wearing your armor, Yuuki-hime. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise."

Yuuki smiles again, the genuine expression conveying her respect.

"I won't," she promises.

---

The doorman of the Ichihara family stumbles back, and only hitting the mansion's wall keeps him from falling to the floor.

"Gather the household," Yuuki orders, ignoring the doorman and sweeping past him into the foyer. "All of them, down to the last servant. I will speak to them."

The butler, nearby, nods and leaves at a terrified run. Yuuki clasps her black-gloved hands together, and waits. She is keenly conscious of the picture she presents, a single lone figure in the atrium, back straight and completely still.

Slowly, the people filter in, arriving in hurried twos and threes as the butler informs everyone who crosses his path of Yuuki's order. The servants and other workers remain completely silent, staring at her in fascinated terror. Many of these lesser vampires have probably never seen a pureblood up close.

Yuuki bears their eyes with the ease she imagines Kaname would feel, confident that paying attention to her appearance has lent her enough gravitas to pull this off. The dark, nearly black purple of her dress shows well against her pale skin and the silver jewelry she chose. Purple for dignity, and a reminder of her royalty.

Yuuki breathes deep, counting to ten as she inhales and exhales. She must be completely confident. No hesitation, no mistakes. She chose this house, the home of the current chairman of the Senate, as her first destination on purpose.

Chairman Ichihara, the current leader of the Senate, is her husband's chief rival for power - not than any lesser vampire can really rival the Ancestor of the Kuran for either power or skill. Nevertheless, after the death of Ichijo Asato at his grandson's hands, Ichihara is now the most powerful non-pureblood vampire. Before he rose to power, the Ichihara family were a middle-tier noble family that had neither ancestral wealth nor prestige; all of their current good fortune comes from relying on their eldest son's charisma, intelligence, and political savvy.

Speaking of the chairman, there he is now - strolling casually into the room, still slightly out of breath from how quickly he ran to get here, but doing an almost perfect job of hiding it. Yuuki wants to smile, but abstains by sheer force of will. She's beginning to understand why Kaname likes cultivating his air of 'intimidating pureblood.'

Ichihara is a handsome man, even slightly past his prime. The noble has a powerful frame with strong shoulders, and presents absolute confidence in his every movement. With his thick black hair turning grey at the temples, slicked back tastefully with a hint of product, and the power of his dark gaze, Yuuki can see why the man is the object of many a noblewoman's admiration. Chairman Ichihara, however, is notorious for having remained persistently unmarried, despite his eligibility as a bachelor.

Kaname suspects it has something to do with his other unusual trait - Chairman Ichihara is a beta, making his younger alpha brother the head of the Ichihara family. While not a strict rule, most high positions of authority in the vampire world are held by alphas. Alphas are expected to be more assertive and unwilling to follow others, and generally more competent, more ambitious, and more suitable for leadership. That Chairman Ichihara has attained the second most powerful position of authority in the vampire world speaks to a strength and competence so great even ingrained dynamic stereotypes could not overlook it.

"Kuran-hime, welcome to my home," the noble greets her, bowing exactly as deep as propriety demands, and not a hair more, and then straightening with dignity, his eyes raised to watch her the whole time.

"Chairmen Ichihara," Yuuki replies evenly, giving no hint of her purpose.

Ichihara doesn't let that uncertainty throw him. His voice is smooth and his manner remains unruffled. "I have gathered my household, as you requested." The vampire gestures toward the mass of people behind him. "We eagerly await the pleasure of your words."

Yuuki's mouth twitches slightly at the nimble lying flattery. The Senate dislikes anything that threatens its power, and the purebloods are the most threatening force of all. But she lets the lie stand. Yuuki has other business today.

Inclining her head a tiny bit, Yuuki sweeps forward, making sure her skirts flare dramatically behind her. Kaname likes flashy entrances. "I am here to issue an invitation, Chairman - and a warning."

Yuuki raises her voice, assuming her pureblood's mantle of authority and power. "You are requested to attend an execution at Rosehill Palace on the evening of the last day of the month."

The chairman is experienced enough he doesn't openly show his surprise, and merely bows again. "May I ask what deserved execution I will witness?"

"No," Yuuki replies sharply, "you may not."

There is a flicker of unease in Ichichara's face for a split second; he thinks he is being ordered to attend his own murder.

Yuuki feels an ugly satisfaction; this man has caused her family enough trouble she doesn't care if he spends the next month in fear.

"And to the rest of you," Yuuki continues, still using her resonant public voice, turning to the crowd in just the right way so her skirts swirl elegantly around her ankles. She walks forward a few steps, letting her eyes skim over the closest vampires. They avert their eyes or cringe, trying to make themselves smaller and avoid her attention.

"Know this: no one is to harm Kiryuu Zero. Those who break this order I will kill. If someone orders another person to harm Kiryuu Zero, I will kill them both. If someone assists those people, I will kill them too. If someone knows of that person's plans, but says nothing, they will also die."

Yuuki lets her emotions bleed through her regal mask - she is not Kaname, and she cannot mimic his cold, deliberate anger. Yuuki feels intensely, and her emotions drive her actions, for good or bad. Let them know that for Zero she will not feel even a grain of hesitation or mercy. Let them see the rage frozen on the cusp of explosion, and the certainty she will keep her promises.

"If someone ever manages to kill Kiryuu Zero, I will not just kill that person. First I will destroy the cause they loved, and everything they worked for, and take away everything they valued. And then I will kill their family, down to the most distant relative, and their accomplices' families, and then their accomplices, and finally I will kill them, once they see with their own eyes what they have done."

Absolute, terrified silence.

"This is your only warning, and this is my binding promise," Yuuki vows, and then turns on her heel, pushing open the house's gargantuan doors without touching them in a display of her powers, and then slamming them shut behind her.

The pureblood nods, satisfied. Calling a cloud of butterfly familiars to surround her, she moves on, the home of the most powerful noble in the monarchist faction her next destination.

Now the whole vampire world will see what Kuran Yuuki's anger really means.

---

Throwing back his head, Kaname laughs in delight. Is his lovely, dear wife not wicked and terrible in her own right, a true daughter of his blood as she shows the whole world her seed of dark desires?

Caressing the head of his raven, and still chuckling a little, the pureblood decides that tonight is too enjoyable to go back to work. Even with Yuuki still terribly angry at him, his mood remains buoyant. Perhaps a stroll in the gardens will please him instead.

But when Kaname passes by Yuuki's door as he goes to change, he hesitates. His wife has left Kiryuu in his care once more - purely out of necessity, with extreme reluctance after Kaname's confession of his offenses against Kiryuu, and only after demanding Kaname renew his vows to protect their Consort.

Perhaps he will just look in on the Hunter before he goes out for his walk. Yes, Kaname reassures himself, that's a sensible thing to do. Throwing a glance to the left and to the right down the hall, Kaname leans on the handle and quickly opens the door, shutting it quietly and padding into the bedroom.

Lying next to the heavily bandaged Hunter on the bed, Nightshade lifts his head from his paws, and sweeps his tail back and forth in welcome. Yuuki's butterfly fans its wings on the bedside table, watching over its creator's mate in her absence. Only Kiryuu doesn't stir, lying unconscious on his back in the center of the bed; he hasn't woken since he gave Yuuki the memories of his attack. Looking down his his Consort, Kaname marks some signs of healing. The Hunter's wounds are still ugly and open, but there is a little more color in the pallid blue-white of his skin.

Duty satisfied, Kaname reminds himself that he can leave Kiryuu alone now. The pureblood lingers instead, watching Kiryuu's chest slowly rise and fall. The quiet and calm of the room is pleasant, now that the stifling, deathly air of a tomb has lifted. Breathing in the smell of his omega, Kaname's omnipresent, subconscious anxiety of being away from their mate for even a single second lessens, and a knot in his chest relaxes. His alpha purrs happily in his chest. Perhaps he can stay a little longer, the pureblood thinks.

Kaname loses track of time, letting his thoughts wander as he watches the fascinating flutter of Kiryuu's long silver eyelashes in sleep, and listens to the steady noise of his breathing. He's so deeply intent that the pureblood startles when Nightshade whines quietly, ears pinning back. Kiryuu's skin is warming against the cold wet of the wolf's nose, and his breathing is beginning to quicken.

It's probably nothing more than a bad dream, but Kaname casts a glance at Yuuki's butterfly. She's doing so magnificently, and he doesn't want her to return home for a false alarm. So Kaname blocks the familiar's view of Kiryuu with his body, and holds out his hand to let the butterfly climb into his palm. The soft little brushes of its feet tickle, and Kaname smiles at it, imagining Yuuki watching on the other end.

"I'll sit with Kiryuu for a while. Would you mind watching the halls?"

The butterfly beats its black wings faster, and hovers above Kaname's palm. Yuuki's fragile work of art. Kaname politely lets the familiar out of the bedroom, and closes the door after it.

Just in time. Kaname can hear Kiryuu starting to moan in the bedroom, and the Hunter is struggling feebly against the sheets when he comes back to the doorway. Kaname freezes, hovering indecisively. Perhaps he should call the doctor, or Aido, or Sasaki to tend to Kiryuu?

Nightshade whines louder, and Kaname's body makes his choice for him. The pureblood is beside Kiryuu in three long strides. Pushing his hand under silver bangs and resting his fingers on Kiryuu's skin, the pureblood's brow furrows; the heat radiating off the Hunter is definitely a fever. Not high enough to be dangerous, but still concerning.

Underneath his palm, the Hunter twists, as though uncomfortable or in pain, and shakes his head, murmuring low under his breath. Something Aido told the pureblood catches at the edges of a memory.

"The poison," Kaname realizes, smoothing back silver hair from Kiryuu's forehead. "Your body is starting to purge the poison."

Kiryuu whimpers and starts to thrash, his trembling limbs smacking weakly into Nightshade's body.

The pureblood fears Kiryuu will reopen his wounds again, and reaches out to gently restrain the Hunter. But the angle is poor, and Kaname's attempts have little effect. Clicking his tongue, Kaname urges Nightshade off the bed, hoping that the larger space will make his task easier. The wolf whimpers, but obeys with his tail tucked between his legs. Kaname takes pity on his familiar and dismisses it into ether, still occupied with Kiryuu, who has tangled himself in the sheets.

Again, Kaname thinks of summoning the doctor to care for Kiryuu. But Aido told him that nothing could be done to help, and Kiryuu would simply have to be left alone to let his body cleanse itself. Such was the potency of a pureblood's poison.

What to do?

Kaname throws a look at the doorway. Yuuki will be gone until daybreak. Her familiar is outside. The servants know better than to come near here. Visitors will be turned away. Kiryuu will not wake.

No one will see him.

Very, very carefully, Kaname puts aside his jacket, rolls up his sleeves, takes off his shoes, pulls down the comforter, draws back the sheet, and slips underneath the blankets with Kiryuu.

The Hunter, exhausted and snarled in his own blankets, has fought himself into surrender, and his chest heaves as he tries to regain his breath. Gently, Kaname untwists the sheets from around Kiryuu's pale, bandaged limbs, and straightens his body again.

He should stop there, but part of Kaname wants more, even without the alpha urging him on in the back of his mind. He watches the doorway again, warily, as though someone is waiting to catch him committing some crime.

No one is there, he reassures himself. The pureblood is alone with Kiryuu.

Kaname rearranges the pillows against the headboard so they'll be more comfortable to lie against, and edges further down under the blankets, propping his head up on one hand to watch Kiryuu. But Kaname still carefully maintains a gap on the bed between Kiryuu and himself that he refuses to cross.

This arrangement is fine for a while. But Kiryuu makes small noises and his eyes flicker rapidly behind his eyelids. He isn't sleeping well, and his distress is only growing.

Help mate, says the alpha. Why do you deny that you you care for him?

Kaname flinches, grimacing at the thought although no one but him can hear it.

"I don't care for him. I respect him, but I merely tolerate him."

When he hurt, you hurt too. That is caring.

Kaname struggles with himself. The edifice of hate and malice he built is crumbling beneath his feet into dust - as it has been for months. He chose to ignore the increasingly precarious structure, a stone castle turned to a castle built of sand, being worn away by the waves, but Kaname can't turn away any longer. Kiryuu Zero has reached inside him and hollowed it out with his gentle hands and kind eyes.

"Perhaps he is more like one of my followers," Kaname allows. "I care for their well-being too."

If you lost them, it would only hurt for a little while. When you thought mate might be dead, you knew it would hurt forever, says the alpha. It made you afraid.

"I feared for Yuuki," he objects.

You thought about never being able to see him smile at you again.

Kaname's mouth hangs open inelegantly, and he almost gets out of bed and leaves the room in angry refusal. Then his body goes slack, and he runs a rueful hand through his hair. Kaname hates being caught out, even in front of himself.

"I suppose Kiryuu is a little closer to me than I thought."

The alpha is dissatisfied, but it lets the statement stand.

Kaname sighs, and a noise at his elbow draws his attention back to Kiryuu, who is beginning to struggle again. The Hunter is so weak that he's doing little more than batting at his blankets and making little mewls.

"You really are just like a kitten," Kaname says, and he hates the way is voice is so gentle and fond, like the voice he uses just for Yuuki.

Something gives way deep inside him, something old and diseased collapses, and it feels so natural to cross that last little space between them, and gather Kiryuu up in his arms. The Hunter has lost whatever weight he regained, and feels entirely too light on top of his chest. Kaname tucks Kiryuu's head against his shoulder, and frowns at the tremors wracking the Hunter's whole body.

"You'll be alright, Kiryuu. You have to take me Hunting again - I haven't found anything else as relaxing to do during my free time."

The Hunter stirs, moaning.

"I hope you're happy. I threw myself out of a third story window on your behalf. And I embarrassed myself quite thoroughly in front of a roomful of human businessmen by running out without an explanation. I'll have to think of a suitably tragic excuse, so they look bad if they complain."

Kaname begins to stroke his Consort's hair, enjoying the sensation of soft sleekness slipping through his fingers. Even when he hated Kiryuu, that silver hair always made him envious. Kaname is physically flawless - he's a pureblood - but Kiryuu's hair was far more unique than Kaname's dark red-brown. Only the Hunter's strange lavender eyes were more fascinating than his hair.

"I remember...when I was a child - young, young enough to be pitied - there was a kitten in one of the refugee camps. White, with one blue eye and one green. It was a friendly little thing, and everyone loved to pet it."

The pureblood's hand stills, and his eyes go distant. Unconsciously, he pulls Kiryuu against his chest a little tighter. "It would let everyone pet it, except for me. Animals hate purebloods. They fear us more than anything. I think sometimes they're more perceptive than humans. Running from a predator in human skin is the only sensible response."

"I had never petted a cat before. No cat would let me touch it. Everyone said they were soft, softer than anything. I was so envious. I wanted to know what softness felt like."

Kaname tucks his chin into Kiryuu's silver hair, and his voice grows quiet. "So one day, before it could run away from me, I held it down with my powers and made the kitten let me pet it. It really was soft. It was so afraid. I could feel its little heart beating under my hand. When I let it go, it clawed my hand and ran away. And it ran away every time it saw me after that, hissing and spitting. The humans got suspicious. I had to leave the camp."

The pureblood shakes himself out of his memories. "I don't know why I thought of that. I haven't thought of that cat in millennia. Foolish."

And for a long while, Kaname lets himself think of only the present.

Kiryuu grows more restless. He moans more often, louder, and his face becomes creased with stress and hurt. Destroying the poison lingering in his body cannot be easy or painless.

"There, there, poor child. This will pass soon," Kaname murmurs over Kiryuu's noise, stroking his silver hair again. The pureblood thinks once more of getting the doctor, but finds himself reluctant. If Kiryuu's condition becomes dangerous, Kaname promises himself, then he'll call for assistance. Part of him is merely unwilling to let go of Kiryuu, Kaname acknowledges, lest the alpha instincts plague him again.

The tremors begin to shake Kiryuu's whole body, in waves that run from head to toe. Kaname doesn't know what Kiryuu is seeing behind lavender eyes, but it must be violent and fearful, from the way his face tightens and his eyes flicker violently.

When Kiryuu's eyes tear up, and his skin goes searing hot, Kaname knows the poison is peaking. The heat means Kiryuu's body is fighting with everything it has to clean out his blood. Kaname is left with a crying, sweaty omega trying to tear himself loose from his arms with strength he can't afford to waste. When his omega isn't panting with his body's heat, he's covered in cold sweats with his teeth chattering next to Kaname's ear. Kaname can feel it when Kiryuu's muscles cramp - the Hunter's whole body goes stiff, then when they relax Kiryuu tries to shake himself apart instead.

"No, please, I can't," sobs Kiryuu against his neck. Kaname's never seen Kiryuu cry, and the thought that it was Shirabuki who brought him so low with her poisons drives him into a high rage.

"It's not real, sweet boy," he reassures Kiryuu.

An idea strikes him. "Go back to sleep, and dream gentle dreams," Kaname orders, using his power of command. Perhaps when Kiryuu is vulnerable, it will have more effect.

Without Kiryuu awake to fight it, the command seems to work. The Hunter's face lightens, and his movements slow. Against Kaname's ear, the puffs of hot breath are breezes instead of gusts.

Kaname strokes down his Consort's spine, long firm strokes, letting his alpha's simple pleasure at helping their mate flow through him.

"I've been a poor alpha, haven't I? If one of my followers had treated their omega like I treated you, I would have censured them long ago, or perhaps had them quietly murdered. I promised to protect and cherish you at our wedding. I promised you honor and devotion. I lied to you then. But you knew that."

Settling against Kaname's shoulder, Kiryuu sighs. What is he dreaming of?

"Good boy, Zero. You're doing so well." The words slip out unconsciously, and Kaname freezes.

But Kiryuu just cuddles closer, and in the throatiest, most plaintive tone Kaname's ever heard, moans, "Alpha," right against his ear.

Kaname is suddenly hyper-aware that he has an armful of sleek, attractive omega, sprawled on top of his body.

He's never been painfully hard so fast in his entire life.

---

Zero doesn't like the river. The river is scary.

Sometimes it's made of lava, and it burns horribly. Sometimes it's like liquid ice, and it slices down to his bones. There are scary monsters in it who try to catch him and eat him, and their teeth and claws hurt.

Zero doesn't like the river. He had to swim in it, until the island came. It lifted his body out of the water, and gave him a dry place to lie on, away from the pain and hurt.

Zero likes the island a lot. It makes him feel safe. It's warm, but not hot. It smells so nice. It's soft and firm all at once. Zero likes to push his face into it, and curl up tight so the monsters can't snatch him away.

He sighs happily, and nuzzles his cheek against the ground again. Then he blinks in confusion. There are shoes in front of his nose. He's not wearing shoes.

Zero tries to think around this problem. Someone not-him is wearing shoes? Someone else?

There's someone else on the island now? That can't be right. Only Zero can be here.

Zero stares at the shoes, but they don't go away, so he tilts his head to look up. A woman, with light hair caught in a braid, wearing a hood.

A hood?

His breath hisses out. The Ancestor of the Hunters?

Zero scrambles upright, nearly falling off the tiny island until Honored Grandmother catches him by the arm and steadies him.

"My apologies for disturbing you so suddenly," she says, with the same compassionate eyes he remembers from his wedding.

Zero stares at her. "This is some kind of dream. A near-death experience. This can't be real."

The Ancestress shakes her head. "This dream is as real as any thought you've had, Zero. It happened, and existed, but not in a tangible way."

The Hunter is a little too ill for existentialism and complicated philosophy, and keeps watching her with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you," she says, genuine in her apology. "I have waited a long time before I could see you, my beloved child. Even now," she says regretfully, "I cannot stay long."

Zero lets his mind work, trying to understand what her presence here means. "You said you would come to me, if I needed you."

The Ancestress nods, giving Zero a warm smile. "Yes. I didn't mean to take so long. The connection was more difficult to forge than I anticipated. I had to wait until now, when you were most vulnerable, to reach out to you. But now that we both know the path, we can meet again."

"When you said your power could begin to awaken in me," Zero says, "what did you mean? Why is my power becoming so unstable?" he asks, desperation leaking into the last few words. The mystery has gnawed on him these past months as the instability increased, and the Hunter became reluctant to depend on his own power.

His Ancestor's face becomes serious. "That's why I needed to speak with you. You've already noticed the increase in the strength of your Hunter abilities. But I believe that what you are experiencing is more than that."

"Vampires of very pure blood - you call them nobles - inherit special abilities from their pureblooded Ancestors. Your friend Aido's ice manipulation, for example."

Zero raises an eyebrow at calling Aido his friend, and the Ancestor of the Hunters half-smiles, before returning to her explanation.

"The Hunters carry my bloodline, but since they cannot process blood for energy, they can only access the weakest of my abilities. Now that you are a full vampire, and you carry very pure Hunter blood, I think you might be on the verge of awakening one of my special abilities, derived from my blood."

"What should I expect?" Zero asks. He's uncomfortable with the notion of his body and power coming to resemble a born vampire even more - not that there's more than a few scraps of human left in him, thanks to what's between his thighs - but he needs answers, and he knows that Honored Grandmother means him no harm.

The Ancestress shakes her head. "I can't know exactly what might happen. Some nobles inherit variations of a pureblood's ability, rather than a perfect copy. If I tell you what to expect, I might be giving you bad information and you could miss the real signs. I want you to see things as they are, not see what you are expecting to see. I will tell you that none of my abilities, if suddenly awakened, will harm anyone except you."

Zero's jaw tightens, but he accepts the assurance with a murmur of agreement.

"You need to go now," says the Ancestress, peering at the river boiling around them. "Close your eyes, and think about waking up."

Zero nods, and starts to follow her instructions - then she catches him by the sleeve, an earnest expression on her face.

"I meant it, when I said I was proud of you, Kiryuu Zero."

Zero's throat closes up, and his eyes feel wet. "You said my children would be marvels, if I chose to bear them," Zero blurts out, curiosity and the sudden surge of emotions breaking his self-control.

The Ancestor of the Hunters smiles, and shakes her head. "Your Yuuki is right. The decision of whether or not to have children is yours alone, and I don't want that knowledge to influence you one way or the other. Chose what is best for you, Zero. Right now, your heart is uncertain and afraid. If you decide you might want children, then ask me your question again, and I will answer."

"Then I will see you again?" asks Zero.

"Of course," the Ancestress says, smiling again. "When you need me, I will come."

---

Zero groans, and twitches - and then he freezes, because the tiniest movements are agony. Even breathing brings hot pain, and Zero concentrates for long minutes on finding which way to inhale so it hurts the least.

Steady, shallow breaths, Zero reminds himself. Whatever he's laying on smells really nice, the Hunter notices absently.

Now that he's thinking about it, it's also moving up and down. Kind of like the bed is breathing. It's probably a bed, since it's so comfy. Zero could open his eyes to look, but then it would hurt again.

This floaty feeling is really relaxing, Zero thinks, half-asleep, as someone starts petting his hair. The Hunter goes boneless, enjoying the sensation.

Wait, someone petting his hair? Zero almost panics, but then he realizes it must be Yuuki. That's fine, he thinks, and relaxes again with a sigh.

Big, long-fingered hands comb gently through his hair and lull him back towards sleep. Zero's still very tired and not ready to deal with the pain in his body or how he got this way yet, and he willingly allows the gentle touch to pull him deeper into rest, ignoring the niggling feeling in the back of his mind.

"That's right," murmurs a deep voice that rumbles underneath his body, through his bones, "rest easy, little Hunter."

Suddenly, Zero is completely awake, and with horror he yanks his head up to stare at Kuran Kaname's shocked face.

Who Zero is lying on. And who is wearing red silk pajamas. Really soft red silk pajamas. Which Zero knows because he's put his face on them. Did Zero mention he's in bed with Kuran Kaname?

Zero can feel his face flaming, and the same mortification reflected in Kuran's face. He almost wants to laugh at the whole situation - he's never seen Kuran this surprised and embarrassed before.

But Zero really shouldn't have moved that fast, because now there are shooting pains in his neck and head, and he collapses back down onto Kuran's chest, trying to breathe around the pain and the dizziness.

"Are you alright, Kiryuu?" Kuran asks, not quite able to hide his hesitation. Count on Kuran to try and pretend their situation is completely normal.

Zero's cheek is pressing right against Kuran's pectoral muscle. "Yes," Zero wheezes in a strangled tone.

Kuran swallows; Zero can see his throat bob. "Good," he says.

Why is the pureblood being so nice? Shouldn't he have pushed Zero off by now? Kuran is acting almost concerned about him, and it's weird. But Zero doesn't have time to wonder - the needs of his body are making themselves known.

"Water," Zero rasps. He's so thirsty.

"Blood," Kuran disagrees, slicing open his wrist with a claw.

Zero doesn't have the strength to lift his head after his sudden shock, so Kuran has to turn him over, brace Zero's head against the pureblood's shoulder, and hold his wrist up to Zero's mouth so he can lap messily at the wound.

But Kuran's right; the blood restores him a little, and some of his aches recede. Thinking a little more clearly, Zero lies back and allows Kuran to arrange him in a more comfortable position. He's still on top of the pureblood, but Zero is rapidly running out of energy to be offended with. He almost died - sleeping on top of Kuran isn't worth getting upset over compared to that. And Kuran really is comfy - Zero smacks down his inner monologue and concentrates on thinking sensible thoughts.

"Yuuki?" the Hunter croaks.

"Out on important business. Otherwise she rarely leaves this room," the vampire replies smoothly, his hands raised as though he doesn't know where to put them. Kuran settles them gingerly on Zero's belly, slowly enough that Zero could probably protest. He doesn't, and Kuran awkwardly leaves them there.

Pros of the situation: Kuran is uncomfortable. Cons of the situation: Zero is lying on top of Kuran. Kuran is touching him. Zero is uncomfortable.

Musing on those facts, Zero comes to a conclusion. He can't exactly move away. If Kuran is uncomfortable, than Zero should enjoy it now and savor the memory next time Kuran is being a bastard.

"When?" Zero asks after a little while.

"July 26."

"Shit," Zero swears. He's supposed to attend his first Jeweled Court tomorrow.

Kuran seems to read the direction of his thoughts. "We sent your apologies several days ago. You needn't worry about the Court. We were concerned, since Takuma won't be able to attend the next one in October when he's in season, but for some reason Noguchi Sada and the Senate omegas suggested that the summer Court be postponed. They must be very confident they have the upper hand, but we can't do anything except take advantage of the opportunity and watch for traps."

"Ah," Zero replies, unsure what he's supposed to say.

A ringing from somewhere off to his left startles a flinch out of Zero that leaves his muscles cramping and wracks his whole body with pain. Hissing, the Hunter waits for Kuran to throw Zero's body aside to answer the phone - it will surely hurt just as badly. But Kuran just lifts his hand, and a slim black cellphone floats through the air to deposit itself in Kuran's palm.

He hates purebloods and their stupid flashy powers, Zero grumbles enviously.

Kuran frowns at the number flashing on the screen. "The gatehouse? I ordered them to turn everyone away, and I specifically asked not be disturbed unless Yuuki returned."

Zero imagines Kuran's expression right now as he answers the call - eyebrows drawn together, with a frown on his face that means nothing good for the person on the other end of the line. Kuran, Zero knows from experience, hates it when his pieces don't move the way he wants.

"I hope you have an excellent excuse for me, Gatekeeper," the pureblood says, ice layering his words.

Silence, as Kuran listens to the guard speak. Zero can't see Kuran's face from where he's lying on top on him, but he can feel the pureblood's anger turn to disbelief, and then...was that dismay?

"Hold on just a moment," Kuran says, and brings the phone forward so Zero can see him press the speaker button. "Now, repeat what you just said to me."

"Kuran-sama," says a bewildered male voice that clearly knows his career in on the line. "The president of the Hunter's Association, and two other Hunters, have arrived and are demanding to enter. The President says that he is your father-in-law, and is simply here to visit his son. I did not want to cause a diplomatic incident by turning him away without receiving orders first."

"Kaaaaaname-kuuuuuuun! Daddy's here to visit his precious children," shouts a distant voice, loudly enough to be heard over the speaker. The vampire guard chokes at the informality and disrespect.

"I brought our family photo albums, all 307 of them!"

Zero groans, second-hand embarrassment strong. "Make him go away," he hisses.

The gatekeeper continues, "When we asked if they would be willing to turn over their weapons, an elderly Hunter in the backseat with a rifle across his lap said he would shoot us if we tried. And the young Hunter driving the car threatened to run us over if we didn't let them in. They don't appear concerned by the fact they're outnumbered four to one."

In the background, a car horn honks, the button held down obnoxiously for over a minute.

"I think they intend to fight their way in if we refuse them. But I'm not sure we can guarantee Rosehill's safety if these Hunters are to be our guests," the gatekeeper pleads.

"No, they can't stay here," Zero groans. "Cross will fuss and make a fool of himself."

Kuran says, very slowly and regretfully, "I do not believe your family will take no for an answer."

Then, raising his voice so the gatekeeper can hear him, Kuran says "Please let them in, and inform Steward Inukai to greet them and arrange rooms."

"I want to be unconscious again," Zero announces to the room, mourning his impending doom.

Then Zero thinks for a moment.

"You better put some damn clothes on, Kuran. If they see you in your jammies, in bed with me, Cross is going to cry about how you made me a man, and Master is going to shoot you."

Kuran doesn't say anything, but Zero can perceive a profound air of regret in his silence.

---

When Yuuki finds Zero and Kuran in the guest bedroom they've been hiding in, she takes one look at the tableau, and jerks her chin imperiously toward the door.

"Out, Kaname," she orders.

Getting up from his armchair, Kuran, with a chastened air, obeys.

Zero's mouth drops open, and his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. Did that just happen?

The Hunter has never seen Yuuki like this before. There's a hard edge to her appearance, an immovable air; she's dressed like a queen in deep midnight blue. Standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and her shoulders stiffened, Yuuki looks almost intimidating. She looks like a pureblood - and Zero's heart doesn't hurt anymore at that thought.

...but seeing her like this does things to his insides, Zero realizes, and his cheeks color as he looks away in embarrassment.

If Zero didn't know this was the same girl who once leaned over the bridge rail so far that she fell backwards into the lake at Cross Academy, then he would have never thought it was the same Yuuki as always.

Once Kuran is gone, Yuuki shuts the door, and hurries to the bed, anxiously taking Zero's hands as her whole intimidating aura melts away into gentle affection and concern.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up, Zero. I would have come sooner if I'd known," she says, throwing a glare at the closed door.

"Did something happen between you two?" Zero asks. He should have guessed Kuran's pleasant manner was unnatural. The pureblood is always nicer to Zero when Yuuki is angry with him.

"Yes. We argued," Yuuki says, declining to elaborate. "But that doesn't matter now. How do you feel?"

"Bad," Zero admits. "Everything hurts, but at least I'm alive. Kuran had to carry me here. I remember -" Zero's throat closes up, and has to start over again. "My legs...will I be able to walk again?"

Horror crosses Yuuki's face, and she hurriedly assures him, "Yes, of course, you'll be fine - you're just weak because everything is healing right now. I promise you will Hunt again, Zero, but it may be a long time - Aido and the doctor think it will be at least four months, minimum."

Zero closes his eyes. An active person his whole life, being unable to walk, let alone Hunt, is almost unthinkable. He already feels restless and useless. If Zero can't Hunt, then what is he supposed to do? Burden everyone around him by having them take care of him instead?

"Tell me how things have gone since I've been asleep," Zero asks, trying to hide his pain from Yuuki with his light tone.

His wife isn't fooled. And Yuuki, in an unusually perceptive move, sits down on the bed next to Zero, and gently takes him in her arms.

"You'll be okay, Zero. We'll help you get better, and you'll be able to help the other Hunters soon enough. Please let us take care of you until then."

"You don't need to do that, Yuuki," Zero says.

She brings one hand up to cradle the back of his head. "You're our precious person, Zero. Taking care of you is a privilege, not a chore. I want to be able to help you, just like you always help me."

Gratitude and love swell in his chest, until Zero feels like he might overflow with it, until liquid light suffuses every corner of him.

But he doesn't deserve her kindness or her care, Zero's guilt reminds him. "I'm so sorry," Zero says, and buries his face in her shoulder.

Yuuki doesn't struggle to hold up his weight. She just holds Zero tighter, still so careful of his injuries. It makes his throat close up, and his eyes prickle.

"What for?" she asks, sounding puzzled.

"I didn't believe you, and the truth was in front of me the whole time."

Even more confused, Yuuki asks, "What truth?"

Zero struggles to speak past the weight in this throat. "When I was dying, I felt it - you were the one who saved my life. It was your blood that made me live. And all your feelings were right there, bared in front of me, and I'm sorry because I know you hate that, but I could taste your love, and it was-" Zero has to stop for a moment. "It was beyond everything. So strong. So deep."

He tucks his face in tighter to her neck. "I'm such an idiot. I told you you didn't really love me. I said you were confused, that you didn't know your own feelings. I dismissed you - your honesty and your feelings - because I was afraid to believe them."

Zero pulls back weakly, so he can look into Yuuki's face. She has to help him with his unsteady balance and shaking limbs, but this is too important not to say. Zero has to do it, right now, because he can't stand one more minute without Yuuki knowing, no matter what happens. He's not about to waste his second chance.

"I was afraid to accept your love, because that would mean you returned my own feelings," Zero tells her, dropping his stoic mask, raw honesty in his voice and his eyes.

Yuuki stares at him for a moment, eyes widening as she understands what he means. "Zero," she says, quiet and reverent, bringing her hand up to his cheek.

Zero covers her warm, steady hand with his shaking, cold one, and turns his face into the touch. "I love you, Yuuki," he tells her, looking into her brown eyes, and how long has he wanted to do this? He's not even afraid the way he thought he would be - even if she were to tell him she never wanted to see him again, this moment feels right. Zero doesn't have to keep this hidden away in his heart anymore. He can have this, have her, the way he wanted but never dared to dream - a Turned Hunter and a pureblood princess? Impossible. But Yuuki tugged him away from behind his walls, tunneled underneath them and sneaked overtop, the same way she lured his heart out of its shell so many years ago, and it's belonged to her ever since.

Yuuki's eyes are tearing up, and her honest smile from the bottom of her heart is watery and lopsided and everything Zero ever wanted to see.

Now that he's finally said it, Zero can't stop the words from coming. "I loved you as Cross Yuuki, and I love you now as Kuran Yuuki. Whether she's called Cross or Kuran, I love the person called Yuuki."

The Hunter grasps weakly at Yuuki's hand, face darkening with self-disgust. "And I am so very sorry, and more ashamed then I can put into words, about the way I treated you, and the cruel things I said when you left Cross Academy. I think about the moment when I rejected you as a pureblood often. It's the greatest regret of my entire life."

Yuuki waves her free hand, shaking her head back and forth. "No, no, Zero. It's fine. I forgave you for it as soon as it happened. You were seventeen years old, and the purebloods had ruined your life -"

"That's not enough," Zero insists fiercely. "What I did hurt you. Even if you already forgave me, I need to apologize for what I did, and acknowledge between us that what I did hurt you and wasn't okay. I was an idiot who judged you because you were a vampire. I knew that you hadn't made me think you were human on purpose. Even if I was young and hurt, that doesn't excuse what I did or make it less wrong."

"You rejected the real me," murmurs Yuuki, and Zero can hear an old wound there, and his whole chest goes tight with remorse and mirrored pain.

"I did," he says, voice hollow.

"Those warm eyes that welcomed me, turned away," she remembers, and then looks back at Zero again. "I was glad when you said you would kill me, because it meant that I'd be able to see you again. Being able to see Zero one last time," she tells him, looking into his eyes, "would be the best way to die."

"No, no," Zero groans, in soul-deep pain. "I could never have done it. Never. I would have let you kill me first," he says, unable to bear even the thought. Perhaps the relentless Hunter of before could have crushed his heart and pulled the trigger, but to the Zero of today, so changed by the past months, the thought of raising a hand against Yuuki is anathema.

Yuuki smiles at him. "I love you, Zero. When the people we love hurt us, we can forgive them because we want to stay by their side."

"Thank you, Yuuki," Zero says unsteadily. "I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I want you to know that I love the pureblood Yuuki and the human Yuuki just the same. I'd love you," he says, trying to keep a straight face, "even if you were a blue cat alien."

Yuuki's face contorts with amusement at the image, and the two of them double over in laughter. It's a stupid joke, and it's not even very funny, but the two of them laugh and laugh, like by their mirth they're purging a poison. Whenever one of them stops, the other will start to chuckle, and soon the two of them are at it again, leaning helplessly on Zero's pillows.

Zero only stops because his ribs really, really hurt, and his throat is sore and laughing this hard had been a really bad idea, but both of them had needed it somehow. Now that the rush of emotions is ebbing, Zero sags, suddenly exhausted. He's been through a lot today, and his body has decided to remind him of that fact.

Yuuki, vigilant to Zero's needs, spots Zero's exhaustion at once. "I stressed you too much," she scolds herself, pulling up the blankets from where they've fallen.

"This was important. We needed to clear the air between us," Zero tells her, clicking his tongue. Yuuki feels guilty for everything, and this is Zero's fault, not hers.

"I'm kind of glad we did," she confesses, smiling at Zero again. The air between them now is free and easy, without the unsaid words hanging between them from these past months. It's refreshing. Zero almost wishes this had happened sooner.

Zero sloppily pats the bed next to him. "You want to climb in?"

His wife nods eagerly, her braid swinging with the movement, and scoots under the covers, careful not to let the warmth escape.

"Kaname said there were some things he knew about you that it wasn't his place to tell me," Yuuki confesses, snuggling closer. "Will you tell me someday?"

Zero's face closes off. The thought of telling Yuuki about his self-destructive habits before their marriage is difficult, and it makes him feel ashamed. But hasn't keeping secrets only hurt the both of them in the long run?

"I'll try," he tells her, and she seems to accept that.

"You know," she says, fitting Zero into the spaces of her body, "if we don't show up for dinner, Kaname will have to entertain Chairman Cross by himself."

"Let him," Zero says with satisfaction, and closes his eyes to rest, with the woman he loves, and who loves him back, curled up next to him. What better place in the world to be?

---

"Now that we've finished dinner, gentlemen, would you like to retire to my study for drinks?" Kaname asks, his perfect politeness disguising the fact that he would very much like these Hunters to refuse.

"Of course," gushes Cross. "How could I stay no to catching up with one of my dear ex-students?"

Takamiya shrugs. "I've never said no to free booze in my life."

"Yagari-sensei?" Kaname inquires politely, turning to the third man at the table, who has yet to say a single word this evening, or do anything but glare venomously and clutch his rifle.

The Hunter grunts, his glare sharpening.

Taking that as a yes, Kaname continues his duties as a host, onerous as they've been this evening. The Hunters are terrible guests, he laments. If they're not suspicious, disrespectful, and trigger-happy, then they're...whatever Cross is.

Vampires are predictable - they're rule-bound and traditional above all else, and they follow strictly enforced, complex social rules that make them easier to control. Hunters, on the contrary, obey a handful of principles and seem to enjoy breaking social conventions for fun. It's very stressful for Kaname, who despises interacting with what he cannot predict.

Kaname had assumed they would continue this charade after dinner, but once his study door is closed and he pours the brandy, he turns around to find Cross with his glasses off, studying him the way a falcon studies a mouse.

The pureblood is not shaken. He's the wolf who eats the falcon, after all, though being studied so intently by a man as dangerous as Cross makes him wary. Offering the Hunter a glass by his fingertips, Cross accepts it without breaking his scrutiny.

Then Yagari lights a cigarette, and Kaname sighs, the tension broken. "Yagari-sensei, please do not smoke in my house. Vampires have a keen sense of smell, and the habit is offensive to us."

"I know," Yagari says, and deliberately takes another puff, exhaling the smoke in a showy white cloud.

"Where is Zero?" demands Takamiya, refusing the offered brandy.

Kaname takes a drink of the glass instead. No sense letting good brandy go to waste. A man like Takamiya who drinks nothing but beer wouldn't appreciate it anyway. So impatient, to cut short their opening moves, but Kaname can adapt. At least Yagari and Cross understand how these games are played.

"Asleep," Kaname replies. "Yuuki is with him. You can see him tomorrow."

Takamiya's jaw clenches, clearly unhappy with Kaname's answer.

"I take it you already know that we are unhappy, to say the least, with Zero's current situation," Cross says, swirling the brandy in his glass.

Yagari breathes out more pale smoke. "We agreed to the marriage because you promised us Zero would be safe with you. We're beginning to think that you're not as reliable as you claimed to be."

"You were supposed to care for Zero, not let him nearly die on your watch. Not to mention it was your own people that tried to kill him," Takamiya accuses.

Such a pity that his metabolism can't let him get drunk, Kaname mourns.

"I have learned there were more blind spots in my networks than I thought," Kaname admits. "But I assure you, the people who did this are already being dealt with."

"You have a lead?" asks Yagari, watching him with hooded eyes.

"I have them sitting in my cells," Kaname replies.

"Well, that's different, Kaname-kun," Cross says, straightening and putting down his glass. "What did you learn?"

Kaname barely stops himself from grimacing. Yuuki had been right about how unpleasant those cretins were. "They confessed the whole plan. After acquiring the right drugs to disable a vampire - they weren't even certain they would work on a Hunter like Kiryuu, by the way - the conspirators waited for an opportunity. Kiryuu ordered an item from a jeweler, and had to make an appointment to pick it up once it was completed. The jeweler's apprentice was sympathetic to their ideals, and tipped them off that Kiryuu was guaranteed to show up at a specific place and time. One of the conspirators can create illusions, and used his power to sneak into the kitchen of the cafe where Kiryuu and Yuuki were dining, and added the drug to Kiryuu's drink. After that, they waited nearby, and scouted ahead of Kiryuu's path until they found a good opportunity. Then they ambushed him, stabbed him with a sedative, and moved his body to confuse his scent trail so they had time to do their work."

"Sloppy, and liable to go wrong at any point," Yagari says in disgust. "I'm surprised it worked. You arrested the jeweler's apprentice?"

"Of course," Kaname returns, offended by the implication he's that incompetent.

Cross and Yagari exchange glances, silently communicating with one another. Then, Yagari moves back beside Takamiya, and Cross takes the field.

"We're willing to offer our assistance, and the impression of legitimacy when you deal with Zero's attackers."

Surprised, Kaname studies him. "On what condition?"

"My son's safety does not require conditions," Cross tells him, brown eyes hard. "We cannot break the laws governing the Hunters, but anything else is fair game. These are the kind of vampires we wish we could Hunt. Making sure they don't escape justice is a suitable action."

"Then I think your services will be needed," Kaname says, toasting with the last of his brandy, and downing the bitter drink.

---

"Yuuki said that you wished to speak with me, Kiryuu?" Kaname asks, coming to stand in the door to the consort's suite.

Lying propped up on a mountain of pillows on the couch of the noble's receiving room, and swallowed by his loose, modest nightshirt and robe, Kiryuu's eyes narrow. It makes the wounds on his face, red and angry, crinkle and bend, reminders of his recent brush with death every time Kaname and Yuuki see them. Needless to say, Kiryuu has been very spoiled, as their alphas try to make up for allowing their mate to be hurt.

"Yes," Kiryuu says, his words clipped. "Yuuki and I had a talk about some things you confessed to her."

The Hunter leans back, and raises an eyebrow. "You know, at first I was angry when I realized the way you played me. You let me believe for months that Nightshade was Yuuki's familiar, not yours. I thought about the way you must have laughed at a gullible fool like me, who welcomed your spy right in and then fed it."

Kaname's stomach drops, though his composed face doesn't move a hair. He had hoped that Nightshade's real creator would remain secret a while longer. He will...regret not being able to accompany Kiryuu on Hunts any longer.

"Then," continues Kiryuu, "I thought about the fact that Kuran Kaname had to eat out of a plastic bowl and pee in the bushes."

Kaname almost chokes.

"This must have been one of your worst plans ever. I thought about it, and you really didn't find out anything useful. I mean, I didn't tell you any Hunter secrets. I knew that you were a familiar, so I didn't let you see me naked or tell you anything I didn't want Yuuki to know. So I guess I really don't understand the point," Kiryuu concludes with a shake of his head.

The pureblood considers his response, opens his mouth - and nothing comes out.

Kiryuu's mouth quirks. "I got to make you wear a leash. And I covered you in smelly flea and tick spray that made you sneeze. And there was that one time on the metro that you got a lollypop stuck in your fur, and I had to cut it out with scissors."

Kiryuu unsteadily spreads his hands. "I think in this case, success is its own reward. Yuuki's already mad at you - again, you really need to work on that, Kuran - so I think I'll let this go. As long as you give me Nightshade to keep, as my permanent guard. I miss him, and it's not his fault his master's an ass."

Hardly able to process the sudden turn of events in his favor, Kaname blinks for a few seconds, before shaking himself out of his stupor, and calling forth the huge dark wolf.

Who shakes his tail wildly back and forth, completely ignoring his master, and barrels forward to lick excitedly at Kiryuu's hands.

"Hello there, Nightshade," Kiryuu welcomes him, and strokes the wolf's neck and thick ruff. "No wonder you're as handsome as you are cute. You're not Yuuki's familiar at all."

The wolf bark-howls, staying carefully still under Kiryuu's hands, seemingly aware of the Hunter's fragile body and injuries.

"Look at what I have for you," Kiryuu tells the wolf, pulling out Nightshade's collar from under a fold of his gown. Jingling in the center is the square, engraved gold tag that was the cause of all this.

Nightshade, that traitor, eagerly whines and holds perfectly still as Kiryuu slips the leather around his neck. But the Hunter's hands can't manage the buckle, though he tries a few times, clearly frustrated.

"Here," Kaname says, crossing the room, "I'll do it."

Glaring at the collar, and at Kaname, Kiryuu grudgingly allows Kaname to slip the end through the buckle, and tighten it.

Nightshade droops his ears and gives a drawn out whine.

Kiryuu begins to pet him again in apology. "I'm sorry, Nightshade. I'm angry at myself, not you."

"There is no need," Kaname tells him, without understanding why. "Your inability is not your fault. And your injuries will mend."

Kiryuu just shakes his head, and stays quiet, refusing to explain.

"Was this worth it?" Kaname asks curiously, fingering the tag on the wolf's collar.

Kiryuu stares at him.

"Worth what happened to you?" Kaname clarifies.

The Hunter's face clouds. "What kind of stupid question is that? They would have tried to kill me if I was picking up milk from the store," he says with irritation. "It's a dog tag. I bought it for him, it looks good on him and it matches his collar, so he might as well have it. What else is there to say?"

Kiryuu points accusingly at the pureblood. "You think twisty thoughts too often. And Yuuki's started saying things that sound like you'd say them too. So stop doing that."

"Zero-kuuuuun!"

Kaname can almost hear the hearts and sparkles tacked on at the end. "Cross is coming to visit you this evening, I take it?" he says.

Kiryuu covers his face. "On your way out, do me a favor and kick him in the face for me."

Kaname just chuckles.

---

Master Yagari moves first, while Kaito and Cross are still frozen in the doorway.

"What have they done to you, boy?" he says, gruff voice softened at the edges, delicately touching Zero's chin with his calloused fingers,

Zero tries to smile, but he's sure he just contorts his mangled face instead. "That bad, huh?" he says, trying for levity. "You should have seen me before they sewed me back together."

His attempt falls flat, too honest for real humor. Cross frowns, face concerned, dropping the chairman persona. Seeing Cross serious for once makes Zero feel even worse about the situation.

"Well, at least they won't call me pretty boy anymore," he jokes.

Kaito snorts, and crosses the room to throw himself in an armchair opposite Zero's couch. "Please, your Yuuki is hot for you however your face looks. That woman is thirsty as hell. You better watch out for your maidenhood, kouhai."

Zero relaxes at the familiar teasing, proof that some things have stayed the same. Thank goodness for Kaito, he thinks fondly, always reliably irritating.

Cross is still watching them from the doorway. Zero can't see his eyes behind the shine of his glasses.

That won't do.

"Do you want to come in, Chairman?" Zero asks.

Zero's ex-guardian looks even more distressed. "I feel as though I have failed you, Zero," he confesses.

Zero groans. "Cross, not you too. It's nobody's fault but the bloodsuckers who cut me up."

Cross gives a shake of his head, wry smile creasing his lips. "Not that, Zero. For putting you in this situation. You told me you would never be happy living among the vampires. Is that still true?"

Zero huffs a fond laugh. "I didn't count on Yuuki when I said that. Even Kuran is occasionally tolerable. I think I'm going to be okay," he tells the three of them, looking over with an honest gaze.

Master Yagari nods approvingly. "So you found an arrangement you can live with? Good," he says, taking a seat on the sofa, "now I can die in peace."

"Don't give me that look, brats," Zero's Master says, catching the expression on his apprentices' faces. "If I have my way, I'm hanging around until you two have to off me yourselves. But I've got too much human blood not to be realistic."

Yagari points at Zero. "So if you're going to give me grandchildren, boy, you'd better get a move on. Get that wife of yours to do you properly. Just lock the door on the other one."

"Oh my god," Zero mutters, blushing heavily, looking up at the ceiling like he wants to disappear.

"That's right, my cute son!" Cross joins in, clapping his hands together and cackling madly.

"Actually," Zero says, tone lowering, "That reminds me. I need to tell you something, President Cross."

Instantly serious, Cross folds his hands together, and leans forward in his chair.

"The drug the vampires gave me, that's supposed to disable vampire powers - it also worked on my Hunter abilities. Yuuki thinks that it's because I'm a level D, and that's what she told Kuran. But I believe that it worked even without my vampirism as a factor."

The three Hunters are grim at the news. A Hunter is far weaker than the vampires they take as prey. Without their abilities, they cannot identify their enemies, or wield anti-vampire weapons skillfully enough to destroy them.

"It blocked your access completely?" Cross questions, eyes sharp behind his glasses.

Zero nods. "I could feel my abilities, but I couldn't reach them. The drug is distilled from pure blood - specifically the pureblood Shirabuki family's blood. Since Hunters were created by pure blood, there's no reason to think such a thing wouldn't affect us."

"Shirabuki Sara is the last one alive, so at least they can't mass produce it," Kaito says. "That's something. But this drug could still be used strategically. Do the Shirabuki know what they have?"

Master Yagari shakes his head. "I doubt it. Turning us would be the easier, logical method to control us. Our origins are poorly known, and the vampires don't bother to study us. Until Zero, we've never been a threat to purebloods before."

Cross steeples his fingers under his chin. "As long as it stays secret, we're safe."

"So that's why you sent your purebloods and their familiars away," Kaito realizes. "You didn't want them to know."

Zero nods. "I needed you to know about this, for security, but otherwise I don't think we should talk about it. Even among ourselves, to keep it as secret as possible."

"Agreed. None of us are to speak of this again, without dire reason," Cross orders, and Zero and the other Hunters give their agreement.

"That's all I had to tell you. I'm sure the Kurans have told you everything else you wanted to know."

Cross waves his arms wildly in refusal. "Zero-kun, we haven't seen you in months! You have to tell us all about your sweet romance with Yuuki-chan and Kaname-kun!"

Zero glares at Cross for a moment, and then deliberately faces Master Yagari and Kaito. "I don't know if you've eaten, but if you're hungry, you could eat a late dinner. There's a dining room in this suite," Zero offers.

Kaito whistles. "Fancy. You've moved up in the world."

"You're just jealous I don't have to do my own laundry," Zero retorts.

The brunette makes a rude gesture. "I've seen your wardrobe, Kiryuu. I'm not the one dolled up in fancy tailored dresses."

"While you two are moving your jaws, I'll take that dinner," Master Yagari interrupts.

Zero reaches for the bell. "Let me call the servants." he says, and then curses when he knocks it off the couch with his clumsy hands. The small, engraved silver bell rolls against Zero's foot with a ting, and his face heats in embarrassment. "Can one of you pick that up?"

The Hunters are silent for a moment.

"You can't get it yourself?" finally ventures Kaito.

Zero fists his shaky hands in his skirts, staring down at the embroidered feather pattern in silence.

"How good is your coordination?" Master Yagari asks, leaning forward, face carefully wiped of emotion.

Zero grits his teeth, refusing to look up from the blue thread looping across his knees. "I can't lift a spoon well enough to feed myself," he says finally, ashamed of having to admit his helplessness in front of the men he respects most.

He bows his head lower, and startles when a hand touches his shoulder. It's Cross, with a gentle look in his eyes.

"You can't walk, can you, Zero?"

His shoulders tense, and he shakes his head. "The doctor says I'll heal. He doesn't know how long. He's never encountered a case like me before," Zero says.

Kaito speaks up from his chair. "You know that's fine, right?"

"I do," Zero replies.

Zero is a Hunter, and mutilation and traumatic injury are a reality all Hunters live with. The longer you Hunt, the more certain it is you'll end up crippled. Everyone in the Hunter community knows someone who survived the loss of a limb, or an eye, or a leg, and went on to live full lives no less satisfying than before. It was an adjustment, but not much of a surprise or a problem. You made changes, and you moved on. You may not be able to Hunt, but there were plenty of other valuable things you could do.

"I don't mind the injury," Zero tells them. "But I'm too bound to the Hunt."

"Ah," Yagari nods in understanding. Most Hunters ended up fine after career-ending injuries. But some of them belonged so strongly to the Hunt that they were never the same afterwards. Their lives were tied up in Hunting, and cutting them loose just left them adrift, lost.

Kaito was the kind of person who would be able to move on. But Yagari was like Zero, and the Hunt went too deep in their blood to let go.

These three know Zero better than anyone else. It's a relief that he doesn't have to explain the way being unable to walk or use his hands well makes him feel useless, and restless, and helpless. Or how he wants to be alone sometimes, and needing people around to help him all the time exhausts him.

It's only that affection and familiarity that lets Zero say the next part. "And...the vampires aren't helping. Severe, permanent injury is normal to us, but it freaks the vampires out. Even though I'm going to heal, they all look at me like a zoo animal, or like I'm contagious and they're going to catch my disease. You knew Kurenai Maria. You know the kind of stigma this has."

In the silence, Kaito scoops up the bell at Zero's feet, offering it to his near-brother with a sharp grin. "Lucky you're a Hunter then, Kiryuu. You'll show these leeches what being one of us means."

---

"Are you sure you're okay with seeing those people again, Zero?" Yuuki asks anxiously.

"You're with me, so I'll be fine," he says, smiling slightly in the way that makes the wounds on his face sting less.

At the reminder, Yuuki can't stop herself from incessantly running her hands across Zero's body, satisfying her alpha with the physical proof that her mate is alive. She's placed Zero on a window seat, and crowded him up against the wall with not a centimeter of space between them. She's protecting her omega with her own body from anything that might threaten him, and it still isn't enough. She wants to hide Zero away from everyone, keep him to herself, safe and protected and all hers, greedy for the least scrap of his attention. Struggling with herself and her instincts, Yuuki breathes in the fragrance of his skin, and his sweet omega pheromones, burning in the flames of her own desire.

Zero patiently tolerates Yuuki's need for closeness, letting her touch him and move his helpless body the way she needs - perhaps his own instincts quietly teaching him how to calm an alpha. But then, trying to reassure her, Zero turns his head and presses a kiss to her cheek - and Yuuki, starving, catches his chin before he can turn away, in her ravenous hunger seeking out his mouth and kissing him deeply, her violence leashed so she can take her fill as long as his fragile body can stand it, and not a second more.

Good, the alpha says, that is how to treat mate when he is hurt. Now if only we could teach alpha-mate….

"You okay," Zero gasps.

"I should be asking you that question," Yuuki says, pulling back only enough to speak, pressing their foreheads together.

"I'm fine," he tells her, his breath still short.

"I want to take you back to bed and hide you there," she confesses. "I can't stand being out of your sight."

"You said you wanted to do this," he reminds her.

Yuuki struggles with herself. Finally, her determination wins out, and she picks Zero up, one arm underneath his knees and the other supporting his back, and begins to carry him down the stairs to the holding cells.

His long skirts fall all the way past his feet, making Zero look less like he's being carried for medical reasons and more like he's just wearing fancy, impractical clothing. Yuuki had a whole new wardrobe made for Zero to help him look more dignified while he has to be carried around as he heals. She rather likes the way they look together, and the drape of fabric over her arms. Plus, having Zero stuffed into pretty things always makes her happy.

And of course, being needed by her omega makes her alpha instincts even more happy, as much as Zero hates the necessity. It's Yuuki's secret, guilty, pleasure. Yuuki's become addicted to the weight of Zero in her arms, the closeness, and the intimacy of being relied on by her partner for something so personal. Being able to remain at his side all the time is all she's ever wanted, but the wanting tortures her so sweetly. However much Yuuki has of Zero, it only feeds her hunger for more.

Yuuki can feel Zero's body tense as they get closer, and she tucks him against her body more securely. Zero should never fear when he's in her arms - her pureblood's strength could hold him for days and never tire.

"Open the gate, please," she orders the guard, and the cell door swings open.

Six filthy nobles in torn, dirty clothes look up - Zero's attackers, and one informant, the vile worms that tried to kill her heart.

Yuuki almost snarls, disgust welling up in her - but Zero's sweet weight reminds her why she's here. He's tense, and she bounces him a little, nuzzling his hair to remind him he's in the safest place in the world right now.

"Kuran-hime," the nobles greet her, and prostrate themselves face down on the ground.

As they should, Yuuki thinks. "Your execution, traitors, is tomorrow. I suggest you reflect on your crimes tonight, if you have the sense to understand them."

Yuuki gentles her voice. "It's them, right?" she asks Zero, who nods, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the vampires who almost succeeded in killing him.

"Sucked enough dick to please them yet, you filthy whore?" the smarmy, arrogant one shouts - then he chokes, his fingers scrabbling at the invisible hand cutting off his air and close to breaking his spine.

Yuuki watches the vile man spasm until he begins to foam at the mouth, his lips going blue.

A touch at her wrist - Zero, gently reminding her that he doesn't give a damn what vampires say about him. Yuuki smiles at her consort, and the vampire is allowed to gasp in a breath.

Her voices cracks out. "I will not hear such filthy lies out of your mouths again. Am I understood?"

The six vampires fall over themselves to promise a pureblood anything she wants. Yuuki's lip curls.

"Since your thick heads don't seem to understand why I'm angry, I thought a demonstration might help," Yuuki tells them.

Her light, almost cheerful tone makes the criminals shift and look uneasy.

Yuuki smiles happily. "Go ahead, Zero."

Zero looks at her one more time with his beautiful lavender eyes, making sure Yuuki really means it. The terrible wounds on his face - now more wound than whole skin - pink and puckered, tracing across his flesh, make her certain, and she tips her head back in invitation. Her red dress, worn specifically for today, has an open, square collar without any lace or trim.

When Zero bends his head down to her neck, the nobles begin to understand what they're about to watch.

"No," shouts the leader, straining at his chains in horror. "Kuran-hime, you mustn't!"

"You presume to order me?" Yuuki asks with a vicious satisfaction over the noises of their dread and disgust

Zero is lapping at her neck, preparing the area he will bite, trying to angle his body so the vampires have a good view. He is a Hunter, after all, Yuuki thinks fondly.

"I'm ready," she says, nudging him on. These worms don't deserve the sight of Zero any longer than necessary.

Yuuki shivers at the feeling of Zero's fangs, delicately pressing against her skin, and keeps her eyes fixed on her enemies, wanting to watch this moment.

At the smell of pure blood, the nobles cry out, revolted by the sight of a filthy Level D feeding so naturally on sacred pure blood, of his dirty fangs polluting her revered, untouchable skin. A vampire would do anything for even a drop of pure blood. It's the most forbidden blood in the whole world, and every single one of these nobles are salivating in desire as it's shed right in front of them, dreaming of being allowed a taste.

And instead, Yuuki is making these scum watch as she gives her powerful blood to Zero, the man they scorned, tortured and nearly killed. Some of them are crying, begging her not to debase herself, Yuuki observes with glee. How silly, that something like this can reduce grown men to tears.

Yuuki feels nothing but the satisfaction of being able to sate the hunger of her beloved. She feels powerful, blessed to be able to do this, never degraded. Feeding Zero is a precious moment that Yuuki treasures, and she shows them her eager participation, her willing surrender, her full enjoyment.

Yuuki's voice cuts through their meaningless noise. "To me, your actions are the greatest crime anyone could commit. I love Kiryuu Zero more than my own life. You are nothing and he is everything."

Zero withdraws his fangs, and cleans the wound with a quick swipe of his tongue before her pureblood healing vanishes it without a trace. The Hunter isn't really hungry; Yuuki and Kaname feed him so often that he doesn't even have time in between feedings to properly digest the last.

"Kuran-hime, please," begs one of their prisoners. "He's deluded you somehow. You've been lied to!"

She's made these vile scum watch a mockery of their world order, rejected their deepest held ideals, taunted them with her pure blood, and driven them into despair, all without lifting a finger. Yuuki is finished here.

Deaf to their pleas, the pureblood sweeps out of the cell, attention locked solely on the man in her arms. Time for a bath for both of them, and then she will kiss every wound on Zero's body, Yuuki decides, the faint pleas behind her no more meaningful than the noise of the wind.

---

Nearing midnight, a thick, dark veil of clouds covers the stars and the thin face of the moon. Winds bend the summer grasses, and shake the leafy trees, dispelling the heat and the sticky humid air.

It's a good night for an execution.

Tonight, the ballroom of the state palace is crammed full of people, wall to wall, as though the wealthy, powerful people gathered here tonight have come to pay their respects to the Kuran monarchs one last time.

Nobles have been flooding into Rosehill all evening. Yuuki demanded the attendance of the entire upper ranks of the aristocracy. And no one dares disobey a pureblood, let alone a pureblood demanding blood.

None of them are certain what will happen tonight, and that nervous state infects the air, passing like contamination from one sweating, anxious vampire to the next. Their six conspirators succeeded in their haphazard plot largely because they told no one of their plans, which means no one but the Kurans and their servants know the circumstances that brought the nobles here tonight.

From Yuuki's ultimatum, the nobles have gathered that tonight's execution has something to do with Kiryuu. Some of them have even noticed the disappearances of the conspirators. But with over a dozen plots currently running against their Consort, no one is certain which plot has incurred the wrath of the Kurans. So a significant number of the people here tonight think they might be about to die.

Really, Kaname couldn't have done it better himself.

A slight smile on his lips as he dismisses the bat familiar spying on the nobles, Kaname catches Yuuki's eye. She inclines her head, hard-eyed, fingering the phoenix bracelet around her wrist. Then, watching him in return, Yuuki lifts their wedding token to her mouth and kisses the white jade feathers.

The stroke of midnight - the waiting aristocrats jump as the doors of the ballroom swing open with a bang. Mirror images of each other in black, with their eyes and hair proclaiming their lineage, the Kuran couple stride through the doors side-by-side, effortlessly holding the eyes of the entire room captive.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Kaname intones quietly; such is the silence that he need not even raise his voice to be heard in the farthest corners of the cavernous room.

Surveying the crowd, Yuuki says, "I'm pleased to see you've accepted our invitation to attend tonight. We'd like to make sure that everything is conducted with the proper formalities. Chairman Ichihara? Step forward please."

Absolutely calm, and seemingly indifferent to the fear saturating the air, Ichihara comes forward from his place at the edge of the crowd, and makes his bow. "Kuran-hime, how may I assist you this evening?"

Kaname has to admit, if Ichihara was a pureblood, he would be a difficult opponent. Ichijo Asato and Ichihara hated one another with equal fervor, but Ichihara survived his rival precisely because he was more cautious, not because he was less ambitious. Ichihara knew greater powers than him existed, and he hated them, but he didn't delude himself into thinking he could reliably control them.

Exactly as they discussed, Yuuki tells the Chairman, "We require you witness the punishment of a crime."

"Of course, Kuran-hime," replies Ichihara. "What crime has been committed?"

Yuuki raises her voice, and speaks to the crowd, "Our race observes two unforgivable crimes. The first is to harm a pureblood, or to demand their blood."

The crowd surges, aghast that such a thing may have happened, but Yuuki raises her hand for silence. "The second is to harm an omega, rare and honored above all other nobles as the mothers of our race."

The crowd shifts, looking around uneasily at one another as though the guilty party bears some mark.

Kaname's voice brings their attention back to the Kuran couple. "Vile and unnatural nobles have attacked our Consort, wounding him severely and nearly succeeding in killing him. We have brought you here tonight to affirm the legality of our actions and to act with transparency as we claim our right as his alphas to destroy this threat."

Chairman Ichihara bows once more. "By the laws of the Senate, you are indeed fully within your rights to execute such deviants. We are honored to witness your justice, Kuran-sama."

Kaname nods, and without either of the Kurans making any sign, a side door opens. Servants bearing the Kuran crest on their livery drag the six culprits into the room in chains.

A few of the crowd members erupt in shouts and cries as they recognize their missing family and friends.

Behind the six vampires walks Cross Kaien, smiling with his glasses off, and Yagari Touga, taciturn and scowling at the crowd.

The nobles whisper even more fiercely as they recognize the co-Presidents of the Hunters' Association.

"Don't mind us, please," Cross announces pleasantly. "We're here at the request of Kuran-san, as the Hunter monitors this evening."

It cannot escape any of the watching nobles that Kiryuu is the apprentice and ex-ward of these two powerful Hunters, and that their presence is anything but accidental. Cross and Yagari are a message: 'Kiryuu Zero has powerful backers. Attacking him is unwise.' And it reminds the vampires that Kiryuu is a powerful Hunter himself, and a dangerous target in his own right.

The Kuran servants deposit the criminals at the feet of their masters, and remain to unobtrusively monitor their charges. Blinking in the sudden light, the six nobles, ragged, filthy, and stinking after days without bathing, cower together in a huddle in front of the callous eyes of their peers. Veterans of all kinds of power struggles, the nobles recognize a sinking ship when they see one.

At a gesture from Yuuki, one of the Kuran servants hands Chairman Ichihara a scroll. "You will find the names of these criminals written here. As for me," Yuuki says, "I will not lower myself to utter them, and they shall not pass my lips."

Kaname moves no closer to the pile of wretched vampires, addressing them indifferently from a distance. "Tell these respected nobles of the vampire race your crimes."

Terrified, and still obedient to the purebloods they adore, the plot comes spilling out as one by one, the six confess their complicity. The weight of their fellow nobles' judgement, and the gravity of the situation stamps out their defiance and their certainty. With all their pride crushed out of them, they are a pitiful sight.

Across the bloodbond, Kaname and Yuuki share the same satisfaction.

Chairman Ichihara intervenes, cutting the conspirators short, perhaps trying to curry favor with their families. Probably a futile effort - these six come from impeccable monarchist backgrounds, taught from infancy to revere the purebloods and to gladly obey them.

"Kuran-sama, Kuran-hime, the testimonies of these criminals match your accounts," the noble says.

"It seems that we need only one other participant before we can begin," Kaname tells him. "The injured party."

---

Yuuki didn't want Zero to be present at his attackers' execution tonight. It was only after long arguments, and appeasing her alpha instincts with some very pleasant cuddling that Zero got her to relent. She was only trying to protect him, Zero knows, but this is something he needs to do.

Kaname, on the other hand, had simply surveyed Zero once from head to heels, and given his agreement. The pureblood probably just didn't care, but perhaps he understood Zero's need to appease his pride. Show a predator your fear, and they never forget it. Zero did not cower when he was about to die, and he won't cower now that he's going to live. He's a Hunter, bone and blood, and he'll be damned if any vampire intimidates him enough to hide his face.

Even when his face looks like it was shredded with a carving knife. Zero's not exaggerating - it looks bad, with the only saving grace that his eyes were unharmed.

Without being able to walk, Zero had to settle for being carried into the room in a small curtained palanquin. It will betray his poor mobility, and probably be taken as an indication of weakness, but he has no other choice. Let them see how little he fears them, whether whole or crippled.

The sway of the palanquin as the carriers begin to move makes his stomach lurch. Zero clutches the edges as best he can with his weak grip, and concentrates on looking dignified, even when he doesn't feel it.

The sound of the palanquin being carried on tile - Zero can tell from the sharp footsteps of the bearers. The rush of air from a door, opening silently. The heavy silence of an empty space, the echos of feet on stone. A gentle thump, felt through the frame as his palanquin is placed on the floor. A pale, long-fingered hand parts the curtains.

"Consort Kiryuu, thank you for joining us," Kuran Kaname says, inclining his head the barest increment.

Zero returns the gesture, deeper, obeying the protocol perfectly. "Husband, as you asked, I have come."

Kuran coached Zero ahead of time on what to do and say, and how to carry himself. Now that the nobles know about the murder attempt, it's Zero's job to make sure that he gives them nothing to justify it with. His behavior this evening must be spotless.

Seated, pinned in place by his useless legs and exceptionally long skirts, and framed by the curtains of the palanquin, Zero feels like an expensive doll on the shelf. He tries not to let the impression overwhelm him, but Zero feels more vulnerable than usual without the ability to defend himself. Instead, he tries to anchor himself in the illusion they're trying to build tonight, one specifically designed by Yuuki (and Kuran, Zero was surprised to discover) to protect him. Zero's not about to let Yuuki's feelings go to waste, so he straightens his body the best he can, and meets the eyes of the watching vampires with his usual stoicism and indifference.

Yuuki comes up behind Kuran's shoulder, and takes Zero's hands. The twin dragon bracelets, exposed as his sleeves fall slightly, complement the phoenix bracelet on Yuuki's wrist, an observation none of the nobles will miss.

"As always, the sight of you bring us joy," Yuuki tells him; the edges of her eyes crinkle as she fights not to break character.

Zero's affection for her surges in his chest. Through his ragged wounds, Zero gives his best attempt at a smile, hoping that his love shines through his eyes. "Seeing you makes me feel exactly the same way."

Yuuki steps to one side, allowing Zero to see a huddle of filthy men on the floor. She seems to expect Zero will be traumatized if he sees his attackers, but Zero's fought enough people who tried to kill him that one more near-miss isn't going to bother him much.

To the condemned nobles, Zero must look like an omen of death in his heavy, pure white robes, with his pale hair and skin. White for ash and white for death. Zero appreciates the symbolism.

"Consort," Kuran says, "we regret the need, but can you confirm that those are the criminals who attacked you?"

Zero gives them a quick glance. "Five of them, yes. I'm told that the other assisted in the plot."

"Correct," Kuran replies, hands tucked behind his back, pacing slowly in an arc around the frozen nobles.

A hunting gesture, Zero recognizes from experience. Is it unconscious, he wonders, or is Kuran doing it on purpose?

"In your confessions," Kuran begins, addressing the huddle of prisoners, "you claimed to have committed your crimes in our interest, using our names as your justification. I want to make clear, here and now, that nothing you did in our names we wanted, supported, or endorsed. Consort Kiryuu, as my wife has told you all, is not to be touched."

Yuuki joins the loose hunting spiral with Kuran, lazily continuing. "Because of the nature of your crimes against us, we decided that you needed a special punishment, to show anyone dreaming of following your example the consequences of their actions."

A coiled energy animates the Kurans' footsteps now, a liquid threat in every line of their bodies. Every eye they meet flickers away in submission as soon as their gazes touch. Zero makes a point of holding their eyes whenever they glance his way.

Gesturing toward their prisoners, Yuuki smiles. "It is slightly inaccurate to call tonight an execution, although tonight all six of you will die."

Her face hardens, and Yuuki's rage gives her voice a frightening edge. "Hear me, all you gathered tonight. I condemn the memory of these six traitors. Let their names never again be spoken in public. Let them be struck from the official records, and from the records of their houses. I strip them of name, and rank, and dignity. Every trace they ever existed will be erased. They are no one - they never existed."

Someone in the crowd is silently weeping, hands pressed over their mouth. The rest of the nobles are pale and showing the whites of their eyes.

It's an apt punishment. To be erased from history, and from memory itself, strikes at the heart of his attackers' desires for recognition and glory in the eyes of their peers. Nobles prided themselves on their lineage and the purity of their blood. To be stripped of rank and title and identity in one fell swoop, Kuran explained to him, was akin to shattering their psyches with a hammer.

Kuran's liquid voice flows through the air. "As for the bodies of these wretched scum, who have ceased to exist, they will not go to waste. You see, the Hunters keep a few Tamed Level D vampires they have marked with a taming brand. And acquiring blood for to feed those Tamed vampires can be difficult."

The prisoners, who had been stunned to shocked, disbelieving silence, begin to understand what Kaname means, and their expressions turn to horrified weeping.

"Therefore," Kuran continues with a savage pleasure, "the blood of these nameless criminals will be donated to the Hunter's Association as a gift, to help mend the treaty they endangered. Their bodies will feed Tamed vampires and provide a permanent blood source for the next few thousand years."

For a moment, Zero feels pity toward the vampires who tried to kill him. To be turned into blood slaves, after considering yourself a noble far above such dregs of society - these men have lost everything that was ever important to them. Stripped of their privileges and familes, they have fallen far from their lofty perches at the top of vampire society, reduced to the level of the people they ruled over. Now it's their turn to experience everything that the Turned vampires and Hunters they detested have to endure.

Surveying the broken expressions of the new blood slaves, Yuuki isn't finished. "We are not without mercy, unlike you. In a century, prove to your keepers that you repent and regret your crimes for their own sake, not because of your punishment for them, and I will allow you the mercy of death by over-feeding."

"Until that time comes," orders Kuran, the resonant power of command in his voice, "you are forbidden to escape, or commit suicide."

Turning their backs on the broken men behind them, Yuuki and Kuran seem to forget their slumped bodies are even there. Instead, it's Zero who holds their attention, and they come to stand beside him, one on each side of his seated form.

Zero straightens, cocking his head in question. This wasn't part of their plans.

A faint hint of reassurance in Yuuki's face is all Zero needs to settle back and enjoy whatever show is going on. He trusts Yuuki is looking out for him, and Zero even trusts Kuran the faintest bit.

Kuran takes one of Zero's hands, and turns it over, palm up. Zero is startled to see a phoenix bracelet on Kuran's wrist too, and he darts a quick look at the pureblood's face.

Kuran looks steadily back at Zero with his wine colored eyes, bends his head, and kisses the palm of Zero's hand, as the Hunter stares frozen in surprise. "This is my Consort, and I am well pleased with him. I will be satisfied by none other than he, for the remainder of my immortal life. I will take no other omega than Kiryuu Zero."

Yuuki, on his other side, gently takes up Zero's left hand, and gives his palm a lingering kiss. "I will take no other omega than Kiryuu Zero," she promises, "I swear it on my own life. What you do to him, it is as if you do to me."

Zero feels then, as he will many more times, a sudden flash of insight, imagining what the nobles before him must see.

Such an inexplicable sight! A fragile half-breed creature, of no particular value, maimed, broken - not even beautiful or dangerous! - being sworn loyalty by the two most powerful beings in the world, gods who could have anyone they wanted, but who willingly wear his marks and offer devotion to him in the carefulness of their touch and the gentle look in their eyes.

With their joined hands, Zero reaches up to touch his chest, right over his heart. The feeling inside him is pleasure, he realizes.

---

"Kuran-hime," Sasaki calls out, bowing, "Kiryuu-sama is ready for bed."

In one of her summer nightgowns with her hair braided back, Yuuki bounces past the servant into her bedroom, a look of eagerness on her face. She's still riding the excitement of their victory over Kiryuu's attackers earlier this evening.

Kaname, more mindful, dismisses Sasaki, and goes to say goodnight to his wife and their Consort.

Kiryuu has been dressed in his own nightclothes, and lies in the center of Yuuki's bed, chatting with his wife as she slides in next to him. Once he realized that Yuuki was sleeping in a guest room, Kiryuu felt guilty for stealing his wife's bed, and offered to share it with her. Yuuki had accepted before Kiryuu could finish getting the words out, and hadn't missed the opportunity a single night since.

Kaname is just fine with his (cold, empty) bed all to himself. Really.

Yuuki has scooted right up next to Kiryuu, and plastered herself against his back. There are limbs everywhere, like an octopus, and the two of them only use a tiny fraction of the bed. What a waste of space. If you have all that room, you might as well use it, Kaname thinks.

In his own nightclothes, Kaname tells Yuuki goodnight, and turns to leave for his own bed.

"Wait," Kiryuu says.

Kaname looks over his shoulder and raises an eyebrow. "What is it, Kiryuu?"

But Kiryuu doesn't seem put off by Kaname's exasperated tone, and his face is strangely blank. "You know Yuuki, I've been thinking."

"About what?" Yuuki asks from behind him, chin resting on top of Kiryuu's shoulder.

Kiryuu's eyes have a suspicious gleam. "What if Kaname is like Nightshade?"

Yuuki blinks. "I don't get it, Zero."

A smile starts to curve the Hunter's lips. "Nightshade is a wolf. And wolves don't understand they've done wrong when they chew up furniture or pee on rugs. They're wolves - that's what they do. If you scold him, he doesn't get it. What you have to do is reward him instead, when he does something you want him to do."

"So when he pees outside, you give him a treat." Yuuki says, thinking hard.

Kiryuu nods. "Exactly. And Kuran is Nightshade's master, so there has to be some similarities. Maybe if we reward Kuran when he does good things, he'll do them again. And Kuran was good tonight, wasn't he?"

"Oh yes," Yuuki agrees, mischievous as an imp. "Kaname was very good tonight."

Kiryuu struggles to free one arm from Yuuki's hug; Kaname knows from experience she's very tenacious. The Hunter pats the sheets in front of him. "If you want, Kuran, you can sleep with us tonight." Perhaps realizing how he sounded, Kiryuu scowls. "Just sleeping. Nothing perverted, vampire."

Kaname considers for a moment. His pride says refuse and go sleep in his own bed. His body is remembering how warm Yuuki and Kiryuu are when he holds them. His heart is thinking about how good not being lonely would be.

The pureblood wavers, but breaks in the end. He moves around the end of the bed to slide in behind Yuuki.

"Uh uh, Kaname. This is my side. Yours is the other side," she tells him.

Kaname reconsiders his course of action, but yields and peels back the covers in front of Kiryuu. Their body heat has made the bed nice and warm, he notes as he swings his feet underneath the sheets.

"Closer, Kaname," Yuuki orders. "We're not strangers."

Kaname takes one look at Yuuki and Kiryuu in their ball of limbs, sighs as though he is very put upon, and settles himself a mere inch from Kiryuu, draping his arm over Kiryuu so he can touch Yuuki.

Kiryuu rolls his eyes, and Yuuki groans, but they accept Kaname's arrangement, and settle down to go to sleep.

(In the morning, the three of them wake tangled together, not a hint of space separating them.)

---

Shirabuki Sara simpers and tosses the ringlets of her blond hair. "I'm surprised that you invited me to dine with you, Yuuki-chan. Not that this isn't the pleasant kind of surprise. We purebloods must stick together, now that so few of us are left."

Yuuki controls her dislike at the honorific by taking another sip of her tea. Kaname would probably spend another half-hour on polite small talk and subtle verbal maneuvering, but Yuuki has neither the patience nor the skill. And whether or not Shirabuki would admit it, Yuuki suspects both of them know why they are dining together today at this expensive upscale cafe.

"There was a matter I wanted to discuss with you, Shirabuki-san," Yuuki says, returning her teacup to her saucer with a clink, and focusing her gaze on Shirabuki.

"Oh?" the other pureblood asks, placing her teacup on her own saucer and raising an eyebrow. "What might that be?"

"The attack on our Consort -"

"Oh, I heard about that! How terrible for you and poor Kaname-kun!" Shirabuki interrupts, placing her hand on her cheek in exaggerated concern.

"During the attack on our Consort," Yuuki continues, not allowing the faintest flicker in her expression at the interruption, "a particular, unique poison was used."

She stares straight into Shirabuki's blue eyes, determined to watch the effect of her words. "A poison created by the Shirabuki family."

Shirabuki's eyes widen theatrically and she covers her open mouth with her hand. "So that's what happened to it! How awful!" Shirabuki leans forward, and takes Yuuki's hand.

Yuuki has to use all her strength not to slap Shirabuki away. Instead, she stays perfectly still, counting to one hundred in her head and concentrating on keeping her breaths slow and even.

Lower lip quivering, Shirabuki is the very picture of contrition. "I'm so sorry Yuuki-chan. One of those men visited me some time ago, and was quite interested when I mentioned that I practice our family art of poison making. So I showed him some of my equipment and my laboratory. It was only after he left that I realized one of my poisons was missing - stolen, of course. The man was quite the earnest admirer of our kind, so I thought he just wanted a souvenir of our meeting."

Shirabuki squeezes Yuuki's hands and her face becomes earnest. "I swear to you, Yuuki-chan, if I had known what he intended to do with it, I would have stopped him. I create poisons to continue our family traditions and practice our knowledge, not for them to be used. I feel so regretful that something I made was used against your poor Consort!" Shirabuki shakes her head, and her eyes dampen.

The other pureblood is probably not lying, Yuuki knows. The poison probably was 'stolen', but Yuuki would bet her entire wardrobe that Shirabuki Sara knew exactly what it was for and instructed Zero's attackers on how to use it. She may not have lifted a finger, but Shirabuki's help was the reason those scum could attack a helpless Zero at all.

Yuuki feels a deep hate well up from the black, pureblood parts of her soul, and the alpha hisses and spits. This woman almost killed Zero, Yuuki thinks, as she watches Shirabuki release her hands and take another drink of tea.

This woman will have to die, Yuuki decides quite logically.

"Perhaps it's a good thing I've lost my chance at an omega twice," the blonde pureblood reflects, a coy expression on her face as she watches Yuuki. "After all, they are terribly fragile things, aren't they?"

Seeing the glint in Shirabuki's eyes, Yuuki reads clearly the implied threat. A chill passes down her spine, and her stomach boils with rage. But Yuuki simply hums a neutral response, and takes another drink. She really is getting better at this, Yuuki reflects, smiling politely as Shirabuki giggles, and begins to plan how to destroy her.

---

Thus ends the current arc. Bechdel test pass ftw.

Zero and Yuuki, at least, understand each others' feelings better now. Yuuki and Zero trade off being the big spoon when she and Zero cuddle, by the way.

Next chapter: Summer draws to a close as Zero, still struggling to heal, enters the Colosseum of the Jeweled Court. And the seasons are not the only thing changing as our trio draw each other closer.