*Coughs* Late is better than never right? I hope the new chapter satisfies.
XLII. The Last Command
The inner circle is even less happy about the situation then Kaname and Yuuki, but they obey, fanning out and wielding their influence to shore up the Senate's crumbling foundations.
The common vampires have always known the Senate was corrupt. Within the strict hierarchy of their society, the Senate's nepotism and greed was simply an accepted feature - a mere quirk of the system. After all, it wasn't like the Senators were elected. The Senators themselves selected any replacements to their ranks. No one expected them to be the pinnacle of virtue and self-sacrifice.
As long as the Senate's corruption didn't prevent it from functioning as a semi-effective government, dissent remained quiet, and complaints were only whispered in hushed corners. But after decades of careless rule, the debacle with Rido, the mess with the humans, and now the true, ugly depth of their corruption being ruthlessly exposed to their subjects, ordinary vampires had finally reached a point where they could neither ignore nor tolerate the current Senate. Even the nobles couldn't ignore massive public outcry forever, and more than a few Senators are toppled in the revelation's aftermath.
Kaname allows most of the damage to fall where it may. He'll act to preserve the Senate as a whole, but he made no such promises to save any individual Senators. If their actions begot their downfall, let them reap what they sow. After targeting his precious Consort, they deserve far more than mere loss of face; Kaname has a target list and long-term plans in place for appropriate punishments. Immortality has its advantages.
The Senators don't accept their downfall quietly, striking back at Kaname with the strongest weapons they have. Bureaucratic sabotage at its finest, their ire is felt in a hundred tiny ways. Kuran businesses mysteriously fail inspections; applications sit unread on some minor paper-pushers desk; they find themselves the target of innumerable investigations - for malpractice, for insider trading, for copyright infringement, money laundering, drug running, bribery.
Nothing can be done in the current climate, except to store up grievances for later vengeance. Kaname and Yuuki restrain the monarchists' enthusiasm, make public appearances and statements in support of creating a cleaner, more accountable Senate, and generally work to calm the situation. And at first, it seems like the furor might blow over
Then the riots start.
The smoke from Yagari's cigarette makes the projector's light billow in the cloudy air. In the darkness, two dozen high-ranking Hunters watch the recordings in silence, only pausing to change clips.
Zero doesn't need the folders stacked in front of him; he knows the faces he's searching for by heart. Only around twenty of Shirabuki's stolen Hunters are left - the rest mostly dead, a bare few retrieved. Zero flicks through the images, reciting the list to himself silently: Campbell, Rajapaksha, Karahan, Watanabe, Anwar, Ojinnaka, Zhang, Shengelia, Baek, Podlaski…
"There's been another riot in the blood slums," someone calls out.
Zero isn't the only one whose lips curl in a frown. Whether organic or stirred up by Shirabuki's agents, the damage has ripped through aristocratic estates, residential neighborhoods, shopping districts and the human world alike. And in all the riots, in every report the Association has gathered, Shirabuki's Turned Hunters feature prominently - instigating, coordinating, leading the charge. When before the Hunters could barely catch a glimpse of their stolen comrades, now they have too many targets at once.
The riots have also triggered another round of assassinations, leveled directly against the Senate. Those losses are another sign of weakness, and another proof of the Senate's impotence. The Senate cannot, at any cost, allow the insult to stand. Shirabuki's stolen Hunters will be pursued with all the rage and fury the nobles can muster. No doubt the Senate will use them as a scapegoat for the riots as well - 'preserving public peace' or 'punishing the instigators.'
Time is running out. The Hunters' Association has far more limited resources than the Senate. In a head-on contest for the same quarry, they will lose if they do not concentrate their forces.
A choice must be made.
It is the responsibility of the men and women gathered in this room to make that final determination. Zero is here only as liaison and advisor; he does not envy their burden. When the deliberations are finished, he will take the final priority list to Kaname and claim the help his husband promised. Trust between vampires and Hunters is slow to come, but necessity has forced the Association's hand.
"Fuck - the bloodsuckers got Podlaski!" another Hunter says, watching the streamed footage live on a laptop. Zero hears the sound of ripping flesh echo through the speakers, and his belly floods with nausea when the screams start.
It takes a long time for the video to go quiet. The shaky, pale-faced crowd gathered around the screen disperses; someone retches into a wastebasket; another name is crossed off.
Zero too feels queasy; he sees himself reflected in the other Turned Hunters so easily. To steady himself, he stands and takes a turn around the room, watching the others weigh and measure out lives. He pauses beside Chairman Cross, peering over the president's shoulder as Cross lays out and rearranges photographs. However often Cross reorders and discards, there is one picture he never touches.
The teenaged boy in the photograph has crystal blue eyes and dark brown skin; like all Hunters of higher purity, his heavily mixed bloodline makes his ethnicity impossible to determine. His name is Alton Blue, and he is the one anomaly in Shirabuki's victim preference, Noah Karahan's apprentice from solidly mid-content bloodlines who was kidnapped along with his master. The Association guesses his abduction and Turning might have been an accident, an additional victim swept up by chance. Either way, he is the youngest to be Turned, and also the one with the greatest ability to rebel against pureblooded commands. Apprentice Blue is the one target the Association wishes to save at all costs.
"He's about the age you were," Cross reminisces softly, placing a single fingertip on the blurry surveillance shot.
The nausea in Zero's gut flares again; he feels the weight of eyes on his back. "Hurry up and make your decisions," Zero replies curtly, stepping away, "We're giving the Senate a head start."
At first, it's such a small thing that Zero doesn't pay any attention.
Habiki is asleep in his arms, exhausted from crying, and Zero rocks back and forth, back and forth, otherwise the baby will wake up again. The rhythmic motion lulls Zero in a trancelike state, and he sinks, futures spinning out under his fingers like infinite points of light. Perhaps he is dreaming too - he sees Habiki grown, handsome and smiling - a ripple - Habiki as a young man, wearing a white Night Class uniform - another ripple - a gangly Habiki, all limbs, halfway between child and teenager.
When Zero rises up out of his dreams, like a boat skimming the surface of a stream, he has a passing desire to go outside for air. But his power pulses, and Zero loosens his hold, letting the thought slip away.
Then, a few days later, it happens again.
He's out running errands, and considers stopping for food. A spark of feeling crackles along his nerves, and Zero turns away from the cafe instead of going inside. He's a Hunter; it's practically a cardinal rule to trust your gut. But nothing comes of it, so Zero puts the matter out of his mind again.
Except it keeps happening. That little nudge in his head saying 'don't do that.' And it happens at the most innocuous times: when he's about to go downstairs, drink his tea, pause to straighten his skirts, visit Takuma, go see Yuuki and Kaname in the business offices. It perplexes him, but again, nothing bad happens. It doesn't feel like danger; if Zero had to put words to it, he'd describe it more as a feeling of opportunity.
The situation only becomes clear when he rejoins the teams rescuing the Turned Hunters, and that vague passing feeling bothers him relentlessly. Don't step left. Don't back up. Don't follow when they flee. Don't go on the roof. Don't leave the doorway. And definitely, definitely avoid clashing with the Senate's lackeys.
Then the bridge Zero was about to step onto explodes right after he experiences that persistent feeling again.
Which makes the situation very clear.
Zero would say something dramatic like 'someone is trying to assassinate me,' but he's pretty sure you have to be important to be assassinated. When he voices this thought to Shoshana, she gets a peculiar pained expression on her face, and sighs as if Zero has said something very stupid.
Zero thinks of just how many times his intuition has probably saved his life. I pity the assassin trying to kill me. It must be very frustrating.
Of course, Yuuki and Kaname don't find the situation as humorous. Zero minimizes the danger as much as he dares without outright lying, but how could his spouses fail to see through his misdirection?
His overprotective, endearing alphas begin hovering everywhere he goes - again - not that he's allowed to leave the estate. Used to their antics and knowing they only act this way out of care, Zero permits their restrictions. He hardly leaves anyway. The summer Jeweled Court was already cancelled - no alpha would allow their omega outside when the fear of assassination runs so high.
The one and only thing Zero fights them on is his work with the Hunters. Zero always takes point whenever a hunting party goes after the Turned Hunters, and a few dozen murder attempts aren't going to stop him.
When Zero comes to Kaname with a request, his husband barely looks up from his reports. "And why should I go along with this surprise you've planned?"
Sighing, Zero sneaks close enough to breathe in the cologne and heavy alpha musk rising off Kaname's skin, and cheats by rubbing his cheek in the slope of his mate's throat so his own omega scent wafts over the pureblood's nostrils.
Kaname goes a little cross-eyed.
"Two reasons. You've been working too much, so this surprise is meant for you. Second, Yuuki is on board already, and if you behave during the first part," Zero lowers his voice, "I'll reward you with 'that' scenario. The one you keep asking for."
The pureblood's eyes widen. "Oh?"
Nodding quickly, Zero coughs to cover his embarrassment. Why did he have to be married to such perverted bloodsuckers!
Smirking, Kaname finally leans back and casts aside his work. "Well then, lead on."
Ten minutes of travel later, the pureblood is considerably less impressed.
"Zero," Kaname intones flatly, "what is this."
Zero surveys the scene: an empty parking lot, a cheap car with the right fender crumpled in, and the shallow friendliness of the human instructor wearing a rumpled polo shirt. "Driving school."
His husband sneers disdainfully. "This is unnecessary. I am a pureblood. With my abilities, I can go anywhere I like in considerably less time."
Zero eyes him with skepticism. "Kaname, magical bats are not a practical method of travel. Knowing how to drive is a useful skill."
Kaname's indifferent, unmoved expression doesn't shift.
Crossing his arms, Zero scowls. "You're ten thousand years old, you need to learn to drive."
Kaname lifts a single eyebrow in derision.
Zero pulls out his trump card. "Remember, we're only doing 'that' if you behave."
The reminder gives Kaname pause. Finally, the pureblood sighs and yields gracefully, striding over to the small car and sitting down in the driver's seat as if were a throne. The instructor scrambles in after him, looking rather lost.
Zero waves as he sprints away, Nightshade at his heels. He'll just come back when they're finished.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Zero teases, tugging Kaname after him by the hand.
Kaname presses his lips together, cooly ignoring Zero.
Zero swings his hips, just to torment his alpha a little. They're on a public street in the human world, so ravaging Zero will have to wait. Kaname can only look, and yearn to touch.
Yuuki's aura pulses ahead, in an apartment Zero has temporarily rented for this single purpose. She won't disturb them unless necessary; their game tonight doesn't suit her tastes, and she's present only for their safety.
Breaking into a run, Zero tastes the air, breathing deep the taste of smog and Kaname. His skin tingles uncomfortably from the sunlight, his recent oversensitivity striking again, but the thrill of a false chase blunts the sensation.
Yuuki waves as they flash past her to the bedroom. Waiting there is tonight's reward: a pair of silver, Hunter-made handcuffs spelled heavily enough to hold a pureblood.
"Last chance," Zero says, winding his arms around Kaname's throat and nibbling at the skin there.
His husband smirks. "I don't recall asking for your mercy, Hunter."
"Good answer," Zero praises, rolling his hips so Kaname's thickened cock rubs against the damp patch on Zero's trousers. He's leaking so much already - even Zero doesn't know where this libido came from.
Drawing back, even though the lack of skin to skin contact disappoints, Zero's voice holds the crack of a command. "On the bed. Now. Unless you want to slink off with your tail between your legs, bloodsucker."
"How forceful! You know I enjoy it when you pretend you can control me, Zero," Kaname rejoins, sliding his cravat from his neck.
Without saying a word, Zero backhands him. Hard.
Kaname inhales, a bright sheen lighting his eyes, and remains perfectly still as the bruise on his face fades back to alabaster perfection. Then Kaname swallows, and begins shedding his clothes even faster.
Zero picks up the handcuffs from the mattress, and waits meaningfully while Kaname gets naked. The pureblood poses shamelessly nude on the bed, still smirking. "You'd enjoy this more if I had my hands free."
It's easy to fall into the right pattern, an embarrassing side-effect of his power. Zero scowls. "We have an agreement, Kuran. You're not fucking me without them."
Kaname shrugs and holds his wrists out. "If I must."
The charms inlaid in the metal make Zero's fingertips tingle, his Hunter blood clashing with his vampiric nature. He clicks them closed over each of Kaname's strong wrists; the pureblood frowns, testing the give, before smiling in satisfaction. They aren't made to restrict his powers, just keep him physically restrained.
Leaning back, Zero admires the beautiful monster laid out underneath him. The dark auburn hair spread out on the pillows, the slope of his flawless throat and chest, the stupidly impressive cock leaking against his belly -
"We're not going to get very far if you don't take your clothes off," Kaname purrs, his hips rising meaningfully.
This bastard. "Do I need to gag you?" Zero demands, yanking off his gloves and undoing his belt. Like hell he's getting naked; just to spite Kaname he's not taking off anything except his pants.
"I didn't agree to that." The pureblood stretches extravagantly, and his cock bobs, fluid beading at the tip. "You're here keep me satisfied, little Hunter. That way I leave you and your kinsmen alone. You wouldn't want me to break our deal, would you?"
Damn him. Zero doesn't gift the leech a response, just steps out of his pants and underwear and kneels on the bed. He's about to straddle the pureblood's hips when Kaname laughs.
"Slowly, kitten. You'll need all night if you want to satisfy me."
Zero scoffs loudly. Still with his upper half clothed, Zero swings his leg over Kaname's chest and sets his hands around the pureblood's throat, claws pricking tiny wounds.
Kaname ignores the warning, and shows his teeth when he smiles. "Are you rushing because you know I've ruined your taste for human cock?"
Anger and lust coalesce lightning-fast. Zero slaps Kaname again, harder, and this time his claws break skin. Precious ruby drips down Kaname's cheek before the slices heal.
Zero's body goes rigid. Inhaling draws the scent over the roof of his mouth, past his lengthened fangs, the lure as much taste and touch as scent. Like a man possessed, Zero bends down and licks that pure blood off Kaname's cheek. Not a single smear is left behind.
Kaname groans, and Zero viciously twists a nipple in retaliation. "Good boy," the pureblood praises, the brightness of his eyes shining.
Zero pants, open-mouthed, anger twining with the rope of lust and hunger. His brain feels blanketed in fog. More. He needs more.
Like a beast, Zero sinks his teeth into the pureblood's shoulder, biting down and shaking his head to savage the wound. The burning taste of pure blood drives a red lance through all Zero's rationality. Their game and their plans are ripped away like mist. Kaname tastes so good, flushed with so much rich power.
The Hunter rakes his claws down the pureblood's flawless chest, sucking and kissing and drinking as he splits skin, widening the wounds with his fangs. He leaves half-crescent imprints of his teeth around Kaname's nipples, slices ribbons of blood down the vampire's ribs. Pressing down so hard on Kaname's wrists that the bones grind together, he bites his way down the join of hip and thigh, letting the blood pool there before lapping it up like the finest wine.
Kaname only moans with each forbidden act, his sacred pure blood anointing his limbs in red and mixing with his sweat. His cock twitches like every bite and slash is a sweet stroke to his length. The room stinks of copper and pheromones. Zero moves above him, chin and cheeks streaked with blood like a vision, his lavender irises tinged bright scarlet. Kaname can think of no more enchanting sight, and urges his boy on with his words and responses.
Deep in his blood frenzy, Zero forgets the lube hidden in the bloodstained blankets. Once Zero has painted Kaname's thighs in blood and ephemeral bruises, he straddles his lover like a throne and sinks down savagely, screaming in triumph as he's split wide, his folds greedily swallowing his prize. Still snapping and clawing, he rides Kaname until they both break, throwing his bloodstained throat back and hissing.
Then, like all the strength has gone out of him, Zero collapses to the side, one leg hooked over Kaname's hips with the pureblood's half-hard cock still tucked inside him, a mix of blood, slick and semen marking their filthy skin.
"Well. That was a surprise," Kaname remarks, handcuffed and covered in his own blood. "One I enjoyed immensely," he continues before Zero has a chance to feel guilty. Stroking Zero's shoulder with his bound hands, Kaname languidly smiles. "No one has ever dared bleed me like that before. I'd like to do it again sometime."
Zero raises his head, finding it difficult to panic properly when his head is fuzzy from orgasm. "You do? It wasn't what we planned." Zero was supposed to hit Kaname a few times, maybe choke him again while pretending Zero was an enemy Hunter. Not have crazy bloody vampire sex.
"It was better than what we planned. I didn't think I could convince you to be so enthusiastic. Did you enjoy yourself?"
Zero grumbles and snuggles against Kaname, his ruined shirt getting even more blood on it. "Yeah I guess." Where had that bloodlust even come from? That hadn't felt like Level E, but it hadn't been normal hunger either.
"Are you both done?" Yuuki calls from the hall.
Putting aside his thoughts for later, Zero invites her inside. They could all use a nap before he shoves them down and rides them again.
In his dreams that are not dreams, Zero walks the corridors of the Senate. His ghostly footsteps are soundless in the empty, ostentatious hallways. But appearances are deceiving; even in daylight there is someone here. Zero's power senses this, and he ventures deeper into the bowels of the building, drawing close to a familiar aura, the one he'd sensed for a brief moment the first time he came here.
Five Level D vampires. Five Hunters. The signatures overlap and mix, the aura of a fellow Hunter nearly lost beneath the Level D taint. Zero matches faces and names: Campbell, Karahan, Watanabe, Rajapaksha, Baek. No sign of Karahan's apprentice Blue, which could be either good or bad.
His kinsmen don't raise their heads when Zero's dream-self approaches, peering down at the objects they are gathered around. Unnoticed, Zero rears back in shock.
Bombs. Dozens of them.
Shirabuki's stolen Hunters exchange no words, only distribute the explosives evenly between themselves before splitting up. Zero follows Karahan, watching as he places his bombs before escaping into the night. Outside, on the roof of a nearby building, the five unwilling vampires gather again, their plan complete. There is a certain resigned satisfaction in their eyes when Watanabe triggers the detonator.
And the downtown skyline turns to flame as the Senate burns.
"There is one thing that concerns me," Kaname says later, after they've returned to Rosehill to manage the crisis.
After tonight, Zero knows every one of Shirabuki's Turned Hunters carries a death sentence written in iron. It doesn't matter if casualties were minimal because the explosion happened in daytime while the Senate wasn't currently in session. Symbols have power, and the vampire world won't forget the Senate's symbol of power burning before their eyes. This cannot be interpreted as anything except an act of defiance, and a direct challenge to the reigning authority of the vampire world.
Already, the Hunter's Association has received reports that Hunter Watanabe has been brutally executed. Of the original roughly thirty Hunters Shirabuki abducted, fifteen are dead. Another seven are in Hunter custody. The rest are still at large, being searched for frantically by both the Association and the Senate.
"What's worrying you, Kaname?" Yuuki asks, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
Kaname gestures toward the television, where firefighters are extinguishing the last of the inferno. "What was Shirabuki Sara's endgame? This chaos cannot be maintained indefinitely. Her orders are too eye-catching, and the Senate's response will be be overwhelming. Eventually, Shirabuki would have used her Hunters to death. Before they become useless to her, how did she intend to take advantage of the chaos?
To that, no one living has an answer.
Hunter Baek Soo-hyun sights down the length of her longsword. "I know a suicide mission when I see one, Campbell."
At his master's side, Alton Blue startles, looking toward Baek with wide eyes. Noah Karahan rests a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, but doesn't contradict Baek's words. The other Hunters gathered around have grim expressions.
"Nevertheless, we don't have a choice," Even Campbell replies bitterly, touching his throat as the pureblood command wrapped around his neck cinches tighter.
"At least this is the last order," Rajapaksha points out dully. Unspoken between the eight gathered Hunters is the implication that none of them will survive it.
"Then I suppose it's time we get started," Baek chuckles, sheathing her blade. As one, the Hunters turn and survey their target: the castle belonging to the pureblood, Shouto Isaya.
Zero wakes with a shout in his bed at Rosehill.
Takuma does not answer his phone. Neither does Shouto Isaya, or anyone in the Shouto estate.
"They've cut the lines, or they're blocking reception somehow. Hunter Baek was a member of the technical department," Zero mutters, throwing on the first clothing he sees.
"Or there isn't anyone able to answer," Kaname points out between phone calls contacting his nearest agents to the Shouto estate.
Yuuki yanks furiously at her coat clasps. "Everything makes sense now. If Sara had killed Kaname, I would have been her puppet as long as she could threaten Zero. That would have taken care of the Kuran family. Then Ouri's death was arranged next, because he was the oldest pureblood. After that, who would be her next biggest threat?"
Shouto, of course, who had also stolen the omega Shirabuki wanted. If she'd planned on attacking the Shouto estate in person tonight, then with eight Level D Hunters backing her she might very well have killed him.
When the three arrive, the scene is already complete chaos. For this perilous assault on Shouto's castle, Shirabuki must have gathered every last servant she had left. From a distance, they look like a swarm, swamping the grounds in every direction and barely being restrained by the disciplined defense the castle's guards and staff are mounting.
The sounds of combat are drowned out by constant booming thunder, and screaming winds. Above the castle, clouds swirl in a violent ring, like the genesis of a tornado. Lighting flickers so often anyone looking at the sky is blinded: Shouto is already in battle.
"Takuma-sempai isn't with Shouto!" Zero shouts over the din.
"Go and find him!" Kaname shouts back, his outline already breaking up into shadowy ravens. "I'll retrieve Shouto!"
Nodding, Zero closes his eyes, briefly assessing the battlefield through his Hunter senses. He doesn't tell Kaname anything like 'try and save the Hunters.' That time has passed; truthfully, their lives have been forfeit since they were Turned. Zero cannot ask others to risk their lives for that slight chance at salvation.
"There isn't any clear path! We'll have to break through somehow!" he tells Yuuki, clearing his mind. Regrets can't save anything.
She nods seriously. "Leave it to me!"
Zero leads his wife in a half-circle around the walls, searching for a weakness in the swarm, and gestures toward their entry point. The thunder is so loud he cannot even hear himself speak. No more words are exchanged; the two charge forward, straight toward the mass of vampires attempting to climb the walls.
Zero raises Bloody Rose, settling into the heightened awareness of battle; he breathes and the universe opens up. But before he can pull the trigger, the vampires standing in their way are tossed to the side as if a giant hand is sweeping their path clean. Zero and Yuuki sprint through the sudden empty corridor created in the sea of attackers, completely untouched. Yuuki's aura darkens and her power knocks away the bullets raining down, reflecting them back toward the vampires who fired them.
Once they reach the walls, Yuuki's arms wrap around Zero's chest, and despite his intuition's warning Zero shrieks in terror as his feet are suddenly dangling in mid air.
Toting Zero like a stuffed animal, Yuuki lands precisely atop the wall in a single bound, far higher than Zero could have jumped himself. Her laughter echoes in his ear. "You okay?"
Crouched on the rim, Zero stares at his wife with wide eyes, and coughs as he tries to regain his dignity. "I'm fine." It had been high, damnit!
"I've been training." She grins, takes him up in her arms again, and jumps down to land gracefully on the other side.
Bypassing the defenders, they dash straight into the castle itself, Zero guiding the way toward Takuma. The lightning casts crazed shadows through the windows, turning the halls and rooms into sinister, unfamiliar places.
Shouto has left his heart well-protected. Zero and Yuuki pass three lines of defense before they reach Takuma, tucked away in the most easily defended rooms in the castle. He's white as a ghost, but commands the castle's defense with perfect, ironclad composure. The guards aren't just Shouto's paranoia. Ten months pregnant with a child of higher blood purity, Takuma's natural power is sapped by supporting his pregnancy; he would be almost helpless if forced into combat.
"Zero-kun! Yuuki-hime!" he calls, straightening with a hand supporting the weight of his stomach. "Where's Isaya?"
"Alive," Zero shouts over a peal of thunder. "How can we help, Takuma-sempai?"
"Stay here with me. I need your Hunter senses to help me direct the staff. We're outnumbered and the defense is barely holding up."
Zero ignores the grateful look Yuuki gives Takuma. He can be sensible without anyone forcing him. Mostly. "The northwest wall is in danger. And a B-rank to the south is powering up to do something we won't like."
Roughly sixty seconds later, the stone under their feet trembles, making the teeth in Zero's jaw vibrate painfully.
"Breech!" shouts one of Shouto's servants through the radio, a terrible crash echoing in the background.
"The wall's collapsed. The current defenders can't contain it," Zero supplies, information springing into his brain as his power reads aura patterns.
"I'll go," Yuuki says, opening her hand, and the butterfly perched on her palm flutters free.
"Takuma-sempai and I will be fine. We've got three familiars, and me," Zero reminds her, hiding the uneasy feeling in his heart. Vulnerability, he identifies silently.
She nods unhappily, and tosses herself into the wind.
Zero turns to the castle maps laid out in the room, interpreting the vampires he senses into physical space. He has no worries for Yuuki's safety. Nothing here is capable of killing the grown, powerful vampire she's become.
Takuma and Zero work in tandem; Zero identifies the threats, while Takuma's tactics dismantle them. All the while, the thunder and gales shake the castle spires beneath their force. As hard as he tries not to, Zero tortures himself counting the hybrid Hunter auras flickering out.
"Some kind of stealth team has made it past the first defense circle."
Takuma taps a finger against the table, making the only possible decision. "We'll send the last of the inner defense line there."
Sending off their personal guards, in other words. That will leave the two of them as the only people in this section of the castle. Zero shouldn't be concerned. With his power, no one can sneak up on them, and they have three pureblood familiars who will call for help in emergency. Still, on a very deep level Zero doesn't like it, and he doesn't understand why.
In their makeshift command center, there's plenty of time for reflection as the two omegas guide the outcome of the battle, providing the occasional instruction to the defenders.
"Takuma-sempai?"
"Hmmm?"
"I want to apologize. I don't think I've been a very good friend to you recently." Zero ducks his head in shame, worrying the edge of his sleeve. "I know you've been excited about your pregnancy, and I know you never talk about it around me because you know it makes me…" Zero hesitates, sorting through his options before he finds the right words. "You respect the fact that it's a complicated subject for me."
"Zero-kun." Takuma takes his hand, "I don't mind. You don't need to listen to me chatter about painting a nursery."
"I just want you to know you don't have to avoid it around me," Zero insists. "I want you to feel you can share anything you'd like."
The noble smiles, little laugh lines creasing the edges of his green eyes. "Alright. When this is over - and my house isn't a warzone - let's have tea together, and we can talk."
Zero returns the smile. "I'd be happy to, Takuma-sempai."
The battle is beginning to lose momentum, but the course hasn't been easy. The outer wall is more holes than coherent structure, and the castle staff have retreated back into the keep itself. Yuuki has parked herself in the Great Hall and is kicking the ass of anyone who dreams of getting past her. The thunder has softened to a rumble, and the atmosphere isn't quite so harsh. Shouto and Kaname are wrapping up their one-sided duel.
"We heard you needed some guards?" drawls a voice from the door.
Zero sighs, unsurprised by the five familiar vampire auras nearby. "Kain-san. I see you brought the whole inner circle."
"Kaname-sama called us," adds Souen, allowing the light-bending camouflage hiding them to dissipate.
Linked arm-in-arm with Shiki, Touya gives a wave. Behind them, Aido bounces on his toes, arms lifted above his head as he stretches. "Ahhh! Finally out of the lab."
Takuma brightens in delight, and grim set of his shoulders eases. "I wish it could be under better circumstances."
"Unfortunately, we have work to do," Zero interjects, "They're going for the upper floors again." He indicates the correct areas as the nobles crowd around the map, before shooing them away.
Zero can admit he's sour about tonight's arrangement. Bloody Rose remains holstered at his side, and he hasn't been able to shoot a single vampire tonight.
"Kain, please be careful. My home is already in ruins, I don't need you to burn it down as well," Takuma calls, clearly in better spirits, wrinkling his nose when he finds his tea has gone cold.
Kain grunts, hands in his pockets, giving a backwards wave.
Snorting, Zero turns back to the map. "Get out of here already. Go make yourself useful."
Behind him, Takuma makes a noise like he's lost all the breath in his body.
Zero's intuition screams.
He whirls, and the world whites out.
Takuma is bent backwards, body limp, held up only by the ice spear embedded in his chest. Before him, Aido Hanabusa has his hand outstretched, the blank expression on his face slowly giving way to horror.
Isa howls, more like a human wail then a hound's cry, and leaps at Aido, jaws open and snarling.
Drawing Bloody Rose, Zero empties an entire clip into the familiar before the hound's body stops moving.
Far away, something inhuman screams, and an enormous bolt of lightning turns the night into day.
"Get Aido out of here!" Zero shouts furiously to Souen. "Shouto will kill him if he finds him! Shirabuki ordered this, didn't she?"
Aido nods, unable to tear his eyes from the evidence of his crime. "The party...it was the last order she gave me, I didn't know I swear!" His voice breaks on the last word, self-horror overtaking him.
Takuma stirs and coughs, blood flecking his lips. A dark stain is spreading across the front of his gown while his breath rattles wetly in his lungs.
"I...I...please, you have to help him!" Aido begs, taking a step back as though trying to deny reality.
"Don't move!" Zero shouts, battle experience overcoming his shock. "He'll bleed out immediately if you remove the spear. Can you keep it frozen without freezing his body around it?" Since the spear is made of ice, body heat would be enough to make it melt.
"I..I can," Aido stammers, obeying; the ice spear grows whiter and cloudier.
Kain jumps forward, helping ease Takuma to the ground, both nobles careful not to jar the spear.
Takuma's face is colorless. The round, healthy fullness of his belly is a horrific contrast to the hole in his chest and the gore seeping through his clothes, his vitality slipping away with every heartbeat. Takuma's eyelids flicker, consciousness briefly returning. "Isaya," he whimpers, "Isaya, our baby..."
"I'm so sorry," Aido weeps. "I'm sorry, Takuma."
"Go!" Zero commands, his heart wrenching, throwing himself on the ground and supporting Takuma's body in their place. "Kain, Souen, take him and run! Put him in the cells at Rosehill."
Kain has to drag Aido away - with Aido's state of mind, Aido believes he deserves to die. But that's for clearer heads to decide. With Ruka hiding them from Shouto's servants, they'll make it out okay.
Not for the first time, Zero curses the nature of his powers. He has no way of healing Takuma; even his blood isn't the best choice here. "Shiki - your blood is the purest!"
Shiki is already on his knees beside them, slicing through his wrist with one claw as Zero tilts Takuma's head to swallow the blood. Touya is on the phone, calling for help.
Zero counts heartbeats - two, not one. Please, he thinks. Please.
It feels like an eternity before someone comes, before a raging, half-insane Shouto takes Takuma's weight, leaving Zero boneless on the ground, his friend's blood smearing his clothes.
A shadow falls over Zero. "My sweet Consort, there's nothing more you can do here. Let us take you home."
Zero looks up into Kaname's face, numb.
Yuuki folds him into an embrace, and nuzzles soothingly, her feelings and alpha instinct in perfect agreement. Zero slumps into her arms, the emotional toll finally hitting him. His friend had nearly died in front of him, and he'd watched it happen without being able to do a thing.
Kaname cups Zero's cheek, stroking with his thumb. "I've brought you something."
Zero looks at the two trussed Level D Hunters, one of whom is the young apprentice Alton Blue. An hour ago he would have been overjoyed.
A bitter victory indeed, he thinks and covers his face with bloodstained hands.
Seated alone behind his desk, Kaname pinches the bridge of his nose, speaking curtly to the woman who's entered his study without invitation. "Consort Shoshana, now is not the time."
Takuma will live. As for his child...the Midwife would promise nothing, only that they would need to wait and see if Takuma lost the child today.
With Shouto understandably overwrought and grieving, wrapping up the battle's aftermath falls to Kaname and Yuuki. Kaname also has Aido's fate weighing on his mind. The noble remains locked in a cell, awaiting judgement. Whatever trifle Consort Shoshana wants must wait.
The omega speaks no word, only kneels down with difficulty and makes a full obeisance, forehead touching the floor.
Kaname straightens, a spark of annoyance sharpening his tongue. "Consort Shoshana. Let me remind you that our business has been completed and I have no further need for your life. I have not called for you. It is not wise to disobey me."
"I apologize, Kuran-sama," she says steadily, "but I must speak with you regarding Consort Kiryuu."
Concern moderates his anger; if it's about Zero, Kaname will tolerate her intrusion. "Continue. You may raise your head."
She nods, and looks him in the eye, though keeping the rest of her body pitched respectfully forward. "Kuran-sama, I have remained silent about your intentions with the immortality ritual. In that matter, I will say nothing to Consort Kiryuu. I recognize what you have done for me, and I do not wish to intrude upon your plans."
"See that you don't," Kaname reminds her coldly. "Was that all, Consort Shoshana?"
Her poise remains unshaken by his anger, and she shakes her head. "No, Kuran-sama. I simply wanted to make that clear, since I doubt you will welcome anything else I have come to tell you."
Kaname is reluctantly impressed. Even his own kind step back before his anger, yet this half-dead, elderly, widowed omega doesn't even flinch. "Continue."
Her gaze remains steady. "Kiryuu-sama has become someone I respect and care for, and after tonight's events I can hold my tongue no longer. I do not understand why you keep him ignorant, Kuran-sama, but you should know better than allowing him into battle. He leaps into danger without knowing what he risks."
Completely at a loss, it takes Kaname a moment to respond. "Your insinuations are foolish. Zero is the most powerful Hunter alive today. He is perfectly capable of defending himself. Even if he were to be overwhelmed, I assure you I am not so careless as to leave him unguarded."
For a long moment, Shoshana's dark eyes study him. "I am speaking," she says deliberately, "of Consort Kiryuu's pregnancy."
"Zero isn't pregnant," Kaname rejects immediately.
"Yes, he is," she states, straightening up and placing her hands on her folded thighs.
"The blood tests were conclusive. I saw the results myself," Kaname replies, wondering if perhaps Shoshana's illness has affected her mind.
A faint smile twitches her lips. "Did you know that it takes humans several weeks to confirm a pregnancy, even with the most advanced blood tests available? Very different from we vampires."
Suddenly, Kaname is taking this conversation very, very seriously.
"He always has such trouble keeping a healthy weight. Yet he regained his condition very quickly after his heat, didn't he? And he's still eating more than usual."
That was true, but hardly conclusive. Still, Kaname tamps down on the bloodbond just in case, keeping his feelings shielded.
"And you may have noticed his other appetites changing - he's been feeding from you and Kuran-hime more often, yes? Become more tactile, more needy? Perhaps also been more eager in bed?"
Kaname swallows, recognizing patterns he hadn't even noticed.
"Pregnant omegas also become more sensitive to sunlight. Consort Kiryuu has complained of the sun recently, hasn't he? But his panic attack after the Senate's interrogation was what convinced me. There is only one reason why an omega would not simply attack an offensive alpha."
She cups her hands, sending Kaname a significant look. "Because his instinct knows he is vulnerable. Because he is protecting something precious."
"How certain are you?" Kaname interrupts, unable to hide the roughness of his voice.
"Completely. I have seen too many pregnancies not to recognize the signs."
Getting up, Kaname begins to pace. "We'll have to confirm it with a blood test," he says.
She nods, already providing a solution. "Consort Kiryuu gives regular blood samples to the teams working on the antidote to Shirabuki's drug."
Kaname pauses, mind fitting together several pieces. The assassination attempts against Zero - filtered through Shoshana's suspicions, the timing is too convenient. If Kaname can covertly test those blood samples for pregnancy, it was possible someone else could as well.
Someone who decided the results required Zero's death.
The fault lines in Kaname's psyche quake as his darkness shifts its coils. Well. That someone will need to die.
"Thank you for your concern, Consort Shoshana," he says, mind already shifting and discarding possibilities. "You may return to your rooms."
Bowing at the waist, she staggers upright, and leaves quietly.
Kaname remains standing in the center of his study, thoughts tumbling one after another. He will have the tests run first, before he considers the scenario too deeply.
Perhaps Shoshana is wrong.
When Kaname appears silently at the door of his cell, Aido scrambles upright with a gasp.
He looks like he hasn't slept or eaten; someone has thankfully given him clean clothes. If Aido had still been stained with Takuma's blood, Kaname might have said something he could not take back.
The pureblood observes impassively while Aido's face cycles through several emotions - shame, fear, regret, all tinged with resignation.
Without any introduction, Kaname begins to speak. "You trespassed on the Shouto estate without being summoned and attacked a Consort with child. I cannot protect you from the consequences of those actions."
Sucking in a breath, Aido falls to his knees, bowing his head in acceptance of whatever fate Kaname has brought him.
Pausing, Kaname allows the moment to lengthen. "Isaya Shouto has spared your life. You're lucky he is a reasonable man."
Forehead pressed to the ground, Aido shrinks in on himself. "I will do whatever Shouto Isaya-sama deems necessary to atone." He hesitates, then with a thread of hope asks, "Does that mean…?"
"Takuma's child has survived the day," Kaname confirms, his own relief palpable even though his neutral mask. "The risk is still high he'll miscarry. If his child survives the next forty-eight hours, the Midwife is hopeful. Takuma will be on bed rest for the foreseeable future, but the Midwife is hopeful."
Aido sags, a relieved sob shaking his shoulders.
"Shouto spared your life. Do not assume that mercy will hold if the child dies. As for your fate...Shouto left that up to me."
Aido's shoulders tense again.
Linking his hands behind his back, Kaname examines the noble kneeling before him. "I cannot release you. You will remain in custody until the antidote is complete, and you will submit to the presence of constant guards. Any resistance will not be tolerated and will be answered by violence."
"Yes, Kaname-sama."
"However...you will be allowed to continue your work on the antidote."
Aido stiffens in surprise. "Kaname-sama?"
Aido's reaction is understandable; trusting a servant who has recently betrayed you, willing or not, is the action of a fool. Yet Aido's position is ideal for this task. "Shirabuki Sara had limited contacts with you. The orders she gave cannot have been numerous or complex. And by all reports, your research has been critical for our progress so far. But that isn't why I'm sending you."
"I need a spy. I have reason to believe an agent may have stolen or performed unneeded tests on Zero's blood samples. Find out who. You'll be allowed to move between both teams for this purpose."
Aido knows better than to ask questions. Seiren appears in the doorway, and Kaname turns to leave, a clear dismissal.
Aido's desperate voice rings out behind him, laying bear his fear. "Kaname-sama? Takuma...is he…?" Does he hate me?
Without turning, Kaname replies, "You know Takuma as well as I do. He's convinced you tried to save them - you didn't strike his heart or his stomach. He interceded with Shouto on your behalf."
Aido's voice is thick with tears. "Thank you, Kaname-sama. I apologize for the trouble I've caused. Please thank Takuma for me as well."
"I'll pass it on," Kaname allows, flicking a glance over his shoulder. "You'll return to the labs tonight, under guard. Keep your orders in mind."
"Of course, Kaname-sama." Aido has a peculiar expression on his face, clever brain already working with the new information he's been given.
Kaname frowns imperceptibly as he walks away. Aido is always too smart for his own good.
The tests come back.
Shoshana is not wrong.
Fuck.
Kaname certainly has some difficult decisions to make, doesn't he? I've known Zero was pregnant for three chapters, you have no idea the agony. Shoutout to reviewer Rainovia, who guessed the loophole I planted pretty much immediately. Sorry for trying to throw you off the scent ;)
One of Yuuki's hard limits for sex is that she won't deliberately hurt Zero or Kaname, so that's why she would rather stay away when the boys have sex this chapter. Rough sex is fine when her pureblood nature is in control, but that's different than intentionally hitting one of her husbands. Zero and Kaname have different preferences due to their backgrounds, so that's something between just the two of them.
No spoilers for next chapter, you're just going to have to guess, hehe.