Five days had passed since the Vampire Council Elder's visit to Cross Academy. Zero and Yuki had been instructed by Kaien to bring the school's esteemed guest to his office once he was finished with the Night Class, something Zero begrudgingly agreed to. As much as he despised Vampires, those in the Night Class were nothing compared to this Aristocrat. He was well over three thousand years old, almost as old as The Hunters Association.

He'd left the Vampire in the capable hands of the Vampire without Fangs, and had gone back to his room to rest, assured the Night Class would not be inclined to wander the grounds with the elder around. Yuki had remained, saying they needed to represent the school and show the Vampire respect. Zero had scoffed and, of course, left anyway.

He'd not fed on Yuki since Toga's appearance and continued with his futile attempts to keep his blood tablets down. The pair were at Kaien's private quarters this night, as it was Saturday, and Zero had just finished in the shower. He walked into the darkened living room to find Yuki asleep on the couch. Zero shook his head and sighed. Yuki was far too comfortable for someone who knew Vampires lurked at nearly every turn in this school. Even that new Vampire, Akane Nakamura. She's a strange one, Zero decided.

Akane was a Level D Vampire, he was sure. Kaien wouldn't have allowed Kaname to turn her, only for her to fall to Level E in the middle of his school. So, Kaname had to have sired her. Zero's face wrinkled in disgust at the thought of Kaname feeding on the girl and his blood running through her veins in turn. What was strange about her, however, was the unusual stillness she'd forced him into. A Level D Vampire, no matter who their sire, should not have been able to render him immobile by the ferocity of a look alone, and Zero refused to believe he'd been afraid.

Throughout the week, Akane and Zero had shared many glares and snide remarks said under their breaths at one another. Zero noticed Aido would be quick to move Akane along when it became clear they were paying too much attention to each other. He'd even confronted Kaien about her, but the man had looked politely puzzled during Zero's explanation of the incident at the changeover after he'd been called to his office to give his account. Aside from scolding him for upsetting his new Vampire, he said nothing else of importance about who Akane was or where she came from. Something was going on. Probably to do with the whole, Unfortunate thing?

That little bombshell had hit the association like a mallet. They had never heard of such a thing and it had taken quite a lot of explaining from the Vampire Council to elaborate why they failed to share this phenomenon. When the association had been informed, they'd wanted to take Akane and run tests on her but Kaien had forbidden it, telling them she had no idea what she was, and it was safer to keep it that way until she graduated. He hadn't wanted her education or the illusion of normalcy to be disrupted and made sure to remind the association they had no authority in his school or over his students.

Zero's mind unwittingly, took him back to the first time he'd caught Akane's scent. He'd been walking to the bathroom during one of his skipped lessons when his legs almost buckled underneath him as he passed an open classroom door. He'd run as fast as he could, stopping, only once he'd reached the edges of the academy grounds. Every time he'd caught her scent since, even the smallest traces of it, he'd book it out of there. He'd been terrified he would lose it and track the scent down and kill someone. Luckily, he'd always got away quickly and stayed away until he was back under control.

Shaking the dangerous memories from his mind of Akane's Human and Vampire scent (as it was still a significant draw compared to most other Vampires), Zero walked to the couch and attempted to shake Yuki awake.
"Hey!" he called quietly, reaching out to Yuki's shoulder. She turned from her side to her back, mumbling in her sleep.
"Lord Kaname," she breathed, causing Zero to stiffen, his hand stilled on her shoulder as the pain hit him right in the gut. She's dreaming of him, he thought, defeated, looking down at her.

Yuki shifted onto her back, her head turned to the side, precariously close to the edge of the couch. He'd been about to push her back to safety, and leave her to her dreaming, when his eyes lingered too long at her throat and his thirst roared to life, momentarily, shocking him and bringing him to his knees in a panting shivering heap. Zero shuffled back and away from Yuki, across the carpeted floor until his back hit a chair on the other side of the room.

Now that he was facing the main door of the living room, he could see a figure stood at the threshold of the room, leaning against the doorframe, bold as brass, watching him struggle to bring himself under control. Zero rose shakily to his feet and glared at the Pureblood.
"No need to act so surprised," he said, keeping his tone low so not to disturb Yuki. "I have business with the Headmaster, and I used to stop by all the time." Zero's scowl only deepened at the relaxed stance Kaname had, looking amused, if anything, by Zero's anger.

"I've never told you why I tolerate you, or that I know what's happening to you, have I?" Kaname pushed off from the doorframe and took a step into the living room. Zero took a step towards Yuki, but neither made another move after that. They just stared at each other, one with a calm yet hard expression the other, displaying his hatred like a badge of honour on his face. "The fragile peace here at Cross Academy could all to easily be shattered. The current tension between our two factions led me to wonder, who would be best placed to shield Yuki from that potential threat?"

Zero's eyes narrowed further but he remained silent, listening to Kaname as he reviled something Zero had been questioning for some time.
"You see, I know you would never betray her, you know you owe her that much. So that's why I've allowed you to live, Zero." With a fond yet fleeting glance to the girl sleeping soundly between them, Kaname turned and left the Hunter to seethe in solitude. Zero left the room once the front door closed with a click from down the hall and remained in his room until the following afternoon.

Yuki had woken stiff and tired on the couch where she'd fallen asleep, waiting for Zero to finish his shower. She was disappointed she hadn't stayed awake to speak to him last night as he'd been grouching in his room all day. She spent her Sunday morning checking her homework and inwardly crying at how difficult she found it all. She met up with Sayuri for lunch and walked around campus together for a few hours before they got hungry.

After having her evening meal with Sayuri at the girls Day Class breakfast room, Yuki returned to her adoptive father's, on-campus, residence. She usually stayed in the Sun Dorms on Sundays but knew Zero stayed there so he could sleep in on Mondays. With Kaien having to leave early for the office, it meant, Zero, could sleep away his mornings, away from everyone, coming out only to help with the changeover if he felt like it. Tonight, she needed to talk to him, and she would!

Yuki decided to have a shower once she got back and collected a large, fluffy, white towel from the airing cupboard, gathered some fresh underwear and nightclothes from her bedroom, and then made her way to the bathroom, hoping to soak for a while to get her thoughts in order. She needed to compose and collect herself before she spoke with Zero. She couldn't let her mouth run away without her this time. This was delicate and would be an uncomfortable topic, she had no doubt, for Zero.

Pushing the bathroom door open, Yuki failed to notice the room was occupied until the door clicked behind her and her eyes rose from the tiled floor.
"Zero?" she said, slightly startled to find him stood at the sink, his nimble fingers poised to pluck the buttons from his white shirt.
"Don't you ever knock!" He didn't sound angry at her intrusion, just tired.
"I need to talk to you," Yuki said as she stepped towards him, deciding, now, was as good as time as any. "And you can talk! I'm not the one who forgets to put a towel on the door handle!" Zero's stare was blank as he pointed to the door where the corner of a blue towel was trapped between the doorframe and the closed door.

Yuki flushed but carried on as if she hadn't completely humiliated herself with her rant. Her cheeks flushed as she stammered out her apology.
"Sorry. I'll leave you to your bath, just don't use all the hot water again!" As Yuki was closing the door to leave, she heard a faint murmur behind her. She turned expecting Zero to say something, but he shook his head.
"It's nothing, just close the door." Yuki hesitated for a moment before coming to stand next to him.

"I just wanted to say," she began. "You've got it wrong," Zero watched her with a small tilt of his head. It encouraged her to continue. At least he's listening. "I've never wanted to offer my blood to Lord Kaname."
"So?" Yuki's eyebrows furrowed in irritation. Zero was tossing the subject away like he hadn't accused her of preferring it if Kaname bit her mere days ago.
"So! You started this conversation when you brought it up the other day!"

Zero refused to look at her now, so Yuki stepped around him and peeked up his tall frame, forcing herself into his line of sight.
"My responsibility is to give my blood to you, so I can't just give it away to anyone who asks. That's what I decided and what we agreed, and I intend to do it for as long as I need to!" Yuki sighed when Zero stayed quiet but at least he was looking at her now, even if it was out of the corner of his eye. "I may be some annoying volunteer to you, but I promised and…"

Zero turned away and continued to undo his buttons.
"Hay! Are you listening to me? Look at me!" Yuki pulled on his shirt sleeve and forced him around to face her. "Zero we agreed to this. You can't back out! It may be selfish on my part, but I made a promise, and you need to be ready for this!" She hadn't been ready for him to move so suddenly. Zero clutched her wrists and backed her quickly into the wall. Yuki was pressed in between the shower and the sink. Her heart thundering in her chest as she stammered.
"Now!"

Zero remained silent as he crowded her, pressing her back into the wall. She trembled as she looked up into his lavender eyes and forced her legs to stay locked, for fear she would sink to the floor if she didn't. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she felt Zero's breath on her neck. She had to stop herself from squirming away, but she couldn't stop the fearful whimper from escaping her throat.
"You're an idiot!" she heard Zero whisper above her.

She stopped breathing and her eyes popped open, but her head wouldn't rise to meet his eyes, she stared at his chest through his first few opened buttons, her throat dry with anxiousness.
"You're the one who needs to be ready." With that said, Zero released her and walked back to the edge of the bath, continuing to undo the last of his buttons. "Now, get out already."

Yuki recovered quickly, throwing her clothes (wrapped up in her towel) at him as hard as she could.
"I thought you were serious, idiot!" Zero detangled himself from the clothing, finding himself holding a modest white bra that Yuki quickly seized back. "Pull something like that again, and I'll really let you have it! Got it!" Yuki fled from the room, slamming the door behind her. She passed Kaien in the hallway who tried to greet her but thought better of it at the scathing look she sent him before she turned the corner to her bedroom and slammed that door too.

Kaien turned back to the bathroom and knocked on the door before entering, not waiting for permission from the occupant.
"What did you do now? Yuki looked really mad this time." Zero scowled at his guardian and refused to answer, not that Kaien expected him to. "I suppose this is better anyway. I have something to speak to you about."
"What?" the teen spat in annoyance. He just wanted a damn bath and these people couldn't give him just an hour of peace!

Kaien fished from the pockets of his green dressing-gown, an envelope. He opened it and showed the papers inside to Zero, closing the bathroom door behind him, to give them a semblance of privacy.
"It's an assignment, sent by The Hunters Association… It's for you." Zero took the papers from the ex-Hunter and stared at the description of the target. "The assignment is to track and kill a serial killer, Level E. He's been spotted in the surrounding area." Kaien sighed with a frown on his face as he leant his hip against the sink and crossed his arms. "It's ridiculous!" he said suddenly, in a tone Zero did not regularly hear from the eccentric. "They're testing you. They want to see if they can 'use' you. I told them the last time they asked, that you were fine, but…"

Zero looked back through the papers as sickening doubt and inferiority came to him, and not for the first time. How was he supposed to do what he was bred too now that he had been irrevocably confirmed as a Vampire? He knew they'd watch him closely as soon as they knew, but he never thought they'd do this, test him in the field, where he could become a danger to innocent people! I guess that's what they're testing, isn't it? That I can cope, out in public. Finding they can still use me as a Hunter would just be a bonus. They want to see if I'll crack.

"I'm sorry Zero," Kaien eventually said. "This is an order, you can't refuse." Zero understood as much, and nodded, accepting the envelope with the assignment orders and case notes before Kaien left him alone. He sighed realising one thing, he couldn't afford the luxury of safety the academy offered anymore. He was a Hunter and if he wanted to call himself that, he had to answer to the association and accept assignments.

Yuki woke early on Monday and got herself ready for school quickly, not wanting to see either Kaien or Zero. She'd simmered down in her room and realised, Zero, was right. She still questioned herself about her decision. But there was no way she was going back on her promise! Zero needed blood, that was that. Yuki was willing to give it to keep him sane for as long as she could, her resolve on this matter was unwavering. But her fear, that was another hurdle she had to jump entirely.

Yuki was just about to leave Kaien's house, and head to her first class of the morning, when the opening of a door caught her attention. It was the back door of Kaien's home, she saw Zero walking up the path through the window, wearing a coat, and normal clothes. Zero? Yuki thought, surprised to see the notoriously lazy teen awake at this early hour, and not wearing his school uniform. What's he up to? With her curiosity overriding her earlier hurry to get to school, Yuki snuck out after Zero, keeping him in her line of sight just enough to keep up with him.

Where does he think he's going? If he's up now, he should be going to school! Oh, no! is he running away? No, he wouldn't, but then what is he doing out here? Yuki continued to speculate on Zero's activity to the end of the lane which led off the school grounds and into the town that surrounded the academy. The streets were just starting to stir with people as they walked to work, opened their shops, and got their children to the state school on the other side of town.

Yuki followed Zero for a good hour before she lost him in the quickly filling streets, being swept up in the throng of people going about their daily lives.
"Oh, great! Now, where'd he go?" she complained as she pushed her way to the edge of a busy street and waited at a corner, trying to see over the tops of people's heads, hoping to spot a familiar mop of silver. After five minutes of fruitless searching, Yuki decided to brave the morning commuters and stepped back into the crowd. He can't have gone far, she reasoned. Besides, there are only so many places he could go in the direction he was heading. I'm sure I'll find him soon.

In the meantime, Zero had followed the trail of sightings, murders and disappearances, and pinpointed the potential locations down to an area surrounding an abandoned townhouse, a mile outside the main town. The surrounding area consisted of mainly overgrown trees and woodland, but the road where the house sat was opposite an ally, which leads to a street that houses a bar, an inn, shops, and homes. It was a quiet area, so the sudden disappearances and the subsequent body count was a shock to these people. It was the job of The Hunters Association to keep happenings like this down to a minimum.

Zero entered the decrepit building quietly, letting his senses and his instincts direct him to his quarry. He found the Level E easily, haled up on the upper floor in one of the large bedrooms. The Vampire looked surprisingly, well kept, which told Zero, he was a new Level E. He wore a light blue, collared shirt, a green, round-neck jumper over the top, and a pair of black trousers, the crease from the iron still pressed into the fabric. On his feet, he wore a pair of scuffed and abused looking office shoes. The unconscious girl he held in his grasp was the final confirmation this was the Vampire Zero was searching for.

Zero stepped closer to the occupied monster, revealing his gun from under his coat, from the holster at his side, and pointed it at the Vampire. The Level E raised his head and looked over Zero when he pulled back the hammer of his gun and it clicked ominously in the quiet room.
"Four teenage girls have wound up dead. You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?" The Vampire grinned, causing Zero's skin to crawl uncomfortably.
"It's unusual for questions from a Hunter, you must be new, no?" Zero's frown hardened as did his grip on his weapon.

"Seeing as you asked then, yes, I know a thing or two about it!" The Vampire suddenly struck out at Zero and dodged the shot from The Bloody Rose that came a second too late to kill him. "You know, I do pity you, Mr Hunter. You can't shoot me without hurting the girl, it's such a predicament!" With a cackle, the Level E fled the room, leaving a disgusted and surprised Zero. He rubbed his face angrily, willing himself to calm down. The Vampire had been feeding on the girl and the room was thick with the smell of her fresh blood.

A humourless chuckle vibrated through Zero's chest.
"Why are Vampires like this, every, last one of them!" His voice took on an angry growl as Kaname's face, as well as other faces of Night Class students, danced fleetingly across his mind. "They don't deserve pity. They need to be exterminated! I'll finish this off!" Zero gathered himself again before leaving the room in pursuit of the Level E.

Outside the dilapidated townhouse, sat a red car with a woman hanging out of the window, scolding her two charges stood on the side of the road.
"Hurry up with this business you have to take care of, your shoot starts soon!" she said in a clipped tone to the two stone-faced models. "And Senri, you sunburn so quickly, share Rima's umbrella. You are a professional model, please try to act like it and take care of yourself."
"Fine," was the dulled response from Shiki as he stood with Rima under her umbrella.

The pair began the short walk down the path to the front door of the building, discussing their latest assignment.
"Why do we have to kill this Level E during the day anyway?" Shiki complained, once their human manager was out of earshot.
"Because," Rema began, in a tone that suggested, she'd answered this question before. "It was an urgent assignment from the Elders of The Vampire Council. They wanted to get the Level E before The Hunters Association did."
"Oh, so a competition," Shiki said thoughtfully.
"This Level E fell not so long ago, so he may still be communicative, but that shouldn't be a bother." Shiki hummed his agreement then stopped as they got to the door, and a familiar, pleasant scent caught his senses.
"A Discipline Comity member?" he said as Yuki stumbled around the corner of the building and the overgrown bushes.
"Eh? Shiki, and Toya too, what are you two doing here?
"Ah!" said a voice from above, causing all three to lift their heads to a broken window on the second floor. "Friends of the Hunter, are we? Come to take my dessert away?" He jumped from the building to the ground, leering at them from his crouched position. "I can't let you do that."

Yuki recognised this man as a Vampire immediately, the crazed lilt to his voice, hinted at his mental state and that he may have fallen beyond reason. She pulled Artemis from her thigh strap and extended the staff to its full length and brandished it before her, but a hand on her head that gently pushed her away followed by a tired, 'you're in the way,' from Shiki, shrank her resolve.

Shiki pierced his right index finger with a fang, letting a small drop of blood pool at the tip before his power worked, allowing the blood to flow and harden, lashing out like a whip at the Level E, causing destruction wherever it fell. The Level E, dodged quickly, before disappearing altogether. The dust, eventually settling to reveal an empty entryway.

"Oops, I missed," Shiki said but Yuki noted, he did not sound remotely sorry.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and get him."
"But I don't like chasing."
"Just go after him." Rima's voice was just as toneless as Shiki's, causing Yuki to become exasperated by the pair and chased after the Level E herself.
"Oh great," Shiki said as Rima sighed at the sight of Yuki's fading form.

Yuki ran up the main stairway in the entrance hall of the old house and turned to the left, on a guess. She had no idea where the Level E had run off to, but she just knew Zero was in this building. The Level E had said there was a Hunter, and Zero had defiantly come this way. As she ran the length of the upper hall the floor gave from beneath her. Yuki was quick enough to find her footing on solid ground before falling in, but her foot caught on something, which sent her crashing to the ground, her hands coming out just in time to stop her face kissing wood, dust, and dirt.

She looked back to unhook her foot but came face to face with the Level E. He'd grabbed her ankle, causing her fall and was now, climbing out of the hole he'd created, crawling over her legs, cackling maniacally as she stretched for her staff which rolled, just out of reach.
"I'm so lucky. You're the second girl today," he cheered happily, not caring for her struggling as he climbed up her prone body easily. "Now don't worry. I promise I'll be gentle." His wide, fanged grin did not put an ounce of comfort in Yuki's blood. It froze her to the bone and shot adrenaline through her veins.

A gunshot startled and stilled her struggling. She looked down the corridor and saw Zero, gun out and pointed at the Vampire, ready for a second shot. His face was twisted into an angered scowl as he stepped closer to the Level E with long and purposeful strides.
"I've had enough of Hide and Seek!" he spat at the Vampire as he stood above him, gun cocked and ready to finish him.
"Zero!" Yuki called, her eyes widening at the sight of Zero about to kill someone.
"I have an order from The Hunters Association to exterminate you for your crimes of murder!" Zero said as if Yuki hadn't spoken.

"So, it's over then," the Vampire said forlornly, with a hint of relief in his voice. "At least, I don't have to kill people anymore." Zero fired. He didn't know why he listened to what the Level E had to say. He forced down the pity he felt for who the Vampire had been, possibly a husband or father, before he was stripped of his humanity. He shook the unhealthy thoughts. Thinking like that was the undoing of many Hunters in their early years. Yuki stepped to his side as he gazed at the dust that remained of the being that was, moments ago, occupying the space.

"Hay, Disciplinary Comity!" came a call from down the corridor, from where Yuki had come. Rima was stood with Shiki beside her, carrying the body of a girl over his shoulder. Both wore tired and unimpressed looks on their pristine faces as the comity members stared at them perplexed. "We found this girl in a room upstairs. What are we supposed to do with her? She's unconscious." Zero let a small breath of relief leave him that this girl was, at least, not dead.

"You did good, Zero," Yuki said, raising a hand to his arm, and lowering his gun, that he hadn't realised he'd raised from his side. "She's safe, and you saved me too. So, thank you, Zero." He stared at Yuki's wide, grateful, burgundy eyes, as Kaname's words forced their way to the forefront of his mind. "I know you would never betray her." As the unlikely quartet left the building, none noticed the silent bird watching from its perch in a tree above them. The bird was a raven, as black as night, with wine-red eyes. It watched them diligently as they left, never knowing who the creature obeyed.

The giggle of a young girl was heard in a lavishly decorated room, within a large, impressive family mansion. Her silent companion stood to the side of her chair, shrouded in shadow as the young girl kicked her legs excitedly.
"Oh, those sad eyes, they were just too perfect. I'm so glad Zero has grown to be such a handsome boy!" The girl was seated in a large, high-backed chair facing an open window, looking out to the expansive grounds, surrounding the manor. She extended her hand for another raven as it flew through the window to its' mistress, bowing its' head as she stroked it with the back of her fingers gently.
"That tasty looking girl who was with him too… I've decided," she said to the silent figure beside her as if they had been having a conversation. "I'll attend Cross Academy too. It's been too long since I've checked on my pet." Kicking her legs, she continued to giggle that childlike laugh, sounding more terrifying the louder and longer she did.