A/N: Hello hello it's me again! I don't particularly remember the last time I updated so I know it's been too long. I don't believe there are any real warnings I need to give out since a lot of this is plot building and technicalities, the semi-boring stuff that everyone needs to read through to understand the perspectives and main turns in the grand scheme of this fic. So, with that being said, I really hope you enjoy chapter 14 and thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, favorited and followed it's really appreciated. ~Len
Ch. 14:
"We will have to worry about that a little later; on the subject of getting Kiryuu-kun out of the compound, I assume we will need something of a plan." Kaname voiced redirecting the conversation again.
"In that respect, our first problem comes in finding the place. If memory serves correct it's not exactly common knowledge to where it is." Kain pointed out.
"We could follow them, you'd have to be careful not to let Zero catch onto the fact you are trailing them but you could do it then report back to everyone what the location is." Kaito suggested with a shrug.
"Is that too risky though? We'd have to follow them on foot to go mostly unnoticed, who knows what might be on the way there." Rima stepped in as monotone as usual.
"With such a short time frame it's our best option however, if we had more than four days I would prefer to locate it using other methods." Kaname decided before anyone else could say anything.
"Kaito-kun you said we basically just have to lure the Chairman and his lackeys away from the compound once we get there but how will Kiryuu-kun get out?" Rima asked with a puzzled look upon her face. Kaito sighed slightly as he looked down at his feet.
"Yes well, I'm not entirely sure seeing as I've never been inside but Zero...Zero knows the place like the back of his hand as I said previously. It's not our first rodeo you could say, as a kid Zero would sometimes be taken there as punishment. He'd always end up escaping and we'd give him whatever medical attention without asking questions. The Chairman would never abuse a kid in the HQ so as long as we were in public it was safe, Zero didn't have an easy time as a kid nor could he escape the Chairman's wrath like we could. I could probably bet he still has some scars left from those days." The hunter mumbled out without ever lifting his eyes from the ground.
"The Chairman used to beat you as children?" Ruka frowned, normally she wouldn't care, as vampires sometimes you'd receive a slap on the wrists for something depending on your household but she always thought humans were much more loving towards their kids. She was so immersed in her thoughts she almost missed Kaito's bitter laugh.
"I don't know what you mean by 'used to' considering that implies that he stopped once we reached a certain age, but yes he'll beat anyone into submission if it's needed. As long as you're alive and in the HA you can be subjected to beatings of any kind at any time." He replied eventually lifting his eyes back to the nobles in the room who all had their eyes trained on him with varying emotions flowing through each pair.
"Even the elders?" Aido questioned with furrowed brows that turned into a look of appalled disgust when Kaito nodded.
"Before this permanently colors your idea of all our leaders, not all of them were like this, in fact, none of them have been this cruel rather up until this Chairman life was pretty damn great in and out of the HA." The older hunter explained with a fond memory of when the Kiryuu Clan was still in control of the Hunters Association.
"Who was in control beforehand then?" Kaname stated more than asked but Kaito was fairly used to that by now.
"The Kiryuu Clan, they had the longest and best track record of all our past clans that have gotten a glimpse of complete control. And before you ask I don't know the details of how power was switched to our current leader but I don't doubt it's one of the reasons he hates and loves Zero so much. But if you wanted all those intimate details you'd probably have to go through Zero's childhood memories by hand. Especially since he won't tell anyone shit about it." He answered with a slight sigh. Though he understood it sometimes Zero's secrecy even made Kaito himself quite exasperated. He'd never tell Zero that however for fear of what the reaction and repercussions would be.
"Kiryuu mentioned before the current Chairman was a problem long before he was assigned to be the Chairman." Aido remembered from his day of interrogation in the teen's room.
"Yeah well he's not wrong, he's been a problem since childhood according to the elders which is why nearly everyone hates him and will do anything to go against him or get him thrown out which is the ideal." Kaito shrugged. He himself wouldn't mind of the bastard died. Rather it would be favorable.
"But if the man gets control of Zero's dark side somehow what would he likely do?" Ruka questioned, though she had nearly no interest in fighting against the hunter/thing that could supposedly wipe them all out with little effort, if he were to become an issue for their leader they had no choice but to take some sort of action in the near future. Even if it meant ending the boy's life.
"It's not entirely known, the motivations and reasoning behind any of the Chairman's decisions and actions are likely nonsensical to anyone outside of the man himself." Kaito replied with a frown. He didn't like the idea of the man getting control of Zero, especially while he was in his Ultimate Weapon stage. "Furthermore, on the note of following Zero to the compound, I plan to follow Luna to the Kiryuu Estate once she leaves the compound. The decision is up to the rest of you if you choose to follow as well." He added on as an afterthought.
"You plan to follow her to the estate? Why?" Rima questioned as the hunter had regained her attention.
"It's likely she will be very weak and unable to heal from the wounds that the Chairman will have inflicted. Last time we ended up putting Zero in the hospital for a few weeks because the Hunters Association's healers couldn't help him. As a pureblood Luna is able and more powerful so the damage will be worse. Having her in that state is far riskier especially if she is alone." The hunter reasoned with a shrug. To him, parenting Zero at times like this was something he had to do. Despite that Luna was a pureblood form, she was still Zero.
"If we were to follow, in order to protect and help, how would we even get into the estate if not invited as you said previously." Kain wondered aloud.
"I plan to enlist members of the TAU in order to help out with that. They've been to the estate and I'm sure they'd be willing to help out, this is Zero we're talking about after all." Kaito started with a shrug. He would probably go to Taiyo and Isei first since they were largely attached to their sensei.
"You're not worried about them getting hurt?" Takuma tilted his head ever so slightly in question.
"No, Luna will be too tired and weak to fight once she gets there and Black Rose will be controlled enough to keep his power there but not aggressive towards them." He answered simply to what he hoped was both accurate and true to what would happen once they were there.
"I believe it's a good idea to include Kiryuu-kun's students for both precaution and help. I'm sure they will be a large asset to us. I trust you will be able to enlist them without issue?" Kaname voiced upon listening to the development of the conversation and planning. Kaito assured him with a nod, that the pureblood returned, before the hunter glanced out the window.
"Zero and Taiyo are back, we will need to continue this at a later time, Zero has two days left essentially." He announced as a black car pulled into the gates of Cross and Kaien bounded toward the door with Touga following slightly slower. Yuki was also walking over to meet the duo as the Headmaster was promptly rejected by the two hunters. "Are you planning to include the Cross girl in on all of this?" The hunter furthered upon realization she knew absolutely nothing about what was going on.
"It hasn't been decided yet, Yuki is rash and that could cause some issues but leaving her out of all this seems a bit cruel as well." Takuma answered for Kaname as he knew it was something they largely still needed to go over. Kaito nodded, frankly he didn't care that the girl wasn't involved in the underground workings of all this. Zero would get annoyed of her quickly if she got wind of how he was being treated by the HA Chairman. Deciding to take his exit then, the hunter went out through the garden and through the sun dorms vis the back entry before he met up with Zero and the others in Cross' "office".
"Where have you been?" Zero questioned upon seeing his partner enter the room.
"Hiding from the day class of course, I want nothing to do with those high-pitched screams." The older shrugged, Zero raised an eyebrow clearly not fully believing his friend but decided not to press the subject just yet.
'Which, I'm sure, is why you smell like the night class nobles?' The silverette questioned himself but decided not to voice his thoughts. He had two days left, caring about what Kaito was doing in the moon dorms was not on the top of his list of things to worry about at the moment.
"Zero! Will you please make us something to eat before heading back over to the moon dorms?" Cross wailed in his natural boyish manner, he had a feeling the night class was up to something and it was likely that Kaito was involved in some way. If Zero thought too much on it he could figure it out.
"Depends, what exactly is it that you want?" He questioned with a light sigh, he didn't feel like making anything too overly fancy at the moment.
"I'd like some pasta...maybe with a roast or something to go with it. Of course your gravy as well would be highly appreciated!" Yuki chimed in, always having a mind for food; especially when it came to something as good as Zero's cooking. Zero smiled ever so slightly, saying no to Yuki was difficult on a day he wasn't going to be leaving for more than two months and possibly killed. He nodded slightly and moved towards the kitchen to start early.
"Wasn't it Takuma that didn't know how to make pasta? Should we call him over to show him how?" It was halfly in a joking manner but Cross jumped onto the idea that Zero had been making connections with the night class students.
"Oh yes we should! In fact why don't we invite Kaname and his nobles over? I'm sure it will be fun for all of us to eat together ne?" He exclaimed cheerfully. Before anyone could protest Yuki was already out the door and headed over to the moon dorms with the informal invitation. Zero sighed slightly from where he was standing with Kaito and Taiyo, shooting the older hunter a quick glare the silverette turned to get out the things he would be needing.
"Taiyo, if you would help Kaito with setting the table for our group that would be appreciated." It was an indirect order but the younger hunter knew an order when he heard one no matter how kind it was said. Kaito frowned slightly but realized this was the consequence for getting the night class invited over for dinner at Cross' place. Deciding against what would normally be a complaint the ashen haired hunter nodded before moving to help Taiyo set up.
Long before the knock sounded on his door Kaname had felt Yuki's presence in the moon dorms. "Come in Yuki." He announced as the door opened to let the perfect in.
"Kaname-sama I hope I'm not intruding at all." She began sweetly with a bow of respect. Kaname gave her a slight smile, of politeness, in return and gestured or her to take a seat across from his desk.
"And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this evening Yuk?" The pureblood questioned turning his full attention to the brunette.
"Well we were wondering if you would like to come over and have dinner with us, we also invite the rest of your nobles. Ah...Zero is cooking and Kaito-san mentioned something about Takuma-senpai not knowing how to make pasta so we thought maybe he could learn?" Yuki answered, slightly embarrassed about discussing dinner plans with the pureblood prince. Kaname couldn't help the inner laugh that reminded him most of the nobles would be lost without their chef. Even Kaname himself would struggle a bit every now and then with such things as dinner preparations.
"You may inform Cross-san that we will be over in a few minutes, I assure the others will be delighted themselves. Thank you, Yuki." He informed with a light smile, Yuki blushed furiously and nodded before she took her exit out of the study room.
"Shall I tell the others of our dinner plans Kaname-sama?" Seiren questioned from where she always stood at attention in the shadows of Kaname's room.
"Yes, and Seiren, do tell Takuma to head over there immediately so they will have some time before the rest of us get there. He is welcome to take Shiki with him as well." Came the causal order, Seiren bowed and vanished from the room to perform her task, leaving the pureblood to himself. 'I wonder, Kiryuu-kun, if you can bear the idea of Yuki knowing about everything that's going on with you.' He wondered to no one. He highly doubted the girl had been informed of how Zero was treated by the association Chairman, it was possible not even Cross or Touga knew all the details of Zero's trails with the man. The boy was stubborn and prideful to a fault. But there was part of Kaname that wondered if Zero kept quiet for the sake of others rather than himself. Only time would tell he figured, as unfortunate as that was.
The evening passed smoothly; rather as smoothly as it could with hunters and Aido in the same room for long periods of time. The following evening, though spent in the moon dorms, went just as easily for the silverette. Taiyo was dragged back to the association by Kaito, much to the younger's irritation, mid afternoon leaving Zero to himself in his room for a while. Of course it didn't go entirely uninterrupted as a knock sounded on his door an hour or so after lunch. "Come in." The silverette announced, deciding not to bother putting down his book. When Takuma walked in however he did give the blond his attention and a nod of greeting. "Takuma-san, good afternoon." He greeted as the blond closed the door behind him and smiled.
"I assume you have some idea of why I've dropped by." The noble stated to which the teen slightly nodded.
"I'm sure I can figure a guess that is has something to do with my leaving in a matter of hours." Zero answered, the older nodded and took a seat across from the teen.
"I'd like an honest answer from you Zero-kun, how are you going into this?" He asked, knowing this was likely not the other's favorite topic to think about.
"I don't really know, at the moment I am functional but that could change within a day's time for all I'm aware. In all seriousness Takuma-san I don't believe a war such as this is going to be that big of a deal. Rather I've been covertly informed that there is no war upcoming but instead a number of captive vampires are being let free to be then murdered and cause a large rift between the association and the Council. I'm telling you this right now not just because I trust you but further to warn you that things are going to get very messy between our two communities. Should the Chairman keep going as he is, we will likely end up in another vampire/hunter war as decimated our numbers hundreds of years ago." Zero explained keeping his eyes trained on the older vampire. Takuma blinked in shock, not only was that information important and incredibly crucial but further Zero had actually trusted him enough to give him such information.
"That, that could present a very large issue then should the hunters go into battle as is being planned. The vampires being held, are they higher ranks?" He questioned; trying to keep all the information in his head to tell Kaname as soon as he could.
"Yes and no, there are a few of lower ranking such as Ds and Es but from what I've been told they have control over a number of nobles as well." The silverette explained as he took a quick glance out the window, he took care of the spies that had been listening to him for most of the week but there was no telling when there would be more sent after him.
"I don't know if you're going to like what I'm about to tell you but it is essential for me to tell Kaname what you've told me just now." Zero nodded and looked down at his clasped hands.
"I'm aware of this, rather I need you to tell Kaname-san this however you must do so after I've left campus. Otherwise the Chairman is bound to hear it and, of course, that would cause some problems." The teen pointed out to which Takuma nodded. He would have loved to go to the pureblood immediately but remembered what the hunters had told them about the Chairman's spies that were always hanging around them.
"Of course I can do that, in the long run what do you think we should do about this?" Takuma wondered since he himself had no real idea of what to do with something like this.
"I don't know yet, it's going to end with blood on someone's hands though I can likely promise you that." Zero answered quietly, by 'someone' he really meant himself. There was no possible way he was getting out of this without harming someone. What he wouldn't tell Takuma, couldn't tell anyone, was that he planned to get control of Black Rose within one day of being at the compound. By the time they were on the battlefield he could turn himself on the Chairman. One of them would be dead by the end of the night. Takuma nodded, he had a feeling there was something more he wasn't being told but he wouldn't press the matter for now.
"Other than that, how are you doing? I mean mentally in specific." The noble asked deciding to switch topics for now, though it was not an easier subject he was still a bit concerned about what Kaito had said about Zero's suicidal tendencies making an appearance again.
"With all due respect Takuma-san, there's really no good place to be right now. I'm well aware I will be isolated from the whole of society except the Chairman which provides no safe places for my mentality." Zero replied in a low voice with downcast eyes, the noble couldn't help the sudden wave of sympathy that washed over his body. He wanted so badly to tell the teen that they would help him, they were going to get him out of that place and make sure he was okay. Especially before they went anywhere near the controlled vampires. Of course he couldn't tell the silverette anything which was incredibly frustrating but it had to be kept out of his knowledge for now.
"If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to tell me." Takuma settled on saying as he rose and headed for the door.
"Actually, there is one thing..." Zero voiced before the other could leave. Takuma turned and smiled, waiting for him to finish. "If you would make sure Yuki doesn't find out anything about the compound and what all is going on...I don't want her to have to live with that nightmare." He requested, lifting passionate and pleading eyes up to Takuma's own. The blond could see how much Zero really did want to protect Yuki from the threats of a world she wouldn't be able to understand.
"Of course I can do that for you." He said brightly before quietly making his exit leaving the other to himself once again.
'Thank you Takuma-san, for everything you've done for me.' Zero thought with a soft smile as he stood and readied himself for the inevitable time that he'd be taken to the compound. 'I shouldn't be this nervous about this. I've been to the compound before, I know how to escape. I'm going to be ok.' He repeated over and over as he lightly paced back and forth in his room for a few minutes until he was calm enough again to remember he wanted to shower and mentally prepare for the next couple of weeks. He would escape the compound eventually but he'd need to wait for either a short distraction or for the Chairman and spies to feel lax enough to leave him to his privacy for a few minutes. That could take anywhere from days to a week depending on how much the man decides he should be watched. With a mental sigh Zero took another look out the window and climbed in bed. By the time the moon rose he would be locked in a steel prison facing a year's worth of pain in a matter of hours.
Much to Takuma's disliking, the last few weeks were not a figment of his imagination he lamented as he and a few others watched the silverette be rushed inside the back seat of a black car with the association Chairman. He would need to pull Kaname aside later and tell him all that Zero had explained the previous evening to him but at the moment Takuma felt at a bit of a loss. "You know, in all the years we've been at Cross I've never felt bad for him. But knowing what he's going into, what he's been dealing with in the association..." Ruka broke off before she could actually state that she felt sympathetic towards the silverette.
"We had no idea what his life was like outside of the attack on the Kiryuu family and how he acted here at the academy. For once I believe he was quite right in telling us off as much as he did. We truly did only assume and further treated him worse than his rank simply because of his background." Kain stated from where he sat off to the side of the window.
"Even now we don't really know just what Zero will endure the next few nights at the compound. Which is why we are going to get there as soon as possible. Seiren is trailing them at the moment. She will report back of her location as soon as she can." Kaname assured the group, as of now there wasn't much they could do except wait. It wasn't easy but needed to be done.
"Kaname-sama, yesterday afternoon I went to check on Zero-kun and he shared some valuable information that I was told to relay to you. I believe now would be a good time to do that." Takuma announced suddenly though he was still staring out the window in something of a daze.
"And what would that be Takuma?" The pureblood questioned as everyone's attention was turned to the blond.
"I was informed that Zero-kun has found out this 'war' that is supposed to happen is a fake. It's a ploy to cause a future war between the Council and the association. It's unlikely that we will be able to avoid any bloodshed altogether since range from nobles to Es and are being controlled by I assume the Chairman. He explained that the only way it would end would be with blood on someone's hands. And...as I'm sure you can assume, he was likely talking about himself." The noble explained to the group before he turned away from the window to look at his leader.
"Does that mean he plans to fight the Chairman?" Aido asked upon sudden realization of what those words likely meant coming from the hunter.
"One would assume so yes, by the sound of it the two will likely fight to the death. Probably using any means necessary." Kaito's voice sounded from the doorway as he made his entrance into the pureblood's study.
"You were aware of this then?" Ruka demanded with narrowed eyes. Kaito pulled out a letter from his pocket.
"Only via this morning, Zero gave me this before he left, apparently the TAU has been doing quite a lot of coveted spy work these last couple months. This is the report of their findings and what not." The hunter explained as he placed the paper on the pureblood's desk. Kaname nodded his thanks and opened the report.
"So do we know who all is controlling the captive vampires?" Rima asked looking over at Kaito.
"There are a couple of hunters that the Chairman has recruited to do some of his dirty work. Around five of them I'd say in total inside the association and there was a clan of rogues but I believe the TAU already took care of them." Kaito replied scratching the back of his head slightly. He didn't particularly enjoy thinking about Zero's assassin missions even if his friend didn't really have a choice but to train and command such a force of hunters. 'Another price of being a Kiryuu.' He reminded himself solemnly.
"Would it be easy to release these vampires from their controllers?" Kain wondered, he knew each hunter clan had specialized charms that weren't easy to disarm compared to the common charms. But he had no idea if control over vampires was charm based to begin with.
"On the nobles it will be, since the hunters involved in this aren't all the strong I wouldn't be surprised if they could break the charms themselves. Disarming them first will be in our best interest and the easiest approach. Where we run into some trouble is with the lower ranked vampires. They have less will so their control is stronger. The other solution to them is simply killing them off since they are level Ds and Es but that decision is left up to you Kuran-san." The hunter explained keeping his eyes trained on the pureblood prince with his arms crossed.
"How likely is it that Zero-kun kills the low leveled vampires regardless of what we decide?" Ruka pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"Unlikely, unless he has gotten word that they should be killed he won't touch them. Judging by his current mindset he is entirely focused on the Chairman of the association rather than the other hunters and vampires. As he said he is a hunter not a mindless murderer." Kaname stepped in the teen's defense. Having any of his nobles skeptical of the silverette at the given time and situation would be a problem. They needed to trust all of the hunters they would be working with for this to go in their favor.
"Takamiya-kun you mentioned before that you'd like to have the current TAU involved with this? How have you decided to go about that?" Takuma changed topics for the moment since it wasn't such a touchy subject as Zero's mindset.
"I've explained to them what has been discussed thus far, they have agreed to help and with them I doubt we will have many issues with any of the other hunters." Kaito answered with a nod.
"I'm glad that worked out, will they be joining us when we depart for the compound then?" Kaname asked to which Kaito nodded again.
"They actually would like to meet with you as a group this evening to further discuss what the plan is when we get to the compound. They have agreed to come to the moon dorms in order to avoid suspicion with the Headmaster, Touga and Yuki of course." Kaito furthered, Kaname nodded after a moment though he could tell there was an unvoiced unease running through a few of the nobles. Of course it didn't go unvoiced for very long.
"So...we're just going to let a bunch of hunter assassins into the moon dorms? Is that really such a good idea?" Aido started with Ruka nodding slightly behind him.
"They are trained assassins yes but they work off Zero's orders. They won't kill anyone without serious reason or order, furthermore, they want to get Zero out of the compound more than anyone else." Kaito reminded flatly though there was an edge to his tone. Before anyone could say anything else however a new voice joined the conversation.
"Kaito-san is quite correct about that, even though we are trained assassins we are under our sensei's orders even without him being here. Unless very specific cases and situations arise, such as this, we don't take action in matters we are not told to." The vampires turned to see seven unreadable expressions belonging to the TAU students.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all formally. As you are aware this is the night class and I take it Taiyo informed the rest of you of what all has been decided up to this point." Kaito greeted the seven hunters, who gave him nods of greeting as well as confirmation.
"Though we are not partial to working with others we are pleased that the night class has decided to take action on an issue such as this." One of the boys, an older sounding one with red hair, spoke for the group behind him.
"Zero-sensei will likely be reaching the compound in a matter of minutes, once he is able to escape we will take you all to the Kiryuu Estate." Another spoke, this one a girl with long glossy black hair and charcoal eyes.
"You know where the Kiryuu Estate is?" Shiki questioned from his place on the couch.
"We live there, Zero-sensei trains us there and he said it was much safer for us to be there than living at the association like other hunters of the elite status." The girl spoke again, her cool eyes swept over the faces of the nobles to commit them to memory.
"And you are sure you're allowed to bring us there? The Kiryuu Estate is quite tight on the security scale we have been told." Rima pointed out but the seven students nodded to her only.
"Zero-sensei has likely arrived at the compound now. If we want to be able to distract the Chairman and is guards safely we will need to leave here tomorrow morning. That way we can plan and make sure there will be no mistakes on the day we execute our mission." Another girl informed the group, she was slightly younger than the other that had spoken but there was something eerie about her knowledge and her voice as she spoke.
A/N: Alright and there you have it, chapter fourteen! I know things got a bit dramatic and I did change around some history (The Kiryuu clan being in control of the association and what not) but that was really the only way I could justify some of the things that will come up later on. Also if you're confused about Luna, aka Zero's pureblood female form, don't worry things become clearer later on and she doesn't stay that way forever. This is not a full genderbend story for her it's a phase, not a lifestyle. Anyway with that being said I hope everyone enjoyed reading and can adapt to my dramatic changes. Thank you all once again for reading and until next time ~Keep Calm & Fanfiction On~