A/N: Hello hello I'm back again after a little bit of a break with the latest chapter of Actor. Minus a possible bonus chapter which I've yet to decide if I'm going to do or not we really only have one last chapter after this (five pages then that's it!) So I'm half trying to think of something to say while we're winding down. This chapter is going to be very friend-ship centered specifically around Takuma, Zero, & Shiki. There's not a ton of conversation between the three of them but...idk you'll feel it when you read it I hope XP I suck at explaining things sorry. There is some slight Yuuki bashing in here because I just have a feeling she wouldn't be all that supportive of everything that happened without her knowledge if this was a little bit more realistic so yeah I made her pissed and childish because that's how I view her. You'll see how Kaname and Zero deal with that when you read and there's a bit of a fluff-teaser scene between our two pureblooded children. I think that's all I really have to say about this chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you're excited for this to wrap up (but also a little sad too, the endings are always bittersweet) and thanks for coming with me on the twisted weird journey my keyboard decided to take me on this time. ~Len

Ch. 18: Declaring Loyalty

"I know we pledged to follow Kaname-sama with every step he takes but...I think I would like to do the same with Zero as well. I think they will both need the support of a group of they know they can fall back on and Zero has proven himself to be more than just a good leader." Takuma voiced out amongst the fairly quiet car ride.

"Do you think Kaname-sama would be alright with that? I mean he and Zero have different views on things, what if you're forced to choose?" Rima questioned, worried that her friend would get himself more in trouble than needed.

"I believe they will come to an agreement amongst most issues and on the rare chance they don't I will have to choose which one I suppose based off my own beliefs." The blond responded with a smile, this was something he had been thinking about for quite some time. Really it started after he first went to the tea shop with Zero on a mission of befriending him. Looking back that day felt like years ago compared to where they all were now.

"I think that's something you should bring up with Kaname-sama before you do anything serious with it." Kain put in with a shrug. Truly Kaname couldn't really stop Takuma, his status and influence would mean lots of consequences for the pureblood but as the two were good friends it would be wise to talk about it.

"If it goes bad you realize you still have to live with both Kaname-sama and Luna-sama...it could get awkward." Shiki mumbled more as a warning to the group, they were living with two ancient purebloods, both with power beyond their knowledge and comprehension. Making large mistakes could mean deadly consequences.

"Speaking of purebloods and lineage, Kaname-sama is due to marry Yuuki-chan sooner rather than later. What are your thoughts on that?" Ruka piped up crossing her arms. She had never been pleased with the idea of their leader getting married to the girl who had absolutely no knowledge of the vampire community workings.

"Yuuki-chan is a kind person but I can't see her at the head of the vampire community...or really in the community at all if I'm being honest. Frankly, she's just so human I don't see her fitting with our lifestyle." Takuma voiced with a light sigh, he knew Kaname loved and cared for the girl but he just couldn't see it.

"I agree with Takuma." Shiki blandly stated shortly after his friend stopped talking. Rima and Kain nodded as well.

"At the end of the day if it's what Kaname-sama wants there's nothing we can do to stop it. I worry more about Luna-sama's reaction to living with both Kurans as they are married." Aido pointed out before the car went silent for a few moments.

"I don't believe Luna-sama will do anything rash towards them, however I don't know how Yuuki-chan will view Luna-sama once she is returned as a pureblood, especially if Luna-sama takes on Zero-san's form." Takuma nodded in thought. It was something the night class hadn't really come across before. Zero was known as the chess piece to Kaname, his pawn and protector of Yuuki. She was seen as higher status but now that clearly wasn't true. They were both sealed purebloods but as an origin Zero was far above in all circumstances.

"We'll have to see how it all plays out. Kaname-sama and Luna-sama are going for a meeting with Cross-san it looks like." Ruka sighed watching the two purebloods walk to the sun dorms with the headmaster alongside them.

"Then I say we get unpacked and move back into the moon dorms, get some dinner started and wait for them to get back to us with the news." Takuma gently ordered out to the rest of the nobles when the car came to a stop inside the gates of Cross Academy. They were home and already there was an air of uncertainty and tension.

By the time the two vampires walked the path to the moon dorms they were exhausted and hungry. "I forgot how much Cross can talk, I'm surprised my ears haven't fallen off." Luna groaned as she walked alongside the brunette.

"Yes, but he was curious, you kinda did leave all of us in the dark with all this. The real difficult part was talking to Yuuki..." Kaname sighed, she didn't take the news well, to say the least, he couldn't blame her really but it still stung to see her reject her one sole friend, her brother. It made him upset beyond what he thought was possible. To see that nearly non-existent flicker of pain that flashed in those amethyst-lilac eyes made the brunette want to set his sister right. Force her into acceptance if he had to. But that would be ridiculous of him and Luna wouldn't approve at all.

"Yuuki is entitled to her own reactions, even if you don't necessarily like them yourself. I didn't exactly enjoy it either but I believe within time she will come around. Right now I think she is shocked and lost. After all the idea that not only I but she herself is a pureblood can't be easy to handle all at once. Give her time to process it all and leave her to Cross. The man may be a lunatic but he's also a father." Luna replied calmly.

"Can you really accept that she's overlooking everything you've been through, everything you've done for her well being, and rejecting you like that?" The male pressed, he himself had been appalled.

"She thinks differently, she sees what I did as a form of deception even if the intentions were not to trick or fool her. I understand where she's coming from and as her blood brother, Kaname, you need to trust her. Yuuki's emotions have always been fragile and scrambled at best." The silverette explained looking back at the younger that had stopped a few feet behind her. Kaname just stood there and simply stared, a mix of admiration, confusion and something else Luna couldn't entirely make out stormed through crimson iris'. The two stood in a standstill for a few more moments before Kaname chuckled slightly and continued walking.

"I suppose you're correct on that." He smiled gently, "So when are we going to dinner?" Came the question causing Luna to laugh a bit.

"Give it a day or two, we still need to get settled and I need to change into my final form once again. Then we can go out to dinner." She smiled and entered the moon domes to be greeted by the night class putting dinner on the table.

"How did the meeting go?" Takuma smiled walking up to his two friends.

"As expected, Yuuki didn't take the news well and Cross just talked...so much." Luna grumbled crossing her arms. Takuma smiled sympathetically. He could tell it likely wasn't as easy to pass off as the older pureblood was making it sound and Kaname looked a bit upset at the mentioning of it.

"Which reminds me, I have an announcement for you all." The prince started, gathering everyone's attention in the room. "Despite what the Council has proposed and pressed I have decided I will neither be turning Yuuki back to her pureblood line nor taking her as my wife in the months to come as was planned. I realize the topic of my sister has been an under the rug conversation but I encourage you to speak up." He explained once he got everyone's eyes on him. As Luna predicted the nobles were hesitant to come out and just speak their real opinions at first, they didn't want to be punished for what they said about the perfect.

"I believe I speak for the majority, though we all have our own reasons, when I say I support your decision. While we've all come to accept Yuuki-chan in the vampire community I personally do not see her being able to fit in with our lifestyle. No offense Luna-sama but as another sealed pureblood you are far more aligned with our community." Takuma stepped forward eventually.

"You're quite right, despite how different the hunters and vampires claim to be we are aligned for a reason. My clan first came to exist alongside vampires because of how similar we are in roots. When vampires first came to exist I admired the efficiency and ability to think as we did, we both differ greatly enough from humans that it takes a very special one to be able to meld into either of our worlds. This might sound harsh but even if she had grown up within the pureblood lineage and the ways of the Kuran family, she would have been outcasted and resented by many vampires and hunters alike. Being human for so long simply amplified that." Luna pointed out, even though she said it carefully her point was still very clear. Cross Yuuki did not belong in their worlds. She was simply too human and it would corrupt her to be thrown into their lives as a pureblood. The rest of the nobles, and Kaname himself, nodded at her words. Even so, a few nobles sent the elder Kuran small looks of sympathy.

"How do you think the Council will take it?" Kain asked looking over at their leader.

"Not well if I had to venture a guess. But they'll likely be distracted as well with other things so their attention will be divided and less forceful on protocol." He answered passing a fast glance over towards the silverette.

"Both the association and the Council will likely be busy for a while longer." She agreed, "For now however I believe we should all eat and get some rest, it's been quite a long day." The nobles smiled, the small build of tension had left the room as though it never existed, before the group headed to the dining room. Unlike before there wasn't tension, awkward socializing, or unpleasantly waiting for it all to be over. There were pointless conversations, teasing, and friendly banter but it was the atmosphere that really changed it all. Everyone was enjoying themselves to the fullest before they all retired to their rooms. Just as Luna was getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around herself a knock came from the door.

"Luna, I just wanted to talk to you about somethi-" Kaname was cut off mid-sentence when the silverette opened the door. Her hair was still damp, a few droplets fell from her bangs to cream colored shoulders as she stood there holding up her towel much to Kaname's shock and slight embarrassment.

"Come in, Kaname." She spoke gently with a soft smile before turning and continuing to dress and get ready for bed. The far more traditional pureblood swallowed dryly as he took a seat on her desk chair.

"Right, I was just going to tell you that a couple of nobles here have come to me and have proposed the idea of dual loyalty. I know you may not be fully aware of the impact you've had on all of us but this is a way to show you that they want to continue following you, they view you as a leader. As do I." Kaname started, choosing to look anywhere else but towards the bathroom, who in their right mind left the door open when changing?! There was a pause in the shuffling before the older vampire stepped out of the bathroom looking slightly puzzled, though she was dressed in little clothing, she stood in front of the wine-eyed vampire directly.

"Declaring loyalty to a vampire that is bound to your leader is one thing but doing so to someone with a partial bond and isn't full vampire could present problems in the greater society despite how you and your inner circle view me. Even with that do you believe they should take on that responsibility?" She questioned crossing her arms and tilting her head slightly.

"I believe they have been weighing their options for a few weeks and have still come to the decision they wanted to go through with binding their loyalty to you formally. I personally believe in this era the more friends you have behind you the better, hence, I therefore grant them dual loyalty between us if you accept." The brunette explained while trying to keep his concentrations on holding the flush from becoming visible on his cheeks.

"I trust your judgment Kaname, despite past grievances, I always trusted you to know what you were doing. If you believe this is something they can handle I have no reason to hold them back." Luna replied turning once again an heading to her dresser for some real clothing much to Kaname's relief. "Send them my way tomorrow so we can talk and then I have something else to discuss with you privately. Maybe over that dinner we're going on at some point?" The other would have protested saying that if it was important she should tell him sooner rather than later but seeing as she was stripping out of the corner of his eye Kaname decided just to agree and leave the room as quickly as possible for his own sake.

"Of course, we will speak about anything you need tomorrow. Sleep well Luna." He bowed slightly before exiting the room. Luna smirked to herself after the other had left. If there was one thing she knew better than anyone it was that once you got through the masks, the business, his stubbornness and that he was a prince needing to know everything about his world, Kuran Kaname was still that of a young vampire and a male that was just as hormonal as any other teen or young adult running around in normal high schools.

'The real question is if he swings both ways or not.' She thought allowing her mind to slip into the more lewd side she had perfected suppressing for years. According to everyone at the academy Zero was as about into romance as a tree in the middle of the desert. Sure there were rumors about he and Yuuki but those could easily be dismissed, they were like siblings and perfects...obviously they would be close to one another. No, Zero's affections never wrapped round Yuuki, or anyone else seeing as he had always been so focused on vampires or his own lack of life and future. With that being said he wasn't blind. Kaname always stood out in the crowd, despite that his aura and very being demanded all eyes on him. The deep wine color of his eyes stared into your every fiber causing the whole body to shiver. Even if he wasn't angry or feeling any extreme emotions there was an intensity there that you couldn't ignore. Zero being Zero was both drawn and repulsed by it. Never had he truly come across a pureblood that sparked that type of fire within his own being. It was simply fascinating for him to rile Kaname up and see those reactions that were generally so rare, he was a pureblood, after all, his emotions needed to be under wraps. That was the best part of being a sealed pureblood, if the night class knew the dynamics would have been very different and she doubted she could have done anything to provoke the younger pureblood. As a level D ex-human it was outrageous for Zero not to comply with what Kaname said and did. 'Completely different dynamics...' She thought lying in her bed looking out the window that she always kept the curtains from completely covering. She wouldn't pretend there were certain things about being human she would always enjoy.

By dawn Takuma had been up an hour or so already, waiting for the others to finally get up. It wasn't as though he was antsy to see everyone every morning but today was special. It was the day Kaname told them Luna would be expecting them to discuss the idea of dual loyalty. Even though Kaname had given his agreement they still had to confront and ask Luna if she was alright with taking on her own nobles. Kaname had mentioned it was possible the silverette never officially had nobles even when she ruled over the community, it was simply not needed at the time and the classes hadn't been viewed as any different from one another. "They would have seen it as inappropriate to take another vampire under loyalty at the time." The blond remembered the prince saying.

"You're up early..." Shiki's voice drifted over his ears causing the blond to start and turn around with an apologetic smile.

"I hope I didn't wake you, I've just been looking forward to talking with Luna-san today and I couldn't sleep as much as usual." He explained with a sheepish shrug and a hand scratching the back of his head. Shiki just nodded, he too was interested in talking to Luna for he wanted to give his loyalty as well. Of course his thoughts were far more reserved and he had some concerns unlike Takuma. After all, there was still the possibility that she could say no, that would surely cause some tension.

"Do you think it's possible she will say no?" Shiki eventually questioned causing the blond to pause and frown slightly.

"I don't think she would, even though she liked the past better she isn't oblivious to today's ways and likely knows that even with her influence and power it would be wise to have others able to help out and add even more influence to hers. So, in short, there's always a chance she could say no but it wouldn't be the wisest movement and she knows that." Takuma assured the other to the best of his abilities. "Let's go downstairs and put some tea on shall we?" He added knowing the other would feel better with something warm in his system. Shiki nodded and the two made their way to the main kitchen where, to their surprise, Ruka was sitting alone at a table with a contemplative look in her eyes.

"I should have known you'd be up early tonight Takuma." She sighed seeing that her time of peaceful self-reflection and thinking was clearly over upon the arrival of the two vampires.

"Why yes, of course, but why are you up so early?" The older noble questioned with a concerned look. Though it was no secret he occasionally thought her childish and an instigator Takuma still had a job to watch over the other nobles in Kaname's inner circle.

"I was thinking about what you're going to do. Even if you pledge loyalty while she's in pureblood form, you must stick by her as a hunter and a level D as well. For our society that is unheard of. What will the consequences of all that be?" The vampiress knew better than to keep her thoughts in her mind with Takuma, he would find out by any and all means necessary.

"Assuming Luna-san allows this all to begin with, which is still up in the air, then I'm sure she'll have some idea of how to take it all. I believe our Council will be far more lenient and workable in the future anyway. Both Kaname and Luna have been working on them for a while and change, when spearheaded by those two, comes quickly." The older suppressed a shiver at the thought of facing two pissed purebloods. 'Especially those two. Angry Zero was bad enough.' He thought before turning back to Ruka. "It's not like all of us are pledging anyway, only three of us will be in limbo between both Kaname and Luna." He added on for good measure. Only himself, Rima and Shiki decided to go through with the double pledge, leaving three nobles to still solely be Kaname's and Luna still had the TA to herself though they weren't exactly the same.

"I suppose so, I guess things are just progressing so quickly it's a little unsettling. We've gone our whole lives without change in the higher ups and now it's all changing within a matter of months." Takuma couldn't help but to both sympathize and agree with the proud aristocrat.

"They are quite the partnership...I wonder what will happen with them in the future if Kaname isn't marrying Yuuki-chan."

"What do you mean Takuma?" Shiki questioned as Ruka gave the golden blond a quizzical look and a raised eyebrow.

"If you think about it there really aren't any other suitable high standing partner possibilities for Kaname-sama, but he'll still need to be married eventually." It wasn't hard to see where Takuma was going with his thought process even if he didn't outright say it.

"You don't really think those two would get together, do you? I mean when we started out they hated each other. I doubt that's all been completely overlooked." Ruka pointed out though if you asked her she wasn't disgusted or shocked at the mental image that came to her of her beloved leader and the silverette together. They were powerful, secretive and both incredibly dominant but the two painted a gorgeous picture even Ruka would pay a high price for.

"I think it's possible, their dynamics work well. Not entirely opposites but not the same either." Shiki put in as the others were starting to wake and head down to the main rooms for breakfast. Takuma was quite surprised that the ash brown haired noble spoke up so readily about his cousin's possible love life. He generally assumed the younger didn't take interest in that kind of thing.

"I suppose we'll have to see what happens." Ruka mumbled eventually as she and the other two began to mingle with the others.

As the day passed and the vampires were comfortably going about their own business Takuma motioned to Shiki and Rima so they could talk to Luna who was sitting on one of the garden benches reading. "I wondered when you three were going to show up." She greeted before they had a chance to announce their presence. Gently closing her book the moonlit vampire turned her full attention to the three nobles.

"I hope this isn't a bad time." Takuma smiled politely.

"Not at all, now, I know why you're here and what you plan to ask for. However, I want to know one thing: why?" The silverette questioned looking between each pair of eyes, she wanted to see their honesty and sincerity in the answers they gave her.

"I can't fully speak for the other two but as a friend, I would be honored to pledge loyalty to you and work with you on a closer level." Takuma began before looking over at Rima.

"I not only look forward to working with you but also learning about what our world could look like and how to change it into a more desirable place." She explained shocking the other three a bit since she never appeared to invest in societal affairs or expressed the want to change things.

"I see, that's very interesting actually. We'll have to talk more about that in the future." Luna gave the girl a soft smile before looking over at Shiki. The other two nobles bit their lips and watched what looked like a gentle stare down between the noble and pureblood. The unblinking gazes went on for what felt like hours before Luna nodded and faced the three of them together. "As the three of you know this is a big decision and twice the amount of responsibility you're used to as noble vampires. You know this as well as I do and the fact that you've still decided to ask for this, well, I'm both impressed and surprised by your actions. However with that being said, it does not change that I am grateful to you three, so I'm taking your pledge and accepting you three as my nobles as much as you are Kaname's. I won't say it's going to be easier, you will have to work with not just vampires but many hunters as well. I'll be honest, if it were any other group of nobles of the night class I'd be a bit more worried. Regardless, I do accept your pledge and welcome you as my nobles." She smiled softly. The relief on their faces was pretty clear, though Rima and Shiki were clearly more controlled.

"Thank you Luna-sama." They chorused and bowed, the silverette had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the overly traditional custom.

"You don't have to be so formal, now let's go join the others." Luna stood allowing the three nobles to create a sort of entourage around her. 'We're going to have to work on becoming more modern for sure.' She smiled to herself as the four walked into the main room. A quick glance to the other pureblood had the two alpha vampires heading into the study room.

A/N: And there's chapter 18! I hope you guys enjoyed it, I hope what I said in the beginning makes a little bit more sense now. If not I'm sorry explanations are not my greatest asset lately. I will likely have chapter 19 out...probably in the next 15-20 minutes? I'm not entirely sure how long it takes me to edit and write my author's notes. Everything varies literally on the fly. I can't plan for shit. But regardless, please stay tuned for the last chapter, I'm super excited for it, I'm proud of myself that this is all finished, it's been a really long time since I actually finished a fanfiction on here. It was either 'He's Not for Sale' or 'Not Yet' probably the former I think 'Not Yet was the first good fanfiction that I completed on this account. As I always say, thank you guys so much for reading, if you've reviewed my stuff, favorited, followed either this story or me as an author I really really appreciate it. It means a lot to be liked by people I don't know and it keeps me wanting to write more for everyone on FF net. I'll say my final goodbyes and what not on the next chapter but again thank you for everything and as always ~Keep Calm and Fanfiction On~ (I'm still going to stop saying that after this fic it's killing me everytime I have to write it but I can't not do it after 17 f*cking chapters)