Kanda kicked over the lamp table in the sitting room as he materialized there, huffing with barely restrained anguish. He couldn't believe that Allen had still been an Eidolon this entire time and he hadn't realized it. How could he have been so blind not to see that Allen had been just playing him for the last three years? And how could he have been so stupid as to allow himself to fall in love with him?

He growled low in his throat, hands curling into fists as the events of the last half hour replayed inside his head. That smug look on Allen's face when he told Kanda that he'd been lying to him about loving him, that he'd been basically using him for sex and information the whole time they were together made his blood boil in fury.

And his nails lengthen so much they cut through the tips of his gloves.

Kanda was startled out of his angered stupor by the sound of fabric tearing, and he looked down to see his fingernails poking through the tips of his gloves, growing steadily curved and sharp-like claws.

There's a reason why they call you the Shifter

"Calm down, Kanda," the Reaper's deep, sibilant voice suddenly punctuated the air, the shadows to Kanda's right coalescing into his distinctive form. "Your Shifter powers are responding to your emotions; control them."

Kanda slapped his hand down, ignoring Itachi's advice and rounding on him.

"You knew, didn't you?" he demanded, eyes blazing with accusation. "You can see the future; you know it all. So, why the hell didn't you tell me that Allen was still one of them?"

It was all crumbling inside his mind; everything he thought he knew, the life he thought he had was all a lie-a construction, a manipulation

Itachi didn't flinch at Kanda's obviously seething tone, barely even meeting his eyes to address his assumption.

"I don't see everything; events shift, scenes change, things are always in flux," he replied vaguely; then, he changed tacks. "But, even if I had known, I wouldn't have told you. You needed to find it out on your own: otherwise, I doubt you would have believed it."

Kanda wanted to make another acrid retort-but, this time, he didn't have one. Because Itachi was right; he hadn't been willing to believe it when Itachi had told him Allen couldn't be trusted before. In fact, if he hadn't just been witness to the proof, he still wouldn't have believed that, either.

Even so, though, that didn't excuse Itachi for keeping this secret-or any of his others-from him when they were supposed to be working together.

He let out a disparaging snort.

"Still, how am I supposed to trust you if you continue to keep important things like this from me?" he short back, glaring irritably at the older man.

Itachi's pale features remained utterly impassive at the thinly-veiled dig.

"Like I said before, I don't need you to trust me, panther. But I do need you to settle yourself-and, if you want to get your life back, you need to work with me," he said, his calm tone belying the way his dark eyes were boring holes into Kanda's.

The panther stared at him, pulse still thundering in his ears. He didn't want to obey, especially when he didn't really understand why Itachi was so adamant that he should calm down.

"What else are you concealing from me?" he queried sharply. His mind turned to what Itachi had said about his Shifter abilities. "What were you talking about, my Shifter powers are responding to my emotions?"

The Reaper finally showed some life, taking a step forward and looking Kanda full in the face.

"You can, as the title 'Shifter' suggests, shift into another shape when suffering an emotional upheaval," he explained softly. "And, as I don't wish to have to make good on my recent threat, I suggest you try and keep that from happening."

Kanda's lips thinned, but he knew Itachi was telling him the truth now, so he tried to get himself to relax, taking a deep breath.

It was difficult-he was still fuming over Allen's betrayal and it definitely wasn't going to go away just like that-but, eventually, his heart rate slowed enough that whatever had been happening with his claws began to reverse itself.

He exhaled heavily, removing both of his black silk gloves.

"You should have let me kill him for doing this," he muttered resentfully.

"Next time, I will," Itachi told him firmly. "But, if you really want to get back at him, you will take down everything and everyone around him first-destroy the organization that he chose over you; then, it will really hurt when you end his life."

Revenge is sweeter when your choices come back to haunt you

Kanda turned away from the other man, considering his options as he dropped his gloves on the floor by his feet. He rather liked the sound of that; destroying the Eidolons was why he had joined this crusade in the first place. After all, they'd taken everything away from him: his family, his freedom, the life he knew-and now he knew they'd taken Allen and Lavi away as well. He couldn't let them get away with that-not anymore.

And the only way to make them pay was by working with the Reaper, just as he'd said.

He exhaled heavily, flexing his thin fingers as, after about ten minutes, he finally came to a decision.

"I'm putting my trust in you, then, Uchiha," he declared softly, casting a meaningful look over his shoulder at the motionless Reaper. "Don't make me regret it." Not like Allen did.

Without waiting for an answer, he left the room, not seeing the rueful smile Itachi directed at his retreating back.

A low, ruthless chuckle rose from the back of Kai's throat as he reclined against his pillows, gaze on the naked and panting lamia next to him.

It was still a rather novel sensation, being so…exhilarated by causing pain to someone he used to call a friend-especially this particular brand of pain, he mused, licking blood from his fingers, the scent of iron permeating his nostrils. This wasn't really what he'd had in mind when he'd decided to make Ray suffer for his turning, but when he'd had the Chinese vampire hanging there in the dungeon, exposed and completely at his mercy, the urge had just manifested itself and he hadn't been able to resist.

He probably should have sickened by what he'd done to Ray down there and here in this bed-even if it was rather deserved-but he didn't. All he felt was satisfaction when he saw all the scars he'd left on Ray's bare skin and listened to the whimpers still involuntarily emitting from his former friend's mouth.

He couldn't resist reaching over to trace one of the cuts on Ray's hip with his nail, noting Ray's unconcealed flinch as he did so.

His amusement grew.

"What, don't like that?" he asked mockingly, rolling over so he was half-draped over Ray's prone form, and digging his nails harder into the open wound. "Imagine how I felt when you bit me, drained every last drop of blood from my body and then left me there on the ground to face the transition period alone." He dragged his nail harshly over the cut, smirking when a fresh warmth began to trickle out onto his fingers.

Ray let out another pitiful, uncharacteristic whimper as Kai's nails scratched down his thigh, smearing blood over his already sticky flesh. He cringed, but he knew he couldn't get away from it; the chains securing his wrists to the headboard were far too thick, and he was still severely weakened by both the poison and all the blood loss.

And Kai was taking full advantage.

The incendus shifted, sliding in between Ray's spread legs, continuing to drag his claws around to the inside of his prisoner's thigh, moving them steadily, deliberately inward.

Another strangled whine fell, unbidden, from Ray's abused lips when they scraped roughly against the base of his cock-and he wished he could say the sound was just from pain.

Kai's eyes flashed, and his lips curved in a smirk.

"Do you like that, kitten?" he crooned silkily, increasing the sharp pressure against Ray's shaft, and making the lamia squirm. "Well, well, I think you do."

Ray gasped involuntarily as Kai grazed his nails over his shaft with deliberate slowness, sending arrows of heat shooting through the rigid flesh. Kai seemed to know exactly what he was feeling-no matter how hard he tried to conceal it-and his smirk widened, showing his fangs.

"You pretended to be all callous and unfeeling by turning me against my will, but, deep down, I think there's a part of you that still wants me-even if this is the only way you can have it," he purred thoughtfully, sounding as if he were merely talking about the weather, even as his thumbnail cut into Ray's slit.

The lamia's hips bucked, but Kai held them down with his other hand, pressing harder and still talking.

"Ironic, isn't it, that I'm the one who used to be human, yet you're the one whose emotions are making you weak-and now, I'm going to use that weakness against you in every way I can."

He plunged his fangs into Ray's throat, relishing the hoarse cry the action elicited. He reveled in the now-familiar sweetness of Ray's blood filling his mouth, made even headier by the unwilling arousal now coursing through it, and he drank deeply, letting out a low growl of pleasure.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Except the sound of air rushing interrupted his frenzy about fifteen minutes later.

He pulled away from Ray's throat indelicately at the sound, blood dripping from his mouth as he scanned his room for its source.

With the help of his night vision, he was able to make out the lean, cloaked figure leaning up against his bedroom wall, partially concealed by the night shadows.

"Enjoying yourself, Hiwatari?" Tekla's low, accented voice quipped, cutting into his reverie with what sounded almost like amusement.

Kai wasn't immediately forthcoming with a response, simply watching the dark-haired woman approach him from the corner, his body still half-lying on top of Ray's.

"Did you need something" he questioned flatly by way of a response a few moments later, raising a single slate eyebrow.

The corners of Tekla's mouth twitched.

"No, but I had a proposal for you," she replied. Her eyes flicked briefly to the bound lamia lying under Kai. "How'd you like to make your friend there really suffer?"

Kai's other eyebrow lifted.

"What did you have in mind?" he wondered with mild curiosity, rolling onto his back and giving Tekla a fraction more attention.

Tekla strode further into the room, halting at the foot of Kai's bed with her hands in the pockets of her green cloak.

"How about having him kill one of the few people he actually cares about-the person who brought him into the organization that ordered him to turn you in the first place: Lee Yan."

Silence followed her suggestion as Kai thought it over, gaze sliding back to Ray as well to see if he was listening.

When he saw Ray flinch again, he knew he was, and his mirthless smile returned. He looked like he was actually afraid that Kai might be able to make him do that-and that made Kai want to give it a shot.

"I'm in," he agreed softly. He lifted his gaze to meet Tekla's again, adding, "That is, assuming you know where Yan is, and have a weapon to kill him?"

Tekla returned his smile, eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness.

"As a matter of fact, I do: Yan is at the same place you, Itachi and Kanda attacked the other night. And, as for a weapon, I have this," she confirmed, lifting the side of her cloak to reveal a polished silver service pistol with a barrel that was covered by a myriad of black sigils that seemed almost alive.

"What is that?" Kai queried, frowning.

"It's a Vampire Hunter's gun," Tekla explained, patting it. Then, she changed topics. "But this isn't going to be just an assassination; it's going to be an interrogation, too. There's something the Vampire Lords want us to find out from him. Itachi was going to do it for them, but I thought it was time I got to have a little fun."

"And what is it we'll be trying to find out?" Kai queried, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and getting to his feet.

Tekla waved a gloved hand dismissively.

"You don't need to worry about that. All you need to worry about is keeping Kon on his leash."

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Kai said, his smile turning vicious as he yanked Ray to his feet as well by the collar around his neck. "He'll behave."

Tekla didn't comment on Kai's rough treatment of the lamia, or Ray's current state of undress; she just inclined her head.

"Good. Get ready and let's go, then," she declared, drawing her Hunter's weapon as she turned toward the exit.

Lee was in his quarters at the otherwise abandoned Miyori Street base when the door was kicked in a few moments past nine.

"I would have thought this place would be empty now, considering it's already been broken into once," a familiar female voice mused aloud as the speaker entered his room, the hood of her forest green cloak pulled over her head, so her face was half in shadow when it turned toward Lee. "Were you too butch to clear out, or just too stupid?"

"Tekla," Lee drawled, swiveling his chair in her direction, amber slits narrowed so he strangely resembled an angry cat. "What do you want?"

The sorceress reached into her cloak and pulled out an engraved pistol. "Answers."

Lee barely had time to react before she shot him in the arm, the impact of the enchanted bullet knocking him out of his chair as he cried out in pain.

Tekla advanced, pressing her black combat boot against his chest and adjusting the position of the gun so the barrel hovered almost tauntingly above him.

"If you don't tell me what I want to know, the next one goes in a more sensitive part of your anatomy," she said threateningly, continuing to move the gun until it was aimed directly between the neko-jin's legs.

"What do you want?" Lee repeated vehemently, lifting his eyes in a defiant glare as he strained to escape from under the sorceress' foot. He couldn't do it, though; an unseen force-presumably her magic-kept him from escaping.

Tekla smiled-and that smile sent more terror through him than the anti-vampire gun.

"Tell me where Asato Ichijo is."

Lee's eyes narrowed, and he stilled; she would ask the one thing he couldn't tell her-and not because he didn't know the answer.

"Unfortunately, that's the one thing I can't tell you," he stated blandly, feigning a stubborn sneer.

Tekla shrugged, cocking the hammer of the pistol a second time.

"Your call, Eidolon," she said carelessly, pulling the trigger before Lee had a chance to blink.

The Chinese lamia bucked, letting out another involuntary cry as blood bloomed in a thin line where the bullet hit.

"Fuck," he snarled with ill-concealed agony, blinking back tears and clutching at the fresh wound. The Hunters' magic infusing the bullet ripped through him like a series of poisoned needles, setting his veins on fire; he'd never been shot by an anti-vampire gun before and he was glad of that. It hurt like hell.

He tensed when he saw Tekla twisting her gloved fingers at her side in a beckoning gesture. "Last chance-answer my question, or I'll leave you to him."

"I…can't," he gritted out forcefully, jaw working furiously to contain another scream as a fresh wave of pain burned through him.

"Then, I guess your time is up," Tekla declared with an awful sort of finality. She turned to the two figures approaching from the darkness. "You know what to do, Hiwatari."

Said Russian incendus stepped into the narrow shaft of moonlight, dragging along with him another neko-jin-one Lee recognized all too well.

"Ray?" Lee called out with what sounded like genuine concern. But Ray didn't answer; he just stared straight ahead, eyes hazy and vacant like he couldn't even hear.

Lee's forehead wrinkled, his breathing ragged. What had happened to his friend? It was like he was in some kind of trance.

Oddly, Tekla holstered her gun and backed off him; but Lee didn't dare hope that this was the end, as she tilted her head in Hiwatari's direction.

"Have fun," she said smugly, clapping the dual-haired vampire on the shoulder before leaving the three former friends alone.

A cruel grin spread over Kai's pale lips as he advanced on Lee, who was still lying prone on the floor from his recent injury.

"Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it, Lee? I supposed, out of respect for our history, I should let you live," he mused; then, his upper lip pulled back further, baring his fangs. "But that history means nothing since you turned my dear kitten against me-so I'm afraid that's off the table."

He turned to Ray. "Kill him."

"Ra-," Lee started to try and protest, but before he could get even a single word out, Ray launched himself at his chest, hands wrapping tightly around his throat.

Lee gagged, feeling his windpipe constrict with the sudden pressure, his breath leaving him in a rush as his head was twisted painfully to the side, exposing his tan neck.

"R-Ray," he choked out again, grasping at his friend's hands, trying desperately to break free; but he was still too weak from being shot.

And, a second later, he had another problem.

He let out a very undignified scream as Ray's fangs suddenly sank into his neck, beginning to drain every last drop of blood from his paralyzed body.

He thrashed on the floor to try and get Ray off him, but it was no use. The world began to blur as more and more of his strength was sapped, and his struggled became weaker, like fallen leaves fighting against a hurricane.

It wasn't long before his struggles petered out completely, and he slumped in Ray's hold, paler than ever and utterly lifeless.

Kai's sneer widened with satisfaction, and he pulled Ray back by his hair, eliciting a faint grunt from the other neko-jin.

"Good boy," he crooned against Ray's ear, giving him a mockingly tender kiss on the cheek, making him flinch again.

Your torment is just beginning

'Yan wouldn't give up the location-probably because he was compelled not to. I think you're going to need to outsource this one,' Tekla's voice came through the speaker of his cell, sounding sincerely apologetic.

"Who do you suggest?" Zero asked, arching a single silver eyebrow as he sat back in his chair.

'Oh, I don't know,' Tekla replied offhandedly. 'Don't you have a brother who's part of the Hunters' Association? I imagine he wants a piece of the former Senate head just as much as you do.'

Zero tilted his head to the side, considering. Tekla was right; I chiru, his twin, was still a Vampire Hunter-and this could be a good excuse to see him again.

"That's not a bad idea, actually," he commented. "I'll talk to him, and we'll see. Thank you for trying, though."

He ended the call, then, and began to compose a message to his brother.

A moment later, he received a reply.

'On my way.'

Kaname and Zero were both in the sitting room of their house when the front door opened.

"Hello, brother."

Zero's lips twitched slightly as a man with silver hair entered, removing an ornate half-mask to reveal a pale face eerily similar to his own.

"Ichiru," the knight greeted his visitor with the barest trace of a smile. "Glad you could make it on such short notice."

The other Kiryu continued to lope further into the room, returning the smile and holding it even when he noticed Kaname.

"Glad you called. It's been far too long," he responded amiably, pulling the lamia into a brief hug once he reached him. "How are things?"

Zero allowed himself to be drawn into the embrace, giving his twin an affectionate pat on the back before releasing him.

"Things are…complicated," he answered truthfully, giving Ichiru a serious look. "I assume you've heard about the war being waged against the Eidolons?"

"The Hunters' Association is aware of it, given that several of the vampires on our watchlist are members of the ghosts," he affirmed.

"Well, Kaname and I have been involved at the Reaper's request," Zero informed him.

"And we want to use it as an opportunity to get rid of one of those vampires on your watchlist," Kaname added pointedly. "But since none of the Eidolons we've interrogated are able to give up his location, Zero thought you might be willing to track him down for us."

Ichiru pursed his lips.

"Who's the target?" he questioned carefully, unwilling to commit before he had all the facts.

Kaname shot Zero a brief glance, and, when the Knight inclined his silver-haired head, he answered, "Asato Ichijo."

Ichiru's whole demeanour changed at those words; that was a name he knew all too well.

"I'll do it," he consented without hesitation.

Zero inclined his head, laying a hand on his brother's arm. He knew that would make Ichiru agree; after all, Ichijo had had a direct hand in their parents' murder.

"Good," he said with no small amount of satisfaction. "When you find him, let us know: Kaname and I both want a shot in-but the final blow can be yours."

"For a price," Kaname put in, making the other silverette frown.

"And what would that be?" Ichiru wondered, amethyst eyes narrowing at the King.

Kaname stepped forward, using his height advantage to loom over the light-haired hunter. "The Reaper wants to make a deal with the Association: he allows you to eliminate a name on their kill list, and they agree to support him through the rest of his crusade."

There was a brief silence while Ichiru appeared to consider that, his frown deepening.

"He knows we wouldn't consider that a fair trade, though, right?" he stated after a pause. "Getting into bed with someone like Uchiha, putting ourselves right in the Eidolons' line of fire, he has to know we'd want more from him than just a kill."

"It wouldn't be just a kill," Zero pointed out. "If you and the others work with him now, then you'll have a very powerful ally to call on when you need it."

Ichiru raised an eyebrow.

"And you know that for a fact?"

"He helped me and Kaname destroy the old regime of the Senate and Association, the ones who killed both of our families and he saved our lives," Zero revealed truthfully, inclining his head a second time. "Trust me, you won't regret it."

Ichiru stared at him for a few seconds more before finally seeming to take him at his word.

"Very well," he reneged. "No promises, but I'll bring this to the others after we've carried out this assignment."

"That will suffice," Kaname concluded, expression unreadable while Zero's lips curved slightly.

"I thought you'd come around," the Knight commented, giving his twin's shoulder a squeeze.

Despite himself, Ichiru let out a small laugh. "You know me too well, Zero."

He shook his head, then let out a quiet breath.

"Guess I better get started on finding Ichijo," he stated, rolling his shoulders in a stretch. "I'll give you a call when I find him."

"Looking forward to it," Zero said, a satisfied gleam in his lilac eyes as Ichiru got up and departed.