I hate living without you

Damn wrong to ever doubt you

But my demons lay in waiting

Tempting me away

Oh how I adore you

Oh how I thirst for you

Oh how I need you...

-Skillet

"You what?!"

Zero grimaced, pulling the phone away from his ear. "Ow, Kaito."

"You deserve it! Who did you drink from?!"

"This guy pulled me off the street."

"He saves your life, so you take a drink?!"

Well, Christ, when he put it that way. "He didn't save my life, he kidnapped me! And he wouldn't give me the Bloody Rose! I was being held captive!"

"Oh, grow up, Kiryu!"

"What do you want me to do, Kaito? Go apologize?"

A rush of static as Kaito sighed. Zero could just see him pacing the room in his mind's eye, running his hands through his hair in aggravation. "No, you better just blow town. Don't stick around any longer than you have to."

"I won't. I've got another forty-eight hours of cool-don surveillance, then I'm heading back. I'll keep my head down."

"Kiryu," Kaito said heavily, "you're going to have to tell the Elders what you did."

Zero bristled. "No."

"Listen—"

"You want me dead, Kaito? Is that it? Look, for just one minute this thing got me with my back turned. It won't happen again. Ever."

"Why were you so thirsty?"

Zero shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I got injured taking down the level E, I told you that. And I lost my flask, so—"

"Lost it? You have more, don't you?"

"Back home, yeah." Zero ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the alley wall. It was the alley where he'd fought the level E, he was pretty sure, but the flask was nowhere to be found. Probably sitting in a pawn shop somewhere by now. The thought made Zero sick.

"So what the hell are you going to do until you get back?"

"…I feel fine."

"What the hell does that mean?"

It meant that he wasn't thirsty anymore, but Zero couldn't very well tell Kaito that. He felt as he good as he had right after drinking from Kaname for the first time, maybe better. He was clear-headed and strong, the sounds of pulsing heartbeats and rushing blood muted to his ears. He felt human.

"It means I'll deal, Kaito, so don't worry about it. I'll check in tomorrow, and again before I leave. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Kaito sighed. "Just…be careful, Kiryu, okay? If you start to have trouble again, forget surveillance, just come back. The Elders will understand."

Yeah, right. "I got it. Thanks, Kaito. For being cool with this."

"That may be an overstatement, but you're welcome, for what it's worth."

Thanks for not having me killed, anyway. Zero put his phone back in his pocket, rubbing a hand against his eyes. He'd been sarcastic when he suggested it, but now he did sort of want to go apologize. Not conspicuously—maybe he could sneak in at night and leave a note or something. Explain that he wasn't entirely human, that he hadn't really meant any harm, that he hoped the punk would recover. He was positive he hadn't drunk enough to kill the guy, but humans had a hard time bouncing back from blood drink. As much as he wished he could just brush it off, Zero felt guilty.

That being said, he really did feel great. Totally himself. He flexed his fingers, rotated his bad shoulder—not that it was so bad anymore. He'd never healed up so fast before. What had been a gaping wound was now a pink swollen line, and the pain had gone away almost entirely. It was more stiff than anything as the hard, trained muscles knit themselves back together.

…Of course, if he'd been left in that alley for much longer, it may not have healed well at all. Dammit. Just one more thing he owed the human whose blood he'd taken.

Zero sighed loudly, kicking a rock lying in his path. It bounced away, hitting something with a soft chink before coming to a stop. The hunter walked in the direction he'd kicked it, kneeling down to see what it had hit. There was a pendant lying on the ground. He picked it up delicately by its chain, brushing away the grime that covered it, frowning as he peered at it. It was shaped like a playing card of some sort. As he explored it, he found a latch on the side, and it opened with a soft click. The picture inside was old, faded, but the image was still clear; a young boy, smiling broadly at the camera, a chess piece clutched in his small hand.

For a moment, Zero didn't move—he was weirdly captivated by that image. Had he ever been that young? He couldn't seem to remember. Had he ever smiled that sweetly, that innocently? Probably not. Maybe. Maybe with Ichiru, once upon a time.

He pocketed the pendant and gave the rock another kick. After hours, then. He was an idiot even for considering it, but he was going to sneak into the hospital and explain himself.

And not, he told himself insistently, because he wanted to see those blue eyes just one more time.

Joey Wheeler had never much liked hospitals. Serenity had been in and out of too many, he'd sat in the waiting room too many times. He used to sit between his parents, scuffing his sneakers against the tiled floor while his parents sat in furious silence. Serenity's eyes and her treatment had always been a hard point between them. Joey wondered if that was what had ultimately driven them apart.

Not all of his experiences in hospitals had been horrible. He'd been reunited with his mother for the first time in seven years just outside of Serenity's hospital room, and the docs had fixed her eyesight in an operating room.

…He still didn't much like them.

He hovered outside of room 221, squeaking his trainers on the clean floor just like he had back then, frowning at the door. Visitors' hours would be ending soon; if he was going to go in, he had to do it. Mokuba had assured him that Kaiba was asleep, had been since they brought him in. Anemia, Mokuba explained. Seto had always suffered from it, and the blood loss just made it worse. He was sedated and on an IV and wasn't likely to wake up, but…

Joey hadn't seen his face in person since they split up. Kaiba was a constant presence in the tabloids, on magazines, in newspapers, but seeing the man himself was a different experience entirely. He didn't know how he'd react, what emotions would stir in his heart. Anger? Hurt? Lo—no, please no. They'd never exchanged that particular sentiment, but it had been understood in every touch.

Had he loved Seto? Did he still? Shit.

Thirty minutes until visiting hours ended. Joey only allowed himself to fidget a moment more before steeling himself and opening the door. Mokuba had told him true; the lights were off, and save for the soft beeping of the heart rate monitor, the room was silent. He closed the door quietly behind him, dawdling for a moment longer before stepping in fully.

He seated himself slowly at Kaiba's bedside, his heart twisting in on itself. Kaiba was asleep, his head resting on his shoulder, eyelids closed over blue eyes. His hair was pushed back from the right side of his brow, leaving the stitches exposed, and there was gauze taped underneath his ear at the corner of his jaw.

Shit. Even bandaged and drugged up, the fricker was damn cute when he was asleep. Joey exhaled quietly, cradling his chin in his palm. He hesitated, clenching his fingers a few times, and then he extended his free hand, placing it on Kaiba's. He bit his lower lip, feeling guilty and inexplicably lonely.

"I miss you, man," he said quietly, thumbing Seto's knuckles and smiling a little. "Not like that, you know, just…miss havin' ya around. Remember senior year? When my dad was being more of a dick than usual? You knew I couldn't go to Yugi or to Tristan, and you just let me crash on the couch night after night. Didn't care if I was there or not, just…let me be."

He was silent again, reflecting on that year, both the worst and the happiest of his life. On the one hand, his dad got drunk and beat the shit out of him whenever they were in the same room. On the other, he'd gotten to spend his nights in the house of the most unfortunate crush he'd ever had. Kaiba had been, in turns, a douche and then sympathetic. He knew all about having a complete asshole for a father. His sympathy wasn't in the form of pats on the back or kind words. It was in the fact that the mansion's security never questioned Joey when he got to the gate, and that there was always a clean blanket on the couch, and that a spare plate magically appeared in the fridge every night.

And, occasionally, Kaiba would be a little less of a jerk than usual.

He'd never run it past the young CEO, but Joey sort of figured himself for Kaiba's first real friend. And first real love interest, but the first accomplishment felt a little more monumental. The second had happened naturally, like it was just meant to be, but the first had taken time and patience and no small amount of growing up on both of their parts. They would never high five or hang out downtown or text one another, but they'd been friends, in their own weird, dysfunctional way. Most of their 'friendly' conversations were snippy side remarks, or Kaiba irritably telling Joey how to get past a part on a game Mokuba had loaned him, or Joey laughingly telling Kaiba to pull it out of his ass, but it had worked for them.

Joey missed his friend. He also missed his boyfriend. Christ, what a weird label to pin on Seto Kaiba, of all people. They'd danced around that word, they'd never used it, but that was what it had been. That was what the man who kissed you and held you and loved you was called.

You were my boyfriend, you fucker.

A soft announcement from the hospital's PA system alerted him to the end of visiting hours. Joey sighed heavily, getting to his feet, holding onto Kaiba's hand for just another moment.

"I've gotta run," he said awkwardly, knowing full well that Kaiba wasn't listening and not much caring. "I, uh…I dunno. Maybe I'll drop by. Er. Maybe not. Probably not. You'll be out of here soon enough, you…"

And then he ran out of things to say. His heart was telling him he shouldn't, but he leant down and pressed his lips briefly to Seto's brow. Then he straightened, dumped his hands into his pockets, turned on his heel, and left.

The security in Domino General was pathetically bad.

He walked right in the front door, and the guards posted didn't even give him a second glance. He had gone out of his way to look perfectly normal and inconspicuous, dressing in casual clothes and ditching his heavy overcoat. He wore a beanie down around his brow, hiding most of his silver hair and the rebellious piercings in his ears, and no one but a passing nurse gave him so much as a sideways glance. Zero had long since learned to project perfect, casual comfort in places he ought not to be. Compared to being the only hunter in the middle of a vampire soiree, pretending to be on his way to visit a sick relative was no sweat.

Zero turned the corner, a little startled when someone abruptly ran into him at full tilt. He stumbled back, bristling, but it was only a kid—no, a young man, his age or a little older, but shorter than him by an inch or two. He took a few startled steps backward, and Zero was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

"Sorry," the blonde mumbled, ducking his head and sidestepping Zero quickly, making his way down the hall with brisk, wide steps. The hunter stared after him for a moment, a little curious, but at length shrugged and continued on his way.

There were no extra guards on Seto Kaiba's door. That surprised Zero just a little; he'd expected one of the richest men in Japan to have muscle wherever he went. Maybe Domino was every bit the quaint, quiet little city he'd initially thought, in spite of its recent vampire problems.

Zero eased the door open, just enough to admit his slender frame, and slid it closed behind him. The lights were out, but a sniff at the air confirmed that the patient was the only one inside. A quick search on his quarry had pulled up no evidence that Kaiba had a real family, but Zero had rather expected someone to be around.

The fact that the room was otherwise empty struck a chord with Zero. With Kaname and Yuki gone, who would sit at his bedside were he in the hospital? Kaito, maybe, if Zero lucked out and his fellow hunter wasn't on a mission. Who would wile away the hours in anxiety, desperately praying for him to get better?

No one. That's who.

No time for thoughts like that—nothing that would lead him toward Kaname, and the hole in him where his pureblood lover had once been. Zero scrounged in his pockets, a little irritated when no paper was forthcoming. Dammit. He'd just wanted to scribble a note and be done with it. He should have written it before coming. He never had been excellent at planning. He found a pamphlet on the bedside table with the hospital's information on it, but no pen in sight.

Sighing loudly to himself, Zero unthinkingly settled onto the side of the bed—and Kaiba groaned, twitching away from the new presence. Zero froze—but the other man only sighed deeply before going still once more. The hunter deflated, groaning and rubbing a hand against his face.

What the hell is wrong with me? Losing against a level E, biting a human, forgetting all pretense of silence and subtlety…something about this city, this mission, was scrambling him, making him forget what he was. He was a hunter. Silent as a shadow, quick as a cat, the swift and wordless killer. All the strength and stealth of a vampire, only better. Human.

It had been a long time since he'd felt human. Zero looked down on the sleeping patient, musing. This man's blood was in his veins now, mingling with his and Kaname's. As much as he hated to admit it, something about this punk corporate asshole was soothing the beast inside of him. And those eyes. Shit, stop thinking about that.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," he said aloud, shaking his head. "I just came to say sorry. That's all. I didn't want to get hung up on all this again…"

"Hung up on what?"

Zero leapt off the bed and whirled around, reaching into his waistband to withdraw the Rose—but it was in Seto Kaiba's hand, and the CEO was looking at it carefully, thoughtfully.

There was a lot Zero could have done. He could have jumped on the asshole and really bitten him this time, or he could have just knocked him out. Instead, he ground out, "Stop taking my damn gun."

"Stop leaving it out in the open," Kaiba replied smoothly, flashing Zero a wide grin that made the hunter's pulse quicken. Cool, confident blue eyes. And damn beautiful, whether I like it or not. "So. Come to apologize for having a cannibalistic psychotic break?"

"I'm not a cannibal," Zero said flatly. "I'm a hunter."

Kaiba arched one eyebrow. "Hunters shoot animals. They don't gnaw on people's necks."

Zero grimaced. "I didn't gnaw—" He broke off with a sigh, shaking his head. "Look, you won't believe me if I told you."

"You think not?"

"No. Prissy, pampered rich kids don't believe in things like monsters, do they?"

"You'd be surprised," Kaiba said with a dry laugh, but there was no real humor in it. And then, to Zero's surprise, he offered up the Bloody Rose, holding it carefully by the barrel to offer Zero the butt. For a moment, Zero could only stare, stunned, and Kaiba waved it back and forth. "What, don't want it now?"

Zero snapped out of his trance, snatching the gun back and sticking it in his waistband, scowling. "Of course I want it. Don't take it again, I'll break you in half." He paused, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. He suddenly felt thirsty—and not for a drink, but for a drink. "Biting you was a mistake. But you shouldn't suffer any ill effects."

"I know." Kaiba was watching him carefully, a frown creasing his brow and darkening his eyes.

The ex-human glared at him. "The hell you know."

"I do." Kaiba tapped a finger to his temple, grinning. "I had a dream about it. Or, I should probably say, I saw a memory."

"A memory," Zero said flatly.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Kaiba kicked off the blankets, swinging his legs out of bed and standing up, ripping out his IVs and shaking his arms to get the feeling back and the blood flowing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zero demanded, getting up.

"Leaving. Obviously. Turn around."

"Why?"

Kaiba sighed loudly, exasperated, before pulling the hospital gown up and over his head. For a moment, Zero just gaped—he couldn't think of anything better to do, and in that second didn't have the good sense to turn away. When he thought of software developers, he thought of pale guys with spaghetti arms and sunken chests, slouched shoulders. He didn't think hard, cut torsos and powerful shoulders and hair that spilled down across the nape of Kaiba's neck—

Shit, shit, so much shit I don't even—

"You're a vampire," Kaiba said as he changed—someone had left him a pile of clothes on the chair in the corner. Zero was so busy gawking and noting a lack of penis control that he didn't even register what the other man had said before Kaiba was talking again. "Vampires have been around for as long as anyone can remember. They're versed in ancient magics, and rarely intervene in the lives of humans. But they present themselves to leaders—kings, monarchs, generals—and create alliances to keep the peace."

"…Yeah," Zero said weakly. "How the hell…?"

Kaiba was silent for a time, pulling on his jeans and zipping up a jacket over his black shirt. Tight black shirt. T-shirt. Shows off his arms. Dammit all to hell.

"There was a pharaoh," Kaiba said, so softly that Zero actually leant forward to hear him better. "He knew. He met a vampire."

"A pharaoh. As in—an Egyptian king?"

"Yeah." Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, as if trying to remember something that he'd only heard in passing. "Dark…dark hair. And eyes. Tall, and regal. A king himself."

A king. And everyone who looked at him adored him, and loved him, but they didn't see what I saw. They didn't see the tortured creature beneath. They wanted him perfect, but I—

"Kaname," Zero said quietly. Kaiba paused and turned to him, and there was recognition flashing in those blue eyes. "The vampire who went to see the pharaoh. His name was Kaname."

Seto stared at him, his face quiet and contemplative. He shrugged on his coat, opening up his cell phone and tapping Roland's number on the contacts. "Kiryu. Do you have a place to stay?"

His footsteps were almost silent. No guard impeded him—as he approached them, curious sleep fell upon them, and they slumped against the walls.

Someone was walking down an intersecting hallway. Kaname paused, turning his head. It was the woman, the priestess. Her hair was down, the elaborate headdress absent, and she was dressed simply as opposed to her dramatic gown and robes that she wore during court. She stopped when she saw him, and lowered her eyes.

"My lord Kuran. Welcome."

He dipped his head in thanks before continuing on his way. He saw no point in disabling her as he had the guards; she understand her pharaoh's deepest and darkest plans, and never interfered.

The pharaoh's door was unguarded, as he had promised it would be. Kaname wondered vaguely how the other man, now all but a god, had convinced his loyal subjects to leave him in peace for the night. The early death of their previous king had left the people in terror of losing another sovereign. Kaname eased the door open, made of fine wood imported from distant lands, and stepped soundlessly into the room.

The room was dark when he entered. He stood by the door, clasping his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for the invitation he knew was coming. There was a noise, the sound of soft footsteps, and then a candle flickered to life by the window, illuminating the man lighting its wick. He was tall, his skin bronzed by the sun. Straight russet hair fell into his blue eyes and spilled down his neck, a few loose strands nearly to his shoulders.

"Kaname," Seth said quietly, turning away from the flickering candle to look at his guest. "You came."

"As promised." Kaname stepped fully into the room, removing the cloak that had been guarding him against the bite of the desert night. "What brings me here, Pharaoh?"

"Don't." Seth sighed, dropping his head into his hands and kneading his knuckles against his forehead. "Don't call me that. I can't… look, Kaname, I need your help."

"And I happily offer it. What do you need?" Kaname moved closer to the window, leaning his weight against the wall and reaching out a hand to touch Seth's hair. "Seth. It wounds me to see so full of despair, my friend."

"Answer me this, Kaname," Seth murmured, lifting his head slowly, his eyes dark and full of pain. "What do you know of necromancy?"

Kaname drew back, startled. "Necro—Seth. Those are dark magics. Forbidden."

"I know," Seth said hoarsely, shaking his head. "I know, and that's why…I can't ask Isis. I can't. Not this. She thinks of me as a brother. It would crush her if she knew that I were planning on betraying my vows. To bring back the dead is against the will of the gods."

"The pharaoh is a god," Kaname said softly.

"No. I'm no king, Kaname. My cousin handed me the Millennium Puzzle before he disappeared, but that doesn't make me a pharaoh. It makes me a priest with no family left to me." He rubbed a hand against his eyes, drawing Kaname's attention to the dark circles marring his skin. "Just tell me if it can be done, Kaname."

The pureblood sighed, settling himself into the nearest chair, furrowing his brow. "I have heard tales of my kind being revived; the blood of the pureblood is potent, and ensures long life. But…"

"Reviving a human would create a vampire, if the resurrection were done with pure blood."

"I would imagine so."

Seth looked down at his hand, curling his fingers into a fist. "Between my magic and your blood…"

"Seth. No godly afterlife will accept a vampire. This much I know. It is an intuition my kind is born with."

"Then I'll turn too," Seth said fiercely, his eyes hardening. "And if I consume your blood, that will stop the fall to madness, yes?"

"Yes," Kaname admitted, beginning to feel defeated, "but—"

"You know what it's like!" Seth exploded suddenly, getting to his feet so fast his chair rocked and fell over. "You know what it feels like to outlive the one you love! You know the emptiness, the silence, the pointlessness of—" His voice caught, and he turned his head away, tightening his jaw. "I can't anymore, Kaname. I can't. I won't. It's this, or…"

"You'd sooner take your own life than live without her?" Kaname demanded, his gut giving a lurch of fear. He had few friends in the world in whom he could trust, and Seth was one he counted dearly among that number. If he could keep him alive, keep him hopeful…

"Life without her," Seth said softly, meeting Kaname's gaze, "is no life at all."

A long silence took them, their hard gazes unwavering, and at length Kaname exhaled lowly, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright," he said at last, closing his eyes. "Alright, Seth, if this Kisara means that much to you…I'll do whatever I can."

Introduction of secondary flash-back storyline COMMENCE!

Seto has Seth's memories, and Zero has Kaname's (they did share a blood bond, after all). Inexplicable flashbacks explained.