Chapter 8

Zero sighed and numbly rubbed his hands together. He was sitting by the open window near his desk in his room, writing a written report about the extermination of the level E, he and his brother took care of earlier. But though it was late spring, for some unknown reason the night air became chiller. Zero glanced toward the electric alarm clock that showed in bright glowing red numbers 3:08am. Zero gave a loud yawn as he stretched his arms over his head and arched his back against his seat.

He was happy that he didn't have to be at Silver Moon until around six o'clock for his night shift, but he didn't like the fact that he had to dine with the association president at nine. The old fucktard would no doubt give him some trouble, yet there were things Zero himself wanted to ask the president personally and their awaited appointment at Silver Moon was the perfect time to do so.

Zero stood up. He had finished the report and now wanted to catch some Z's. Turning off the light on his desk Zero walked over to his bed and thinking that he would automatically fall asleep upon the moment his head reached the pillow as it always would, yet that wasn't the case this time. Tonight was a different night and Zero realized this to be true the moment his body stiffened against the bed sheets. The air around him growing unbearably cold to the point where it stung his lungs every time he breathed in the air.

The cold air surrounding his room was making his body go numb, making him unmovable against his bed. Zero could feel his heart race within his chest, beating wildly against his rib cage. He felt nauseas and light headed at the same time. He knew this feeling. He felt it before at one particular point in his life, a point in his life in which he didn't like remembering because it brought back the memories of a certain man, a man Zero could forever in his life never forgive. The very man that was now hovering over him with an expressionless face as he looked down at Zero.

"T-Touma?" Zero whispered in a hoarse voice, the coldness of the air making it hard to speak.

"Zero…my precious Zero."

Touma ran the back of his fingers against the side of Zero's face, making Zero flinch at the warm touch. Touma moved his hand away. He didn't like that, didn't like the disgust that was clearly showing on his doll's face. It was disgust, fear and pain. The pain was probably from the cold air stinging his lungs which was due to him. But he couldn't help it, Touma was excited enough to the point that he let his powers run wild; unknowingly hurting the person he loved the most. Touma willed himself to calm down, enough so that the cold air wasn't so thick for it to hurt but strong enough to keep the boy beneath him unmovable.

Zero took a deep breath. Warm air filling his cold lungs, yet his body was still numb from the coldness. He didn't know why Touma was here or how he was able to find him. Fear traveled throughout his body. So many unpleasant scenarios began forming in his head, making his heart race faster in his chest. Zero was silently praying for someone to help him, eyes closed shut as if trying to erase what was in front of him, but the presence of this person was too strong to ignore even with your eyes shut.

There was a knock at the door, followed by Ichiru's voice coming from the other side.

"Zero-nii I made some tea do you want any?"

Zero wanted to scream, but a warm hand was placed over his mouth, silencing him. Touma brought his index finger to his lip and hushed Zero. Touma closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once again.

"It's okay Ichiru, I'm fine."

Zero's eyes widen in shock. He knew Touma had unbelievable pureblood powers, but being able to mimic a person's voice so perfectly was both impressive and scary.

There was a pause before Ichiru spoke again. "Are you sure Zero-nii?"

"Yea I'm sure, I'm about to go to sleep anyways."

"Oh, okay then. See you in the morning. Goodnight Zero."

"Goodnight Ichiru."

Zero could hear his brother's soft footsteps walk away from his bedroom door. Zero could feel all his hopes of being saved fall into the pits of his stomach. Zero wanted to throw up, he wanted to go to some corner of his room and throw up. Puke the late dinner his brother had made earlier for them. He wanted all this to be some dream, some nightmare he was having but everything was really happening and it was sending swarms after swarms of fear flowing through his body. Zero wanted to be anyway except for right where he was, he would even settle with being with that god forsaking a-hoe known as Kaname Kuran, if it meant that he was far away from Touma.

Touma's face was still turned toward the door, his right hand still covering Zero's mouth. His small hand was trumping and after a moment he turned his head toward a frightened looking Zero.

"Do you hate me that much, Zero? Did being with me make you this afraid?"

Zero stilled. Touma's voice was filled with pain, he looked hurt.

"Zero…I will remove my hand from your mouth and release my hold on you, but I will do this only if you promise me two things. First promise me you will not scream and then promise me for only just this one visit can you not be afraid of me. Pretend again that we are still lovers and let me hold you like how I once did in the past. Please Zero for only just this time, grant me these wishes."

Every part in Zero's body rebelled against the idea, but his cursed heart was pleading for him to obey for just this once. Zero tightened his fist as best he could and swallowed up most of the fear within him and nodded. This made Touma give a childlike smile as he removed his hand.

Zero didn't scream as Touma's hand slowly slipped from over his mouth and it wasn't because of the promise that he made with the vampire, but for the mere fact that he just couldn't find his voice. No matter how much he searched for it, he couldn't find it. It was like having all the air sucked out from within your lungs. He was breathless, he was panicking.

Tremor after tremor, rippling violently through his body. He was afraid, but not because the man before him was scary. Zero knew Touma long enough to know all sides of him, including the scary parts, but what he was afraid of was the emotions this man can force out from within Zero's inner most chambers that was guarded by the thick walls of his beating heart. He could do this with just a word or with a look, he can have Zero pouring out his emotions for this man in just a matter of seconds and that even included the deadly kind. The ones that can taint his pale hands red.

Touma frowned. He could feel the boy's growing anxiety and fear, radiating off him. It gripped at his heart painfully, yet he knew and Zero knew he wasn't the bad guy. Yet now that he thought more on the matter maybe that had changed. Maybe he was now the bad guy and Zero knew that and was thus afraid, but what would become of their bet? The pact they made during a lustful battle of arms and limbs, a bet sealed by a mark. Touma's eyes trailed to Zero's t-shirt covered chest, his eyes focusing on one particular part, Zero's left breast.

Reaching slowly, Touma placed his palm over the cotton fabric just above Zero's left breast. Sternly warning his natural sex drive toward Zero to not surface since he didn't want this serene moment to be disturbed by such feelings and because he didn't want to give the former another reason to be wary of him at the moment. And plus Touma was at a disadvantage in being in such a petite body that belonged to that of a twelve year old boy, so there wasn't much he could do compared to everything he could have done if he had his own body back.

Almost immediately the mark reacted to his touch, sending tiny electric shocks flowing through Touma's fingertips to his man made mark over his left breast. This made Touma unbearably happy enough to lay his head down on the spot so he could listen to his favorite melody come from within Zero's own chest.

"This is truly a sound I can listen to forever." Touma whispered in an awe silence.

"But we don't have forever anymore." Zero whispered back, his voice returning. Zero was mentally shock at the fact that his voice was calm despite that fact that his inner side was on a panic frenzy.

"So I finally get to hear a full sentence from you Zero." Touma sighed in happiness. "I think that if I was to die right now, I will be at my most happiest to the point that I wouldn't mind welcoming such a fate."

"Then why don't you jump off a cliff now while you still have time."

"If I was to do that, then I wouldn't be able to fulfill the bet we made those many years ago."

Zero remained silent.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten?"

Zero snorted bitterly. "Why would I forget the bet that I came up with?"

Touma chuckled. "True…I mean this is a game you started in order to rid yourself of the boredom of living, was it not?"

"Yup…it's a game that will decide the fate of one of us."

"You do know that I won't expect the terms if you win. I can't let you go alone you know?"

"And that's why I'm not worried."

Touma lifted his head. His hazel eyes meeting that of stormy deep violet eyes. Touma could see the inner battle going on in those eyes, he could see fear and anger fight fiercely against love and happiness. Both sides using deadly measures to win an equal battle.

"Zero." Touma whispered.

Zero looked up at Touma's face hovering over his.

"For just a minute can you release me from your hold? I want to touch you, kiss you, but not in this body. I want to be able to in my own form."

Zero at first didn't say anything but stared. The man…or should he say boy was truly beautiful. But if Zero had to choose between the boy version of Touma or the adult version, he would clearly go for the adult.

Zero raised his right hand; he hesitantly brought it up to the left side of Touma's face. Fear shook Zero's body, telling me that the skin was poison; yet for the sake of seeing the man he fell in love with for just a moment he would be willing to be poisoned.

Zero could feel Touma lean his face against his hand; he could feel the warmth that flowed from his cheek. It was hot to the touch. It burned, yet the sensation was gladly welcomed. Zero trailed this hand down until he reached the man made mark he made with a anti-vampire dagger on Touma's left breast, it was made to look like the one he had on his, yet the difference was Zero's was in the form of a tattoo and Touma's was carved with a knife. A scar matching the same design as Zero's. But Zero's mark was not an ordinary tattoo since it was invisible to human eyes but not to those of vampires, with just one look they will be able to tell who Zero belonged to. The tribal rose on both their chest was uniquely that of the Touma clan.

"Libero." Zero finally whispered after a moments wait.

Almost immediately after saying that the boy above him changed, blonde hair grew to the length of his mid-back, body developing into that of a fully fledge man, and voice maturing into an adult. Zero just stared up in silent awe. The man was truly beautiful, just as he had remembered.

"It's good to have my body back and my full amount of pureblood power." Touma said feeling fully revived.

"It won't be for long you know, the spell will wear off in five minutes." Zero remained. "And you will go back to your childlike body."

"When are you planning to release me fully of this curse, Zero?" Touma asked, but he knew Zero wasn't going to provide him with an answer. And just as he expected Zero didn't provided him with the information he needed, but instead grabbed a few strands of his blonde locks and brought it up to his lips, kissing it gently despite his shaking hands.

"Why are you wasting such a precious kiss on my hair? When there is a much more suitable place in which your lips should belong."

Zero crooked his head to the side and gave a wicked grin. "But that will simply be no fun."

"You were always such a tease." Touma leaned forward. "But that was what made being with you all the more fun."

"I don't know whether to be happy or disgusted by that."

"Try happy, because I want to be on equal terms in feelings when I finally kiss you after so long."

Zero stared up with slightly wide eyes at the slowly approaching Touma that was making his way closer to his face. Everything in his body was telling him to stop the man that he was dangerous and for the first time since the arrival of Touma, Zero listened to his fearsome side instead of the love side that wanted nothing more than to be kissed by the beast. Zero jerked his head to the side, halting Touma an inch from where he would have locked their lips together.

"Stop." Zero whimpered.

Touma gave an annoyed sigh. "So the fear has finally caught up? Well that sucks because I really didn't want to have to resort to forcing."

With a quick motion Touma grabbed Zero's jaw and yanked his face back toward him and forcibly crushed their lips together. Fear was now bubbling freely through Zero's body and causing Zero to push away the body that has now trapped him in a cage of limbs and mattress.

But as if the heavens above heard his prayer from within his mind. Zero was glad when the next event to happen was Ichiru bursting through the bedroom door carry Zero's Black handgun in his hand. Ichiru shot one bullet from the gun, which was able to graze Touma in the upper left arm. The second bullet fired, Touma was able to avoid it by jumping to the side.

"You bastard! How dare you come here unannounced?" Ichiru shouted as he shot more bullets in Touma's direction, only to have them miss every time as Touma dodged each one until he made it to the window in which he had entered from before.

"Feisty young lad." Touma chuckled. "It's a shame that I don't have time to play, for you see I must go."

"Oh, no you don't you bastard!" Ichiru was about to shoot his next bullet toward the heart of Touma, only to have his hand yanked upward, toward the ceiling by Zero. The bullet hit the ceiling instead of its original destination of Touma's heart.

"What the…Zero! What are you doing?" Ichiru questioned in shock.

Zero didn't know either. It was like as if a light switch was somehow turned on within him, when he saw Touma get shoot at by somebody other than him. It sent a wave of possessiveness to over take him and send him running at his brother to stop him from killing his own prey.

"Don't you dare point that at him!" Zero shouted at his brother. His eyes were like dark pools of violet. They were eyes that pierced your soul and promised death. Ichiru was shocked and truthfully speaking, scared shitless. These were the eyes of a murder, eyes of someone who had killed before. They were scary, unbearably scary to look at.

Touma chuckled. "Now that's my precious kitten with whom I fell in love with."

Zero turned to look at Touma.

"You are truly breath taking Zero and it feels my heart with joy to know that your heart still beats for me, together with love and hatred. Two powerful emotions that can't be beaten…it's a pity though, that the next time we meet we will be enemies out to destroy the other's existence, all for the sake of a bet." Touma shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, I am fine with any bet type game you come up with as long as your heart continues to beat for me and that you won't let others take it, because it belongs to me. So remember that Zero, since that is part of the terms to our bet."

With that said Touma disappeared, leaving Ichiru and Zero. After a moment of silence Ichiru spoke.

"What the hell Zero. You let him get away." Ichiru said looking at his brother. "And what the hell is this bet shit thing he was talking about? Hey Zero…are you listening to me?"

"You can hurt him but you can't kill him. That is my job; it is part of our bet and part of my game." Zero turned to face his brother, murderous eyes locking with his brother's fearful ones. "If you interfere with my game again and try to do my job; then I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Zero…h-how could you even say that to me?"

Zero turned his face enough so that he wasn't facing the hurt look his brother was giving him. Zero was panicking again from within as he remembered the bet he made with a certain brunette haired man. A bet that placed his sealed up heart on the line, a bet that Zero couldn't afford to lose for the fact that he would lose to the bet that he had going on with Touma. A bet that if he were to lose to rendered him to give up his heart/pride to Kuran and have his humanity ripped away from his former lover Touma, the man currently in possession of his heart.

Zero was trapped in a game, a deadly and dangerous game that excited him greatly.

TBC…