The Vampire Knight
Rating: T (coarse language, profanity, ideas generally unsuitable for those not open-minded enough to accept them)
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Plot Summary: Zero retired from being a Vampire Knight because of his agonizing, headache-causing visions. And now, he's being blackmailed into guarding the heir of the Kuran family, Kuran Kaname.
Thanks to all who are reading, reviewed, alerted, and favorited. Sorry for being really late with this chapter. I did rewrite it, to my credit, and completely lost the file afterwards. So damn me. The pairing, to be clarified, is Zero/Kaname and Kaname/Zero. I don't actually write smut—though I'll probably imply it later on, if my mind decides to cooperate (fuck you, brain)—so the use of Zero or Kaname first isn't really relevant in this story.
And I know I was really late, and this chapter length is really a mood-killer, since it's barely past two thousand, but I've got to adjust to my new work schedule. So...have fun reading what little of the plot I've put in there...
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight.
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"If you are going through hell, keep going." –Winston Churchill
~~o~~
Screwed, surprised, shocked, or scared were pretty necessary if one wished to describe Zero's outward and inward expression. He stared widely in front of him at Kaname. However the hell he made it to the bed remained a mystery, but he was quite sure that someone carried him, because he did not suddenly acquire the disturbing tendency to drift to Kaname's side on a bed only fit to hold one of them spread-eagled and snoring. Not that Kaname or Zero snored or anything, but still. Also, he couldn't simply get off of the bed without waking Kaname.
From experience, he knew that waking up Purebloods was a bad mistake. First, because Shirabuki Sara was scary as hell when she didn't get her beauty sleep, and second, he nearly ended up castrated by a teaspoon. He was scared as hell again.
And the reason why he couldn't move was because Kaname was tenaciously hugging him like a teddy bear. And he was asleep.
Awkwardly, Zero lied there, feeling horribly embarrassed. Coupled with everything happening, from the love-confession-like-speech to his damn vision, he was quite sure that if he stayed in this bed any longer, he was going to die of humiliation or simply act on instinct and hug Kaname back. And God knew that he couldn't do that; then he'd make Kaname triumphant and smug all day because of that stupid 'even if you don't sleep with me you'll be sore' shit.
"Kaname!" Zero hissed, shaking Zero's shoulder. "Kaname, wake up!"
Kaname's eyes fluttered open slightly, and he grumbled something unintelligible before shutting them again and hugging Zero tighter.
Exasperated, Zero repeated, "Kaname!"
Once again, Kaname's eyes opened, but this time, he glared at Zero and leaned over him, trapping Zero under him. That completely ruined the purpose of him waking up Kaname, and Zero glared back instead of cowering under that gaze. Kaname's hands locked onto Zero's wrists and pressed them into the soft bed, and Kaname loomed over Zero completely, his eyes dangerously dark. Zero wanted to gulp; he had woken up a Pureblood, just like his mind counseled him not to.
"Zero."
Great. Just great.
"Why did you wake me up?"
Zero cleared his throat. "Because I wanted to get off of the bed," he replied. "Would you mind getting off me, so my waking you up hasn't defeating the purpose of my attempting to get out from under you?" Then, as an afterthought, he added, very politely, "Please?"
Kaname sighed. "I was having a wonderful dream, Kiryu."
That makes one of us, Zero thought sardonically. "Sorry to wake you up from that dream, Kuran."
Rolling his eyes, Kaname reluctantly released Zero's wrists and leaned back into the bed, allowing Zero to get out from under him. Sighing, he closed his garnet-colored eyes and started to pull the covers over himself once more when Zero tore them off of the bed and held his arms akimbo, glaring at Kaname. His glare was pretty formidable too, now that Kaname had been subjected to it. They stared at each other challengingly, and Kaname was quite sure it would end up in a stalemate. He had never met anyone who could compete with his gaze.
"Fine," Kaname finally said, showing no fear—it was inexistent anyway—to Zero. "I'll get up." He sighed and stood from the bed, straightening his white collared, button-down shirt. "You are so forceful, you know? It makes me only slightly apprehensive of you." Good thing Zero was his Knight. Believe it or not, he was sort of starting to feel sorry for his uncle if he would have to face Zero in a glare-down eye-fight.
At least Zero wasn't cocking his gun at Kaname—no, he was. Oh holy shitting fuck.
"Oh, goodness." He rolled his eyes. "Put the gun down, Zero. There's no need to shoot me."
It wasn't even Bloody Rose; Kaname might have been able to harness Bloody Rose, but with this regular old .22, he was quite sure that it would feel pretty unpleasant if he got a few holes in the chest, shoulder, stomach, or leg. Grimacing, he held his hands up carefully, in a gesture of truce, and tried to smile, tried to reason with Zero. There wasn't any need for violence…hopefully. He inched towards Zero carefully and cautiously, reaching out carefully to the silver-headed Knight.
"Zero," he said firmly. "Put the gun down."
Zero sighed and placed the gun back on the one table they had. "So you're fully awake?"
Kaname rolled his eyes again. "Are you serious? You threatened to kill me just because you wanted me awake?"
Not amused, Zero crossed his arms over his chest. "Just get dressed or do whatever it is that you need to do so we can get moving." He gestured out to the window. "It's nighttime."
Smirking, Kaname said, "What, so no good night kiss? You did end up in the bed with me."
"Sometimes, I wish that you weren't so high and mighty; then I'd be able to kill you," replied Zero, and started to gather the maps into the bag.
"You wouldn't want to kill me," Kaname said softly. "Even if I weren't so high and mighty."
Zero didn't look at him, but his sharp retort came back pretty quickly. "My willingness to point a gun at you says different. Even if you are high and mighty."
"Ah, so you're being contradictory now."
"I am not! Just get dressed!" It was a stand-down. Zero crossed his arms over his chest and engaged Kaname into a glaring contest. But his glare broke off as soon as Kaname began to unbutton his shirt. Zero choked, dropping his arms, and covered his eyes quickly. "What the fuck are you doing?" he snarled.
"Getting dressed," Kaname answered innocuously, and Zero could just feel the evil smirk on his face. "Obviously I would have to take my clothes off first."
"You bastard," Zero mumbled, moving around the table with his eyes closed. He placed his hands cautiously in front of him just in case he bumped into a wall. "One day, that'll backfire on you, and I'll be the one on top, laughing like the fucking maniac."
"You imagine yourself on top?"
Zero missed the sultry, teasing tone in Kaname's voice. "Hell yeah. Have you seen how many E's I've killed?"
There was silence. Kaname didn't respond. Zero ignored it and tried to move towards the nightstand to get the compass. Even if Kaname insisted that he had an internal sense of direction, Zero could never be too sure. Seriously, for all Zero knew, Kaname was going to lead them right into the mouth of a fire-breathing hellhound.
"Zero."
"Yes?"
Kaname waited a little until responding. "Open your eyes."
The Knight was fairly sure that he was already past Kaname—since he hadn't hit anything particularly soft or hard—so he opened his eyes warily. That proved to be a mistake. With a surprised yell, he tripped over something, and maybe it was Kaname's foot, damn him, and landed on the bed. Zero hissed in surprise, his hand for going the holster that was supposed at his waist.
It wasn't.
Shocked, Zero could only look, narrow-eyed, at Kaname, willing him to burn in hell for as long as it was possible. "Get off of me, Kuran."
Kaname smiled wickedly; there was a predatory gleam in his eyes. He wasn't going to get off, and Zero knew it. Zero also knew that he wasn't allowed to willingly harm Kaname either—in other words, push him off, punch him, shoot him (although he could threaten to), knee him in the gut, etc.—since it was against the idiot laws of the Vampire Knight code, or whatever the fuck they wanted to make the damn book sound cool. Shit shit shit.
"Zero," Kaname repeated softly. "Do you really think you would be on top?"
"Fuck you," he replied. "Yes, I do think I would really be on top." His eyes were filled with irritation. "But I didn't mean on top as in screwing around in bed, bastard!"
Laughter.
Laughter escaped from Kaname's lips, and he leaned back, sitting on Zero's torso, forcing the air out of Zero's lungs. An 'oof' came from Zero, and he wriggled from underneath Kaname, now extremely pissed off. Only Kuran Kaname could piss him off to this level. Besides Yagari.
Kaname tsked. "Be honest with yourself, Zero… There's tension all around in the air, and you can feel it." Zero's eyes darted back and forth, trying to escape this predicament without violating those shit laws. But he couldn't deny that he felt the tension. "It's not because of a race against time," Kaname added, a wry smile on his face. "It's sexual."
"You bastard," Zero reiterated firmly. "You're purely imagining the 'sexual' part in the tension. We have no sexual tension, and if it was, it was probably between you and the red-haired woman from yesterday. And who the hell's fault was it when you were practically hugging me in bed when I woke up this morning?"
Grinning devilishly, Kaname pointed a long, elegant finger at Zero. He leaned down, whispering in Zero's ear, "It was your fault, of course. Late in the afternoon, I awoke to find you sleeping right next to me."
Zero raised an eyebrow. "You must have been dreaming." But in his mind, he thought, That explains why I woke up in the bed… I sleepwalked. Fuck. "And get off of me," he added.
"Oh all right," Kaname sighed, getting off of the bed. "It's time to go anyway…"
"You're a real sick fuck, you know that?" Zero said loudly. "Sadistic."
"Masochistic," Kaname shot back, as Zero grabbed the compass from the nightstand. "You'd enjoy people's pain a little more if you saw what I saw." A faraway look placed itself into Kaname's garnet-colored eyes.
But Zero smiled dryly. "Oh, you wouldn't if you see what I've seen."
Kaname tilted his head to the side, and long, thin strands of dark brown hair fell over his eyes. Curiosity flooded his senses as he remembered Zero's earlier episode in the day when he had collapsed against the tree. Zero had looked like the world was ending, and Kaname still didn't know what it had been about. "And what have you seen, Kiryu? How far have you seen?" he asked, almost coaxingly.
Zero didn't answer for a moment, sitting on the edge of the desk. He tossed the compass to Kaname and looked down at the dusty wooden floor. But before he could answer, the red-haired woman burst in again, this time holding a knife. Her eyes flashed red, and Zero dived for his gun in alarm as Kaname narrowed his eyes, throwing her against the wall without lifting a finger.
"Holy shit!" Zero exclaimed. He saw the dried blood around a mark on her neck, and the fresh blood dripping down the corners of her mouth. "She's been… She was bitten by…"
"Rido was here," Kaname replied blandly. "I guess I'll have to get my answer later."
The woman aimed for them again, but Zero shot her with the Bloody Rose, hitting her right in the chest. The adrenaline still pumped through their veins, even though the E exploded into dust. Zero felt like laughing. Everything was so fucked, and he still felt like laughing. He should have felt horrible. This woman was the woman that yelled at them this morning. This woman…died.
"Don't feel pity for things that are already dead," Kaname said, his expression mildly irate. "They are already dead. Worry about yourself before you join them."
Zero looked surprised. He suddenly recalled what he had said to Yagari.
"Don't pity the dead, Yagari; pity the living."
But instead, Zero replied, "I won't join them."
"Right, Knights live forever."
Zero sat down again, this time on the bed. Kaname sat down next to him, sighing.
"How far do you see, Zero?" he repeated.
The Knight turned to the Pureblood. It could have made an excellent drama, if Zero cared to watch it. But he held Kaname's gaze firmly and his lips quirked upward in a self-deprecating smile.
"I see the end."
