The Other Side

By Kuro Warau

Warnings on this chapter: Angst, hurt/comfort and sexual content. Yaoi, at least implied although, I'm not really sure when it's categorized as implied.

A/N: I really hope you are enjoying the story so far. Besides, I hope the thing that happened to cause all this can be slowly revealed, a little more in each chapter from now. And I hope I'll be updating again shortly. I haven't been much active in VK fandom recently, due to RL. I hope I'll be able to continue this story at a more reasonable pace.

Chapter Three: First Encounter

The boy in front of Kaname now looked like a mirror reflection of a nightmare. He was deadly thin. Every bone was visible under the pale skin, even the muscles stood out and looked stretched and misplaced on the slender body. Up and down legs and arms, bloodied bite marks made a small pattern in between the bluish marks. The boy's joints stood out like big, misplaced normalcy of the simple reason that bones and joints were some of the only things not to shrink no matter how starved he became.

His face was what drew in Kaname's attention the most. His cheekbones stood horribly out and the skin looked as if it had been stretched out over the bones. His lips were dry, cracked and bleeding from bite marks. Kaname could see half aroused fangs in the boy's half-open mouth. His eyes were big and shining in a most beautiful, but unusual color. To say that he had dark circles under his eyes didn't even begin to cover it, it looked more like the entire round area around his eyes was darker than the rest of his face. It was hallow and he had a haunted look in his eyes.

To crown it all off, short hair in an unusual silver color fell down over his face in ruffled waves. He looked dirtied and ruffled, but also incredibly beautiful and appealing. Right under his right eye, a bluish mark appeared, indicating that he'd been brutally hit. Other indications of such a beating were sported out across his chest and naked legs.

The boy sat up, pulled the legs up under him, hugging them tightly and looking down to his hands. It was clear that he tried to look as if he was in control, while still protecting himself from the purebloods' gazes. Kaname stood a few meters away, shaken to his core and unable to move forward. He had expected to see a beautiful vampire, who, at most, had a reserved or distant look about him due to being Rido's. The creature in front of him was in a state so much worse than his worst suspicions that it completely overtook and frightened him.

Rido however, seemed used to the boy's state and impatiently shoved Kaname forward, prompting him to do something. The younger pureblood took a few shaken steps forward, then looked over at Rido for further instructions. "He's your responsibility now, Kaname," Rido repeated, continuing when his nephew gave him a questioning look. "I want you to feed him and clean him off for me. Don't you dare speaking of this to anyone, neither inside nor outside the house. Do you understand your duties?"

Kaname grimaced slightly. He hated when Rido charged him with duties, he detested the word. Rido had placed many duties upon him during the years, both regular duties like looking after his sister or taking care of younger guests in the house, and more disturbing duties, such as dressing in a special way on special days and granting Rido release in his body. But no matter what duties Rido would have him do, he would do it. He would endure and pull himself together in order to hold on to what was left of himself inside of himself. "Yes, I understand."

"Good. He might be difficult to get to eat, but I then expect you to force it in him. If he becomes thinner, he'll break too easy." Rido's tone was uncaring, as if he wasn't talking about a living person who sat right next to him, but about a piece of furniture. Kaname suspected his uncle thought of the boy as he thought of most. That they were slaves living only for the sake of pleasing him. Just with this boy, he seemed to be more extreme in his way of being pleased.

Rido had turned to leave, apparently wanting his nephew to make the boy eat what was on a small tray standing beside the bed. "Oh, and Kaname? If you dare lay a hand on my property, I'll make sure you will regret it dearly. Zero's mine and if you dare think otherwise, it'll be worse for yourself."

Kaname sent a dark glare after his uncle for a second, but then the boy on the bed drew his attention once more when Rido was out of sight. He remained silent in a closed-off position, not even looking up at Kaname. The young pureblood learned in over him, lightly trying to tug his hands away from his knees and make him open up.

Despite appearances, the boy named Zero was far from weak and Kaname had to lay strength into it to be able to pry him open. When he finally succeeded, Zero sent him a long, hateful glance and then looked down to the ground. He was apparently braver, or at least more daring, when Rido wasn't near him. Kaname felt the lust to demand of him to sit still, but figured that if he had to take care of Zero from now on, he better not build such a relationship of fear. He wanted to show that even though the boy clearly already knew that Kaname was a pureblood, he wasn't like Rido who probably hit and raped him.

The pureblood sat down on the bed next to Zero, reached for the tray and gently placed it in his lap, trying not to spill any of the water in the glass. Unsure of what to do now, since it seemed very unlikely that Zero would ever move out of this position without encouragement, or perhaps even force, Kaname settled with trying to talk directly to him.

"I'm Kaname. Will you please turn towards me? Rido says you don't eat on your own, is that true?" Kaname asked first, trying to make Zero see that the pureblood in front of him wasn't a threat. The ex-human just sent him another glare, true hatred burning in his gaze. "… In that case, I'm forced to feed you by hand. I don't want to get in trouble because of a stubborn ex-human," Kaname mused, not used to being treated coldly or with disdain by anyone else than Rido.

When Zero still made no move or answer, Kaname lost his patience with this impudent boy who clearly didn't know his place on the vampires' social ladder. Here, a pureblood offered help and support and then he just stuck up his nose? It was just before the pureblood began thinking that perhaps, the beating that he'd obviously gotten not more than a day ago was his own fault entirely.

"Listen up, ex-human. Now, you turn around and face me, else I'll show you that it's not only Rido who can be a cruel pureblood," Kaname threatened, pulling in Zero's arm to make him turn around. "Do you understand?"

The threat seemed to jerk Zero out of his frozen position, but even though he turned around to face Kaname, he still didn't say a word or look at him with anything but endless hatred. The pureblood decided not to mind it, instead picking up a mouthful and guiding it to the ex-human's mouth, making sure he made it clear what he wanted Zero to do. The ex-human made no move to open his mouth though and simply kept staring.

Another long, uncomfortable silence followed, where Kaname wished he would make a sound, but where it became increasingly obvious that he wouldn't. Kaname decided to calm down and try to befriend the ex-human instead of forcing himself on him, as Rido did. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I know you can feel I'm a pureblood, but I'm not like Rido. Please… Don't force me to force you."

The ex-human stared at Kaname for so long that the pureblood almost gave up the struggle, but then slowly, very slowly, he opened his mouth and allowed Kaname to feed him by hand. Still guarding the pureblood with a suspicious gaze, the ex-human slowly got through his meal, although he from time to time made sure to show obvious signs of distaste that Kaname made sure to ignore.

When he had finally fed the ex-human the last of his food, Kaname awkwardly fell silent, unsure of what to say. He wanted to express his feelings towards Rido, but kept his tongue. What if the ex-human would tell Rido what he'd said? He couldn't run that risk. Rido undoubtedly already knew how much Kaname despised him, but he would either way be punished severely for speaking about it to anyone.

"What's your name?" Kaname asked, wanting to just make the ex-human say something even if he already knew the boy was named Zero. He wanted to hear his voice, wanted to hear what he sounded like. Would his voice be low and hoarse like most level D's and E's Kaname had encountered? Or would it be as silky smooth and beautiful as the pureblood thought, judging from appearances?

"You know already." The ex-human's voice cut through the room, icy cold, yet smooth and unintentionally seductive. He turned towards Kaname, revealing beautiful eyes in an unusual silvery-lavender color that had been hidden by his long, drooping eyelashes when he looked down. "I'm Zero. Did you get it this time?" he asked in a would-be mocking tone if he'd had more breath and sounded less fragile.

"I just wanted to hear it from you. I'm sorry if I offended you. Do you want a tablet to finish? I noticed you didn't get any, but I have some in my pocket," Kaname explained, reaching for his vest that he had left on a nearby chair when he went to sit down next to the boy. For a second, Zero's eyes stared at the small box Kaname pulled up, but then, his eyes withdrew their intense stare and he looked away.

"No. I don't want your filthy tablets," he declared shortly, stood up as best he could and moved to get a kimono that lay deserted on the floor. Just because this pureblood suddenly came barging into his life, thinking he could come with his kind words and lovely tablets, it didn't mean Zero would buy it. "I haven't ever drunk blood," he explained, almost triumphantly, when he pulled his arms through the sleeves and covered his body in silk. That the pureblooded bastard looked unintentionally disappointedly at the kimono when it covered Zero's nudeness didn't inspire much trust either.

Why should Zero suddenly trust this total stranger, just because he seemed genuinely kind? Besides, apart from the suddenly disappointed glance, after Zero's last comment, he seemed nothing but confused. "Never? But won't you go mad if you don't get any?"

Zero allowed himself a mocking sigh at the confused and uncomprehending look in the pureblood's tone and eyes. "As if I'd ever do something so disgusting. Rido doesn't give me tablets because he doesn't want me to break any more glasses," he explained in a condensing tone, as if speaking to a stupid child, which wasn't far from his view of Kaname at the moment. A pureblood, a natural leader of vampires, completely resigning himself under another vampire, his mother must be ashamed.

Kaname remained silent to the only half-concealed insult. He could easily read the message in the boy's eyes, and even if it was true that he'd resigned himself under Rido, he still felt too good to be taking such a stupid fight with a mere ex-human. He might be under Rido, but apart from that, he was above everyone else in vampire society. Rido's nephew, the son of Kuran Juuri and Haruka, the heir to the Kuran family, the spouse of Kuran Yuuki… He was a natural born king of vampires, not a mere ex-human pet. This impudent boy could just as well have been his than Rido's and even though he fully intended to be polite and friendly, he also intended not to let the stupid little ex-human forget for as long as one second that Kaname was a prince of vampires, whereas the boy was a servant. The majority of vampire society, the common vampires, was better than Zero, but much below Kaname, and the ex-human better remember his place in the presence of a pureblood.

"I see. You might as well drop that kimono again. I'm intending to wash you," Kaname explained, making his voice gentle and inviting while making sure to give a clear message of who was in charge. He wanted to be a kind master, but a master nonetheless. It gave his long-abused pride a push upwards to know that he had full authority over this ex-human, to know that Rido was accepting that Kaname commanded him around.

Fixing the pureblood with a long, cold glare, Zero slowly let go of the kimono and let it slide down his body to end up in an unceremonious heap on the floor. He went to the bathroom without sparing the other man a single word and closed the door behind him.

Rima clutched the bag in her hand tightly, following the boy showing her way to the inside of Rido's house. He was a noble, like herself, a high-classed vampire who could easily manipulate humans or even lower classes at will and who bowed to no one but their single superiors. These superiors were few in number, scarcely spread and mostly unimportant in the collected picture of vampires, apart from here. It was a strange fate that nobles should always flock around the only ones who could command them, but it was seen as a great honor to live in the Kuran mansion.

It was more of a giant estate than a mansion though, decorated in an old-fashioned but elegant way. The house was a gift from Haruka and Juuri, as a congratulations-gift upon Rido's engagement to Hiou Shizuka. It was huge and luxurious, even more so than the typical noble estates. The furnishings were done in a typically Victorian style, with huge mahogany doors and lots of porcelain sculptures. Kept in dark tones to suit vampire eyes, the main hall in three levels offered an impressive sight, while the rest of the house continued the style of comfortable elegance.

A side door in one of the many hallways opened, showing Kuran Yuuki in a wine-colored nightgown and with her hair still mussed from the pillow. Although purebloods were expected to appear more in control than the half-dressed, slightly unobservant look she was sporting now, it had grown a habit because she put little consideration into such details and because Rido let her get away with it. When Rido hadn't made an objection to how she from time to time displayed herself in front of the nobles, no noble was foolish enough to take it up with her. The two nobles in the hallway merely bowed respectfully until she had passed them.

When she was safely out of hearing range however, Rima turned to give the boy a confused look. He understood the hint and explained as well as possible. "Yuuki-sama believes that although her uncle holds servants in the house, this still is her home and therefore, she can freely walk around as she pleases. Rido-sama lets her do it, so it'd be wise to oblige if not her then him," he explained quickly, continuing down the hallway with Rima in tow.

"Neither Rido-sama nor Kaname-sama ever show themselves that way, but since Rido-sama lets Yuuki-sama do it, we all simply put up with it, even though it is a major breach in etiquette. And about the natural safety of her… anyone who dare as much as irritate her will be punished severely by Rido-sama," the blond noble finished quickly, not keen on having to talk of Kuran Yuuki's safety.

It was common calm and sense that purebloods shouldn't display themselves in a half-dressed state, even going as far as showing obvious signs that they had just awoken, thus, may still be slightly sluggish in their senses. It was almost an open invitation, signaling that this pureblood might be an easier target than else. And although no noble or common vampire, respectful and humble towards the purebloods as they were, could ever dream of trying to force a pureblood to give up their blood against their will, it nevertheless awoke basic instincts in them that were hard to control.

Rima followed the blond noble in silence, wondering absentmindedly what kind of relationship Kuran Rido had with his niece. It was obvious, not to mention well-known in vampire society, that Kuran Kaname was a calm, charming and intelligent young pureblood, who definitely carried on after his parents with their pacifistic ideals and appropriate demeanor, while his sister was just the opposite; impulsive, childish and often a tad cruel towards the lower classes, although she had a kind heart. Most nobles didn't understand why Rido preferred his niece of the two.

The pair had reached the last door in this hallway, a huge mahogany one like the others in the house, but this seemed even bigger. "He's waiting for you, Touya-san," the boy assured her, giving her an encouraging smile before turning to leave. No doubt he knew, just like she did, what Rido wanted.

Rima stood still for a few moments outside of the impressive door, slowly fingerling with the black lace that adorned the outer edges of her old-fashioned, long-sleeved blouse. It was not that she was afraid of entering, as she rarely held fear for anything, more was it the uncomfortable act of having to downright knock, thus, making it look like she was the one coming to him.

Finally, she gathered her courage, raced her delicate hand and placed a loud knock on the wooden door, the sound seeming to echo throughout the hallway. A muttered permission to enter from the other side of the door encouraged her and she stepped inside cautiously.

Rido was laying on his bed, between pillows and duvets, the room being illuminated by countless candles instead of electric light. The candlelight glowed in the mosquito net that hung around the bed, although Rima doubted it had anything to do with insects, judging from the delicate patterns in the net and from the way it was made to lay over the bed, giving the entire room a sort of sensual touch, although she could easily see that it wasn't used mainly as a room for Rido to receive his "special" visitors, since there was also a bookcase and a small sofa with a table in the background. She supposed he used it for relaxing too, although there was no denying it had a distinctive touch of lust about it.

"Rido-sama," she greeted him, bowing respectfully while he rose from the bed to go stand behind her. Absently, she wondered if he did this merely to make her fine senses go into overdrive. No vampire felt comfortable with having someone behind their back that they couldn't see, but it would be disrespectful to turn and face the pureblood when he was obviously studying her.

Placing his hands on her slender shoulders from behind and learning down to brush his lip against her earlobe, Rido let his dark aura fall like a black curtain over the room, almost sealing the two away from the rest of the house's busy schedule. "Touya Rima. Do you agree?" he whispered silkily in her ear, slowly letting his hands slide down to rest on the sides of her upper arms.

"… Yes, Rido-sama. I agree." She turned around slowly, feeling his lips nearing hers, as he started loosening the delicate buttons in her blouse.

Kaname tapped his fingers against his own lower arm, impatiently waiting for the sound of running water to cease. The boy had been in the bathroom for half an hour now, and Kaname was fairly sure that he only spend so long time to purposely annoy the pureblood, making him feel slightly stupid for not just barging the door open and demand that the ex-human stood out, dried himself off and feel lucky he didn't tell Rido how much water he'd wasted.

"Aren't you done soon?" he asked in a voice a tad sharper than he'd intended. He'd already grown accustomed to how Zero never responded unless forced to, so he didn't get as annoyed at the silence that followed as expected. He waited for another two minutes or so before the water was turned off, then, in a matter of seconds, the door opened and the ex-human stepped out, slowly drying his hair off with one towel, while trying to hold on to the towel wrapped around his waist.

Kaname observed him in irritated silence as he dried his body off and slid back into the kimono. He still had some red bruises covering his back, but apart from the redness and swelling, he looked far better now that the blood was washed away. Although he was bruised and still horribly thin, actually looking slightly anorexic, he now looked more like a living being.

"I'll comb your hair," Kaname said, picking up a brush nearby and gesturing for the ex-human to place himself in a chair so the pureblood didn't have to bow down. The boy did as requested, letting the towel fall down and reveal the striking silvery hair. The bangs were long enough to reach down between his eyes, but apart from that, his hair was fairly short, but graceful. Kaname combed through it slowly, enjoying the sensation of the hair sliding between his fingers. He used to comb Yuuki's hair when she was younger, but now she usually let the servants do such things.

"How… how long have you been up here?" he asked cautiously, suddenly sure that the boy would shout at him for daring to ask such a question. He could understand if that would be his reaction though, Kaname himself wouldn't have liked to be asked such a question if he had lived under the circumstances this boy apparently had.

Zero didn't shout. He didn't even glare. He just froze where he sat, not moving a single muscle, not saying a single word. Kaname could understand that he had asked a question that was so hurting and unacceptable that he didn't even get angered over it.

Kaname cautiously continued combing through the hair, the room silent and the atmosphere heavy. After a couple of uncomfortable minutes spent in silence, he broke it, unsure what else to do since the boy looked like someone who could be silent for hours on end. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. I was just curious when you said that you had never had any blood or any blood tablets. I mean… curious as to when you became a vampire."

Zero gave him a cold shoulder and refused to make a sound, much less an explanation. "… Please answer when I ask you a question, ex-human," Kaname said, putting emphasis on the last word. The boy turned to him slowly, his dull eyes locking with Kaname's and piercing him with a cold glare. "I didn't hear you asked me a question, pureblood," he retorted without even blinking.

"I asked you when you became a vampire, although I know it might be a sensitive subject," Kaname stated, absentmindedly wondering if the ex-human had been without company for a little too long. He wasn't used to be treated so badly by anyone but Rido, and certainly not someone from such a low class. It was natural that they show him respect, they shouldn't refuse to answer his questions and, first and foremost, they shouldn't obviously defy him.

The ex-human turned his head slowly towards Kaname, a half-amused, mocking smile forming on his lips. "No, you didn't. You said you were curious when I said that I never had gotten any blood or tablets. You asked me nothing," he concluded in a mocking tone, almost as if he was explaining a pronunciation mistake to a child who was learning to talk.

That tone was just the last straw for Kaname. He raised his voice, letting his aura fall down over the room, exposing the ex-human to what it really felt like when Kaname unleashed his powers. "Behave, ex-human, or you'll regret it!" he hissed, his eyes obtaining a deadly red tone for just a second. But apparently, it was enough. The ex-human suddenly looked fearfully up at him, a much more innocent, frightened look in his eyes now than the mocking glimpse before.

The sudden change in look to such a frightened little face immediately softened Kaname's heart. His eyes gentled and he pulled his aura back and once again concealed it with his mind, making it lay only closely around himself, undetectable to others. He sat down by the ex-human's side, gently placing an arm around his shoulders, no matter how disgusted Kiryuu looked over being touched so intimately. No doubt was he relating every touch from a pureblood to Rido's touch.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to people behaving rudely towards me. You're the only one, apart from Rido, that I've met who would ever dare," Kaname smiled a gentle smile, meant to lift the mood, but it came out sad. He wasn't pleased with his pureblooded nature like his sister was. He saw it only as a heavy burden, but a burden he'd learned to bear.

The ex-human remained silent, but accepted the arm, not pulling away and even learning a tiny bit into the embrace. It was only barely, but it filled Kaname with weird emotions. Emotions he had no words to express. Not feelings of love or devotion, the boy in his arms was a complete stranger to him, but protective feelings for someone who had been hurt in much the same way as himself, just so many times worse. He wanted to protect this ex-human from any more hurt, even when he knew it was a hopeless wish to have.

Before long, the boy had fallen asleep from exhaustion and Kaname gently carried him over to the bed, pulling the covers over him. The pureblood was unsure what to do. He should just leave and tell Rido what he had done, but he couldn't tear himself away from the image of that peacefully sleeping face. He wanted to stay and watch it forever.

Kiryuu looked so different when his face was relaxed in peaceful sleep. When all the mocking and the anger and hatred disappeared from his face, he was very beautiful, albeit thin as a skeleton. His cheekbones were clearly visible, which gave him a bit of a ghostly touch about him, but apart from that and all the small rifts, he looked like a fallen angel, wrapped in the wine-colored sheet. Kaname sat quietly by his side.

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To be continued…

A/N: If any of you are wondering why the characters behave or think slightly differently from their original manga-counterparts, it's because, while they were still born into the same world, they've experienced ten years that is radically different from those ten years in the manga. So while they're still the same personalities, their behaviors are painted by the circumstances they live under.

Kaname, for instance, has lived ten years of being repressed and held down by Rido and as such, have learned what things he shouldn't say or do, very much in the same way as he learns to deal with the Council in the manga. Yuuki, instead of being insecure due to missing memories, has spent ten years on the apex of vampire society and therefore, she has a confidence and a "purebloody" behavior she lacks in the manga. On the other side, she has been overprotected and hidden away and thus she, to a certain length, lacks sense of reality and of the world outside.

The only character who doesn't have the big changes in personality is Rido because, let's face it, he pretty much behaves like he's the ruler of the world in the manga too xD

In this chapter, the focus was on how Kaname and Zero's first meeting go, both how they start off extremely hostile but also how a little thing changes a lot. I hope next chapter will be out soon! *sweatdrop*