Surprise suprise! I am back and rockin rolling! XD Don't be shocked with Kain's bad habit; he seems like a bad boy enough ;D AND AND AND THANKS TO YENGIRL FOR BETA (panics) ALWAYS AND ONLY YENGIRL

Burning Lantern Bright

Kain dangled the cigarette between his index and middle finger, over the ledge. Perhaps one of his bad habits he could admit to was smoking. Yes, smoking. Apart from hunter-charmed things though, nothing seemed to affect vampires the way it did for humans. Kain knew he wasn't addicted to smoking, anyway; he just found it amusing. Add the fact that he didn't even require a lighter or a match to light a cigarette.

No one knew about this habit of his since he usually did it during the day. After a smoke he'd usually take a shower along with a mouth wash to rid the scent, seeing as vampire senses were sharper than sharp. It didn't matter if he was found out, though.

The sun had risen about four hours ago and most of the Night Dormitory residents were most likely asleep. Aido was snoring away under silk sheets. His bed blinds were down since he knew Kain had the habit of leaving their velvet curtains open and letting the blasted sunlight streaming in through the windows.

Kain kept himself busy with the replay of the incident last night. Every time, when he came to the part when Kaname was leading Yuki out the balcony, he got slightly pissed. He obviously knew the rivalry between Kaname and Zero, for that human girl. Everyone in the Night Dormitory did, anyway. But that wasn't the issue. What was really bugging him was the small conversation he had with Zero last night... when the latter was talking in his sleep

"I thought you would be a little smarter than to remain out there and freeze yourself to death," Kain had sighed as he picked Zero up. He supported the hunter's middle back with one arm and hooked his other arm under the long legs, lifting the other up with ease.

"It was… Kaname's… fault…" came the soft, slurred reply.

The redhead was startled for a moment - he thought the hunter was asleep. He looked down at the other's face. Zero looked like he was still asleep, since he wasn't opening his eyes or resisting being carried.

"Sleep talking?"

"Stupid… Kaname…"

Kain scoffed a little at the name, walking towards the balcony doors. He was about to ask why when Zero's muttered something which made him freeze.

"It... can't be me… can it?"

Kain forcefully stubbed the burning end of the cigarette butt into the balcony ledge. He didn't want to take the words to mean something different, but his first interpretation was that… Zero wanted Kaname to 'choose' him. For what, he wasn't sure. And he intended to find out what.

Turning around, he was about to turn in for the day when he heard a conversation going on in the next room. Usually, the walls and windows of the Night Dormitory were soundproofed for privacy, but the next door neighbor seemed to have left his balcony window slightly ajar.

And that neighbor just happened to be the dormitory leader.

Kain wasn't interested in the conversation Kaname had; it was usually business, if nothing else. He was stretching his arms in the air, giving a yawn when he heard a second voice. Immediately, his back stiffened as he strained his ears to make sure he wasn't hearing wrongly.

"What do you want now?"

It was Zero.

Kain walked over to the other end of the balcony with haste, finding that the window was truly left ajar. The wave of the curtains allowed him to peer in, and true enough, he saw the hunter standing with his arms crossed, leaning against a desk.

"It seems to me you've made a new companion," Kaname replied calmy. The pureblood was most likely at the other end of the room, since he was not in Kain's line of vision.

"You called me here just to tell me that? Kain didn't do anything."

"Now, why would I need to know that?" Kaname sounded amused. "Are you still angry about the incident last night?"

"I… never mind. It's nothing. If there isn't anything else, I'm leaving."

Zero dropped his arms, pushing himself off the desk. Yet, before he could take a step forward, Kaname was on him. The pureblood literally pushed the hunter onto the desk, pinning him down with a single hand while the other had his wrists, forcing Zero's arms above his head.

Kain found himself gritting his teeth. Whatever the dormitory leader intended to do to the prefect, he was sure he wasn't going to like it at all. His hand fisted with belated realization that whether he liked it or not, he might not even be able to prevent what was coming next.

Kaname lowered his face, his brown locks falling onto Zero's face. The hunter turned away, leaving his neck vulnerable. Mentally, Kain was yelling at the boy not to do that, because in vampire society, it was an obvious sign of submission.

The brunette dropped his head even lower, his mouth opening slowly. The back of elegant, elongated fangs slid across the pale skin and even Kain could hear Zero's breath hitch out of nervousness. The hunter's hatred of vampires was well known, so of course this wasn't surprising.

What was surprising though, was the slightly pained look on Zero's face, although it was mostly hidden by ire.

Zero, why aren't you resisting?! Kain thought with growing panic. Even though he knew that to resist was a futile effort against a pureblood and one as strong as Kaname was, it would have made him feel a tad better to know that Zero wasn't… letting Kaname do this to him.

The hunter gave a strangled sort of hiccup when Kaname bit him. It didn't look like it was a gentle bite, either.

The scent of fresh blood immediately aroused Kain's own fangs, and the redhead slammed his back against the wall, putting the scene before him out of sight. His other hand clamped over his mouth. Kain could already feel his fangs prodding his lower lip quite dangerously and his fist only tightened harder, threatening to break skin.

Kain knew the two had probably heard him shuffling against the wall. There were a few things in which could happen: the dormitory leader could continue feeding, or he would stop. If he stopped, he would either continue to ignore Kain, or walk out onto his balcony to give him a reprimand.

But Kain was worried about what he himself might do to the pureblood.

Vampires were truly protective of their mates. Even a to-be. Not that Kain had outwardly shown that he had wanted Zero. Somewhere at the back of his head, a voice reminded him that his opponent was not just his dorm leader but a pureblood. And as a pureblood, anything, and everything, could be theirs if they wanted. Even another vampire's mate.

Kain ground his teeth together. Screw it. He didn't care if he was going to get punished or killed. It wasn't the first time in history a lower level had attempted to protect their mate from a pureblood. Most didn't live to tell about it, but it was more about the principle about it than your life, right?

With silent swiftness, Kain jumped over the wall to the neighboring balcony and none-too-gently pushed the glass door to the side. Zero jumped at the sight of the other vampire, whereas Kaname was as calm as ever, slowly removing his fangs from the hunter's neck and licking the blood away.

Zero struggled out of Kaname's grip, not wanting to be further seen in such a humiliating position. The pureblood let him go, and the hunter slipped off the desk, turning his head away and quickly pulling the front of his shirt close, covering the bite. Without a word, he exited the room with haste.

Kain intended to go after him, but noticed that Kaname's gaze was burning into him quite intensely now.

Crap, what am I going to do now… Kain thought to himself, already regretting his spontaneous, protective and totally illogical action.

"Do you have something you need, Kain?" Kaname finally asked as he brushed at the corner of his lips with his thumb.

It didn't look like Kaname was keen on killing him. At least, not yet. Kain finally found something to talk about besides his intrusion so he quickly replied: "What do you think… Zero was angry about last night?"

"Ah, that. It seems to me he was a little… jealous," Kaname returned with a small smile and walked over to the couch, gracefully settling down on it. "He's one hard to please… "

"Jealous about you, or Yuki?" Kain asked without thinking. Immediately, he tilted his head down. "My apologies. It isn't my business-"

"Kain, have you an affinity for Zero?" The brunette interrupted smoothly.

The redhead blinked as his head came up, before a glare replaced the look of surprise. So be it…

"Yes, I do."

"And I would be hindering you from making him your mate, wouldn't I?"

Kain looked away. Silently, he swore to himself.

So Kaname knew, or at least guessed his initial intention ever since he found out Zero was a vampire. But Kain had never intended to force the hunter.

He shook his head. "I don't want him to be my mate if he doesn't want to… But one thing for sure, I won't forgive anyone who hurts him."

Kain turned to look straight into deep brown eyes. "Even if it were you."

okay this chap doesn't explain why zero didn't want to leave... cough. next chap. i promise. I feel bad making Kain do all the stuff he shouldn't... but he can pass off, don't you think? Okay I am literally bullet train-ing through BLB, so i apologise if everything seems to quick.

Btw, late note: I can NEVER differentiate first/last name for people. especially un-obvious ones like aido hanabusa and akatsuki kain. dont know which came first: the hen or the egg -glares at the names- I apologise for any misconceptions