A/N: (Sorry, this one will be long)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciated it. There's quite a few people out there who hate our gentle princess Yuuki eh? I love writing gore scenes, so I figured I might as well make it good! For those who hate her, thank you for the enthusiasm! For those who showed pity for her, thank you for caring.

A special thank you goes out to Michi-chi for being the first reviewer, and to Vulpes velox for giving a long and insightful review. I love long reviews most of all, especially when reflecting on the story, and when the reader shares their thoughts. You have convinced me to go with my original desire to make this a serious Yaoi, focusing both on raw hot sex AND the relationship behind it.

I mean, let's face it, we all know that a lemon is more savory with some depth. =)

I type up the entirety of my stories on the Edit/Preview Document window because I am so used to the FFN fonts and formats, and have done things before like delete more than half of my document in one foul swoop because my computer is crap. This is why the updates may take some time. I get frustrated, cry, and refuse to touch the piece for a few days. Losing your progress is very stressing, and I have since learned to copy the work before saving.

GOMENASAI. T_T

But I would like to say that I cannot write my stories any other way, trust me, I've tried. This little window is magical and gets the creative juices a-flowin'. I'm going to be typing college term papers in this window probably, just because I can't do it anywhere else, and for that, I am PHAIL. ='(

Here's to hoping I made you laugh a little.

As for who's actually going to be topping, I'm trying to work on the dynamics of it right now. Perhaps that will be part of the mystery, (this is a mystery/romance) trying to find out who will play seme. XD

I promise to you all that I will put forth my best effort and then some when writing this story. I hope that I don't disappoint you, my precious and beloved audience.

*bows*

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

Zero was floating. Had that fall cracked open his skull? Was he dead? No, he was sure hell would be much worse than this... nothingness. Heaven had already been ruled out because one, he was thoroughly cursed, and two, Yuuki wasn't here. Then was this purgatory? It would explain the absence of all existence but his.

Maybe, if Zero was lucky, he had really been knocked out by Lily. The blow had caused him to double over, maybe he got kicked in the head too, got a concussion, and he was dreaming on, blissfully unaware.

But he was never lucky.

If he was luckier than that, then Yuuki was probably by his bedside, holding his hand, awaiting the moment he would awaken. Hey the girl had a strong sense of duty, and it was a big possibility. He had protected her, not because he thought she would reward him, but because she was too fragile to be touched, even by the likes of him.

That didn't stop her though. She was more than tough enough, she just looked fragile when in reality she would withstand him feeding from her and accept it with a smile, sometimes making him feed. She was much stronger than he was when it came to the heart.

Slowly, feeling came back to Zero, a headache first of all. Perhaps his last idea was correct. He could feel the rush of blood that belonged to her, still swimming strong in his. Every inch he gained back in feeling was accompanied with a ton's worth of lead, weighing him down. He felt stiff, as if he had been asleep for longer than he should have, which was probably the case.

A cool hand traced his face. They were too big to be Yuuki's, though still smooth. Mentally he frowned in disappointment.

Of course she was gone, it was foolish for him to think otherwise. Why else would those disturbing images be burned on the inside of his eyelids?

Zero felt his brows furrowed in stress and his mouth twist into a grimace, terrified of his own thoughts.

"Shhhhhh,"

Someone was trying to soothe him. Yuuki had always been the one to do that, always, she insisted, so he wouldn't know if it was the Chairman or what.

This mental moping wasn't like him. Sure it was one thing to dwell, but mope? If this is what he was like while unconscious, how would he act when he was awake? He wasn't going to have any of it. What was done was done. This wasn't like with Shizuka, he couldn't repress the death as if it were some transformation he was keeping at bay. This required a more hands on approach.

At the thought fingers trailed over his abs, up and down, in small circles, very lightly. Whoever this was, they probably considered him to be built. He could live with that, especially when these fingers, too, left his skin tingling. This warmth was different though, whereas Yuuki's was innocent, this type of warmth was more like a small flame. The tongues of this flame flared the longer the fingers rubbed against his skin. Zero's face relaxed as he focused on the enigma of comfort.

Could fire be wet at the same time? Wasn't that against the laws of physics? With this skin against skin contact, that didn't matter anymore, they dripped into his center, warming Zero's core, lifting the lead off of his body. The finger dipped shallowly into his belly button and vertigo hit the youth as he lay. The hand withdrew, most regrettably, when his other senses returned. He could smell the faint scent of sandalwood, more amber, and anesthetics.

Zero's eyelids fluttered open. A candle sat by the bed he was lying in. The first thing his eyes focused on was the scarlet of the canopy high above him. This wasn't his room. and it wasn't the infirmary, for which he was infinitely grateful.

Shifting minimally, he could feel the silk of the duvet beneath him, the softness of the pillow under his head, much nicer than anywhere else in Cross Academy.

Oh hell no.

This was not the place he was thinking of, it couldn't have been. It would piss him off after becoming so relaxed for the ordeal he had just gone through.

"So you're awake." a masculine voice mused, every bit as soft as the silk, from the foot of the bed. "I was beginning to fear that your head injury was worse than it appeared."

Keeping still, Zero noticed his state of undress, save for his boxers. The detail hadn't occurred to him since the room was too warm to be wearing anything. Where was Bloody Rose? How could he let himself become so vulnerable around the enemy? Yagari sensei would be flaming pissed if he were to ever find out what he had let happen.

Wait, something weird was going on.

Raising his head minimally, Zero's violet glare pierced Kaname's burnt sienna orbs. Light from the candle threw half of their faces into shadow. Zero chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second before asking with attitude.

"Were you the only one here a moment ago?"

Idiot! He should have been asking about his gun! Kaname narrowed his eyes a fraction.

"I've only just come back. I've instructed no one to come into the room, but I don't control them with the full extent of my prowess, so it's possible."

Zero brought up his hand to skim over the skin of his abdomen absentmindedly. The scent must have been from the bed, it was foolish of him to not make that connection at first. He knitted his brows and ground out another question, still petting his belly.

"Where am I?"

Kaname looked the silver haired teen over, eyes lingering at the attentions Zero gave to himself slightly longer than necessary.

"You must have been able to deduce that much for yourself in the first few moments of waking." the trace of a smile touched his lips.

"Where's Bloody Rose?"

Kaname frowned.

"You should be keeping track of your weapons, mister vampire hunter." he smirked as if he was enjoying some sort of private joke.

Only this time Zero was in on it. Sure, the pureblood could make fun of him, the ex human, all he wanted - just what he would expect from the jerk.

Sitting up suddenly to search for his weapon, Zero noticed that the pain that should have emanated from his abdomen was absent. He examined himself, not even seeing a scar from Lily's hoof. All the better for him.

The shine of light off of Bloody Rose caught his attention, sitting right next to the candle on the nightstand. Hastily, Zero grabbed the weapon and checked the magazine. Still full. He cocked the gun and pointed it to the foot of the bed to -

Nothing.

Kaname had left. Zero grimaced, wondering why he was doing so. Then again, he wasn't in the best of moods. He would have to start interrogating just about everyone in the school while his resolve to not mope was still strong. It would drive him forward, and probably bring justice to the late gentle princess. His heart gave a particularly painful lurch when he thought of her that way.

Well, since he was physically at the top of his game, why not start by tackling the vampires? They were the most suspicious. Later he would get to the humans, even the Chairman. No one could be left out of the interrogations. Never rule out any of the suspects because of the relationship they had to the victim, never.

After Kaname had confronted Zero about his relationship with Yuuki, jealously might he add, he was sure that the pureblood had already chewed the asses of every vampire in the vicinity. He was different from that beast, from the rest of them, and he was sure that a barrel full of lead death in front of their faces would spill a name or two. The leader was too soft on them. Were he, Zero, in a position of command over the aristocrats, things would have gone differently. Friends and family would have started disappearing one by one until some progress was made.

Who gave a damn if he was dressed in only boxers? He was going to get some answers soon, even if he had to bust a cap in their asses.

Starting to the door, Zero got a good view of the luxurious room. An expensive looking sofa sat off center in the chamber, scarlet like the bedspread, similarly to the plush carpet.

Was blood all these monsters ever had on their mind? He was beginning to get green afterimages when he blinked.

On the sofa, to his surprise, was Zero's school uniform. They were in pristine condition, he noticed upon approaching the articles. The clothes smelled like the bed, only the amber hint was more pronounced, recent. Had his clothes been cleaned? That was, strangely... thoughtful?

There had to be a catch.

He checked the material for any signs of thumbtacks, knowing that he was being paranoid, but he couldn't care less as he got dressed - none had been found.

Zero must have been out for a full day or so, he noted, glowing remnants of sunlight disappearing from behind the thick curtains of Kaname's bedroom.

Hesitantly, Zero stepped out into the hall. He wanted to get the advantage of seeing without being seen. His straightforward style would have to be one of the first things he changed in order to gain a better advantage. With his charge gone, Kuran was less likely to be friends, since she had been the only reason the pureblood tolerated him. He was all for not keeping up pretenses with the beast.

Nobody was upstairs, he realized, when he got to the curving staircase that led to the grand sitting room on the floor below. The entire night class was shifting around nervously, Kaname sitting on the sofa in the center of the room across from a scrutinizing Yagari and a distraught Chairman Cross. He didn't look his usual perky self, understandable since his daughter had been...

Stop it. He scolded himself for almost falling back into moping. Zero wouldn't follow the traditional forty-nine day mourning period - too much would happen and Yuuki's murderer would get off without so much as a guilty thought. So much might have already happened.

"Only makes it worse since there's no body to bury." Chairman sobbed.

What? Zero listened more intently, feeling his tempers flare. What happened to the body? Who had dared to desecrate Yuuki's remains? Were there at least pictures? He probably wouldn't need them, with all that he had seen first hand.

Perhaps this case was more serious than he thought.

His training as a member of the Hunter's Association was starting to kick in now. It was rare that anything this serious in nature were to happen, so Zero never had to utilize any of those extra skills. He would have to make a list of suspects numbered in order of interrogation priority. Beneath the people that had been closest to her, the list would have to be compiled out of answers to questions like; did she have any enemies? Would anyone have benefited from her death? Was there something that she had witnessed that would lead to the need of her silence? Have there been any grudges?

He could start answering some of those questions immediately.

"It seems that Secret Agent Man has decided to eavesdrop on us." Kaname chuckled shortly from his reclining spot.

What's up with the good mood Kuran?

Kaien and Yagari turned to face Zero from their different positions, the Chairman slumped forward with tiredness, sensei mirroring the pureblood's reclining. Kaien's face was puffy, leaking with mucous. The man looked like if his heart had been crushed, and Zero's gave a sympathizing throb. Yagari sensei looked at Zero with shrewd eyes, a hint of sympathy softening the sharpness of his blue irises.

A few of the vampires looked up, genuinely surprised that Zero was even awake. Kaname, on the other hand, looked smug at catching him, so much so that he should have had canary feathers around his lips.

"Everyone upstairs," he continued. "We need to talk in private."

That was his cue. Zero frowned, as he took the stairs down, being thrown dirty looks by the aristocrats. They could bite his vampire hunting ass, excuse the small pun. Maybe then he would get a good enough excuse to blow their heads off. Much to his displeasure, Yagari and Kaien took up all the space on the couch opposing the pureblood. He decided to stand. Kaname stared at him menacingly out of the corner of his eye. Where had the good mood gone, hm?

"Sit down, Kiryuu, I won't bite." he leaned forward slightly, smirking at the joke, earning a matching pair of frowns from Yagari and Zero. Perhaps the pureblood had gone bipolar? The Chairman took no notice of the animosity, silently imploring the youth with his eyes to sit before his head fell into his hands.

Zero sighed heavily, sickly sweet amber flooding his nostrils, probably from their skin, and reluctantly did as he was asked. The damn vampire stench was attacking him everywhere he went, overpowering his sense of smell. The two pairs sat in a rather awkward silence for a few moments, the hunter becoming desensitized to the scents. Other hints promoted themselves - one cinnamon with tobacco, the other earthy with mint and a dash of something else...

"We were just in the middle of discussing security measures for the rest of the day class." Kaname lied, which Zero was fine with. Neither of them wanted to talk about Yuuki, and with good reason.

"The academy's gone to hell and you've been asleep throughout the beginning." Yagari said in a low tone, pulling out a cigarette. "Mind if I light up?" he asked Kaname, wanting to keep altercations at a minimum.

"Go ahead." the pureblood nodded. The Chairman sniffled and sat upright to retrieve an ashtray from inside his jacket, clearly anticipating his friend's habits.

"The day class will have to be contained within the dorms, they've already been locked in and searched so far, notice was sent to their parents. I have Sayori Wakaba patrolling the corridors with two of her other friends, all three volunteers. We've given them minor hunter's weapons and charms. The night class has been on lock down as well until further notice, so we can clear the names of those who are innocent and enlist their help." Kaien's voice trembled but didn't break. He had been thinking of this for a while apparently.

"We've already had to calm this one down twice."

Catching Zero's puzzled look, Yagari nodded in the direction of a silent Kuran, both not caring if the detail was shared.

"Anger will do no good now. We should be focusing on finding answers." Kaname stated.

The pureblood next to Zero was almost like a different person than the one that had been taunting him upstairs. Stress rolled of the man in waves, no doubt he was having as hard a time as he was. It still didn't make much sense since he had few reasons to be close to Yuuki. The two barely had much contact though it was always fond.

It didn't make much sense to Zero, a man of logic, then again the loophole of love held no logic, so it had been said. Perhaps he was the only one who had been able to find the logic in everything. Would that make him too analytical? There wasn't such a thing in his book. That just made the whole world blind.

It looked like the only thing they ever agreed upon would make them allies in this quest for justice. Reluctant allies, but allies nonetheless. As much as he hated to admit it, there were things that Kuran could do that he could not.

So then he would just use the pureblood to his advantage. Simple really. Now that that had been decided, it would take him only a few minutes to devise a dozen or so possible courses of action, predicting outcomes based on personality and chance... Damn, why hadn't he paid close attention to these beasts as individuals? His own haughty air would cost him precious time. Kaien's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What do you think Zero-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Damnit. Cut the idiot student crap. You've been out for over a day, now's not the time to fall asleep." Yagari barked. "We waited with several procedures because we knew you would want to take charge in the investigation."

Smoke curled out of his mouth while he spoke, flecking the ash off of the cigarette into the tray on the coffee table. Irritated, Zero gave him a pointed look.

"I was already midway through planning the steps and actions necessary to make all this happen." he smirked at Yagari's displeasure in his advancement in thinking. "What was the question?"

"They wanted to know if you could investigate the day class first. It would take less time to thumb through them than the night class." Kaname interjected.

"I don't think so, and allow the vampires to dispose of any evidence that may link them to the murder?" he inwardly flinched at the word. "I won't let that happen."

Kaname's features became a bit darker.

"Insinuating that I can't keep my own in line?" the pureblood mused. "If anyone so much as breathes in a suspicious manner I won't hesitate to prosecute them."

The venom in his voice was slightly reassuring to Zero, who in turn, chewed on the interior of his cheek in a second's worth of contemplation.

"We'll be here while you investigate." the Chairman reassured him.

The young hunter opened his mouth to protest, but was met with three expectant stares. His voice died before escaping, knowing he couldn't pursue an angle of mistrust any longer.

"Fine." he ground out, stomach rumbling in unison.

"That's right," Kaien belatedly fumbled through his jacket, producing a small silver tin to toss. "You must be starving." Zero caught it, the contents clunking mutely.

"Oddly enough, just for actual food." he pocketed the tin of tablets. Kaien's brows rose in surprise.

"Strange." he sniffled. "I'll make you something."

"No thanks. You'll snot in the food probably." Zero frowned. "I can make my own when I return. I should probably make a suspect list first..." he muttered to himself.

"You're probably right." the Chairman sighed.

"Well now that everyone's got an assignment, we should get on with it." Yagari outed the remains of his third cigarette in the ashtray before standing up dragging Kaien to his feet without much difficulty. "We'll patrol the outsides." he called back to them before both men exited.

Kuran sat next to Zero, less stressed than a few moments ago, though now the air was more tense with the mediators gone. He stared up at the ceiling, momentarily lost in thought. Zero sprung up, unable to stand sitting next to the vampire any longer, and began to follow suit. A gentle tug of the tail of his jacket made him turn to face the now standing pureblood - the movement was undetectable. They measured each other up, Kaname topping Zero's height by a mere two inches. He turned and motioned to a room to the side the hunter couldn't see into.

Raising his eyebrows, Zero gave the pureblood a questioning look in the middle of the very empty sitting room. Kaname only smirked and encircled a large, smooth hand around his wrist. The teen shot him a lavender glare, instantly jerking back from the touch, but the strong hand stayed with him, burning from the flesh on flesh contact. Burning in a good way....

Kaname stepped closer, looking left and right before he took Zero's other hand that had begun to reach for his Bloody Rose, and forced a small square item into his palm.

Insistently tugging the hunter closer, Kaname motioned to the far off room again, pressing something long and hard into the palm of his other hand, making Zero's heart miss a beat while he fingered a ridge. The pureblood smirked as he spoke in hushed tones to his ear.

"Come..."

"ღ*~+~*ღ"

A/N:I'm evil aren't I? ^.~

Think of this as part of the mystery genre.

Lots of love to you all, please review and give me some love too.

-Kagamichihime

PS: Get ready for the next chapter! XD