Sorry its days and an couple hours late. DX I apologize in advance for any issue you might find with it. I didn't have time to do a thorough edit since I was so excited about churning this chapter out.
Thank you to all who have reviewed so far. Your responses encourage me to keep writing. ^^ Special thanks goes out to xXxDarkenedAngelxXx and Eyes17k for reviewing every chapter so far. Much love goes out to you both!
I have author's notes at the bottom (What a surprise!!) explaining some scenes in this chapter. Enjoy the new POV when you get to it. ^^
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
"I told you to be careful, Sayori-chan."
"You're the one who grabbed my weapon and charged up to them." her voice was coarse with stress.
"Don't tell them that!"
"You knew who they were, you were just looking for an excuse to spy."
A girl with short straw colored hair rounded he corner. She had observed the scene in the foyer with difficulty. Darkness concealed most of the details, but from the faint silhouettes, she knew something important probably happened.
Zero glared at his twin in anger, grabbing the chance at a distraction.
"What the hell are you doing sneaking around? Is there something you're trying to hide?"
"I can ask you the same thing, oniisan." he wrinkled his nose as he surveyed the pair of vampires.
"I was waiting for you two." Sayori sighed, flipping a switch.
Lights illuminated the room, making all three men flinch slightly. The living area here looked more like typical school housing than a castle, unlike in the Moon Dorms.
"I figured you would come to ask me questions sooner or later," she snatched Artemis from Ichiru, who didn't argue. "so what do you want?"
The hunter eyed Yori speculatively. She had definitely seen better days - with pale skin, her eyes were puffy and red, dark circles lining the underside of her eyelids. Finally! Someone was having the correct reaction to Yuuki's death. The Chairman didn't count, as he understandably had to place his focus on more pressing matters, but Yori was different. She wouldn't be conducting the investigation, so she had time to grieve with loose emotions. Her hand was even turning pink from the excessive force with which she had grabbed the metal staff. His heart skipped a beat.
"Why do you have Artemis?" Kaname was visibly upset, and with good reason.
It was unclear whether the mood was related to getting caught, he'd really have to stop considering it that way, or the fact that Yori had Yuuki's weapon. The thought made Zero bristle unexpectedly, but it was an excellent observation. Why did she?
"It chose me. Don't blame others for things they can't control."
Her small frame started trembling. Zero opened his mouth to make a query before he was cut off by Ichiru, who had gone to place a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Let's sit down," he insisted more to her than anyone else. "You shouldn't be overexerting yourself."
"Un. Go on, I'm heading to the bathroom."
"Can you go on your own?"
"I'll be fine." she bat his fingers away before disappearing into a side room.
"Well?"
Ichiru sat on a small armchair, waving to a couch on its opposite. The vampires made their way to the furniture, Zero staggering once, to which Kaname made no offer to help. The uncomfortable part of the tension between them was back full force. Even though it was just one person, this was in public, and evidently, they were going to keep up appearances. Guilt prickled away at his insides. That called another question to mind, as he didn't have a reason to feel guilty. He looked to Ichiru, surprised by the fact that he was apparently a triplet. His stomach churned.
"Damn alcohol..." he muttered under his breath. The guilt inside him pulsed once.
"What was that?" Ichiru asked, scooting over so a returning Yori could sit on an arm of the chair. He took one of her hands between his, running his fingers over the flushing pink skin before sending a disapproving frown to the new guardian. She, in turn, averted her eyes and modestly pulled her hand away.
Nothing made sense anymore. Zero didn't know where to start. Luckily Kaname seemed to pick up on that and began questioning.
"Where and what were you two doing last night?"
"Here, arguing." They answered in unison.
"The whole dorm can account for us." Ichiru said matter-of-factly.
"So that's what the noise was." Kaname dismissed. "Since you were expecting us, I take it you've interviewed the rest of the day class?"
"Of course." Yori pipped up. "They all have excuses and witnesses to back up their claims, we've already checked."
The pureblood frowned, disappointed with the information he got. Apparently he was expecting to find something useful, though Zero had no idea why. Maybe he suspected humans as much as the hunter did to vampires - a rational thing to believe.
"You could always check the cameras." Ichiru suggested.
Panic flooded the room as everyone stilled. The hunter twin sat casually, relaxed as can be while he studied their expressions. Of course! Why hadn't Zero thought of that? Then again, how did his twin know about them? They were supposed to be concealed.
"What? You're saying a place like this doesn't even carry basic security?" he tutted.
So it was a guess? Relief filled him, blanketing the gripping fear in his heart.
"Unfortunately not, this place was meant to be inhabited by trusting individuals, so the Chairman didn't feel the need to use any upscale security of the sort." Kaname stood abruptly. "My apologies for intruding." he nodded to the pair, who acknowledged him in return with peculiar looks.
That's it? Kuran was so hellbent on Zero interviewing everyone only to believe a secondhand account? Never mind that he was about to do the same thing, but then what was the point in sending him over here if he was just going to find out the answers for himself? Another thing, why had he lied about the cameras? There was an ever growing list of questions surmounting, and he had a feeling that every one of them would have to be answered in order to find the killer.
This was going to take forever.
"Come on."
Now they were back to an unfamiliar basis? That was fine. Zero was determined to forget the whole episode that had happened prior to the conversation with Yori and Ichiru. The four separated - Sayori heading back into the bathroom, Ichiru lurking outside of it with a stony expression, he and Kuran traveling back along the outside path.
"Did you get the information you needed?" Haine implored.
"No one knew anything." Kaname shrugged, quickly crossing the yard to leap over the gate.
"What did I say?" he eyed the pureblood's retreating back unfavorably.
"Hell if I know." Zero grunted, following after.
The moon had been submerged in clouds, leaving a gauzy outline of light. Nearly an entire night of questioning was ahead for the night class, and the hunter was, for once, not looking forward to persecuting them. He just wanted to get rid of this stupor. Had Kuran gotten him drunk for this purpose? To confuse him? To keep something from him? To cover up for someone?
"Zero..."
His heart skipped a beat as he thought back. Okay, maybe not. Then was... what was that? Could it be the reason for all the alcohol?
"Is there a problem?"
Zero looked up, finding rust colored orbs inches away from his. Smoothly he brushed past, knocking the pureblood's shoulder for good measure. Fucking vampires with their creepy presence. He turned back only when he couldn't hear the perusal of footsteps.
"Go on. I'll join you eventually." Kaname reassured.
He began to walk down the path that Zero had refused to take earlier. A chill curled up his spine.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" his silver tongue cut through.
"To gather evidence. Go back to my room and wait for me there."
This ordering around crap was going to stop, right now. Zero's blood boiled; he wasn't ready to face the scene, but didn't want Kuran to get a jump on him either.
"I don't care who the hell you are, or who you think you might be, but you are not going to do whatever you damn well please about this without me!"
Kaname stopped to look over his shoulder with a smirk.
"Feeling a little left out?"
"You think this is all a damn joke, don't you?"
The pureblood's expression soured.
"You're the one who isn't taking this seriously. Who didn't want to interview the humans? Who wants to hold off interviewing the vampires until he can clear his head?"
"Don't you fucking snap at me for that! I am taking this seriously! You're the one pretending everything is fine laughing it off, cracking jokes with that sick humor of yours. We already know the humans didn't know anything, yet you still insist that we waste our time with them? Who gave me the alcohol?"
"No one forced you to drink it."
"I only did it so you would stop your freakish staring! You think that nobody can see when you do that but guess what, they can! Who the hell are you to know what I want?"
The knot in his chest tightened at those words. a look of anguish crossed Kaname's face.
"Who couldn't protect Yuuki?" he asked quietly.
The wind was let out of Zero's argument - he was right. Except he wasn't the only one who had loved her, two could play at that game.
"What's your excuse?"
He expected the fist that slammed into his gut not even a second later. Actually, he wanted it... another escape.
"You...!" the word was growled menacingly.
"I....... what?" he coughed.
"I'll tell you a little secret, Kiryuu," Kaname whispered in the hunter's ear as he folded in on the fist. "Yuuki was my sister."
Zero closed his eyes to the welcoming white abyss, the words not quite registering in his mind.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Kaname gently shifted the teen in his arms so he was comfortably supported. In a few long strides the pair were over the gate to the Moon Dorm grounds, green lighted by a confused Kaien and Touga, and heading up the stairs to the bedchambers.
"You finally put that kid in his place?" Ruka smiled, impressed with the pureblood.
"Hm?" his bros knit together in confusion before he looked down at Zero.
A thin line of blood dribbled down from the corner of his mouth.
Crap.
He didn't mean to make him bleed, he hadn't noticed actually. But now that he had, the spicy scent harassed his every thought. Other vampires were poking their heads out of their rooms, noses flaring to the sweet aroma of an authentic meal.
"Are we being tested or something?" Aidou complained. "First yesterday and now-"
The hand hit its mark, making the blond's hair fly in disarray, catching the small flecks of blood that dripped from the scrape in his cheek. Kaname had moved the hunter over his shoulder on one arm, catching Aidou with a returning backhand. He wasn't about to let the blond bitch to his heart's content about Yuuki's death with his half-assed regrets about not being able to clean up. The pureblood's hearing was much better than what anyone thought.
"Test yourself on that." he muttered, sparing the retreating vampires a side glance.
"Let's go before you get worse." Kain pulled his cousin into their room, fearing for the idiot.
"Kaname-sama, is there anything I can help you with?" Ichijou offered, noting that he was stressed.
"Solve this enigma." he answered in a low tone, bringing a hand up to support Zero's back before he could sag.
Aidou's eyes narrowed from inside his doorway. He licked his lips subconsciously as he watched the pair head further down the hall. Kaname checked his grip on the hunter before opening the door and sealing them inside.
"You're very troublesome, you know that?" the pureblood whispered as he lay the boy across his bed.
The room still held remnants of Zero's scent, which was helped by the fact that he had nearly been nude. Kaname wasn't about to undress him again, it would be much too suggestive and suspicious.
"Kuhh... huhh"
Tendons in the hunter's neck strained as he coughed in his sleep, the small trickle of blood grew for a second before stopping again. His brows knit and an uncomfortable expression contorted his face.
"Hmm..."
Checking to see if he was still unconscious, the pureblood wiped his thumb along Zero's chin, collecting crimson to bring to his lips. Curiosity, necessity, experimentation, repayment, they could all pass as excuses couldn't they?
For the umpteenth time Kaname wished he had the courage to just be himself and not have to think through every action or how they would effect his race. Keeping up his poker face was a tiring task.
As strange as it sounded, he envied the fact that Kiryuu was brave enough to do whatever, the hell he liked without scrutiny. He wanted to be able to freely express himself in any manner of his choosing like Zero could. Sure, his range of emotions weren't normally displayed - anger was normally the heart on his sleeve, but people could still see through his mask. Kaname was the supposed to be the "spoiled" pure blooded child, so why did he want what an ex-human had?
"Kohh!"
He glared at the teen, greedily stuffing the blood covered finger into his mouth, relishing in its sweetly spicy kick. He didn't care if the action made him seem like a petulant child, no one was around to watch. Zero let out a pitiful whimper in his sleep, softening up the pureblood. With a sigh he brushed back silver bangs from the hunter's pallid face and felt his forehead.
It was burning!
Kaname became a bit unnerved. He had studied up on sicknesses and other ailments, both human and vampire, during his free time all his life. This, however, was the first time he had encountered anything like what he had read about. Studying and practice were two different things.
First thing was first, keep the individual from being overdressed.
...
Again, he would have to take the clothes off of this boy. The pureblood was beginning to think that Zero's body was doing this on purpose.
"Who gave me the alcohol?"
Kaname frowned at the memory, the ever present guilt in his core throbbing again. He unbuttoned the hunter's jacket, waist coat and shirt (tie too), pulling them off with some difficulty. Too much movement could make him puke everywhere, and that was the last thing either of them needed. The clothes weren't damp, meaning that the fever would hold out. With a sigh he turned Zero onto his stomach with he head at the side, in case he did happen to throw up while Kaname was gone.
Passing the couch, he deposited the garments over the cushions, taking care to fold them neatly, suppressing the desire to shove his nose into the white shirt. He was unable to keep himself from whiffing the scent from his hands. If there was any scent of sweat he would be able to tell when the hunter would sober up. That's what he told himself, never mind that he had just drank his blood for the second time. Nobody else knew about it but himself, Kaname's little secret.
Now, hydration and tepid water to keep the temperature down. His room had to be the farthest from everything good...
"No one is to enter my room under any circumstances while I'm away." Kaname announced in a normal speaking voice. The others would hear.
He descended the stairs as Aidou poked his head out like a frightened rabbit, looking left and right for the dorm leader. The blond sneaked out into the hallway, pausing before the very door he was just instructed to steer clear of.
"Peter rabbit would be wise to stay out of McGreggor-san's garden." Kain chided.
"Peter? I thought I was Thumper-chan." Aidou smirked. Kain avoided the questioning stares of other curious vampires. "Besides, he said not to go in, nothing about not peeking. As long as I don't go in, I won't be disobeying anything."
"Hahh...."
Aidou looked through the slim crack in the door at Zero, who rolled over in that moment, sighing and flushing red all over his chest, neck and cheeks. The blond's heart gave a jolt in surprise as he ran back to his room, motioning for everyone to do the same.
Kaname gave a quiet chuckle from his hiding spot at the bottom of the stairs. That would teach the others to not pry into his personal affairs. With a bottle of vodka, he grabbed a small bowl and a goblet from the kitchen, filling them both with water so he could tend to the sickened hunter. The doors were all ajar when he came back upstairs, probably to shake off suspicion.
Hopefully Zero would snap out of his fever soon, so the investigation could continue of course. Luckily, feeding the hunter would break his fever.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
Someone was singing.
Tra, tra,
sa sui la
sogni
da
prima
ma sui la
aloni
And it was damn annoying.
Mia, mia
cuore è morto
affini
aborto
me stesto
allargato
pensieri
annientato
A little girl with pale skin and dark hair gazed down at Zero, who was lying on his back. He coughed and turned over, wishing she would go away. He was in the middle of trying to find a way to wake up so he could kick the pureblood's ass.
"You look like him." she smiled.
"Not now kid."
Normally he would have asked the child questions to try and take them back to where they belonged, but he realized that this was a dream, and therefore didn't care.
"The mister in oneesama's head, you look just like him."
Zero turned to look at the girl, she was wearing a snow white dress that the rich children were normally clothed in. His heart stopped when he saw her eyes - they were the exact same chocolate Yuuki's had been.
"Who are you?!" he yelled. It couldn't have been her child, so then was it her? Ridiculous. Yuuki hadn't died as a child.
"Oh, now you're interested?" her smile remained innocent. "Your smell reminds me of oniisama. It's not the same, but you're like him."
"Answer me." Zero placed a gentle hand on the child's shoulder to coax her into telling.
"Don't worry about me. Stay alive oniisan." The child pecked him on the cheek. "Play nice with oniisama, don't do ero things." she giggled, showing him his memory of the sun dorm.
She poked and prodded through the rest of his recollections on her way out of his mind, brushing past different scenes here and there. Zero rose to follow her, reliving each memory for the briefest moment as he came in contact with them.
"Is it alright if I touch you?"
Meeting Yuuki.
"May I wipe your neck?"
"You are okay, because I'll be holding you like this from now on."
"You are okay."
Being cared for by her.
"VAMPIRE!"
Meeting Kaname.
"You smell just like that woman!"
The fear.
The anger.
"I have no intention of getting killed by you."
"It's nothing, it'll heal soon."
The envy.
"Don't you dare touch me with your hand that touched him!"
Jealousy.
The girl disappeared from his sight. She had the advantage in his own mind! Where she could pick and choose which memories to see, they melted into his subconscious at a touch.
"OI!"
""Hey" is for horses." Kaname stated as he wiped Zero's forehead with a wet cloth. "And I think you've had enough of them, personally." he traced a finger along the hunter's bare abdomen where he had been kicked. The skin quivered, as did the fingers stroking it.
"Whatever." he was still sort of pissed with the haughty vampire. Why the hell was he taking care of a mortal enemy? Did he feel bad about the liquor thing? "I what?" Zero wasn't going to let go of what was said earlier. He had answered all of his questions, now it was Kaname's turn. Shifting to sit up, a large hand came down over his chest, coaxing him back down onto the soft duvet of the pureblood's four poster. It lingered there for a second, warm against the thin sheen of sweat coating his muscles.
"Careful, you've made yourself sick with all that stress..."
The statement trailed off with guilt throbbing in Zero's heart.
"I'm going to retrieve the disc with the security footage, we can review it when you're better." his eyes softened."Hey..."
"You're not talking to a horse..." the hunter pouted. Kaname gave a small smile at the good humor.
"I'm sorry I got you drunk... I thought it might help you with coping..."
The pureblood turned away for a moment to conceal his face. Was he... embarrassed?
"Er, thanks, I guess?" Zero mumbled awkwardly. "But I'm fine now, let's get the recording."
A hand landed on either side of the hunter's head, both clutching the pillow until tight creases were made. He could see the lucid shine in Kuran's eyes from the candlelight. Kaname had downed more liquor, evidence was on his breath.
Zero's nose wrinkled from the strong scent that was mingled with the tablets. The pureblood inched closer, dark hair falling around them, blocking out most of the candlelight. He gently touched his clammy forehead against the hunter's, moving forward slightly from the jolt their hearts gave. They stared into each others' eyes for a long moment, rust burning into lilac, lashes so close that they lightly brushed together.
"Your fever's gone down..." he muttered softly. "Good color..."
He brought a hand up to stroke back silver tresses, the touch making his cheeks burn.
"Very good color... however," he smiled "I think your temp is climbing again. No work for you."
The last part was spoken like an adult to a child, but Zero didn't mind. It felt so good that he didn't resist the actions. He was so...... content. Something he hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. His heartbeat was strong, so much so that it shook them. He looked up into Kaname's glazed eyes and frowned.
"Hey," his voice was rough and timid at once. "You shouldn't drink so much." he grabbed the fingers still curling around his cheek, lifting the hand off. He noticed the deep red marking again, more prominent than last time. The poor pureblood had lost his mind. Relief loosened the relentless guilt. In that moment Zero decided to ignore his haywire feelings.
"Kaname-kun!" a voice called from down the hall.
Kaname kept their foreheads pressed together for a moment longer before getting up. The hunter's skin was burning again. It had to be the fever. He was getting sick, and Kuran was being a kind sempai by looking after his kohai. That explained all of the freaky behavior as of late. Zero accepted the relief this time, even as it clashed with surmounting stress.
"It's open, Chairman Cross." Kaname responded as he stood by the window.
"I found something of interest." he blurted the moment he came through the door.
"Interest?"
"In the Academy infirmary." Kaien gave the pureblood a very meaningful look, which somewhat bothered Zero.
Kaname reacted to this news, crossing the room in three long strides.
"Let's go." he said at once, a little too eagerly. Zero shot them a questioning glance.
"I'm coming too."
"You aren't fully recovered, rest."
"That doesn't matter."
"You'll just be a hindrance if you aren't at your best."
"I said I'm going!"
"How did it get in here?! Kill it!!"
Glass broke in the next room over. The lights flickered on and off as Zero and Kaien clutched their heads.
"Ruka, Rima." Kaname acknowledged urgently, running next door. "What the hell?" his voice came a second later. The hunter rose to join the scene, a look of disbelief upon his face at what he saw.
"ღ*~+~*ღ"
A/N:(I forgot the last bit, though it's a weak ending. XD)
Peter Rabbit and Thumper: The first is a warning about being where you don't belong, the second is an innuendo. ^^
Poem: They're speaking English in this part, and since this fic is in English I changed it to Italian. Something foreign. Plus it sounded nice and I made it rhyme, which was difficult. I wrote the first part in Italian originally, starting with "Sui la", I popped it onto Google Translate (a random dice throw about choosing the language) and went from there making things rhyme. It came out better than expected. Why not reverse translate with Japanese? GT doesn't do romanji, so it would be 50x harder to convey the same thing and have it rhyme.
Translation:
between, between,
known about the
dreams
from
before
but on the
halos
my, my
heart is dead
related
Abortion
you were me
Broader
thoughts
destroyed
"Is it alright if I touch you?" - Actual scenes from VK. The way they're said can be misunderstood. ^^
"Hey is for horses" - "Oi" means hey, hence my stupid pun. XD
I have weird onomatopoeia, I know.
There is a reason Zero didn't push Kaname on his ass during the fluff.
The little girl is and isn't who you think she is.
This chapter came out differently than I originally had planned, which is fine because the plot has stabilized. Finally.
How did you like the peek into Kaname's mind?
Questions? Reviews? Concerns?