A/N: Thanks so much to all who have reviewed and added this story to their favorites and alerts! New, old, I'm very appreciative.
Quite a few recurring review people I would like to specifically bestow my gratitude upon are - DarkenedDeathAngel, Nikotehfox, Lenko (again XD) aquastreak243, ButterflySparkle, Eyes17k as the good ol' reliable crew.
The every so/fairly often crew, Jiggary, Koreto-chan, Ebony-Knight, Seriyuu.
Thanks also to Hester Golem, aisha4senru, Hanamaru as newer crew of reviewers to give repeated feedback.
I look forward to each and every review I get, and it makes me smile to see your names popping up again and again. It's very encouraging! ^^ And as promised, my reviewers all have my undying love, even those I haven't mentioned.
It's the tenth chapter celebration! This calls for some fluffy warm and fuzzies! Enjoy ~
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"Haine-kun! Yuri-chan!" Touga had perched on the top of the wall near the gate to the sun dorm, since he didn't have a key to the padlock.
The new guardians came at his call, weapons at the ready.
"What's wrong?" Haine asked, alarmed at the urgency in his voice.
"We're going to have to move the day class, every single person to a more secure location. I'm going to need your help, Ichiru-kun and Yori-chan also. Where are they?"
"They went to the Chairman's office earlier." Yuri coughed.
It had been getting colder since the afternoon, much colder. With the clouds moving in so rapidly, the setting sun had been concealed, casting them into an artificial night that would be real all too soon, and with that would come ice.
Haine pat her back gently through her layered coat. They would never criticize prefects of the academy again. Having to keep awake on a nearly constant basis was a difficult feat. Were classes resumed, they probably would have been snoozing in their seats as well.
"Then we don't need to worry about those two. Clear out the dorms into the living area. Tell everyone to leave everything in their room but a coat and come quickly, quietly, and not to make a scene. There's an emergency and we need their cooperation and silence."
"Does it have to do with the killer?" Haine asked with wide eyes.
"Something along those lines."
"You can count on us." he nodded, gesturing to Yuri to head back to the dorm.
"Are you coming with us?" she asked.
Touga frowned at the gates, thinking he needed to retrieve the key from the Chairman if they were to escape.
"I'll catch up in a minute, I have to get a key from-"
"Touga Yagari-san, number one active duty hunter in the Association, it's been a while." the Association President approached them from afar side wall.
He had just gotten into the gate from another entry point.
"Have you been-ARGH!"
His words were cut short when a skillet made contact with his skull, the sturdy metal singing and resonating as the day class president fiercely bludgeoned him.
"That'll teach you to sneak inside and mess with us!" he laughed, pushing up his glasses.
Touga watched in horror as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Where the hell had that kid come from?
"No need to thank me! While you guys were chatting, I decided to take the initiative and keep a watch of my own! Cross-chan's death has really opened my eyes to the dangers we can still face, even in an academy. It was pretty life-changing actually, I feel like I want to be more responsible in my fellow classmates-"
"You damn idiot! That was the head of the Hunter's Association!" Touga growled running to the man, though he had to give the kid credit for having the balls to do what he did. "If you want to be useful then go round up the day class and relay my message!"
"Ingrate." he muttered with a frown, still rather proud of himself as he marched off.
"What do you know, our class prez meets your prez, what a welcome." Haine murmured heading over to help.
Something was off about the President. Touga had no idea what as he tried to move his unconscious body, but he knew he had to get him to Kaien and find out where the other hunters were.
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"You called me?" a little girl asked, keeping her head bowed.
The Association President looked down to the child, noticing a droplet of blood on the chest of her dress. Was she the child of their servants?
"You, child, where is this?" he asked, looking around in the white expanse.
"...."
"Answer when you're spoken to!"
"......"
She peeked up through her long, dark hair, chocolate brown eyes bleeding into crimson orbs.
"I don't like your tone..." she whispered, grinning, fangs glinting white.
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"I don't know why you're still so weak, you should be getting stronger by now." Ichiru frowned, keeping close to Yori lest she needed to be helped further
"You're scared, ne? Relax and the pains will ease with time. You are a 'precious friend', and that alone is enough to save you." Sara leered. "Would you rather me assist you? I can't guarantee your safety if you get treated by this specialist. With so many new sights, sounds, smells, with the new sensations and the tedious task of healing, you'll most likely be killed."
"Maybe so, but if there's anything I can do to help, then I will gladly risk my life to ease that painful burden." Yori said, squaring her shoulders through the pain.
The three walked through Sara's elaborate mansion, winding through the lavish corridors, passing different doors, all of which were closed and locked. Ichiru was sure that they were being led around, circling, trekking through each area in the mansion at least twice through different paths so they would not easily find their way back. They headed deeper into the heart of the structure until they stopped before an elaborately carved door, affixed with gold leaf trim and polished turquoise over the smooth white marble.
Sara turned the winged lever handle, pushing the door open to reveal a simple concrete room, cold and bare like a basement, but much smaller. It was the size of a closet, scarcely a walk-in, yet the door led one to believe that it held a treasure trove.
"Your appointment awaits." Sara waved gracefully to the room, expecting them to enter.
"Now wait a moment, what are you trying to get us to do? There's obviously nothing in ther- hey hold on!" Ichiru growled when Yori walked in without hesitation. "I have to keep an eye on you and you're just going to trust everything you're told?"
"My, to trust a pureblood. How bold of you." she smirked coyly at Yori. "You're right in doing so. We are perhaps the most echt of our kind."
"But,"
"You want your wish, am I right?" the girls asked in unison, clearly irritated.
Ichiru grit his teeth, not trusting the situation at all.
"Of course." he bowed to Sara, hoping to gloss over any negative impressions.
She shut the door, enveloping the pair in darkness. Slowly, the floor began to drop.
Ichiru stood there, waiting for the ride to stop. It was amazing how much shit he and Zero were willing to go through to avenge a loved one, though Ichiru saw no sense in Zero's anguish. His taste had gone bad after all. not only was he proving it again by holding an attraction to that pureblood male, but...
For the first time in a long while, Ichiru felt truly connected to his twin. He realized this dangerously misplaced, morbid fascination the two had with purebloods, and the irony that they were hunters, meant disaster. He had always loved his brother, even if he was a bratty little jerk to him at times, they were all each other had. That bastard Kuran...
Ichiru somehow always had the knack of being able to find the truth hidden in the darkest corners of the limitless night.
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There was more than enough stressful events happening over the past week that were trying to chew through Kaien's entire way of life, and while having things continue as they were was something somewhat desirable for continuity's sake, he knew that the system had to be shaken for there to be any sort of change for the better. The Hunter's Association and remainder of the Vampire Council coming to ambush the school was a good thing, it would give him a chance to purge the system like he wanted to.
At least that was what he kept telling himself as snow drifted calmly from the heavens, trying to anger him with its lethargically slow-falling wonder.
A few members of the night class were awake in the sitting room. Ichijou was talking in a low tone to Shiki, whose head rested on his shoulder. It was a pure sort of friendship that Kaien got to witness that few believed to be possible amongst vampires, though now was hardly the time to get the warm and fluffies from his cute students.
"I'm glad you two are up, we have an emergency on our hands." Kaien said calmly, coming closer to the pair.
Ichijou placed a flimsy bookmark into his shoujo manga, placing it onto the table with care as he gave his full attention to the Chairman. Shiki actually sat up, turning to face him, looking unusually eager to talk.
"Sit down, Chairman Cross." Ichijou waved a hand to the opposing sofa. "We've been wanting to chat as well."
"Is that so?" he asked, genuinely surprised as he grabbed the seat.
"Yes," Shiki frowned. "Ichijou's told me everything when I mentioned the feeling, I think something's happened to Rido."
This surprised Kaien, that Shiki was so willing to talk about himself, especially his father. He noticed the way he didn't call him his father, distinctly identifying the pureblood with no obvious relation to him. Of course Kaien didn't blame him, regardless of blood, how could call someone be called 'father' if he never once cared this child?
"What makes you think that?" Kaien leaned forward, interested.
"I had this feeling, this morning I woke up and noticed that my bonds were gone. I'd like your permission to check and confirm this for myself."
"Ichijou, please explain."
"Shiki wasn't aware of what my grandfather had done to maintain Rido's body. I was going to keep my mouth shut about it, since it wasn't any of my business, but then Shiki told me about the hunch he got this morning, and I decided to fill him in."
Kaien considered this for a second, choosing his word carefully.
"I thought you were bullied by your grandfather to not mention anything to your friends."
Something tame flickered behind the blond's soft green eyes.
"I noticed that my bonds were cut as well, though I'm not at all sorry about that bit of information."
"In that case, you have my permission, as long as you and Ichijou-kun go together, and delay your departure until at least tomorrow evening. We have people from the Hunter's Association and the Council of Elders coming to shake the Academy."
"Then we'll investigate that as well, chances are that if we're right, they're running rogue without grandfather to regulate the members." he nodded.
"You're going to leave me behind?" Rima questioned from over the banister at the top of the stairs.
"We wouldn't dream of it." a ghost of a smile graced Shiki's lips as he gazed up at the loli vampire.
"Be careful, all of you." Kaien warned.
"You underestimate us, Chairman." she said as she came to sit beside him, eying the ex-hunter expectantly. "I believe you have a package for us?"
"Heheh, there are only three boxes in my office, my own personal stash, but you're more than welcome to take them along with you before you leave." he smiled sheepishly. "I wasn't able to go because of Sara-san's visit."
Rima looked content for the time being, exchanging a small smile with Shiki as she smoothed her winter ensemble . A small shiver ran down Ichijou's spine at the pureblood's name. He made a silent promise to himself to look into her intents as well. It was odd for her to want anything to do with Cross Academy, since if she had wanted to, she would have come to attend at the same time the rest of them had enrolled.
What could she have been planning?
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Kaname was never much of an early-bat.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between him and the hunter as they meandered through the darkening town, freezing in their drafty, revealing leather locked the apartment down and, in their embarrassed haste to leave, hadn't even thought about bringing sheets to wrap themselves in.
Their uniforms still hadn't dried, and to put them on in thirty degree weather, with a wind chill factor of twenty-five degrees, would not have been the smartest idea. He and Zero could smell the fresh scent of ice in the air long before they could see the end of the town. The air on their skin prickled like pins and needles.
Zero heaved a sharp sigh, watching the vapor of his breath dissipate into the atmosphere. He could feel his lips numbing, probably turning very pale against his face. Still, the hunter dared not to lick them, in fear of his saliva freezing into an icy shell around it. The slow, easy gait he and the pureblood had been walking did little to warm him up. Odd, since it was less than an hour ago since he had been warm in Kaname's arms.
Please let that have been a dream. What's more, let Kaname think that it was a dream. That would spare what little dignity he had left. Why? Why now? Was Kuran playing with him for his own sick enjoyment? That had to have been it. He had been laughed at too many times over the past week or so for any of it to be a serious attempt at something as ludicrous as flirting.
Zero felt like a fool for giving into his wants. Perhaps, if he could really believe that all of last night was done unconsciously by the pureblood, then it might have been genuine. But he was saddened by even the thought of Kaname not remembering what had taken place. It made him feel alone in that memory. The knot in his chest tightened, aching, aching with the conflicting emotions that threatened to drive him insane and tear him asunder.
His heart throbbed in pleasurable pain as he thought of it again--all of those sweet, needy kisses, sliding fingertips against soft skin, the possessive way Zero had been held, like he belonged to the pureblood, belonged with him.
His face flushed at the memory, causing the cold knives of the resisting wind to burn more ferociously against him.
Kaname was aware of the blush, feeling the temperature only a meter away to his left rise, even if only slightly. It gave him goosebumps. What was the hunter thinking of to cause such a reaction in a peculiar, silent setting? He stared at Zero out of the corner of his eye, rust-colored orbs lingering on his lips.
Was it all a dream as he thought, or was that merely his negative thoughts convincing him that it was so? Zero pulling away was what made him question the reality of the situation--if he hadn't, Kaname would have been completely convinced that it was a dream or hallucination.
So many of his desires that he held within for so long had come out in that... dream? Reality? He would have to test the validity in a moment. He could feel the heat and intensity of Zero's sorrow, reflecting his own. Perhaps, if he was lucky, Zero was thinking of him.
His eyes slid down to the folded uniforms in his arm--they were probably making the hunter colder. Without warning, Kaname ducked into a shop that was closing late, leaving Zero in the middle of the street.
Fine. He would brave the possible snowstorm looming in the air. Let the pureblood and his princely little girl's skin seek warm shelter, Zero was a rogue baby, he was going to rough it out like all hunters did.
A few moments later he could feel Kaname catch up. Zero didn't say a word until he got too close for comfort, sneaking up on him with an unclear intent...
He spun around, ready to tell the pureblood off when a big cashmere wrap was draped delicately over his head and shoulders, enveloping his upper half in a warm cocoon. Kaname had taken the uniforms from him as if he were some schoolboy carrying his girlfriend's books, freeing Zero hands so that he could instinctively gather the warm lavender cloth closer.
Zero's brows furrowed as he watched Kaname step back, looking him over with carefully concealed interest.
The two stood there for a moment, at a loss for words until Kaname spoke up.
"It brings out your eyes." he shrugged, moving past the hunter to continue into the forest path.
Kaname could tell that Zero was puzzled. Surely, if it wasn't a dream, he would have recognized the gesture of warmth and cover he was now returning, or perhaps the gesture was unwanted.
Was that what the sorrow he felt was from? At being hit on when he wasn't interested? But wait, if it was a dream...
Kaname didn't know what to think anymore. Nothing made sense.
"Purebloods don't feel the cold?" Zero asked as he followed after.
"Of course we do. It's rather uncomfortable, but not very bothersome." Kaname shrugged, words nearly visible in the frigid air.
The hunter caught up to him in a few long strides, torso turned to the side as he tried to engage further in conversation.
"Then why didn't you get one for yourself?"
"I only had enough on me for one."
Zero's expression rearranged in confusion.
"Being a pureblood means nothing to a human who doesn't know of the existence of vampires. Our regal air only comes off as a haughty sort of upper class to them. I wouldn't ask of a human, or vampire for that matter more than what I could pay for." he explained.
He tried not to be impressed with the pureblood's mature understanding. It made sense. But still...
"Take it, I don't need it, I'm fi-"
Kaname's hand stopped his as he reached to pull it off, making them pause on the path once more.
"Wear it." he ordered, releasing Zero's wrist.
"Why should I?" the hunter growled, starting to think that the pureblood was trying to call him weak, or show of his superiority by throwing money in his face.
"It's only fair, isn't it? You brought me warmth earlier, and I do so now for you as well. I don't like being indebted to others." whatever, let the hunter think he was talking crazy.
So Kaname did remember? Zero's heart thumped unevenly, a sweet yearning burning itself a hole in his chest.
On the outside, the hunter was surprised by his answer. Courteous? To Zero? Kaname? No, the pureblood must have been pulling his leg.
Then again, that last tidbit of information he volunteered did explain a lot. He would imagine that the rich wouldn't like debt. Like anyone else, they probably didn't like walking around half naked in freezing weather either.
They kept on in deafening silence for a moment's time before the first of the snowflakes fell. Kaname curled his lips in as he exhaled through his mouth, trying to warm them. A warm, light weight was placed around his own head and shoulders as Zero wound half of the wrap around him without making eye contact, paying close attention to how he pulled it securely around the both of them.
"Don't try to act so tough when you're freezing." said the hunter in irritation, a slight frown pulling his lips. "You've got to protect that girl's skin of yours."
"Who has girl's skin?" Kaname questioned, his eyes narrowing at the hunter besides him.
"You heard me." Zero mumbled, nearly jumping when the backs of their hands brushed together.
It felt as if the pureblood's entire arm had been resting in the snow that was sprinkling down over them. Zero pressed closer, trying to warm him back up with friction and his own body heat, skin to skin. Kaname could feel the pounding of his pulse, both through their connection and his arm. He could feel the conflict within the hunter, that crowning moment of weakness that heartened him to take the initiative for once.
Steeling his nerves, Kaname nonchalantly slipped his palm into the hunter's, taking Zero by surprise.
But he didn't pull away.
After a moment's hesitation, Zero closed his warm hand over Kaname's cool one, transferring more than just body heat. Now that he was aware, the hunter could feel the way their hearts synced up, fluttering like a trapped finch in a cage. The pureblood, heartened by his reaction, the lack of rejection, took it one step further, shyly lacing his fingers with Zero's.
The two stopped on the path again, not minding that they would probably never reach their destination before sunrise if that kept happening, and turned slightly towards each other, gazing into each others eyes, searching for the most tender of feelings behind their shining eyes.
That silent exchange of emotions, the air of sweet content they had created together was bliss.
Small smiles and pink faces intensified as they looked away, turning into lopsided grins and scarlet blushes as they continued on their twining path, a growing spring of love and reassurance nestled deeply within their hearts.
Within that frigid winter night, within the warmth of their simple touch, something as pure and innocent as the warmth of two loving hands, insecurities and doubts, fears and lies melted away.
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A/N: Breakthrough, I have the ending scene roughly sketched out. I'm hoping to write thirty chapters worth of story, but it might end up being shorter, (23-26) Also, there's a seven chapter arc I'm planning that is integral to the story, coming before year's end.
There's a STS poll in my profile. Vote please?
Reviews: I would love you forever.