Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Vampire Knight, obviously. If I did, Kaname and Zero would have been closer… waaaay closer ;)
A/N: I know so many of you think I'm an evil authoress for leaving so many cliffhangers… And you would, sadly, be right! I just can't help myself, I love leaving cliffies. *bows to everyone* please forgive me! I promise that this chapter won't have a cliffhanger and it's also longer! So please enjoy!
I am on a roll with this story ever since I got back from my hiatus so the chapters will probably be coming more quickly for awhile until I'm exhausted. I hope that it ok will everyone :D
SPAM ALERT: If you enjoy this story, there is another VK story that I started that is titled "Relinquish". There is more romance and less suffering in the story. I hope you all check it out :D
Anyway, on to the chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
Frantic Struggles
Kaname went to answer before he stopped suddenly, his eyes wide as he stared down at the man in his arms. Though there was plenty of noise in the clearing, there was one sound that was missing… Zero's heart wasn't beating.
"Zero! Hey, Zero!" Kaname shouted, shaking the man in his arms.
"What the hell is happening Kuran!" Yagari shouted as he shouldered his way to the pureblood.
Placing his hand on the pureblood's shoulder, he was swiftly shaken off as Kaname snarled in his face. Yagari backed up quickly, cursing himself for not bringing his anti-vampire weapon with him. Though the pureblood's attitude pissed him off, he was slightly worried at what was wrong with Zero to cause him to be in such a state.
"I don't have time for your bullshit Toga!" Kaname snarled before swiftly sprinting into the Moon Dorm, opening doors with his mind.
Glancing at the others, Toga saw that they were all as confused as he was. Before anyone could say a word, Takuma appeared on the scene. Looking around, he quickly took in the worried expression on Yagari's face and the confusion on the others' faces. From where he was, he could feel the desperation in Kaname's aura.
"What happened?" Takuma demanded sharply.
"Kaname-sama and Yagari were arguing when suddenly Kaname-sama stopped… He just stared at Kiryu with wide eyes before he cursed at Yagari-sensei and stormed into the dorm," Shiki provided.
Nodding, Takuma addressed them all, including Yagari, "All of you, follow me."
Once they were all in the dorm, Takuma hurried up the stairs, not caring that the others were following him. He saw the door to Kaname's room thrown open so he headed there.
Before he got too close, he heard Kaname yell for him, "Takuma, get in here!"
The noble was surprised at the panic in his friend's voice so he sprinted at vampire speed the remaining distance until he stood within the door of the room. Kaname had Zero lying on his bed with the hunter's shirt torn open. His hands were on his chest, hands clenched together over his sternum. When he listened closely, he realized what was missing.
"No," Takuma whispered horrified, eyes wide as he stared.
Kaname glanced up at Takuma, tears glistening on his eyes lashes, as he pleaded, "I don't know what to do Taku… Help me."
Then Yagari burst into the room. He opened his mouth to yell once more when he caught sight of the desperate pureblood and shocked noble. Then he looked to his student on the bed. His own eye widened in horror as he realized what had caused the pureblood to be in such a disposition; his idiot apprentice wasn't breathing.
"What's going on?" Yagari demanded, his voice thick.
"Zero-kun's heart isn't beating," Takuma whispered like if he didn't say it too loud, it would miraculously start beating again.
Looking up at the man, Kaname let all his pureblood dignity go out the window as he pleaded, "Please Toga… Help me… I don't know what to do… He can't die."
Choosing not question the pureblood's change of heart after crushing his student's hand, Toga shed his jacket as he moved to the bed. Rolling up his sleeves, he shoved the pureblood's hands out of the way and replaced them with his own.
Looking at the pureblood, he guided him, "I'll do the chest compressions. I'll count to seven and then you have to hold his nose closed while you breathe into his mouth. We have to hurry, the longer his heart isn't beating, the worse the damage with be."
Nodding his understanding, Kaname swiftly did as he was ordered. Seeing the pureblood in place, Toga began his compression and counting. After he reached seven, Kaname lowered his lips to Zero's, breathing air into the hunter. Pulling back, they repeated the process.
By then, the others had filed into the room to stare in shock at the scene on the bed. Aido's heart clenched guiltily, he hadn't meant to take so much blood from the hunter; he had only wished to punish him for his disobedience to his friend. But when the blood started flowing in his mouth, he couldn't stop. Though he hated the hunter, he never wished for him to die. If that came to be a reality, he knew he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.
After several rounds of CPR, there was still no sign of life from the hunter. Kaname, Toga, and Takuma were beginning to get anxious; fearing that the hunter was beyond their grasp.
In frustration, Toga lost it, "Damn it Zero, don't you fucking die on me!"
Slamming his above Zero's heart, he let the tears he was fighting fall. His idiot apprentice couldn't be dead; he was a vampire. Though he hated the fact, he took solace in the fact that it would take a lot to kill him. Yet, here he was, not breathing with his heart still in his chest.
Suddenly, Kaname and Takuma gasped. The other vampires in the room then started to pay attention, diverting their attention from guilty thoughts.
"What, what is it!" Toga demanded, tears still on his face.
"His heart is beating," Kaname sighed with a small smile, "But it's very faint. We have to hurry."
Toga looked at the pureblood with confusion, not understanding what he meant. Kaname didn't wait for the questions; he swiftly tore into his wrist for the second time in two nights. Ignoring the soft growls coming from his friends, he greedily gulped his pure blood into his mouth before slanting his lips over the hunter's. Prying the pliant lips open, he allowed his essence to flow into the man. Bringing one hand up, he gently massaged the other's throat to help him swallow. He repeated the process over and over, wanting to give Zero all he could so he would have a chance at survival.
Toga stared at the scene before him in slight disgust, "What is he doing?"
Takuma answered him, "Due to certain… circumstances… Zero-kun lost a lot of blood this evening. The reason his heart stopped was because his blood had almost been completely drained. Kaname is trying to put more blood in his system so his heart has something to pump."
At his words, Toga quickly scanned his eye over his student. His eye stopped at the vicious fang marks embedded in the side of Zero's neck that he previously hadn't seen. His fists clenched as he glared at the pureblood now forcing his life blood into the hunter, thinking he had done it after the encounter earlier in the evening.
Seeing his glare, Takuma quickly stepped in, "It was not Kaname who did this to Zero. If it had been, do you think he would be trying so hard to save his life?"
Glaring at the noble, he asked, "What else am I suppose to think? He already broke Zero's hand, he would have been defenseless."
Before Takuma could speak again, Aido stepped forward, "It was me, I was the one who drank from Kiryu, not Kaname-sama."
Toga rounded on the other blonde noble, ready to tear him to pieces when a curse was heard behind him. Turning back around quickly, he saw Kaname barely holding himself up, looking paler than normal. His eyes were crimson but they looked desperately at the hunter below him.
"Kaname!" Takuma reached across the bed steady his friend, "What is it?"
Kaname turned sad crimson pools to stare into emerald green, "I... I can't… I don't… have enough… It'll take more blood… than I have."
Suddenly, Aido was there on the other side of Kaname holding out his wrist, "Take from me Kaname."
Looking at Aido, Kaname could see the guilt in his blue orbs, but he had to ask, "Why?"
Aido glared at Kaname for the first time since they were children, "Don't ask questions Kaname! If you want him to live you don't have the time. You can ask all you want later!"
Growling softly at the blonde's attitude, he nodded before viciously tears into the wrist presented to him. He could have been gentler, but he didn't believe the other deserved it; he had after all caused the entire situation they were in. He deserved to feel some pain for the pain he had put Zero through.
Aido winced slightly at the pain but didn't voice any protest. He could see all the explanation he needed in his prince's eyes. They were grateful but they also spoke of the anger he felt; he blamed Aido and wanted to cause him some pain. Aido would never protest a punishment when he knew he deserved it. On some level, Aido knew that the hunter meant more to the pureblood than either Kaname or Zero would admit. The night before was proof enough of that but Aido had turned a blind eye to what was there before him all along. He would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to the both of them, even if it meant bloodshed on his part.
Aido began to get unsteady on his feet but he still didn't complain; he knew that Kaname needed a lot in order to give enough to the still critical hunter. When Aido thought he was on the verge of passing out, Kaname pulled away from his wrist.
"Take him and get him some blood tablets," Kaname ordered softly.
Kain was beside his cousin in an instant, gathering the pale blonde in his arms. With a swift nod to the pureblood, he was out the door.
Before Kaname could get back to feeding Zero, Kain Cross burst into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks seeing Kaname and Zero on the bed with blood stained lips and Toga just standing there as though what was happening was not out of the ordinary. Looking closer, he saw how pale Zero was, with Kaname running a close second.
"What's going on?" Cross demanded, his eyes narrowing, looking the hunter he was known to be.
"Takuma," Kaname said before wincing as he bit into his wrist once more.
Takuma went over to the chairman and placed a hand on his shoulder as he told him the same thing he said to Toga, "I told you part of the story when I brought Yuuki-chan to you. What I failed to mention, as I didn't know the situation was so dire, was that Zero-kun lost a lot of blood due to the altercation. His heart stopped shortly after I left. Kaname and Yagari-sensei have just got his heart started again and now Kaname is trying to replace the blood that was lost so his heart has enough to work with."
Kaien nodded as he focused on the two still on the bed. He stared in awe at how gentle Kaname was with the fragile hunter. His right arm held him above the limp body beneath him as his left hand gently worked along the other's throat. If it weren't for the small amount of blood slowly leaking from the corners of their mouths, he would almost think he had walked in on an intimate moment between the two.
Suddenly, Kaname let out a startled yelp as his crimson eyes flew open. Moving his hand up, he gently yet forcefully squeezed Zero's jaw until it opened, allowing his bottom lip to be freed from Zero's now descended fangs. Straddling the hunter's still unconscious body, Kaname bent over the other, allowing Zero's face to fit in the crook of his neck, as he reminisced at how much like déjà vu the position felt. Before he could contemplate the two similar nights further, he gasped again, his eyes closing this time, as Zero's vampire instincts served him, even in unconsciousness. The slide of fangs into his neck was more painful than ever before due to the hunter's unconscious state.
"Kaname?" Takuma questioned softly.
For a moment he had forgotten that there were others there, "Taku?"
"Are you alright?" concern was evident in the blonde's voice.
Kaname's vision wavered as he opened his eyes to look at his friend out of the corner of his eye, "I might need help soon."
"What is it Kaname?" Kaien asked as he stepped up beside the bed.
Blinking sluggishly, Kaname fought to keep focus, "I'm… almost out of blood again… In this state… He doesn't know… He will keep drinking… Until there is nothing left… Soon he will… need to be forced… to stop."
"Tell me what I need to do Kaname," Takuma near pleaded.
Kaname went to open his mouth but blackness swallowed his vision. For several seconds, he thought that he had waited too long until he heard three sets of voices calling for him. Struggling, he forced his mind to focus as his vision cleared momentarily. Glancing at the three beside the bed, he was slightly surprised to see three sets of worried eyes trained on him.
He barely had a voice as he whispered, "Now."
Takuma swiftly rounded the bed before crawling on the other side. Grasping Zero's jaw as Kaname had done minutes before; he looked at Kaname who nodded. Takuma then squeezed until Zero's jaw was forced open and his fangs were freed from the pureblood's neck.
"Kaname?" Takuma asked as the pureblood hadn't moved from his position on top of the hunter.
"I… can't move," Kaname admitted ruefully, not happy at having to admit weakness. Surprisingly Toga moved to help the pureblood however Kaname shook his head, "Don't."
Toga stopped as he looked at Takuma in confusion, "Why?"
Takuma however looked to Shiki, "Would you help move Kaname?"
Shiki nodded without words, he knew what would be expected of him. Moving to the bed, he quickly shooed the Kaien and Toga out of the way as he picked Kaname up into his arms bridal style. Moving away from the bed, he went over to the couches across the room. Sitting down, he kept Kaname in his lap as he bared his neck to his distant cousin. Kaname looked at him gratefully before sinking his fangs into the neck before him.
Once Kaname was out of the way, he left go of Zero's jaw and let him relax in unconsciousness. Using the corner of the sheet, he quickly wiped the remaining blood from the hunter's face. Only after that was done did he turn to the other two hunters.
Jerking his head toward the couches, Takuma finally explained the situation to Toga, "Kaname didn't mean to insult you, it was actually for your own protection. He is severely low on blood at the moment and you would have been too much of a temptation for him. Vampires naturally have a lower heartbeat than humans so it's not as… calling to those who need to feed. Kaname didn't want to attack you so he told you not to come closer," seeing them nod in understanding, he continued, "I would recommend you not get too close to Zero-kun at the moment either as he is still unconscious as would react strongly to your heartbeats. You are fine where you are, but please do not get on the bed with him."
"Thank you Shiki," they heard Kaname thank the noble from across the room.
When they turned to look, they noticed that Kaname was still pale and unsteady on his feet as he made his way to his desk. Shiki sat there looking confused, looking none the worse for wear. Obviously the pureblood hadn't taken much from the noble.
Once at the desk, Kaname dropped into the desk chair, not concerned with looking graceful. Shakily, he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a container of blood tablets. Takuma was beside him in an instant, pouring him some wine into a wine glass. Kaname flashed him a grateful smile as he dropped a handful of blood tablets into the glass.
Only after he had two glasses of the wine and blood tablet mixture did he address the others in the room, "Ruka, Shiki, Rima… You may all return to your rooms for the night. Do not believe that this has been forgotten, I will deal with you tomorrow evening." Once the others hand left, Kaname gestured to the cushioned seats before his desk as he addressed Toga and Kaien, "You are welcome to sit down. I am sure you have a lot of questions."
Both of them sat down gracefully as Takuma continued to stand beside his friend. Takuma continued to refill the pureblood's wine glass, making him a steady supply of blood substitute to replenish what he lost. It was all he could do for his friend.
"What about Zero?" Toga asked after Kaname finished the last glass from the bottle of wine of his desk,
Glancing to the still unconscious hunter, he sighed, "Zero won't be going anywhere for awhile I'm afraid. What I gave him tonight will go to heal his injuries. I will have to continue to feed him blood until his body and mind have fully recovered."
Toga nodded at that, "Then he's staying here?"
"It would be best; I can keep a better eye on him here. He is a level D and his vampiric instincts are raw and undeveloped. If he were to awaken without being fully recovered, it would be his beast that would be present and not his humanity. None of us can risk him being around humans until we are sure he is fully healed."
Again, Toga nodded to show that he understood, and then asked, "Now would you kindly explain to me what the hell has been happening the past two days?"
END!
A/N: See now, that wasn't too bad, was it? I didn't even make a cliff hanger like I wanted to do! I was in a generous mood tonight so no cliff hanger and a long chapter, aren't I the greatest? Just kidding! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please let me know what you think!
I just wanted to make one comment about my reviews: I HAVE 161 REVIEWS OVER 15 CHAPTERS! That is the most reviews I've ever had for a story I've posted. I would like to give a big shout out to ALL of my reviewers: thank you for making me feel that this story is worthwhile! I can't thank you all enough! THANK YOU!
Paivakirja- I'm sorry for being so evil! But at least this chapter isn't a cliffhanger right? And the chapter was out quickly huh? I hope this chapter makes you happy. Thank you so much for reviewing. I hope you continue to do so.
Evangelion-Wings- I'm sorry for making you so worried! I am so very glad that you look forward to my updates; you have no idea how happy that makes me as an author! Thank you thank you thank you thank you! Lol! I hope you continue to look forward to the chapters and continue to review. By the way, if you like this story, you might like my other VK story. If you feel up to it, please check it out :D
ben4kevin- well it looks like your protest worked! NO MORE CLIFFHANGERS… at least for this chapter lol. Thank you so much for continuing to review on this story and for reviewing on my other story as well. As you can see, I saved him :D How could I not? Then my story would be over lol! I hope you continue to read and review!
LuanRina – Holy crap! That was a long review, I LOVED IT! I'm glad that you liked the chapter so much; I'll even take being called sadistic as a compliment ;) lol. I'm glad that you liked Kaname's POV, it took me a few times to write it because I was never happy with it lol. I'm also glad that my cliffie was at least a GOOD cliffie hahaha. If my last update made your night, I hope this one does as well. It seems as though after my long hiatus, I've hit a groove for this story; not saying how long it will last thought. Please continue to read and review, I love you reviews, they always make me smile :D
xXBlackxxStarXx- I know, I am soooo evil but I can't help it! But I promise, Zero will be ok… eventually! I hope you continue to read and review!
Brookie cookie17- of course Zero won't die! I could never do THAT to him, anything else yes, but not kill him! As you can see, he is… kind of ok. At least his heart's beating! I'm glad that you liked the story and I hope you will continue to review! Oh, and thanks for reading and adding my other story!
Lily3003- Thank you so much for your Story Alert and Favorite Story adds!
SonamySistah96- Thank you so very very much for all the adds! I'm pretty sure you added me to all the lists that there are on ; that makes me so very happy :D
jedi71- Thank you so much for the Favorite Story add!
freefall-gypsy- I am very grateful for the Favorite Story add!