Hey everybody, just a quick note to clear up a few things. It's come to my attention that people think I'm basing some situations in this fanfic on my own life. This isn't true. Yes, Akira is based on me, but only physically, not his personality or traits. The same goes for Sakura, she's based on someone, but only her looks. I didn't even make their fashion sense the same. A few of my original characters ARE based on people, but I can assure you that their personalities and situations are completely original. The sexual scenes are NOT based on experience, I just wrote them as they came along. To be honest, I never planned the sexual scenes, they just happened, and I feel that they develop the story/characters well, so I'm going to keep doing them. I will, however, put a warning before any sexual parts.
That's all I have to say for now, hope you enjoy part six, my little bloodsuckers.
Zero walks into Kaname's room, after being called by him from the hall. He had completely forgotten about his meeting with Kaname, he was too focused on his injuries and Yuki. Zero looks around the room, noticing how much grander it is than his and Yuki's room. It's a lot simpler than he expected though. He expected Kaname's room to be extravagant and over the top. Instead, it was just bigger, and had a few more classy looking items, like a few paintings. "Like that one?" Kaname asks as Zero picks up a small painting of a wolf. It almost looks like a photo, it's so realistic. "Yeah, it's amazing. Who painted it?" Zero asks, wondering who could possess such artistic talent. Kaname smiles. "I did. I'm glad you like it." Zero smiles at Kaname, genuinely impressed. "YOU painted that? I didn't know you painted, it's incredible." "Thank you Zero. Keep it, it's rare for people to anybody to admire my artwork. Think of it as a thank you." Kaname smiles at Zero, but not his usual smile he puts on for show. He means this one.
"I see Yuki's blood did you good." Kaname says, a faint twang of jealousy in his voice. Zero turns to Kaname, his eyes wide with surprise. "How did you?" Zero exclaims, before calming down. "What am I talking about. I'm in a dorm full of vampires, they probably all know." Zero says, sullen, hoping to keep his feeding habits secret. "No, don't worry, they were in class at the time. It's just me who knows." Kaname says, trying to reassure Zero. Zero looks at Kaname, a look of guilt in his eyes. "She asked me to...she said it would heal me faster..." Kaname smiles again, a little less enthusiastically, but still genuine. "And it did. Look at yourself Zero, you're almost fully recovered in the space of twenty-four hours. It would have taken you a week to recover on the blood capsules." Kaname goes silent for a moment, before placing a hand on Zero's shoulder, startling him with this sudden gesture of comfort from the normally emotionless vampire. "It's not a crime to feed Zero. The only reason that most of us don't drink real blood is because we have nobody who will offer it to us for the right reasons. Any humans that do offer usually just find the idea of vampires romantic and exciting. You've got someone who offers it to you because they care about you, and not a vampire in this dorm will lose any respect for you, or even become jealous that they don't get it, for feeding from Yuki." Kaname looks straight at Zero, a serious, but oddly comforting and friendly look on his face. "It is a vampire's nature to feed Zero. Don't try to fight it when it's offered to you so readily."
Zero looks at the vampire in front of him, a new sense of respect springing forth. Zero places his hand on Kaname's shoulder and says quietly honestly, "Thank you Kaname. Really." The two stand there like that, holding each other's shoulder in an odd form of affection between the two hardened vampires, before they let their hands drop.
"Now, I suppose we should get down to proper business. I want to talk to about the Twilight dorm, two nights ago. You had a run in with Ichigo Kaburagi, I believe?" Kaname asks. As Zero winces at the memory, he nods. "Yes. I did." A few seconds pass before Zero asks, "What are they? How can Ichigo...what are they?"
Kaname sighs, as he doesn't seem to want to answer the question. "They, as you put them, are our brothers and sisters in the night. Lycanthropes. Werewolves." Zero's face twists into a mask of confusion and anger. "Werewolves?" He barks at Kaname. "Well, technically, they're Animagi, because they can choose when they transform, and retain control while transformed, but yes, Werewolves." Kaname responds calmly. "How are you so calm about this?" Zero asks, bewildered. Kaname chuckles in response. "Did you really think we were the only non-humans? Well, I suppose very few vampires do. Non-humans are divided into clans. We vampires are the Blood clan. Werewolves are members of the Beast clan. Those with magical ability are the Mana clan. There are several more clans, but Vampires and Werewolves are the two dominant ones." Zero, now intrigued, begins to ask questions. "Which is the most dominant?" Zero asks. Kaname smiles, enjoying being asked questions he knew the answer to for once. "That's the interesting thing, any attempt to count the amounts has come up completely even. As far as we know, there is one of them for every one of us." Kaname walks over to his bookshelf and searches it for a moment, before finding the book he was looking for. "Here, take this as well as the painting." Kaname says while handing Zero a large book. Zero reads the cover. 'Clans of the night, and other non-humans'. "I recommend you read it. It has all the information on all currently discovered clans, as well as any non-human entities that have not been classified. There are a few stories in there too. Yuki will enjoy them."
Zero smiles at the book. "Thank you Kaname." He looks up at Kaname, and gives him a look a child would give to an adult. "You pure bloods find out everything so easily. Life must be a breeze for you."
Kaname's expression suddenly sinks, turning from an enjoying smile to a depressed stare. "You're wrong, I'm afraid. Life is anything but easy for us, and me especially." Zero stares at the now melancholy filled vampire in front of him, confused. "But, you live forever, don't you? That must be incredible, surely? I've been told us lower level vampires don't even compare in age to you." Kaname looks at Zero, his eyes becoming increasingly dark. "We do live forever, or at least close to it, but it is anything but incredible. It's a sentence, not a blessing." Zero looks at Kaname with mild annoyance. "How can you say that? You're not appreciating a gift to you, allowing you to see the world change, and change with it."
Kaname snaps his gaze to Zero, suddenly taking a threatening step towards him. "A gift? I'm not appreciating a gift?" Kaname shouts, scaring Zero. Kaname never shouts, he always remains composed. "You aren't aware of what you have! Immortality is a curse, a burden that I can't hope to outlive! I have watched all I love crumble and die before my eyes countless times! The places, the customs, the styles, I've been forced to change with them so as to remain! I have lost every person, or even vampire, I've ever dared to care about, watching them grow old and perish, without a damn thing I can do about it! I have tried to help them, tried to let them live with me, take the slow path with me, but I only make things worse by spreading my retched blood, degrading beautiful, wonderful humans into animals, Level E's, because they simply reacted badly to it! I've killed innocents, let demons escape justice, watched the world burn and degrade before my very eyes!"
Zero interrupts Kaname. "But surely it's worth it? Getting to watch the world grow old, the power and knowledge you have?"
Kaname suddenly goes very quiet, but speaks after about a minute, a dark look spread across his face. "Watch Yuki die before your eyes a thousand times over, and then tell me it's worth it." Kaname says quietly, bitterly, to Zero, before walking away, out of his own room, leaving Zero alone.
Zero sits on the ground, guilt and grief filling his body for what he has said to Kaname, the pain he has caused to the vampire extending as much help and knowledge as he can to the Level E who owes him his life. Zero owes Kaname almost everything. Without him he would be an animal by now. Zero places his open palm across his face, covering the mask of sorrow that his face has become.
Zero stays like this for half an hour or so, before deciding on something, and getting up. Zero walks out of Kaname's room, into his own, where Yuki is asleep on the bed. Zero smiles at his sleeping love, wanting more than anything to wake her, hold her, tell her how much he cares for her, tell her of the commitment he is about to make. But, another time, he decides. He has something to do now. Zero places the book and the painting on the bedside table, before leaving the room and walking to the dorm's library.
Kaname sits in an armchair inside the library, his head buried in his hands, trying to contain the sadness that has been released. He normally hides his feelings on his immortality, but Zero set him off. There he sits, until he hears the sound of someone clearing their throat in the room.
Kaname looks up from his hands, and sees Zero sitting in the armchair opposite his.
"You didn't turn me into a Level E. Your blood reacted well with mines. Very well, in fact. As far as I can see it, I can live for as long as you can, if I take a drink of your blood every once and a while. So, I say this, I'll take the long road. I'll become your companion, your partner in watching the world burn. I'll be a constant, a familiar face throughout the changing times. I'll be your friend, forever, if you will accept me." Zero says, his grey eyes sparkling with emotion, which rarely happened except when he was with Yuki. Kaname looks Zero up and down, looking at the vampire offering to throw the tender release of death away, just to keep him company. Kaname looks at Zero, and a single tear falls from his right eye.
"Zero, hearing you offer that means everything to me, but I'm afraid I can't ask that of you. I have no right to take your right to an end away, just to make my never ending life easier. I forgive you for earlier Zero, and I accept you as a friend, a very close one, as of now, but I can't ask you to do this. You have Yuki, and we both know that she is what matters to you. When she goes, you probably won't want to carry on for much longer, and I can't deny you that, because I know how badly you'll want it."
Kaname stands up, gesturing at Zero to do the same. Once he does Kaname walks over and hugs Zero, holding onto him almost as tight as Yuki does. "Just stay around for as long as you can, my friend." Kaname says, before breaking the hug and walking away, not wanting to show too much emotion at the moment. Kaname goes back to his room, lies down on his bed, and stares at his ceiling, a smile spread across his face that he has not known for a long time.
Zero walks into his room, Yuki still sleeping on their bed. He strips down to a t-shirt and his underwear, and climbs into bed beside Yuki, wrapping his arms around her. She doesn't wake up, much to Zero's delight. He hates waking her up when she's sleeping, because he thinks she's adorable when she's sleeping. Zero lies down beside her, kissing her once, gently, on the forehead.
"He's right, you know," Zero says softly, more to himself than the sleeping Yuki, "I wouldn't last long without you."
The vampire goes to sleep, holding his beloved close to him, his lips resting on her neck. Soon he is asleep, not aware of his own senses, his feelings going numb as the perfect darkness of rest takes over. Yuki's pulse speeds up slightly in her sleep, due to a dream she is having. Her increased pulse presses against Zero's lips.
If Zero's eyes had been open, they would have glowed red.