Chapter Sixteen
Returns

Kagome never got the chance to see Zero before he left for break. They said he left to visit some old friends, but Kagome was sure that he just left to get away for the time being. The only reason she did not leave to try and find him, was because the Chairman promised that he was stable and past the danger of dropping to Level E, for a while at least.

Walking back from the stables after brushing and feeding Lily, Kagome couldn't help but feel anticipation for seeing Zero once more. Today was the first day back from break, and she was anxious to see Zero again to confirm that he was all right. She could feel him somewhere nearby, but he was not close enough for her to go straight to him. So she would wait for him to come back to his room, where they would sleep like they normally would. Ever since he had left a couple weeks ago, Kagome had resorted to sleeping in his bed every evening instead of her own. It made her feel better, calmer. His scent always did that to her. But it was starting to fade, she was glad that he was coming back and she could finally get a good night's sleep. No doubt, he was having the same problems as well.

She made it to the Chairman's office and stayed there until after dinner, where she said she was tired and left to go to bed. She fell asleep and remained in Zero's room until he came in later that night after his patrol. She awoke the moment he opened the door. Kagome sat up and looked at his tired appearance as he walked over to his closet to pick out his sleeping clothes. Turning around so he could change, Kagome waited until he was dressed before moving off the bed and hugging him from behind as he glared at the mirror. She could smell the change in him; she could sense it. He had the blood of Kaname Kuran running through his veins. And she knew, without a doubt, that he felt even more disgusted with himself for it.

Wrapping her arms tightly around from behind, Kagome sent her aura to him to calm his spirit down. Afterward, she pulled him to the bed and made him lie down. He didn't resist and when she lied down beside him he pulled her closer and took a long drag of her scent. He missed her while he was away. Zero had not wanted to leave, truly he didn't. But he knew that he had to get a handle on his problems. And while he did that, he did not want to put the people close to him at risk. Mainly Kagome and Yuuki. They were his precious people, and he could never hurt them. He would never hurt them, purposefully.

He would keep them safe. Even if he had to kill himself to do so.

Kagome walked through town with Yuuki and Yori on one of their shopping trips. School started up almost two weeks ago and once again the siblings had fallen into routine. Though, there was a thin barrier between Yuuki and Kagome and Zero. He was trying to distance himself from them, but Kagome would have none of it. Every time he tried to move away, she moved closer. For every step back he took, Kagome would take two steps forward, and she would often bring Yuuki along for the ride.

Kagome was brought back to the present, when she felt Yuuki stop walking behind her. She turned around to find a little boy holding onto Yuuki's jacket. Yuuki looked down a the young boy as he asked where his mother was. When Yuuki asked him if he knew where his mother was, he nodded but said he didn't want t go alone. After telling Yori that she was going to bring the boy to his mother, Yuuki promised to meet her back at their dorm room. Kagome watched the child with calculating eyes, before declaring that she wanted to go with her as well. Yuuki immediately protested, saying it was too dangerous. But Kagome gave her the "eyes" and Yuuki relented.

They followed as the boy led them toward an old abandoned looking building. As soon as he told them that he was to meet his mother there, he reached up and gave Yuuki a kiss on the cheek in appreciation for her help. Soon after her eyes began to grow heavy and she slowly slid to the floor.

Kagome watched as Yuuki slid to the floor, the boy stood watching her as she turned her blank eyes onto his mismatched ones. He gave a smirk that did not match his young face.

"I am surprised you did not try to stop me from doing anything to her."

Kagome gave a small shrug as she said, "I knew you could do no real harm in your current body. And while you may have the mind of an adult pure-blood, your powers and strength are that of a Level B child. You are practically powerless in your current host," she said with a smirk.

His smirk left this face as he glared at her. A scowl found its way on his face as he said, "My powers will not always be locked in my body. I will have my body back in my power soon. As soon as I have the blood of the True Kuran, I will have my own body back. And then I will proceed with my original plans."

Kagome waved him off as she replied, "That may be so, but right now you are still a weak child."

"You are no better!" he sneered. "How did you get stuck in that form anyway?"

Kagome's eyes darkened as she glared at him. "What? You don't know? Your followers never told of what happened to my mother all those years ago?"

He narrowed his eyes at her tone. "Watch it little girl! I may not be in my real body, but I am still your father!"

Kagome scoffed as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "You were never my father, my sire yes, but never my father," she said coldly. Glaring at him, she continued, "You don't even know what happened after you were 'killed' all those years ago do you?"

The child's face took on a look of confusion as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

She stared incredulously at him for a moment before coming back to her senses.

"You seriously do not know what your followers did? You do not know what happen nearly nine years ago?"

He was starting to get irritated with the way she kept going around the actual subject. No, he did not know what happened. But he would find out.

Kagome looked appraisingly at him before she began to speak, "It was almost a year after your almost death. You were practically dead, so your followers decided that since you were incapacitated at the moment, they would help you out. They decided that they were going to kill your 'human whore' and her 'worthless child.' Unfortunately for them, they did not know that when you mix a pure-blood and a miko, you get a full pure-blood. They met their ends, but I was too late to save my mother," she glanced into his eyes as she finished her sentence, "and your unborn son." She would have called him her brother, but she wanted to make it clear to him that it was his son, that they had killed.

Rido, did not know what to think. He did not truly love her mother, no, but he had not cared for anyone even remotely like he had that one human woman. The one woman who had showed him kindness he never thought possible. Of course, she paled in comparison to his Juri, but she was not completely a waste of time. She gave him an obviously strong daughter, and would have given him a strong son if the imbeciles had not killed her. Though he knew a bit about what was going on, he still did not know why she was in her seven-year-old body. Before he could question her further, he felt the closing in of numerous vampire auras. Meaning, he had to leave.

Before he could leave, Kagome stared at him and warned, "If you hurt my friends or new family, I will kill you myself."

He smirked before replying, "How can you kill me if I am not in my body?"

Her glare hardened as he moved around the corner to find his current host's mother. Once she could no longer feel him, Kagome moved to make sure Yuuki was all right. She could feel Kaname getting closer, and she would ask him for help when he arrived. For now, she would sit and wait. It shouldn't be more than a few minutes tops. Besides... she had some serious thinking to do. She had not anticipated running into her father so soon, or at least his soul. It would appear that things were coming to an end faster than she had originally thought they would. Yes, she had some serious thinking to do.