"Are you sure you're going to be okay? You're still pretty injured."

I nodded as I buttoned up my shirt over my bandaged and bruised body. "Yeah, I'll be fine," I replied, turning to Kaname. "Just a little sore, that's all."

He chuckled lightly. "Baka... you've been in a bed all week and you can't even remember how to button up your shirt right."

Looking down, I chuckled anxiously to myself as I noticed the mismatched buttons. "Heh... look at that..." I moved to unbutton my shirt and try again, but my hands were shaking too much. With a light touch, Kaname held my hands to my sides.

"You're nervous about something," he said as he began to button my shirt for me. "Or are you angry?"

"Honestly, I'm fuckin' pissed."

"At the lycan?"

I turned my head away, attempting to hide the scowl forming on my face. "Yeah; I've never been this upset before. This thing... it killed a girl and got us all into a giant mess. I don't care about what happens to me, but you... when he messes with you, I can't help but get angry."

Kaname sighed deeply, blowing gently against my chest. "Don't get so flustered about me; I can handle my own," he stated. Then he took a step back, patting my shoulder. "There, all set."

"Thanks. Do you know how Cross is doing?"

"Better. He apparently has no memory of the attack. Now it's just a case of getting him out in the field again."

"How are you doing?"

He shrugged, tilting his head to the side. "My head still hurts like hell, but it could be worse."

I breathed a sigh of relief; we had all been in the hospital for nearly a full week. My ribs were still cracked, but I could manage to move with minimal pain. Kaname's main wounds healed quickly but his left arm was broken and he suffered from massive headaches every day. Yuuki suffered minor injuries, the main one being whip lash. Luckily for us, the vampire blood that flowed through our veins kept us from having massive scarring and loss of blood, but it didn't help out broken bodies any.

Cross was in far worse shape. It was only natural; he was human, after all. When Aidou found him, Cross was lying face down in a pool of his own blood; a long gaping wound ran from his right shoulder down to his stomach, nearly ripping open his chest cavity. He was strong, though (despite his appearance). In a matter of a week, he was up and walking again (of course, with help), but he grew tired easily. Plus, his memories shortly before and after the attack were fuzzy. The doctors blamed this on blood loss, but I thought it was because he didn't want to remember.

As for the lycan, it was being detained at an underground branch of lycan hunters, and now I was on my way to get answers out of it. After what it did to me and everyone else, I was expecting some damn good answers.

I arrived at the branch's headquarters, a small building on the outskirts of Osaka. There, in the small dusty lobby, I stood waiting for what seemed like forever. This place wasn't anything like the Hunter's Association back at home; our building was huge, filled with books and records dating back to the Middle Ages. This place was nearly empty, and had an old people smell to it. Whenever I paced back and forth in the lobby, I constantly kicked up dust.

"Ano... are you Kiryuu Zero?"

Standing behind me was a small old man, his gray eyes shifting back and forth nervously. "Yes...?"

"Come this way, please."

I followed closely behind, awed at the lack of security and people. "Don't you worry about the lycans getting out?" I asked at one point.

The old man laughed heartily. "No, son. You see, we haven't had a lycan show up here in nearly a hundred years," he replied.

"Then why are you still open for business?"

"For cases like yours."

I was taken aback at his reply. For cases like mine? If this case was so vital for the survival of this branch, then why weren't there more people taking care of it? Already five minutes in, and my first impression of the place went further downhill. This all changed, though, when the old man suddenly stopped and turned to me. "Now, young man, what you're about to see is strictly confidential. Do you understand?"

What could be so 'strictly confidential' about a rundown building? At first I thought he was joking, so I laughed and said, "Right. I can keep secrets."

A gap-toothed grin spread on the old man's face. "Good. The door at the end of the hall should open up to the lab. Be careful in there and don't touch anything." Then he left, hobbling back down the hall towards the lobby.

This place honestly creeped me out. Cobwebs hung from the corners and doors, and the ceiling was falling apart due to mold damage. Other than the old ma, I had not seen anyone else. What kind of place was this?

I was shocked when I got to the door at the end of the hall. Although it looked like all the other doors I passed, a haunting aura seemed to hover over this space. I hesitated before gripping the old brass knob and flinging the door open. What I saw nearly sent me back in awe. Instead of an old horror movie-lie lab, stainless steel plates covered the walls and floor, and on a high platform in the center of the room was a group of scientists scrambling around. One stood out as the leader of the group, a man with shaggy blonde strawberry blonde hair and black rimmed glasses; the blue lab coat he wore looked a little big, the sleeves billowing up at his hands.

"No, no, no! Don't soak the bones in that solution! Do you know what acid does to things? You're destroying evidence! Kozuko, tell this newb what to do! Nanami, have you identified those particulates yet? Well, hurry up with them! You!" The man turned to me, pointing an accusatory finger my way. "What are you doing here?!"

I arched an eyebrow, replying, "I'm Kiryuu Zero from the Vampire Hunter's Association; I'm here to question the lycan."

The scientist jumped down from the platform, stuffing his hands in his pockets and kicking the door shut behind me. "Vampire Hunter's Association, huh? I don't remember getting a notice about this."

"I set the notice on your desk, sir," a faint voice behind him said.

He sighed, removing his glasses and roughing up his thick blond hair. "Hai, hai... we've got the guy downstairs, so if you'll follow me, I'll take you to him. Mind you, though, he's still not quite stable." Then he stuck out his hand, adding, "The name's Shisuku Hiroki. I'm the head forensic scientist here in the lab."

I rigidly shook his hand, saying, "Pleased to meet you."

"You been injured recently?" Hiroki asked as he turned and beckoned me to follow him. "You're holding your arm strangely."

"I was in that car the lycan tipped over... my ribs were cracked."

"Oh... sorry to hear that. How are the others doing?" he asked.

"They're fine; one went home already and the other is still being treated for head trauma."

Hiroki lowered his head, muttering, "Damn... you vampire hunters get all the fun..."

With a sigh, I said, "Well, they're a bitch to kill."

His green eyes flashed towards me, a wide grin spreading on his face. "You think vampires are a bitch to kill? All you have to do is stab them through the heart of head. Lycans, well, you have to pump them full of silvers before they kick the bucket."

My brows furrowed. "I don't understand. If lycans were supposed to be extinct over a century ago, then how do you know so much about them?" I asked.

Hiroki paused, turning to face me. "They're not extinct; they've been asleep. Although lycans are not as common as vampires, they're still worth studying, worth looking for... There's probably a colony of them out there somewhere, but we don't know where it is. So all we have to do is wait for them until they make their appearance." He squealed with delight, hugging himself and rocking back and forth. "Isn't that exciting?! I just gave myself goose bumps talking about it!"

"... nerd..."

The man pouted, crossing his arms over his blue lab coat and turning briskly around. "Fine, you think that. Next time you meet a lycan and don't know what to do, don't come complaining to me!"

We came to a long hallway. Shiny steel doors were on either side, and large black numbers lined along the bottom of each one. "He's in room 203," Hiroki stated. 'If he gets out of hand, though, get your ass out of there as fast as you can; unlike vampires, these guys aren't willing to negotiate."

"I'll keep that in mind."