A/N: my goodness T_T you are allowed to be annoyed. Sorry it's taken so long to update. School started, I was busy with a lot of work...but I THINK/HOPE it's starting to die down. I've been afraid to post too much of what I have. I am just starting to get a solid semblance of where I'm taking the story.

I've been trying to make it better for you o.o I always make stuff happen way to fast when I write, and it's happening here. Gomen. Doing my best. So anyway, blah blah, ramble ramble. Chapter title and intro quote comes from the song "S.O.S. (Anything But Love)" by Apocalyptica. That song is also where I got the new (permanent) story title "Condemn." Try to enjoy!

WARNING: This story has BOY/BOY.

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN VAMPIRE KNIGHT.

"You send me to a broken state
Where I can take the pain just long enough."

x

Chapter 2: SOS

"Zero! Zero, hurry up! We're going to be late!"

Zero blinked out of his daze only to meet the annoyed face of Yuuki Cross.

"You're not getting enough sleep," she accused, and even though her was voice scolding, her forehead creased in worry.

"You're one to talk," Zero muttered, getting out of his seat. "I could swim in the puddle of drool you produce during all your class time naps."

Yuuki's mouth opened furiously. "Why you—"

"We're going to be late," Zero threw her an amused glance over his shoulder. "C'mon."

Yuuki huffed, but duty was calling. She darted ahead of Zero, chattering anxiously to herself about whether the Day Class girls would be able to break through the gates.

A breeze ruffled Zero's hair when he stepped outside behind a nearly twitching Yuuki. She waved her arms erratically and broke into a run. "Get back, get back! Go back to your dorms!"

"Honestly…" Zero muttered, his lips curling into an annoyed grimace at the excited shrieks of the Day Class girls. He glanced behind him at the school building. Ichiru had stayed out of classes today, he hadn't been feeling too well. Swallowing against the constant guilty feeling he had when he thought of his little brother, Zero turned back to the screaming masses.

"Please, step back!" Yuuki said, running back and forth between the two squirming crowds.

"Idol, Idol-sempai!" a girl about two feet away from Zero screamed, nearly shattering his eardrums.

"Oi," he said to her with a glare, "Shout like that again and I'll throw you into the lake."

The girl yelped and scuttled backwards while everyone around her threw Zero dirty looks.

"Kiryuu, you're so mean to a girl!"

"Yeah, really!"

Zero suppressed an eye roll, instead turning to look at the gate that led to the Night Class dorms: it had just opened.

The Day Class girls went absolutely nuts and poor Yuuki was in danger of being trampled.

Making an annoyed grunt, Zero darted in front of her fallen form and turned his glare on the stampeding girls.

The whole lot of them skidded to a stop and yelped. "Kiryuu is so scary, wah!"

"Zero, try not to scare the girls too much."

Zero's spine tensed. He ignored the familiar voice and turned around, bending over to help pull Yuuki to her feet.

"Thanks," Yuuki said sheepishly. She glanced over her shoulder at Kaname, who was walking by in front of the Night Class students, and blushed.

Zero ignored the twisting in his gut. "Yuuki," he muttered.

Yuuki started and turned away hurriedly, darting towards the squealing Day Class girls. "Now, now, step back please!" she exclaimed, tripping over herself in her fumbling hurry.

Zero suppressed the urge to bite his lip in annoyance. Stupid girl. How anyone could fall for Kaname Kuran…Yuuki was smarter than that.

Okay, maybe she wasn't. But the point was, she deserved better.

Not that…he was any better. But…it wasn't like he…wanted her. Not really. He couldn't have her anyway. It would be too dangerous. And she was too sweet.

Like her blood. Imagine how that must taste…

Zero's breath hitched and his hand flew to his throat, which was suddenly flaming. He held back a choked gasp and hurriedly cast his eyes downward, just in case…dammit!

He knew Kaname must have noticed. Damn! He needed to get out of here. Dozens of delicious scents were bombarding him from every side. His fingers tightened over his shirt collar. He grunted and grit his teeth. Thirsty…he was so thirsty.

Just one taste, they're all so weak, the blood, taste, one taste of blood I need it—

How much more of this could he take?

He had to get out of here.

Without a backwards glance, Zero turned on his heel and bolted out in front of the Night Class, running like his life depended on it. The last thing he wanted was to be in Kaname's direct line of site, but those damn Day Class girls were in the way of any other means of escape.

"Zero!" he heard Yuuki yell.

Just get away from these temptations…oh God.

He burst into the trees that surrounded the property and collapsed against a tree trunk. The bark dug into his arm, but that pain was nothing compared to the hunger in his body.

Damn…it…

He couldn't return to the dorms tonight. Or do patrol duty. He didn't want to make Yuuki worry but…

He didn't want to bite her, either.

x

Her hands were soft, tentative. He remembered that, but lying in bed that night, he couldn't even remember her face. All he saw was red and blood and need I feel italready—

Just her gentle voice. Her gentle hands, on his neck. Cleaning away the blood to reveal his unwounded neck.

He'd healed so fast. Ka—that thing had healed it with…his mouth.

Zero shivered violently, turning over to face the wall in his room, he tried to block out everything in his mind. He didn't want to think of that. He didn't want to be this.

But it was too late now.

He simply tried to remember the feel of the girl's gentle touch. That thread of kindness kept him tethered to the hope that perhaps some good was left in the world.

But not much.

x

Zero pushed himself into a standing position and walked deeper into the trees.

Yuuki.

x

The Chairman introduced Zero and his brother to Yuuki a month after he was bitten. After that first night, he'd kept her away for a while, for fear of Zero losing control as he had just been changed. Not that he'd ever tell Zero that. He brushed it off, saying "poor little Yuuki" had gone to stay with a friend for "girl fun."

The night after she'd cared for him, Zero had woken to her being ushered out the door by Cross, and then he decided he'd like to forget about her and the entirety of that night altogether.

When he was actually introduced to her, Zero decided she was a complete idiot.

She'd looked at Zero and Ichiru (the younger twin standing shyly behind his brother) when Cross introduced them. Yuuki had a smiling face with big, eager eyes and Zero felt himself inwardly cringe.

What was she so damn happy about?

"Yuuki has been through a traumatic experience," Cross said to them cheerfully, explaining that Yuuki had been attacked by a "bad vampire" but had been saved and brought to his care. "So I said I'd take her in, like I did with you two!"

Zero just glared at the wall.

"Oh," the Chairman laughed nervously as Yuuki gave Zero a curious look, "don't mind him, he seems like such a grumpy person but he's really vulnerable and gentle and—"

"Shut up!" Zero growled. Ichiru shifted nervously behind him.

Cross fiddled his hands together. "Oh dear, Kiryuu-kun, you act so scary!" he exclaimed with wide eyes. He turned to Yuuki, but Zero got the feeling this next part was directed at him as much as the young, wide-eyed girl. "Kaname will be coming later today."

Zero's body jerked. "What?" he burst out, before he could help himself. His voice came out choked. Ichiru's breath whooshed out in a gasp over Zero's neck, and he felt his brother clutch at his hand anxiously, looking apprehensive at the mention of Kaname coming. All the more reason to hate that bastard.

Cross looked at Zero with a nervous smile. "Yuuki and Kaname are very close, Kiryuu-kun."

"Why?" Zero said, disgusted. He looked at Yuuki with distaste. She looked shocked at the hate etched into Zero's face.

"Kaname-sama saved my life!" she said, speaking for the first time since she'd come in. Zero blinked. She seemed a bit anxious about scolding him, as if she was afraid of his stability. But still, Kaname seemed to dredge up strong feelings in her, and she drew herself up to her full height (a whopping four feet), furrowed her brow, and held up a reprimanding finger in Zero's face. "Don't be mean to him. Kaname-sama is a gentle vampire."

Zero almost fell over in shock. He looked wildly at Cross. Cross' hands were clasped together, his smile idiotic as ever. "Yuuki here knows all about Kaname being a vampire, Kiryuu!"

Zero's curled his hands into fists. "All about it?"

"Oh, don't be such a sour-puss Kiryuu!" Cross waved a hand dismissively, confirming Zero's thoughts: For some reason, Yuuki seemed to worship Kaname Kuran—and she didn't know that Kaname had turned Zero into a vampire.

Speaking of Kaname—

"Yuuki?"

The pureblood's presence was like—like someone was smothering his face with a pillow. He could hardly breathe anything but the pureblood, but his master—

No! Zero gritted his teeth. It was just so soon after he'd been bitten…would this feeling ever change?

"Kaname-sama!" Yuuki exclaimed happily. Zero watched, stunned, as Yuuki's face broke into a housebreaking innocent, beautiful smile that lit up her entire young face. She flung herself into Kaname's arms right after he was done closing the front door behind him.

"Kaname! You're earlier than you said you'd be!" Cross exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Kaien," Kaname said softly, his fingers gently stroking Yuuki's brown hair as she nestled her face into his front. "I didn't feel like waiting."

Zero hadn't moved since Yuuki had throw herself at Kaname, and now he watched, with torn fascination, the pureblood's fingers sliding through Yuuki's long hair oh-so-gently, as if she were a doll he was afraid to break, a possession he wanted to hold forever.

Something deep in his gut stirred, something Zero couldn't—or didn't want to—name.

"Zero…" Ichiru said quietly, tugging on Zero's shaking fists.

Finally, Kaname looked up at Zero. Zero grit his teeth and with an annoyed "tch" whirled around and stomped down the hall, heading for his room, Ichiru following him like a nervous lamb, never once looking at the pureblood. Kaname caught a few colorful words being hissed under the older boy's breath before the three heard his room door slam shut with a force that rattled the walls.

Yuuki pulled back and turned to look after Zero.

"He must be sad about something," she said quietly, her statement surprising the two men next to her.

"What makes you say that?" Kaname asked softly.

"Well, he just looked very upset," Yuuki murmured, her eyes full of sincerity and kindness. "Like he had this big weight he was trying to hold back all by himself. I wonder…." Yuuki trailed off, suddenly looking sheepish at her observation. She looked up at Kaname shyly. "He didn't seem to like you, Kaname-sama."

Kaname hid his smile, turning his face away from her.

"I really haven't given him reason to."

x

Zero didn't understand what woke him at first.

He registered first that he was not in his dorm room. He also noted the dull aching in the back of his dry throat—and a breath of relief whooshed past his lips. That dull ache was a constant in his life ever since Kaname had bit him. It was relief, compared to the burning occurrences that assaulted him, when his fangs threatened to come out, aching and desiring to sink in a soft flesh—like what had happened earlier today.

They were occurring more often lately.

Tree roots rubbed against Zero's body uncomfortably, but that hadn't woken him, had it?

No…it was the touch on his face.

Fingers, gentle and soft, stroking up and down his cheek, brushing his bangs back every now and then.

Zero's eyes flew open when he realized that someone was caressing him.

"Yuuki," he began, frustrated, "you didn't have to follow me, I—shit!"

Zero cut himself off mid-sentence when he saw it was Kaname leaning against the tree Zero had fallen asleep by, not Yuuki.

"What are you doing?" Zero burst out, his mind whirling. What the hell….why had he come after him? What did he think he was doing?

"I saw you run away," Kaname said mildly, his eyes intent on Zero's face. "It got worse, didn't it?"

"It doesn't concern you," Zero snapped, hurrying into a standing position.

"But it does, Zero," Kaname said, cocking an eyebrow at the hunter. "I made you this way, after all."

Zero breath caught in his throat. How? How did anyone admit to ruining a person's life so easily…so carelessly?

"I'm leaving," Zero hissed, turning his back on the pureblood.

A hand caught his wrist and Zero was whirled right back around again. His vision blurred with the speed of the forced movement and before he could orient himself again, his back thudded hard against the tree trunk Kaname had been leaning against and someone's breath was at his ear.

"You're anger only encourages me, you know."

"K-Kaname!" Zero exclaimed, his voice torn between shock and anger. "Get off me!"

Kaname leaned up into Zero's body, his leg slipping in between Zero's thighs. Zero gasped, his eyes widening.

"Fuck, are you crazy?" Zero said, the anger in his voice growing. "What the hell are you doing? Get off!"

"You don't seem to register what I just said," Kaname whispered, sounding highly amused. Zero began to shiver. He could feel Kaname's breath washing down over his neck, and his vision was suddenly blurring between the actual scene before them, and that accursed winter night.

Kaname moved very slowly up against Zero's body and he felt his knees go weak, a feminine-like whimper slipping past his lips. He could feel Kaname's eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as the pureblood closed his eyes.

Oh God. I hate him. I hate him so much.

Then why are you reacting like this?

The blood smells so good…I want it so badly. I want to taste his blood, it's right there…

"Zero," Kaname whispered.

"Get off!" Zero took opportunity of Kaname's pleasured state, shoving him away. He didn't even bother to glare or yell. He ran as fast as he could toward the school building, as far away from Kaname as possible.

x

Pressure from both sides. Pressure from everywhere. On his neck—sharp, painful, beautiful, horrible, life giving, life taking.

Pressure.

A promise. A curse. A sentence.

Zero drowned in it.

x

Kaname leaned almost drunkenly against the tree. He opened his eyes, and they burned bright red in the darkness.

"You can't hold on for much longer, Zero," he murmured into the silent night. "I feel your resistance crumbling fast.

I am breaking him down, Kaname thought, his breath escaping in a hiss.

…No. Not even. He is breaking me down. He has been breaking me down ever since the first time I saw him.

x

"Kaname-sama, you've grown so much since we last saw you!"

Kaname bowed his head politely. How trivial all these people were. Liars, only seeking for their own gain. "It's been a while," he murmured. "If you'll excuse me."

He turned, and his ears caught another conversation: "…it's a bit insulting, having them here."

"It's just a precaution, my dear, don't let it rile you up."

"What do they think we're going to do, have sacrificial blood offerings with humans?"

"Of course not. In case something were to happen though, it's good to have them."

"It had to be the Kiryuus, of all hunters."

"It's all right, dear."

Kaname looked towards the far wall. A man with silvery hair was leaning against it, seeming quite relaxed, but his darting eyes betrayed how alert he really was. Kaname looked to his left, where he saw the other vampire hunter, the Kiryuu male's wife, walking along the nearer wall. Her hair was long and light brown, wound up elegantly for the ball. At her skirts were two young boys, who Kaname assumed were about seven or eight. They stayed near their mother, one of the boys clutching at the other one dependently.

Twins, Kaname thought, surprised.

The boy leading the other suddenly looked up, catching Kaname's eye. Kaname was a little taken aback at the fearless way the boy looked at him, his eyes, an beautiful lilac color, analyzing him head on. He titled his head, his eyebrows furrowing, as if he was trying to figure something out.

Kaname walked up to the mother, who stopped and nodded her head respectfully at him. "Kaname Kuran," she murmured.

"Thank you," Kaname said, "for your services. They are greatly appreciated."

The woman looked like she was trying to hide a smirk. "I've heard."

Kaname looked at the two boys. He felt the closeness in age, though they looked more than two years younger than him.

The Kiryuu woman glanced back at them. "These are my sons, if you please. Ichiru and Zero," she said, first gesturing to the timid one, then to the other, who was looking at Kaname with keen eyes. "My husband and I could not find someone to watch them in time. We thought we might as well show them a glimpse of their future. They're still quite young—please let me know if they trouble you."

Zero Kiryuu looked around at his mother indignantly. Kaname almost smiled. "I'm sure they will be no trouble, Kiryuu. After all, I've behaved myself so far."

The woman blinked, then laughed. "Forgive me. I forget sometimes how young you are. Now, please excuse me. I have to be on the lookout for sacrificial blood offerings." With a sly smile, she continued walking.

As the two boys passed him, Kaname said, "You must be very proud of your parents."

Ichiru Kiryuu smiled, looking at Zero, who tilted his head back so he could look at Kaname fully. "We're very proud," he said cautiously.

"I look forward to seeing what kind of hunter you'll turn out to be."

Ichiru shifted. Kaname breathed in, sensing how terribly weak Ichiru was in comparison to his brother. He knew who should have come out of the womb, and he admitted, he wondered at Ichiru's life. He gazed at Zero Kiryuu with interest—this boy should have consumed his brother in the womb.

"Thank you," Zero said abruptly, grabbing at Ichiru's hand on his arm. Kaname saw him squeeze, and, without a word of goodbye, Zero turned his back on the pureblood, hurrying with his twin in tow to catch up with their mother.

Kaname gazed after the young hunters in training. Just before he turned to continue essential socializing, Zero glanced over his shoulder. Their eyes met, briefly.

Kaname was unnerved at the sudden ache in his fangs.

x

It's almost time, now.

A/N: Sorry for all the flashbacks! It's needed so you all can see more of...well, the background.

I'm so anal about facts being in synch with the story but then I remember this is fanFICTION and it really doesn't matter to the extent that I'm worrying about :P.

Next chapter is quite eventful *nudges suggestively* and it should be up sooner than this one took. Have faith in me! Reviews are appreciated, harsh meaningless words are not. Thank you very much!