Unexpectedly Close To The Edge

Set 3 years after Vampire Knight Guilty, however, certain enemies aren't as dead as they were thought to be.

~{}~ signifies a change in time or perspective

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, these awesome characters do not belong to me in any way. They belong to Matsuri Hino. I just stole them and put them to use for my own sick mind ;)

Summary: Yuki's death brings the two former enemies Zero and Kaname closer than they ever expected to be. As the two of them - both broken in their own way - struggle to pick up a life again, will they cope by putting each other together again?

Rated M: mature emotions, rape, violence, M/M lemon (seriously, rated M for good reason!)


AN: Hi guys - you know I'm usually not one for the long Author's note. This time though, I wanted to express how confused, amused, mystified and astounded I am at the fact that there are readers who are that adamant at having explicit pairing preferences. (Yeah - all of this at once, you can't imagine what my facial muscles have been through). I have spent a considerable amount of thought on this, wondering if I should change the initial ideas to this story completely or stay stubborn and write what I had initially wanted to write.

Then I spent some time wondering whether I should clarify the pairing or if I'd rather not spoil it for you with an author's note - so here I am sort of spoiling it.

If you were wondering why this update has taken so long - there's your reason. I have decided to go mainly with what I had in mind initially, though in a more modified version. This is a relationship story (yes, there will be steaming hot scenes of course ^^) meaning it will go both ways eventually.

For all of those who demand a purely K&Z story I wanted to say that I am sorry if this does not cater to your preferences. To make up for it I have written a short story with a dominating Kaname called the 'Beautiful Things Of Decay' that I will post as well. Perhaps you will enjoy that more than this. Though I usually don't answer many of your reviews personally its not like I don't care for your input. I really, really do. ^^

It has been brought to my attention by you that Kaname should be nowhere near weak and though he is a pureblood with a lot of problems he is still a cunning, scheming and conniving vampire of great power. I have therefore entirely rewritten this chapter to work towards that. Feel free to let me know what you think. As usual, I hope you enjoy.


Chapter 13: An Unlocked Door

"Ichiru...!"

Zero called for his brother as he saw the shivering figure on the floor. The mess of silver hair meant it had to be his brother. The hue of that silver color could only belong to a Kiryu. And the way he lay so motionless - too motionless - Zero had to reach him somehow. But he found he couldn't move. He was chained and bolted to the wall, ice cold concrete digging into his skin.

"Ichiru!" he called out.

There was no answer, just a terrible silence. All sound was swallowed in mere inches of the silent air although this prison was much larger than it looked. Zero wasn't sure how he knew this, he just did.

Then the scent of blood hit him fiercely. Zero's eyes stung, his throat felt parched to no end and the coldness that threatened to freeze his chest became unbearable. The terrible thirst, the damn need for blood - that, more than anything else, made him the monster he was. He struggled against what his insides craved, but his body refused to cooperate. Just a bit of warmth, just a drop of blood, just a bit...

A quiet tinkle of laughter sounded in his ears, echoing impossibly among the swallowing silence.

No...

Not her.

Not HER.

Then she was there - he could feel her presence, the domination of her will over his. He shivered against the wall as the coldness of his thirst was multiplied and spread through his entire body, in effect freezing his body, making it disobey its owner and adhere only to HER.

A taunting finger ghosted across his cheek.

"Such a pretty puppet with such an angry face, such determination..."

The scent of plum blossoms enveloped him with their sickening sweetness and he saw her face - agelessly beautiful and sad before him. He hated its perfection, loathed the flawlessness of its exterior that held within it nothing but a sick and twisted creature entirely unworthy of such facial features.

"I will always be on your mind, little hunter." she laughed her musical laugh again. And Zero wanted to claw at his head to get rid of that sound. But his hands remained bound. He could not even get rid of the sound of her tinkling laughter.

"You will always hate me... little hunter. Always." Her amusement was clearly spelled out in her words. "That is the beautiful thing about you. Your hatred has burned itself into your veins, has festered in your mind... you have grown into a wonderful creature. My creation. My work of art, always bound by your hatred for me. You will never be free. I may be dead, but you and your brother will always be mine. I will always haunt you. But while you always defy me, your brother was always so much more faithful to me than you. Look at him, Zero Kiryu. Look at your brother. Isn't he beautiful?"

Zero stared hard at the form on the floor. The beautiful silver hair that he loved so much swayed as the head moved off the ground.

A pair of red eyes glittered dangerously from under his bangs.

"No..." Zero whispered.

"No..." he rasped in a louder voice.

Shizuka smiled a sickening smile. In tune to her own madness, she quietly hummed a lulliby reaching for Ichiru. With motherly fondness she stroked the Level E's long silver hair. But the creature snapped at her, wanting her blood.

"Uhn-uh." she chided softly, denying him her essence with ease.

"Be a good boy and taste him instead, will you, Ichiru-dear?"

The Level E Ichiru suspiciously sniffed the air like an animal and bared his teeth. With an inhuman snarl, the vampire fixed his crimson gaze on Zero.

A pang of pain flashed through Zero's chest as he stared straight into the eyes of his brother-now-Level-E-vampire. It was a monster with his brother's face, a thing he knew to hunt and kill. He had made this mistake before, to see a human in a Level E. His mind knew it was wrong, but Zero just couldn't help himself.

"No..." he called out in anguish. But then his voice was cut off sharply by her power.

No... no, no... Ichiru.

But no words came out. Not a sound left his mouth.

Tears ran down his cheeks. Not Ichiru. Not his brother. Ichiru didn't deserve such a terrible fate. He may have betrayed them all, but he was the only family Zero'd had left... not him.

The Level E with his brother's face lept toward him with animalistic grace. There was no sign of lucidity in the hungry crimson eyes - there was no humanity left in the actions of this creature. Zero was supposed to know better than this - but he just couldn't think that way - not with Ichiru. Zero wouldn't fight against him. Any Level E. Anyone of them... but not Ichiru. He couldn't fight his brother anymore. He would just take it and wouldn't struggle when he sucked him dry. With bitterness seeping through his heart, he waited for the pain to shoot through his body.

But the fangs never connected. With a yelp, the Level E was thrown backwards, as though he had been pulled back by an invisible leash in the middle of his jump.

With a cackling laughter, Shizuka ran her fingers through the silver hair of that whimpering creature as it crouched in submission beside her.

Her mad eyes fixed Zero's.

"He is just a little pet to me. Nothing special at all. No different than all the other mindless creature I have created. But you... little hunter, you are special. So angry, so determined - I have always loved that about you. I want you to watch him suffer. I want you to watch him as he slowly dies of thirst."

Again, she cackled madly. Her fingers curled in the Level E's silver hair, tearing out a handful. The gnashing creature clutched at his throat and strained against invisible chains.

Not Ichiru.

How could she make him suffer like that.

Surely, there was a soul still inside that creature, his brother. There must be a soul inside that body, horrified at its actions and yet unable to stop itself.

Her voice was close to his ear now.

"Yes... that's it. Hate me, little hunter. Hate me until you have nothing left in your heart but darkness. Hate me until you become nothing but a shadow - even darker than me. Hate me until you cannot control it anymore and your demons take over... Then we'll see how strong a hunter you really are, Zero Kiryu... or if you aren't truly any better than a pathetic Level E. A little pet cowering at my side, a servant bowing to my will. Like your brother..."

And with that, she slapped Ichiru hard. With a strangled yelp, the Level E fell into unconsciousness.

Zero growled, deep in his throat. A terrifying rage overtook his senses, flooding him with inexplicable intensity. It burned through his body, fueling him. Where before there was only coldness in his veins now it scorched him with anger. With an explosion of energy he roared against his chains.

No sound came out, but like melted wax, they gave way and dripped to the floor around the angry hunter.

Shizuka's tinkling laughter morphed into a hiss of displeasure.

Though she still did everything to keep him muted, Zero felt the power surge and build inside himself, felt the wild anger inside himself give him the strength he needed to break the mental chains and speak. Then his voice rang out in a clear tone with a conviction he hadn't ever expected to hear from himself.

"I will never bow to you."

~{}~

Zero's eyes snapped open from his dream. He lay there staring at the ceiling feeling an odd strength coursing through his veins. That surge of anger, that incredible force of his dream - it was still there, burning through him. But it wasn't his own. Scowling, he cursed his slow reflexes and jumped out of bed. Yes, the coiling fury was inside him, but it wasn't his. This was Kuran. This was the same cold fury he had already felt before. And again there was this terrible edge of uncontrolled rage that meant anything could happen. He slipped into a pair of jeans and a shirt.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do about it, or why he even cared, but the hunter found himself standing in front of the pureblood's study before he knew exactly how he'd gotten there. It shouldn't be any of his business what Kuran was doing behind this door, he shouldn't be caring at all. He couldn't even be certain that this wasn't just the pureblood ordering him to come to him.

His hunter senses were going wild - even on this side of that door. Kuran appeared to have unleashed some kind of power and Zero's senses screamed in protest. Everything yelled 'Danger' at him.

It wasn't in Zero's nature to retreat from a threat, so - going entirely against all his warning senses - he opened the door. He was surprised to actually find it unlocked, but then he reminded himself that it was only logical - if Kuran had ordered him in, then he wouldn't have locked the door. He cautiously stepped into the pureblood's study. He'd been here once before but... now everything was somehow... different.

He found Kuran standing in the middle of his study absolutely motionless, frozen into a tense and slightly twisted position. It was freezing cold, probably because a window was open, but that was not what Zero noticed first. What made the scene so strange was the fact that hardly any light seemed to come in through the open window. Zero was certain that it was almost dawn outside and that in his own room the light had been quite bright in his eyes when he woke. But here, in Kuran's study, it was unnaturally dark around him - like the pureblood was the one swallowing all light in the room.

Zero's senses were going haywire of course and the reason was blatantly obvious: Though Kuran's body wasn't moving even a fraction, the very air around him was moving around his body, twisting and flickering like sizzling heat waves in a desert under the sun - only here the air appeared to shiver in darkness. Kuran's hair had suddenly grown much longer and fell down between his shoulder blades in a tangly mess, dancing in surreal movement with the shifting currents of twisting air. Zero couldn't see his face, but the pureblood's aura was a mess of fury and anger. All the hunter's senses screamed at him that this was a menace that needed to be contained. It was probably suicide to take even one more step.

So the hunter closed the door behind himself and took a step. Nothing happened.

No suicide then... He took yet another step.

"Kuran?" he asked in a measured voice.

The pureblood didn't react. Another step.

"Kuran?"

Still nothing. Zero scowled.

Every step he took somehow became harder to accomplish. They each seemed to drain him of strength as something dragged at his body and will but he kept on. His insides were now swirling with energy and anger, but at the same rate, his body seemed to tire rapidly. He found himself struggling against Kuran's pull. Zero found his thoughts lingering with the idea of lying down at the pureblood's feet. It seemed strangely adequate and right to do so. Luckily, his hunter senses kept him alert and he didn't give in to the suffocating pressure.

Instead, he dragged himself around to face the pureblood but there was no reaction to his presence at all. Kuran remained like a statue, his aura swirling madly. But he wasn't really there. Although Zero was right in front of him, the pureblood's eyes were crimson and stared right through him - both unseeing and unblinking. His even face was strained and his jaw was clenched in either pain or anger but the tip of each fang was clearly visible on his lower lip. The scent of his blood was tempting to Zero from where those fangs kept piercing his lip although it healed almost instantly over and over again. The pureblood's hands were claws, frozen into an awkwardly clenched position at his sides. Only the air around him danced and twisted. He was clearly in some kind of trance, his mind busy elsewhere. What was he doing and where was he if not here? the hunter wondered.

Zero had to do something, Kuran's emotions were wildly out of control now. The hunter's head was pounding against the presence of all this power, his senses reeling with the overload. His body was being sapped of energy, though Kuran's emotions were running rampant on him and he knew if he didn't do something soon, he would be too weak to change anything about the ending of this. Kuran's will was oppressive on him now and he could hardly breathe. His insides were burning with uncontainable fury but his body was giving out. The room was entirely plunged into darkness now, he could barely make out the pureblood's features even though they were only inches apart. For some reason he was certain that his interruption of whatever Kuran was doing would not have negative consequences. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he did.

His knees buckled. On hands and knees, Zero breathed deeply, gathering all his will.

"Kaname..." he gasped.

A soft shudder went through the pureblood's body. It wasn't much of a change outwardly, but the emotional chaos smoothed out very slowly. Zero collapsed onto the ground entirely, his vision swimming before his eyes as he lay there looking up at the pureblood. Just when he thought he was sure to black out, his breathing became easier. Suddenly, he was no longer being drained. He wasn't exactly on the peak of his strength, but it was enough to slowly get up again. But before he could find his feet, he was startled by a low growl that came from behind him.

Shakily, he turned toward the sound and faced a large black panther on the window sill. It was an impressive animal, but Zero got the distinct feeling that it was not really an animal at all. He found that it appeared semi-transparent here and there, though in this darkness he couldn't be certain. Its eyes were red and it looked very ferocious but for one flaw - it was bleeding heavily and limping as it prowled along the window sill. A long gash in its side dripped blood on the floor. And it was the scent of that blood that wiped away any doubt. It was the scent of pure blood - Kuran's pure blood to be precise.

The panther growled softly now, it almost sounded like a purr. With a swishing tale, it prepared itself for a jump, crouching on its haunches. When Zero didn't move, the large cat lept towards him and then right through him into the pureblood. Later on, Zero would never be able to find words to actually describe the sensations at the moment the cat went through him. It entirely defied description. It was intimate, as though for a nano-second, he and Kuran were one person. It was different than their bond, it wasn't just parts of their thoughts or emotions merging - it was more like Kuran was wrapped around him, throughout him and within him. Everything Kuran was - it was all there.

In this brief moment, Zero was able to feel the pureblood's complexity as though it were his own. It was an intensely intimate and sudden moment that Zero was entirely unprepared for. Everything about the pureblood slammed into him - he felt how it was to have the pureblood's incredible power as though it were at his own disposal. He understood the shreds of Kuran's curiosity, the depth of his pain, his wild hunger, his intense sexual desires and the terrifying abyss of his own creation looming just a heartbeat away.

Unexpectedly for Zero, he was frozen with a crippling fear coupled with that vastness of power, yet at the same time, a soothing warmth and sense of protection coiled around the hunter's spine. If anyone had asked the hunter what to expect to find inside a pureblood's heart, he would most certainly not have come up with most of this. There was so much incredible power, yes - that much he'd guessed. He would also have anticipated the darkness, the calculating cruelty, the aching and desperate hunger only a pureblood vampire could feel or handle and of course the terrible edge of that unpredictable fury to tear the world apart at its hinges. That much he might have suspected.

But there was an entirely different side to the pureblood as well. An unexpectedly warm and tender side, and equally strong at that. It was fiercely possessive and almost as difficult to contain as the looming darkness, but it was something very new to the hunter. He was still dazed by that one heartbeat of intimacy that he didn't even bother to think about the fact that Kuran would be able to read as many things inside him as well. Too many things. He was caught up in the sweetness of all these sensations merging into one as the strange animal passed through him. He was captivated that this intimate moment he shared with the pureblood was not at all the cold and dark hell he might have envisioned to find inside him. All in all, the pureblood's touch was actually... a surprisingly gentle caress.

And after no more than a heartbeat it was over and he was himself again, independent, alone and almost... cold.

Zero scowled and scrambled to his feet. His heart still pounding incessantly with the close and intense contact he turned toward Kuran as the pureblood slowly woke from his rigor. The crimson in his eyes flickered and then slowly faded, just as the darkness of his study receded giving way to the pale light of dawn. The menacing presence lifted and Zero's senses calmed, though his heartbeat still thudded loudly in his chest. The clear light of dawn flooding in through the window now illuminated everything unceremoniously in clear colors, outlining the deep shadows in Kuran's perfect face. He looked very tired with circles under his eyes and colorless skin. His hair, for whatever reason, remained long and tangled giving him an unruly appearance. Blood seeped through his shirt on the same side the panther had been wounded. The slow rate at which it lessened somehow bothered Zero. But he stayed silent. It puzzled him that he did not feel any pain on himself.

With newfound composure, the pureblood spoke.

"You used my name..." he said quietly, his voice fading into a curious whisper.

Not exactly what Zero had been expecting to talk about. Kuran had just gone from doing some way-out-there-pureblood-thing, swallowing the freaking light of this place, and this was the first thing he came up with to say?

The hunter stuffed his hands into his pockets. Too much mystery for one morning.

"You weren't answering." he decided to reply.

"It was a dangerous idea to come here in the first place, Zero. I could have killed you by accident." he said in a calm voice.

There were many things Zero felt like saying in answer to that admonishment. 'Then lock the fucking door' was one of them. Or "get-a-fucking-grip-on-yourself". But he went with a scowl and a "What were you doing?" instead.

Kuran didn't answer immediately. It was clear to the hunter that the pureblood was acting collected and calm even though he must be dead tired. Zero wasn't quite sure about it, but if a pureblood who usually appeared unruffled and entirely immaculate actually looked like he was tired then he was sure to be close to collapsing. The pureblood regarded at him with a quiet gaze. It seemed blatantly obvious that he was wondering how much he could confide in the hunter. By the time he decided to speak, Zero had already accepted that he wouldn't learn anything at all. Instead, he expected a dismissal - the pureblood was beginning to sway slightly. He obviously needed to sleep or something.

"You asked me if I would save Takuma." he began his answer. Zero lifted an eyebrow but said nothing. That answer was quite... unexpected. "Rido has been torturing him for days. And to break his will and to spite me, the vampire who calls himself my uncle, has even used his own son." The pureblood wavered ever so infinitesimally, blinking as though there was something wrong with his vision but caught himself quickly.

"Senri has killed himself. Takuma would not have survived the next day without intervention. So I paid him a visit."

Zero was pleasantly surprised by this fair share of information. It didn't really explain the fury, the trance or the panther, but it was much more than he had expected. Did it mean that Kuran didn't simply regard him as a lowbreed? He wondered briefly if it would be a wise idea to just keep asking. It wasn't like he wasn't curious as to what had just happened. He should probably curse himself for it, but he wanted to know. How far did Kuran's power go?

"How? I thought you said you couldn't do it." he finally asked.

"Until now, it would have been very unwise... I cannot confront Rido directly. But I could do it through Takuma. If I claim a willing body while still residing in my own, that body is more powerful than one would expect it to be. But there is no noble who would be strong enough to fight a pureblood one on one, even if I guide them. That course of action, naturally, is even more of limited use if the medium of choice is contained by hunter restraints. Fortunately, Rido was elsewhere this evening and Takuma was not as heavily guarded. I used an avatar to gain access."

"The panther?" Zero guessed.

"Yes. I was able to free Takuma of his constraints and then take over his body to escape."

"You were in an avatar and Takuma at the same time?"

Zero watched the pureblood. The pureblood's eyes were dark and sunken with weariness, but the gaze he was giving Zero was anything but void. It was intense and thoughtful and Zero was vividly reminded of their short moment of merging hearts. It was perhaps the combination of those two things that had the hunter pause. All the ceremonial worshipping of Kuran's followers and all the coldness he had already seen from Kuran hadn't had this effect - but it was this intensity of his gaze in a weary body that gave the hunter the impression that Kuran just might be older than a bit over two decades.

"It was necessary to protect him. Though not heavily guarded, Takuma wasn't without surveillance."

"You were attacked..." Zero assumed, remembering the wounded panther.

"Yes. But Takuma was spared from further harm. He cannot, however, show up here too soon. He must remain hidden until I have sorted a few things out."

Zero briefly wondered how many had been killed for the noble's escape, but decided that it wouldn't be fair to ask. He had said he didn't care if other vampires were involved and he didn't - not really. Well, to be honest, he didn't really wish Takuma harm. The noble hadn't been the worst of the lot. Quite the decent fellow actually... But there was something else he really was interested in. He hadn't felt any pain on his own body - so the pureblood must be unhurt...?

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

The pureblood looked at him with a quizzical expression. He seemed a bit distant and distracted. Maybe the hunter should leave him. But he was still curious.

"When you... your avatar is wounded?"

"Yes." It was a whispered admission. Zero's brows furrowed. What was wrong about feeling pain? And why...

"Why didn't I feel anything?" Zero asked before he could stop himself. Perhaps this was too personal, perhaps he shouldn't have asked. But the pureblood had answered all his questions until now. And he was explaining himself to the hunter even for this one.

"An avatar is a creature of the mind, of the imagination if you will. That is the part that is wounded when it is hurt. That is the reason why they are rarely used. Giving an imagination a lasting corporal form is very strenuous, when this form is wounded, there can be lasting damage to the mind and its sanity."

Kuran had risked his sanity for Takuma? Seriously? Until now, Zero had thought he'd only slipped in like a ghost and rescued the noble without dirtying his hands. But if he'd actually risked something in the process... He remembered the limping panther.

"But it bled..." Zero mused out loud. The pureblood's expression morphed into something he could not have pictured on his regal face even if he had wanted to. It was an expression of shame.

"I... " the pureblood began. "I..." His face was now ashen, his eyes dazed.

Zero's brows drew together in puzzlement.

"Kuran...?" he asked.

The pureblood's dull eyes lifted back to gaze into his.

"Please... Zero. It's Kaname." he bade softly.

Perhaps Zero was getting weak, but that soft request woke the caring side in him. Why he felt protective and caring of someone who was clearly so much more powerful than himself was a mystery to him. But it didn't change the fact that it did. Despite his more than blatant display of power, Zero understood that there was much more to this pureblood vampire than anyone else ever got to see. Zero was always the one who saw him after he gave all his orders, after all the contracts were signed, after everyone left, after Yuki had died... Zero saw all these moments, when he was thirsty, when he was tired, when he was vulnerable. And he found that he was drawn to this part of the pureblood. Now again, here he was, the lean figure exhausted and very very pale. He had most likely entirely over-exerted himself. And for what? To save Takuma.

In that rare moment, Zero cared to look at the pureblood without his usual attitude of regret and disgust. To see not the monster he was brought up to hate and kill, to see not the enslavement their bond brought upon himself, to see not the calculating, cruel mockery of human gentleness he had shown the Level D at Cross Academy, but to really see what was in front of his eyes. Perhaps it helped that he had just touched the pureblood's avatar and connected to his heart that way, but it was certainly also due to a shift in perspective on the hunter's part as well.

And all he saw now was a worn out and beautiful vampire who had put himself in harm's way to save someone else. That was something his heart and mind could come to terms with. He could accept him this way, and in a sense he had respect for him. Zero was a hunter and Kuran was a pureblood vampire... yes. Hunters hated pureblood vampires... yes. But somebody who worked so hard to save a friend simply could not be altogether rotten.

Zero's mind made a choice. In the long run it might come to be the wrong one, but for just this moment it felt entirely right. It was ok to care for someone like that. It was acceptable. Even though he was a hunter, it wasn't wrong for him to care for Kaname Kuran.

He took a step closer and reached out a hand, stabilizing the pureblood as he grasped the slender arm.

"Kaname." he said quietly.

The pureblood's eyes lit up with something Zero could only describe as happiness. It troubled him that such a simple thing could trigger such a reaction. Why did this obviously mean so much to the pureblood? Why did he want this pretense of closeness between himself and a Level D? Why did he want him to use his first name?

"Why did it bleed?"

~{}~

Kaname's heart ached in his chest as Zero spoke his name again. It was entirely stupid, he shouldn't be relying on Zero's opinion, but he did. He hadn't missed the fact that there was a slight change in the hunter's gaze as he asked him question after question. Kaname was way too tired to be standing here, patiently explaining himself to an ex-human hunter, he desperately needed rest. He really needed blood as well. But the fact that Zero had called him by his first name, had done so earlier while Kaname was weary and wounded both inside his avatar and Takuma was vitally important. He just couldn't deny that it had given him the strength to return as he had, to return safely. He hadn't been sure that he would make it in one piece.

He was dizzy and weak. His words to the hunter didn't even begin to outline the ordeal it had taken to save the noble. Maintaining an avatar in and of itself for such an endeavor had been a gruelling toll on his mind. An avatar was never really corporal. It didn't possess the qualities it took to rescue someone else. But to then simultaneously overtake another body that had no more strength of its own meant an equal burden. Kaname was still amazed he had mentally survived the rescue.

He hadn't told Zero that it had taken hours to find the noble, that it had taken long minutes of patient timing to slip by the guards and creating the right amount of distraction so they wouldn't be there when Takuma was on his way out. He didn't tell the hunter was that he had indeed run into Rido - luckily in the shape of his very corporal avatar so the other pureblood hadn't recognized him for who he was or maybe he might not have stood a chance. He had probably mistaken him for a shapshifting noble because avatars were so rarely used. And he had only started bleeding pure blood after he had freed Takuma - long after Rido left the job to his subordinates. He might even have been able to heal it if he hadn't been so busy with controlling both the panther and the noble.

He hadn't mentioned to the hunter that he had found himself in a high-tech maze of laboratories with test subjects in various stages of torment. But these weren't just Level E's... they were hunters, slowly falling to Level E while being experimented on. He had recognized the ordeals instantly. He had felt them on his own body as Zero had been similarly experimented on by the hunters just the day before.

It had woken a surge of fierce anger inside him as he instantly made the connection. Zero was in greater danger than he'd known. It didn't matter that between the two of them they were no where near close. Kaname was a pureblood and Zero was his mate. And a pureblood reacted very intensely to having their mate threatened. This included unspoken and implied threats as well. His mate was a pawn in someone else's game. He just hadn't realized the extent of it before. That was inacceptable. No one uses Kaname Kuran's mate. Ever. In his state of adrenaline infused incentive, Kaname's emotions uncoiled in sharp fury. Instantly, the rage burned through him without control.

These fools would pay. All of them. Very, very painfully. His avatar didn't posess the energy to personally inflict the damage necessary to satisfy the need for revenge. But Takuma did. Kaname's anger had fueled the noble's body with an energy unheard of. In the avatar's body, Kaname defended the noble fiercely while through Takuma's noble power he disintegrated each of the laboratory's staff members to heaps of useless molecules. Of course these staff members weren't truly the ones pulling the strings here - there were others who were responsible for this - vampires in higher positions, but perhaps Seiren's unemotional approach was better suited for that undertaking.

Walking an avatar and the noble's body through the ruins of those laboratories, he realized too late that he had burned way too much energy on his wrath. Takuma's body was too weak for this endeavor - even with the pureblood feeding him mental energy. To keep the noble alive, he let him drink the blood from his avatar. Now Takuma was already being picked up and cared for by trusted subordinates. Kaname couldn't let his mind dwell on the fact that he was basically sending his friend from a frying pan into the fire. But it wouldn't last as long. And Sara wouldn't be anywhere near as cruel as Rido.

"Why did it bleed?" Zero's question still hung in the air.

Because he was weak, Kaname thought to himself. Because he nearly failed. But he didn't say any of this. He had too much pride to admit as much in front of the hunter, mate or not.

"I..." he cleared his voice and started again. "Because... I fed it."

It was unthinkable to do such a thing, to pour so much of a pureblood's life essence into an imaginary creature. It was forbidden. And for good reason, too. Loosing such an imaginary creature to death meant loosing that same amount of mental strength and - if fed with blood - physical strength for good. It could not be reclaimed. Ever. It was too dangerous. But he had done so nonetheless. And it had nearly cost him his sanity. For Takuma, he kept telling himself. For Takuma. And revenge. That was all true - to a certain extent.

But if he was entirely honest with himself then he had to admit that he had also done it because he knew Zero wanted him to. Zero was his mate - Level D or hunter... it didn't matter. With that status came a certain dependence. Pureblood or not, Kaname wanted his mate to be happy. It was an instinct he simply could not ignore. So even though he had been rash when Zero accused him of being selfish, he gave in to the hunter's wish and didn't abandon the broken noble. To see just the flicker of appreciation in the hunter's eyes made it worthwhile. That was why he was still standing here instead of collapsing onto his couch to rest. Because there was a hint of appreciation in Zero's gaze as he reached out to hold the pureblood. And that warmed Kaname's heart beyond reason.

Of course he couldn't tell him where Takuma was going to be tomorrow.

The pureblood felt drained and tired now. Zero's arm was welcome and he let himself be stabilized. By the time Takuma had fed and they were out of harms way, Kaname had already long been drawing energy from all of the surroundings in his study. He recalled a sudden burst of strength - that must have been when the hunter entered the room - but at that point the pureblood had already been too deeply entangled in his wounded avatar and had delved too far into the noble's mind. It was Zero's voice calling his name that had reminded him that he was actually supposed to be occupying his own body. He had disentangled himself from Takuma somehow and almost lost the panther in the process as well - but he had caught himself and was now in his own mind, in his study. Sane. Because of Zero.

"Why did you feed your blood to an imaginary creature?" Zero asked, puzzled.

Though tired to the point of collapsing, Kaname reveled in the fact that Zero asked, that he seemed to care, that he was holding him, even if it was nothing more than a supportive gesture.

"It needed to be more corporal than usual." he answered patiently. "It needed the strength to open doors and unlock hunter chains." he said not dwelling on the consequences that might have had.

He'd rather let his mind stick to the memory of feeling the hunter. He hadn't wanted to jump through him, initially. But since Zero hadn't moved and Kaname had quickly been running out of energy, one leap was all he could muster or he might have passed out beforehand. He shuddered to think of the loss that would have meant. Falling into unconsciousness with an unreturned avatar of such caliber might have left his mind crippled forever. But the feeling of the hunter... it was even better than when he first tasted his blood. Because now, Zero had been entirely unprepared for it and Kaname had been faced with no barriers to his heart. For just a nanosecond they had understood each other. They hadn't shared memories or thoughts, but rather the essence of who they both were. It was indescribably wonderful and yet it was also over way too quickly.

"What's up with the hair?" Zero asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Your hair - did you use instant-extensions or what happened?"

Kaname shook his hair and realized the full length of it falling to his elbow. That was not good. So he was this close to recovering his former self...? He had hoped to be able to put it off for longer. This was not good at all. His anger must have roused more of his former self than he had initially thought. He cursed inwardly. He needed to be stable now, he couldn't afford to... he was startled out of his thoughts when Zero reached for the strands and acidentally brushed by his cheek. Such a gentle touch for someone who had learned only to hate and kill...

"You're cold. And pale. If you need blood, then take it... Kaname." Zero said. There was a tenderness in his voice that the pureblood had never heard directed at himself before. Everything else was forgotten that instant. He was so thirsty and tired - how could he resist such an offer?

~{}~

Rido cursed. Sara's company had been strenuous as usual, that woman had no style, no sense of beautifully crafted schemes... if she wasn't such a powerful ally he would never have bothered. But it was the fact that he was currently standing in the midst of a mayhem of destruction, staring at an empty cell where a certain blond noble was supposed to be, that infuriated him way more than the stuck up pureblood bitch ever could.

His mismatched eyes gazed over the upturned inventory of the entire wing. Someone or something very angry had been here. His subordinates were worthless. Well, apparently now they were both worthless and dead. Still, to be fair, he was sure Kaname had his hands in this somehow. Though the amount of destruction didn't really match the strength or the style of a pureblood, Kaname was involved somehow, he was certain of this - if only because the Ichijo noble was missing. He just had to figure out how. And what the hell was there about this blond noble that made him precious enough to be saved?

Had Kaname gone that soft? Rido shook his head. Impossible. There was much more to this than he was seeing right now. He wanted the surveillance - all of it. Now. But before he went through the information he needed to vent some anger. And he knew just the target for his emotions...

"Ojima." his voice was deceptively quiet. Said vampire appeared swiftly. He could smell the noble's fear a mile off. He was well conditioned. A small smirk spread across the pureblood's angry lips.

"Kneel." he whispered lethally.

~{}~

Zero was surprised at his own reaction to the knowledge that Kaname needed blood. Why he bothered with compassion he wasn't even sure. What made this even more strange was that he didn't really mind being bitten. He didn't feel the same aversion anymore to feeling the pureblood's fangs sink into his skin. It almost scared him. Shouldn't he be feeling more protective of himself? He held the pureblood with all the intention of supporting him as his skin was pierced. But Kaname appeared to be needing the strength.

At least he made an extra effort to be gentle and Zero noticed this. He was stubborn enough not to groan as the purenlood's tongue lapped at the sensitive wounds. Still, pleasure shot through his veins and he shivered. A pair of slender arms slid around his body as the pureblood began feeding in earnest. The sudden drop in blood pressure coupled with the intense pleasure racing through his veins dizzied his mind dangerously, but Zero allowed it. Maybe he was falling under the pureblood's spell, but he relaxed under those hungry fangs.

His hunter senses, however, were not subdued in the least. They were not at all happy about having a thirsty pureblood so close. And the longer the feeding lasted the louder their buzz became in his mental ears. Soon all of his hunter instincts roared at him, breaking through his pleasure induced haze. It was a while before Zero began to heed their warnings - he was so deeply entangled in the delightful side-effects of the pureblood's feeding that he didn't realize the balance inside the other had tipped - until it was too late.

It happened so fast - one moment he was lost in the slow and seductive drawing of his blood - the next moment he found himself pinned up hard against a bookshelf, his arms incapacitated beneath his own body. His shirt was torn to shreds on the floor and Kaname's hands were digging into his skin, pressing him into age-old volumes written in dead languages. And a second later he wasn't just physically incapacitated - the pureblood's will had him entirely immobilized. The hunter was forced to look straight at the hungry eyes that were openly ravaging his body, tongue licking his still bloody lips.

Looking at him through clouded eyes, the hunter saw that the pureblood was entirely predator now with Zero trapped underneath him. He was threateningly beautiful - fangs unsheathed underneath the bloody red lips. Zero would not allow himself to be afraid as he watched the pureblood with a neutral expression on his face. Yes, Zero thought, the pureblood was definitely beautiful - but also terrifying, he thought as he stared up into those eyes burning crimson as they devoured the sight of the hunter's bare torso.

Would he just take without asking? Seeing the look in Kaname's eyes, Zero didn't doubt the answer was positive. Then he felt it. Zero internally froze in shock. Kaname's mind was reaching out toward his, was slowly engulfing it, and wading into it, sifting through it. But not breaking him - it was invading him with pleasure. Burning pleasure he didn't want to feel like this. He moaned in desperate need - though he wanted to fight it, he knew it would be useless.

I don't care, he told himself.

He didn't want to, but for some reason, Zero couldn't not care. He cared a whole lot. Too long had he rebelled against forces overpowering his life. Too much stubbornness lived inside his heart. He did care. And it hurt because he felt betrayed. Betrayed by Kaname, betrayed by his own body... maybe he just really was the little Level D slut after all. This is what it came down to in the end, didn't it? Their so-called mutual understanding would just end right here and Zero would become what he knew he would be the entire time. A servant to the pureblood. A slave he would use over and over again for blood, for pleasure, or whatever Kaname wanted. He would be the little hunter-trophy slave that only Kaname had. A little trophy to a beautiful monster.

Just because they shared this bond didn't mean Kaname was any better than those nobles had been... the hunter shivered. Zero shied away from that memory. He so didn't feel like being raped right now. Physically or mentally. But Kaname's body that was pressed closely to him was burning with needy heat; Zero could feel he was hard. And the engulfing presence growing in his mind was filling him with even more desire than he thought he could handle. His own arousal was painfully constricted, his blood boiling with need - but his mind was not a part of it. One hand was fondling the nubs of his chest while the other hand was now roaming across his navel sliding lower. Kaname wouldn't make him feel pain. No, of course not - he'd feel it on himself. But, in a way, this pleasure was much worse. It was humiliating because it wasn't truly his. It was induced pleasure, artificial and unwelcome. He didn't want to feel like this.

But he had no way he could move - immobilized by Kaname's willpower. There was no way to struggle physically. A small thought taunted him in the back of his muddled consciousness. Break into his mind - you can do it. Kaname had said so. 'You can break my mind. And there is nothing I can do against it.' Those were the words. Those were the words right after he'd said 'I will not control you and you aren't chained to my will.'

Yeah, right, Zero thought bitterly. A lie. All a freakin' lie. Kaname was a vampire. A pureblood vampire at that - no better than any other freaking leech. They all lied, controlled and broke people to their will. He was just a bloodsucking leech. Just a monster.

Like you.

The voice in his head was burning in him. But he'd known it all along. He'd only hoped it wasn't so. But he'd known otherwise.

Yes - a monster. He was the Level D monster and right now he was in the clutches of a Level A monster. It was the way of nature. There was no reason to fear it. It was inevitable. Regrettable, but inevitable. It didn't matter. It made no difference what Kaname did to him - he had sworn himself never to breech that mind. Call it honor, whatever. He'd stick to it - it was all the faith in life he had, the only satisfaction. If the pureblood broke his mind then it would happen. But Zero was not like that. He wouldn't do it. Not even in defense. He'd had no choice when it came to drinking blood. But in this he did have a choice and he chose to remain untainted and un-controlling. He would not fall that low. He wouldn't stop Kaname - even if he raped his body and soul right here right now. No, he would not fight. Not anymore.

Having made up his mind, he relaxed his thoughts filling them with silent acceptance and let Kaname feel it was ok. He wouldn't struggle. He had every right to play with his Level D slave. He looked deep into the crimson eyes that were so arousing and let himself get lost in them. Perhaps he could learn to enjoy this. Perhaps the pureblood would be kind and he would cloud his thoughts so it wouldn't be painful in the slightest. Not that it mattered. The only thing he would fight was his own irrational fear.

"You can do what you want with me. I don't care."

He'd expected Kaname to crush his lips instantly and feel his perfect hands violating him. Instead, the eyes stared back in sudden shock. They looked at him positively horrified as the crimson slowly faded back to dark rosewood. The presence in his mind along with the mental grip on his body disappeared instantly.

"O God, Zero... I... I..." Kaname's voice was hoarse.

Then, in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

~{}~

"Nakamura." Ayame turned at the rumbly voice. She and Naoto had just finished a long round of training and it was hight time to get to bed. Dawn had already cast its pale light on the training grounds for the last hour. She didn't exactly appreciate the interruption of finishing the clean-up of her weapons, but she held back any reproach she might have when she realized who it was that had spoken.
"Yagari-sensei." she greeted, bowing slightly. "What brings you here?"

"The hope of finding capable and reliable hunters." he answered cryptically.

Nakamura looked at him with a puzzled expression. Weren't there enough experienced and reliable hunters around? Yagari-sensei appeared to have noticed her confusion and continued.

"I know you are young. But I also know you are not stupid. I have a warning for you. And advice. Concerning Kiryu. I have already spoken to Yamada and Ito."
"Yes?" Nakamura asked, wondering what all this might mean.

"Do you trust Kiryu?" he asked her out of the blue.
"Of course." She said with conviction. She wasn't certain why Yagari-sensei would ask something like that, but she had no doubts concerning the hunter who had proven himself in her eyes.

"He is a turned vampire. Why do you trust him?" There was no accusation in his voice, but the icy-blue eye watched her intently.
This was Yagari-sensei. Kiryu's mentor. But not only that - he was also the strongest senior hunter of the Association. He was revered by all hunters who were considered sane. His abilities were unparalleled save perhaps by the legendary Cross in his days of active service. It didn't matter what he asked. You didn't lie to Yagari. That wasn't a decision, but a reflex. Even if you did, he was sure to know. Nakamura was also a very honest person herself. Though the question struck her as odd from someone who had trained said hunter, she answered with complete honesty.

"He was the one who told us not to trust him. That alone is good enough for me."

"Your team leader instructed you not to trust him, but you do anyway?" still there was no accusation in his tone of voice.

Kiryu's case was a difficult one - everyone knew this. He was shunned for what he was, though no one seemed to bother to find out who he was. Being nominated for his team, they had all - at first - shared certain reservations, though they quickly gave those up after seeing how he fought.

"Yes." she said. "We all saw how he fights, how he watches out for us and even took a wound to prevent Naoto from being attacked."
"Vampires are cunning." Yagari countered. "If he attacks one of you, you might not notice quickly enough. If he turns on you, what will you do?"

Ayame snorted. Perhaps she was being disrespectful, but sometimes honesty just was like that.
"We will die." she answered bluntly. Then, to clarify, she added. "Sensei, if Kiryu truly fell to madness, of course we would try to fight him. But I am certain that we all agree that he would be too strong and too fast to be stopped by any of us. If you do not trust him as his sensei, what reason would we have to trust him?"

The older hunter nodded and smiled. "Honest and realistic. That's good. Perhaps my hopes are not in vain then."
Ayame looked confused again.
"Kiryu wouldn't be here if I didn't trust him." he affirmed. "I was just making sure that you knew exactly what it means to be in his team. That is why I am here. The Association never meant for him to become a team leader. They had hoped he wouldn't have the guts to stand up against the protest."
Ayame looked indignant. But she wasn't surprised. The senior hunter continued.

"They are not pleased with how things have turned out. They want him to fail."
"But…"

"You're all in trouble if he does."
Ayame nodded slowly. This didn't sound too good.
"They keep sending him on missions that he's not supposed to return from. Knowing how he would be affected, sending him into the charmed tunnels was their idea."
"But…"
"Their next goal could be to turn you all against him. If the team fails it will be perceived as his fault. I am not sure that they would mind a casualty among you to achieve that goal."
Ayame blanched.

Yagari sighed. "It's just power-play to get rid of him. Unfortunately, all of you are in it, too. I know you're all young. But you don't have time to grow up. You must be a team."
"Why would they want him to fail?"
"You said it yourself. If he turned on you, there would be no stopping him. What you saw is just a fraction of what he is capable of. I am certain that one day he will be better than any of us. And they're afraid…"

Ayame nodded. It made sense... somehow.
"You need to stick together. And if he ever needs help... " Yagari made a pointed pause. "... we both know he'd never ask for it."

Ayame grimaced, immediately understanding what the older hunter was implying. It would be their call to aid Kiryu even if he didn't want it. But that had been clear to them beforehand already. She shuddered to think of situations when Kiryu was incapacitated and needed help. They'd do their best, she was certain. Still, she just hoped that it would never be necessary.

"I think he doesn't even know himself how strong he really is." Yagari said more to himself.
"Better take care, Nakamura." he concluded.
With a lot of thoughts going through her mind, Ayame nodded.

~{}~

"You can do what you want with me. I don't care."

"Kaname"?

It was a just subtle inquiry, and the brunette pureblood felt a twinge of regret at being caught lost in thought, but he showed none of it.

This was a private meeting, an informal private meeting and he was expected to adhere to his hosts oddities. He had spent hours of aimless wondering before he finally decided to take up this gracious offer. He'd never agreed to actually pay a visit to one of the Sato's exclusive parties. But he had found himself welcome - even unnanounced in the early evening hours. He hadn't slept all day after his slip with the hunter. Kaname deeply regretted his mistake, though luckily he hadn't gone as far as he might have, if Zero's hopeless words of surrender hadn't reached his mind in time.

Sato had been surprised at his fellow pureblood's visit. Though purebloods had little to no friendship among each other, the Satos and Kaname's side of the Kuran's chose to uphoald a more harmless rivalry that played out more in the business section of their lives. There was no need to feel threatened in Sato's company and that was something Kaname was currently very thankful for. He would never show this, of course, his demeanor and appearance were still that of an immaculate pureblood and he upheld all of the oddities he usually exhibited at such soirees. He refused participation in betting on a Level E's life expectancy in the fighting ring, as was a traditional sport among the rich and high blooded vampires. He refused the offered human blood and didn't indulge in much conversation, except with a few more reliable business partners. He behaved entirely as usual, exhibiting not a trace of the fact that his visit to Sato proved how truly vulnerable he really felt. He agreed to nothing out of the ordinary - except for this.

He was in Sato's private chambers now, sipping on a glass of blood wine as dancers were moving through the shadows in some choreographed dance. These private shows were an accepted form of higher class entertainment. Lower level vampires with good looks often ended up selling their bodies. And to perform in front of purebloods was always an honor for them.

Kaname watched their sparsely clothed bodies intertwine and disentangle to the rhythm of some soft music. They were like a commodity, their presence a symbol of taste, just like good vintage and delicious food. It was their purpose to provide physical pleasure, both sexually and sanguinary. He had rarely participated in such private informal occasions, usually claiming that he was busy – but now he hadn't evaded the invitation, knowing full well what he was getting himself into. He could have declined, he could have chosen not to come. But here he was.

He'd been suffering lately. He craved the hunter like a thirsty man needed water in the desert, he dreamt of Zero every night, in his waking daydreams, the hunter's simple presence caused an avalanche of longing and when the pureblood watched the silver-haired hunter too closely he was sure to lose it again. The hunter calling him by his given name, thereby unknowingly saving the pureblood, tightened the bond between them to a degree that made it impossible for the pureblood to deny his instincts. He had been so close to basically raping his mate.

No one would hold it against him - not in the vampire world. He was a pureblood, he was allowed to take what he wanted. But it was wrong somehow. And these thoughts kept circling his head until, at last, he had found himself here.

Kaname had thought that this would be a good way to get rid of that insatiable hunger. It was an accepted way to distract himself from the need for his bond mate and from his body's cravings. As he watched the dancers - male and female - discard their clothing one by one to a slow, seductive melody, his mind was sure that it must be choreographed to be a most erotic display. Yet he felt… nothing.

Their beautiful faces meant nothing to him, their seductive glances were hollow to his eyes and their sinuous movements entranced him only in so far that he wished it was Zero in front of him in their stead.

The blond boy sliding onto his lap was naked and surely anything but ugly. Kaname was certain that his host had chosen only the best and most beautiful dancers available. It was expected of him to at least taste their blood if not take one or preferably more of them to a bed. Privacy in that matter was guaranteed. Kaname himself had never hosted such an event, but he knew that his host was waiting for him to make the first move. It would be impolite to refuse the freely offered blood.

He ignored his thoughts about how he was betraying the hunter. This was truly for politeness sake. He was sure the hunter didn't give a damn at all what he did. He slid his hands across the smaller body and tilted the head to the side. The boy's heartbeat accelerated at the honor he was about to receive. Surely, this one must have been bitten by hundreds of others already. Most likely, many hosts would have been rough on him. He would be used to that. He would be used to the fact that hundreds of higher class vampires could read in his blood what kind of a person he was. Kaname didn't want to imagine such a life.

He couldn't bring himself to kiss the skin, but he licked it gently and sucked softly. As the boy's breath hitched he sank his fangs into the neck. Instantly, the blond boy moaned in pleasure, bucking helplessly into the pureblood's arms.

But there was nothing alluring about it for Kaname. The blood tasted nothing like the hunter's rich crimson life. Comparing this blood to Zero's was like tasting dirty water when expecting wine. Zero's taste instantly slammed into all of his senses. Outwardly, the hunter never showed it - he was controlled and skilled at appearing unfazed, but inwardly, the hunter's blood would tell an entirely different story. His emotions crashed into the pureblood every single time and left him reeling because they were raw and untamed.

But this little fellow was only worried that he wouldn't please his master and what an honor it was to serve not one but two purebloods. Numbly, Kaname registered that he'd probably overdone it on the endorphins for the kid – and truly a kid he was, the boy couldn't be much older than sixteen.

Letting the overdose of pleasure even out in the boy's blood stream, Kaname slid his fangs from the dancer. The sound of his moans was like a child sighing in awe, when what the pureblood actually wanted to hear, was a certain adult hunter's voice groaning in pleasure. There was nothing about touching this almost perfect body that he truly enjoyed. It was too slender and frail and much too flawless. Unconsciously, he held the panting and gasping boy but did nothing to help him with his obvious arousal as his empty stare looked at the boy without seeing him.

Only now, did Kaname realize how much he desired Zero and him only. It wasn't just their bond. And it wasn't just the blood or the body. He wanted Zero's blood because he could taste the hunter's honesty and determination in it and the flavor of his strength slammed into his taste buds like nothing else could. He wanted to feel the hunter's strong arms that would aim his gun or support strongly depending on Zero's mood. He wanted to taste those lips that didn't speak solely to flatter him. He wanted to tease the soft flesh of his ears beneath the silver earrings that no other vampire would wear for fear of marring their beauty. He wanted to explore every scar and birthmark of Zero's body, because they all had meaning, because they all had a story, because Zero was not flawless, because he had edges and cracks in his character and scars on his body. Because he was flesh and bone.

Suddenly, it became crystal clear to him, why he'd felt so guilty about nearly raping the hunter. He wanted Zero - not just his body, but everything. He wanted to know his mate inside out, every thought and idiosyncrasy. And he wanted his mate to know all of those things about himself as well. He wanted Zero to reciprocate. He didn't want a faceless doll to follow orders, he didn't want just a pretty vessel for his pleasure. He wanted the hunter to belong to him - but he also wanted to belong to the hunter. Everything else was a fake illusion of affection and deep down Kaname knew it wouldn't satisfy him. This knowledge, didn't take away the burning desire he felt, but...

"Kaname?" At the sound of his name, he looked up at the other pureblood gazing at him quizzically. He had almost forgotten where he was and that he was still holding an entirely flushed boy in his hands who was waiting on the whim of a distracted pureblood.

"Is he not to your liking?"

Kaname forced a small seductive smile, before setting the boy down in front of him. He could smell the instant fear in him that he might not have been good enough, that he might have made a mistake and displeased his superiors. To reassure the kid, he slid a hand across the lips and down toward his belly, making the blond shudder in need as his finger grazed the tip of his leaking arousal. Kaname looked back at him calmly, his expression once again perfectly collected and unfazed.

"I assure you, your taste in dancers is exquisite. He is quite to my liking, Sato-san. And yet, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have an important appointment waiting for me. Unfortunately, it cannot be further delayed for the purpose of pleasure."

"I understand, Kaname. Then I will not keep you." the other pureblood didn't bother to show mercy on his chosen dancer - he let the flushed and moaning girl fall into the chair and graciously bowed toward his guest. "Please accept my best wishes for your future endeavors."

Kaname rose and returned the polite gesture. "I return the same wishes to you. It was a pleasure to be graced with your hospitality." Then he left without glancing back.

It didn't matter if he was never allowed to touch the hunter, he didn't care if Zero never responded to his desire, but he couldn't find pleasure with anyone else. He was certain of it. It was either Zero or no one. And he wanted Zero to want it as well. This intimacy was worthless and cold when forced upon another. And Kaname was certain, with the way the hunter had offered his blood earlier, it would be worth the wait.

All he could do was to hope that his lapse in control would not damage their relationship permanently. If so, he might be doomed to a life of unfulfillment.

But even that didn't change his sentiment. It was either the prickly hunter or no one. There was no one else that Kaname wanted.